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Sample records for leave-one-out cross-validation strategy

  1. Ensemble Kalman filter regularization using leave-one-out data cross-validation

    KAUST Repository

    Rayo Schiappacasse, Lautaro Jeró nimo; Hoteit, Ibrahim

    2012-01-01

    In this work, the classical leave-one-out cross-validation method for selecting a regularization parameter for the Tikhonov problem is implemented within the EnKF framework. Following the original concept, the regularization parameter is selected

  2. Bayesian leave-one-out cross-validation approximations for Gaussian latent variable models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vehtari, Aki; Mononen, Tommi; Tolvanen, Ville

    2016-01-01

    The future predictive performance of a Bayesian model can be estimated using Bayesian cross-validation. In this article, we consider Gaussian latent variable models where the integration over the latent values is approximated using the Laplace method or expectation propagation (EP). We study...... the properties of several Bayesian leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation approximations that in most cases can be computed with a small additional cost after forming the posterior approximation given the full data. Our main objective is to assess the accuracy of the approximative LOO cross-validation estimators...

  3. Ensemble Kalman filter regularization using leave-one-out data cross-validation

    KAUST Repository

    Rayo Schiappacasse, Lautaro Jerónimo

    2012-09-19

    In this work, the classical leave-one-out cross-validation method for selecting a regularization parameter for the Tikhonov problem is implemented within the EnKF framework. Following the original concept, the regularization parameter is selected such that it minimizes the predictive error. Some ideas about the implementation, suitability and conceptual interest of the method are discussed. Finally, what will be called the data cross-validation regularized EnKF (dCVr-EnKF) is implemented in a 2D 2-phase synthetic oil reservoir experiment and the results analyzed.

  4. Asymptotic optimality and efficient computation of the leave-subject-out cross-validation

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Ganggang

    2012-12-01

    Although the leave-subject-out cross-validation (CV) has been widely used in practice for tuning parameter selection for various nonparametric and semiparametric models of longitudinal data, its theoretical property is unknown and solving the associated optimization problem is computationally expensive, especially when there are multiple tuning parameters. In this paper, by focusing on the penalized spline method, we show that the leave-subject-out CV is optimal in the sense that it is asymptotically equivalent to the empirical squared error loss function minimization. An efficient Newton-type algorithm is developed to compute the penalty parameters that optimize the CV criterion. Simulated and real data are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the leave-subject-out CV in selecting both the penalty parameters and the working correlation matrix. © 2012 Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

  5. Asymptotic optimality and efficient computation of the leave-subject-out cross-validation

    KAUST Repository

    Xu, Ganggang; Huang, Jianhua Z.

    2012-01-01

    Although the leave-subject-out cross-validation (CV) has been widely used in practice for tuning parameter selection for various nonparametric and semiparametric models of longitudinal data, its theoretical property is unknown and solving the associated optimization problem is computationally expensive, especially when there are multiple tuning parameters. In this paper, by focusing on the penalized spline method, we show that the leave-subject-out CV is optimal in the sense that it is asymptotically equivalent to the empirical squared error loss function minimization. An efficient Newton-type algorithm is developed to compute the penalty parameters that optimize the CV criterion. Simulated and real data are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the leave-subject-out CV in selecting both the penalty parameters and the working correlation matrix. © 2012 Institute of Mathematical Statistics.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tóth, Gergely; Bodai, Zsolt; Héberger, Károly

    2013-10-01

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

  7. Efficient approximate k-fold and leave-one-out cross-validation for ridge regression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, R.J.; Goeman, J.J.

    2013-01-01

    In model building and model evaluation, cross-validation is a frequently used resampling method. Unfortunately, this method can be quite time consuming. In this article, we discuss an approximation method that is much faster and can be used in generalized linear models and Cox' proportional hazards

  8. Linear Unlearning for Cross-Validation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Lars Kai; Larsen, Jan

    1996-01-01

    The leave-one-out cross-validation scheme for generalization assessment of neural network models is computationally expensive due to replicated training sessions. In this paper we suggest linear unlearning of examples as an approach to approximative cross-validation. Further, we discuss...... time series prediction benchmark demonstrate the potential of the linear unlearning technique...

  9. Cross validation in LULOO

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Paul Haase; Nørgård, Peter Magnus; Hansen, Lars Kai

    1996-01-01

    The leave-one-out cross-validation scheme for generalization assessment of neural network models is computationally expensive due to replicated training sessions. Linear unlearning of examples has recently been suggested as an approach to approximative cross-validation. Here we briefly review...... the linear unlearning scheme, dubbed LULOO, and we illustrate it on a systemidentification example. Further, we address the possibility of extracting confidence information (error bars) from the LULOO ensemble....

  10. SU-E-J-85: Leave-One-Out Perturbation (LOOP) Fitting Algorithm for Absolute Dose Film Calibration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, A; Ahmad, M; Chen, Z; Nath, R; Feng, W

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To introduce an outliers-recognition fitting routine for film dosimetry. It cannot only be flexible with any linear and non-linear regression but also can provide information for the minimal number of sampling points, critical sampling distributions and evaluating analytical functions for absolute film-dose calibration. Methods: The technique, leave-one-out (LOO) cross validation, is often used for statistical analyses on model performance. We used LOO analyses with perturbed bootstrap fitting called leave-one-out perturbation (LOOP) for film-dose calibration . Given a threshold, the LOO process detects unfit points (“outliers”) compared to other cohorts, and a bootstrap fitting process follows to seek any possibilities of using perturbations for further improvement. After that outliers were reconfirmed by a traditional t-test statistics and eliminated, then another LOOP feedback resulted in the final. An over-sampled film-dose- calibration dataset was collected as a reference (dose range: 0-800cGy), and various simulated conditions for outliers and sampling distributions were derived from the reference. Comparisons over the various conditions were made, and the performance of fitting functions, polynomial and rational functions, were evaluated. Results: (1) LOOP can prove its sensitive outlier-recognition by its statistical correlation to an exceptional better goodness-of-fit as outliers being left-out. (2) With sufficient statistical information, the LOOP can correct outliers under some low-sampling conditions that other “robust fits”, e.g. Least Absolute Residuals, cannot. (3) Complete cross-validated analyses of LOOP indicate that the function of rational type demonstrates a much superior performance compared to the polynomial. Even with 5 data points including one outlier, using LOOP with rational function can restore more than a 95% value back to its reference values, while the polynomial fitting completely failed under the same conditions

  11. SU-E-J-85: Leave-One-Out Perturbation (LOOP) Fitting Algorithm for Absolute Dose Film Calibration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chu, A; Ahmad, M; Chen, Z; Nath, R [Yale New Haven Hospital/School of Medicine Yale University, New Haven, CT (United States); Feng, W [New York Presbyterian Hospital, Tenafly, NJ (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To introduce an outliers-recognition fitting routine for film dosimetry. It cannot only be flexible with any linear and non-linear regression but also can provide information for the minimal number of sampling points, critical sampling distributions and evaluating analytical functions for absolute film-dose calibration. Methods: The technique, leave-one-out (LOO) cross validation, is often used for statistical analyses on model performance. We used LOO analyses with perturbed bootstrap fitting called leave-one-out perturbation (LOOP) for film-dose calibration . Given a threshold, the LOO process detects unfit points (“outliers”) compared to other cohorts, and a bootstrap fitting process follows to seek any possibilities of using perturbations for further improvement. After that outliers were reconfirmed by a traditional t-test statistics and eliminated, then another LOOP feedback resulted in the final. An over-sampled film-dose- calibration dataset was collected as a reference (dose range: 0-800cGy), and various simulated conditions for outliers and sampling distributions were derived from the reference. Comparisons over the various conditions were made, and the performance of fitting functions, polynomial and rational functions, were evaluated. Results: (1) LOOP can prove its sensitive outlier-recognition by its statistical correlation to an exceptional better goodness-of-fit as outliers being left-out. (2) With sufficient statistical information, the LOOP can correct outliers under some low-sampling conditions that other “robust fits”, e.g. Least Absolute Residuals, cannot. (3) Complete cross-validated analyses of LOOP indicate that the function of rational type demonstrates a much superior performance compared to the polynomial. Even with 5 data points including one outlier, using LOOP with rational function can restore more than a 95% value back to its reference values, while the polynomial fitting completely failed under the same conditions

  12. CVTresh: R Package for Level-Dependent Cross-Validation Thresholding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghoh Kim

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The core of the wavelet approach to nonparametric regression is thresholding of wavelet coefficients. This paper reviews a cross-validation method for the selection of the thresholding value in wavelet shrinkage of Oh, Kim, and Lee (2006, and introduces the R package CVThresh implementing details of the calculations for the procedures. This procedure is implemented by coupling a conventional cross-validation with a fast imputation method, so that it overcomes a limitation of data length, a power of 2. It can be easily applied to the classical leave-one-out cross-validation and K-fold cross-validation. Since the procedure is computationally fast, a level-dependent cross-validation can be developed for wavelet shrinkage of data with various sparseness according to levels.

  13. CVTresh: R Package for Level-Dependent Cross-Validation Thresholding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Donghoh Kim

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The core of the wavelet approach to nonparametric regression is thresholding of wavelet coefficients. This paper reviews a cross-validation method for the selection of the thresholding value in wavelet shrinkage of Oh, Kim, and Lee (2006, and introduces the R package CVThresh implementing details of the calculations for the procedures.This procedure is implemented by coupling a conventional cross-validation with a fast imputation method, so that it overcomes a limitation of data length, a power of 2. It can be easily applied to the classical leave-one-out cross-validation and K-fold cross-validation. Since the procedure is computationally fast, a level-dependent cross-validation can be developed for wavelet shrinkage of data with various sparseness according to levels.

  14. Classification in hyperspectral images by independent component analysis, segmented cross-validation and uncertainty estimates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beatriz Galindo-Prieto

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Independent component analysis combined with various strategies for cross-validation, uncertainty estimates by jack-knifing and critical Hotelling’s T2 limits estimation, proposed in this paper, is used for classification purposes in hyperspectral images. To the best of our knowledge, the combined approach of methods used in this paper has not been previously applied to hyperspectral imaging analysis for interpretation and classification in the literature. The data analysis performed here aims to distinguish between four different types of plastics, some of them containing brominated flame retardants, from their near infrared hyperspectral images. The results showed that the method approach used here can be successfully used for unsupervised classification. A comparison of validation approaches, especially leave-one-out cross-validation and regions of interest scheme validation is also evaluated.

  15. Raman fiber-optical method for colon cancer detection: Cross-validation and outlier identification approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, D.; Naveed, P.; Ragheb, A.; Niedieker, D.; El-Mashtoly, S. F.; Brechmann, T.; Kötting, C.; Schmiegel, W. H.; Freier, E.; Pox, C.; Gerwert, K.

    2017-06-01

    Endoscopy plays a major role in early recognition of cancer which is not externally accessible and therewith in increasing the survival rate. Raman spectroscopic fiber-optical approaches can help to decrease the impact on the patient, increase objectivity in tissue characterization, reduce expenses and provide a significant time advantage in endoscopy. In gastroenterology an early recognition of malign and precursor lesions is relevant. Instantaneous and precise differentiation between adenomas as precursor lesions for cancer and hyperplastic polyps on the one hand and between high and low-risk alterations on the other hand is important. Raman fiber-optical measurements of colon biopsy samples taken during colonoscopy were carried out during a clinical study, and samples of adenocarcinoma (22), tubular adenomas (141), hyperplastic polyps (79) and normal tissue (101) from 151 patients were analyzed. This allows us to focus on the bioinformatic analysis and to set stage for Raman endoscopic measurements. Since spectral differences between normal and cancerous biopsy samples are small, special care has to be taken in data analysis. Using a leave-one-patient-out cross-validation scheme, three different outlier identification methods were investigated to decrease the influence of systematic errors, like a residual risk in misplacement of the sample and spectral dilution of marker bands (esp. cancerous tissue) and therewith optimize the experimental design. Furthermore other validations methods like leave-one-sample-out and leave-one-spectrum-out cross-validation schemes were compared with leave-one-patient-out cross-validation. High-risk lesions were differentiated from low-risk lesions with a sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 74% and an accuracy of 77%, cancer and normal tissue with a sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 83% and an accuracy of 81%. Additionally applied outlier identification enabled us to improve the recognition of neoplastic biopsy samples.

  16. Raman fiber-optical method for colon cancer detection: Cross-validation and outlier identification approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, D; Naveed, P; Ragheb, A; Niedieker, D; El-Mashtoly, S F; Brechmann, T; Kötting, C; Schmiegel, W H; Freier, E; Pox, C; Gerwert, K

    2017-06-15

    Endoscopy plays a major role in early recognition of cancer which is not externally accessible and therewith in increasing the survival rate. Raman spectroscopic fiber-optical approaches can help to decrease the impact on the patient, increase objectivity in tissue characterization, reduce expenses and provide a significant time advantage in endoscopy. In gastroenterology an early recognition of malign and precursor lesions is relevant. Instantaneous and precise differentiation between adenomas as precursor lesions for cancer and hyperplastic polyps on the one hand and between high and low-risk alterations on the other hand is important. Raman fiber-optical measurements of colon biopsy samples taken during colonoscopy were carried out during a clinical study, and samples of adenocarcinoma (22), tubular adenomas (141), hyperplastic polyps (79) and normal tissue (101) from 151 patients were analyzed. This allows us to focus on the bioinformatic analysis and to set stage for Raman endoscopic measurements. Since spectral differences between normal and cancerous biopsy samples are small, special care has to be taken in data analysis. Using a leave-one-patient-out cross-validation scheme, three different outlier identification methods were investigated to decrease the influence of systematic errors, like a residual risk in misplacement of the sample and spectral dilution of marker bands (esp. cancerous tissue) and therewith optimize the experimental design. Furthermore other validations methods like leave-one-sample-out and leave-one-spectrum-out cross-validation schemes were compared with leave-one-patient-out cross-validation. High-risk lesions were differentiated from low-risk lesions with a sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 74% and an accuracy of 77%, cancer and normal tissue with a sensitivity of 79%, specificity of 83% and an accuracy of 81%. Additionally applied outlier identification enabled us to improve the recognition of neoplastic biopsy samples. Copyright

  17. Accuracy assessment of high resolution satellite imagery orientation by leave-one-out method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brovelli, Maria Antonia; Crespi, Mattia; Fratarcangeli, Francesca; Giannone, Francesca; Realini, Eugenio

    Interest in high-resolution satellite imagery (HRSI) is spreading in several application fields, at both scientific and commercial levels. Fundamental and critical goals for the geometric use of this kind of imagery are their orientation and orthorectification, processes able to georeference the imagery and correct the geometric deformations they undergo during acquisition. In order to exploit the actual potentialities of orthorectified imagery in Geomatics applications, the definition of a methodology to assess the spatial accuracy achievable from oriented imagery is a crucial topic. In this paper we want to propose a new method for accuracy assessment based on the Leave-One-Out Cross-Validation (LOOCV), a model validation method already applied in different fields such as machine learning, bioinformatics and generally in any other field requiring an evaluation of the performance of a learning algorithm (e.g. in geostatistics), but never applied to HRSI orientation accuracy assessment. The proposed method exhibits interesting features which are able to overcome the most remarkable drawbacks involved by the commonly used method (Hold-Out Validation — HOV), based on the partitioning of the known ground points in two sets: the first is used in the orientation-orthorectification model (GCPs — Ground Control Points) and the second is used to validate the model itself (CPs — Check Points). In fact the HOV is generally not reliable and it is not applicable when a low number of ground points is available. To test the proposed method we implemented a new routine that performs the LOOCV in the software SISAR, developed by the Geodesy and Geomatics Team at the Sapienza University of Rome to perform the rigorous orientation of HRSI; this routine was tested on some EROS-A and QuickBird images. Moreover, these images were also oriented using the world recognized commercial software OrthoEngine v. 10 (included in the Geomatica suite by PCI), manually performing the LOOCV

  18. Genome-Wide Association Studies and Comparison of Models and Cross-Validation Strategies for Genomic Prediction of Quality Traits in Advanced Winter Wheat Breeding Lines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter S. Kristensen

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the this study was to identify SNP markers associated with five important wheat quality traits (grain protein content, Zeleny sedimentation, test weight, thousand-kernel weight, and falling number, and to investigate the predictive abilities of GBLUP and Bayesian Power Lasso models for genomic prediction of these traits. In total, 635 winter wheat lines from two breeding cycles in the Danish plant breeding company Nordic Seed A/S were phenotyped for the quality traits and genotyped for 10,802 SNPs. GWAS were performed using single marker regression and Bayesian Power Lasso models. SNPs with large effects on Zeleny sedimentation were found on chromosome 1B, 1D, and 5D. However, GWAS failed to identify single SNPs with significant effects on the other traits, indicating that these traits were controlled by many QTL with small effects. The predictive abilities of the models for genomic prediction were studied using different cross-validation strategies. Leave-One-Out cross-validations resulted in correlations between observed phenotypes corrected for fixed effects and genomic estimated breeding values of 0.50 for grain protein content, 0.66 for thousand-kernel weight, 0.70 for falling number, 0.71 for test weight, and 0.79 for Zeleny sedimentation. Alternative cross-validations showed that the genetic relationship between lines in training and validation sets had a bigger impact on predictive abilities than the number of lines included in the training set. Using Bayesian Power Lasso instead of GBLUP models, gave similar or slightly higher predictive abilities. Genomic prediction based on all SNPs was more effective than prediction based on few associated SNPs.

  19. Exact Cross-Validation for kNN and applications to passive and active learning in classification

    OpenAIRE

    Célisse, Alain; Mary-Huard, Tristan

    2011-01-01

    In the binary classification framework, a closed form expression of the cross-validation Leave-p-Out (LpO) risk estimator for the k Nearest Neighbor algorithm (kNN) is derived. It is first used to study the LpO risk minimization strategy for choosing k in the passive learning setting. The impact of p on the choice of k and the LpO estimation of the risk are inferred. In the active learning setting, a procedure is proposed that selects new examples using a LpO committee of kNN classifiers. The...

  20. Serum protein profiling using an aptamer array predicts clinical outcomes of stage IIA colon cancer: A leave-one-out crossvalidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Jung Wook; Kim, Sung Chun; Sohn, Insuk; Jung, Sin-Ho; Kim, Hee Cheol

    2016-01-01

    Background In this study, we established and validated a model for predicting prognosis of stage IIA colon cancer patients based on expression profiles of aptamers in serum. Methods Bloods samples were collected from 227 consecutive patients with pathologic T3N0M0 (stage IIA) colon cancer. We incubated 1,149 serum molecule-binding aptamer pools of clinical significance with serum from patients to obtain aptamers bound to serum molecules, which were then amplified and marked. Oligonucleotide arrays were constructed with the base sequences of the 1,149 aptamers, and the marked products identified above were reacted with one another to produce profiles of the aptamers bound to serum molecules. These profiles were organized into low- and high-risk groups of colon cancer patients based on clinical information for the serum samples. Cox proportional hazards model and leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) were used to evaluate predictive performance. Results During a median follow-up period of 5 years, 29 of the 227 patients (11.9%) experienced recurrence. There were 212 patients (93.4%) in the low-risk group and 15 patients (6.6%) in the high-risk group in our aptamer prognosis model. Postoperative recurrence significantly correlated with age and aptamer risk stratification (p = 0.046 and p = 0.001, respectively). In multivariate analysis, aptamer risk stratification (p recurrence. Disease-free survival curves calculated according to aptamer risk level predicted through a LOOCV procedure and age showed significant differences (p < 0.001 from permutations). Conclusion Aptamer risk stratification can be a valuable prognostic factor in stage II colon cancer patients. PMID:26908450

  1. Nine Different Chemical Species and Action Mechanisms of Pancreatic Lipase Ligands Screened Out from Forsythia suspensa Leaves All at One Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tinggui; Li, Yayun; Zhang, Liwei

    2017-05-12

    It is difficult to screen out as many active components as possible from natural plants all at one time. In this study, subfractions of Forsythia suspensa leaves were firstly prepared; then, their inhibitive abilities on pancreatic lipase were tested; finally, the highest inhibiting subfraction was screened by self-made immobilized pancreatic lipase. Results showed that nine ligands, including eight inhibitors and one promotor, were screened out all at one time. They were three flavonoids (rutin, IC 50 : 149 ± 6.0 μmol/L; hesperidin, 52.4 μmol/L; kaempferol-3- O -rutinoside, isolated from F. suspensa leaves for the first time, IC 50 notably reached 2.9 ± 0.5 μmol/L), two polyphenols (chlorogenic acid, 3150 ± 120 μmol/L; caffeic acid, 1394 ± 52 μmol/L), two lignans (phillyrin, promoter; arctigenin, 2129 ± 10.5 μmol/L), and two phenethyl alcohol (forsythiaside A, 2155 ± 8.5 μmol/L; its isomer). Their action mechanisms included competitive inhibition, competitive promotion, noncompetitive inhibition, and uncompetitive inhibition. In sum, using the appropriate methods, more active ingredients can be simply and quickly screened out all at one time from a complex natural product system. In addition, F. suspensa leaves contain numerous inhibitors of pancreatic lipase.

  2. Sick Leave and Factors Influencing Sick Leave in Adult Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke; Appelman-Noordermeer, Simone; Bruijnzeel-Koomen, Carla; de Bruin-Weller, Marjolein

    2015-03-27

    Little is known about the prevalence of sick leave due to atopic dermatitis (AD). The current literature on factors influencing sick leave is mostly derived from other chronic inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sick leave due to AD and to identify influencing factors. A cross-sectional study was carried out in adult patients with AD. sick leave during the two-week and one-year periods, socio-demographic characteristics, disease severity, quality of life and socio-occupational factors. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine influencing factors on sick leave over the two-week period. In total, 253 patients were included; 12% of the patients had to take sick leave in the last two weeks due to AD and 42% in the past year. A higher level of symptom interference (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.13-1.40) or perfectionism/diligence (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.83-0.96) may respectively increase or decrease the number of sick leave days. Sick leave in patients with AD is a common problem and symptom interference and perfectionism/diligence appeared to influence it. Novel approaches are needed to deal with symptoms at work or school to reduce the amount of sick leave due to AD.

  3. Comparison of the Effects of Cross-validation Methods on Determining Performances of Classifiers Used in Diagnosing Congestive Heart Failure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isler Yalcin

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Congestive heart failure (CHF occurs when the heart is unable to provide sufficient pump action to maintain blood flow to meet the needs of the body. Early diagnosis is important since the mortality rate of the patients with CHF is very high. There are different validation methods to measure performances of classifier algorithms designed for this purpose. In this study, k-fold and leave-one-out cross-validation methods were tested for performance measures of five distinct classifiers in the diagnosis of the patients with CHF. Each algorithm was run 100 times and the average and the standard deviation of classifier performances were recorded. As a result, it was observed that average performance was enhanced and the variability of performances was decreased when the number of data sections used in the cross-validation method was increased.

  4. Sick Leave and Factors Influencing Sick Leave in Adult Patients with Atopic Dermatitis: A Cross-Sectional Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harmieke van Os-Medendorp

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Little is known about the prevalence of sick leave due to atopic dermatitis (AD. The current literature on factors influencing sick leave is mostly derived from other chronic inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sick leave due to AD and to identify influencing factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in adult patients with AD. Outcome measures: sick leave during the two-week and one-year periods, socio-demographic characteristics, disease severity, quality of life and socio-occupational factors. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine influencing factors on sick leave over the two-week period. Results: In total, 253 patients were included; 12% of the patients had to take sick leave in the last two weeks due to AD and 42% in the past year. A higher level of symptom interference (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.13–1.40 or perfectionism/diligence (OR 0.90; 95% CI 0.83–0.96 may respectively increase or decrease the number of sick leave days. Conclusion: Sick leave in patients with AD is a common problem and symptom interference and perfectionism/diligence appeared to influence it. Novel approaches are needed to deal with symptoms at work or school to reduce the amount of sick leave due to AD.

  5. IN-cross Entropy Based MAGDM Strategy under Interval Neutrosophic Set Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shyamal Dalapati

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Cross entropy measure is one of the best way to calculate the divergence of any variable from the priori one variable. We define a new cross entropy measure under interval neutrosophic set (INS environment, which we call IN-cross entropy measure and prove its basic properties. We also develop weighted IN-cross entropy measure and investigats its basic properties. Based on the weighted IN-cross entropy measure, we develop a novel strategy for multi attribute group decision making (MAGDM strategy under interval neutrosophic environment. The proposed multi attribute group decision making strategy is compared with the existing cross entropy measure based strategy in the literature under interval neutrosophic set environment. Finally, an illustrative example of multi attribute group decision making problem is solved to show the feasibility, validity and efficiency of the proposed MAGDM strategy.

  6. Cross-Validation of a Glucose-Insulin-Glucagon Pharmacodynamics Model for Simulation using Data from Patients with Type 1 Diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wendt, Sabrina Lyngbye; Ranjan, Ajenthen; Møller, Jan Kloppenborg

    2017-01-01

    three PD model test fits in each of the seven subjects. Thus, we successfully validated the PD model by leave-one-out cross-validation in seven out of eight T1D patients. Conclusions: The PD model accurately simulates glucose excursions based on plasma insulin and glucagon concentrations. The reported...... for concentrations of glucagon, insulin, and glucose. We fitted pharmacokinetic (PK) models to insulin and glucagon data using maximum likelihood and maximum a posteriori estimation methods. Similarly, we fitted a pharmacodynamic (PD) model to glucose data. The PD model included multiplicative effects of insulin...... and glucagon on EGP. Bias and precision of PD model test fits were assessed by mean predictive error (MPE) and mean absolute predictive error (MAPE). Results: Assuming constant variables in a subject across nonoutlier visits and using thresholds of ±15% MPE and 20% MAPE, we accepted at least one and at most...

  7. Leave-two-out stability of ontology learning algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Jianzhang; Yu, Xiao; Zhu, Linli; Gao, Wei

    2016-01-01

    Ontology is a semantic analysis and calculation model, which has been applied to many subjects. Ontology similarity calculation and ontology mapping are employed as machine learning approaches. The purpose of this paper is to study the leave-two-out stability of ontology learning algorithm. Several leave-two-out stabilities are defined in ontology learning setting and the relationship among these stabilities are presented. Furthermore, the results manifested reveal that leave-two-out stability is a sufficient and necessary condition for ontology learning algorithm.

  8. Validation of sick leave measures: self-reported sick leave and sickness benefit data from a Danish national register compared to multiple workplace-registered sick leave spells in a Danish municipality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapelfeldt, Christina Malmose; Jensen, Chris; Andersen, Niels Trolle; Fleten, Nils; Nielsen, Claus Vinther

    2012-08-15

    Previous validation studies of sick leave measures have focused on self-reports. Register-based sick leave data are considered to be valid; however methodological problems may be associated with such data. A Danish national register on sickness benefit (DREAM) has been widely used in sick leave research. On the basis of sick leave records from 3,554 and 2,311 eldercare workers in 14 different workplaces, the aim of this study was to: 1) validate registered sickness benefit data from DREAM against workplace-registered sick leave spells of at least 15 days; 2) validate self-reported sick leave days during one year against workplace-registered sick leave. Agreement between workplace-registered sick leave and DREAM-registered sickness benefit was reported as sensitivities, specificities and positive predictive values. A receiver-operating characteristic curve and a Bland-Altman plot were used to study the concordance with sick leave duration of the first spell. By means of an analysis of agreement between self-reported and workplace-registered sick leave sensitivity and specificity was calculated. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CI) were used. The probability that registered DREAM data on sickness benefit agrees with workplace-registered sick leave of at least 15 days was 96.7% (95% CI: 95.6-97.6). Specificity was close to 100% (95% CI: 98.3-100). The registered DREAM data on sickness benefit overestimated the duration of sick leave spells by an average of 1.4 (SD: 3.9) weeks. Separate analysis on pregnancy-related sick leave revealed a maximum sensitivity of 20% (95% CI: 4.3-48.1).The sensitivity of self-reporting at least one or at least 56 sick leave day/s was 94.5 (95% CI: 93.4 - 95.5) % and 58.5 (95% CI: 51.1 - 65.6) % respectively. The corresponding specificities were 85.3 (95% CI: 81.4 - 88.6) % and 98.9 (95% CI: 98.3 - 99.3) %. The DREAM register offered valid measures of sick leave spells of at least 15 days among eldercare employees. Pregnancy

  9. Validation of sick leave measures: self-reported sick leave and sickness benefit data from a Danish national register compared to multiple workplace-registered sick leave spells in a Danish municipality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stapelfeldt Christina Malmose

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous validation studies of sick leave measures have focused on self-reports. Register-based sick leave data are considered to be valid; however methodological problems may be associated with such data. A Danish national register on sickness benefit (DREAM has been widely used in sick leave research. On the basis of sick leave records from 3,554 and 2,311 eldercare workers in 14 different workplaces, the aim of this study was to: 1 validate registered sickness benefit data from DREAM against workplace-registered sick leave spells of at least 15 days; 2 validate self-reported sick leave days during one year against workplace-registered sick leave. Methods Agreement between workplace-registered sick leave and DREAM-registered sickness benefit was reported as sensitivities, specificities and positive predictive values. A receiver-operating characteristic curve and a Bland-Altman plot were used to study the concordance with sick leave duration of the first spell. By means of an analysis of agreement between self-reported and workplace-registered sick leave sensitivity and specificity was calculated. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals (95% CI were used. Results The probability that registered DREAM data on sickness benefit agrees with workplace-registered sick leave of at least 15 days was 96.7% (95% CI: 95.6-97.6. Specificity was close to 100% (95% CI: 98.3-100. The registered DREAM data on sickness benefit overestimated the duration of sick leave spells by an average of 1.4 (SD: 3.9 weeks. Separate analysis on pregnancy-related sick leave revealed a maximum sensitivity of 20% (95% CI: 4.3-48.1. The sensitivity of self-reporting at least one or at least 56 sick leave day/s was 94.5 (95% CI: 93.4 – 95.5 % and 58.5 (95% CI: 51.1 – 65.6 % respectively. The corresponding specificities were 85.3 (95% CI: 81.4 – 88.6 % and 98.9 (95% CI: 98.3 – 99.3 %. Conclusions The DREAM register offered valid measures of sick

  10. GPs' negotiation strategies regarding sick leave for subjective health complaints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsen, Stein; Malterud, Kirsti; Werner, Erik L; Maeland, Silje; Magnussen, Liv Heide

    2015-03-01

    To explore general practitioners' (GPs') specific negotiation strategies regarding sick-leave issues with patients suffering from subjective health complaints. Focus-group study. Nine focus-group interviews in three cities in different regions of Norway. 48 GPs (31 men, 17 women; age 32-65), participating in a course dealing with diagnostic practice and assessment of sickness certificates related to patients with subjective health complaints. The GPs identified some specific strategies that they claimed to apply when dealing with the question of sick leave for patients with subjective health complaints. The first step would be to build an alliance with the patient by complying with the wish for sick leave, and at the same time searching for information to acquire the patient's perspective. This position would become the basis for the main goal: motivating the patient for a rapid return to work by pointing out the positive effects of staying at work, making legal and moral arguments, and warning against long-term sick leave. Additional solutions might also be applied, such as involving other stakeholders in this process to provide alternatives to sick leave. GPs seem to have a conscious approach to negotiations of sickness certification, as they report applying specific strategies to limit the duration of sick leave due to subjective health complaints. This give-and-take way of handling sick-leave negotiations has been suggested by others to enhance return to work, and should be further encouraged. However, specific effectiveness of this strategy is yet to be proven, and further investigation into the actual dealings between doctor and patients in these complex encounters is needed.

  11. Watch out for the leaves!

    CERN Multimedia

    HSE Unit

    2013-01-01

    Now that autumn is here, dead leaves falling from the trees form a colourful carpet that is pleasing to the eye. However, the reality is less pleasant for pedestrians, since these leaves increase the risk of slipping and falling, especially when the ground is wet.   These conditions are also hazardous for two- and four-wheeled vehicles, whose grip on the ground can be severely reduced, thereby increasing the risk of them skidding out of control. Cyclists are among the most vulnerable road users when faced with these hazards. It is therefore essential to be alert to the dangers, which can be lessened by taking a few simple precautions such as moderating your speed and wearing suitable shoes. We also invite you to notify the Service Desk if you notice a road or pavement where there is a high concentration of dead leaves. The CERN Roads and Drainage Service will then ensure that the leaves are cleared in order to reduce the risk of accidents in the area.

  12. Mean-Variance-Validation Technique for Sequential Kriging Metamodels

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Tae Hee; Kim, Ho Sung

    2010-01-01

    The rigorous validation of the accuracy of metamodels is an important topic in research on metamodel techniques. Although a leave-k-out cross-validation technique involves a considerably high computational cost, it cannot be used to measure the fidelity of metamodels. Recently, the mean 0 validation technique has been proposed to quantitatively determine the accuracy of metamodels. However, the use of mean 0 validation criterion may lead to premature termination of a sampling process even if the kriging model is inaccurate. In this study, we propose a new validation technique based on the mean and variance of the response evaluated when sequential sampling method, such as maximum entropy sampling, is used. The proposed validation technique is more efficient and accurate than the leave-k-out cross-validation technique, because instead of performing numerical integration, the kriging model is explicitly integrated to accurately evaluate the mean and variance of the response evaluated. The error in the proposed validation technique resembles a root mean squared error, thus it can be used to determine a stop criterion for sequential sampling of metamodels

  13. Prediction of cognitive and motor development in preterm children using exhaustive feature selection and cross-validation of near-term white matter microstructure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schadl, Kornél; Vassar, Rachel; Cahill-Rowley, Katelyn; Yeom, Kristin W; Stevenson, David K; Rose, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    Advanced neuroimaging and computational methods offer opportunities for more accurate prognosis. We hypothesized that near-term regional white matter (WM) microstructure, assessed on diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), using exhaustive feature selection with cross-validation would predict neurodevelopment in preterm children. Near-term MRI and DTI obtained at 36.6 ± 1.8 weeks postmenstrual age in 66 very-low-birth-weight preterm neonates were assessed. 60/66 had follow-up neurodevelopmental evaluation with Bayley Scales of Infant-Toddler Development, 3rd-edition (BSID-III) at 18-22 months. Linear models with exhaustive feature selection and leave-one-out cross-validation computed based on DTI identified sets of three brain regions most predictive of cognitive and motor function; logistic regression models were computed to classify high-risk infants scoring one standard deviation below mean. Cognitive impairment was predicted (100% sensitivity, 100% specificity; AUC = 1) by near-term right middle-temporal gyrus MD, right cingulate-cingulum MD, left caudate MD. Motor impairment was predicted (90% sensitivity, 86% specificity; AUC = 0.912) by left precuneus FA, right superior occipital gyrus MD, right hippocampus FA. Cognitive score variance was explained (29.6%, cross-validated Rˆ2 = 0.296) by left posterior-limb-of-internal-capsule MD, Genu RD, right fusiform gyrus AD. Motor score variance was explained (31.7%, cross-validated Rˆ2 = 0.317) by left posterior-limb-of-internal-capsule MD, right parahippocampal gyrus AD, right middle-temporal gyrus AD. Search in large DTI feature space more accurately identified neonatal neuroimaging correlates of neurodevelopment.

  14. Modeling Anti-HIV Activity of HEPT Derivatives Revisited. Multiregression Models Are Not Inferior Ones

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basic, Ivan; Nadramija, Damir; Flajslik, Mario; Amic, Dragan; Lucic, Bono

    2007-01-01

    Several quantitative structure-activity studies for this data set containing 107 HEPT derivatives have been performed since 1997, using the same set of molecules by (more or less) different classes of molecular descriptors. Multivariate Regression (MR) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) models were developed and in each study the authors concluded that ANN models are superior to MR ones. We re-calculated multivariate regression models for this set of molecules using the same set of descriptors, and compared our results with the previous ones. Two main reasons for overestimation of the quality of the ANN models in previous studies comparing with MR models are: (1) wrong calculation of leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validated (CV) correlation coefficient for MR models in Luco et al., J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. 37 392-401 (1997), and (2) incorrect estimation/interpretation of leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validated and predictive performance and power of ANN models. More precise and fairer comparison of fit and LOO CV statistical parameters shows that MR models are more stable. In addition, MR models are much simpler than ANN ones. For real testing the predictive performance of both classes of models we need more HEPT derivatives, because all ANN models that presented results for external set of molecules used experimental values in optimization of modeling procedure and model parameters

  15. GPs' negotiation strategies regarding sick leave for subjective health complaints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nilsen, Stein Tore; Malterud, Kirsti; Werner, Erik L.

    2015-01-01

    Objectives: To explore general practitioners ’(GPs’) specific negotiation strategies regarding sick-leave issues with patientssuffering from subjective health complaints. Design: Focus-group study. Setting: Nine focus-group interviews in three citiesin different regions of Norway. Participants: 48...... GPs (31 men, 17 women; age 32–65), participating in a course dealing with diagnostic practice and assessment of sickness certifi cates related to patients with subjective health complaints. Results: TheGPs identified some specific strategies that they claimed to apply when dealing with the question...... to sick leave. Conclusions and implications: GPs seem to have a conscious approach to negotiations of sickness certification, as they report applying specific strategies to limit the duration of sick leave due to subjective health complaints. This give-and-take way of handling sick leave negotiations has...

  16. From job stress to intention to leave among hospital nurses: A structural equation modelling approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Wen-Yen; Chien, Li-Yin; Hwang, Fang-Ming; Huang, Nicole; Chiou, Shu-Ti

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the structural relationships linking job stress to leaving intentions through job satisfaction, depressed mood and stress adaptation among hospital nurses. High turnover among nurses is a global concern. Structural relationships linking job stress to leaving intentions have not been thoroughly examined. Two nationwide cross-sectional surveys of full-time hospital staff in 2011 and 2014. The study participants were 26,945 and 19,386 full-time clinical nurses in 2011 and 2014 respectively. Structural equation modelling was used to examine the interrelationships among the study variables based on the hypothesized model. We used cross-validation procedures to ensure the stability and validity of the model in the two samples. There were five main paths from job stress to intention to leave the hospital. In addition to the direct path, job stress directly affected job satisfaction and depressed mood, which in turn affected intention to leave the hospital. Stress adaptation mitigated the effects of job stress on job satisfaction and depressed mood, which led to intention to leave the hospital. Intention to leave the hospital preceded intention to leave the profession. Those variables explained about 55% of the variance in intention to leave the profession in both years. The model fit was good for both samples, suggesting validity of the model. Strategies to decrease turnover intentions among nurses could focus on creating a less stressful work environment, increasing job satisfaction and stress adaptation and decreasing depressed mood. Hospitals should cooperate in this issue to decrease nurse turnover. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Biased binomial assessment of cross-validated estimation of classification accuracies illustrated in diagnosis predictions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noirhomme, Quentin; Lesenfants, Damien; Gomez, Francisco; Soddu, Andrea; Schrouff, Jessica; Garraux, Gaëtan; Luxen, André; Phillips, Christophe; Laureys, Steven

    2014-01-01

    Multivariate classification is used in neuroimaging studies to infer brain activation or in medical applications to infer diagnosis. Their results are often assessed through either a binomial or a permutation test. Here, we simulated classification results of generated random data to assess the influence of the cross-validation scheme on the significance of results. Distributions built from classification of random data with cross-validation did not follow the binomial distribution. The binomial test is therefore not adapted. On the contrary, the permutation test was unaffected by the cross-validation scheme. The influence of the cross-validation was further illustrated on real-data from a brain-computer interface experiment in patients with disorders of consciousness and from an fMRI study on patients with Parkinson disease. Three out of 16 patients with disorders of consciousness had significant accuracy on binomial testing, but only one showed significant accuracy using permutation testing. In the fMRI experiment, the mental imagery of gait could discriminate significantly between idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients and healthy subjects according to the permutation test but not according to the binomial test. Hence, binomial testing could lead to biased estimation of significance and false positive or negative results. In our view, permutation testing is thus recommended for clinical application of classification with cross-validation.

  18. Validation of evaluated neutron standard cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badikov, S.; Golashvili, T.

    2008-01-01

    Some steps of the validation and verification of the new version of the evaluated neutron standard cross sections were carried out. In particular: -) the evaluated covariance data was checked for physical consistency, -) energy-dependent evaluated cross-sections were tested in most important neutron benchmark field - 252 Cf spontaneous fission neutron field, -) a procedure of folding differential standard neutron data in group representation for preparation of specialized libraries of the neutron standards was verified. The results of the validation and verification of the neutron standards can be summarized as follows: a) the covariance data of the evaluated neutron standards is physically consistent since all the covariance matrices of the evaluated cross sections are positive definite, b) the 252 Cf spectrum averaged standard cross-sections are in agreement with the evaluated integral data (except for 197 Au(n,γ) reaction), c) a procedure of folding differential standard neutron data in group representation was tested, as a result a specialized library of neutron standards in the ABBN 28-group structure was prepared for use in reactor applications. (authors)

  19. Biased binomial assessment of cross-validated estimation of classification accuracies illustrated in diagnosis predictions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quentin Noirhomme

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Multivariate classification is used in neuroimaging studies to infer brain activation or in medical applications to infer diagnosis. Their results are often assessed through either a binomial or a permutation test. Here, we simulated classification results of generated random data to assess the influence of the cross-validation scheme on the significance of results. Distributions built from classification of random data with cross-validation did not follow the binomial distribution. The binomial test is therefore not adapted. On the contrary, the permutation test was unaffected by the cross-validation scheme. The influence of the cross-validation was further illustrated on real-data from a brain–computer interface experiment in patients with disorders of consciousness and from an fMRI study on patients with Parkinson disease. Three out of 16 patients with disorders of consciousness had significant accuracy on binomial testing, but only one showed significant accuracy using permutation testing. In the fMRI experiment, the mental imagery of gait could discriminate significantly between idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients and healthy subjects according to the permutation test but not according to the binomial test. Hence, binomial testing could lead to biased estimation of significance and false positive or negative results. In our view, permutation testing is thus recommended for clinical application of classification with cross-validation.

  20. PREDICTING THE BOILING POINT OF PCDD/Fs BY THE QSPR METHOD BASED ON THE MOLECULAR DISTANCE-EDGE VECTOR INDEX

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Long Jiao

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR for the boiling point (Tb of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs was investigated. The molecular distance-edge vector (MDEV index was used as the structural descriptor. The quantitative relationship between the MDEV index and Tb was modeled by using multivariate linear regression (MLR and artificial neural network (ANN, respectively. Leave-one-out cross validation and external validation were carried out to assess the prediction performance of the models developed. For the MLR method, the prediction root mean square relative error (RMSRE of leave-one-out cross validation and external validation was 1.77 and 1.23, respectively. For the ANN method, the prediction RMSRE of leave-one-out cross validation and external validation was 1.65 and 1.16, respectively. A quantitative relationship between the MDEV index and Tb of PCDD/Fs was demonstrated. Both MLR and ANN are practicable for modeling this relationship. The MLR model and ANN model developed can be used to predict the Tb of PCDD/Fs. Thus, the Tb of each PCDD/F was predicted by the developed models.

  1. Cross validation for the classical model of structured expert judgment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colson, Abigail R.; Cooke, Roger M.

    2017-01-01

    We update the 2008 TU Delft structured expert judgment database with data from 33 professionally contracted Classical Model studies conducted between 2006 and March 2015 to evaluate its performance relative to other expert aggregation models. We briefly review alternative mathematical aggregation schemes, including harmonic weighting, before focusing on linear pooling of expert judgments with equal weights and performance-based weights. Performance weighting outperforms equal weighting in all but 1 of the 33 studies in-sample. True out-of-sample validation is rarely possible for Classical Model studies, and cross validation techniques that split calibration questions into a training and test set are used instead. Performance weighting incurs an “out-of-sample penalty” and its statistical accuracy out-of-sample is lower than that of equal weighting. However, as a function of training set size, the statistical accuracy of performance-based combinations reaches 75% of the equal weight value when the training set includes 80% of calibration variables. At this point the training set is sufficiently powerful to resolve differences in individual expert performance. The information of performance-based combinations is double that of equal weighting when the training set is at least 50% of the set of calibration variables. Previous out-of-sample validation work used a Total Out-of-Sample Validity Index based on all splits of the calibration questions into training and test subsets, which is expensive to compute and includes small training sets of dubious value. As an alternative, we propose an Out-of-Sample Validity Index based on averaging the product of statistical accuracy and information over all training sets sized at 80% of the calibration set. Performance weighting outperforms equal weighting on this Out-of-Sample Validity Index in 26 of the 33 post-2006 studies; the probability of 26 or more successes on 33 trials if there were no difference between performance

  2. [Cross-cultural validation of the Oswestry disability index in French].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogler, D; Paillex, R; Norberg, M; de Goumoëns, P; Cabri, J

    2008-06-01

    The aim of this study was to interpret and validate a French version of the Oswestry disability index (ODI), using a cross-cultural validation method. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire was assessed in order to ensure the psychometric characteristics. The cross-cultural validation was carried out according to Beaton's methodology. The study was conducted with 41 patients suffering from low back pain. The correlation between the ODI and the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire (RMDQ), the medical outcome survey short form-36 (MOS SF-36) and a pain visual analogical scale (VAS) was assessed. The validity of the Oswestry questionnaire was studied using the Cronbach Alpha coefficient calculation: 0.87 (n=36). The significant correlation between the ODI and RMDQ was 0.8 (P<0.001, n=41) and 0.71 (P<0.001, n=36) for the pain VAS. The correlation between the ODI and certain subscales (physical functioning 0.7 (P<0.001, n=41), physical role 0.49 et bodily pain 0.73 (P<0.001, n=41)) of the MOS SF-36 were equally significant. The reproducibility of the ODI was calculated using the Wilcoxon matched pairs test: there was no significant difference for eight out of ten sections or for the final score. This French translation of the ODI should be considered as valid and reliable. It should be used for any future clinical studies carried out using French language patients. Complimentary studies must be completed in order to assess its sensitivity to change in the event of any modifications in the patients functional capacity.

  3. Cross-Cultural Detection of Depression from Nonverbal Behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alghowinem, Sharifa; Goecke, Roland; Cohn, Jeffrey F; Wagner, Michael; Parker, Gordon; Breakspear, Michael

    2015-05-01

    Millions of people worldwide suffer from depression. Do commonalities exist in their nonverbal behavior that would enable cross-culturally viable screening and assessment of severity? We investigated the generalisability of an approach to detect depression severity cross-culturally using video-recorded clinical interviews from Australia, the USA and Germany. The material varied in type of interview, subtypes of depression and inclusion healthy control subjects, cultural background, and recording environment. The analysis focussed on temporal features of participants' eye gaze and head pose. Several approaches to training and testing within and between datasets were evaluated. The strongest results were found for training across all datasets and testing across datasets using leave-one-subject-out cross-validation. In contrast, generalisability was attenuated when training on only one or two of the three datasets and testing on subjects from the dataset(s) not used in training. These findings highlight the importance of using training data exhibiting the expected range of variability.

  4. DMFC performance and methanol cross-over: Experimental analysis and model validation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Casalegno, A.; Marchesi, R. [Dipartimento di Energia, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milano (Italy)

    2008-10-15

    A combined experimental and modelling approach is proposed to analyze methanol cross-over and its effect on DMFC performance. The experimental analysis is performed in order to allow an accurate investigation of methanol cross-over influence on DMFC performance, hence measurements were characterized in terms of uncertainty and reproducibility. The findings suggest that methanol cross-over is mainly determined by diffusion transport and affects cell performance partly via methanol electro-oxidation at the cathode. The modelling analysis is carried out to further investigate methanol cross-over phenomenon. A simple model evaluates the effectiveness of two proposed interpretations regarding methanol cross-over and its effects. The model is validated using the experimental data gathered. Both the experimental analysis and the proposed and validated model allow a substantial step forward in the understanding of the main phenomena associated with methanol cross-over. The findings confirm the possibility to reduce methanol cross-over by optimizing anode feeding. (author)

  5. Validation of King's transaction process for healthcare provider-patient communication in pharmaceutical context: One cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dan; Liu, Chenxi; Zhang, Zinan; Ye, Liping; Zhang, Xinping

    2018-03-27

    With the impressive advantages of patient-pharmacist communication being advocated and poor pharmacist-patient communication in different settings, it is of great significance and urgency to explore the mechanism of the pharmacist-patient communicative relationship. The King's theory of goal attainment is proposed as one of the most promising models to be applied, because it takes into consideration both improving the patient-pharmacist relationship and attaining patients' health outcomes. This study aimed to validate the King's transaction process and build the linkage between the transaction process and patient satisfaction in a pharmaceutical context. A cross-sectional study was conducted in four tertiary hospitals in two provincial cities (Wuhan and Shanghai) in central and east China in July 2017. Patients over 18 were investigated in the pharmacies of the hospitals. The instrument for the transaction process was revised and tested. Path analysis was conducted for the King's transaction process and its relationship with patient satisfaction. Five hundred eighty-nine participants were investigated for main study. Prior to the addition of covariates, the hypothesised model of the King's transaction process was validated, in which all paths of the transaction process were statistically significant (p process had direct effects on patient satisfaction (p process was established as one valid theoretical framework of healthcare provider-patient communication in a pharmaceutical context. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Diversity shrinkage: Cross-validating pareto-optimal weights to enhance diversity via hiring practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Q Chelsea; Wee, Serena; Newman, Daniel A

    2017-12-01

    To reduce adverse impact potential and improve diversity outcomes from personnel selection, one promising technique is De Corte, Lievens, and Sackett's (2007) Pareto-optimal weighting strategy. De Corte et al.'s strategy has been demonstrated on (a) a composite of cognitive and noncognitive (e.g., personality) tests (De Corte, Lievens, & Sackett, 2008) and (b) a composite of specific cognitive ability subtests (Wee, Newman, & Joseph, 2014). Both studies illustrated how Pareto-weighting (in contrast to unit weighting) could lead to substantial improvement in diversity outcomes (i.e., diversity improvement), sometimes more than doubling the number of job offers for minority applicants. The current work addresses a key limitation of the technique-the possibility of shrinkage, especially diversity shrinkage, in the Pareto-optimal solutions. Using Monte Carlo simulations, sample size and predictor combinations were varied and cross-validated Pareto-optimal solutions were obtained. Although diversity shrinkage was sizable for a composite of cognitive and noncognitive predictors when sample size was at or below 500, diversity shrinkage was typically negligible for a composite of specific cognitive subtest predictors when sample size was at least 100. Diversity shrinkage was larger when the Pareto-optimal solution suggested substantial diversity improvement. When sample size was at least 100, cross-validated Pareto-optimal weights typically outperformed unit weights-suggesting that diversity improvement is often possible, despite diversity shrinkage. Implications for Pareto-optimal weighting, adverse impact, sample size of validation studies, and optimizing the diversity-job performance tradeoff are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  7. Development and External Validation of Prognostic Model for 2-Year Survival of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients Treated With Chemoradiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dehing-Oberije, Cary; Yu Shipeng; De Ruysscher, Dirk; Meersschout, Sabine; Van Beek, Karen; Lievens, Yolande; Van Meerbeeck, Jan; De Neve, Wilfried; Rao, Bharat Ph.D.; Weide, Hiska van der; Lambin, Philippe

    2009-01-01

    Purpose: Radiotherapy, combined with chemotherapy, is the treatment of choice for a large group of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Recent developments in the treatment of these patients have led to improved survival. However, the clinical TNM stage is highly inaccurate for the prediction of survival, and alternatives are lacking. The objective of this study was to develop and validate a prediction model for survival of NSCLC patients, treated with chemoradiotherapy. Patients and Methods: The clinical data from 377 consecutive inoperable NSCLC patients, Stage I-IIIB, treated radically with chemoradiotherapy were collected. A prognostic model for 2-year survival was developed, using 2-norm support vector machines. The performance of the model was expressed as the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic and assessed using leave-one-out cross-validation, as well as two external data sets. Results: The final multivariate model consisted of gender, World Health Organization performance status, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, number of positive lymph node stations, and gross tumor volume. The area under the curve, assessed by leave-one-out cross-validation, was 0.74, and application of the model to the external data sets yielded an area under the curve of 0.75 and 0.76. A high- and low-risk group could be clearly identified using a risk score based on the model. Conclusion: The multivariate model performed very well and was able to accurately predict the 2-year survival of NSCLC patients treated with chemoradiotherapy. The model could support clinicians in the treatment decision-making process.

  8. Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22: Translation, Cross-cultural Adaptation, and Validation in Hebrew-Speaking Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shapira Galitz, Yael; Halperin, Doron; Bavnik, Yosef; Warman, Meir

    2016-05-01

    To perform the translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) questionnaire to the Hebrew language. A single-center prospective cross-sectional study. Seventy-three chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients and 73 patients without sinonasal disease filled the Hebrew version of the SNOT-22 questionnaire. Fifty-one CRS patients underwent endoscopic sinus surgery, out of which 28 filled a postoperative questionnaire. Seventy-three healthy volunteers without sinonasal disease also answered the questionnaire. Internal consistency, test-retest reproducibility, validity, and responsiveness of the questionnaire were evaluated. Questionnaire reliability was excellent, with a high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient, 0.91-0.936) and test-retest reproducibility (Spearman's coefficient, 0.962). Mean scores for the preoperative, postoperative, and control groups were 50.44, 29.64, and 13.15, respectively (P < .0001 for CRS vs controls, P < .001 for preoperative vs postoperative), showing validity and responsiveness of the questionnaire. The Hebrew version of SNOT-22 questionnaire is a valid outcome measure for patients with CRS with or without nasal polyps. © American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery Foundation 2016.

  9. Preclinical validation of antinociceptive, antiinflammatory, and antipyretic activities of Cordia martinicensis leave decoction

    OpenAIRE

    Martínez Hormaza, Ioanna; Victoria Amador, María del Carmen; Brito Álvarez, Gisselle; Morón Rodríguez, Francisco; López Barreiro, Marisol; García Hernández, Ana Ibis; Duménigo González, Abel; Morejón Rodríguez, Zulema; Bacallao Elguea, Yunier; Nossin, Emmanuel

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: leave decoction of Cordia martinicensis (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult. is commonly used in Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia to relieve thoracic pain and fever. Objectives: to validate the antiinflammatory, antinociceptive (analgesic), and antipyretic ethnobotanical uses of Cordia martinicensis in experimental animal models. Methods: 30 % aqueous extract of Cordia martinicensis dry leaves was prepared just before use. Analgesic activity was assayed by writhing and tail flick, and anti...

  10. Cross-validation and Peeling Strategies for Survival Bump Hunting using Recursive Peeling Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dazard, Jean-Eudes; Choe, Michael; LeBlanc, Michael; Rao, J. Sunil

    2015-01-01

    We introduce a framework to build a survival/risk bump hunting model with a censored time-to-event response. Our Survival Bump Hunting (SBH) method is based on a recursive peeling procedure that uses a specific survival peeling criterion derived from non/semi-parametric statistics such as the hazards-ratio, the log-rank test or the Nelson--Aalen estimator. To optimize the tuning parameter of the model and validate it, we introduce an objective function based on survival or prediction-error statistics, such as the log-rank test and the concordance error rate. We also describe two alternative cross-validation techniques adapted to the joint task of decision-rule making by recursive peeling and survival estimation. Numerical analyses show the importance of replicated cross-validation and the differences between criteria and techniques in both low and high-dimensional settings. Although several non-parametric survival models exist, none addresses the problem of directly identifying local extrema. We show how SBH efficiently estimates extreme survival/risk subgroups unlike other models. This provides an insight into the behavior of commonly used models and suggests alternatives to be adopted in practice. Finally, our SBH framework was applied to a clinical dataset. In it, we identified subsets of patients characterized by clinical and demographic covariates with a distinct extreme survival outcome, for which tailored medical interventions could be made. An R package PRIMsrc (Patient Rule Induction Method in Survival, Regression and Classification settings) is available on CRAN (Comprehensive R Archive Network) and GitHub. PMID:27034730

  11. A theory of cross-validation error

    OpenAIRE

    Turney, Peter D.

    1994-01-01

    This paper presents a theory of error in cross-validation testing of algorithms for predicting real-valued attributes. The theory justifies the claim that predicting real-valued attributes requires balancing the conflicting demands of simplicity and accuracy. Furthermore, the theory indicates precisely how these conflicting demands must be balanced, in order to minimize cross-validation error. A general theory is presented, then it is developed in detail for linear regression and instance-bas...

  12. Assessing Self-Regulated Strategies for School Writing: Cross-Cultural Validation of a Triadic Measure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malpique, Anabela Abreu; Veiga Simão, Ana Margarida

    2015-01-01

    This study reports on the construction of a questionnaire to assess ninth-grade students' use of self-regulated strategies for school writing tasks. Exploratory and confirmatory factorial analyses were conducted to validate the factor structure of the instrument. The initial factor analytic stage (n = 296) revealed a 13-factor scale, accounting…

  13. SU-E-T-231: Cross-Validation of 3D Gamma Comparison Tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alexander, KM; Jechel, C; Pinter, C; Lasso, A; Fichtinger, G; Salomons, G; Schreiner, LJ

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Moving the computational analysis for 3D gel dosimetry into the 3D Slicer (www.slicer.org) environment has made gel dosimetry more clinically accessible. To ensure accuracy, we cross-validate the 3D gamma comparison module in 3D Slicer with an independently developed algorithm using simulated and measured dose distributions. Methods: Two reference dose distributions were generated using the Varian Eclipse treatment planning system. The first distribution consisted of a four-field box irradiation delivered to a plastic water phantom and the second, a VMAT plan delivered to a gel dosimeter phantom. The first reference distribution was modified within Eclipse to create an evaluated dose distribution by spatially shifting one field by 3mm, increasing the monitor units of the second field, applying a dynamic wedge for the third field, and leaving the fourth field unchanged. The VMAT plan was delivered to a gel dosimeter and the evaluated dose in the gel was calculated from optical CT measurements. Results from the gamma comparison tool built into the SlicerRT toolbox were compared to results from our in-house gamma algorithm implemented in Matlab (via MatlabBridge in 3D Slicer). The effects of noise, resolution and the exchange of reference and evaluated designations on the gamma comparison were also examined. Results: Perfect agreement was found between the gamma results obtained using the SlicerRT tool and our Matlab implementation for both the four-field box and gel datasets. The behaviour of the SlicerRT comparison with respect to changes in noise, resolution and the role of the reference and evaluated dose distributions was consistent with previous findings. Conclusion: Two independently developed gamma comparison tools have been cross-validated and found to be identical. As we transition our gel dosimetry analysis from Matlab to 3D Slicer, this validation serves as an important test towards ensuring the consistency of dose comparisons using the 3D Slicer

  14. An Experimental Validated Control Strategy of Maglev Vehicle-Bridge Self-Excited Vibration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lianchun Wang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study discusses an experimentally validated control strategy of maglev vehicle-bridge vibration, which degrades the stability of the suspension control, deteriorates the ride comfort, and limits the cost of the magnetic levitation system. First, a comparison between the current-loop and magnetic flux feedback is carried out and a minimum model including flexible bridge and electromagnetic levitation system is proposed. Then, advantages and disadvantages of the traditional feedback architecture with the displacement feedback of electromagnet yE and bridge yB in pairs are explored. The results indicate that removing the feedback of the bridge’s displacement yB from the pairs (yE − yB measured by the eddy-current sensor is beneficial for the passivity of the levitation system and the control of the self-excited vibration. In this situation, the signal acquisition of the electromagnet’s displacement yE is discussed for the engineering application. Finally, to validate the effectiveness of the aforementioned control strategy, numerical validations are carried out and the experimental data are provided and analyzed.

  15. Criterion validity and reliability of a smartphone delivered sub-maximal fitness test for people with type 2 diabetes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brinklov, Cecilie Fau; Thorsen, Ida Kær; Karstoft, Kristian

    2016-01-01

    Background: Prevention of multi-morbidities following non-communicable diseases requires a systematic registration of adverse modifiable risk factors, including low physical fitness. The aim of the study was to establish criterion validity and reliability of a smartphone app (InterWalk) delivered....... The algorithm was validated using leave-one-out cross validation. Test-retest reliability was tested in a subset of participants (N = 10). Results: The overall VO2peak prediction of the algorithm (R2) was 0.60 and 0.45 when the smartphone was placed in the pockets of the pants and jacket, respectively (p ... calorimetry and the acceleration (vector magnitude) from the smartphone was obtained. The vector magnitude was used to predict VO2peak along with the co-variates weight, height and sex. The validity of the algorithm was tested when the smartphone was placed in the right pocket of the pants or jacket...

  16. Diurnal changes of net photosynthetic rate (NPR) in leaves of Lonicera japonica Thunb. and the responding mathematical model of NPR to photosynthetic valid radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Dafu; Zhang Shengli; Li Dongfang

    2009-01-01

    [Objective] The study provided theoretical basis for production practice . [Method] With Lonicera japonica Thunb .as material, diurnal changes of net photosynthetic rate (NPR) in leaves of the plant and the responding mathematical model of NPR to photosynthetic valid radiation were studied using portable photosynthetic determinator system. [Result] Like most of C3 plants, the diurnal changes curve of NPR of Lonicera japonica Thunb .showed double peaks, but there were time difference in reaching the peak value between the study and previous ones . The responding mathematical model of NPR to photosynthetic valid radiation could be described by three mathematic functions, such as logarithm, linearity and binomial, but binomial function was more precise than the others. Light saturation point of Lonicera japonica Thunb. was figured out by binomial equation deduced in the study , and light saturation point was 1 086 .3 μmol/ (m2•s) . [Conclusion] The diurnal changes curve of NPR of Lonicera japonica Thunb .showed double peaks, and the responding mathematical model of NPR to photosynthetic valid radiation could be described by binomial functions

  17. Experimental validation of lead cross sections for scale and MCNP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henrikson, D.J.

    1995-01-01

    Moving spent nuclear fuel between facilities often requires the use of lead-shielded casks. Criticality safety that is based upon calculations requires experimental validation of the fuel matrix and lead cross section libraries. A series of critical experiments using a high-enriched uranium-aluminum fuel element with a variety of reflectors, including lead, has been identified. Twenty-one configurations were evaluated in this study. The fuel element was modelled for KENO V.a and MCNP 4a using various cross section sets. The experiments addressed in this report can be used to validate lead-reflected calculations. Factors influencing calculated k eff which require further study include diameters of styrofoam inserts and homogenization

  18. A cross-validation package driving Netica with python

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fienen, Michael N.; Plant, Nathaniel G.

    2014-01-01

    Bayesian networks (BNs) are powerful tools for probabilistically simulating natural systems and emulating process models. Cross validation is a technique to avoid overfitting resulting from overly complex BNs. Overfitting reduces predictive skill. Cross-validation for BNs is known but rarely implemented due partly to a lack of software tools designed to work with available BN packages. CVNetica is open-source, written in Python, and extends the Netica software package to perform cross-validation and read, rebuild, and learn BNs from data. Insights gained from cross-validation and implications on prediction versus description are illustrated with: a data-driven oceanographic application; and a model-emulation application. These examples show that overfitting occurs when BNs become more complex than allowed by supporting data and overfitting incurs computational costs as well as causing a reduction in prediction skill. CVNetica evaluates overfitting using several complexity metrics (we used level of discretization) and its impact on performance metrics (we used skill).

  19. Cross-validation pitfalls when selecting and assessing regression and classification models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krstajic, Damjan; Buturovic, Ljubomir J; Leahy, David E; Thomas, Simon

    2014-03-29

    We address the problem of selecting and assessing classification and regression models using cross-validation. Current state-of-the-art methods can yield models with high variance, rendering them unsuitable for a number of practical applications including QSAR. In this paper we describe and evaluate best practices which improve reliability and increase confidence in selected models. A key operational component of the proposed methods is cloud computing which enables routine use of previously infeasible approaches. We describe in detail an algorithm for repeated grid-search V-fold cross-validation for parameter tuning in classification and regression, and we define a repeated nested cross-validation algorithm for model assessment. As regards variable selection and parameter tuning we define two algorithms (repeated grid-search cross-validation and double cross-validation), and provide arguments for using the repeated grid-search in the general case. We show results of our algorithms on seven QSAR datasets. The variation of the prediction performance, which is the result of choosing different splits of the dataset in V-fold cross-validation, needs to be taken into account when selecting and assessing classification and regression models. We demonstrate the importance of repeating cross-validation when selecting an optimal model, as well as the importance of repeating nested cross-validation when assessing a prediction error.

  20. Antecedents of hospital nurses' intention to leave the organization: A cross sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bobbio, Andrea; Manganelli, Anna Maria

    2015-07-01

    Leadership and perceived organizational support inspire trust in the leader and in the organization. Consequently, these aspects may contribute to a reduction in job burnout among nurses and, in the end, of the intention on their part to leave the hospital. It is crucial to develop models in order to simultaneously test the correlations between these relevant psychosocial variables, so that complexity of the nursing work environment may be better understood. We expected to give support to and to further corroborate results in the literature linking perceived leadership style – and particularly servant leadership – perceived organizational support, trust in the leader and in the organization, job burnout among nurses and their subsequent intention to leave the hospital. Cross-sectional study. Two Italian large size public hospitals. Two samples including both graduates and non-graduates members of the nursing staff. Overall mean age was equal to 42.06 years while the general mean for tenure was 12.99 years. Data were collected in 2012. A regression model with latent variables was tested via structural equation modeling using LISREL. The multi-sample procedure was also applied in order to test invariance of results between the two samples. Servant leadership was positively associated with trust in the leader and perceived organizational support was positively associated with trust in the organization. Trust in the leader and trust in the organization displayed a negative correlation with the emotional exhaustion and cynicism factors of job burnout, and a positive correlation with the professional efficacy factor. Furthermore, trust scores mediated the effects of servant leadership and perceived organizational support on job burnout factors. The cynicism factor was negatively associated with intention to leave the organization and it also mediated the effects of both trust in the leader and servant leadership on intention to leave. On the other hand, trust in the

  1. Validation of cross sections for Monte Carlo simulation of the photoelectric effect

    CERN Document Server

    Han, Min Cheol; Pia, Maria Grazia; Basaglia, Tullio; Batic, Matej; Hoff, Gabriela; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Saracco, Paolo

    2016-01-01

    Several total and partial photoionization cross section calculations, based on both theoretical and empirical approaches, are quantitatively evaluated with statistical analyses using a large collection of experimental data retrieved from the literature to identify the state of the art for modeling the photoelectric effect in Monte Carlo particle transport. Some of the examined cross section models are available in general purpose Monte Carlo systems, while others have been implemented and subjected to validation tests for the first time to estimate whether they could improve the accuracy of particle transport codes. The validation process identifies Scofield's 1973 non-relativistic calculations, tabulated in the Evaluated Photon Data Library(EPDL), as the one best reproducing experimental measurements of total cross sections. Specialized total cross section models, some of which derive from more recent calculations, do not provide significant improvements. Scofield's non-relativistic calculations are not surp...

  2. Service Approaches to Young People with Complex Needs Leaving Out-of-Home Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malvaso, Catia; Delfabbro, Paul; Hackett, Louisa; Mills, Hayley

    2016-01-01

    Although leaving statutory out-of-home care can be a challenging time for many young people, it is recognised that young people who have multiple or complex needs find this transition particularly difficult. This study aims to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by care leavers who have complex needs, as well as to identify some of…

  3. Seizure Onset Detection based on one sEMG channel

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conradsen, Isa; Beniczky, Sandor; Hoppe, Karsten

    2011-01-01

    with a Butterworth filter with a cut-off frequency of 150 Hz. The number of zero-crossings with a hysteresis of ±50μV is the only feature extracted. The number of counts in a window of 1 second and the number of windows to make a detection is tested with a leave-one-out method. On 6 patients the method performs...

  4. Occupational Stress and Management Strategies of Secondary School Principals in Cross River State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anyanwu, Joy; Ezenwaji, Ifeyinwa; Okenjom, Godian; Enyi, Chinwe

    2015-01-01

    The study aimed at finding out sources and symptoms of occupational stress and management strategies of principals in secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study with a population of 420 principals (304 males and 116 females) in secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. Three…

  5. Reducing sick leave of Dutch vocational school students: adaptation of a sick leave protocol using the intervention mapping process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Kroon, Marlou L A; Bulthuis, Jozien; Mulder, Wico; Schaafsma, Frederieke G; Anema, Johannes R

    2016-12-01

    Since the extent of sick leave and the problems of vocational school students are relatively large, we aimed to tailor a sick leave protocol at Dutch lower secondary education schools to the particular context of vocational schools. Four steps of the iterative process of Intervention Mapping (IM) to adapt this protocol were carried out: (1) performing a needs assessment and defining a program objective, (2) determining the performance and change objectives, (3) identifying theory-based methods and practical strategies and (4) developing a program plan. Interviews with students using structured questionnaires, in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders, a literature research and, finally, a pilot implementation were carried out. A sick leave protocol was developed that was feasible and acceptable for all stakeholders. The main barriers for widespread implementation are time constraints in both monitoring and acting upon sick leave by school and youth health care. The iterative process of IM has shown its merits in the adaptation of the manual 'A quick return to school is much better' to a sick leave protocol for vocational school students.

  6. Data analysis strategies for reducing the influence of the bias in cross-cultural research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sindik, Josko

    2012-03-01

    In cross-cultural research, researchers have to adjust the constructs and associated measurement instruments that have been developed in one culture and then imported for use in another culture. Importing concepts from other cultures is often simply reduced to language adjustment of the content in the items of the measurement instruments that define a certain (psychological) construct. In the context of cross-cultural research, test bias can be defined as a generic term for all nuisance factors that threaten the validity of cross-cultural comparisons. Bias can be an indicator that instrument scores based on the same items measure different traits and characteristics across different cultural groups. To reduce construct, method and item bias,the researcher can consider these strategies: (1) simply comparing average results in certain measuring instruments; (2) comparing only the reliability of certain dimensions of the measurement instruments, applied to the "target" and "source" samples of participants, i.e. from different cultures; (3) comparing the "framed" factor structure (fixed number of factors) of the measurement instruments, applied to the samples from the "target" and "source" cultures, using explorative factor analysis strategy on separate samples; (4) comparing the complete constructs ("unframed" factor analysis, i.e. unlimited number of factors) in relation to their best psychometric properties and the possibility of interpreting (best suited to certain cultures, applying explorative strategy of factor analysis); or (5) checking the similarity of the constructs in the samples from different cultures (using structural equation modeling approach). Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages and lacks of each approach are discussed.

  7. Comparison of atlas-based techniques for whole-body bone segmentation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arabi, Hossein; Zaidi, Habib

    2017-01-01

    out in terms of estimating bone extraction accuracy from whole-body MRI using standard metrics, such as Dice similarity (DSC) and relative volume difference (RVD) considering bony structures obtained from intensity thresholding of the reference CT images as the ground truth. Considering the Dice....../MRI. To this end, a variety of atlas-based segmentation strategies commonly used in medical image segmentation and pseudo-CT generation were implemented and evaluated in terms of whole-body bone segmentation accuracy. Bone segmentation was performed on 23 whole-body CT/MR image pairs via leave-one-out cross...... validation procedure. The evaluated segmentation techniques include: (i) intensity averaging (IA), (ii) majority voting (MV), (iii) global and (iv) local (voxel-wise) weighting atlas fusion frameworks implemented utilizing normalized mutual information (NMI), normalized cross-correlation (NCC) and mean...

  8. Cross-cultural validation of the Persian version of the Functional Independence Measure for patients with stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naghdi, Soofia; Ansari, Noureddin Nakhostin; Raji, Parvin; Shamili, Aryan; Amini, Malek; Hasson, Scott

    2016-01-01

    To translate and cross-culturally adapt the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) into the Persian language and to test the reliability and validity of the Persian FIM (PFIM) in patients with stroke. In this cross-sectional study carried out in an outpatient stroke rehabilitation center, 40 patients with stroke (mean age 60 years) were participated. A standard forward-backward translation method and expert panel validation was followed to develop the PFIM. Two experienced occupational therapists (OTs) assessed the patients independently in all items of the PFIM in a single session for inter-rater reliability. One of the OTs reassessed the patients after 1 week for intra-rater reliability. There were no floor or ceiling effects for the PFIM. Excellent inter-rater and intra-rater reliability was noted for the PFIM total score, motor and cognitive subscales (ICC(agreement)0.88-0.98). According to the Bland-Altman agreement analysis, there was no systematic bias between raters and within raters. The internal consistency of the PFIM was with Cronbach's alpha from 0.70 to 0.96. The principal component analysis with varimax rotation indicated a three-factor structure: (1) self-care and mobility; (2) sphincter control and (3) cognitive that jointly accounted for 74.8% of the total variance. Construct validity was supported by a significant Pearson correlation between the PFIM and the Persian Barthel Index (r = 0.95; p Persian patients with stroke. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is an outcome measure for disability based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). The FIM was cross-culturally adapted and validated into Persian language. The Persian version of the FIM (PFIM) is reliable and valid for assessing functional status of patients with stroke. The PFIM can be used in Persian speaking countries to assess the limitations in activities of daily living of patients with stroke.

  9. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the teamwork climate scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Charantola Silva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To adapt and validate the Team Climate Inventory scale, of teamwork climate measurement, for the Portuguese language, in the context of primary health care in Brazil. METHODS Methodological study with quantitative approach of cross-cultural adaptation (translation, back-translation, synthesis, expert committee, and pretest and validation with 497 employees from 72 teams of the Family Health Strategy in the city of Campinas, SP, Southeastern Brazil. We verified reliability by the Cronbach’s alpha, construct validity by the confirmatory factor analysis with SmartPLS software, and correlation by the job satisfaction scale. RESULTS We problematized the overlap of items 9, 11, and 12 of the “participation in the team” factor and the “team goals” factor regarding its definition. The validation showed no overlapping of items and the reliability ranged from 0.92 to 0.93. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated suitability of the proposed model with distribution of the 38 items in the four factors. The correlation between teamwork climate and job satisfaction was significant. CONCLUSIONS The version of the scale in Brazilian Portuguese was validated and can be used in the context of primary health care in the Country, constituting an adequate tool for the assessment and diagnosis of teamwork.

  10. [Practical aspects for minimizing errors in the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of quality of life questionnaires].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauffer, A; Solé, L; Bernstein, S; Lopes, M H; Francisconi, C F

    2013-01-01

    The development and validation of questionnaires for evaluating quality of life (QoL) has become an important area of research. However, there is a proliferation of non-validated measuring instruments in the health setting that do not contribute to advances in scientific knowledge. To present, through the analysis of available validated questionnaires, a checklist of the practical aspects of how to carry out the cross-cultural adaptation of QoL questionnaires (generic, or disease-specific) so that no step is overlooked in the evaluation process, and thus help prevent the elaboration of insufficient or incomplete validations. We have consulted basic textbooks and Pubmed databases using the following keywords quality of life, questionnaires, and gastroenterology, confined to «validation studies» in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and with no time limit, for the purpose of analyzing the translation and validation of the questionnaires available through the Mapi Institute and PROQOLID websites. A checklist is presented to aid in the planning and carrying out of the cross-cultural adaptation of QoL questionnaires, in conjunction with a glossary of key terms in the area of knowledge. The acronym DSTAC was used, which refers to each of the 5 stages involved in the recommended procedure. In addition, we provide a table of the QoL instruments that have been validated into Spanish. This article provides information on how to adapt QoL questionnaires from a cross-cultural perspective, as well as to minimize common errors. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Mexicana de Gastroenterología. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

  11. Cross-cultural validation of the positivity-scale in five European countries

    OpenAIRE

    Heikamp, Tobias; Alessandri, Guido; Laguna, Mariola; Petrovic, Vesna; Caprara, Maria Giovanna; Trommsdorff, Gisela

    2014-01-01

    The aim of the present paper was to test the cross-cultural validity of the Positivity-Scale (P-Scale), a new nquestionnaire designed for the measurement of positivity (i.e., general tendency to evaluate self, life, and future in a positive way). Participants (N = 3544) from Italy, Germany, Spain, Poland, and Serbia answered eight items of the P-Scale and responded to items from other well-validated measures. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the assumed one-factor structure of the P-Sca...

  12. EXPOSING LEARNERS WITH LEARNING STRATEGIES IN STRATEGY TRAING: ONE OF THE WAYS FOR IMPROVING THEIR STUDY SKILL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kartika Nuswantara

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Recognizing our own learning strategies is an effective way to help ourselves to self evaluate for what we have done in our own learning. One among other factors leading to a successful learning is due to the effective learning strategies. However, not all learners are aware of what they have been doing in learning, or they even sometimes do not know how to learn. If this is the problem, learning strategy training can be very beneficial for the learners with this problem. Why should be through strategy training? The answer might lie on the fact that strategy is quite amenable to change, and by nature, teachable as well as learneable (Oxford, 1990. In addition, Nuswantara (2008 also found out that the successful learners (i.e. in learning English were triggered by the courage of using various learning strategies, the more varied the learners are willing to try out, the broader the chance for success. Training is the way that can be selected to present to the learners’ various strategies that they can choose and at the same time employ when learning is taken place. Moreover, by means of training, learners are made aware of the strategy, and they can mend their own strategy, as a result, they become more self - directed rather than dependent. This article attempts to frame out from the perspective of how to bring reading strategies that are applicable for handling various reading content texts to the learners, and present the result of a one-group experimental study. Thus, training is prepared for college learners who are inevitably deal with various English content textbooks and the final aim of the training is to improve learners’ study skills. Then, one group experimental study using correlated sample provides some evidences supporting the effectiveness of the training. Specifying on reading strategies, SQ3R that is joined with other learning strategies involving writing activity, annotating a text and paraphrasing/summarizing is exposed to

  13. Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Diabetes Empowerment Scale – Short Form

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda Figueredo Chaves

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To translate, cross-culturally adapt and validate the Diabetes Empowerment Scale – Short Form for assessment of psychosocial self-efficacy in diabetes care within the Brazilian cultural context. METHODS Assessment of the instrument’s conceptual equivalence, as well as its translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed following international standards. The Expert Committee’s assessment of the translated version was conducted through a web questionnaire developed and applied via the web tool e-Surv. The cross-culturally adapted version was used for the pre-test, which was carried out via phone call in a group of eleven health care service users diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The pre-test results were examined by a group of experts, composed by health care consultants, applied linguists and statisticians, aiming at an adequate version of the instrument, which was subsequently used for test and retest in a sample of 100 users diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus via phone call, their answers being recorded by the web tool e-Surv. Internal consistency and reproducibility of analysis were carried out within the statistical programming environment R. RESULTS Face and content validity were attained and the Brazilian Portuguese version, entitled Escala de Autoeficácia em Diabetes – Versão Curta, was established. The scale had acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach’s alpha of 0.634 (95%CI 0.494– 0.737, while the correlation of the total score in the two periods was considered moderate (0.47. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.50. CONCLUSIONS The translated and cross-culturally adapted version of the instrument to spoken Brazilian Portuguese was considered valid and reliable to be used for assessment within the Brazilian population diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The use of a web tool (e-Surv for recording the Expert Committee responses as well as the responses in the

  14. Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of SNOT-20 in Portuguese

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezerra, Thiago Freire Pinto; Piccirillo, Jay F.; Fornazieri, Marco Aurélio; Pilan, Renata R. de M.; Abdo, Tatiana Regina Teles; Pinna, Fabio de Rezende; Padua, Francini Grecco de Melo; Voegels, Richard Louis

    2011-01-01

    Introduction. Chronic rhinosinusitis is a highly prevalent disease, so it is necessary to create valid instruments to assess the quality of life of these patients. The SNOT-20 questionnaire was developed for this purpose as a specific test to evaluate the quality of life related to chronic rhinosinusitis. It was validated in the English language, and it has been used in most studies on this subject. Currently, there is no validated instrument for assessing this disease in Portuguese. Objective. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of SNOT-20 in Portuguese. Patients and Methods. The SNOT-20 questionnaire underwent a meticulous process of cross-cultural adaptation and was evaluated by assessing its sensitivity, reliability, and validity. Results. The process resulted in an intelligible version of the questionnaire, the SNOT-20p. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91, P cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the SNOT-20 questionnaire into Portuguese. PMID:21799671

  15. Cross-cultural validity of the thyroid-specific quality-of-life patient-reported outcome measure, ThyPRO

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Watt, Torquil; Barbesino, Giuseppe; Bjørner, Jakob

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thyroid diseases are common and often affect quality of life (QoL). No cross-culturally validated patient-reported outcome measuring thyroid-related QoL is available. The purpose of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the newly developed thyroid......-related patient-reported outcome ThyPRO, using tests for differential item functioning (DIF) according to language version. METHODS: The ThyPRO consists of 85 items summarized in 13 multi-item scales and one single item. Scales cover physical and mental symptoms, well-being and function as well as social...... scale scores, most of which could be explained by sample differences not controlled for. CONCLUSION: The ThyPRO has good cross-cultural validity with only minor cross-cultural invariance and is recommended for use in international multicenter studies....

  16. On a calculation of nucleon knock-out cross sections in a collision of relativistic nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goryachev, B.I.; Lin'kova, N.V.

    1985-01-01

    It is shown that in the framework of the two-stage model one can obtain knock-out cross sections of the given number of nucleons from the nucleus-target at a certain number of nucleons knocked out from the nucleus-projectile. The first stage is considered as a fast process of nucleon collisions of interacting nuclei which is completed with knock out of one or several nucleons. The second stage-comparatively slow - is related to de-excitation of nuclei-fragments

  17. The validity of vignettes in cross country health studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pozzoli, Dario; Gupta, Nabanita Datta; Kristensen, Nicolai

    Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments may be ham-pered by sub-population speci.c response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular - notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignettes as a means to re-scale across ...... that the assumption of RC is not innocous and that our extended model improves the fit and significantly changes the cross-country rankings of health vis-á-vis the standard Chopit model.......Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments may be ham-pered by sub-population speci.c response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular - notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignettes as a means to re-scale across...

  18. REMINDER Saved Leave Scheme (SLS) : Transfer of leave to saved leave accounts

    CERN Multimedia

    HR Division

    2002-01-01

    Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'*) annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No. 22B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). We remind you that, since last year, unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of the leave-year accounts is transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. Therefore, staff members have no administrative steps to take. In addition, the transfer, which eliminates the risk of omitting to request leave transfers and rules out calculation errors in transfer requests, will be clearly shown in the list of leave transactions that can be consulted in EDH from October 2002 onwards. Furthermore, this automatic leave transfer optimizes staff members' chances of benefiting from a saved leave bonus provided that they are still participants in the schem...

  19. Causes and Consequences of a Father's Child Leave: Evidence from a Reform of Leave Schemes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Helena Skyt

    are the most progressive when it comes to family-friendly policies. An extensive reform of child leave schemes in Denmark affected couples differently depending on whether the parents where employed in the same or in different parts of the public sector. Based on a difference-in-differences strategy, I find...... that economic incentives are very important for intra-household leave-sharing. Increasing the couples' after tax income by $9 per day of leave which is transferred from the mother to the father is found to lead to a one day transfer. This corresponds to a supply elasticity close to unity....

  20. Cross-Validation of Survival Bump Hunting by Recursive Peeling Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dazard, Jean-Eudes; Choe, Michael; LeBlanc, Michael; Rao, J Sunil

    2014-08-01

    We introduce a survival/risk bump hunting framework to build a bump hunting model with a possibly censored time-to-event type of response and to validate model estimates. First, we describe the use of adequate survival peeling criteria to build a survival/risk bump hunting model based on recursive peeling methods. Our method called "Patient Recursive Survival Peeling" is a rule-induction method that makes use of specific peeling criteria such as hazard ratio or log-rank statistics. Second, to validate our model estimates and improve survival prediction accuracy, we describe a resampling-based validation technique specifically designed for the joint task of decision rule making by recursive peeling (i.e. decision-box) and survival estimation. This alternative technique, called "combined" cross-validation is done by combining test samples over the cross-validation loops, a design allowing for bump hunting by recursive peeling in a survival setting. We provide empirical results showing the importance of cross-validation and replication.

  1. Validation of seat-off and seat-on in repeated sit-to-stand movements using a single-body-fixed sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Lummel, R C; Ainsworth, E; Hausdorff, J M; Lindemann, U; Beek, P J; Van Dieën, J H

    2012-01-01

    The identification of chair rise phases is a prerequisite for quantifying sit-to-stand movements. The aim of this study is to validate seat-off and seat-on detection using a single-body-fixed sensor against detection based on chair switches. A single sensor system with three accelerometers and three gyroscopes was fixed around the waist. Synchronized on–off switches were placed under the chair. Thirteen older adults were recruited from a residential care home and fifteen young adults were recruited among college students. Subjects were asked to complete two sets of five trials each. Six features of the trunk movement during seat-off and seat-on were calculated automatically, and a model was developed to predict the moment of seat-off and seat-on transitions. The predictions were validated with leave-one-out cross-validation. Feature extraction failed in two trials (0.7%). For the optimal combination of seat-off predictors, cross-validation yielded a mean error of 0 ms and a mean absolute error of 51 ms. For the best seat-on predictor, cross-validation yielded a mean error of –3 ms and a mean absolute error of 127 ms. The results of this study demonstrate that seat-off and seat-on in repeated sit-to-stand movements can be detected semi-automatically in young and older adults using a one-body-fixed sensor system with an accuracy of 51 and 127 ms, respectively. The use of the ambulatory instrumentation is feasible for non-technically trained personnel. This is an important step in the development of an automated method for the quantification of sit-to-stand movements in clinical practice. (paper)

  2. Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Spanish Version of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (Petróczi, 2002

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaime Morente-Sánchez

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Spanish version of the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS. A cross-sectional multi-sample survey with 17 independent datasets was carried out. Cross-cultural adaptation of the PEAS into Spanish was conducted through forward/backward translations, consensus panels and comparative analyses of known-groups to establish evidence for its reliability and validity. Weighted Kappa coefficients with quadratic weighting were used to assess the reliability of each item, with Cronbach’s internal consistency coefficients for overall scale’s reliability and Spearman’s correlation coefficient for test–retest reliability over a one-week period. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA was performed to assess the scale’s structure. Differences between self-admitted doping users and non-users were analysed to verify the PEAS’ construct validity in 8 datasets. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was also used to assess the relationships between the PEAS and self-esteem, self-efficacy and perceived descriptive norm to establish convergent validity. The scale showed satisfactory levels of internal consistency (α = 0.71–0.85, reliability of each item (Kappa values range 0.34-0.64 and temporal stability (r = 0.818; p < 0.001. CFA showed acceptable fit (RMSEA <0.08, mean RMSEA = 0.055; χ2/df < 3, mean χ2/df = 1.89 for all but one samples. As expected, self-admitted doping users showed more positive attitude toward doping than non-users. Significant and strong negative relationship was found between PEAS and self-efficacy; weak negative correlation with self-esteem and and positive correlation with perceived descriptive norm. The Spanish version of PEAS showed satisfactory psychometric properties. Considerations for application and improvement are outlined.

  3. [Cross-sectional study on the determinants of work stress for nurses and intention of leaving the profession].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romano, Marina; Festini, Filippo; Bronner, Leonardo

    2015-01-01

    Occupational stress is one of the main causes of sick leaves among healthcare professionals and it determines high costs to health systems. Monitoring occupational related stress can be an important tool for policy makers. The Italian nursing research gave little attention to nurses' occupational stress. The aims of this study is to estimate the prevalence of occupational stress and evaluate risks factors among Italian nurses in order to evaluate health promotion intervention. Cross-sectional study on a convenience sample of nurses from three Italian public hospitals was carried out. The Nursing Stress Scale was administrated together with socio-demographic data information(age, occupational age, family structure etc). The Nursing Stress Scale includes 34 items with a score from 0 to 3. Seven areas of job related stress are investigate in the scale: conflict with physicians, inadequate training, lack of support, conflict with other nurses, workload, uncertainty about treatments, death and suffering. Scores were calculated for each item and for each area. Associations between stress scores and socio-demographic data were analyzed. 231 nurses participated to the study. The two stress areas with the highest scores were "workload" (1.58) and "death and suffering" (1.39). Among the 13 items that exceed the overall mean stress score (i.e. 1.07), five belong to the "workload" area. "Watching a suffering patient" is the single item with the highest mean score. Demographic data associated to higher stress scores are, female gender (p=0.03) and working with night shifts (p=0.02). Intention to leave the nursing profession is associated to higher stress scores (p=0.002). Age, occupational age, time to commute to work, number of children, having disabled relatives at home, were not correlated to higher stress scores. Our study provides data regarding nurses' occupational stress that was not available before. This data may be useful for policy makers to plan preventive

  4. Validation of tungsten cross sections in the neutron energy region up to 100 keV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pigni, Marco T.; Žerovnik, Gašper; Leal, Luiz. C.; Trkov, Andrej

    2017-09-01

    Following a series of recent cross section evaluations on tungsten isotopes performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), this paper presents the validation work carried out to test the performance of the evaluated cross sections based on lead-slowing-down (LSD) benchmarks conducted in Grenoble. ORNL completed the resonance parameter evaluation of four tungsten isotopes - 182,183,184,186W - in August 2014 and submitted it as an ENDF-compatible file to be part of the next release of the ENDF/B-VIII.0 nuclear data library. The evaluations were performed with support from the US Nuclear Criticality Safety Program in an effort to provide improved tungsten cross section and covariance data for criticality safety sensitivity analyses. The validation analysis based on the LSD benchmarks showed an improved agreement with the experimental response when the ORNL tungsten evaluations were included in the ENDF/B-VII.1 library. Comparison with the results obtained with the JEFF-3.2 nuclear data library are also discussed.

  5. Changes in photosynthetic performance and antioxidative strategies during maturation of Norway maple (Acer platanoides L.) leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lepeduš, Hrvoje; Gaća, Vlatka; Viljevac, Marija; Kovač, Spomenka; Fulgosi, Hrvoje; Simić, Domagoj; Jurković, Vlatka; Cesar, Vera

    2011-04-01

    Different structural and functional changes take place during leaf development. Since some of them are highly connected to oxidative metabolism, regulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) abundance is required. Most of the reactive oxygen species ROS in plant cells are produced in chloroplasts as a result of highly energetic reactions of photosynthesis. The aim of our study was to examine the changes in concentration of oxidative stress parameters (TBARS - thiobarbituric acid-reacting substances and protein carbonyls) as well as antioxidative strategies during development of maple (Acer platanoides L.) leaves in the light of their enhanced photosynthetic performance. We reveal that biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus during maple leaf maturation corresponded with oxidative damage of lipids, but not proteins. In addition, antioxidative responses in young leaves differed from that in older leaves. Young leaves had high values of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and catalase (CAT, EC 1.11.1.6) activity which declined during the maturation process. Developing leaves were characterized by an increase in TBARS level, the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants as well as ascorbate peroxidase activity (APX, EC 1.11.1.11), while the content of protein carbonyls decreased with leaf maturation. Fully developed leaves had the highest lipid peroxidation level accompanied by a maximum in ascorbic acid content and superoxide dismutase activity (SOD, EC1.15.1.1). These observations imply completely different antioxidative strategies during leaf maturation enabling them to perform their basic function. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  6. Investigating the Applicability of Upstream Detection Strategy at Pedestrian Signalised Crossings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sitti A Hassan

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In the UK, the Puffin crossing has provision to extend pedestrian green time for those who take longer to cross. However, even at such a pedestrian friendly facility, the traffic signal control is usually designed to minimise vehicle delay while providing the crossing facility. This situation is rather contrary to the current policies to encourage walking. It is this inequity that has prompted the need to re-examine the traffic control of signalised crossings to provide more benefit to both pedestrians and vehicles. In this context, this paper explores the possibility of implementing an Upstream Detection strategy at a Puffin crossing to provide a user friendly crossing. The study has been carried out by simulating a mid-block Puffin crossing for various detector distances and a number of combinations of pedestrian and traffic flows. This paper presents the simulation results and recommends the situations at which Upstream Detection would be suitable.

  7. Validation and results of a questionnaire for functional bowel disease in out-patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Skordilis Panagiotis

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim was to evaluate and validate a bowel disease questionnaire in patients attending an out-patient gastroenterology clinic in Greece. Methods This was a prospective study. Diagnosis was based on detailed clinical and laboratory evaluation. The questionnaire was tested on a pilot group of patients. Interviewer-administration technique was used. One-hundred-and-forty consecutive patients attending the out-patient clinic for the first time and fifty healthy controls selected randomly participated in the study. Reliability (kappa statistics and validity of the questionnaire were tested. We used logistic regression models and binary recursive partitioning for assessing distinguishing ability among irritable bowel syndrome (IBS, functional dyspepsia and organic disease patients. Results Mean time for questionnaire completion was 18 min. In test-retest procedure a good agreement was obtained (kappa statistics 0.82. There were 55 patients diagnosed as having IBS, 18 with functional dyspepsia (Rome I criteria, 38 with organic disease. Location of pain was a significant distinguishing factor, patients with functional dyspepsia having no lower abdominal pain (p Conclusions This questionnaire for functional bowel disease is a valid and reliable instrument that can distinguish satisfactorily between organic and functional disease in an out-patient setting.

  8. Seasonal changes and effect of harvest on glucosinolates in Isatis leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohn, Tobias; Suter, Kathrin; Hamburger, Matthias

    2008-04-01

    The seasonal fluctuation of glucosinolates in five defined Isatis tinctoria and one Isatis indigotica accessions (first year, rosette stage), grown on field plots under identical conditions, was investigated. Analysis of the intact glucosinolates was carried out with shock frozen, freeze dried leaf samples using a recently developed and validated PLE (pressurized liquid extraction) protocol and ion-pair HPLC coupled with ESI-MS in the negative mode. When comparing the two Isatis species, significant qualitative and quantitative differences in the glucosinolate patterns were observed. Differences among the various Isatis tinctoria accessions were much smaller. We studied the effects of repeated harvesting during the growth season on glucosinolate concentrations and found that repeated harvest did not have a major effect on glucosinolate concentrations of newly grown leaves. Glucosinolates could not be detected in woad leaves submitted to conventional drying.

  9. Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Initial Validation of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale into the Yoruba Language

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akinpelu, Aderonke O.; Odetunde, Marufat O.; Odole, Adesola C.

    2012-01-01

    Stroke-Specific Quality of Life 2.0 (SS-QoL 2.0) scale is used widely and has been cross-culturally adapted to many languages. This study aimed at the cross-cultural adaptation of SS-QoL 2.0 to Yoruba, the indigenous language of south-western Nigeria, and to carry out an initial investigation on its validity. English SS-QoL 2.0 was first adapted…

  10. The Cross-Cultural Validity of the MMPI-2-RF Higher-Order Scales in a Sample of North Korean Female Refugees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Seong-Hyeon; Goodman, Grace M; Toruno, Joseph A; Sherry, Alissa R; Kim, Hee Kyung

    2015-10-01

    We investigated the cross-cultural factorial validity of the three Higher-Order (H-O) scales in the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF) among a sample of North Korean female refugees (N = 2,732). Given the importance of the H-O scales in the overall structure of the MMPI-2-RF scales and in interpretation, we were interested in exploring their cross-cultural validity. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the nine Restructured Clinical (RC) scale raw scores and fitted and compared one- to three-factor models. The three-factor model, akin to the model in Tellegen and Ben-Porath, demonstrated the best fit to the data. Furthermore, the pattern matrices of loadings across the current sample and the U.S. samples were comparable despite some differences, such as the RC2 scale's salient, negative loading on a factor analogous to the Behavioral/Externalizing Dysfunction scale. We also investigated the unique psychological characteristics of the refugees, possibly resulting from the arduous, perilous journeys out of North Korea taken by this group of female refugees and discussed the results of EFA in light of those singular psychological traits and experiences. Overall, the three H-O scales of the Korean MMPI-2-RF evidenced reasonable cross-cultural factorial validity among the sample of North Korean female refugees. © The Author(s) 2014.

  11. Attempted development and cross-validation of predictive models of individual-level and organizational-level turnover of nuclear power operators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasa-Sideris, S.J.

    1989-01-01

    Nuclear power accounts for 209% of the electric power generated in the U.S. by 107 nuclear plants which employ over 8,700 operators. Operator turnover is significant to utilities from the economic point of view since it costs almost three hundred thousand dollars to train and qualify one operator, and because turnover affects plant operability and therefore plant safety. The study purpose was to develop and cross-validate individual-level and organizational-level models of turnover of nuclear power plant operators. Data were obtained by questionnaires and from published data for 1983 and 1984 on a number of individual, organizational, and environmental predictors. Plants had been in operation for two or more years. Questionnaires were returned by 29 out of 50 plants on over 1600 operators. The objectives were to examine the reliability of the turnover criterion, to determine the classification accuracy of the multivariate predictive models and of categories of predictors (individual, organizational, and environmental) and to determine if a homology existed between the individual-level and organizational-level models. The method was to examine the shrinkage that occurred between foldback design (in which the predictive models were reapplied to the data used to develop them) and cross-validation. Results did not support the hypothesis objectives. Turnover data were accurate but not stable between the two years. No significant differences were detected between the low and high turnover groups at the organization or individual level in cross-validation. Lack of stability in the criterion, restriction of range, and small sample size at the organizational level were serious limitations of this study. The results did support the methods. Considerable shrinkage occurred between foldback and cross-validation of the models

  12. Cross-cultural adaptation and reliability and validity of the Dutch Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE-D).

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Ark, Mathijs; Zwerver, Johannes; Diercks, Ronald L; van den Akker-Scheek, Inge

    2014-08-11

    Lateral Epicondylalgia (LE) is a common injury for which no reliable and valid measure exists to determine severity in the Dutch language. The Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation (PRTEE) is the first questionnaire specifically designed for LE but in English. The aim of this study was to translate into Dutch and cross-culturally adapt the PRTEE and determine reliability and validity of the PRTEE-D (Dutch version). The PRTEE was cross-culturally adapted according to international guidelines. Participants (n = 122) were asked to fill out the PRTEE-D twice with a one week interval to assess test-retest reliability. Internal consistency of the PRTEE-D was determined by calculating Crohnbach's alphas for the questionnaire and subscales. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC) were calculated for the overall PRTEE-D score, pain and function subscale and individual questions to determine test-retest reliability. Additionally, the Disabilities for the Arm, Shoulder and Hand questionnaire (DASH) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) pain scores were obtained from 30 patients to assess construct validity; Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated between the PRTEE-D (subscales) and DASH and VAS-pain scores. The PRTEE was successfully cross-culturally adapted into Dutch (PRTEE-D). Crohnbach's alpha for the first assessment of the PRTEE-D was 0.98; Crohnbach's alpha was 0.93 for the pain subscale and 0.97 for the function subscale. ICC for the PRTEE-D was 0.98; subscales also showed excellent ICC values (pain scale 0.97 and function scale 0.97). A significant moderate correlation exists between PRTEE-D and DASH (0.65) and PRTEE-D and VAS pain (0.68). The PRTEE was successfully cross-culturally adapted and this study showed that the PRTEE-D is reliable and valid to obtain an indication of severity of LE. An easy-to-use instrument for practitioners is now available and this facilitates comparing Dutch and international research data.

  13. The impact of demand management strategies on parents’ decision-making for out-of-hours primary care: findings from a survey in The Netherlands

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giesen, Marie-Jeanne; Keizer, Ellen; van de Pol, Julia; Knoben, Joris; Wensing, Michel; Giesen, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Objective To explore the potential impact of demand management strategies on patient decision-making in medically non-urgent and urgent scenarios during out-of-hours for children between the ages of 0 and 4 years. Design and methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey with paper-based case scenarios. A survey was sent to all 797 parents of children aged between 0 and 4 years from four Dutch general practitioner (GP) practices. Four demand management strategies (copayment, online advice, overview medical cost and GP appointment next morning) were incorporated in two medically non-urgent and two urgent case scenarios. Combining the case scenarios with the demand management strategies resulted in 16 cases (four scenarios each with four demand management strategies). Each parent randomly received a questionnaire with three different case scenarios with three different demand strategies and a baseline case scenario without a demand management strategy. Results The response rate was 47.4%. The strategy online advice led to more medically appropriate decision-making for both non-urgent case scenarios (OR 0.26; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.58) and urgent case scenarios (OR 0.16; 95% CI 0.08 to 0.32). Overview of medical cost (OR 0.59; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.92) and a GP appointment planned the next morning (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.34 to 0.97) had some influence on patient decisions for urgent cases, but not for non-urgent cases. Copayment had no influence on patient decisions. Conclusion Online advice has the highest potential to reduce medically unnecessary use. Furthermore it enhanced safety of parents' decisions on seeking help for their young children during out-of-hours primary care. Valid online information on health symptoms for patients should be promoted. PMID:28487458

  14. The impact of demand management strategies on parents' decision-making for out-of-hours primary care: findings from a survey in The Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giesen, Marie-Jeanne; Keizer, Ellen; van de Pol, Julia; Knoben, Joris; Wensing, Michel; Giesen, Paul

    2017-05-09

    To explore the potential impact of demand management strategies on patient decision-making in medically non-urgent and urgent scenarios during out-of-hours for children between the ages of 0 and 4 years. We conducted a cross-sectional survey with paper-based case scenarios. A survey was sent to all 797 parents of children aged between 0 and 4 years from four Dutch general practitioner (GP) practices. Four demand management strategies (copayment, online advice, overview medical cost and GP appointment next morning) were incorporated in two medically non-urgent and two urgent case scenarios. Combining the case scenarios with the demand management strategies resulted in 16 cases (four scenarios each with four demand management strategies). Each parent randomly received a questionnaire with three different case scenarios with three different demand strategies and a baseline case scenario without a demand management strategy. The response rate was 47.4%. The strategy online advice led to more medically appropriate decision-making for both non-urgent case scenarios (OR 0.26; CI 0.11 to 0.58) and urgent case scenarios (OR 0.16; CI 0.08 to 0.32). Overview of medical cost (OR 0.59; CI 0.38 to 0.92) and a GP appointment planned the next morning (OR 0.57; CI 0.34 to 0.97) had some influence on patient decisions for urgent cases, but not for non-urgent cases. Copayment had no influence on patient decisions. Online advice has the highest potential to reduce medically unnecessary use. Furthermore it enhanced safety of parents' decisions on seeking help for their young children during out-of-hours primary care. Valid online information on health symptoms for patients should be promoted. © 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.

  15. Cultural Orientations Framework (COF) Assessment Questionnaire in Cross-Cultural Coaching: A Cross-Validation with Wave Focus Styles

    OpenAIRE

    Rojon, C; McDowall, A

    2010-01-01

    This paper outlines a cross-validation of the Cultural Orientations Framework assessment questionnaire\\ud (COF, Rosinski, 2007; a new tool designed for cross-cultural coaching) with the Saville Consulting\\ud Wave Focus Styles questionnaire (Saville Consulting, 2006; an existing validated measure of\\ud occupational personality), using data from UK and German participants (N = 222). The convergent and\\ud divergent validity of the questionnaire was adequate. Contrary to previous findings which u...

  16. Cross Cultural Validation Of Perceived Workfamily Facilitation Scale ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The work family interface contains four unique factors based on studies from western countries. However, some of these studies have questioned the cross cultural adoption of psychological concept, and called for a re-validation prior to adoption. The main purpose of this study is to re-validate the four factor structure that ...

  17. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Hungarian version of the Core Outcome Measures Index for the back (COMI Back).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klemencsics, Istvan; Lazary, Aron; Valasek, Tamas; Szoverfi, Zsolt; Bozsodi, Arpad; Eltes, Peter; Fekete, Tamás Fülöp; Varga, Peter Pal

    2016-01-01

    The Core Outcome Measure Index (COMI) is a short, multidimensional outcome instrument developed for the evaluation of patients with spinal conditions. The aim of this study was to produce a cross-culturally adapted and validated Hungarian version of the COMI Back questionnaire. A cross-cultural adaptation of the COMI into Hungarian was carried out using established guidelines. Low back pain patients completed a booklet of questionnaires containing the Hungarian versions of COMI, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and WHO Quality of Life-BREF assessment (WHOQOL-BREF). The validation of the COMI included assessment of its construct validity, reliability, and responsiveness. 145 patients participated in the assessment of reliability and 159 surgically treated patients were included in the responsiveness study. Excellent correlation was found between COMI and ODI scores (rho = 0.83, p cross-cultural adaptation of the COMI into the Hungarian language was successful, resulting in a reliable and valid measurement tool with good clinimetric properties.

  18. Validation of work pressure and associated factors influencing hospital nurse turnover: a cross-sectional investigation in Shaanxi Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Huiyun; Lv, Jingwen; Zhou, Xi; Liu, Huitong; Mi, Baibing

    2017-02-03

    Nurses' turnover is a major contributor to nursing shortages, strongly influenced by nurses' intentions to leave. Several factors influencing the turnover intention have been well identified in Western countries and large cities in China. However, whether these factors also contribute to nurses' work stress in Midwest China are still unclear. The main purpose of this study was to examine the work pressure and associated factors influencing the nurses' intent to leave. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey with multistage sampling was conducted by recruiting 800 employed registered nurses with >1 year of work experience. Chi-square test and multi-factor logistic regression were applied to attain the relative comparisons. Sub-group analysis was conducted to explore the different turnover intention patterns in different age groups. The turnover intention was classified as strong/very-strong (19%), weak (62%), and very-weak (19%). Among the factors influencing the nurses' desire to leave the profession, work pressure was the most prominent. The predominantly associated factors contributing the work stress were age, experience, and workload. However, the scale of income did not affect the intent to leave decision. Pediatrics was identified to be the highest tormented department with a significant (P stress, age, job duty, and career commitment in Shaanxi Province. The intent to leave is dynamically multifactorial, and effective managements and supportive strategies are needed to reduce the nurses work stress accordingly.

  19. Validity of the independent-processes approximation for resonance structures in electron-ion scattering cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badnell, N.R.; Pindzola, M.S.; Griffin, D.C.

    1991-01-01

    The total inelastic cross section for electron-ion scattering may be found in the independent-processes approximation by adding the resonant cross section to the nonresonant background cross section. We study the validity of this approximation for electron excitation of multiply charged ions. The resonant-excitation cross section is calculated independently using distorted waves for various Li-like and Na-like ions using (N+1)-electron atomic-structure methods previously developed for the calculation of dielectronic-recombination cross sections. To check the effects of interference between the two scattering processes, we also carry out detailed close-coupling calculations for the same atomic ions using the R-matrix method. For low ionization stages, interference effects manifest themselves sometimes as strong window features in the close-coupling cross section, which are not present in the independent-processes cross section. For higher ionization stages, however, the resonance features found in the independent-processes approximation are found to be in good agreement with the close-coupling results

  20. Online version of the food allergy quality of life questionnaire-adult form: validity, feasibility and cross-cultural comparison.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goossens, N J; Flokstra-de Blok, B M J; Vlieg-Boerstra, B J; Duiverman, E J; Weiss, C C; Furlong, T J; Dubois, A E J

    2011-04-01

    Food-allergic reactions occur in 3-4% of the adult population in Western countries. It has been shown that food allergy may impair health-related quality of life (HRQL). Food allergy quality of life questionnaires (FAQLQs) have been developed and validated, including an adult form (FAQLQ-AF). These questionnaires may be particularly useful for cross-cultural comparisons. The aims of this study were to translate the FAQLQ-AF from Dutch into English and validate an online version in the United States. Additionally, HRQL of American and Dutch food-allergic adults was compared. The Dutch FAQLQ-AF was translated into English as set out by the World Health Organization and converted to an electronic online format. Participants (food allergic American adults) were recruited through the 'Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network' website and completed the questionnaire online. Construct validity, internal consistency, discriminative ability and feasibility were analysed. A cross-cultural comparison was made using the Dutch FAQLQ-AF scores. Data from 180 American participants were analysed. The online FAQLQ-AF had a good construct validity (correlation with FAIM: ρ=0.72; P<0.001), internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.95) and was discriminative for 'anaphylaxis' vs. 'no anaphylaxis' and 'number of food allergies'. The most striking finding was a significantly greater impairment in HRQL in the American participants, as compared with their Dutch counterparts (the total FAQLQ-AF scores were 4.3 vs. 3.5, respectively; P<0.001, where 1 signifies no impairment and 7 signifies extreme impairment in HRQL). The online American FAQLQ-AF is a valid instrument to measure HRQL in food-allergic patients in the United States. Additionally, HRQL of American food-allergic adults may be more impaired than Dutch food-allergic adults. The FAQLQ-AF can now be used to determine the HRQL in American food-allergic adults and can assist clinicians in optimizing management strategies for food

  1. Screening for postdeployment conditions: development and cross-validation of an embedded validity scale in the neurobehavioral symptom inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderploeg, Rodney D; Cooper, Douglas B; Belanger, Heather G; Donnell, Alison J; Kennedy, Jan E; Hopewell, Clifford A; Scott, Steven G

    2014-01-01

    To develop and cross-validate internal validity scales for the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI). Four existing data sets were used: (1) outpatient clinical traumatic brain injury (TBI)/neurorehabilitation database from a military site (n = 403), (2) National Department of Veterans Affairs TBI evaluation database (n = 48 175), (3) Florida National Guard nonclinical TBI survey database (n = 3098), and (4) a cross-validation outpatient clinical TBI/neurorehabilitation database combined across 2 military medical centers (n = 206). Secondary analysis of existing cohort data to develop (study 1) and cross-validate (study 2) internal validity scales for the NSI. The NSI, Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms, and Personality Assessment Inventory scores. Study 1: Three NSI validity scales were developed, composed of 5 unusual items (Negative Impression Management [NIM5]), 6 low-frequency items (LOW6), and the combination of 10 nonoverlapping items (Validity-10). Cut scores maximizing sensitivity and specificity on these measures were determined, using a Mild Brain Injury Atypical Symptoms score of 8 or more as the criterion for invalidity. Study 2: The same validity scale cut scores again resulted in the highest classification accuracy and optimal balance between sensitivity and specificity in the cross-validation sample, using a Personality Assessment Inventory Negative Impression Management scale with a T score of 75 or higher as the criterion for invalidity. The NSI is widely used in the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs as a symptom-severity assessment following TBI, but is subject to symptom overreporting or exaggeration. This study developed embedded NSI validity scales to facilitate the detection of invalid response styles. The NSI Validity-10 scale appears to hold considerable promise for validity assessment when the NSI is used as a population-screening tool.

  2. Development and validation of a cross-section interface for PARCS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stalek, Mathias; Demaziere, Christophe

    2008-01-01

    This paper deals with the development of a cross-section interface for PARCS and its validation. The interface is used to feed PARCS with material constants for Light Water Reactors. These material constants are obtained from a CASMO-4 library file and the SIMULATE-3 code is then used to read this library file. This interface allows a dependency of the material constants on exposure and on instantaneous and history variables. Since the functionalization of the cross-sections in CASMO-4/SIMULATE-3 is different from the one in PARCS, the conversion of the material data from the CASMO-4/SIMULATE-3 formalism to the PARCS formalism is not trivial. As a first check of the proper conversion of the data by the interface, the cross-section files created by the interface were read by PARCS. The data were thereafter edited for all possible burnup, instantaneous and history parameters and compared to the original data used to create the files. After this successful verification, a benchmark between PARCS and plant measured data was carried out. For this benchmark a number of measurement sets from the Swedish Ringhals-3 pressurized water reactor were obtained. These data were measured during different cycles and at different core exposures. The spatial distribution of the instantaneous variables, the history variables and the exposure were calculated by SIMULATE-3 and used by PARCS to retrieve the actual three-dimensional distribution of the material data. The deviation of the effective multiplication factor k eff from criticality was found to be within ±200 pcm. Both the measured axial and radial power profiles were adequately reproduced by the PARCS simulations, although some discrepancies with plant data need to be further investigated

  3. Burned Out Or Just Frustrated? Reasons Why Physical Education Teachers Leave Their Profession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cieśliński Ryszard

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This work focuses on the reasons why physical education (PE teachers leave their profession. The study included 80 individuals who decided to leave a teaching profession in 2013. A diagnostic poll method with the use of the QWL (Quality of Work Life index was employed in the study. It was observed that there are usually a number of reasons why they give up their job, the most important being financial reasons. Their decision is influenced by the accumulation of professional and personal problems as well as their inability to solve them. The findings showed that teachers‘ departure from the profession is generally associated with the issue of burnout; however, financial reasons are most frequently ones that directly affect this decision.

  4. Symmetry Analysis of Gait between Left and Right Limb Using Cross-Fuzzy Entropy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Xia

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is the investigation of gait symmetry problem by using cross-fuzzy entropy (C-FuzzyEn, which is a recently proposed cross entropy that has many merits as compared to the frequently used cross sample entropy (C-SampleEn. First, we used several simulation signals to test its performance regarding the relative consistency and dependence on data length. Second, the gait time series of the left and right stride interval were used to calculate the C-FuzzyEn values for gait symmetry analysis. Besides the statistical analysis, we also realized a support vector machine (SVM classifier to perform the classification of normal and abnormal gaits. The gait dataset consists of 15 patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD and 16 control (CO subjects. The results show that the C-FuzzyEn values of the PD patients’ gait are significantly higher than that of the CO subjects with a p value of less than 10-5, and the best classification performance evaluated by a leave-one-out (LOO cross-validation method is an accuracy of 96.77%. Such encouraging results imply that the C-FuzzyEn-based gait symmetry measure appears as a suitable tool for analyzing abnormal gaits.

  5. A proposed strategy for the validation of ground-water flow and solute transport models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, P.A.; Goodrich, M.T.

    1991-01-01

    Ground-water flow and transport models can be thought of as a combination of conceptual and mathematical models and the data that characterize a given system. The judgment of the validity or invalidity of a model depends both on the adequacy of the data and the model structure (i.e., the conceptual and mathematical model). This report proposes a validation strategy for testing both components independently. The strategy is based on the philosophy that a model cannot be proven valid, only invalid or not invalid. In addition, the authors believe that a model should not be judged in absence of its intended purpose. Hence, a flow and transport model may be invalid for one purpose but not invalid for another. 9 refs

  6. Empirical Performance of Cross-Validation With Oracle Methods in a Genomics Context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Josue G; Carroll, Raymond J; Müller, Samuel; Sampson, Joshua N; Chatterjee, Nilanjan

    2011-11-01

    When employing model selection methods with oracle properties such as the smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) and the Adaptive Lasso, it is typical to estimate the smoothing parameter by m-fold cross-validation, for example, m = 10. In problems where the true regression function is sparse and the signals large, such cross-validation typically works well. However, in regression modeling of genomic studies involving Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNP), the true regression functions, while thought to be sparse, do not have large signals. We demonstrate empirically that in such problems, the number of selected variables using SCAD and the Adaptive Lasso, with 10-fold cross-validation, is a random variable that has considerable and surprising variation. Similar remarks apply to non-oracle methods such as the Lasso. Our study strongly questions the suitability of performing only a single run of m-fold cross-validation with any oracle method, and not just the SCAD and Adaptive Lasso.

  7. Online cross-validation-based ensemble learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benkeser, David; Ju, Cheng; Lendle, Sam; van der Laan, Mark

    2018-01-30

    Online estimators update a current estimate with a new incoming batch of data without having to revisit past data thereby providing streaming estimates that are scalable to big data. We develop flexible, ensemble-based online estimators of an infinite-dimensional target parameter, such as a regression function, in the setting where data are generated sequentially by a common conditional data distribution given summary measures of the past. This setting encompasses a wide range of time-series models and, as special case, models for independent and identically distributed data. Our estimator considers a large library of candidate online estimators and uses online cross-validation to identify the algorithm with the best performance. We show that by basing estimates on the cross-validation-selected algorithm, we are asymptotically guaranteed to perform as well as the true, unknown best-performing algorithm. We provide extensions of this approach including online estimation of the optimal ensemble of candidate online estimators. We illustrate excellent performance of our methods using simulations and a real data example where we make streaming predictions of infectious disease incidence using data from a large database. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  8. Validity of one-repetition maximum predictive equations in men with spinal cord injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ribeiro Neto, F; Guanais, P; Dornelas, E; Coutinho, A C B; Costa, R R G

    2017-10-01

    Cross-sectional study. The study aimed (a) to test the cross-validation of current one-repetition maximum (1RM) predictive equations in men with spinal cord injury (SCI); (b) to compare the current 1RM predictive equations to a newly developed equation based on the 4- to 12-repetition maximum test (4-12RM). SARAH Rehabilitation Hospital Network, Brasilia, Brazil. Forty-five men aged 28.0 years with SCI between C6 and L2 causing complete motor impairment were enrolled in the study. Volunteers were tested, in a random order, in 1RM test or 4-12RM with 2-3 interval days. Multiple regression analysis was used to generate an equation for predicting 1RM. There were no significant differences between 1RM test and the current predictive equations. ICC values were significant and were classified as excellent for all current predictive equations. The predictive equation of Lombardi presented the best Bland-Altman results (0.5 kg and 12.8 kg for mean difference and interval range around the differences, respectively). The two created equation models for 1RM demonstrated the same and a high adjusted R 2 (0.971, Ppredictive equations are accurate to assess individuals with SCI at the bench press exercise. However, the predictive equation of Lombardi presented the best associated cross-validity results. A specific 1RM prediction equation was also elaborated for individuals with SCI. The created equation should be tested in order to verify whether it presents better accuracy than the current ones.

  9. Employee well-being, intention to leave and perceived employability: A psychological contract approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leoni van der Vaart

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Employability emerged as a “new psychological contract” that may have beneficial effects on both individual and organisational outcomes. The study set out to investigate the relationship between perceived employability and employee well-being on the one hand and perceived employability and employees’ intention to leave on the other. The role of the state of the psychological contract, in terms of retaining employable employees while improving their well-being, was also investigated. Cross-sectional data were obtained from employees representing various organisations (N = 246. Contrary to expectations, structural equation modelling (SEM indicated no significant relationship between perceived employability and well-being. Perceived employability was a significant predictor of employees’ intention to leave the organisation. Results also indicated that the state of the psychological contract does not moderate the relationship between perceived employability and employee well-being and their intention to leave, respectively. The study stresses the importance of fulfilling promises made to employees ensuring that promises are fair and continuing to fulfil promises. The importance of interventions on individual-level, to enhance well-being in the workplace, is also emphasised.

  10. Influence of maternity leave on exclusive breastfeeding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monteiro, Fernanda R; Buccini, Gabriela Dos S; Venâncio, Sônia I; da Costa, Teresa H M

    To describe the profile of women with children aged under 4 months living in the Brazilian state capitals and in the Federal District according to their working status and to analyze the influence of maternity leave on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) among working women. This was a cross-sectional study with data extracted from the II National Maternal Breastfeeding Prevalence Survey carried out in 2008. Initially, a descriptive analysis of the profile of 12,794 women was performed, according to their working status and maternity leave and the frequency of maternity leave in the Brazilian regions and capitals. The study used a multiple model to identify the influence of maternity leave on EBF interruption, including 3766 women who declared they were working and were on maternity leave at the time of the interview. The outcome assessed in the study was the interruption of the EBF, classified by the WHO. Regarding the working status of the mothers, 63.4% did not work outside of their homes and among those who worked, 69.8% were on maternity leave. The largest prevalence among workers was of women older than 35 years of age, with more than 12 years of schooling, primiparous and from the Southeast and South regions. The lack of maternity leave increased by 23% the chance of EBF interruption. Maternity leave contributed to increase the prevalence of EBF in the Brazilian states capitals, supporting the importance of increasing the maternity leave period from four to six months. Copyright © 2017 Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  11. Influence of maternity leave on exclusive breastfeeding

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda R. Monteiro

    Full Text Available Abstract Objectives: To describe the profile of women with children aged under 4 months living in the Brazilian state capitals and in the Federal District according to their working status and to analyze the influence of maternity leave on exclusive breastfeeding (EBF among working women. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with data extracted from the II National Maternal Breastfeeding Prevalence Survey carried out in 2008. Initially, a descriptive analysis of the profile of 12,794 women was performed, according to their working status and maternity leave and the frequency of maternity leave in the Brazilian regions and capitals. The study used a multiple model to identify the influence of maternity leave on EBF interruption, including 3766 women who declared they were working and were on maternity leave at the time of the interview. The outcome assessed in the study was the interruption of the EBF, classified by the WHO. Results: Regarding the working status of the mothers, 63.4% did not work outside of their homes and among those who worked, 69.8% were on maternity leave. The largest prevalence among workers was of women older than 35 years of age, with more than 12 years of schooling, primiparous and from the Southeast and South regions. The lack of maternity leave increased by 23% the chance of EBF interruption. Conclusion: Maternity leave contributed to increase the prevalence of EBF in the Brazilian states capitals, supporting the importance of increasing the maternity leave period from four to six months.

  12. Evolutionarily stable strategy of carbon and nitrogen investments in forest leaves and its application in vegetation dynamic modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, E.; Farrior, C.; Dybzinski, R.; Pacala, S. W.

    2015-12-01

    Leaf mass per area (LMA) and leaf lifespan (LL) are two highly correlated plant traits that are key to plant physiological and ecological properties. Usually, low LMA means short LL, high nitrogen (N) content per unit mass, and fast turnover rates of nutrients; high LMA leads to long LL, low N content, and slow turnover rates. Deciduous trees with low LMA and short lifespan leaves have low carbon cost but high nitrogen demand; and evergreen trees, with high LMA and long lifespan leaves, have high carbon cost but low nitrogen demand. These relationships lead to: 1) evergreen trees have higher leaf area index than deciduous trees; 2) evergreen trees' carbon use efficiency is lower than the deciduous trees' because of their thick leaves and therefore high maintenance respiration; 3) the advantage of evergreens trees brought by their extra leaves over deciduous trees diminishes with increase N in ecosystem. These facts determine who will win when trees compete with each other in a N-limited ecosystem. In this study, we formulate a mathematical model according to the relationships between LMA, LL, leaf nitrogen, and leaf building and maintenance cost, where LMA is the fundamental variable determining the other three. We analyze the evolutionarily stable strategies (ESSs) of LMA with this mathematical model by examining the benefits of carbon and nitrogen investments to leaves in ecosystems with different N. The model shows the ESS converges to low LMA at high N and high LMA at low N. At intermediate N, there are two ESSs at low and high ends of LMA, respectively. The ESS also leads to low forest productivity by outcompeting the possible high productive strategies. We design a simulation scheme in an individual-based competition model (LM3-PPA) to simulate forest dynamics as results of the competition between deciduous and evergreen trees in three different biomes, which are temperate deciduous forest, deciduous-evergreen mixed forest, and boreal evergreen forest. The

  13. Excellent cross-cultural validity, intra-test reliability and construct validity of the dutch rivermead mobility index in patients after stroke undergoing rehabilitation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roorda, Leo D.; Green, John; De Kluis, Kiki R. A.; Molenaar, Ivo W.; Bagley, Pam; Smith, Jane; Geurts, Alexander C. H.

    2008-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the cross-cultural validity of international Dutch-English comparisons when using the Dutch Rivermead Mobility Index (RMI), and the intra-test reliability and construct validity of the Dutch RMI. Methods: Cross-cultural validity was studied in a combined data-set of Dutch

  14. Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale for patients seeking esthetic surgery: cross-cultural validation study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Tatiana Dalpasquale; Brito, Maria José Azevedo de; Piccolo, Mônica Sarto; Rosella, Maria Fernanda Normanha da Silva Martins; Sabino, Miguel; Ferreira, Lydia Masako

    2016-01-01

    Rhinoplasty is one of the most sought-after esthetic operations among individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale. Cross-cultural validation study conducted in a plastic surgery outpatient clinic of a public university hospital. Between February 2014 and March 2015, 80 consecutive patients of both sexes seeking rhinoplasty were selected. Thirty of them participated in the phase of cultural adaptation of the instrument. Reproducibility was tested on 20 patients and construct validity was assessed on 50 patients, with correlation against the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Body Dysmorphic Disorder. The Brazilian version of the instrument showed Cronbach's alpha of 0.805 and excellent inter-rater reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.873; P Dysmorphic Disorder and the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.981, thus showing good accuracy for discriminating between presence and absence of symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. Forty-six percent of the patients had body dysmorphic symptoms and 54% had moderate to severe appearance-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms. The Brazilian version of the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale is a reproducible instrument that presents face, content and construct validity.

  15. Job satisfaction and leaving intentions of midwives: analysis of a multinational cross-sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jarosova, Darja; Gurkova, Elena; Palese, Alvisa; Godeas, Gloria; Ziakova, Katarina; Song, Mi Sook; Lee, Jongwon; Cordeiro, Raul; Chan, Sally Wai-Chi; Babiarczyk, Beata; Fras, Malgorzata; Nedvedova, Daniela

    2016-01-01

    To investigate the relationship between turnover intentions and job satisfaction among hospital midwives from seven countries and to determine how the related variables differ between countries. Studies investigating professional turnover and job satisfaction among midwives are limited in scope. A cross-sectional descriptive survey was used to investigate the intended turnover and job satisfaction relationship among 1190 hospital midwives in European and Asian countries. Data were collected using a set of questionnaires that included questions regarding the leaving intentions of midwives and the McCloskey/Mueller satisfaction scale. Midwives were least satisfied with their extrinsic rewards and professional opportunities and with the balance between family and work. Significant differences were found in all domains of job satisfaction according to midwives' intentions to leave their current workplace in hospital or profession of midwife, and to work abroad. There are some general satisfying and dissatisfying elements for the profession of midwife across different countries. The results highlight the importance of understanding midwives' leaving intentions and related factors across different countries. To prevent midwife turnover, health-care managers should gain greater insight into the early stage of midwives' turnover intention. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Improved validation of IDP ensembles by one-bond Cα–Hα scalar couplings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gapsys, Vytautas [Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Computational Biomolecular Dynamics Group (Germany); Narayanan, Raghavendran L.; Xiang, ShengQi [Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department for NMR-Based Structural Biology (Germany); Groot, Bert L. de [Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Computational Biomolecular Dynamics Group (Germany); Zweckstetter, Markus, E-mail: markus.zweckstetter@dzne.de [Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Department for NMR-Based Structural Biology (Germany)

    2015-11-15

    Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are best described by ensembles of conformations and a variety of approaches have been developed to determine IDP ensembles. Because of the large number of conformations, however, cross-validation of the determined ensembles by independent experimental data is crucial. The {sup 1}J{sub CαHα} coupling constant is particularly suited for cross-validation, because it has a large magnitude and mostly depends on the often less accessible dihedral angle ψ. Here, we reinvestigated the connection between {sup 1}J{sub CαHα} values and protein backbone dihedral angles. We show that accurate amino-acid specific random coil values of the {sup 1}J{sub CαHα} coupling constant, in combination with a reparameterized empirical Karplus-type equation, allow for reliable cross-validation of molecular ensembles of IDPs.

  17. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Spanish version of The Foot and Ankle Ability Measures (FAAM-Sp).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cervera-Garvi, Pablo; Ortega-Avila, Ana Belen; Morales-Asencio, Jose Miguel; Cervera-Marin, Jose Antonio; Martin, Rob Roy; Gijon-Nogueron, Gabriel

    2017-01-01

    The Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) is a Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) commonly used to determine the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions for patients with foot and ankle pathologies and associated impairments of body function and structure, activity limitations, and participation restrictions. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the FAAM into Spanish. Cross-cultural adaptation was performed according to the international guidelines of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. Cronbach's alpha, test re-test reliability, and item-total and inter-item correlations were analyzed. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was carried out to test construct validity. Pearson correlations were calculated to assess the convergent validity between FAAM and EuroQol-5. Spanish data set comprised 194 patients, with a mean age of 38.45 (16.04) and 130 (67.1%) were female, seeing a podiatrist with a wide variety of foot and ankle related disorders. CFA was carried out to test structure matrix (which has three factors). The test-retest reliability was high with global ICC of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.93 to 0.98). A 15 items version of the FAAM-Sp Activities of Daily Living (ADL) obtained the best fit: relative chi-square ( x 2 /df) of 2.46, GFI 0.90 CFI 0.95, NFI 0.93, and RMSEA 0.08 (90% CI 0.04 to 0.09). For exploratory factor analysis for the FAAM-Sp Sport, a one factor solution was obtained, which explained 76.70% of total variance. CFA corroborated this model with an excellent goodness of fit:: relative chi-square ( x 2 /df) of 0.80, GFI 0.99 CFI 1.00, NFI 0.99, and RMSEA 0.00 (90% CI 0.00 to 0.75). This study validated a new 15-item FAAM-Sp ADL and FAAM-Sp Sport subscales, which can be used as a self-reported outcome measure in clinical practice and research for patients resident in Spain whose main language is Spanish.

  18. Comparison of L-curve and LOOCV depth profiles from TAARXPS data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Paynter, R.W., E-mail: royston_paynter@emt.inrs.ca

    2017-01-15

    Highlights: • Regularized profiles were extracted from TAARXPS data. • The L-curve and LOO cross-validation were used to choose the regularization parameter. • The two parameter choice methods were compared. - Abstract: Time and angle resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (TAARXPS) data, obtained from polystyrene samples exposed to an oxygen/helium plasma, have been interpreted using 1st order Tikhonov regularization to smooth the extracted depth profiles. Two methods for the choice of the regularization parameter, namely the L-curve method and leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV), are compared and contrasted.

  19. DIFFERENTIATION OF AURANTII FRUCTUS IMMATURUS AND FRUCTUS PONICIRI TRIFOLIATAE IMMATURUS BY FLOW-INJECTION WITH ULTRAVIOLET SPECTROSCOPIC DETECTION AND PROTON NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE USING PARTIAL LEAST-SQUARES DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mengliang; Zhao, Yang; Harrington, Peter de B; Chen, Pei

    2016-03-01

    Two simple fingerprinting methods, flow-injection coupled to ultraviolet spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance, were used for discriminating between Aurantii fructus immaturus and Fructus poniciri trifoliatae immaturus . Both methods were combined with partial least-squares discriminant analysis. In the flow-injection method, four data representations were evaluated: total ultraviolet absorbance chromatograms, averaged ultraviolet spectra, absorbance at 193, 205, 225, and 283 nm, and absorbance at 225 and 283 nm. Prediction rates of 100% were achieved for all data representations by partial least-squares discriminant analysis using leave-one-sample-out cross-validation. The prediction rate for the proton nuclear magnetic resonance data by partial least-squares discriminant analysis with leave-one-sample-out cross-validation was also 100%. A new validation set of data was collected by flow-injection with ultraviolet spectroscopic detection two weeks later and predicted by partial least-squares discriminant analysis models constructed by the initial data representations with no parameter changes. The classification rates were 95% with the total ultraviolet absorbance chromatograms datasets and 100% with the other three datasets. Flow-injection with ultraviolet detection and proton nuclear magnetic resonance are simple, high throughput, and low-cost methods for discrimination studies.

  20. Validity of Hansen-Roach cross sections in low-enriched uranium systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busch, R.D.; O'Dell, R.D.

    1991-01-01

    Within the nuclear criticality safety community, the Hansen-Roach 16 group cross section set has been the ''standard'' for use in k eff calculations over the past 30 years. Yet even with its widespread acceptance, there are still questions about its validity and adequacy, about the proper procedure for calculating the potential scattering cross section, σ p , for uranium and plutonium, and about the concept of resonance self shielding and its impact on cross sections. This paper attempts to address these questions. It provides a brief background on the Hansen-Roach cross sections. Next is presented a review of resonances in cross sections, self shielding of these resonances, and the use of σ p to characterize resonance self shielding. Three prescriptions for calculating σ p are given. Finally, results of several calculations of k eff on low-enriched uranium systems are provided to confirm the validity of the Hansen-Roach cross sections when applied to such systems

  1. Validity of Hansen-Roach cross sections in low-enriched uranium systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busch, R.D.; O'Dell, R.D.

    1991-01-01

    Within the nuclear criticality safety community, the Hansen-Roach 16 group cross section set has been the standard for use in k eff calculations over the past 30 years. Yet even with its widespread acceptance, there are still questions about its validity and adequacy, about the proper procedure for calculating the potential scattering cross section, σ p , for uranium and plutonium, and about the concept of resonance self shielding and its impact on cross sections. This paper attempts to address these questions. It provides a brief background on the Hansen-Roach cross sections. Next is presented a review of resonances in cross sections, self shielding of these resonances, and the use of σ p to characterize resonance self shielding. Three prescriptions for calculating σ p are given. Finally, results of several calculations of k eff on low-enriched uranium systems are provided to confirm the validity of the Hansen-Roach cross sections when applied to such systems. (Author)

  2. Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge) leave flavonoids attenuate atherosclerosis development in apoE knock-out mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Pengzhi; Pan, Lanlan; Zhang, Xiting; Zhang, Wenwen; Wang, Xue; Jiang, Meixiu; Chen, Yuanli; Duan, Yajun; Wu, Honghua; Xu, Yantong; Zhang, Peng; Zhu, Yan

    2017-02-23

    Hawthorn (Crataegus pinnatifida Bunge) leave have been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in China and Europe. Hawthorn leave flavonoids (HLF) are the main part of extraction. Whether hawthorn leave flavonoids could attenuate the development of atherosclerosis and the possible mechanism remain unknown. High-fat diet (HFD) mixed with HLF at concentrations of 5mg/kg and 20mg/kg were administered to apolipoprotein E (apoE) knock out mice. 16 weeks later, mouse serum was collected to determine the lipid profile while the mouse aorta dissected was prepared to measure the lesion area. Hepatic mRNA of genes involved in lipid metabolism were determined. Peritoneal macrophages were collected to study the impact of HLF on cholesterol efflux, formation of foam cell and the expression of ATP binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1). Besides, in vivo reverse cholesterol transport (RCT) was conducted. HLF attenuated the development of atherosclerosis that the mean atherosclerotic lesion area in en face aortas was reduced by 23.1% (Pflavonoids can slow down the development of atherosclerosis in apoE knockout mice via induced expression of genes involved in antioxidant activities, inhibition of the foam cell formation and promotion of RCT in vivo, which implies the potential use in the prevention of atherosclerosis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Coping Strategies to Hinder Intention to Leave in Iranian Nurses: A Qualitative Content Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valizadeh, Leila; Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Habibzadeh, Hosein; Alilu, Leyla; Shakibi, Ali

    2015-01-01

    Background: Due to the high clinical challenges, differences in coping strategies, and high workload in nurses, there is a need to develop strategies to keep them in the profession. The aim of the present study was to explore the Iranian nurses’ coping strategies to deal with intention to leave. Methods: A qualitative content analysis was used to obtain rich data. We performed 13 in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews with nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Tabriz and Urmia Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran, selected through purposive sampling. Constant comparative method was used for data analysis. Results: Three categories and eleven subcategories emerged during data analysis. The extracted categories and sub-categories consisted of (I) Self-empowerment (practical knowledge increase, responsibility, finding identification of the nurse, balancing work and life, seek support and humanitarian interests), (II) Self-controlling (tolerance, avoidance, the routine-based performance), and (III) Pursuing opportunities for advancement and promotion (community development, planning for higher education). Conclusion: Nurses make attempts to individually manage problems and stressors perceived from bedside that have led them to leave the bedside; these efforts have been effective in some cases but sometimes they are ineffective due to discontinuous training and relative competence in terms of how to manage and deal with problems. It is suggested that nurses should learn strategies scientifically to meet the challenges of bedside. Through enabling and supporting behaviors and creating opportunities for growth and professional development, nursery managers can help nurses to stay and achieve improvement of the quality of cares. PMID:26448959

  4. Coping Strategies to Hinder Intention to Leave in Iranian Nurses: A Qualitative Content Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valizadeh, Leila; Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Habibzadeh, Hosein; Alilu, Leyla; Shakibi, Ali

    2015-10-01

    Due to the high clinical challenges, differences in coping strategies, and high workload in nurses, there is a need to develop strategies to keep them in the profession. The aim of the present study was to explore the Iranian nurses' coping strategies to deal with intention to leave. A qualitative content analysis was used to obtain rich data. We performed 13 in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews with nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Tabriz and Urmia Universities of Medical Sciences in Iran, selected through purposive sampling. Constant comparative method was used for data analysis. Three categories and eleven subcategories emerged during data analysis. The extracted categories and sub-categories consisted of (I) Self-empowerment (practical knowledge increase, responsibility, finding identification of the nurse, balancing work and life, seek support and humanitarian interests), (II) Self-controlling (tolerance, avoidance, the routine-based performance), and (III) Pursuing opportunities for advancement and promotion (community development, planning for higher education). Nurses make attempts to individually manage problems and stressors perceived from bedside that have led them to leave the bedside; these efforts have been effective in some cases but sometimes they are ineffective due to discontinuous training and relative competence in terms of how to manage and deal with problems. It is suggested that nurses should learn strategies scientifically to meet the challenges of bedside. Through enabling and supporting behaviors and creating opportunities for growth and professional development, nursery managers can help nurses to stay and achieve improvement of the quality of cares.

  5. Cross-site scripting attacks procedure and Prevention Strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Xijun

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Cross-site scripting attacks and defense has been the site of attack and defense is an important issue, this paper, the definition of cross-site scripting attacks, according to the current understanding of the chaos on the cross-site scripting, analyzes the causes and harm cross-site scripting attacks formation of attacks XXS complete process XSS attacks made a comprehensive analysis, and then for the web program includes Mobility there are cross-site scripting filter laxity given from ordinary users browse the web and web application developers two the defense cross-site scripting attacks effective strategy.

  6. Validation of the WIMSD4M cross-section generation code with benchmark results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deen, J.R.; Woodruff, W.L.; Leal, L.E.

    1995-01-01

    The WIMSD4 code has been adopted for cross-section generation in support of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Subsequently, the code has undergone several updates, and significant improvements have been achieved. The capability of generating group-collapsed micro- or macroscopic cross sections from the ENDF/B-V library and the more recent evaluation, ENDF/B-VI, in the ISOTXS format makes the modified version of the WIMSD4 code, WIMSD4M, very attractive, not only for the RERTR program, but also for the reactor physics community. The intent of the present paper is to validate the WIMSD4M cross-section libraries for reactor modeling of fresh water moderated cores. The results of calculations performed with multigroup cross-section data generated with the WIMSD4M code will be compared against experimental results. These results correspond to calculations carried out with thermal reactor benchmarks of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) unreflected HEU critical spheres, the TRX LEU critical experiments, and calculations of a modified Los Alamos HEU D 2 O moderated benchmark critical system. The benchmark calculations were performed with the discrete-ordinates transport code, TWODANT, using WIMSD4M cross-section data. Transport calculations using the XSDRNPM module of the SCALE code system are also included. In addition to transport calculations, diffusion calculations with the DIF3D code were also carried out, since the DIF3D code is used in the RERTR program for reactor analysis and design. For completeness, Monte Carlo results of calculations performed with the VIM and MCNP codes are also presented

  7. Validation of the WIMSD4M cross-section generation code with benchmark results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Deen, J.R.; Woodruff, W.L. [Argonne National Lab., IL (United States); Leal, L.E. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1995-01-01

    The WIMSD4 code has been adopted for cross-section generation in support of the Reduced Enrichment Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). Subsequently, the code has undergone several updates, and significant improvements have been achieved. The capability of generating group-collapsed micro- or macroscopic cross sections from the ENDF/B-V library and the more recent evaluation, ENDF/B-VI, in the ISOTXS format makes the modified version of the WIMSD4 code, WIMSD4M, very attractive, not only for the RERTR program, but also for the reactor physics community. The intent of the present paper is to validate the WIMSD4M cross-section libraries for reactor modeling of fresh water moderated cores. The results of calculations performed with multigroup cross-section data generated with the WIMSD4M code will be compared against experimental results. These results correspond to calculations carried out with thermal reactor benchmarks of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) unreflected HEU critical spheres, the TRX LEU critical experiments, and calculations of a modified Los Alamos HEU D{sub 2}O moderated benchmark critical system. The benchmark calculations were performed with the discrete-ordinates transport code, TWODANT, using WIMSD4M cross-section data. Transport calculations using the XSDRNPM module of the SCALE code system are also included. In addition to transport calculations, diffusion calculations with the DIF3D code were also carried out, since the DIF3D code is used in the RERTR program for reactor analysis and design. For completeness, Monte Carlo results of calculations performed with the VIM and MCNP codes are also presented.

  8. Food-related life style: Development of a cross-culturally valid instrument for market surveillance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grunert, Klaus G.; Brunsø, Karen; Bisp, Søren

    1993-01-01

    Executive summary: 1. Surveying end users is a major component of market surveillance in the food industry. End users' value perception is the final determinant of how all other actors in the food chain can make a living. To perceive trends that affect how consumers value food products is therefore...... an important input to a food producer's strategy formation. 2. Life style measurement has been widely used in marketing, namely for guiding advertising strategy, segmentation, and product development. Life style is potentially a valuable tool for market surveillance. 3. Life style studies as they are currently...... done in market research have been criticized on several grounds: they lack a theoretical foundation, they lack cross-cultural validity, their ability to predict behaviour is limited, and the derivation of so-called basic life style dimensions is unclear. 4. We propose an instrument called food...

  9. A new classifier-based strategy for in-silico ion-channel cardiac drug safety assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hitesh eMistry

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available There is currently a strong interest in using high-throughput in-vitro ion-channel screening data to make predictions regarding the cardiac toxicity potential of a new compound in both animal and human studies. A recent FDA think tank encourages the use of biophysical mathematical models of cardiac myocytes for this prediction task. However, it remains unclear whether this approach is the most appropriate. Here we examine five literature data-sets that have been used to support the use of four different biophysical models and one statistical model for predicting cardiac toxicity in numerous species using various endpoints. We propose a simple model that represents the balance between repolarisation and depolarisation forces and compare the predictive power of the model against the original results (leave-one-out cross-validation. Our model showed equivalent performance when compared to the four biophysical models and one statistical model. We therefore conclude that this approach should be further investigated in the context of early cardiac safety screening when in-vitro potency data is generated.

  10. One size fits all electronics for insole-based activity monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hegde, Nagaraj; Bries, Matthew; Melanson, Edward; Sazonov, Edward

    2017-07-01

    Footwear based wearable sensors are becoming prominent in many areas of monitoring health and wellness, such as gait and activity monitoring. In our previous research we introduced an insole based wearable system SmartStep, which is completely integrated in a socially acceptable package. From a manufacturing perspective, SmartStep's electronics had to be custom made for each shoe size, greatly complicating the manufacturing process. In this work we explore the possibility of making a universal electronics platform for SmartStep - SmartStep 3.0, which can be used in the most common insole sizes without modifications. A pilot human subject experiments were run to compare the accuracy between the one-size fits all (SmartStep 3.0) and custom size SmartStep 2.0. A total of ~10 hours of data was collected in the pilot study involving three participants performing different activities of daily living while wearing SmartStep 2.0 and SmartStep 3.0. Leave one out cross validation resulted in a 98.5% average accuracy from SmartStep 2.0, while SmartStep 3.0 resulted in 98.3% accuracy, suggesting that the SmartStep 3.0 can be as accurate as SmartStep 2.0, while fitting most common shoe sizes.

  11. External validation of the use of vignettes in cross-country health studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Datta Gupta, Nabanita; Kristensen, Nicolai; Pozzoli, Dario

    2010-01-01

    Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignette...... and vignettes. Our results indicate that the assumption of RC is not innocuous and that our extended model relaxing this assumption improves the fit and significantly changes the cross-country rankings of health vis-a-vis the standard Chopit model.......Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignettes...

  12. External Validation of the Use of Vignettes in Cross-Country Health Studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Datta Gupta, Nabanita; Kristensen, Nicolai; Pozzoli, Dario

    Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignette...... and vignettes. Our results indicate that the assumption of RC is not innocuous and that our extended model relaxing this assumption improves the fit and significantly changes the cross-country rankings of health vis-à-vis the standard Chopit model.......Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignettes...

  13. External validation of the use of vignettes in cross-country health studies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gupta, Nabanita Datta; Kristensen, Nicolai; Pozzoli, Dario

    Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignette...... and vignettes. Our results indicate that the assumption of RC is not innocous and that our extended model relaxing this assumption improves the fit and significantly changes the cross-country rankings of health vis-\\'{a}-vis the standard Chopit model.......Cross-country comparisons of subjective assessments are rendered difficult if not impossible because of sub-population specific response style. To correct for this, the use of vignettes has become increasingly popular, notably within cross-country health studies. However, the validity of vignettes...

  14. Benchmarking protein classification algorithms via supervised cross-validation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kertész-Farkas, A.; Dhir, S.; Sonego, P.; Pacurar, M.; Netoteia, S.; Nijveen, H.; Kuzniar, A.; Leunissen, J.A.M.; Kocsor, A.; Pongor, S.

    2008-01-01

    Development and testing of protein classification algorithms are hampered by the fact that the protein universe is characterized by groups vastly different in the number of members, in average protein size, similarity within group, etc. Datasets based on traditional cross-validation (k-fold,

  15. Cross-Validation of Aerobic Capacity Prediction Models in Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burns, Ryan Donald; Hannon, James C; Brusseau, Timothy A; Eisenman, Patricia A; Saint-Maurice, Pedro F; Welk, Greg J; Mahar, Matthew T

    2015-08-01

    Cardiorespiratory endurance is a component of health-related fitness. FITNESSGRAM recommends the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) or One mile Run/Walk (1MRW) to assess cardiorespiratory endurance by estimating VO2 Peak. No research has cross-validated prediction models from both PACER and 1MRW, including the New PACER Model and PACER-Mile Equivalent (PACER-MEQ) using current standards. The purpose of this study was to cross-validate prediction models from PACER and 1MRW against measured VO2 Peak in adolescents. Cardiorespiratory endurance data were collected on 90 adolescents aged 13-16 years (Mean = 14.7 ± 1.3 years; 32 girls, 52 boys) who completed the PACER and 1MRW in addition to a laboratory maximal treadmill test to measure VO2 Peak. Multiple correlations among various models with measured VO2 Peak were considered moderately strong (R = .74-0.78), and prediction error (RMSE) ranged from 5.95 ml·kg⁻¹,min⁻¹ to 8.27 ml·kg⁻¹.min⁻¹. Criterion-referenced agreement into FITNESSGRAM's Healthy Fitness Zones was considered fair-to-good among models (Kappa = 0.31-0.62; Agreement = 75.5-89.9%; F = 0.08-0.65). In conclusion, prediction models demonstrated moderately strong linear relationships with measured VO2 Peak, fair prediction error, and fair-to-good criterion referenced agreement with measured VO2 Peak into FITNESSGRAM's Healthy Fitness Zones.

  16. [Strategy programming for acupuncture development along One-Belt-One-Road countries].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yuyang; Shen, Zhixiang; Wu, Zhongchao; Luo, Lu; Liu, Jingyuan; Liu, Baoyan

    2017-04-12

    Acupuncture has been applied in 183 countries and regions and gradually become a name card as TCM spreads across the world. The international influence of which plays a significant role in enhancing TCM development. The laws and regulations of TCM acupuncture along One-Belt-One-Road countries were compared and analyzed in this article. With comprehensive research and analysis, the international development strategy of acupuncture was rationally proposed. Combined with the historical background of China's national initiative One-Belt-One-Road, the acupuncture was taken as a breakthrough to lead the global spreading of TCM culture and Chinese herbs, so as to enhance China's soft strength, which could further create a fine cultural environment for the economic prosperity of One-Belt-One-Road countries. In addition, the strategy selection for China regarding TCM acupuncture development along One-Belt-One-Road countries was proposed, and the suggestive solution and implementation strategy for the essential missions and significant issues were provided.

  17. Cross-sample validation provides enhanced proteome coverage in rat vocal fold mucosa.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathan V Welham

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The vocal fold mucosa is a biomechanically unique tissue comprised of a densely cellular epithelium, superficial to an extracellular matrix (ECM-rich lamina propria. Such ECM-rich tissues are challenging to analyze using proteomic assays, primarily due to extensive crosslinking and glycosylation of the majority of high M(r ECM proteins. In this study, we implemented an LC-MS/MS-based strategy to characterize the rat vocal fold mucosa proteome. Our sample preparation protocol successfully solubilized both proteins and certain high M(r glycoconjugates and resulted in the identification of hundreds of mucosal proteins. A straightforward approach to the treatment of protein identifications attributed to single peptide hits allowed the retention of potentially important low abundance identifications (validated by a cross-sample match and de novo interpretation of relevant spectra while still eliminating potentially spurious identifications (global single peptide hits with no cross-sample match. The resulting vocal fold mucosa proteome was characterized by a wide range of cellular and extracellular proteins spanning 12 functional categories.

  18. Development and face validation of strategies for improving consultation skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lefroy, Janet; Thomas, Adam; Harrison, Chris; Williams, Stephen; O'Mahony, Fidelma; Gay, Simon; Kinston, Ruth; McKinley, R K

    2014-12-01

    While formative workplace based assessment can improve learners' skills, it often does not because the procedures used do not facilitate feedback which is sufficiently specific to scaffold improvement. Provision of pre-formulated strategies to address predicted learning needs has potential to improve the quality and automate the provision of written feedback. To systematically develop, validate and maximise the utility of a comprehensive list of strategies for improvement of consultation skills through a process involving both medical students and their clinical primary and secondary care tutors. Modified Delphi study with tutors, modified nominal group study with students with moderation of outputs by consensus round table discussion by the authors. 35 hospital and 21 GP tutors participated in the Delphi study and contributed 153 new or modified strategies. After review of these and the 205 original strategies, 265 strategies entered the nominal group study to which 46 year four and five students contributed, resulting in the final list of 249 validated strategies. We have developed a valid and comprehensive set of strategies which are considered useful by medical students. This list can be immediately applied by any school which uses the Calgary Cambridge Framework to inform the content of formative feedback on consultation skills. We consider that the list could also be mapped to alternative skills frameworks and so be utilised by schools which do not use the Calgary Cambridge Framework.

  19. Test-retest reliability and cross validation of the functioning everyday with a wheelchair instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Tamara L; Holm, Margo B; Schmeler, Mark

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to establish the test-retest reliability and content validity of an outcomes tool designed to measure the effectiveness of seating-mobility interventions on the functional performance of individuals who use wheelchairs or scooters as their primary seating-mobility device. The instrument, Functioning Everyday With a Wheelchair (FEW), is a questionnaire designed to measure perceived user function related to wheelchair/scooter use. Using consumer-generated items, FEW Beta Version 1.0 was developed and test-retest reliability was established. Cross-validation of FEW Beta Version 1.0 was then carried out with five samples of seating-mobility users to establish content validity. Based on the content validity study, FEW Version 2.0 was developed and administered to seating-mobility consumers to examine its test-retest reliability. FEW Beta Version 1.0 yielded an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) Model (3,k) of .92, p content validity results revealed that FEW Beta Version 1.0 captured 55% of seating-mobility goals reported by consumers across five samples. FEW Version 2.0 yielded ICC(3,k) = .86, p content validity of FEW Version 2.0 was confirmed. FEW Beta Version 1.0 and FEW Version 2.0 were highly stable in their measurement of participants' seating-mobility goals over a 1-week interval.

  20. Quality of Work Life, Nurses' Intention to Leave the Profession, and Nurses Leaving the Profession: A One-Year Prospective Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Ya-Wen; Dai, Yu-Tzu; Chang, Mei Yeh; Chang, Yue-Cune; Yao, Kaiping Grace; Liu, Mei-Chun

    2017-07-01

    To examine the associations among quality of work life, nurses' intention to leave the profession, and nurses leaving the profession. A prospective study design was used. Participants were 1,283 hospital nurses with a purposive sampling in Taiwan. The self-reported questionnaire consisted of three questionnaires: the Chinese version of the Quality of Nursing Work Life scale, an intention-to-leave profession questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Records of nurses leaving the profession were surveyed 1 year later. Data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. As many as 720 nurses (56.1%) had tendencies to leave their profession. However, only 31 nurses (2.5%) left their profession 1 year later. Nurses' intention to leave the profession mediated the relationship between the milieu of respect and autonomy, quality of work life, and nurses leaving the profession. The milieu of respect and autonomy describing the quality of work life predicts the nurses' intention to leave the profession, and together these predict nurses leaving the profession. This study illustrates that nurse managers could provide effective interventions to ameliorate the milieu of respect and autonomy aspect of quality of work life to prevent nurses from leaving their profession. © 2017 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  1. Cross-cultural validity of the ABILOCO questionnaire for individuals with stroke, based on Rasch analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avelino, Patrick Roberto; Magalhães, Lívia Castro; Faria-Fortini, Iza; Basílio, Marluce Lopes; Menezes, Kênia Kiefer Parreiras; Teixeira-Salmela, Luci Fuscaldi

    2018-06-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Brazilian version of the ABILOCO questionnaire for stroke subjects. Cross-cultural adaptation of the original English version of the ABILOCO to the Brazilian-Portuguese language followed standardized procedures. The adapted version was administered to 136 stroke subjects and its measurement properties were assessed using Rash analysis. Cross-cultural validity was based on cultural invariance analyses. Goodness-of-fit analysis revealed one misfitting item. The principal component analysis of the residuals showed that the first dimension explained 45% of the variance in locomotion ability; however, the eigenvalue was 1.92. The ABILOCO-Brazil divided the sample into two levels of ability and the items into about seven levels of difficulty. The item-person map showed some ceiling effect. Cultural invariance analyses revealed that although there were differences in the item calibrations between the ABILOCO-original and ABILOCO-Brazil, they did not impact the measures of locomotion ability. The ABILOCO-Brazil demonstrated satisfactory measurement properties to be used within both clinical and research contexts in Brazil, as well cross-cultural validity to be used in international/multicentric studies. However, the presence of ceiling effect suggests that it may not be appropriate for the assessment of individuals with high levels of locomotion ability. Implications for rehabilitation Self-report measures of locomotion ability are clinically important, since they describe the abilities of the individuals within real life contexts. The ABILOCO questionnaire, specific for stroke survivors, demonstrated satisfactory measurement properties, but may not be most appropriate to assess individuals with high levels of locomotion ability The results of the cross-cultural validity showed that the ABILOCO-Original and the ABILOCO-Brazil calibrations may be used interchangeable.

  2. Dose-response relation between physical activity and sick leave

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Proper, K.I.; Heuvel, S.G. van den; Vroome, E.M. de; Hildebrandt, V.H.; Beek, A.J. van der

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the dose-response relation between moderate and vigorous physical activity and sick leave in a working population. Methods: Data were used from three large Dutch databases: two continuous, cross sectional surveys among a representative sample of the Dutch population and one

  3. Sick Leave and Factors Influencing Sick Leave in Adult Patients with Atopic Dermatitis : A Cross-Sectional Study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Os-Medendorp, Harmieke; Appelman-Noordermeer, Simone; Bruijnzeel-Koomen, Carla A.F.M.; de Bruin-Weller, MS

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prevalence of sick leave due to atopic dermatitis (AD). The current literature on factors influencing sick leave is mostly derived from other chronic inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sick leave due to AD and to identify

  4. Factors related to work ability and well-being among women on sick leave due to long-term pain in the neck/shoulders and/or back: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Mamunur; Kristofferzon, Marja-Leena; Heiden, Marina; Nilsson, Annika

    2018-05-30

    Musculoskeletal pain is one of the leading causes of sick leave, especially among women, in Western countries. The aim of the present study was to identify factors associated with work ability and well-being, respectively, among women on sick leave due to long-term pain in the neck/shoulders and/or back. A cross-sectional study with a correlational design was conducted on women who were sick-listed due to long-term pain in the neck/shoulders and/or back. A total of 208 participants responded to a survey comprising eight instruments: Multidimensional Pain Inventory scale, General Self-Efficacy scale, Sense of Coherence scale, Coping Strategies Questionnaire, Demand-Control-Support Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Work Ability Index and Life Satisfaction questionnaire. Multiple linear regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with work ability and well-being, respectively. Women who more strongly believed they would return to the same work had greater work ability (β = 0.39, p women with higher pain intensity (β = - 0.30, p job strain (β = - 0.12, p Women with higher self-efficacy rated greater well-being (β = 0.14, p women's scores for depression increased, their well-being decreased by 48%, which was statistically significant (p job strain are predictive of work ability. Moreover, the factors self-efficacy and depression seem to be predictive of well-being. The findings highlight factors that should be considered by health care professionals and policy-makers to guide attempts to reduce sick leave.

  5. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE SPIRITUAL COPING STRATEGIES SCALE ARABIC VERSION IN SAUDI PATIENTS UNDERGOING HAEMODIALYSIS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Jonas P; Baldacchino, Donia R; Alquwez, Nahed

    2016-06-01

    Patients often resort to religious and spiritual activities to cope with physical and mental challenges. The effect of spiritual coping on overall health, adaptation and health-related quality of life among patients undergoing haemodialysis (HD) is well documented. Thus, it is essential to establish a valid and reliable instrument that can assess both the religious and non-religious coping methods in patients undergoing HD. This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Spiritual Coping Strategies Scale Arabic version (SCS-A) in Saudi patients undergoing HD. A convenience sample of 60 Saudi patients undergoing HD was recruited for this descriptive, cross-sectional study. Data were collected between May and June 2015. Forward-backward translation was used to formulate the SCS-A. The SCS-A, Muslim Religiosity Scale and the Quality of Life Index Dialysis Version III were used to procure the data. Internal consistency reliability, stability reliability, factor analysis and construct validity tests were performed. Analyses were set at the 0.05 level of significance. The SCS-A showed an acceptable internal consistency and strong stability reliability over time. The EFA produced two factors (non-religious and religious coping). Satisfactory construct validity was established by the convergent and divergent validity and known-groups method. The SCS-A is a reliable and valid tool that can be used to measure the religious and non-religious coping strategies of patients undergoing HD in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim and Arabic-speaking countries. © 2016 European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association/European Renal Care Association.

  6. Development and testing of a cross-culturally valid instrument: food-related life style

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsø, Karen; Grunert, Klaus G.

    1995-01-01

    -culturaly valid way. To this end we have developed a pool of 202 items, collected data in three countries, and have constructed scales based on cross-culturally stable factor patterns. We have then applie set of scales to a fourth country, in order to further test the cross-cultural validity of the instrument....

  7. Psychosocial impact of Parkinson's disease-associated dysarthria: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Dysarthria Impact Profile into European Portuguese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cardoso, Rita; Guimarães, Isabel; Santos, Helena; Loureiro, Rita; Domingos, Josefa; Abreu, Daisy; Gonçalves, Nilza; Pinto, Serge; Ferreira, Joaquim J

    2018-01-26

    The present study sought to make a cross-cultural adaptation of the Dysarthria Impact Profile (DIP) for European Portuguese (EP) and validate it for use in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. The cross-cultural adaptation was carried out in accordance with the guidelines. The EP version of the DIP was administered to 80 people with PD, and 30 sex- and age-matched control participants. Psychometric properties, acceptability, feasibility reliability (internal consistency and intrarater agreement) and validity (construct, convergent and known-groups validity) were assessed using other assessment tools (motor disability and impairment, and voice impact). Overall, the EP-DIP final version has the same conceptual meaning, semantics, idiomatic and score equivalences as the original version. Statistical analyses showed adequate feasibility (missing data psychosocial impact of slight-to-mild dysarthria in people with PD. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; ••: ••-••. © 2018 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  8. An efficient sequential strategy for realizing cross-gradient joint inversion: method and its application to 2-D cross borehole seismic traveltime and DC resistivity tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Ji; Zhang, Haijiang

    2018-05-01

    Cross-gradient joint inversion that enforces structural similarity between different models has been widely utilized in jointly inverting different geophysical data types. However, it is a challenge to combine different geophysical inversion systems with the cross-gradient structural constraint into one joint inversion system because they may differ greatly in the model representation, forward modelling and inversion algorithm. Here we propose a new joint inversion strategy that can avoid this issue. Different models are separately inverted using the existing inversion packages and model structure similarity is only enforced through cross-gradient minimization between two models after each iteration. Although the data fitting and structural similarity enforcing processes are decoupled, our proposed strategy is still able to choose appropriate models to balance the trade-off between geophysical data fitting and structural similarity. This is realized by using model perturbations from separate data inversions to constrain the cross-gradient minimization process. We have tested this new strategy on 2-D cross borehole synthetic seismic traveltime and DC resistivity data sets. Compared to separate geophysical inversions, our proposed joint inversion strategy fits the separate data sets at comparable levels while at the same time resulting in a higher structural similarity between the velocity and resistivity models.

  9. Noninvasive Strategy Based on Real-Time in Vivo Cataluminescence Monitoring for Clinical Breath Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Runkun; Huang, Wanting; Li, Gongke; Hu, Yufei

    2017-03-21

    The development of noninvasive methods for real-time in vivo analysis is of great significant, which provides powerful tools for medical research and clinical diagnosis. In the present work, we described a new strategy based on cataluminescence (CTL) for real-time in vivo clinical breath analysis. To illustrate such strategy, a homemade real-time CTL monitoring system characterized by coupling an online sampling device with a CTL sensor for sevoflurane (SVF) was designed, and a real-time in vivo method for the monitoring of SVF in exhaled breath was proposed. The accuracy of the method was evaluated by analyzing the real exhaled breath samples, and the results were compared with those obtained by GC/MS. The measured data obtained by the two methods were in good agreement. Subsequently, the method was applied to real-time monitoring of SVF in exhaled breath from rat models of the control group to investigate elimination pharmacokinetics. In order to further probe the potential of the method for clinical application, the elimination pharmacokinetics of SVF from rat models of control group, liver fibrosis group alcohol liver group, and nonalcoholic fatty liver group were monitored by the method. The raw data of pharmacokinetics of different groups were normalized and subsequently subjected to linear discriminant analysis (LDA). These data were transformed to canonical scores which were visualized as well-clustered with the classification accuracy of 100%, and the overall accuracy of leave-one-out cross-validation procedure is 88%, thereby indicating the utility of the potential of the method for liver disease diagnosis. Our strategy undoubtedly opens up a new door for real-time clinical analysis in a pain-free and noninvasive way and also guides a promising development direction for CTL.

  10. Child-OIDP index in Brazil: Cross-cultural adaptation and validation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsakos Georgios

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL measures are being increasingly used to introduce dimensions excluded by normative measures. Consequently, there is a need for an index which evaluates children's OHRQoL validated for Brazilian population, useful for oral health needs assessments and for the evaluation of oral health programs, services and technologies. The aim of this study was to do a cross-cultural adaptation of the Child Oral Impacts on Daily Performances (Child-OIDP index, and assess its reliability and validity for application among Brazilian children between the ages of eleven and fourteen. Methods For cross-cultural adaptation, a translation/back-translation method integrated with expert panel reviews was applied. A total of 342 students from four public schools took part of the study. Results Overall, 80.7% of the sample reported at least one oral impact in the last three months. Cronbach's alpha was 0.63, the weighted kappa 0.76, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 0.79. The index had a significant association with self-reported health measurements (self-rated oral health, satisfaction with oral health, perceived dental treatment needs, self-rated general health; all p Conclusion It was concluded that the Child-OIDP index is a measure of oral health-related quality of life that can be applied to Brazilian children.

  11. Cognitive—Motor Interference in an Ecologically Valid Street Crossing Scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christin Janouch

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Laboratory-based research revealed that gait involves higher cognitive processes, leading to performance impairments when executed with a concurrent loading task. Deficits are especially pronounced in older adults. Theoretical approaches like the multiple resource model highlight the role of task similarity and associated attention distribution problems. It has been shown that in cases where these distribution problems are perceived relevant to participant's risk of falls, older adults prioritize gait and posture over the concurrent loading task. Here we investigate whether findings on task similarity and task prioritization can be transferred to an ecologically valid scenario. Sixty-three younger adults (20–30 years of age and 61 older adults (65–75 years of age participated in a virtual street crossing simulation. The participants' task was to identify suitable gaps that would allow them to cross a simulated two way street safely. Therefore, participants walked on a manual treadmill that transferred their forward motion to forward displacements in a virtual city. The task was presented as a single task (crossing only and as a multitask. In the multitask condition participants were asked, among others, to type in three digit numbers that were presented either visually or auditorily. We found that for both age groups, street crossing as well as typing performance suffered under multitasking conditions. Impairments were especially pronounced for older adults (e.g., longer crossing initiation phase, more missed opportunities. However, younger and older adults did not differ in the speed and success rate of crossing. Further, deficits were stronger in the visual compared to the auditory task modality for most parameters. Our findings conform to earlier studies that found an age-related decline in multitasking performance in less realistic scenarios. However, task similarity effects were inconsistent and question the validity of the multiple

  12. Cross Validation Through Two-Dimensional Solution Surface for Cost-Sensitive SVM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Bin; Sheng, Victor S; Tay, Keng Yeow; Romano, Walter; Li, Shuo

    2017-06-01

    Model selection plays an important role in cost-sensitive SVM (CS-SVM). It has been proven that the global minimum cross validation (CV) error can be efficiently computed based on the solution path for one parameter learning problems. However, it is a challenge to obtain the global minimum CV error for CS-SVM based on one-dimensional solution path and traditional grid search, because CS-SVM is with two regularization parameters. In this paper, we propose a solution and error surfaces based CV approach (CV-SES). More specifically, we first compute a two-dimensional solution surface for CS-SVM based on a bi-parameter space partition algorithm, which can fit solutions of CS-SVM for all values of both regularization parameters. Then, we compute a two-dimensional validation error surface for each CV fold, which can fit validation errors of CS-SVM for all values of both regularization parameters. Finally, we obtain the CV error surface by superposing K validation error surfaces, which can find the global minimum CV error of CS-SVM. Experiments are conducted on seven datasets for cost sensitive learning and on four datasets for imbalanced learning. Experimental results not only show that our proposed CV-SES has a better generalization ability than CS-SVM with various hybrids between grid search and solution path methods, and than recent proposed cost-sensitive hinge loss SVM with three-dimensional grid search, but also show that CV-SES uses less running time.

  13. Validation and selection of ODE based systems biology models: how to arrive at more reliable decisions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasdemir, Dicle; Hoefsloot, Huub C J; Smilde, Age K

    2015-07-08

    Most ordinary differential equation (ODE) based modeling studies in systems biology involve a hold-out validation step for model validation. In this framework a pre-determined part of the data is used as validation data and, therefore it is not used for estimating the parameters of the model. The model is assumed to be validated if the model predictions on the validation dataset show good agreement with the data. Model selection between alternative model structures can also be performed in the same setting, based on the predictive power of the model structures on the validation dataset. However, drawbacks associated with this approach are usually under-estimated. We have carried out simulations by using a recently published High Osmolarity Glycerol (HOG) pathway from S.cerevisiae to demonstrate these drawbacks. We have shown that it is very important how the data is partitioned and which part of the data is used for validation purposes. The hold-out validation strategy leads to biased conclusions, since it can lead to different validation and selection decisions when different partitioning schemes are used. Furthermore, finding sensible partitioning schemes that would lead to reliable decisions are heavily dependent on the biology and unknown model parameters which turns the problem into a paradox. This brings the need for alternative validation approaches that offer flexible partitioning of the data. For this purpose, we have introduced a stratified random cross-validation (SRCV) approach that successfully overcomes these limitations. SRCV leads to more stable decisions for both validation and selection which are not biased by underlying biological phenomena. Furthermore, it is less dependent on the specific noise realization in the data. Therefore, it proves to be a promising alternative to the standard hold-out validation strategy.

  14. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the VISA-A questionnaire for German-speaking achilles tendinopathy patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lohrer, Heinz; Nauck, Tanja

    2009-10-30

    Achilles tendinopathy is the predominant overuse injury in runners. To further investigate this overload injury in transverse and longitudinal studies a valid, responsive and reliable outcome measure is demanded. Most questionnaires have been developed for English-speaking populations. This is also true for the VISA-A score, so far representing the only valid, reliable, and disease specific questionnaire for Achilles tendinopathy. To internationally compare research results, to perform multinational studies or to exclude bias originating from subpopulations speaking different languages within one country an equivalent instrument is demanded in different languages. The aim of this study was therefore to cross-cultural adapt and validate the VISA-A questionnaire for German-speaking Achilles tendinopathy patients. According to the "guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures" the VISA-A score was cross-culturally adapted into German (VISA-A-G) using six steps: Translation, synthesis, back translation, expert committee review, pretesting (n = 77), and appraisal of the adaptation process by an advisory committee determining the adequacy of the cross-cultural adaptation. The resulting VISA-A-G was then subjected to an analysis of reliability, validity, and internal consistency in 30 Achilles tendinopathy patients and 79 asymptomatic people. Concurrent validity was tested against a generic tendon grading system (Percy and Conochie) and against a classification system for the effect of pain on athletic performance (Curwin and Stanish). The "advisory committee" determined the VISA-A-G questionnaire as been translated "acceptable". The VISA-A-G questionnaire showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.60 to 0.97). Concurrent validity showed good coherence when correlated with the grading system of Curwin and Stanish (rho = -0.95) and for the Percy and Conochie grade of severity (rho 0.95). Internal consistency (Cronbach

  15. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the VISA-A questionnaire for German-speaking Achilles tendinopathy patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nauck Tanja

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Achilles tendinopathy is the predominant overuse injury in runners. To further investigate this overload injury in transverse and longitudinal studies a valid, responsive and reliable outcome measure is demanded. Most questionnaires have been developed for English-speaking populations. This is also true for the VISA-A score, so far representing the only valid, reliable, and disease specific questionnaire for Achilles tendinopathy. To internationally compare research results, to perform multinational studies or to exclude bias originating from subpopulations speaking different languages within one country an equivalent instrument is demanded in different languages. The aim of this study was therefore to cross-cultural adapt and validate the VISA-A questionnaire for German-speaking Achilles tendinopathy patients. Methods According to the "guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures" the VISA-A score was cross-culturally adapted into German (VISA-A-G using six steps: Translation, synthesis, back translation, expert committee review, pretesting (n = 77, and appraisal of the adaptation process by an advisory committee determining the adequacy of the cross-cultural adaptation. The resulting VISA-A-G was then subjected to an analysis of reliability, validity, and internal consistency in 30 Achilles tendinopathy patients and 79 asymptomatic people. Concurrent validity was tested against a generic tendon grading system (Percy and Conochie and against a classification system for the effect of pain on athletic performance (Curwin and Stanish. Results The "advisory committee" determined the VISA-A-G questionnaire as been translated "acceptable". The VISA-A-G questionnaire showed moderate to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.60 to 0.97. Concurrent validity showed good coherence when correlated with the grading system of Curwin and Stanish (rho = -0.95 and for the Percy and Conochie grade of

  16. On the use of the observation-wise k-fold operation in PCA cross-validation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saccenti, E.; Camacho, J.

    2015-01-01

    Cross-validation (CV) is a common approach for determining the optimal number of components in a principal component analysis model. To guarantee the independence between model testing and calibration, the observationwise k-fold operation is commonly implemented in each cross-validation step. This

  17. Comparative morphology on leaves of Daphniphyllum (Daphniphyllaceae)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tang, M.-S.; Yang, Y.-P.; Sheue, C.-R.

    2009-01-01

    A comparative anatomical study on the leaves of nine out of 29 species of the genus Daphniphyllum was performed to seek support for the present infrageneric classification. Daphniphyllum is composed of two sections, Lunata (with one subsection Lunata) and Daphniphyllum (with two subsections,

  18. Adaptation and obtainment of evidence for the validity of the “Scale of Perceived Sacrifices Associated with Leaving (the organization” in the Brazilian context: a study among teachers of basic, technical, and technological education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Gomes de Jesus

    Full Text Available Abstract The most widely-used model in studies of organizational commitment is the three-dimensional model developed by Meyer and Allen in 1991. This model understands the construct as being composed of instrumental, affective, and normative dimensions. However, it has been criticized by researchers who do not view instrumental commitment as related to the concept of commitment, but instead as a possible organizational link. In order to address the conceptual and empirical problems of the instrument, Powell and Meyer perfected the sub-scale of instrumental commitment and recommended that a new scale, named Perceived Sacrifices Associated with Leaving, be used in future research. This article aims to adapt and obtain evidence of the validity of the new scale, and analyze how teachers perceive the sacrifices associated with leaving a Federal Institute of Education, Science, and Technology. The scale has undergone cross-cultural adaptation and the adapted version was applied to teachers. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis were applied, displaying evidence of the validity of the construct for the Brazilian version. The results revealed that teachers agree on the high intensity level of the sacrifices associated with leaving, and that teachers who occupy management positions perceive it to a higher degree than others. The proposed changes in the scale should be evaluated in future research, and other studies are important to confirm the results found.

  19. Cross-validation of an employee safety climate model in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahari, Siti Fatimah; Clarke, Sharon

    2013-06-01

    Whilst substantial research has investigated the nature of safety climate, and its importance as a leading indicator of organisational safety, much of this research has been conducted with Western industrial samples. The current study focuses on the cross-validation of a safety climate model in the non-Western industrial context of Malaysian manufacturing. The first-order factorial validity of Cheyne et al.'s (1998) [Cheyne, A., Cox, S., Oliver, A., Tomas, J.M., 1998. Modelling safety climate in the prediction of levels of safety activity. Work and Stress, 12(3), 255-271] model was tested, using confirmatory factor analysis, in a Malaysian sample. Results showed that the model fit indices were below accepted levels, indicating that the original Cheyne et al. (1998) safety climate model was not supported. An alternative three-factor model was developed using exploratory factor analysis. Although these findings are not consistent with previously reported cross-validation studies, we argue that previous studies have focused on validation across Western samples, and that the current study demonstrates the need to take account of cultural factors in the development of safety climate models intended for use in non-Western contexts. The results have important implications for the transferability of existing safety climate models across cultures (for example, in global organisations) and highlight the need for future research to examine cross-cultural issues in relation to safety climate. Copyright © 2013 National Safety Council and Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Medical leave granted to psychiatric inpatients--a one-year retrospective review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koh, K G; Ang, A W

    2000-09-01

    Of the 676 patients warded in 1998 at the National University Hospital (NUH) Department of Psychological Medicine, over a third (n = 268) required certification of absence from work. Duration of inpatient stay and immediate post-discharge medical leave were examined for this group. These durations were correlated against the patients' diagnoses and their demographic variables. The mental health morbidity of teachers was specifically studied. In this retrospective study, we used medical certificate counterfoils to determine the lengths of admission and post-discharge medical leave duration. ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests of the SPSS computer package were used for statistical analysis. The sex and marital status of these patients did not affect either duration significantly. However, those 45 years and older were granted longer outpatient medical leave. Patients diagnosed with mood and psychotic disorders required longer inpatient stay and were granted longer outpatient medical leave, as compared with other diagnostic groups. It was found that the teachers admitted were largely 45 years and older, had a diagnosis of depression and required extended periods of outpatient medical leave compared to other occupational groups. The mean number of days of inpatient stay and outpatient medical leave may serve as a helpful guideline of current practice. As introduced in this paper, the use of medical certificate counterfoils is a simple yet effective way of measuring days off-work. With the inclusion of those psychiatric patients not working and the medical leave granted long after discharge, calculations of the economic costs of specific mental disorders to Singapore can then be attempted.

  1. The cross-cultural validity of posttraumatic stress disorder: implications for DSM-5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinton, Devon E; Lewis-Fernández, Roberto

    2011-09-01

    There is considerable debate about the cross-cultural applicability of the posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) category as currently specified. Concerns include the possible status of PTSD as a Western culture-bound disorder and the validity of individual items and criteria thresholds. This review examines various types of cross-cultural validity of the PTSD criteria as defined in DSM-IV-TR, and presents options and preliminary recommendations to be considered for DSM-5. Searches were conducted of the mental health literature, particularly since 1994, regarding cultural-, race-, or ethnicity-related factors that might limit the universal applicability of the diagnostic criteria of PTSD in DSM-IV-TR and the possible criteria for DSM-5. Substantial evidence of the cross-cultural validity of PTSD was found. However, evidence of cross-cultural variability in certain areas suggests the need for further research: the relative salience of avoidance/numbing symptoms, the role of the interpretation of trauma-caused symptoms in shaping symptomatology, and the prevalence of somatic symptoms. This review also indicates the need to modify certain criteria, such as the items on distressing dreams and on foreshortened future, to increase their cross-cultural applicability. Text additions are suggested to increase the applicability of the manual across cultural contexts: specifying that cultural syndromes-such as those indicated in the DSM-IV-TR Glossary-may be a prominent part of the trauma response in certain cultures, and that those syndromes may influence PTSD symptom salience and comorbidity. The DSM-IV-TR PTSD category demonstrates various types of validity. Criteria modification and textual clarifications are suggested to further improve its cross-cultural applicability. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

  2. Development and validation of a prognostic model using blood biomarker information for prediction of survival of non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with combined chemotherapy and radiation or radiotherapy alone (NCT00181519, NCT00573040, and NCT00572325).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehing-Oberije, Cary; Aerts, Hugo; Yu, Shipeng; De Ruysscher, Dirk; Menheere, Paul; Hilvo, Mika; van der Weide, Hiska; Rao, Bharat; Lambin, Philippe

    2011-10-01

    Currently, prediction of survival for non-small-cell lung cancer patients treated with (chemo)radiotherapy is mainly based on clinical factors. The hypothesis of this prospective study was that blood biomarkers related to hypoxia, inflammation, and tumor load would have an added prognostic value for predicting survival. Clinical data and blood samples were collected prospectively (NCT00181519, NCT00573040, and NCT00572325) from 106 inoperable non-small-cell lung cancer patients (Stages I-IIIB), treated with curative intent with radiotherapy alone or combined with chemotherapy. Blood biomarkers, including lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, osteopontin, carbonic anhydrase IX, interleukin (IL) 6, IL-8, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and cytokeratin fragment 21-1, were measured. A multivariate model, built on a large patient population (N = 322) and externally validated, was used as a baseline model. An extended model was created by selecting additional biomarkers. The model's performance was expressed as the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic and assessed by use of leave-one-out cross validation as well as a validation cohort (n = 52). The baseline model consisted of gender, World Health Organization performance status, forced expiratory volume, number of positive lymph node stations, and gross tumor volume and yielded an AUC of 0.72. The extended model included two additional blood biomarkers (CEA and IL-6) and resulted in a leave-one-out AUC of 0.81. The performance of the extended model was significantly better than the clinical model (p = 0.004). The AUC on the validation cohort was 0.66 and 0.76, respectively. The performance of the prognostic model for survival improved markedly by adding two blood biomarkers: CEA and IL-6. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Evolutionary fate of memory-one strategies in repeated prisoner's dilemma game in structured populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Xu-Sheng; Wu, Zhi-Xi; Chen, Michael Z. Q.; Guan, Jian-Yue

    2017-07-01

    We study evolutionary spatial prisoner's dilemma game involving a one-step memory mechanism of the individuals whenever making strategy updating. In particular, during the process of strategy updating, each individual keeps in mind all the outcome of the action pairs adopted by himself and each of his neighbors in the last interaction, and according to which the individuals decide what actions they will take in the next round. Computer simulation results imply that win-stay-lose-shift like strategy win out of the memory-one strategy set in the stationary state. This result is robust in a large range of the payoff parameter, and does not depend on the initial state of the system. Furthermore, theoretical analysis with mean field and quasi-static approximation predict the same result. Thus, our studies suggest that win-stay-lose-shift like strategy is a stable dominant strategy in repeated prisoner's dilemma game in homogeneous structured populations.

  4. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of Persian Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansari, Noureddin Nakhostin; Naghdi, Soofia; Hasanvand, Sahar; Fakhari, Zahra; Kordi, Ramin; Nilsson-Helander, Katarina

    2016-04-01

    To cross-culturally adapt the Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) to Persian language and to preliminary evaluate the reliability and validity of a Persian ATRS. A cross-sectional and prospective cohort study was conducted to translate and cross-culturally adapt the ATRS to Persian language (ATRS-Persian) following steps described in guidelines. Thirty patients with total Achilles tendon rupture and 30 healthy subjects participated in this study. Psychometric properties of floor/ceiling effects (responsiveness), internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, standard error of measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), construct validity, and discriminant validity were tested. Factor analysis was performed to determine the ATRS-Persian structure. There were no floor or ceiling effects that indicate the content and responsiveness of ATRS-Persian. Internal consistency was high (Cronbach's α 0.95). Item-total correlations exceeded acceptable standard of 0.3 for the all items (0.58-0.95). The test-retest reliability was excellent [(ICC)agreement 0.98]. SEM and SDC were 3.57 and 9.9, respectively. Construct validity was supported by a significant correlation between the ATRS-Persian total score and the Persian Foot and Ankle Outcome Score (PFAOS) total score and PFAOS subscales (r = 0.55-0.83). The ATRS-Persian significantly discriminated between patients and healthy subjects. Explanatory factor analysis revealed 1 component. The ATRS was cross-culturally adapted to Persian and demonstrated to be a reliable and valid instrument to measure functional outcomes in Persian patients with Achilles tendon rupture. II.

  5. Cross-validated detection of crack initiation in aerospace materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanniamparambil, Prashanth A.; Cuadra, Jefferson; Guclu, Utku; Bartoli, Ivan; Kontsos, Antonios

    2014-03-01

    A cross-validated nondestructive evaluation approach was employed to in situ detect the onset of damage in an Aluminum alloy compact tension specimen. The approach consisted of the coordinated use primarily the acoustic emission, combined with the infrared thermography and digital image correlation methods. Both tensile loads were applied and the specimen was continuously monitored using the nondestructive approach. Crack initiation was witnessed visually and was confirmed by the characteristic load drop accompanying the ductile fracture process. The full field deformation map provided by the nondestructive approach validated the formation of a pronounced plasticity zone near the crack tip. At the time of crack initiation, a burst in the temperature field ahead of the crack tip as well as a sudden increase of the acoustic recordings were observed. Although such experiments have been attempted and reported before in the literature, the presented approach provides for the first time a cross-validated nondestructive dataset that can be used for quantitative analyses of the crack initiation information content. It further allows future development of automated procedures for real-time identification of damage precursors including the rarely explored crack incubation stage in fatigue conditions.

  6. Cross-cultural validity of the thyroid-specific quality-of-life patient-reported outcome measure, ThyPRO.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watt, Torquil; Barbesino, Giuseppe; Bjorner, Jakob Bue; Bonnema, Steen Joop; Bukvic, Branka; Drummond, Russell; Groenvold, Mogens; Hegedüs, Laszlo; Kantzer, Valeska; Lasch, Kathryn E; Marcocci, Claudio; Mishra, Anjali; Netea-Maier, Romana; Ekker, Merel; Paunovic, Ivan; Quinn, Terence J; Rasmussen, Åse Krogh; Russell, Audrey; Sabaretnam, Mayilvaganan; Smit, Johannes; Törring, Ove; Zivaljevic, Vladan; Feldt-Rasmussen, Ulla

    2015-03-01

    Thyroid diseases are common and often affect quality of life (QoL). No cross-culturally validated patient-reported outcome measuring thyroid-related QoL is available. The purpose of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the newly developed thyroid-related patient-reported outcome ThyPRO, using tests for differential item functioning (DIF) according to language version. The ThyPRO consists of 85 items summarized in 13 multi-item scales and one single item. Scales cover physical and mental symptoms, well-being and function as well as social and daily function and cosmetic concerns. Translation applied standard forward-backward methodology with subsequent cognitive interviews and reviews. Responses (N = 1,810) to the ThyPRO were collected in seven countries: UK (n = 166), The Netherlands (n = 147), Serbia (n = 150), Italy (n = 110), India (n = 148), Denmark (n = 902) and Sweden (n = 187). Translated versions were compared pairwise to the English version by examining uniform and nonuniform DIF, i.e., whether patients from different countries respond differently to a particular item, although they have identical level of the concept measured by the item. Analyses were controlled for thyroid diagnosis. DIF was investigated by ordinal logistic regression, testing for both statistical significance and magnitude (ΔR (2) > 0.02). Scale level was estimated by the sum score, after purification. For twelve of the 84 tested items, DIF was identified in more than one language. Eight of these were small, but four were indicative of possible low translatability. Twenty-one instances of DIF in single languages were identified, indicating potential problems with the particular translation. However, only seven were of a magnitude which could affect scale scores, most of which could be explained by sample differences not controlled for. The ThyPRO has good cross-cultural validity with only minor cross-cultural invariance and is recommended for use in

  7. A cross-validation Delphi method approach to the diagnosis and treatment of personality disorders in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosowsky, Erlene; Young, Alexander S; Malloy, Mary C; van Alphen, S P J; Ellison, James M

    2018-03-01

    The Delphi method is a consensus-building technique using expert opinion to formulate a shared framework for understanding a topic with limited empirical support. This cross-validation study replicates one completed in the Netherlands and Belgium, and explores US experts' views on the diagnosis and treatment of older adults with personality disorders (PD). Twenty-one geriatric PD experts participated in a Delphi survey addressing diagnosis and treatment of older adults with PD. The European survey was translated and administered electronically. First-round consensus was reached for 16 out of 18 items relevant to diagnosis and specific mental health programs for personality disorders in older adults. Experts agreed on the usefulness of establishing criteria for specific types of treatments. The majority of psychologists did not initially agree on the usefulness of pharmacotherapy. Expert consensus was reached following two subsequent rounds after clarification addressing medication use. Study results suggest consensus among regarding psychosocial treatments. Limited acceptance amongst US psychologists about the suitability of pharmacotherapy for late-life PDs contrasted with the views expressed by experts surveyed in Netherlands and Belgium studies.

  8. The impact of demand management strategies on parents’ decision-making for out-of-hours primary care: findings from a survey in The Netherlands

    OpenAIRE

    Giesen, Marie-Jeanne; Keizer, Ellen; van de Pol, Julia; Knoben, Joris; Wensing, Michel; Giesen, Paul

    2017-01-01

    Objective To explore the potential impact of demand management strategies on patient decision-making in medically non-urgent and urgent scenarios during out-of-hours for children between the ages of 0 and 4 years. Design and methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey with paper-based case scenarios. A survey was sent to all 797 parents of children aged between 0 and 4 years from four Dutch general practitioner (GP) practices. Four demand management strategies (copayment, online advice, ove...

  9. Associations between contractual status, part-time work, and intent to leave among professional caregivers for older people: results of a national cross-sectional survey in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kachi, Yuko; Inoue, Kazuo; Toyokawa, Satoshi

    2010-08-01

    Despite a growing number of studies on leaving the organization or long-term care among professional caregivers for older people, little is known about the impact of types of employment on leaving. To examine the association between the type of employment and intent to leave among Japanese professional caregivers. Secondary analysis of data from the 2006 Working Conditions Survey in Long-term Care, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey done in Japan. 10,107 professional caregivers aged 18 years and older. Predictor of intent to leave was type of employment (full-time permanent, full-time precarious, and part-time precarious). Precarious work was defined as employment that failed to meet the standard of full-time permanent employment, including fixed-term, temporary agency, and part-time work. Covariates included demographics, home or facility care, tenure in the profession, national qualification for caregivers, having other jobs, overtime work, and night shift work. We used multinomial logit models to estimate the strength of the association between the type of employment and intent to leave and to explore the possible mechanisms explaining this association. In the unadjusted model, when compared to part-time precarious workers, full-time permanent workers (OR=2.37; 95% CI=2.06, 2.72) and full-time precarious workers (OR=2.41; 95% CI=2.01, 2.88) were more likely to report intent to leave. After adjustment for covariates, these odds ratios were attenuated, but nevertheless remained significant. Overtime work greatly attenuated these odds ratios in both full-time precarious and full-time permanent workers, and having national qualification for caregivers only did in the case of full-time permanent workers. In contrast to people in other professions, full-time caregivers are more likely to have intent to leave than part-time caregivers. This study highlights the importance of policy strategies for retaining full-time workers by reducing their overtime

  10. A cross-validation study of the TGMD-2: The case of an adolescent population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Issartel, Johann; McGrane, Bronagh; Fletcher, Richard; O'Brien, Wesley; Powell, Danielle; Belton, Sarahjane

    2017-05-01

    This study proposes an extension of a widely used test evaluating fundamental movement skills proficiency to an adolescent population, with a specific emphasis on validity and reliability for this older age group. Cross-sectional observational study. A total of 844 participants (n=456 male, 12.03±0.49) participated in this study. The 12 fundamental movement skills of the TGMD-2 were assessed. Inter-rater reliability was examined to ensure a minimum of 95% consistency between coders. Confirmatory factor analysis was undertaken with a one-factor model (all 12 skills) and two-factor model (6 locomotor skills and 6 object-control skills) as proposed by Ulrich et al. (2000). The model fit was examined using χ 2 , TLI, CFI and RMSEA. Test-retest reliability was carried out with a subsample of 35 participants. The test-retest reliability reached Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.78 (locomotor), 0.76 (object related) and 0.91 (gross motor skill proficiency). The confirmatory factor analysis did not display a good fit for either the one-factor or two-factor model due to a really low contribution of several skills. A reduction in the number of skills to just seven (run, gallop, hop, horizontal jump, bounce, kick and roll) revealed an overall good fit by TLI, CFI and RMSEA measures. The proposed new model offers the possibility of longitudinal studies to track the maturation of fundamental movement skills across the child and adolescent spectrum, while also giving researchers a valid assessment to tool to evaluate adolescent fundamental movement skills proficiency level. Copyright © 2016 Sports Medicine Australia. All rights reserved.

  11. Cross-validating a bidimensional mathematics anxiety scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haiyan Bai

    2011-03-01

    The psychometric properties of a 14-item bidimensional Mathematics Anxiety Scale-Revised (MAS-R) were empirically cross-validated with two independent samples consisting of 647 secondary school students. An exploratory factor analysis on the scale yielded strong construct validity with a clear two-factor structure. The results from a confirmatory factor analysis indicated an excellent model-fit (χ(2) = 98.32, df = 62; normed fit index = .92, comparative fit index = .97; root mean square error of approximation = .04). The internal consistency (.85), test-retest reliability (.71), interfactor correlation (.26, p anxiety. Math anxiety, as measured by MAS-R, correlated negatively with student achievement scores (r = -.38), suggesting that MAS-R may be a useful tool for classroom teachers and other educational personnel tasked with identifying students at risk of reduced math achievement because of anxiety.

  12. Self-Stigma and Coming Out about One's Mental Illness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corrigan, Patrick W.; Morris, Scott; Larson, Jon; Rafacz, Jennifer; Wassel, Abigail; Michaels, Patrick; Wilkniss, Sandra; Batia, Karen; Rusch, Nicolas

    2010-01-01

    Self-stigma can undermine self-esteem and self-efficacy of people with serious mental illness. Coming out may be one way of handling self-stigma and it was expected that coming out would mediate the effects of self-stigma on quality of life. This study compares coming out to other approaches of controlling self-stigma. Eighty-five people with…

  13. Validated sampling strategy for assessing contaminants in soil stockpiles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lame, Frank; Honders, Ton; Derksen, Giljam; Gadella, Michiel

    2005-01-01

    Dutch legislation on the reuse of soil requires a sampling strategy to determine the degree of contamination. This sampling strategy was developed in three stages. Its main aim is to obtain a single analytical result, representative of the true mean concentration of the soil stockpile. The development process started with an investigation into how sample pre-treatment could be used to obtain representative results from composite samples of heterogeneous soil stockpiles. Combining a large number of random increments allows stockpile heterogeneity to be fully represented in the sample. The resulting pre-treatment method was then combined with a theoretical approach to determine the necessary number of increments per composite sample. At the second stage, the sampling strategy was evaluated using computerised models of contaminant heterogeneity in soil stockpiles. The now theoretically based sampling strategy was implemented by the Netherlands Centre for Soil Treatment in 1995. It was applied to all types of soil stockpiles, ranging from clean to heavily contaminated, over a period of four years. This resulted in a database containing the analytical results of 2570 soil stockpiles. At the final stage these results were used for a thorough validation of the sampling strategy. It was concluded that the model approach has indeed resulted in a sampling strategy that achieves analytical results representative of the mean concentration of soil stockpiles. - A sampling strategy that ensures analytical results representative of the mean concentration in soil stockpiles is presented and validated

  14. A Brief Analysis on Cross-cultural Communication Strategy of Chinese Films under the Context of Globalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cao Zhiyong

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available With the development of globalization waves, the cross-cultural communication becomes more and more common nowadays. Chinese films, as a kind of mass media and the carrier of ideology, must meet the challenge in the world with active attitudes and take part in cross-cultural communication worldwide extensively. The context of globalization is not only a challenge but also an opportunity for Chinese films and if Chinese films want to be successful in the process of cross-cultural communication, it must find out a conjoint point between globalization and location to implement dual-coding of them. With the objective of consensus but different for the cultural demands of cross-cultural communication, the communicational strategies in culture,subject,art and operation must extensively use for reference and boldly create to renew the situation of Chinese films.

  15. Sickness presence, sick leave and adjustment latitude

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joachim Gerich

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Previous research on the association between adjustment latitude (defined as the opportunity to adjust work efforts in case of illness and sickness absence and sickness presence has produced inconsistent results. In particular, low adjustment latitude has been identified as both a risk factor and a deterrent of sick leave. The present study uses an alternative analytical strategy with the aim of joining these results together. Material and Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, a random sample of employees covered by the Upper Austrian Sickness Fund (N = 930 was analyzed. Logistic and ordinary least square (OLS regression models were used to examine the association between adjustment latitude and days of sickness absence, sickness presence, and an estimator for the individual sickness absence and sickness presence propensity. Results: A high level of adjustment latitude was found to be associated with a reduced number of days of sickness absence and sickness presence, but an elevated propensity for sickness absence. Conclusions: Employees with high adjustment latitude experience fewer days of health complaints associated with lower rates of sick leave and sickness presence compared to those with low adjustment latitude. In case of illness, however, high adjustment latitude is associated with a higher pro­bability of taking sick leave rather than sickness presence.

  16. Cross-Cultural Validation of TEMAS, a Minority Projective Test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costantino, Giuseppe; And Others

    The theoretical framework and cross-cultural validation of Tell-Me-A-Story (TEMAS), a projective test developed to measure personality development in ethnic minority children, is presented. The TEMAS test consists of 23 chromatic pictures which incorporate the following characteristics: (1) representation of antithetical concepts which the…

  17. COPD Exacerbation Biomarkers Validated Using Multiple Reaction Monitoring Mass Spectrometry.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice M Leung

    Full Text Available Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD result in considerable morbidity and mortality. However, there are no objective biomarkers to diagnose AECOPD.We used multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry to quantify 129 distinct proteins in plasma samples from patients with COPD. This analytical approach was first performed in a biomarker cohort of patients hospitalized with AECOPD (Cohort A, n = 72. Proteins differentially expressed between AECOPD and convalescent states were chosen using a false discovery rate 1.2. Protein selection and classifier building were performed using an elastic net logistic regression model. The performance of the biomarker panel was then tested in two independent AECOPD cohorts (Cohort B, n = 37, and Cohort C, n = 109 using leave-pair-out cross-validation methods.Five proteins were identified distinguishing AECOPD and convalescent states in Cohort A. Biomarker scores derived from this model were significantly higher during AECOPD than in the convalescent state in the discovery cohort (p<0.001. The receiver operating characteristic cross-validation area under the curve (CV-AUC statistic was 0.73 in Cohort A, while in the replication cohorts the CV-AUC was 0.77 for Cohort B and 0.79 for Cohort C.A panel of five biomarkers shows promise in distinguishing AECOPD from convalescence and may provide the basis for a clinical blood test to diagnose AECOPD. Further validation in larger cohorts is necessary for future clinical translation.

  18. One new diphenylmethane glycoside from the leaves of Psidium guajava L.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Ji-Cheng; Chou, Gui-Xin; Wang, Zheng-Tao

    2012-11-01

    To investigate the chemical constituents of Psidium guajava L, the EtOH/H(2)O extract of the fresh leaves was subjected to various chromatography. One diphenylmethane, one benzophenone, and eight flavonoids were isolated and elucidated as 2,6-dihydroxy-3-formaldehyde-5-methyl-4-O-(6″-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-diphenylmethane (1), 2,6-dihydroxy-3,5-dimethyl-4-O-(6″-O-galloyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-benzophenone (2), kaempferol (3), quercetin (4), quercitrin (5), isoquercitrin (6), guaijaverin (7), avicularin (8), hyperoside (9), reynoutrin (10) by spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS spectrometry as well as by comparison with published data. Compounds 5 and 10 are obtained from P. guajava for the first time, and compound 1 is a new diphenylmethane compound.

  19. SIMBIOS Normalized Water-Leaving Radiance Calibration and Validation: Sensor Response, Atmospheric Corrections, Stray Light and Sun Glint. Chapter 14

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, James L.

    2001-01-01

    This Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) contract supports acquisition of match up radiometric and bio-optical data for validation of Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and other ocean color satellites, and evaluation of uncertainty budgets and protocols for in situ measurements of normalized water leaving radiances.

  20. REMINDER: Saved Leave Scheme (SLS)

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    Transfer of leave to saved leave accounts Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'* annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No 22B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). We remind you that unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of the leave year accounts is transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. Therefore, staff members have no administrative steps to take. In addition, the transfer, which eliminates the risk of omitting to request leave transfers and rules out calculation errors in transfer requests, will be clearly shown in the list of leave transactions that can be consulted in EDH from October 2003 onwards. Furthermore, this automatic leave transfer optimizes staff members' chances of benefiting from a saved leave bonus provided that they ar...

  1. Internationalization of product-service systems: Global, regional or national strategy?

    OpenAIRE

    Parry, G.; Bustinza, O. F.; Vendrell-Herrero, F.; O'Regan, N.

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores the validity of national, regional or global strategies in the provision of a music industry product service system. Quantitative analysis of cross-section data from over 70,000 respondents from 15 geographically spread countries identified a homogeneous group of so-called ‘Out of Touch’ consumers characterized by a shared attitude: they are interested in and have the money to purchase music, but no longer do so. The analysis ascertains if and how re-engaging this group in...

  2. Take It, Leave It, Fold It

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elias, Camelia

    2008-01-01

    This introduction to the volume sets the tone for a reading experience of Federman's works. Since the early 60s, Raymond Federman has been one of the most important American writers. In his highly experimental fictions, in works that bear such titles as Take It or Leave It, Double or Nothing......, and The Twofold Vibrations, he has explored cultural and personal memory, invented intricate narrative strategies, and above all has given readers an experience that exceeds the ordinary. Creating situations that make one really think and really laugh is a tall order for any writer. But Federman did it. He is one...

  3. Shell-crossing in quasi-one-dimensional flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rampf, Cornelius; Frisch, Uriel

    2017-10-01

    Blow-up of solutions for the cosmological fluid equations, often dubbed shell-crossing or orbit crossing, denotes the breakdown of the single-stream regime of the cold-dark-matter fluid. At this instant, the velocity becomes multi-valued and the density singular. Shell-crossing is well understood in one dimension (1D), but not in higher dimensions. This paper is about quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) flow that depends on all three coordinates but differs only slightly from a strictly 1D flow, thereby allowing a perturbative treatment of shell-crossing using the Euler-Poisson equations written in Lagrangian coordinates. The signature of shell-crossing is then just the vanishing of the Jacobian of the Lagrangian map, a regular perturbation problem. In essence, the problem of the first shell-crossing, which is highly singular in Eulerian coordinates, has been desingularized by switching to Lagrangian coordinates, and can then be handled by perturbation theory. Here, all-order recursion relations are obtained for the time-Taylor coefficients of the displacement field, and it is shown that the Taylor series has an infinite radius of convergence. This allows the determination of the time and location of the first shell-crossing, which is generically shown to be taking place earlier than for the unperturbed 1D flow. The time variable used for these statements is not the cosmic time t but the linear growth time τ ˜ t2/3. For simplicity, calculations are restricted to an Einstein-de Sitter universe in the Newtonian approximation, and tailored initial data are used. However it is straightforward to relax these limitations, if needed.

  4. 'Filling one's days': managing sick leave legitimacy in an online forum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flinkfeldt, Marie

    2011-07-01

    An inherent part of the general understanding of illness is that it is incapacitating, making those who are ill unable to do things that they would normally do. Staying at home from work is a common consequence, and what `ill' people do while at home then becomes accountable. This article explores online discourse about the kinds of activities people engage in when on sick leave. It employs a discursive psychological framework for analysis, drawing heavily on conversation analysis. A Swedish internet forum thread on sick leave is examined, focusing on how the participants describe and account for the things they do when staying home from work due to illness. The analysis suggests that the participants' accounts of their activities delicately manage the legitimacy of their sick leave. In examining how this is done in practice, the analysis makes visible the balancing act between being ill enough to stay home from work and well enough for other activities. In the context of recent debates in Sweden and elsewhere about the legitimacy of sick leave in different situations, the analysis of how legitimacy is actually negotiated is an important concern, making visible the moral work of being on sick leave. © 2011 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5 into Brazilian Portuguese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priscila Regina Candido Espinola Uchoa

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction: The concept of quality of life is subjective and variable definition, which depends on the individual's perception of their state of health. Quality of life questionnaires are instruments designed to measure quality of life, but most are developed in a language other than Portuguese. Questionnaires can identify the most important symptoms, focus on consultation, and assist in defining the goals of treatment. Some of these have been validated for the Portuguese language, but none in children. Objective: To validate the translation with cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5 into Portuguese. Methods: Prospective study of children aged 2-12 years with sinonasal symptoms of over 30 days. The study comprised two stages: (I translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SN-5 into Portuguese (SN-5p; and (II validation of the SN5-p. Statistical analysis was performed to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and sensitivity, as well as construct and discriminant validity and standardization. Results: The SN-5 was translated and adapted into Portuguese (SN-5p and the author of the original version approved the process. Validation was carried out by administration of the SN-5p to 51 pediatric patients with sinonasal complaints (mean age, 5.8 ± 2.5 years; range, 2-12 years. The questionnaire exhibited adequate construct validity (0.62, p < 0.01, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.73, and discriminant validity (p < 0.01, as well as good test-retest reproducibility (Goodman-Kruskal gamma = 0.957, p < 0.001, good correlation with a visual analog scale (r = 0.62, p < 0.01, and sensitivity to change. Conclusion: This study reports the successful translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SN-5 instrument into Brazilian Portuguese. The translated version exhibited adequate psychometric properties for assessment of disease-specific quality of life in

  6. Displacement of carbon-14 labelled amino acids from leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schiller, R.

    1973-01-01

    The displacement of amino acids from nature leaves was investigated. The amino acids (Ala, Asn, Asp, Glu, Gln, Val, Leu, Lys, Ser, Pro) were applied on the leaves in L-form, uniformly labelled with 14 C, and the type and direction of displacement have been observed. Most of the studies have been carried out on bush beans aged 3 to 4 weeks. The experiments were carried out in climatic chambers; in one case, barley plants just reaching maturity were used. In order to find out whether the applied amino acids were also displaced in their original form, freeze-dried plants were extracted and the 14 C activity of the various fraction was determined. The radioactivity of some free amino acids was determined after two-dimensional separation by thin film chromatography. (orig./HK) [de

  7. ACTIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES IN TEACHING CROSS CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING FOR ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ikke Dewi Pratama

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Cross Cultural Understanding (CCU is one of required courses in English Language Teaching which aims at connecting language and culture so that language learners can use foreign language appropriately, i.e. appropriate forms of language for appropriate context of situation. However, some obstacles usually occur during the course, for examples: students’ lack of understanding that lead to opinions stating that this is a boring and useless course, and large number of students within a class where lecturer must teach more than 40 students in one class. Considering the importance of CCU course as well as the needs to overcome the problems during this course, this paper proposes some particular teaching strategies to help students in apprehending CCU materials through students’ active participations. Active learning strategies are preferred by means of raising students’ participation and critical thinking so that the class would run more effectively. Other consideration in composing the strategies is to prepare English Education students to be future English language teachers by training their ability in teaching performance as well as connecting language and culture in English Language Teaching (ELT.   Keywords: language, culture, strategies, media, ELT

  8. Validation of the one pass measure for motivational interviewing competence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMaster, Fiona; Resnicow, Ken

    2015-04-01

    This paper examines the psychometric properties of the OnePass coding system: a new, user-friendly tool for evaluating practitioner competence in motivational interviewing (MI). We provide data on reliability and validity with the current gold-standard: Motivational Interviewing Treatment Integrity tool (MITI). We compared scores from 27 videotaped MI sessions performed by student counselors trained in MI and simulated patients using both OnePass and MITI, with three different raters for each tool. Reliability was estimated using intra-class coefficients (ICCs), and validity was assessed using Pearson's r. OnePass had high levels of inter-rater reliability with 19/23 items found from substantial to almost perfect agreement. Taking the pair of scores with the highest inter-rater reliability on the MITI, the concurrent validity between the two measures ranged from moderate to high. Validity was highest for evocation, autonomy, direction and empathy. OnePass appears to have good inter-rater reliability while capturing similar dimensions of MI as the MITI. Despite the moderate concurrent validity with the MITI, the OnePass shows promise in evaluating both traditional and novel interpretations of MI. OnePass may be a useful tool for developing and improving practitioner competence in MI where access to MITI coders is limited. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  9. Emotion Discrimination using spatially Compact Regions of Interest extracted from Imaging EEG Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Ivan Padilla-Buritica

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Lately, research on computational models of emotion had been getting much attention due to their potential for understanding the mechanisms of emotions and their promising broad range of applications that potentially bridge the gap between human and machine interactions. We propose a new method for emotion classification that relies on features extracted from those active brain areas that are most likely related to emotions. To this end, we carry out the selection of spatially compact regions of interest that are computed using the brain neural activity reconstructed from electroencephalography data. Throughout this study, we consider three representative feature extraction methods widely applied to emotion detection tasks, including Power spectral density, Wavelet, and Hjorth parameters. Further feature selection is carried out using principal component analysis. For validation purpose, these features are used to feed a support vector machine classifier that is trained under the leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. Obtained results on real affective data show that incorporation of the proposed training method in combination with the enhanced spatial resolution provided by the source estimation allows improving the performed accuracy of discrimination in most of the considered emotions, namely: dominance, valence, and linking.

  10. Exhaled Breath Metabolomics for the Diagnosis of Pneumonia in Intubated and Mechanically-Ventilated Intensive Care Unit (ICU-Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pouline M. P. van Oort

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia remains challenging. We hypothesized that analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs in exhaled breath could be used to diagnose pneumonia or the presence of pathogens in the respiratory tract in intubated and mechanically-ventilated intensive care unit patients. In this prospective, single-centre, cross-sectional cohort study breath from mechanically ventilated patients was analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Potentially relevant VOCs were selected with a p-value < 0.05 and an area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC above 0.7. These VOCs were used for principal component analysis and partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA. AUROC was used as a measure of accuracy. Ninety-three patients were included in the study. Twelve of 145 identified VOCs were significantly altered in patients with pneumonia compared to controls. In colonized patients, 52 VOCs were significantly different. Partial least square discriminant analysis classified patients with modest accuracy (AUROC: 0.73 (95% confidence interval (CI: 0.57–0.88 after leave-one-out cross-validation. For determining the colonization status of patients, the model had an AUROC of 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57–0.82 after leave-one-out cross-validation. To conclude, exhaled breath analysis can be used to discriminate pneumonia from controls with a modest to good accuracy. Furthermore breath profiling could be used to predict the presence and absence of pathogens in the respiratory tract. These findings need to be validated externally.

  11. Genomic Prediction of Seed Quality Traits Using Advanced Barley Breeding Lines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Nanna Hellum; Jahoor, Ahmed; Jensen, Jens Due; Orabi, Jihad; Cericola, Fabio; Edriss, Vahid; Jensen, Just

    2016-01-01

    Genomic selection was recently introduced in plant breeding. The objective of this study was to develop genomic prediction for important seed quality parameters in spring barley. The aim was to predict breeding values without expensive phenotyping of large sets of lines. A total number of 309 advanced spring barley lines tested at two locations each with three replicates were phenotyped and each line was genotyped by Illumina iSelect 9Kbarley chip. The population originated from two different breeding sets, which were phenotyped in two different years. Phenotypic measurements considered were: seed size, protein content, protein yield, test weight and ergosterol content. A leave-one-out cross-validation strategy revealed high prediction accuracies ranging between 0.40 and 0.83. Prediction across breeding sets resulted in reduced accuracies compared to the leave-one-out strategy. Furthermore, predicting across full and half-sib-families resulted in reduced prediction accuracies. Additionally, predictions were performed using reduced marker sets and reduced training population sets. In conclusion, using less than 200 lines in the training set can result in low prediction accuracy, and the accuracy will then be highly dependent on the family structure of the selected training set. However, the results also indicate that relatively small training sets (200 lines) are sufficient for genomic prediction in commercial barley breeding. In addition, our results indicate a minimum marker set of 1,000 to decrease the risk of low prediction accuracy for some traits or some families. PMID:27783639

  12. Genomic Prediction of Seed Quality Traits Using Advanced Barley Breeding Lines.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nanna Hellum Nielsen

    Full Text Available Genomic selection was recently introduced in plant breeding. The objective of this study was to develop genomic prediction for important seed quality parameters in spring barley. The aim was to predict breeding values without expensive phenotyping of large sets of lines. A total number of 309 advanced spring barley lines tested at two locations each with three replicates were phenotyped and each line was genotyped by Illumina iSelect 9Kbarley chip. The population originated from two different breeding sets, which were phenotyped in two different years. Phenotypic measurements considered were: seed size, protein content, protein yield, test weight and ergosterol content. A leave-one-out cross-validation strategy revealed high prediction accuracies ranging between 0.40 and 0.83. Prediction across breeding sets resulted in reduced accuracies compared to the leave-one-out strategy. Furthermore, predicting across full and half-sib-families resulted in reduced prediction accuracies. Additionally, predictions were performed using reduced marker sets and reduced training population sets. In conclusion, using less than 200 lines in the training set can result in low prediction accuracy, and the accuracy will then be highly dependent on the family structure of the selected training set. However, the results also indicate that relatively small training sets (200 lines are sufficient for genomic prediction in commercial barley breeding. In addition, our results indicate a minimum marker set of 1,000 to decrease the risk of low prediction accuracy for some traits or some families.

  13. Fathers’ Leave and Fathers’ Involvement: Evidence from Four OECD Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huerta, Maria C.; Adema, Willem; Baxter, Jennifer; Han, Wen-Jui; Lausten, Mette; Lee, RaeHyuck; Waldfogel, Jane

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, several OECD countries have taken steps to promote policies encouraging fathers to spend more time caring for young children, thereby promoting a more gender equal division of care work. Evidence, mainly for the United States and United Kingdom, has shown fathers taking some time off work around childbirth are more likely to be involved in childcare related activities than fathers who do not take time off. This paper conducts a first cross-national analysis on the association between fathers’ leave taking and fathers’ involvement when children are young. It uses birth cohort data of children born around 2000 from four OECD countries: Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom and the United States. Results show that the majority of fathers take time off around childbirth independent of the leave policies in place. In all countries, except Denmark, important socio-economic differences between fathers who take leave and those who do not are observed. In addition, fathers who take leave, especially those taking two weeks or more, are more likely to carry out childcare related activities when children are young. This study adds to the evidence that suggests that parental leave for fathers is positively associated with subsequent paternal involvement. PMID:28479865

  14. A Cross-Wavelet Transform Aided Rule Based Approach for Early Prediction of Lean Blow-out in Swirl-Stabilized Dump Combustor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debangshu Dey

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Lean or ultralean combustion is one of the popular strategies to achieve very low emission levels. However, it is extremely susceptible to lean blow-out (LBO. The present work explores a Cross-wavelet transform (XWT aided rule based scheme for early prediction of lean blowout. XWT can be considered as an advancement of wavelet analysis which gives correlation between two waveforms in time-frequency space. In the present scheme a swirl-stabilized dump combustor is used as a laboratory-scale model of a generic gas turbine combustor with LPG as fuel. Various time series data of CH chemiluminescence signal are recorded for different flame conditions by varying equivalence ratio, flow rate and level of air-fuel premixing. Some features are extracted from the cross-wavelet spectrum of the recorded waveforms and a reference wave. The extracted features are observed to classify the flame condition into three major classes: near LBO, moderate and healthy. Moreover, a Rough Set based technique is also applied on the extracted features to generate a rule base so that it can be fed to a real time controller or expert system to take necessary control action to prevent LBO. Results show that the proposed methodology performs with an acceptable degree of accuracy.

  15. Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale for patients seeking esthetic surgery: cross-cultural validation study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana Dalpasquale Ramos

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Rhinoplasty is one of the most sought-after esthetic operations among individuals with body dysmorphic disorder. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt and validate the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale. DESIGN AND SETTING: Cross-cultural validation study conducted in a plastic surgery outpatient clinic of a public university hospital. METHODS: Between February 2014 and March 2015, 80 consecutive patients of both sexes seeking rhinoplasty were selected. Thirty of them participated in the phase of cultural adaptation of the instrument. Reproducibility was tested on 20 patients and construct validity was assessed on 50 patients, with correlation against the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Body Dysmorphic Disorder. RESULTS: The Brazilian version of the instrument showed Cronbach's alpha of 0.805 and excellent inter-rater reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.873; P < 0.001 and intra-rater reproducibility (ICC = 0.939; P < 0.001. Significant differences in total scores were found between patients with and without symptoms (P < 0.001. A strong correlation (r = 0.841; P < 0.001 was observed between the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Body Dysmorphic Disorder and the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.981, thus showing good accuracy for discriminating between presence and absence of symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. Forty-six percent of the patients had body dysmorphic symptoms and 54% had moderate to severe appearance-related obsessive-compulsive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The Brazilian version of the Body Dysmorphic Symptoms Scale is a reproducible instrument that presents face, content and construct validity.

  16. Translation, cross-cultural adaption and validation of the German version of the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure for patients with chronic ankle instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nauck, T; Lohrer, H

    2011-08-01

    The evaluation of health-related quality of life and physical function is important for determining therapeutic strategies following ankle injuries. The Anglo-American Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) is a valid and reliable self-reported measure to detect functional deficits in chronic lateral ankle instability. The purpose of this study was to translate, cross-culturally adapt and validate the FAAM questionnaire for use with German-speaking patients with chronic lateral ankle instability. Preoperative and conservatively treated patients with chronic lateral ankle instability. Sport students and volleyball athletes served as control groups. The FAAM was forward and back translated, cross-culturally adapted and validated. The study population completed the FAAM-G questionnaire twice within 3-5 days. Additionally, the patients were scored with the Good ankle laxity classification system. Test-Retest reliability, construct validity and internal consistency were calculated. Reliability and validity of the FAAM-G were examined in presurgical chronic ankle instability patients (n=24), conservatively treated chronic ankle instability patients (n=17), university sport students (n=31) and volleyballers (n=37). Test-retest reliability revealed fair, good, or excellent reliability (inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.590-0.998; ρ=0.528-1.000). Construct validity, tested between the FAAM-G subscores and the Good et al ankle laxity classification system demonstrated strong correlations (ρ = -0.819 to -0.861). The original FAAM questionnaire was successfully translated and cross-culturally adapted from English to German. Corresponding to the Anglo-American version, the FAAM-G is a reliable and valid questionnaire for self-reported assessment of pain and disability in German-speaking patients suffering from chronic ankle instability.

  17. Cross-national comparisons of complex problem-solving strategies in two microworlds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Güss, C Dominik; Tuason, Ma Teresa; Gerhard, Christiane

    2010-04-01

    Research in the fields of complex problem solving (CPS) and dynamic decision making using microworlds has been mainly conducted in Western industrialized countries. This study analyzes the CPS process by investigating thinking-aloud protocols in five countries. Participants were 511 students from Brazil, Germany, India, the Philippines, and the United States who worked on two microworlds. On the basis of cultural-psychological theories, specific cross-national differences in CPS strategies were hypothesized. Following theories of situatedness of cognition, hypotheses about the specific frequency of problem-solving strategies in the two microworlds were developed. Results of the verbal protocols showed (a) modification of the theoretical CPS model, (b) task dependence of CPS strategies, and (c) cross-national differences in CPS strategies. Participants' CPS processes were particularly influenced by country-specific problem-solving strategies. Copyright © 2009 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

  18. Validation of optimization strategies using the linear structured production chains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kusiak, Jan; Morkisz, Paweł; Oprocha, Piotr; Pietrucha, Wojciech; Sztangret, Łukasz

    2017-06-01

    Different optimization strategies applied to sequence of several stages of production chains were validated in this paper. Two benchmark problems described by ordinary differential equations (ODEs) were considered. A water tank and a passive CR-RC filter were used as the exemplary objects described by the first and the second order differential equations, respectively. Considered in the work optimization problems serve as the validators of strategies elaborated by the Authors. However, the main goal of research is selection of the best strategy for optimization of two real metallurgical processes which will be investigated in an on-going projects. The first problem will be the oxidizing roasting process of zinc sulphide concentrate where the sulphur from the input concentrate should be eliminated and the minimal concentration of sulphide sulphur in the roasted products has to be achieved. Second problem will be the lead refining process consisting of three stages: roasting to the oxide, oxide reduction to metal and the oxidizing refining. Strategies, which appear the most effective in considered benchmark problems will be candidates for optimization of the mentioned above industrial processes.

  19. Refining Time-Activity Classification of Human Subjects Using the Global Positioning System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Maogui; Li, Wei; Li, Lianfa; Houston, Douglas; Wu, Jun

    2016-01-01

    Detailed spatial location information is important in accurately estimating personal exposure to air pollution. Global Position System (GPS) has been widely used in tracking personal paths and activities. Previous researchers have developed time-activity classification models based on GPS data, most of them were developed for specific regions. An adaptive model for time-location classification can be widely applied to air pollution studies that use GPS to track individual level time-activity patterns. Time-activity data were collected for seven days using GPS loggers and accelerometers from thirteen adult participants from Southern California under free living conditions. We developed an automated model based on random forests to classify major time-activity patterns (i.e. indoor, outdoor-static, outdoor-walking, and in-vehicle travel). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of the accelerometer data and the supplemental spatial data (i.e. roadway and tax parcel data) to the accuracy of time-activity classification. Our model was evaluated using both leave-one-fold-out and leave-one-subject-out methods. Maximum speeds in averaging time intervals of 7 and 5 minutes, and distance to primary highways with limited access were found to be the three most important variables in the classification model. Leave-one-fold-out cross-validation showed an overall accuracy of 99.71%. Sensitivities varied from 84.62% (outdoor walking) to 99.90% (indoor). Specificities varied from 96.33% (indoor) to 99.98% (outdoor static). The exclusion of accelerometer and ambient light sensor variables caused a slight loss in sensitivity for outdoor walking, but little loss in overall accuracy. However, leave-one-subject-out cross-validation showed considerable loss in sensitivity for outdoor static and outdoor walking conditions. The random forests classification model can achieve high accuracy for the four major time-activity categories. The model also performed well

  20. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a Brazilian version of an instrument to assess impairments related to oral functioning of people with Down syndrome

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bonanato Karina

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background An instrument was developed in Canada to assess impairments related to oral functioning of individuals with four years of age or older with Down syndrome (DS. The present study attempted to carry out the cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the instrument for the Brazilian Portuguese language and to test its reliability and validity. Findings After translation and cross-cultural adaptation, the instrument was tested on caregivers of people with DS. Clinical examination for malocclusion was carried out in people with DS by two calibrated examiners. Inter and Intra examiner agreement was assessed by Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC and ranged from 0.92 to 0.97 respectively. Total of 157 people with DS and their caregivers were able to compose the sample. They were selected from eight institutions for people with DS in five cities of southeastern Brazil. The mean age of people with DS was 20.7 [±13.1] and for caregivers was 53.1 [±13.7]. The mean instrument score was 18.6 [±9.0]. Internal reliability ranged from 0.49 to 0.80 and external reliability ranged from 0.78 to 0.88. Construct validity was verified by significant correlations identified between malocclusion and the total instrument; and caregivers’ educational level and the instrument (p Conclusions Initial validity tests indicated that the instrument related to the oral health for people with DS may be a valid instrument to this segment of the population in Brazil.

  1. Cross-cultural validity of the thyroid-specific quality-of-life patient-reported outcome measure, ThyPRO

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Watt, T.; Barbesino, G.; Bjorner, J.B.; Bonnema, S.J.; Bukvic, B.; Drummond, R.; Groenvold, M.; Hegedus, L.; Kantzer, V.; Lasch, K.E.; Marcocci, C.; Mishra, A.; Netea-Maier, R.T.; Ekker, M.; Paunovic, I.; Quinn, T.J.; Rasmussen, A.K.; Russell, A.; Sabaretnam, M.; Smit, J.W.; Torring, O.; Zivaljevic, V.; Feldt-Rasmussen, U.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thyroid diseases are common and often affect quality of life (QoL). No cross-culturally validated patient-reported outcome measuring thyroid-related QoL is available. The purpose of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the newly developed

  2. Conceptual strategy for design, implementation, and validation of a biomarker-based biomonitoring capability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCarthy, J.F.; Halbrook, R.S.; Shugart, L.R.

    1991-12-01

    This document describes a strategy for defining specific objectives for biomarker studies and for designing and implementing a biomonitoring study that focuses on these objectives. In researching this subject, it became clear to the authors that the subject of biomarkers created a great deal of interest among scientists and regulators but that general acceptance of biomarkers as a tool for environmental protection was hampered by lack of a clear notion of how to develop and apply this approach. We intend this document to be a user's guide'' that lays out a logical scheme for applying biomarkers in environmental monitoring. In addition, laboratory and field research components needed to develop and validate fundamental understanding and interpretation of biomarker responses are also described, as is a strategy for evolution of a biomarker-based biomonitoring capability. The document is divided into sections intended to lead the reader to an understanding of how biomarkers can be developed and applied.

  3. Conceptual strategy for design, implementation, and validation of a biomarker-based biomonitoring capability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCarthy, J.F.; Halbrook, R.S.; Shugart, L.R.

    1991-12-01

    This document describes a strategy for defining specific objectives for biomarker studies and for designing and implementing a biomonitoring study that focuses on these objectives. In researching this subject, it became clear to the authors that the subject of biomarkers created a great deal of interest among scientists and regulators but that general acceptance of biomarkers as a tool for environmental protection was hampered by lack of a clear notion of how to develop and apply this approach. We intend this document to be a ``user`s guide`` that lays out a logical scheme for applying biomarkers in environmental monitoring. In addition, laboratory and field research components needed to develop and validate fundamental understanding and interpretation of biomarker responses are also described, as is a strategy for evolution of a biomarker-based biomonitoring capability. The document is divided into sections intended to lead the reader to an understanding of how biomarkers can be developed and applied.

  4. Geometric leaf placement strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fenwick, J D; Temple, S W P; Clements, R W; Lawrence, G P; Mayles, H M O; Mayles, W P M

    2004-01-01

    Geometric leaf placement strategies for multileaf collimators (MLCs) typically involve the expansion of the beam's-eye-view contour of a target by a uniform MLC margin, followed by movement of the leaves until some point on each leaf end touches the expanded contour. Film-based dose-distribution measurements have been made to determine appropriate MLC margins-characterized through an index d 90 -for multileaves set using one particular strategy to straight lines lying at various angles to the direction of leaf travel. Simple trigonometric relationships exist between different geometric leaf placement strategies and are used to generalize the results of the film work into d 90 values for several different strategies. Measured d 90 values vary both with angle and leaf placement strategy. A model has been derived that explains and describes quite well the observed variations of d 90 with angle. The d 90 angular variations of the strategies studied differ substantially, and geometric and dosimetric reasoning suggests that the best strategy is the one with the least angular variation. Using this criterion, the best straightforwardly implementable strategy studied is a 'touch circle' approach for which semicircles are imagined to be inscribed within leaf ends, the leaves being moved until the semicircles just touch the expanded target outline

  5. Nurses' intention to leave: critically analyse the theory of reasoned action and organizational commitment model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liou, Shwu-Ru

    2009-01-01

    To systematically analyse the Organizational Commitment model and Theory of Reasoned Action and determine concepts that can better explain nurses' intention to leave their job. The Organizational Commitment model and Theory of Reasoned Action have been proposed and applied to understand intention to leave and turnover behaviour, which are major contributors to nursing shortage. However, the appropriateness of applying these two models in nursing was not analysed. Three main criteria of a useful model were used for the analysis: consistency in the use of concepts, testability and predictability. Both theories use concepts consistently. Concepts in the Theory of Reasoned Action are defined broadly whereas they are operationally defined in the Organizational Commitment model. Predictability of the Theory of Reasoned Action is questionable whereas the Organizational Commitment model can be applied to predict intention to leave. A model was proposed based on this analysis. Organizational commitment, intention to leave, work experiences, job characteristics and personal characteristics can be concepts for predicting nurses' intention to leave. Nursing managers may consider nurses' personal characteristics and experiences to increase their organizational commitment and enhance their intention to stay. Empirical studies are needed to test and cross-validate the re-synthesized model for nurses' intention to leave their job.

  6. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5) into Brazilian Portuguese.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchoa, Priscila Regina Candido Espinola; Bezerra, Thiago Freire Pinto; Lima, Élcio Duarte; Fornazieri, Marco Aurélio; Pinna, Fabio de Rezende; Sperandio, Fabiana de Araújo; Voegels, Richard Louis

    The concept of quality of life is subjective and variable definition, which depends on the individual's perception of their state of health. Quality of life questionnaires are instruments designed to measure quality of life, but most are developed in a language other than Portuguese. Questionnaires can identify the most important symptoms, focus on consultation, and assist in defining the goals of treatment. Some of these have been validated for the Portuguese language, but none in children. To validate the translation with cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5) into Portuguese. Prospective study of children aged 2-12 years with sinonasal symptoms of over 30 days. The study comprised two stages: (I) translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the SN-5 into Portuguese (SN-5p); and (II) validation of the SN5-p. Statistical analysis was performed to assess internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and sensitivity, as well as construct and discriminant validity and standardization. The SN-5 was translated and adapted into Portuguese (SN-5p) and the author of the original version approved the process. Validation was carried out by administration of the SN-5p to 51 pediatric patients with sinonasal complaints (mean age, 5.8±2.5 years; range, 2-12 years). The questionnaire exhibited adequate construct validity (0.62, pPortuguese. The translated version exhibited adequate psychometric properties for assessment of disease-specific quality of life in pediatric patients with sinonasal complaints. Copyright © 2016 Associação Brasileira de Otorrinolaringologia e Cirurgia Cérvico-Facial. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

  7. Validation of Bengali perceived stress scale among LGBT population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mozumder, Muhammad Kamruzzaman

    2017-08-29

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) population encounter more stressful life circumstances compared to general population. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) can be a useful tool for measuring their stress. However, psychometric properties of PSS have never been tested on LGBT population. This cross sectional study employed a two-stage sampling strategy to collect data from 296 LGBT participants from six divisional districts of Bangladesh. Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were carried out on PSS 10 along with analysis of reliability and validity. EFA revealed a two-factor structure of PSS for LGBT population explaining 43.55% - 51.45% of total variance. This measurement model was supported by multiple fit indices during CFA. Acceptable Cronbach's alpha indicated internal consistency reliability and high correlations with Self Reporting Questionnaire 20 demonstrated construct validity of PSS 10 for LGBT population. This study provided evidence of satisfactory psychometric properties of Bengali PSS 10 in terms of factor structure, internal consistency and validity among LGBT population.

  8. Properties of leaves particleboard for sheathing application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nuryawan, Arif; Rahmawaty

    2018-03-01

    Manufacturing particleboard (PB) made of leaves was carried out to make non-structural building components, such as insulation, partition, wall, and sheathing. Raw materials used dry leaves originated from plantation (palm oil leaves) and forest plantation (magahony leaves). The adhesive used was interior type thermosetting commercial resins, namely 10% urea-formaldehyde (UF) based on oven dry leaves. Hardener used for UF resin was 1% and 3% ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) 20% (w/w), respectively. Technically, the target density of PB was 0.8 g/cm3 with the dimension’s size of (250 x 250 x 10) mm3. The pressure, temperature, and time of pressing of the hot press were 25 kgf/cm2, 120C, and 10 minutes, respectively. After conditioning for one week, the PB then was evaluated their physical and mechanical properties according to Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) A 5908 (2003). Results of this work showed: 1) Both types of PB (palm oil and mahagony leaves) were feasible to be produced for non-structural applications; 2) Addition of hardener enhanced the physical and mechanical properties of PB; 3) It was recommended to enhance the performance of the PB by manipulation of the raw materials and the design.

  9. Temperature dependence of knocking-out cross sections of a bound atom from the lattice site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhdanov, S.K.; Pletnev, V.V.

    1981-01-01

    The total cross section of atom knocking-out from the lattice site is calculated with the atom binding in the lattice site taken into account. The intermediate case of atom being preads over the bottom of a spherical potential well is considered (the case of intermediate temperatures). Thus the target temperature parameter enters the equation for the total cross section of atom knocking-out

  10. Cross-Cultural Validation of the Patient Perception of Integrated Care Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tietschert, Maike V; Angeli, Federica; van Raak, Arno J A; Ruwaard, Dirk; Singer, Sara J

    2017-07-20

    To test the cross-cultural validity of the U.S. Patient Perception of Integrated Care (PPIC) Survey in a Dutch sample using a standardized procedure. Primary data collected from patients of five primary care centers in the south of the Netherlands, through survey research from 2014 to 2015. Cross-sectional data collected from patients who saw multiple health care providers during 6 months preceding data collection. The PPIC survey includes 59 questions that measure patient perceived care integration across providers, settings, and time. Data analysis followed a standardized procedure guiding data preparation, psychometric analysis, and included invariance testing with the U.S. dataset. Latent scale structures of the Dutch and U.S. survey were highly comparable. Factor "Integration with specialist" had lower reliability scores and noninvariance. For the remaining factors, internal consistency and invariance estimates were strong. The standardized cross-cultural validation procedure produced strong support for comparable psychometric characteristics of the Dutch and U.S. surveys. Future research should examine the usability of the proposed procedure for contexts with greater cultural differences. © Health Research and Educational Trust.

  11. [Teacher sick leave: Prevalence, duration, reasons and covariates].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vercambre-Jacquot, M-N; Gilbert, F; Billaudeau, N

    2018-02-01

    Absences from work have considerable social and economic impact. In the education sector, the phenomenon is particularly worrying since teacher sick leave has an impact on the overall performance of the education system. Yet, available data are scarce. In April-June 2013, 2653 teachers responded to a population-based postal survey on their quality of life (enquête Qualité de vie des enseignants, MGEN Foundation/Ministry of education, response rate 53 %). Besides questions on work environment and health, teachers were asked to describe their eventual sick leave(s) since the beginning of the school year: duration, type and medical reasons. Self-reported information was reinforced by administrative data from ministerial databases and weighted to be extrapolated to all French teachers. Tobit models adjusted for individual factors of a private nature were used to investigate different occupational risk factors of teacher sick leave, taking into account both the estimated effect on the probability of sick leave and the length of it. More than one in three teachers (36 %) reported having had at least one day of sick leave since the beginning of the school year. Respiratory/ENT diseases were the leading reason for sick leave (37 %). However, and because sick leave duration depended on the underlying health problem, such diseases came in third place among justifications of sick leave days (14 %), far behind musculoskeletal problems (27 %) and neurological and psychological disorders (25 %). Tobit models suggested that some occupational factors significantly associated with the risk of sick leave may represent promising preventive targets, including high psychological demand, workplace violence and unfavorable socio-environmental context. Our study provides objective evidence about the issue of sick leave among French teachers, highlighting the usefulness of implementing actions to minimize its weight. To this end, the study findings point-out the importance of

  12. Nurses' work environment and intent to leave in Lebanese hospitals: implications for policy and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    El-Jardali, Fadi; Alameddine, Mohamad; Dumit, Nuhad; Dimassi, Hani; Jamal, Diana; Maalouf, Salwa

    2011-02-01

    The dual burden of nursing shortages and poor work environments threatens quality of patient care and places additional pressures on resource-stretched health care systems, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). There is a paucity of research in the EMR examining the quality of nurses' work environment and its association to nurses' intent to leave their jobs/countries. Systematically examine the characteristics of nurses' work environment and their relation to nurses' intent to leave their jobs within the context of Lebanon. A secondary objective is to assess the utility and validity of the NWI-R within the context of the EMR. A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to survey a total of 1793 registered nurses in 69 Lebanese hospitals. The survey instrument included questions on nurses' background, hospital characteristics, intent to leave, and the Revised Nurse Working Index (NWI-R). Data analysis included descriptive statistics for demographic characteristics, t-test and ANOVA to assess differences in agreement scores, and a multinomial logistic regression model to predict intent to leave. Thematic analysis of open-ended questions was utilized to extract themes that fit under issues relating to nurses' work environment in Lebanese hospitals. The NWI-R subscale with the lowest mean score related to control. Younger nurses had lower scores on organizational support and career development. Regression analysis revealed that for every 1 point score decrease on career development there was a 93% increase in likelihood of reporting intent to leave country. Likewise, for every 1 point score decrease on participation there was an observed 51% and 53% increase in likelihood of reporting intent to leave country and hospital, respectively. Findings show that hospital characteristics (size, accreditation status and presence of a recruitment and retention strategy) were significantly associated with NWI-R subscales. Participation, control and career

  13. COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT STRATEGIES OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVE THERAPY IN OUT-PATIENT CLINIC

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. A. Plejko

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To compare different strategies of start antihypertensive therapy in out-patients.Material and methods. 120 out-patients with arterial hypertension (HT 1-2 stages were included in the study and randomized in 3 groups. Patients of group «A» received start treatment in compliance with age, clinical features and mechanisms of hypertension. Patients of group «B» received step-by-step start antihypertensive therapy based on doses titration and addition of the second (third drug if necessary. Patients of group «C» received fixed drug combination with addition of other antihypertensive medicines if necessary. Decrease of BP level and number of visits were used as criteria of therapy efficacy. Pharmacoeconomic analysis of antihypertensive therapy was done in all groups.Results. Strategy of HT start therapy in group «C» had advantages in speed of blood pressure normalization, number of necessary visits and in pharmacoeconomic efficacy in comparison with the strategies in group «A» and «B».Conclusion. HT start therapy with implementation of fixed low dose combination leads to the best result in comparison with other strategy based on step-by-step drug replacement (as well as their combining or monotherapy dose titration.

  14. Strategy of gene silencing in cassava for validation of resistance genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cortes, Simon; Lopez, Camilo

    2010-01-01

    Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a major source of food for more than 1000 million people in the world and constitutes an important staple crop. Cassava bacterial blight, caused by the gram negative bacterium Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. manihotis, is one of the most important constraints for this crop. A candidate resistance gene against cassava bacterial blight, named RXam1, has been identified previously. In this work, we employed the gene silencing approach using the African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) to validate the function of the RXam1 gene. We used as positive control the su gen, which produce photo blanching in leaves when is silenced. Plants from the SG10735 variety were bombardment with the ACMV-A-SU+ACMV-B y ACMV-A-RXam1+ACMV-B constructions. The silencing efficiency employing the su gene was low, only one of seven plants showed photo blanching. In the putative silenced plants for the RXam1 gene, no presence of siRNAs corresponding to RXam1 was observed; although a low diminution of the RXam1 gene expression was obtained. The growth curves for the Xam strain CIO136 in cassava plants inoculated showing a little but no significance difference in the susceptibility in the silenced plants compared to not silenced

  15. Influence of thermodynamic parameter in Lanosterol 14alpha-demethylase inhibitory activity as antifungal agents: a QSAR approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasanthanathan, Poongavanam; Lakshmi, Manickavasagam; Arockia Babu, Marianesan; Kaskhedikar, Sathish Gopalrao

    2006-06-01

    A quantitative structure activity relationship, Hansch approach was applied on twenty compounds of chromene derivatives as Lanosterol 14alpha-demethylase inhibitory activity against eight fungal organisms. Various physicochemical descriptors and reported minimum inhibitory concentration values of different fungal organisms were used as independent variables and dependent variable respectively. The best models for eight different fungal organisms were first validated by leave-one-out cross validation procedure. It was revealed that thermodynamic parameters were found to have overall significant correlationship with anti fungal activity and these studies provide an insight to design new molecules.

  16. Competence classification of cumulus and granulosa cell transcriptome in embryos matched by morphology and female age

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borup, Rehannah; Thuesen, Lea Langhoff; Andersen, Claus Yding

    2016-01-01

    compartments. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: University based facilities for clinical services and research. PATIENTS: MGC and CC samples from 60 women undergoing IVF treatment following the long GnRH-agonist protocol were collected. Samples from 16 oocytes where live birth was achieved and 16 age...... prediction analysis using machine learning algorithms (support vector machines) with performance estimation by leave-one-out cross validation and independent validation on an external data set. RESULTS: We defined a signature of 30 genes expressed in CC predictive of live birth. This live birth prediction...

  17. Multivariate Quantification of the Solid State Phase Composition of Co-Amorphous Naproxen-Indomethacin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beyer, Andreas; Grohganz, Holger; Löbmann, Korbinian

    2015-01-01

    To benefit from the optimized dissolution properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients in their amorphous forms, co-amorphisation as a viable tool to stabilize these amorphous phases is of both academic and industrial interest. Reports dealing with the physical stability and recrystallization...... components was prepared and analyzed by XRPD. In order to test the model performances, leave-one-out cross validation was performed and revealed root mean square errors of validation between 3.11% and 3.45% for the crystalline molar fractions and 5.57% for the co-amorphous molar fraction. In summary, even...

  18. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index into Spanish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gijon-Nogueron, Gabriel; Ndosi, Mwidimi; Luque-Suarez, Alejandro; Alcacer-Pitarch, Begonya; Munuera, Pedro Vicente; Garrow, Adam; Redmond, Anthony C

    2014-03-01

    The Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index (MFPDI) is a self-assessment 19-item questionnaire developed in the UK to measure foot pain and disability. This study aimed at conducting cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the MFPDI for use in Spain. Principles of good practice for the translation and cultural adaptation process for patient-reported outcomes measures were followed in the MFPDI adaptation into Spanish. The cross-cultural validation involved Rasch analysis of pooled data sets from Spain and the UK. Spanish data set comprised 338 patients, five used in the adaptation phase and 333 in the cross-cultural validation phase, mean age (SD) = 55.2 (16.7) and 248 (74.5 %) were female. A UK data set (n = 682) added in the cross-cultural validation phase; mean age (SD) = 51.6 (15.2 %) and 416 (61.0 %) were female. A preliminary analysis of the 17-item MFPDI revealed significant local dependency of items causing significant deviation from the Rasch model. Grouping all items into testlets and re-analysing the MFPDI as a 3-testlet scale resulted in an adequate fit to the Rasch model, χ (2) (df) = 15.945 (12), p = 0.194, excellent reliability and unidimensionality. Lack of cross-cultural invariance was evident on the functional and personal appearance testlets. Splitting the affected testlets discounted the cross-cultural bias and satisfied requirements of the Rasch model. Subsequently, the MFPDI was calibrated into interval-level scales, fully adjusted to allow parametric analyses and cross-cultural data comparisons when required. Rasch analysis has confirmed that the MFPDI is a robust 3-subscale measure of foot pain, function and appearance in both its English and Spanish versions.

  19. Simple shoulder test and Oxford Shoulder Score: Persian translation and cross-cultural validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naghdi, Soofia; Nakhostin Ansari, Noureddin; Rustaie, Nilufar; Akbari, Mohammad; Ebadi, Safoora; Senobari, Maryam; Hasson, Scott

    2015-12-01

    To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the simple shoulder test (SST) and Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) into Persian language using a cross-sectional and prospective cohort design. A standard forward and backward translation was followed to culturally adapt the SST and the OSS into Persian language. Psychometric properties of floor and ceiling effects, construct convergent validity, discriminant validity, internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, standard error of the measurement (SEM), smallest detectable change (SDC), and factor structure were determined. One hundred patients with shoulder disorders and 50 healthy subjects participated in the study. The PSST and the POSS showed no missing responses. No floor or ceiling effects were observed. Both the PSST and POSS detected differences between patients and healthy subjects supporting their discriminant validity. Construct convergent validity was confirmed by a very good correlation between the PSST and POSS (r = 0.68). There was high internal consistency for both the PSST (α = 0.73) and the POSS (α = 0.91 and 0.92). Test-retest reliability with 1-week interval was excellent (ICCagreement = 0.94 for PSST and 0.90 for POSS). Factor analyses demonstrated a three-factor solution for the PSST (49.7 % of variance) and a two-factor solution for the POSS (61.6 % of variance). The SEM/SDC was satisfactory for PSST (5.5/15.3) and POSS (6.8/18.8). The PSST and POSS are valid and reliable outcome measures for assessing functional limitations in Persian-speaking patients with shoulder disorders.

  20. Identifying food-related life style segments by a cross-culturally valid scaling device

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunsø, Karen; Grunert, Klaus G.

    1994-01-01

    -related life style in a cross-culturally valid way. To this end, we have col-lected a pool of 202 items, collected data in three countries, and have con-structed scales based on cross-culturally stable patterns. These scales have then been subjected to a number of tests of reliability and vali-dity. We have...... then applied the set of scales to a fourth country, Germany, based on a representative sample of 1000 respondents. The scales had, with a fe exceptions, moderately good reliabilities. A cluster ana-ly-sis led to the identification of 5 segments, which differed on all 23 scales....

  1. Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the Persian version of the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadadi, Mohammad; Ebrahimi Takamjani, Ismail; Ebrahim Mosavi, Mohammad; Aminian, Gholamreza; Fardipour, Shima; Abbasi, Faeze

    2017-08-01

    The purpose of the present study was to translate and to cross-culturally adapt the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) into Persian language and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The International Quality of Life Assessment process was pursued to translate CAIT into Persian. Two groups of Persian-speaking individuals, 105 participants with a history of ankle sprain and 30 participants with no history of ankle sprain, were asked to fill out Persian version of CAIT (CAIT-P), Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM), and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Data obtained from the first administration of CAIT were used to evaluate floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency, dimensionality, and criterion validity. To determine the test-retest reliability, 45 individuals re-filled CAIT 5-7 days after the first session. Cronbach's alpha was over the cutoff point of 0.70 for both ankles and in both groups. The intra-class correlation coefficient was high for right (0.95) and left (0.91) ankles. There was a strong correlation between each item and the total score of the CAIT-P. Although the CAIT-P had strong correlation with VAS, its correlation with both subscales of FAAM was moderate. The CAIT-P has good validity and reliability and it can be used by clinicians and researchers for identification and investigation of functional ankle instability. Implications for Rehabilitation Chronic ankle instability is one of the most common consequences of acute ankle sprain. Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool is an acceptable measure to determine functional ankle instability and its severity. The Persian version of Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool is a valid and reliable tool for clinical and research purpose in Persian-speaking individuals.

  2. Compressive Sensing with Cross-Validation and Stop-Sampling for Sparse Polynomial Chaos Expansions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huan, Xun; Safta, Cosmin; Sargsyan, Khachik; Vane, Zachary Phillips; Lacaze, Guilhem; Oefelein, Joseph C.; Najm, Habib N.

    2017-07-01

    Compressive sensing is a powerful technique for recovering sparse solutions of underdetermined linear systems, which is often encountered in uncertainty quanti cation analysis of expensive and high-dimensional physical models. We perform numerical investigations employing several com- pressive sensing solvers that target the unconstrained LASSO formulation, with a focus on linear systems that arise in the construction of polynomial chaos expansions. With core solvers of l1 ls, SpaRSA, CGIST, FPC AS, and ADMM, we develop techniques to mitigate over tting through an automated selection of regularization constant based on cross-validation, and a heuristic strategy to guide the stop-sampling decision. Practical recommendations on parameter settings for these tech- niques are provided and discussed. The overall method is applied to a series of numerical examples of increasing complexity, including large eddy simulations of supersonic turbulent jet-in-cross flow involving a 24-dimensional input. Through empirical phase-transition diagrams and convergence plots, we illustrate sparse recovery performance under structures induced by polynomial chaos, accuracy and computational tradeoffs between polynomial bases of different degrees, and practi- cability of conducting compressive sensing for a realistic, high-dimensional physical application. Across test cases studied in this paper, we find ADMM to have demonstrated empirical advantages through consistent lower errors and faster computational times.

  3. Verification and Validation Strategy for LWRS Tools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carl M. Stoots; Richard R. Schultz; Hans D. Gougar; Thomas K Larson; Michael Corradini; Laura Swiler; David Pointer; Jess Gehin

    2012-09-01

    One intension of the Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program is to create advanced computational tools for safety assessment that enable more accurate representation of a nuclear power plant safety margin. These tools are to be used to study the unique issues posed by lifetime extension and relicensing of the existing operating fleet of nuclear power plants well beyond their first license extension period. The extent to which new computational models / codes such as RELAP-7 can be used for reactor licensing / relicensing activities depends mainly upon the thoroughness with which they have been verified and validated (V&V). This document outlines the LWRS program strategy by which RELAP-7 code V&V planning is to be accomplished. From the perspective of developing and applying thermal-hydraulic and reactivity-specific models to reactor systems, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Regulatory Guide 1.203 gives key guidance to numeric model developers and those tasked with the validation of numeric models. By creating Regulatory Guide 1.203 the NRC defined a framework for development, assessment, and approval of transient and accident analysis methods. As a result, this methodology is very relevant and is recommended as the path forward for RELAP-7 V&V. However, the unique issues posed by lifetime extension will require considerations in addition to those addressed in Regulatory Guide 1.203. Some of these include prioritization of which plants / designs should be studied first, coupling modern supporting experiments to the stringent needs of new high fidelity models / codes, and scaling of aging effects.

  4. Estimation of leaf area in coffee leaves (Coffea arabica L. of the Castillo® variety

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Andrés Unigarro-Muñoz

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Allometric models based on measurements of single leaf dimensions or a combination there are useful tools for determining individual leaf area (LA because they are non-destructive, precise, simple and economical methods. The present study was carried out at the Central Station Naranjal of Cenicafé, located in the Department of Caldas (Colombia, four models were defined using the variables length (L and/or width (W to estimate LA in coffee leaves of the Castillo® variety (Coffea arabica L.. Estimation of regression coefficients was performed using information recorded from 6,441 leaves (group 1, and their validation was performed using records from another 992 leaves (group 2. Leaves were collected from all strata of the canopy and ranged from 0.76 to 140 cm2 in LA. In addition to exhibiting coefficients of variation differing from zero based on t-tests at 1%, the evaluated models possess coefficients of determination between 0.93 and 0.99. Four expressions have developed and adjusted to estimate leaf area in individual leaves, based on the measurement of simple variables and non-destructive.

  5. Geostatistical validation and cross-validation of magnetometric measurements of soil pollution with Potentially Toxic Elements in problematic areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fabijańczyk, Piotr; Zawadzki, Jarosław

    2016-04-01

    Field magnetometry is fast method that was previously effectively used to assess the potential soil pollution. One of the most popular devices that are used to measure the soil magnetic susceptibility on the soil surface is a MS2D Bartington. Single reading using MS2D device of soil magnetic susceptibility is low time-consuming but often characterized by considerable errors related to the instrument or environmental and lithogenic factors. In this connection, measured values of soil magnetic susceptibility have to be usually validated using more precise, but also much more expensive, chemical measurements. The goal of this study was to analyze validation methods of magnetometric measurements using chemical analyses of a concentration of elements in soil. Additionally, validation of surface measurements of soil magnetic susceptibility was performed using selected parameters of a distribution of magnetic susceptibility in a soil profile. Validation was performed using selected geostatistical measures of cross-correlation. The geostatistical approach was compared with validation performed using the classic statistics. Measurements were performed at selected areas located in the Upper Silesian Industrial Area in Poland, and in the selected parts of Norway. In these areas soil magnetic susceptibility was measured on the soil surface using a MS2D Bartington device and in the soil profile using MS2C Bartington device. Additionally, soil samples were taken in order to perform chemical measurements. Acknowledgment The research leading to these results has received funding from the Polish-Norwegian Research Programme operated by the National Centre for Research and Development under the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009-2014 in the frame of Project IMPACT - Contract No Pol-Nor/199338/45/2013.

  6. Examination of fuel reinsertion strategies for out-of core fuel management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Comes, S.A.; Turinsky, P.J.

    1986-01-01

    A computer code for determining out-of-core fuel loading strategies in order to minimize levelized fuel cycle cost within constraints has been developed and previously reported by the authors. While past work in this area has dealt with optimizations during equilibrium operating conditions, this work has considered the more realistic conditions of nonequilibrium cycles. The code, called OCEON, seeks to determine a family of economically attractive fuel reload strategies through the optimum selection of feed batch sizes, enrichments, and partially burned fuel reinsertion strategies within operating constraints. This paper presents recent work on expanding the code to allow for different fuel reinsertion options when determining the family of near-optimum fuel reload strategies

  7. Nonmarital romantic relationship commitment and leave behavior: the mediating role of dissolution consideration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanderdrift, Laura E; Agnew, Christopher R; Wilson, Juan E

    2009-09-01

    Two studies investigated the process by which individuals in nonmarital romantic relationships characterized by low commitment move toward enacting leave behaviors. Predictions based on the behavioral, goal, and implementation intention literatures were tested using a measure of dissolution consideration developed for this research. Dissolution consideration assesses how salient relationship termination is for an individual while one's relationship is intact. Study 1 developed and validated a measure of dissolution consideration and Study 2 was a longitudinal test of the utility of dissolution consideration in predicting the enactment of leave behaviors. Results indicated that dissolution consideration mediates the association between commitment and enacting leave behaviors, is associated with taking more immediate action, and provides unique explanatory power in leave behavior beyond the effect of commitment alone. Collectively, the findings suggest that dissolution consideration is an intermediate step between commitment and stay/leave behavior in close relationships.

  8. Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines Predict Relapse-Free Survival after One Month of Interferon-α but Not Observation in Intermediate Risk Melanoma Patients.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad A Tarhini

    Full Text Available E1697 was a phase III trial of adjuvant interferon (IFN-α2b for one month (Arm B versus observation (Arm A in patients with resected melanoma at intermediate risk. We evaluated the levels of candidate serum cytokines, the HLA genotype, polymorphisms of CTLA4 and FOXP3 genes and the development of autoantibodies for their association with relapse free survival (RFS in Arm A and Arm B among 268 patients with banked biospecimens.ELISA was used to test 5 autoantibodies. Luminex/One Lambda LABTypeRSSO was used for HLA Genotyping. Selected CTLA4 and FOXP3 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs and microsatellites were tested for by polymerase chain reaction (PCR. Sixteen serum cytokines were tested at baseline and one month by Luminex xMAP multiplex technology. Cox Proportional Hazards model was applied and the Wald test was used to test the marginal association of each individual marker and RFS. We used the Lasso approach to select the markers to be included in a multi-marker Cox Proportional Hazards model. The ability of the resulting models to predict one year RFS was evaluated by the time-dependent ROC curve. The leave-one-out method of cross validation (LOOCV was used to avoid over-fitting of the data.In the multi-marker modeling analysis conducted in Arm B, one month serum IL2Rα, IL-12p40 and IFNα levels predicted one year RFS with LOOCV AUC = 82%. Among the three markers selected, IL2Rα and IFNα were the most stable (selected in all the cross validation cycles. The risk score (linear combination of the 3 markers separated the RFS curves of low and high risk groups well (p = 0.05. This model did not hold for Arm A, indicating a differential marker profile in Arm B linked to the intervention (adjuvant therapy.Early on-treatment proinflammatory serum markers (IL2Rα, IL-12p40, IFNα significantly predict RFS in our cohort of patients treated with adjuvant IFN-α2b and warrant further study.

  9. Marketing Strategies and Students' Enrolment in Private Secondary Schools in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uchendu, Chika C.; Nwafor, Innocent A.; Nwaneri, Mary G.

    2015-01-01

    The study investigated marketing strategies and students' enrolment in private secondary schools in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State. One research question was raised and two null hypotheses formulated to guide the study. Thirty two (32) school administrators in 32 private secondary schools in the study area constitute the study population…

  10. The cross-cultural generalizability and validity of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leone, Luigi; Van der Zee, K.I.; van Oudenhoven, Jan Pieter; Perugini, Marco; Ercolani, Anna Paola

    The present study examined the validity of the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ), an instrument designed to measure five personality dimensions linked to multicultural orientation and adaptation. First, the cross-cultural generalizability of the scales was investigated across Italian (N

  11. CHALLENGES IN CROSS CULTURAL ADVERTISING

    OpenAIRE

    Yuni Retnowati

    2016-01-01

    At first, marketing practitioners and academics consider standardized approaches to marketing and advertising strategies in globalization, and then some studies proved that the standardization of advertising across culture is not valid. Therefore, cross cultural advertising takes local culture into account when conveying messages in advertisements. Cross cultural understanding is very important in order to produce successful localized advertising that would reflect the cultural values and nor...

  12. Brazilian cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire (LTE-Q).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abreu, Patrícia B de; Cogo-Moreira, Hugo; Pose, Regina A; Laranjeira, Ronaldo; Caetano, Raul; Gaya, Carolina M; Madruga, Clarice S

    2017-01-01

    To perform a construct validation of the List of Threatening Events Questionnaire (LTE-Q), as well as convergence validation by identifying its association with drug use in a sample of the Brazilian population. This is a secondary analysis of the Second Brazilian National Alcohol and Drugs Survey (II BNADS), which used a cross-cultural adaptation of the LTE-Q in a probabilistic sample of 4,607 participants aged 14 years and older. Latent class analysis was used to validate the latent trait adversity (which considered the number of events from the list of 12 item in the LTE experienced by the respondent in the previous year) and logistic regression was performed to find its association with binge drinking and cocaine use. The confirmatory factor analysis returned a chi-square of 108.341, weighted root mean square residual (WRMR) of 1.240, confirmatory fit indices (CFI) of 0.970, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) of 0.962, and root mean square error approximation (RMSEA) score of 1.000. LTE-Q convergence validation showed that the adversity latent trait increased the chances of binge drinking by 1.31 time and doubled the chances of previous year cocaine use (adjusted by sociodemographic variables). The use of the LTE-Q in Brazil should be encouraged in different research fields, including large epidemiological surveys, as it is also appropriate when time and budget are limited. The LTE-Q can be a useful tool in the development of targeted and more efficient prevention strategies.

  13. Opt-out screening strategy for HIV infection among patients attending emergency departments: systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henriquez-Camacho, C; Villafuerte-Gutierrez, P; Pérez-Molina, J A; Losa, J; Gotuzzo, E; Cheyne, N

    2017-07-01

    International health agencies have promoted nontargeted universal (opt-out) HIV screening tests in different settings, including emergency departments (EDs). We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the testing uptake of strategies (opt-in targeted, opt-in nontargeted and opt-out) to detect new cases of HIV infection in EDs. We searched the Pubmed and Embase databases, from 1984 to April 2015, for opt-in and opt-out HIV diagnostic strategies used in EDs. Randomized controlled or quasi experimental studies were included. We assessed the percentage of positive individuals tested for HIV infection in each programme (opt-in and opt-out strategies). The mean percentage was estimated by combining studies in a random-effect meta-analysis. The percentages of individuals tested in the programmes were compared in a random-effect meta-regression model. Data were analysed using stata version 12. Quality assessments were performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Of the 90 papers identified, 28 were eligible for inclusion. Eight trials used opt-out, 18 trials used opt-in, and two trials used both to detect new cases of HIV infection. The test was accepted and taken by 75 155 of 172 237 patients (44%) in the opt-out strategy, and 73 581 of 382 992 patients (19%) in the opt-in strategy. The prevalence of HIV infection detected by the opt-out strategy was 0.40% (373 cases), that detected by the opt-in nontargeted strategy was 0.52% (419 cases), and that detected by the opt-in targeted strategy was 1.06% (52 cases). In this meta-analysis, the testing uptake of the opt-out strategy was not different from that of the opt-in strategy to detect new cases of HIV infection in EDs. © 2016 British HIV Association.

  14. Validation of the Read Out Electronics for the CMS Muon Drift Chambers at Tests Beam in CERN/GIF

    CERN Document Server

    Fernández, C; Fouz-Iglesias, M C; Marin, J; Oller, J C; Willmott, C

    2002-01-01

    Part of the readout system for the CMS muon drift chambers has been tested in test beams at CERN/GIF. Read Out Board (ROB) and HPTD have been validated with signals from a real muon beam, with an structure and flux similar to LHC operating conditions and using one of the chambers produced in CIEMAT already located in the test beam area under normal gas and voltage conditions. (Author) 5 refs.

  15. Concussion classification via deep learning using whole-brain white matter fiber strains

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yunliang; Wu, Shaoju; Zhao, Wei; Li, Zhigang; Wu, Zheyang

    2018-01-01

    Developing an accurate and reliable injury predictor is central to the biomechanical studies of traumatic brain injury. State-of-the-art efforts continue to rely on empirical, scalar metrics based on kinematics or model-estimated tissue responses explicitly pre-defined in a specific brain region of interest. They could suffer from loss of information. A single training dataset has also been used to evaluate performance but without cross-validation. In this study, we developed a deep learning approach for concussion classification using implicit features of the entire voxel-wise white matter fiber strains. Using reconstructed American National Football League (NFL) injury cases, leave-one-out cross-validation was employed to objectively compare injury prediction performances against two baseline machine learning classifiers (support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF)) and four scalar metrics via univariate logistic regression (Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC), cumulative strain damage measure of the whole brain (CSDM-WB) and the corpus callosum (CSDM-CC), and peak fiber strain in the CC). Feature-based machine learning classifiers including deep learning, SVM, and RF consistently outperformed all scalar injury metrics across all performance categories (e.g., leave-one-out accuracy of 0.828–0.862 vs. 0.690–0.776, and .632+ error of 0.148–0.176 vs. 0.207–0.292). Further, deep learning achieved the best cross-validation accuracy, sensitivity, AUC, and .632+ error. These findings demonstrate the superior performances of deep learning in concussion prediction and suggest its promise for future applications in biomechanical investigations of traumatic brain injury. PMID:29795640

  16. Concussion classification via deep learning using whole-brain white matter fiber strains.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Yunliang; Wu, Shaoju; Zhao, Wei; Li, Zhigang; Wu, Zheyang; Ji, Songbai

    2018-01-01

    Developing an accurate and reliable injury predictor is central to the biomechanical studies of traumatic brain injury. State-of-the-art efforts continue to rely on empirical, scalar metrics based on kinematics or model-estimated tissue responses explicitly pre-defined in a specific brain region of interest. They could suffer from loss of information. A single training dataset has also been used to evaluate performance but without cross-validation. In this study, we developed a deep learning approach for concussion classification using implicit features of the entire voxel-wise white matter fiber strains. Using reconstructed American National Football League (NFL) injury cases, leave-one-out cross-validation was employed to objectively compare injury prediction performances against two baseline machine learning classifiers (support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF)) and four scalar metrics via univariate logistic regression (Brain Injury Criterion (BrIC), cumulative strain damage measure of the whole brain (CSDM-WB) and the corpus callosum (CSDM-CC), and peak fiber strain in the CC). Feature-based machine learning classifiers including deep learning, SVM, and RF consistently outperformed all scalar injury metrics across all performance categories (e.g., leave-one-out accuracy of 0.828-0.862 vs. 0.690-0.776, and .632+ error of 0.148-0.176 vs. 0.207-0.292). Further, deep learning achieved the best cross-validation accuracy, sensitivity, AUC, and .632+ error. These findings demonstrate the superior performances of deep learning in concussion prediction and suggest its promise for future applications in biomechanical investigations of traumatic brain injury.

  17. Prenatal Psychosocial Profile: translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation to its use in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weissheimer, Anne Marie; Mamede, Marli Villela

    2015-12-01

    To translate the Prenatal Psychosocial Profile (PPP) to be used in Brazil; to perform its cross-cultural adaptation; and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Methodological study. The study was conducted in 10 prenatal care clinics at the city of Porto Alegre/Brazil. 241 women pregnant women. The adaptation process consisted in: translation; first version synthesis; expert committee evaluation; back translation; pre-test of the PPP version in Portuguese (PPP-VP); validation; the data with the participants was collected in 2007, by trained student nurses that approached the women while they were waiting for prenatal consultation. The mean scores for all subscales were similar to the ones found by the original authors; internal consistency was verified through Cronbach׳s alpha, with values of 0.71 for the stress subscale; 0.96 for support from the partner; 0.96 for support from others; and 0.79 for self-esteem; validity was supported through factorial analysis; construct and criterion validities were also established. PPP-VP should be used as a tool to obtain a psychosocial profile which can lead to nursing interventions that will reduce health risk behaviours during pregnancy. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Relationship between job satisfaction, professional identity and intention to leave the profession among nurses in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabanciogullari, Selma; Dogan, Selma

    2015-11-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between job satisfaction, professional identity and intention to leave the profession among nurses in Turkey. Although there are many studies on job satisfaction among nurses in Turkey, there is a gap in the literature in relation to professional identity, particularly for intentions to leave the profession. This cross-sectional, descriptive and correlational study was conducted with 2122 nurses from Turkey. A positive and significant correlation was determined between the nurses' job satisfaction and professional identities. It was found that 15.5% of the nurses intended to leave their profession. Intention to leave the profession was greater among the nurses with inadequate professional identity development and low job satisfaction. Professional identity is a factor affecting job satisfaction. Both professional identity and job satisfaction are important factors affecting nurses' intention leaving the profession. Given that professional identity and job satisfaction affect intention to leave the profession and professional identity affects job satisfaction, nurse managers who are mainly responsible for the quality of nursing care should develop strategies that support nurses' professional identity and increase their job satisfaction if they are to prevent nurses from leaving the profession. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Development and face validation of strategies for improving consultation skills

    OpenAIRE

    Lefroy, J; Thomas, A; Harrison, C; Williams, S; O'Mahony, F; Gay, S; Kinston, R; McKinley, RK

    2014-01-01

    While formative workplace based assessment can improve learners' skills, it often does not because the procedures used do not facilitate feedback which is sufficiently specific to scaffold improvement. Provision of pre-formulated strategies to address predicted learning needs has potential to improve the quality and automate the provision of written feedback. To systematically develop, validate and maximise the utility of a comprehensive list of strategies for improvement of consultation skil...

  20. Effects of nurse work environment on job dissatisfaction, burnout, intention to leave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nantsupawat, A; Kunaviktikul, W; Nantsupawat, R; Wichaikhum, O-A; Thienthong, H; Poghosyan, L

    2017-03-01

    The nursing shortage is a critical issue in many countries. High turnover rates among nurses is contributing to the shortage, and job dissatisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout have been identified as some of the predictors of nurse turnover. A well-established body of evidence demonstrates that the work environment for nurses influences nurse job dissatisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout, but there never has been a study undertaken in Thailand to investigate this relationship. To investigate how work environment affects job dissatisfaction, burnout, and intention to leave among nurses in Thailand. The study used a cross-sectional survey to collect data from 1351 nurses working in 43 inpatient units in five university hospitals across Thailand. The participants completed the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and measures of job dissatisfaction and intention to leave. Logistical regression models assessed the association between work environment and nurse-reported job dissatisfaction, burnout, and intent to leave. Nurses working in university hospitals with better work environments had significantly less job dissatisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout. The nurse work environment is a significant feature contributing to nurse retention in Thai university hospitals. Improving the work environment for nurses may lead to lower levels of job dissatisfaction, intention to leave, and burnout. Focusing on these nurse outcomes can be used as a strategy to retain nurses in the healthcare system. Addressing the challenges of poor work environments requires coordinated action from policymakers and health managers. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

  1. Acculturation Strategies, Social Support, and Cross-Cultural Adaptation: A Mediation Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Ting Kin; Tsang, Kwok Kuen; Lian, Yi

    2013-01-01

    Previous acculturation research has established the influences of acculturation strategies and social support on cross-cultural adaptation. The present study attempted to elaborate these direct associations by proposing that social support and the use of the integration and marginalization strategies might affect psychological adaptation…

  2. FDIR Strategy Validation with the B Method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabatier, D.; Dellandrea, B.; Chemouil, D.

    2008-08-01

    In a formation flying satellite system, the FDIR strategy (Failure Detection, Isolation and Recovery) is paramount. When a failure occurs, satellites should be able to take appropriate reconfiguration actions to obtain the best possible results given the failure, ranging from avoiding satellite-to-satellite collision to continuing the mission without disturbance if possible. To achieve this goal, each satellite in the formation has an implemented FDIR strategy that governs how it detects failures (from tests or by deduction) and how it reacts (reconfiguration using redundant equipments, avoidance manoeuvres, etc.). The goal is to protect the satellites first and the mission as much as possible. In a project initiated by the CNES, ClearSy experiments the B Method to validate the FDIR strategies developed by Thales Alenia Space, of the inter satellite positioning and communication devices that will be used for the SIMBOL-X (2 satellite configuration) and the PEGASE (3 satellite configuration) missions and potentially for other missions afterward. These radio frequency metrology sensor devices provide satellite positioning and inter satellite communication in formation flying. This article presents the results of this experience.

  3. Development of a German version of the Oswestry Disability Index. Part 1: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannion, A F; Junge, A; Fairbank, J C T; Dvorak, J; Grob, D

    2006-01-01

    Patient-orientated assessment methods are of paramount importance in the evaluation of treatment outcome. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is one of the condition-specific questionnaires recommended for use with back pain patients. To date, no German version has been published in the peer-reviewed literature. A cross-cultural adaptation of the ODI for the German language was carried out, according to established guidelines. One hundred patients with chronic low-back pain (35 conservative, 65 surgical) completed a questionnaire booklet containing the newly translated ODI, along with a 0-10 pain visual analogue scale (VAS), the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, and Likert scales for disability, medication intake and pain frequency [to assess ODI's construct (convergent) validity]. Thirty-nine of these patients completed a second questionnaire within 2 weeks (to assess test-retest reliability). The intraclass correlation coefficient for the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire was 0.96. In test-retest, 74% of the individual questions were answered identically, and 21% just one grade higher or lower. The standard error of measurement (SEM) was 3.4, giving a "minimum detectable change" (MDC(95%)) for the ODI of approximately 9 points, i.e. the minimum change in an individual's score required to be considered "real change" (with 95% confidence) over and above measurement error. The ODI scores correlated with VAS pain intensity (r = 0.78, P disability, medication use and pain frequency (in each case P Oswestry questionnaire is reliable and valid, and shows psychometric characteristics as good as, if not better than, the original English version. It should represent a valuable tool for use in future patient-orientated outcome studies in German-speaking lands.

  4. Negative leave balances

    CERN Multimedia

    Human Resources Department

    2005-01-01

    Members of the personnel entitled to annual leave and, where appropriate, saved leave and/or compensatory leave are requested to take note of the new arrangements described below, which were recommended by the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC) at its meeting on 1Â September 2005 and subsequently approved by the Director-General. The changes do not apply to members of the personnel participating in the Progressive Retirement Programme (PRP) or the Part-time Work as a pre-retirement measure, for whom the specific provisions communicated at the time of joining will continue to apply. Â Negative balances in annual leave, saved leave and/or compensatory leave accounts at the end of the leave year (30th September) and on the date on which bonuses are credited to the saved leave account (31st December): Where members of the personnel have a leave account with a negative balance on 30Â September and/or 31Â December, leave will automatically be transferred from one account to another on the relevant dates i...

  5. Negative leave balances

    CERN Multimedia

    Human Resources Department

    2005-01-01

    Members of the personnel entitled to annual leave and, where appropriate, saved leave and/or compensatory leave are requested to take note of the new arrangements described below, which were recommended by the Standing Concertation Committee (SCC) at its meeting on 1 September 2005 and subsequently approved by the Director-General. The changes do not apply to members of the personnel participating in the Progressive Retirement Programme (PRP) or the Part-time Work as a pre-retirement measure, for whom the specific provisions communicated at the time of joining will continue to apply.  Negative balances in annual leave, saved leave and/or compensatory leave accounts at the end of the leave year (30th September) and on the date on which bonuses are credited to the saved leave account (31st December): Where members of the personnel have a leave account with a negative balance on 30 September and/or 31 December, leave will automatically be transferred from one account to another on the relevant dates in or...

  6. Evaluation of reversible contraceptive potential of Cordia dichotoma leaves extract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Plaban Bhattacharya

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Considering the safety-risk ratio of steroidal contraceptives, the present work was carried out to evaluate ethno-contraceptive use of Cordia dichotoma G. Forst., Boraginaceae, leaves (LCD. Preliminary pharmacological screening was performed on post-coital female albino rats. The leaves extract (LD50 5.50 g/kg bw showed 100% anti-implantation activity (n=10 at 800 mg/kg dose level. (2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (BCD was used as bioavailability enhancer to form LCD-BCD complex, characterized by DLS, SEM and XRD analyses. The LCD-BCD complex (1:1, w/w exhibited 100% pregnancy interception (n=20 at the dose level of 250 mg/kg and also showed strong estrogenic potential with a luteal phase defect. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were carried out. The LCD extract was standardized by a validated HPTLC method and two contraceptive phytoconstituents, apigenin and luteolin were isolated. A detailed pharmacological analyses followed by chronic toxicity study were performed to predict the reversible nature of the developed phytopharmaceutical. The histological and biochemical estimations detected the reversible contraceptive potential after withdrawal. The observations suggested that the developed phyto-pharmaceutical has potential antifertility activity with safety aspects.

  7. Evaluation of reversible contraceptive potential of Cordia dichotoma leaves extract

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Plaban Bhattacharya

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Considering the safety-risk ratio of steroidal contraceptives, the present work was carried out to evaluate ethno-contraceptive use of Cordia dichotoma G. Forst., Boraginaceae, leaves (LCD. Preliminary pharmacological screening was performed on post-coital female albino rats. The leaves extract (LD50 5.50 g/kg bw showed 100% anti-implantation activity (n=10 at 800 mg/kg dose level. (2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (BCD was used as bioavailability enhancer to form LCD-BCD complex, characterized by DLS, SEM and XRD analyses. The LCD-BCD complex (1:1, w/w exhibited 100% pregnancy interception (n=20 at the dose level of 250 mg/kg and also showed strong estrogenic potential with a luteal phase defect. Qualitative and quantitative phytochemical analyses were carried out. The LCD extract was standardized by a validated HPTLC method and two contraceptive phytoconstituents, apigenin and luteolin were isolated. A detailed pharmacological analyses followed by chronic toxicity study were performed to predict the reversible nature of the developed phytopharmaceutical. The histological and biochemical estimations detected the reversible contraceptive potential after withdrawal. The observations suggested that the developed phyto-pharmaceutical has potential antifertility activity with safety aspects.

  8. Brazilian Portuguese version of the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR-Br): cross-cultural validation, reliability, and construct and structural validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lupi, Jaqueline Basilio; Carvalho de Abreu, Daniela Cristina; Ferreira, Mariana Candido; Oliveira, Renê Donizeti Ribeiro de; Chaves, Thais Cristina

    2017-08-01

    This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) to Brazilian Portuguese, by the use of analysis of internal consistency, reliability, and construct and structural validity. A total of 100 female patients with fibromyalgia participated in the validation process of the Brazilian Portuguese version of the FIQR (FIQR-Br).The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used for statistical analysis of reliability (test-retest), Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency, Pearson's rank correlation for construct validity, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) for structural validity. It was verified excellent levels of reliability, with ICC greater than 0.75 for all questions and domains of the FIQR-Br. For internal consistency, alpha values greater than 0.70 for the items and domains of the questionnaire were observed. Moderate (0.40  0.70) correlations were observed for the scores of domains and total score between the FIQR-Br and FIQ-Br. The structure of the three domains of the FIQR-Br was confirmed by CFA. The results of this study suggest that that the FIQR-Br is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing fibromyalgia-related impact, and supports its use in clinical settings and research. The structure of the three domains of the FIQR-Br was also confirmed. Implications for Rehabilitation Fibromyalgia is a chronic musculoskeletal disorder characterized by widespread and diffuse pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and depression. The disease significantly impairs patients' quality of life and can be highly disabling. To be used in multicenter research efforts, the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) must be cross-culturally validated and psychometrically tested. This paper will make available a new version of the FIQR-Br since another version already exists, but there are concerns about its measurement properties. The availability of an instrument adapted to and validated for Brazilian

  9. Effects of graded levels of tannin-containing tropical tree leaves on in vitro rumen fermentation, total protozoa and methane production.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhatta, R; Saravanan, M; Baruah, L; Prasad, C S

    2015-03-01

    This study was carried out to determine the effect of graded levels of tannin-containing tropical tree leaves, Autocarpus integrifolis, Azardirachta indica and Ficus bengalensis, on the in vitro rumen fermentation pattern, total protozoa and methane suppression in order to establish the optimum dose of these leaves for inclusion in the ruminant diets. The air-dried and ground samples of Au. integrifolis, Az. indica and Ficus bengalensis were subjected to in vitro incubation using 30 ml buffered rumen fluid at 0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0 and 30.0% (dry matter refers to moisture-free basis) of a total mixed ration (TMR: refers to mixture of roughage and concentrate containing cereals and oil cakes) devoid of tannin. The TMR for the experimental incubation was prepared by mixing 40 parts of ground Elusine coracana straw as roughage source with 60 parts of concentrate mixture. The leaves contained an average 130 g kg(-1) CP with 7·0 MJ of ME kg(-1) DM. The average neutral detergent fibre (NDF) content was content also showed similar trend. However, condensed tannin (CT) was highest in F. bengalensis (260) followed by Au. integrifolis (186) and Az. indica (138). There was significant (P 5.0%) reduced TVFA concentration. Protozoa (cells per mL) were similar at all levels of inclusion with Au. integrifolis, but reduced in case of F. bengalensis and Az. indica. As the level of tannin increased in the incubation medium, there was a linear reduction in methane concentration. Highest methane reduction (%) was recorded in incubations supplemented with Az. indica (61.5) followed by F. bengalensis (46.8) and Au. integrifolis (30.3). It was established from this study that tropical leaves of F. bengalensis, Au. integrifolis and Az. indica suppress methanogenesis. Ficus bengalensis, Au. integrifolis and Az. indica leaves are of interest in the enteric methane ameliorative strategies. Total mixed ration containing 10-15% ground F. bengalensis or Au. integrifolis or Az

  10. Accelerating cross-validation with total variation and its application to super-resolution imaging.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomoyuki Obuchi

    Full Text Available We develop an approximation formula for the cross-validation error (CVE of a sparse linear regression penalized by ℓ1-norm and total variation terms, which is based on a perturbative expansion utilizing the largeness of both the data dimensionality and the model. The developed formula allows us to reduce the necessary computational cost of the CVE evaluation significantly. The practicality of the formula is tested through application to simulated black-hole image reconstruction on the event-horizon scale with super resolution. The results demonstrate that our approximation reproduces the CVE values obtained via literally conducted cross-validation with reasonably good precision.

  11. Validation of innovative technologies and strategies for regulatory safety assessment methods: challenges and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stokes, William S; Wind, Marilyn

    2010-01-01

    Advances in science and innovative technologies are providing new opportunities to develop test methods and strategies that may improve safety assessments and reduce animal use for safety testing. These include high throughput screening and other approaches that can rapidly measure or predict various molecular, genetic, and cellular perturbations caused by test substances. Integrated testing and decision strategies that consider multiple types of information and data are also being developed. Prior to their use for regulatory decision-making, new methods and strategies must undergo appropriate validation studies to determine the extent that their use can provide equivalent or improved protection compared to existing methods and to determine the extent that reproducible results can be obtained in different laboratories. Comprehensive and optimal validation study designs are expected to expedite the validation and regulatory acceptance of new test methods and strategies that will support improved safety assessments and reduced animal use for regulatory testing.

  12. Go home, gay boy! Or, why do Singaporean gay men prefer to "go home" and not "come out"?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Chris K K

    2011-01-01

    Anglo-American ontologies posit that gay men should come out to match their outer selves with their inner ones. In Confucianized Singapore, however, gay men refrain from coming out to their parents to avoid shaming their families. Instead, they couch their homosexuality in kinship terms and "go home" with their boyfriends (Chou, 2000). "Going home" gains familial acceptance, but it does not challenge mainstream discourses of homosexuality. By examining how Singaporean gay men negotiate their sexuality with their families, I question the validity of coming out and going home as both ontological discourses and strategies.

  13. Length bias correction in one-day cross-sectional assessments - The nutritionDay study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frantal, Sophie; Pernicka, Elisabeth; Hiesmayr, Michael; Schindler, Karin; Bauer, Peter

    2016-04-01

    A major problem occurring in cross-sectional studies is sampling bias. Length of hospital stay (LOS) differs strongly between patients and causes a length bias as patients with longer LOS are more likely to be included and are therefore overrepresented in this type of study. To adjust for the length bias higher weights are allocated to patients with shorter LOS. We determined the effect of length-bias adjustment in two independent populations. Length-bias correction is applied to the data of the nutritionDay project, a one-day multinational cross-sectional audit capturing data on disease and nutrition of patients admitted to hospital wards with right-censoring after 30 days follow-up. We applied the weighting method for estimating the distribution function of patient baseline variables based on the method of non-parametric maximum likelihood. Results are validated using data from all patients admitted to the General Hospital of Vienna between 2005 and 2009, where the distribution of LOS can be assumed to be known. Additionally, a simplified calculation scheme for estimating the adjusted distribution function of LOS is demonstrated on a small patient example. The crude median (lower quartile; upper quartile) LOS in the cross-sectional sample was 14 (8; 24) and decreased to 7 (4; 12) when adjusted. Hence, adjustment for length bias in cross-sectional studies is essential to get appropriate estimates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

  14. Spanish translation and cross-language validation of a sleep habits questionnaire for use in clinical and research settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baldwin, Carol M; Choi, Myunghan; McClain, Darya Bonds; Celaya, Alma; Quan, Stuart F

    2012-04-15

    To translate, back-translate and cross-language validate (English/Spanish) the Sleep Heart Health Study Sleep Habits Questionnaire for use with Spanish-speakers in clinical and research settings. Following rigorous translation and back-translation, this cross-sectional cross-language validation study recruited bilingual participants from academic, clinic, and community-based settings (N = 50; 52% women; mean age 38.8 ± 12 years; 90% of Mexican heritage). Participants completed English and Spanish versions of the Sleep Habits Questionnaire, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and the Acculturation Rating Scale for Mexican Americans II one week apart in randomized order. Psychometric properties were assessed, including internal consistency, convergent validity, scale equivalence, language version intercorrelations, and exploratory factor analysis using PASW (Version18) software. Grade level readability of the sleep measure was evaluated. All sleep categories (duration, snoring, apnea, insomnia symptoms, other sleep symptoms, sleep disruptors, restless legs syndrome) showed Cronbach α, Spearman-Brown coefficients and intercorrelations ≥ 0.700, suggesting robust internal consistency, correlation, and agreement between language versions. The Epworth correlated significantly with snoring, apnea, sleep symptoms, restless legs, and sleep disruptors) on both versions, supporting convergent validity. Items loaded on 4 factors accounted for 68% and 67% of the variance on the English and Spanish versions, respectively. The Spanish-language Sleep Habits Questionnaire demonstrates conceptual and content equivalency. It has appropriate measurement properties and should be useful for assessing sleep health in community-based clinics and intervention studies among Spanish-speaking Mexican Americans. Both language versions showed readability at the fifth grade level. Further testing is needed with larger samples.

  15. SU-F-J-207: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Survival Prediction with Quantitative Tumor Textures Analysis in Baseline CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Y; Zou, J; Murillo, P; Nosher, J; Amorosa, J; Bramwit, M; Yue, N; Jabbour, S; Foran, D [Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: Chemo-radiation therapy (CRT) is widely used in treating patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Determination of the likelihood of patient response to treatment and optimization of treatment regime is of clinical significance. Up to date, no imaging biomarker has reliably correlated to NSCLC patient survival rate. This pilot study is to extract CT texture information from tumor regions for patient survival prediction. Methods: Thirteen patients with stage II-III NSCLC were treated using CRT with a median dose of 6210 cGy. Non-contrast-enhanced CT images were acquired for treatment planning and retrospectively collected for this study. Texture analysis was applied in segmented tumor regions using the Local Binary Pattern method (LBP). By comparing its HU with neighboring voxels, the LBPs of a voxel were measured in multiple scales with different group radiuses and numbers of neighbors. The LBP histograms formed a multi-dimensional texture vector for each patient, which was then used to establish and test a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model to predict patients’ one year survival. The leave-one-out cross validation strategy was used recursively to enlarge the training set and derive a reliable predictor. The predictions were compared with the true clinical outcomes. Results: A 10-dimensional LBP histogram was extracted from 3D segmented tumor region for each of the 13 patients. Using the SVM model with the leave-one-out strategy, only 1 out of 13 patients was misclassified. The experiments showed an accuracy of 93%, sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 86%. Conclusion: Within the framework of a Support Vector Machine based model, the Local Binary Pattern method is able to extract a quantitative imaging biomarker in the prediction of NSCLC patient survival. More patients are to be included in the study.

  16. SU-F-J-207: Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patient Survival Prediction with Quantitative Tumor Textures Analysis in Baseline CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Y; Zou, J; Murillo, P; Nosher, J; Amorosa, J; Bramwit, M; Yue, N; Jabbour, S; Foran, D

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Chemo-radiation therapy (CRT) is widely used in treating patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Determination of the likelihood of patient response to treatment and optimization of treatment regime is of clinical significance. Up to date, no imaging biomarker has reliably correlated to NSCLC patient survival rate. This pilot study is to extract CT texture information from tumor regions for patient survival prediction. Methods: Thirteen patients with stage II-III NSCLC were treated using CRT with a median dose of 6210 cGy. Non-contrast-enhanced CT images were acquired for treatment planning and retrospectively collected for this study. Texture analysis was applied in segmented tumor regions using the Local Binary Pattern method (LBP). By comparing its HU with neighboring voxels, the LBPs of a voxel were measured in multiple scales with different group radiuses and numbers of neighbors. The LBP histograms formed a multi-dimensional texture vector for each patient, which was then used to establish and test a Support Vector Machine (SVM) model to predict patients’ one year survival. The leave-one-out cross validation strategy was used recursively to enlarge the training set and derive a reliable predictor. The predictions were compared with the true clinical outcomes. Results: A 10-dimensional LBP histogram was extracted from 3D segmented tumor region for each of the 13 patients. Using the SVM model with the leave-one-out strategy, only 1 out of 13 patients was misclassified. The experiments showed an accuracy of 93%, sensitivity of 100%, and specificity of 86%. Conclusion: Within the framework of a Support Vector Machine based model, the Local Binary Pattern method is able to extract a quantitative imaging biomarker in the prediction of NSCLC patient survival. More patients are to be included in the study.

  17. Language Learning Strategies of Turkish and Arabic Students: A Cross-Cultural Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Köksal, Dinçay; Ulum, Ömer Gökhan

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the language learning strategy use of Turkish and Arabic students enrolled in middle schools and having different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Using a strategy inventory for language learning, the study examines the cross-cultural differences in strategy use of the mentioned students while learning English as a…

  18. Leading people positively: cross-cultural validation of the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodríguez-Carvajal, Raquel; de Rivas, Sara; Herrero, Marta; Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo; van Dierendonck, Dirk

    2014-10-24

    Servant Leadership emphasizes employee's development and growth within a context of moral and social concern. Nowadays, this management change towards workers´ wellbeing is highlighted as an important issue. The aims of this paper are to adapt to Spanish speakers the Servant Leadership Survey (SLS) by van Dierendonck and Nuijten (2011), and to analyze its factorial validity through confirmatory factor analysis and measurement invariance in three countries. A sample of 638 working people from three Spanish-speaking countries (Spain, Argentina and Mexico) participated in the study. In all three countries, confirmatory factor analyses corroborate the eight factor structure (empowerment, accountability, standing back, humility, authenticity, courage, forgiveness and stewardship) with one second order factor (servant leadership) (in all three samples, CFI, IFI > .92, TLI > .91, RMSEA < .70). Also, factor loadings, reliability and convergent validity were acceptable across samples. Furthermore, through measurement invariance analysis, we detected model equivalence in all three countries including structural residual invariance (ΔCFI = .001). Finally, cultural differences in some dimensions were found and discussed, opening the way for future cross-cultural studies.

  19. Comparing the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaauw, Duane; Ditlopo, Prudence; Maseko, Fresier; Chirwa, Maureen; Mwisongo, Aziza; Bidwell, Posy; Thomas, Steve; Normand, Charles

    2013-01-24

    Job satisfaction is an important determinant of health worker motivation, retention, and performance, all of which are critical to improving the functioning of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. A number of small-scale surveys have measured the job satisfaction and intention to leave of individual health worker cadres in different settings, but there are few multi-country and multi-cadre comparative studies. The objective of this study was to compare the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. We undertook a cross-sectional survey of a stratified cluster sample of 2,220 health workers, 564 from Tanzania, 939 from Malawi, and 717 from South Africa. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographic information, a 10-item job satisfaction scale, and one question on intention to leave. Multiple regression was used to identify significant predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave. There were statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and intention to leave between the three countries. Approximately 52.1% of health workers in South Africa were satisfied with their jobs compared to 71% from Malawi and 82.6% from Tanzania (χ2=140.3, pjob satisfaction is statistically related to intention to leave. We have shown differences in the levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave between different groups of health workers from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Our results caution against generalising about the effectiveness of interventions in different contexts and highlight the need for less standardised and more targeted HRH strategies than has been practised to date.

  20. Comparing the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaauw, Duane; Ditlopo, Prudence; Maseko, Fresier; Chirwa, Maureen; Mwisongo, Aziza; Bidwell, Posy; Thomas, Steve; Normand, Charles

    2013-01-01

    Background Job satisfaction is an important determinant of health worker motivation, retention, and performance, all of which are critical to improving the functioning of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. A number of small-scale surveys have measured the job satisfaction and intention to leave of individual health worker cadres in different settings, but there are few multi-country and multi-cadre comparative studies. Objective The objective of this study was to compare the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Methods We undertook a cross-sectional survey of a stratified cluster sample of 2,220 health workers, 564 from Tanzania, 939 from Malawi, and 717 from South Africa. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographic information, a 10-item job satisfaction scale, and one question on intention to leave. Multiple regression was used to identify significant predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave. Results There were statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and intention to leave between the three countries. Approximately 52.1% of health workers in South Africa were satisfied with their jobs compared to 71% from Malawi and 82.6% from Tanzania (χ2=140.3, pjob satisfaction is statistically related to intention to leave. Conclusions We have shown differences in the levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave between different groups of health workers from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Our results caution against generalising about the effectiveness of interventions in different contexts and highlight the need for less standardised and more targeted HRH strategies than has been practised to date. PMID:23364090

  1. CROSS-CULTURAL ADAPTATION AND VALIDATION OF THE KOREAN VERSION OF THE CUMBERLAND ANKLE INSTABILITY TOOL.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ko, Jupil; Rosen, Adam B; Brown, Cathleen N

    2015-12-01

    The Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) is a valid and reliable patient reported outcome used to assess the presence and severity of chronic ankle instability (CAI). The CAIT has been cross-culturally adapted into other languages for use in non-English speaking populations. However, there are no valid questionnaires to assess CAI in individuals who speak Korean. The purpose of this study was to translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the CAIT, for use in a Korean-speaking population with CAI. Cross-cultural reliability study. The CAIT was cross-culturally adapted into Korean according to accepted guidelines and renamed the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool-Korean (CAIT-K). Twenty-three participants (12 males, 11 females) who were bilingual in English and Korean were recruited and completed the original and adapted versions to assess agreement between versions. An additional 168 national level Korean athletes (106 male, 62 females; age = 20.3 ± 1.1 yrs), who participated in ≥ 90 minutes of physical activity per week, completed the final version of the CAIT-K twice within 14 days. Their completed questionnaires were assessed for internal consistency, test-retest reliability, criterion validity, and construct validity. For bilingual participants, intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC2,1) between the CAIT and the CAIT-K for test-retest reliability were 0.95 (SEM=1.83) and 0.96 (SEM=1.50) in right and left limbs, respectively. The Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.92 and 0.90 for the CAIT-K in right and left limbs, respectively. For native Korean speakers, the CAIT-K had high internal consistency (Cronbach's α=0.89) and intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,1 = 0.94, SEM=1.72), correlation with the physical component score (rho=0.70, p = 0.001) of the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin score was 0.87. The original CAIT was translated, cross-culturally adapted, and validated from English to Korean

  2. Derivation and Cross-Validation of Cutoff Scores for Patients With Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders on WAIS-IV Digit Span-Based Performance Validity Measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glassmire, David M; Toofanian Ross, Parnian; Kinney, Dominique I; Nitch, Stephen R

    2016-06-01

    Two studies were conducted to identify and cross-validate cutoff scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition Digit Span-based embedded performance validity (PV) measures for individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In Study 1, normative scores were identified on Digit Span-embedded PV measures among a sample of patients (n = 84) with schizophrenia spectrum diagnoses who had no known incentive to perform poorly and who put forth valid effort on external PV tests. Previously identified cutoff scores resulted in unacceptable false positive rates and lower cutoff scores were adopted to maintain specificity levels ≥90%. In Study 2, the revised cutoff scores were cross-validated within a sample of schizophrenia spectrum patients (n = 96) committed as incompetent to stand trial. Performance on Digit Span PV measures was significantly related to Full Scale IQ in both studies, indicating the need to consider the intellectual functioning of examinees with psychotic spectrum disorders when interpreting scores on Digit Span PV measures. © The Author(s) 2015.

  3. Musculoskeletal disorders among preschool teachers: analyzing the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave the job.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Converso, Daniela; Viotti, Sara; Sottimano, Ilaria; Cascio, Vincenza; Guidetti, Gloria

    2018-05-22

    Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory by Hobfoll, the aim of the present study was to test whether the relationships among relational demands, work meaning, and intention to leave vary as a function of the presence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The study was cross-sectional and non-randomized. Analyses were carried out on a dataset consisting of 429 preschool teachers, who filled out a self-report questionnaire. Of them, 238 reported a MSD diagnosis and 191 were free form MSDs. As expected, among those who reported MSDs, relational demands were significantly associated to intention to leave, and this relationship was mediated by work meaning; moreover, among those free from MSDs, no significant paths among the three variables were found. In general, results showed that suffering from MSDs impairs workers' ability to face to relational demands, thus activating a spiral that encompasses diminished work meaning and intention to leave. Practical implications of results will be discussed in the paper.

  4. Cross-Cultural adaption, validity and reliability of a Hindi version of the Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Meena; Tandon, Shourya; Sharma, Ankur; Jain, Vishal; Rani Yadav, Nisha

    2018-01-01

    Background: An appropriate scale to assess the dental anxiety of Hindi speaking population is lacking. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of Hindi version of one of the oldest dental anxiety scale, Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) in Hindi speaking Indian adults. Methods: A total of 348 subjects from the outpatient department of a dental hospital in India participated in this cross-sectional study. The scale was cross-culturally adapted by forward and backward translation, committee review and pretesting method. The construct validity of the translated scale was explored with exploratory factor analysis. The correlation of the Hindi version of CDAS with visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the convergent validity. Reliability was assessed through calculations of Cronbach's alpha and intra class correlation 48 forms were completed for test-retest. Results: Prevalence of dental anxiety in the sample within the age range of 18-80 years was 85.63% [95% CI: 0.815-0.891]. The response rate was 100 %. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test value was 0.776. After factor analysis, a single factor (dental anxiety) was obtained with 4 items.The single factor model explained 61% variance. Pearson correlation coefficient between CDASand VAS was 0.494. Test-retest showed the Cronbach's alpha value of 0.814. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient of the total CDAS score was 0.881 [95% CI: 0.318-0.554]. Conclusion: Hindi version of CDAS is a valid and reliable scale to assess dental anxiety in Hindi speaking population. Convergent validity is well recognized but discriminant validity is limited and requires further study.

  5. Guidelines and Strategies for Cross-Cultural Counseling with Korean American Clients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yea Sun Eum

    2005-01-01

    The 3 major topics discussed begin with a recommendation of family counseling as the primary therapeutic modality for Korean Americans. Second, the article recommends various culturally congruent joining strategies, presented in 5 general groups. The 3rd major section of the article offers the cross-cultural counselor strategies for therapeutic…

  6. A Cost-Constrained Sampling Strategy in Support of LAI Product Validation in Mountainous Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gaofei Yin

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Increasing attention is being paid on leaf area index (LAI retrieval in mountainous areas. Mountainous areas present extreme topographic variability, and are characterized by more spatial heterogeneity and inaccessibility compared with flat terrain. It is difficult to collect representative ground-truth measurements, and the validation of LAI in mountainous areas is still problematic. A cost-constrained sampling strategy (CSS in support of LAI validation was presented in this study. To account for the influence of rugged terrain on implementation cost, a cost-objective function was incorporated to traditional conditioned Latin hypercube (CLH sampling strategy. A case study in Hailuogou, Sichuan province, China was used to assess the efficiency of CSS. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI, land cover type, and slope were selected as auxiliary variables to present the variability of LAI in the study area. Results show that CSS can satisfactorily capture the variability across the site extent, while minimizing field efforts. One appealing feature of CSS is that the compromise between representativeness and implementation cost can be regulated according to actual surface heterogeneity and budget constraints, and this makes CSS flexible. Although the proposed method was only validated for the auxiliary variables rather than the LAI measurements, it serves as a starting point for establishing the locations of field plots and facilitates the preparation of field campaigns in mountainous areas.

  7. Propensity to Leave versus Probability of Leaving: The Relationship between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Satisfaction in the Voluntary Leaving Behavior of IT Professionals

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Christopher S.

    2013-01-01

    This dissertation presents a quantitative analysis of the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction and the voluntary leaving behavior of IT professionals. In addition, the study adds to the validity and reliability of the Udechukwu and Mujtaba Mathematical Turnover Model. Surveyed within the study for their intrinsic and…

  8. Applying the Innov8 approach for reviewing national health programmes to leave no one behind: lessons learnt from Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saint, Victoria; Floranita, Rustini; Koemara Sakti, Gita Maya; Pambudi, Imran; Hermawan, Lukas; Villar, Eugenio; Magar, Veronica

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT The World Health Organization’s Innov8 Approach for Reviewing National Health Programmes to Leave No One Behind is an eight-step process that supports the operationalization of the Sustainable Development Goals’ commitment to ‘leave no one behind’. In 2014–2015, Innov8 was adapted and applied in Indonesia to review how the national neonatal and maternal health action plans could become more equity-oriented, rights-based and gender-responsive, and better address critical social determinants of health. The process was led by the Indonesian Ministry of Health, with the support of WHO. It involved a wide range of actors and aligned with/fed into the drafting of the maternal newborn health action plan and the implementation planning of the newborn action plan. Key activities included a sensitization meeting, diagnostic checklist, review workshop and in-country work by the review teams. This ‘methods forum’ article describes this adaptation and application process, the outcomes and lessons learnt. In conjunction with other sources, Innov8 findings and recommendations informed national and sub-national maternal and neonatal action plans and programming to strengthen a ‘leave no one behind’ approach. As follow-up during 2015–2017, components of the Innov8 methodology were integrated into district-level planning processes for maternal and newborn health, and Innov8 helped generate demand for health inequality monitoring and its use in planning. In Indonesia, Innov8 enhanced national capacity for equity-oriented, rights-based and gender-responsive approaches and addressing critical social determinants of health. Adaptation for the national planning context (e.g. decentralized structure) and linking with health inequality monitoring capacity building were important lessons learnt. The pilot of Innov8 in Indonesia suggests that this approach can help operationalize the SDGs’ commitment to leave no one behind, in particular in relation to

  9. Blow-out limits of nonpremixed turbulent jet flames in a cross flow at atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressures

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Qiang

    2015-07-22

    The blow-out limits of nonpremixed turbulent jet flames in cross flows were studied, especially concerning the effect of ambient pressure, by conducting experiments at atmospheric and sub-atmospheric pressures. The combined effects of air flow and pressure were investigated by a series of experiments conducted in an especially built wind tunnel in Lhasa, a city on the Tibetan plateau where the altitude is 3650 m and the atmospheric pressure condition is naturally low (64 kPa). These results were compared with results obtained from a wind tunnel at standard atmospheric pressure (100 kPa) in Hefei city (altitude 50 m). The size of the fuel nozzles used in the experiments ranged from 3 to 8 mm in diameter and propane was used as the fuel. It was found that the blow-out limit of the air speed of the cross flow first increased (“cross flow dominant” regime) and then decreased (“fuel jet dominant” regime) as the fuel jet velocity increased in both pressures; however, the blow-out limit of the air speed of the cross flow was much lower at sub-atmospheric pressure than that at standard atmospheric pressure whereas the domain of the blow-out limit curve (in a plot of the air speed of the cross flow versus the fuel jet velocity) shrank as the pressure decreased. A theoretical model was developed to characterize the blow-out limit of nonpremixed jet flames in a cross flow based on a Damköhler number, defined as the ratio between the mixing time and the characteristic reaction time. A satisfactory correlation was obtained at relative strong cross flow conditions (“cross flow dominant” regime) that included the effects of the air speed of the cross flow, fuel jet velocity, nozzle diameter and pressure.

  10. Cross-Cultural Validation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Physical Education Scale between Portugal and Brazil Samples.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cid, Luis; Lettnin, Carla; Stobäus, Claus; Monteiro, Diogo; Davoglio, Tárcia; Moutão, João

    2016-02-19

    The main propose of this study is the cross-cultural validation of the Basic Psychological Needs in Physical Education Scale among Portugal and Brazil samples, through the study of measurement model invariance. Participated in this study, two independent samples, one with 616 Portuguese students, of the 2nd and 3rd basic grade of public school, aged between 9 and 18 years old and another with 450 Brazilian students, from 1st, 2nd and 3rd middle grade of public and private school, aged between 14 and 18 years old. The results support the suitability of the model (three factors, each one with four items), showing an adequate fit to the data in each sample (Portugal: χ2 = 203.8, p = .001, df = 51, SRMR = .062, NNFI = .926, CFI = .943, RMSEA = .070, RMSEA 90% IC = .060-.080; Brazil: χ2 = 173.7, p = .001, df = 51, SRMR = .052, NNFI = .940, CFI = .954, RMSEA = .073, RMSEA 90% IC = .061-.085), as well valid cross-cultural invariance among Portuguese e Brazilian samples (∆CFI ≤ .01). Those findings allow us to conclude that scale can be used to measure the basic psychological needs in physical education in Portugal and in Brazil.

  11. Spanish version of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey (KiKS) in Peru: cross-cultural adaptation and validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mota-Anaya, Evelin; Yumpo-Cárdenas, Daniel; Alva-Bravo, Edmundo; Wright-Nunes, Julie; Mayta-Tristán, Percy

    2016-08-08

    Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 50 million people globally. Several studies show the importance of implementing interventions that enhance patients’ knowledge about their disease. In 2011 the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey (KiKS) was developed: a questionnaire that assesses the specific knowledge about chronic kidney disease in pre-dialysis patients. To translate to Spanish, culturally adapt and validate the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey questionnaire in a population of patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease. We carried out a Spanish translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey questionnaire. Subsequently, we determined its validity and reliability. We determined the validity through construct validity; and reliability by evaluating its internal consistency and its intra-observer reliability (test-retest). We found a good internal consistency (Kuder-Richardson = 0.85). The intra-observer reliability was measured by the intra-class correlation coefficient that yielded a value of 0.78 (95% CI: 0.5-1.0). This value indicated a good reproducibility; also, the mean difference of -1.1 test-retest SD 6.0 (p = 0.369) confirms this finding. The translated Spanish version of the Kidney Disease Knowledge Survey is acceptable and equivalent to the original version; it also has a good reliability, validity and reproducibility. Therefore, it can be used in a population of patients with pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease.

  12. Psychometrics and life history strategy: the structure and validity of the High K Strategy Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Copping, Lee T; Campbell, Anne; Muncer, Steven

    2014-03-22

    In this paper, we critically review the conceptualization and implementation of psychological measures of life history strategy associated with Differential K theory. The High K Strategy Scale (HKSS: Giosan, 2006) was distributed to a large British sample (n = 809) with the aim of assessing its factor structure and construct validity in relation to theoretically relevant life history variables: age of puberty, age of first sexual encounter, and number of sexual partners. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the HKSS in its current form did not show an adequate statistical fit to the data. Modifications to improve fit indicated four correlated factors (personal capital, environmental stability, environmental security, and social capital). Later puberty in women was positively associated with measures of the environment and personal capital. Among men, contrary to Differential K predictions but in line with female mate preferences, earlier sexual debut and more sexual partners were positively associated with more favorable environments and higher personal and social capital. We raise concerns about the use of psychometric indicators of lifestyle and personality as proxies for life history strategy when they have not been validated against objective measures derived from contemporary life history theory and when their status as causes, mediators, or correlates has not been investigated.

  13. Translation, cross-culturally adaptation and validation of the Danish version of Oxford Hip Score (OHS)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Paulsen, Aksel

    there was no properly translated, adapted and validated Danish language version available, a translation to Danish, cross-culturally adaptation and validation of the Danish Oxford Hip Score was warranted. Material and Methods: We translated and cross-culturally adapted the Oxford Hip Score into Danish, in accordance......Objective: The Oxford Hip Score is a patient reported outcome questionnaire designed to assess pain and function in patients undergoing total hip arthroplaty (THA). The Oxford Hip Score is valid, reliable and consistent, and different language versions have been developed. Since.......9 % ceiling effect on this cohort of postoperative patients. Only in 1.2 % of the patients no sum score could be calculated, due to missing items. In relation to construct validity 80 % of predefined hypothesis were confirmed. The different items had an intraclass correlation in the range of 0...

  14. Cross-cultural validation and psychometric testing of the Norwegian version of the TeamSTEPPS® teamwork perceptions questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ballangrud, Randi; Husebø, Sissel Eikeland; Hall-Lord, Marie Louise

    2017-12-02

    Teamwork is an integrated part of today's specialized and complex healthcare and essential to patient safety, and is considered as a core competency to improve twenty-first century healthcare. Teamwork measurements and evaluations show promising results to promote good team performance, and are recommended for identifying areas for improvement. The validated TeamSTEPPS® Teamwork Perception Questionnaire (T-TPQ) was found suitable for cross-cultural validation and testing in a Norwegian context. T-TPQ is a self-report survey that examines five dimensions of perception of teamwork within healthcare settings. The aim of the study was to translate and cross-validate the T-TPQ into Norwegian, and test the questionnaire for psychometric properties among healthcare personnel. The T-TPQ was translated and adapted to a Norwegian context according to a model of a back-translation process. A total of 247 healthcare personnel representing different professionals and hospital settings responded to the questionnaire. A confirmatory factor analysis was carried out to test the factor structure. Cronbach's alpha was used to establish internal consistency, and an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient was used to assess the test - retest reliability. A confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable fitting model (χ 2 (df) 969.46 (546), p teamwork dimension clearly represents that specific construct. The Cronbach's alpha demonstrated acceptable values on the five subscales (0.786-0.844), and test-retest showed a reliability parameter, with Intraclass Correlation Coefficient scores from 0.672 to 0.852. The Norwegian version of T-TPQ was considered to be acceptable regarding the validity and reliability for measuring Norwegian individual healthcare personnel's perception of group level teamwork within their unit. However, it needs to be further tested, preferably in a larger sample and in different clinical settings.

  15. The prevalence of sick leave

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Backhausen, Mette; Damm, Peter; Bendix, Jane

    2018-01-01

    of long-term sick leave. Method Data from 508 employed pregnant women seeking antenatal care was collected by questionnaires from August 2015 to March 2016. The questionnaires, which were filled in at 20 and 32 weeks of gestation, provided information on maternal characteristics, the number of days spent...... on sick leave and the associated reasons. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were applied. Results The prevalence of sick leave was 56% of employed pregnant women in the first 32 weeks of gestation and more than one in four reported long-term sick leave (>20 days, continuous...... was a negative predictor. Conclusions The prevalence of sick leave was 56% in the first 32 weeks of gestation and more than one in four women reported long-term sick leave. The majority of reasons for sick leave were pregnancy-related and low back pain was the most frequently given reason....

  16. Cross-diagnostic validity of the Nottingham health profile index of distress (NHPD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klevsgård Rosemarie

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Nottingham Health Profile index of Distress (NHPD has been proposed as a generic undimensional 24-item measure of illness-related distress that is embedded in the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP. Data indicate that the NHPD may have psychometric advantages to the 6-dimensional NHP profile scores. Detailed psychometric evaluations are, however, lacking. Furthermore, to support the validity of the generic property of outcome measures evidence that scores can be interpreted in the same manner in different diagnostic groups are needed. It is currently unknown if NHPD scores have the same meaning across patient populations. This study evaluated the measurement properties and cross-diagnostic validity of the NHPD as a survey instrument among people with Parkinson's disease (PD and peripheral arterial disease (PAD. Methods Data from 215 (PD and 258 (PAD people were Rasch analyzed regarding model fit, reliability, differential item functioning (DIF, unidimensionality and targeting. In cases of cross-diagnostic DIF this was adjusted for and the impact of DIF on the total score and person measures was assessed. Results The NHPD was found to have good overall and individual item fit in both disorders as well as in the pooled sample, but seven items displayed signs of cross-diagnostic DIF. Following adjustment for DIF some aspects of model fit were slightly compromised, whereas others improved somewhat. DIF did not impact total NHPD scores or resulting person measures, but the unadjusted scale displayed minor signs of multidimensionality. Reliability was > 0.8 in all within- and cross-diagnostic analyses. Items tended to represent more distress (mean, 0 logits than that experienced by the sample (mean, -1.6 logits. Conclusion This study supports the within- and cross-diagnostic validity of the NHPD as a survey tool among people with PD and PAD. We encourage others to reassess available NHP data within the NHPD framework to further

  17. Cross-cultural validity and measurement invariance of the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP) across three countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, R; Ponnusamy, V; Zhang, C-Q; Gucciardi, D F

    2017-08-01

    Organizational stressors are a universal phenomenon which can be particularly prevalent and problematic for sport performers. In view of their global existence, it is surprising that no studies have examined cross-cultural differences in organizational stressors. One explanation for this is that the Organizational Stressor Indicator for Sport Performers (OSI-SP; Arnold, Fletcher, & Daniels, 2013), which can comprehensively measure the organizational pressures that sport performers have encountered, has not yet been translated from English into any other languages nor scrutinized cross-culturally. The first purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the cross-cultural validity of the OSI-SP. In addition, the study aimed to test the equivalence of the OSI-SP's factor structure across cultures. British (n = 379), Chinese (n = 335), and Malaysian (n = 444) sport performers completed the OSI-SP. Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the cross-cultural validity of the factorial model for the British and Malaysian samples; however, the overall model fit for the Chinese data did not meet all guideline values. Support was provided for the equality of factor loadings, variances, and covariances on the OSI-SP across the British and Malaysian cultures. These findings advance knowledge and understanding on the cross-cultural existence, conceptualization, and operationalization of organizational stressors. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Development and Cross-Validation of the Short Form of the Cultural Competence Scale for Nurses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duckhee Chae, PhD, RN

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: To develop and validate the short form of the Korean adaptation of the Cultural Competence Scale for Nurses. Methods: To shorten the 33-item Cultural Competence Scale for Nurses, an expert panel (N = 6 evaluated its content validity. The revised items were pilot tested using a sample of nine nurses, and clarity was assessed through cognitive interviews with respondents. The original instrument was shortened and validated through item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, convergent validity, and reliability using data from 277 hospital nurses. The 14-item final version was cross-validated through confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, discriminant validity, known-group comparisons, and reliability using data from 365 nurses belonging to 19 hospitals. Results: A 4-factor, 14-item model demonstrated satisfactory fit with significant factor loadings. The convergent validity between the developed tool and transcultural self-efficacy was significant (r = .55, p < .001. The convergent validity evaluated using the Average Variance Extracted and discriminant validity were acceptable. Known-group comparisons revealed significant differences in the mean scores of the groups who spent more than one month abroad (p = .002 were able to communicate in a foreign language (p < .001 and had education to care for foreign patients (p = .039. Cronbach's α was .89, and the reliability of the subscales ranged from .74 to .91. Conclusion: The Cultural Competence Scale for Nurses-Short Form demonstrated good reliability and validity. It is a short and appropriate instrument for use in clinical and research settings to assess nurses' cultural competence. Keywords: cultural competence, psychometric properties, nurse

  19. Tackling Complex Inequalities and Ecuador's Buen Vivir: Leaving No-one Behind and equality in diversity

    OpenAIRE

    Radcliffe, Sarah Anne

    2017-01-01

    Ecuador's postneoliberal policy of Buen Vivir seeks to reduce social inequality and tackle complex disadvantages associated with gender, location, race-ethnicity and other social differences. The paper analyses governmental Buen Vivir policy thinking and institutional arrangements to explore how Buen Vivir frameworks approach the constitutional commitment to equality in diversity, in light of the global Sustainable Development Goal of "Leaving No-one Behind" (LNOB). In many respects Ecuador ...

  20. Constraining the cross section of 82Se(n, γ)83Se to validate the β-Oslo method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Childers, K.; Liddick, S. N.; Crider, B. P.; Dombos, A. C.; Lewis, R.; Spyrou, A.; Couture, A.; Mosby, S.; Prokop, C. J.; Naqvi, F.; Larsen, A. C.; Guttormsen, M.; Campo, L. C.; Renstrom, T.; Siem, S.; Bleuel, D. L.; Perdikakis, G.; Quinn, S.

    2017-09-01

    Neutron capture cross sections of short-lived nuclei are important for a variety of basic and applied nuclear science problems. However, because of the short half-lives of the nuclei involved and the nonexistence of a neutron target, indirect measurement methods are required. One such method is the β-Oslo method. The nuclear level density and γ strength function of a nucleus are extracted after β-decay and used in a statistical reaction model to constrain the neutron capture cross section. This method has been used previously, but must be validated against a directly measured neutron capture cross section. The neutron capture cross section of 82Se has been measured previously, and 83Se can be accessed by the β-decay of 83As. The β-decay of 83As to 83Se was studied using the SuN detector at the NSCL and the β-Oslo method was utilized to constrain the neutron capture cross section of 82Se, which is compared to the directly measured value.

  1. Cross-cultural and construct validity of the Animated Activity Questionnaire

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peter, Wilfred F; Cw de Vet, Henrika; Boers, Maarten

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: The Animated Activity Questionnaire (AAQ) assesses activity limitations in patients with hip/knee osteoarthritis (HKOA), and consisting video animations of which patients choose the animation that best matches their own performance. The AAQ has shown good validity and reliability......, and a Patient Reported Outcome Measure (PROM) and performance-based tests. RESULTS: Data of 1239 patients were available. Compared to Dutch (n=279), none of the 17 items showed DIF in English (n=202), French (n=193), 1 item showed uniform DIF in Spanish (n=99) and Norwegian (n=62), and 2 items showed uniform...... with the cross-cultural validity between these countries. With regard to construct validity, the correlations with PROM (0.74) and performance-based tests (0.36-0.68) were partly as expected (> 0.60). CONCLUSION: The AAQ, an innovative tool to measure activity limitations that can be placed on the continuum...

  2. Cross-Cultural Pedagogy: Practical Strategies for a Successful Interprofessional Study Abroad Course

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Jieru; Larimer, Susan; Riner, Mary Beth

    2016-01-01

    This article discusses some practical strategies for designing and implementing a cross-cultural interprofessional study abroad course, including pre-departure preparation, facilitating small groups with local students, establishing a weekly theme, utilizing role-play and reflective assignments, and implementing meaningful evaluation strategies.…

  3. Stressors in anaesthesiology: development and validation of a new questionnaire: A cross-sectional study of Portuguese anaesthesiologists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapa, Teresa A; Carvalho, Sérgio A; Viana, Joaquim S; Ferreira, Pedro L; Pinto-Gouveia, José

    2016-11-01

    Stress in anaesthesiologists is a common and multifactorial problem related to patients, colleagues and organisations. The consequences of stress include depression, work-home conflicts and burnout. Reduction in stress can be achieved by reducing the number and magnitude of stressors or by increasing resilience strategies. We have created the self-reporting 'Stress Questionnaire in Anaesthesiologists' (SQA), to qualify the sources of stress in anaesthesiologists' professional lives, and measure the level of associated stress. Our study aimed to develop and validate the SQA using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity was assessed through correlations between SQA and negative psychological outcomes as well as by comparing perception of stress among different known groups. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional, correlational, observational study. The study was conducted between January 2014 and December 2014, throughout different anaesthesia departments in Portuguese hospitals. Data collection was from a representative subset at one specific time point. A sample of 710 anaesthesia specialists and residents from Portugal. The primary outcome measure was to identify specific stressors in anaesthesiologists. Secondary outcome was the association between stressors and burnout, depression symptoms, anxiety, stress, rumination, satisfaction with life and functional impairment. The exploratory analysis showed the SQA is a tri-dimensional instrument and confirmatory analysis showed the tri-dimensional structure presented good model fit. The three dimensions of SQA correlated positively with other stress measures and burnout, but negatively with satisfaction with life. SQA is a well adjusted measure for assessing stressors in anaesthesia physicians and includes clinical, organisational and team stress factors. Results showed that the SQA is a robust and reliable instrument.

  4. Validation of Malay Version of Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale: Comparison between Depressed Patients and Healthy Subjects at an Out-Patient Clinic in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    NG, Chong Guan; CHIN, Soo Cheng; YEE, Anne Hway Ann; LOH, Huai Seng; SULAIMAN, Ahmad Hatim; Sherianne Sook Kuan, WONG; HABIL, Mohamed Hussain

    2014-01-01

    Background: The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is a self-assessment scale designed to evaluate anhedonia in various psychiatric disorders. In order to facilitate its use in Malaysian settings, our current study aimed to examine the validity of a Malay-translated version of the SHAPS (SHAPS-M). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 44 depressed patients and 82 healthy subjects were recruited from a university out-patient clinic. All participants were given both the Malay and English versions of the SHAPS, Fawcett-Clark Pleasure Scale (FCPS), General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess their hedonic state, general mental health condition and levels of depression. Results: The results showed that the SHAPS-M has impressive internal consistency (α = 0.96), concurrent validity and good parallel-form reliability (intraclass coefficient, ICC = 0.65). Conclusion: In addition to demonstrating good psychometric properties, the SHAPS-M is easy to administer. Therefore, it is a valid, reliable, and suitable questionnaire for assessing anhedonia among depressed patients in Malaysia. PMID:25246837

  5. Validation of Malay Version of Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale: Comparison between Depressed Patients and Healthy Subjects at an Out-Patient Clinic in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Chong Guan; Chin, Soo Cheng; Yee, Anne Hway Ann; Loh, Huai Seng; Sulaiman, Ahmad Hatim; Sherianne Sook Kuan, Wong; Habil, Mohamed Hussain

    2014-05-01

    The Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale (SHAPS) is a self-assessment scale designed to evaluate anhedonia in various psychiatric disorders. In order to facilitate its use in Malaysian settings, our current study aimed to examine the validity of a Malay-translated version of the SHAPS (SHAPS-M). In this cross-sectional study, a total of 44 depressed patients and 82 healthy subjects were recruited from a university out-patient clinic. All participants were given both the Malay and English versions of the SHAPS, Fawcett-Clark Pleasure Scale (FCPS), General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to assess their hedonic state, general mental health condition and levels of depression. The results showed that the SHAPS-M has impressive internal consistency (α = 0.96), concurrent validity and good parallel-form reliability (intraclass coefficient, ICC = 0.65). In addition to demonstrating good psychometric properties, the SHAPS-M is easy to administer. Therefore, it is a valid, reliable, and suitable questionnaire for assessing anhedonia among depressed patients in Malaysia.

  6. The relationship between intention to leave the hospital and coping methods of emergency nurses after workplace violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, In-Young; Kim, Ji-Soo

    2018-04-01

    To identify the relationship between emergency nurses' intention to leave the hospital and their coping methods following workplace violence. Emergency departments report a high prevalence of workplace violence, with nurses being at particular risk of violence from patients and patients' relatives. Violence negatively influences nurses' personal and professional lives and increases their turnover. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive survey study. Participants were nurses (n = 214) with over one year of experience of working in an emergency department. We measured workplace violence, coping after workplace violence experiences and job satisfaction using scales validated through a preliminary survey. Questionnaires were distributed to all nurses who signed informed consent forms. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between nurses' intention to leave the hospital and their coping methods after workplace violence. Verbal abuse was the most frequent violence experience and more often originated from patients' relatives than from patients. Of the nurses who experienced violence, 61.0% considered leaving the hospital. As for coping, nurses who employed problem-focused coping most frequently sought to identify the problems that cause violence, while nurses who employed emotion-focused coping primarily attempted to endure the situation. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that female sex, emotion-focused coping and job satisfaction were significantly related to emergency nurses' intention to leave. Emotion-focused coping seems to have a stronger effect on intention to leave after experiencing violence than does job satisfaction. Nurse managers should begin providing emergency nurses with useful information to guide their management of violence experiences. Nurse managers should also encourage nurses to report violent experiences to the administrative department rather than resorting to emotion-focused coping

  7. Parental Leave Policy as a Strategy to Improve Outcomes among Premature Infants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenfield, Jennifer C; Klawetter, Susanne

    2016-02-01

    Although gains have been made in premature birth rates among racial and ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status populations, tremendous disparities still exist in both prematurity rates and health outcomes for preterm infants. Parental involvement is known to improve health outcomes for preterm babies. However, a gap in evidence exists around whether parental involvement can help ameliorate the disparities in both short- and long-term out-comes for their preterm children. Families more likely to experience preterm birth are also less likely to have access to paid leave and thus experience significant systemic barriers to involvement, especially when their newborns are hospitalized. This article describes the research gap in this area and explores pathways by which social workers may ameliorate disparities in preterm birth outcomes through practice, policy, and research.

  8. Antihyperglycemic activities of leaves of three edible fruit plants (Averrhoa carambola, Ficus hispida and Syzygium samarangense) of Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shahreen, Shejuty; Banik, Joyanta; Hafiz, Abdul; Rahman, Shahnaz; Zaman, Anahita Tanzia; Shoyeb, Md Abu; Chowdhury, Majeedul H; Rahmatullah, Mohammed

    2012-01-01

    Averrhoa carambola L. (Oxalidaceae), Ficus hispida L.f. (Moraceae), and Syzygium samarangense (Blume) Merr. & L.M. Perry (Myrtaceae) are three common plants in Bangladesh, the fruits of which are edible. The leaves and fruits of A. carambola and F. hispida are used by folk medicinal practitioners for treatment of diabetes, while the leaves of S. samarangense are used for treatment of cold, itches, and waist pain. Since scientific studies are absent on the antihyperglycemic effects of the leaves of the three plants, it was the objective of the present study to evaluate the antihyperglycemic potential of methanolic extract of leaves of the plants in oral glucose tolerance tests carried out with glucose-loaded mice. The extracts at different doses were administered one hour prior to glucose administration and blood glucose level was measured after two hours of glucose administration (p.o.) using glucose oxidase method. Significant oral hypoglycemic activity was found with the extracts of leaves of all three plants tested. The fall in serum glucose levels were dose-dependent for every individual plant, being highest at the highest dose tested of 400 mg extract per kg body weight. At this dose, the extracts of A. carambola, F. hispida, and S. samarangense caused, respectively, 34.1, 22.7, and 59.3% reductions in serum glucose levels when compared to control animals. The standard antihyperglycemic drug, glibenclamide, caused a 57.3% reduction in serum glucose levels versus control. Among the three plants evaluated, the methanolic extract of leaves of S. samarangense proved to be the most potent in demonstrating antihyperglycemic effects. The result validates the folk medicinal uses of A. carambola and F. hispida in the treatment of diabetes, and indicates that the leaves of S. samarangense can also possibly be used for amelioration of diabetes-induced hyperglycemia.

  9. Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of an HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudinal instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zometa, Carlos S; Dedrick, Robert; Knox, Michael D; Westhoff, Wayne; Siri, Rodrigo Simán; Debaldo, Ann

    2007-06-01

    An instrument developed in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assess HIV/AIDS knowledge and four attitudinal dimensions (Peer Pressure, Abstinence, Drug Use, and Threat of HIV Infection) and an instrument developed by Basen-Engquist et al. (1999) to measure abstinence and condom use were translated, cross-culturally adapted, and validated for use with Spanish-speaking high school students in El Salvador. A back-translation of the English version was cross-culturally adapted using two different review panels and pilot-tested with Salvadorian students. An expert panel established content validity, and confirmatory factor analysis provided support for construct validity. Results indicated that the methodology was successful in cross-culturally adapting the instrument developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the instrument developed by Basen-Engquist et al. The psychometric properties of the knowledge section were acceptable and there was partial support for the four-factor attitudinal model underlying the CDC instrument and the two-factor model underlying the Basen-Engquist et al. instrument. Additional studies with Spanish-speaking populations (either in the United States or Latin America) are needed to evaluate the generalizability of the present results.

  10. Recent validation experience with multigroup cross-section libraries and scale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowman, S.M.; Wright, R.Q.; DeHart, M.D.; Parks, C.V.; Petrie, L.M.

    1995-01-01

    This paper will discuss the results obtained and lessons learned from an extensive validation of new ENDF/B-V and ENDF/B-VI multigroup cross-section libraries using analyses of critical experiments. The KENO V. a Monte Carlo code in version 4.3 of the SCALE computer code system was used to perform the critical benchmark calculations via the automated SCALE sequence CSAS25. The cross-section data were processed by the SCALE automated problem-dependent resonance-processing procedure included in this sequence. Prior to calling KENO V.a, CSAS25 accesses BONAMI to perform resonance self-shielding for nuclides with Bondarenko factors and NITAWL-II to process nuclides with resonance parameter data via the Nordheim Integral Treatment

  11. Application of Monte Carlo cross-validation to identify pathway cross-talk in neonatal sepsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuxia; Liu, Cui; Wang, Jingna; Li, Xingxia

    2018-03-01

    To explore genetic pathway cross-talk in neonates with sepsis, an integrated approach was used in this paper. To explore the potential relationships between differently expressed genes between normal uninfected neonates and neonates with sepsis and pathways, genetic profiling and biologic signaling pathway were first integrated. For different pathways, the score was obtained based upon the genetic expression by quantitatively analyzing the pathway cross-talk. The paired pathways with high cross-talk were identified by random forest classification. The purpose of the work was to find the best pairs of pathways able to discriminate sepsis samples versus normal samples. The results found 10 pairs of pathways, which were probably able to discriminate neonates with sepsis versus normal uninfected neonates. Among them, the best two paired pathways were identified according to analysis of extensive literature. Impact statement To find the best pairs of pathways able to discriminate sepsis samples versus normal samples, an RF classifier, the DS obtained by DEGs of paired pathways significantly associated, and Monte Carlo cross-validation were applied in this paper. Ten pairs of pathways were probably able to discriminate neonates with sepsis versus normal uninfected neonates. Among them, the best two paired pathways ((7) IL-6 Signaling and Phospholipase C Signaling (PLC); (8) Glucocorticoid Receptor (GR) Signaling and Dendritic Cell Maturation) were identified according to analysis of extensive literature.

  12. Cross-Cultural Validation of the Five-Factor Structure of Social Goals: A Filipino Investigation

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Ronnel B.; Watkins, David A.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to test the cross-cultural validity of the five-factor structure of social goals that Dowson and McInerney proposed. Using both between-network and within-network approaches to construct validation, 1,147 Filipino high school students participated in the study. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the…

  13. Workshop on acceleration of the validation and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods and implementation of testing strategies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Piersma, A. H.; Burgdorf, T.; Louekari, K.

    2018-01-01

    concerning the regulatory acceptance and implementation of alternative test methods and testing strategies, with the aim to develop feasible solutions. Classical validation of alternative methods usually involves one to one comparison with the gold standard animal study. This approach suffers from...... the reductionist nature of an alternative test as compared to the animal study as well as from the animal study being considered as the gold standard. Modern approaches combine individual alternatives into testing strategies, for which integrated and defined approaches are emerging at OECD. Furthermore, progress......-focused hazard and risk assessment of chemicals requires an open mind towards stepping away from the animal study as the gold standard and defining human biologically based regulatory requirements for human hazard and risk assessment....

  14. Spanish translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Questionnaire for Diabetes-Related Foot Disease (Q-DFD)

    OpenAIRE

    Castillo, Wilson; Flores-Fortty,; Feraud,Lourdes; Tettamanti,

    2013-01-01

    Wilson Castillo-Tandazo, Adolfo Flores-Fortty, Lourdes Feraud, Daniel TettamantiSchool of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo – Ecuador, Samborondón, Guayas, EcuadorPurpose: To translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Questionnaire for Diabetes-Related Foot Disease (Q-DFD), originally created and validated in Australia, for its use in Spanish-speaking patients with diabetes mellitus.Patients and methods: The translation and cross-cultural adaptation...

  15. Can we throw information out of visual working memory and does this leave informational residue in long-term memory?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashleigh Monette Maxcey

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Can we entirely erase a temporary memory representation from mind? This question has been addressed in several recent studies that tested the specific hypothesis that a representation can be erased from visual working memory based on a cue that indicated that the representation was no longer necessary for the task. In addition to behavioral results that are consistent with the idea that we can throw information out of visual working memory, recent neurophysiological recordings support this proposal. However, given the infinite capacity of long-term memory, it is unclear whether throwing a representation out of visual working memory really removes its effects on memory entirely. In this paper we advocate for an approach that examines our ability to erase memory representations from working memory, as well as possible traces that those erased representations leave in long-term memory.

  16. A Cross-Validation Study of Police Recruit Performance as Predicted by the IPI and MMPI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shusman, Elizabeth J.; And Others

    Validation and cross-validation studies were conducted using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and Inwald Personality Inventory (IPI) to predict job performance for 698 urban male police officers who completed a six-month training academy. Job performance criteria evaluated included absence, lateness, derelictions, negative…

  17. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of a Bengali version of the modified fibromyalgia impact questionnaire

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muquith, Mohammed A.; Islam, Nazrul; Haq, Syed A.; ten Klooster, Peter M.; Rasker, Johannes J.; Yunus, Muhammad B.

    2012-01-01

    Background Currently, no validated instruments are available to measure the health status of Bangladeshi patients with fibromyalgia (FM). The aims of this study were to cross-culturally adapt the modified Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) into Bengali (B-FIQ) and to test its validity and

  18. Validation of the Malaysian Coping Strategy Instrument to measure household food insecurity in Kelantan, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulaiman, Norhasmah; Shariff, Zalilah Mohd; Jalil, Rohana Abdul; Taib, Mohd Nasir Mohd; Kandiah, Mirnalini; Samah, Asnarulkhadi Abu

    2011-12-01

    Food insecurity occurs whenever people are not able to access enough food at all times for an active and healthy life or when adequate and safe food acquired by socially acceptable ways is not available. To validate the Malaysian Coping Strategy Instrument (MCSI) to measure household food insecurity in Kelantan, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 301 nonpregnant, nonlactating Malay women, aged between 19 and 49 years, living in rural and urban areas. The respondents were interviewed with the use of a structured questionnaire to obtain information on their demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, household food security, and dietary intake. Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics (household size, number of children, number of children attending school, household income, and per capita income) were significantly associated with household food-security status in rural and urban areas. Energy intake, fat intake, percentage of energy from fat, and number of servings of meat,fish, or poultry and legumes were significantly associated with household food-security status in rural areas. The dietary diversity score was significantly associated with household food-security status in rural and urban areas. Validating the MCSI in other areas of Malaysia as well as in similar settings elsewhere in the world before it is used to measure household food insecurity in the population is strongly recommended. In this study, the MCSI was found to be a reliable and valid measure of household food insecurity based on criterion-related validity, particularly in terms of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics and dietary diversity.

  19. A Comparison Study of Classifier Algorithms for Cross-Person Physical Activity Recognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yago Saez

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Physical activity is widely known to be one of the key elements of a healthy life. The many benefits of physical activity described in the medical literature include weight loss and reductions in the risk factors for chronic diseases. With the recent advances in wearable devices, such as smartwatches or physical activity wristbands, motion tracking sensors are becoming pervasive, which has led to an impressive growth in the amount of physical activity data available and an increasing interest in recognizing which specific activity a user is performing. Moreover, big data and machine learning are now cross-fertilizing each other in an approach called “deep learning”, which consists of massive artificial neural networks able to detect complicated patterns from enormous amounts of input data to learn classification models. This work compares various state-of-the-art classification techniques for automatic cross-person activity recognition under different scenarios that vary widely in how much information is available for analysis. We have incorporated deep learning by using Google’s TensorFlow framework. The data used in this study were acquired from PAMAP2 (Physical Activity Monitoring in the Ageing Population, a publicly available dataset containing physical activity data. To perform cross-person prediction, we used the leave-one-subject-out (LOSO cross-validation technique. When working with large training sets, the best classifiers obtain very high average accuracies (e.g., 96% using extra randomized trees. However, when the data volume is drastically reduced (where available data are only 0.001% of the continuous data, deep neural networks performed the best, achieving 60% in overall prediction accuracy. We found that even when working with only approximately 22.67% of the full dataset, we can statistically obtain the same results as when working with the full dataset. This finding enables the design of more energy-efficient devices and

  20. A Comparison Study of Classifier Algorithms for Cross-Person Physical Activity Recognition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saez, Yago; Baldominos, Alejandro; Isasi, Pedro

    2016-12-30

    Physical activity is widely known to be one of the key elements of a healthy life. The many benefits of physical activity described in the medical literature include weight loss and reductions in the risk factors for chronic diseases. With the recent advances in wearable devices, such as smartwatches or physical activity wristbands, motion tracking sensors are becoming pervasive, which has led to an impressive growth in the amount of physical activity data available and an increasing interest in recognizing which specific activity a user is performing. Moreover, big data and machine learning are now cross-fertilizing each other in an approach called "deep learning", which consists of massive artificial neural networks able to detect complicated patterns from enormous amounts of input data to learn classification models. This work compares various state-of-the-art classification techniques for automatic cross-person activity recognition under different scenarios that vary widely in how much information is available for analysis. We have incorporated deep learning by using Google's TensorFlow framework. The data used in this study were acquired from PAMAP2 (Physical Activity Monitoring in the Ageing Population), a publicly available dataset containing physical activity data. To perform cross-person prediction, we used the leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) cross-validation technique. When working with large training sets, the best classifiers obtain very high average accuracies (e.g., 96% using extra randomized trees). However, when the data volume is drastically reduced (where available data are only 0.001% of the continuous data), deep neural networks performed the best, achieving 60% in overall prediction accuracy. We found that even when working with only approximately 22.67% of the full dataset, we can statistically obtain the same results as when working with the full dataset. This finding enables the design of more energy-efficient devices and facilitates cold

  1. Examining the Experiences of Young People Transitioning from Out-of-Home Care in Rural Victoria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendes, Philip

    2012-01-01

    Young people leaving state out-of-home care are arguably one of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in society. Many have been found to experience significant health, social and educational deficits. In recent years, most Australian States and Territories have introduced specialist leaving care and after care programs and supports, but…

  2. "Cross-Cultural Adaptation Of The Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29 For Iranian MS Patients, Evaluation Of Reliability And Validity "

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Ayatollahi

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: Measuring the outcome of chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis is an important factor in assessment of disease impact on different dimensions of quality of life and in evaluation of therapeutic interventions. The aim of this study was to perform the cross-cultural adaptation of the MSIS-29 which is a MS-specific outcome measure for Iranian patients. Materials and Methods: The Iranian adaptation process of the MSIS-29 included 5 steps. To evaluate psychometric properties of the translated version, the questionnaire was administered to a consecutive sample of 96 patients with clinically definite MS referred to our out-patient clinic. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a sub-sample consisted of 30 patients. These patients completed the questionnaire on two occasions separated by a 7-day interval. The Iranian version of the SF-36 was also administered to this sub-sample in order to evaluate the validity of translated MSIS-29. Results: Statistical analysis indicated that the Persian version of the MSIS-29 had high internal consistency (cronbach’s alpha coefficients > 0.70 and test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficients >0.70 and a good validity. Conclusion: The Persian version of the MSIS-29 is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring MS outcome in Iranian patients. It can be used in clinical trials and cross-sectional studies.

  3. New statement of leave format

    CERN Multimedia

    HR Department

    2009-01-01

    Following the communication of the Standing Concertation Committee published in Weekly Bulletin No. 18-19 of 27 April 2009, the current statement of leave on monthly pay slips has been replaced with the EDH Leave Transactions report that displays the up-to-date situation of individual leave balances at all times. The report is available on EDH. Additionally, the layout of the pay slip has been modernised. The new version of the pay slip will be send out from September 2009 onwards. Finance and Purchasing Department, Personnel Accounting Human Resources Department, Organisation and Procedures General Infrastructure Services Department, Administrative Information Services

  4. Methodology to carry out a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis for cross sections using a coupled model Trace-Parcs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reyes F, M. C.; Del Valle G, E.; Gomez T, A. M.; Sanchez E, V.

    2015-09-01

    A methodology was implemented to carry out a sensitivity and uncertainty analysis for cross sections used in a coupled model for Trace/Parcs in a transient of control rod fall of a BWR-5. A model of the reactor core for the neutronic code Parcs was used, in which the assemblies located in the core are described. Thermo-hydraulic model in Trace was a simple model, where only a component type Chan was designed to represent all the core assemblies, which it was within a single vessel and boundary conditions were established. The thermo-hydraulic part was coupled with the neutron part, first for the steady state and then a transient of control rod fall was carried out for the sensitivity and uncertainty analysis. To carry out the analysis of cross sections used in the coupled model Trace/Parcs during the transient, the Probability Density Functions for 22 parameters selected from the total of neutronic parameters that use Parcs were generated, obtaining 100 different cases for the coupled model Trace/Parcs, each one with a database of different cross sections. All these cases were executed with the coupled model, obtaining in consequence 100 different output files for the transient of control rod fall doing emphasis in the nominal power, for which an uncertainty analysis was realized at the same time generate the band of uncertainty. With this analysis is possible to observe the ranges of results of the elected responses varying the selected uncertainty parameters. The sensitivity analysis complements the uncertainty analysis, identifying the parameter or parameters with more influence on the results and thus focuses on these parameters in order to better understand their effects. Beyond the obtained results, because is not a model with real operation data, the importance of this work is to know the application of the methodology to carry out the sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. (Author)

  5. Cross-Cultural adaption, validity and reliability of a Hindi version of the Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meena Jain

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: An appropriate scale to assess the dental anxiety of Hindi speaking population is lacking. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of Hindi version of one of the oldest dental anxiety scale, Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS in Hindi speaking Indian adults.Methods: A total of 348 subjects from the outpatient department of a dental hospital in Indiaparticipated in this cross-sectional study. The scale was cross-culturally adapted by forward and backward translation, committee review and pretesting method. The construct validity of the translated scale was explored with exploratory factor analysis. The correlation of the Hindi version of CDAS with visual analogue scale (VAS was used to measure the convergent validity.Reliability was assessed through calculations of Cronbach’s alpha and intra class correlation 48 forms were completed for test-retest.Results: Prevalence of dental anxiety in the sample within the age range of 18-80 years was 85.63% [95% CI: 0.815-0.891]. The response rate was 100 %. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO test value was 0.776. After factor analysis, a single factor (dental anxiety was obtained with 4 items.The single factor model explained 61% variance. Pearson correlation coefficient between CDASand VAS was 0.494. Test-retest showed the Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.814. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient of the total CDAS score was 0.881 [95% CI: 0.318-0.554].Conclusion: Hindi version of CDAS is a valid and reliable scale to assess dental anxiety in Hindi speaking population. Convergent validity is well recognized but discriminant validity is limited and requires further study.

  6. Cross-Cultural adaption, validity and reliability of a Hindi version of the Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Meena; Tandon, Shourya; Sharma, Ankur; Jain, Vishal; Rani Yadav, Nisha

    2018-01-01

    Background: An appropriate scale to assess the dental anxiety of Hindi speaking population is lacking. This study, therefore, aims to evaluate the psychometric properties of Hindi version of one of the oldest dental anxiety scale, Corah’s Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) in Hindi speaking Indian adults. Methods: A total of 348 subjects from the outpatient department of a dental hospital in India participated in this cross-sectional study. The scale was cross-culturally adapted by forward and backward translation, committee review and pretesting method. The construct validity of the translated scale was explored with exploratory factor analysis. The correlation of the Hindi version of CDAS with visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the convergent validity. Reliability was assessed through calculations of Cronbach’s alpha and intra class correlation 48 forms were completed for test-retest. Results: Prevalence of dental anxiety in the sample within the age range of 18-80 years was 85.63% [95% CI: 0.815-0.891]. The response rate was 100 %. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test value was 0.776. After factor analysis, a single factor (dental anxiety) was obtained with 4 items.The single factor model explained 61% variance. Pearson correlation coefficient between CDASand VAS was 0.494. Test-retest showed the Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.814. The test-retest intraclass correlation coefficient of the total CDAS score was 0.881 [95% CI: 0.318-0.554]. Conclusion: Hindi version of CDAS is a valid and reliable scale to assess dental anxiety in Hindi speaking population. Convergent validity is well recognized but discriminant validity is limited and requires further study. PMID:29744307

  7. How to automatically test and validate your database backup and recovery strategy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaspar Aparicio, Ruben

    2011-01-01

    The major challenge we solve with this software project is the automated validation of backups sent to tape for Oracle databases. While Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN) provides tools like 'restore validate', the real and only certain proof is a restore. This initial aim evolved to provide a recovery platform capable to cover more complex user cases, such as validations of backup strategy of Very Large DataBases (VLDB), and schema recoveries to cure logical errors or to provide the kind of database snapshots by means of exports.

  8. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the South African Pain Catastrophizing Scale (SA-PCS among patients with fibromyalgia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morris Linzette D

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Pain catastrophization has recently been recognized as a barrier to the healthy development of physical functioning among chronic pain patients. Levels of pain catastrophization in chronic pain patients are commonly measured using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS. Objective To cross-culturally adapt and validate the South African PCS (SA-PCS among English-, Afrikaans- and Xhosa-speaking patients with fibromyalgia living in the Cape Metropole area, Western Cape, South Africa. Methods The original PCS was cross-culturally adapted in accordance with international standards to develop an English, Afrikaans and Xhosa version of the SA-PCS using a repeated measures study design. Psychometric testing included face/content validity, internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha-α, test-retest reliability (intraclass coefficient correlations-ICC, sensitivity-to-change and cross-sectional convergent validity (by comparing the adapted SA-PCS to related constructs. Results The cross-culturally adapted English, Afrikaans and Xhosa SA-PCS showed good face and content validity, excellent internal consistency (with Chronbach’s α = 0.98, 0.98 and 0.97 for the English, Afrikaans and Xhosa SA-PCS, as a whole, respectively, excellent test-retest reliability (with ICC’s of 0.90, 0.91 and 0.89 for the English, Afrikaans and Xhosa SA-PCS, respectively; as well as satisfactory sensitivity-to-change (with a minimum detectable change of 8.8, 9.0 and 9.3 for the English, Afrikaans and Xhosa SA-PCS, respectively and cross-sectional convergent validity (when compared to pain severity as well as South African versions of the Tampa scale for Kinesiophobia and the revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire. Conclusion The SA-PCS can therefore be recommended as simple, efficient, valid and reliable tool which shows satisfactory sensitivity-to-change and cross-sectional convergent validity, for use among English, Afrikaans and Xhosa-speaking patients with

  9. The Association between Use of Mobile Phones after Lights Out and Sleep Disturbances among Japanese Adolescents: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munezawa, Takeshi; Kaneita, Yoshitaka; Osaki, Yoneatsu; Kanda, Hideyuki; Minowa, Masumi; Suzuki, Kenji; Higuchi, Susumu; Mori, Junichiro; Yamamoto, Ryuichiro; Ohida, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Study Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the association between the use of mobile phones after lights out and sleep disturbances among Japanese adolescents. Design and Setting: This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. The targets were students attending junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. Sample schools were selected by cluster sampling. Self-reported anonymous questionnaires were sent to schools for all students to fill out. Participants: A total of 95,680 adolescents responded. The overall response rate was 62.9%, and 94,777 questionnaires were subjected to analysis. Intervention: N/A Measurements and Results: Daily mobile phone use, even if only for a brief moment every day, was reported by 84.4%. Moreover, as for use of mobile phones after lights out, 8.3% reported using their mobile phone for calling every day and 17.6% reported using it for sending text messages every day. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that mobile phone use for calling and for sending text messages after lights out was associated with sleep disturbances (short sleep duration, subjective poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, and insomnia symptoms) independent of covariates and independent of each other. Conclusion: This study showed that the use of mobile phones for calling and for sending text messages after lights out is associated with sleep disturbances among Japanese adolescents. However, there were some limitations, such as small effect sizes, in this study. More studies that examine the details of this association are necessary to establish strategies for sleep hygiene in the future. Citation: Munezawa T; Kaneita Y; Osaki Y; Kanda H; Minowa M; Suzuki K; Higuchi S; Mori J; Yamamoto R; Ohida T. The association between use of mobile phones after lights out and sleep disturbances among Japanese adolescents: a nationwide cross-sectional survey. SLEEP 2011;34(8):1013-1020. PMID:21804663

  10. Leaves of Absence. School Law Summary.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Education Association, Washington, DC. Research Div.

    This report contains State-by-State statutory summaries on three types of leaves of absence relating to teachers -- sick leave, maternity leave, and sabbatical leave. Only State laws that have specific reference to one of these three types of leaves of absence are included. Not included are those statutes granting boards of education the general…

  11. Person-environment fit, flourishing and intention to leave in universities of technology in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christine Janse van Rensburg

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Orientation: Retaining staff is vital to ensure that universities accomplish their missions. To optimise the potential of staff members and retain staff, it is necessary to study their flourishing and fit in their jobs and organisations. Research purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between person-environment fit, flourishing at work and intention to leave. Motivation for the study: Research is needed to validate a measure of flourishing at work. Outcome variables such as intention to leave have not been studied in relation to flourishing at work. Moreover, it is necessary to study antecedents of flourishing at work, such as person-environment fit. Research approach, design and method: A cross-sectional survey design was used with a convenience sample of 339 academic employees from three universities of technology in South Africa. Three perceived fit scales, the Flourishing-at-Work Scale (FAWS and the Turnover Intention Scale were administered. Main findings: Findings supported a three-factor model of flourishing at work, consisting of emotional, psychological and social well-being. The highest mean frequencies on flourishing dimensions were obtained for competence and emotional engagement. The lowest mean frequencies were obtained for relatedness and social well-being. Person-environment fit predicted intention to leave, both directly and indirectly, via flourishing. The findings support the internal consistency and validity of the FAWS. Practical/managerial implications: Managers and human resource practitioners should consider the use of a multidimensional measure to assess flourishing at work. Considering certain dimensions of well-being at work (e.g. work engagement and competence of employees without considering other dimensions (e.g. job satisfaction, affect balance and meaning at work will not be sufficient to assess and promote the subjective well-being of employees. Contribution/value-add: This study

  12. Phd study of reliability and validity: One step closer to a standardized music therapy assessment model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jacobsen, Stine Lindahl

    The paper will present a phd study concerning reliability and validity of music therapy assessment model “Assessment of Parenting Competences” (APC) in the area of families with emotionally neglected children. This study had a multiple strategy design with a philosophical base of critical realism...... and pragmatism. The fixed design for this study was a between and within groups design in testing the APCs reliability and validity. The two different groups were parents with neglected children and parents with non-neglected children. The flexible design had a multiple case study strategy specifically...

  13. Factors influencing Macao nurses' intention to leave current employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Moon Fai; Luk, Andrew Leung; Leong, Sok Man; Yeung, Siu Ming; Van, Iat Kio

    2009-03-01

    To investigate factors associated with nurses' intention to leave current employment in Macao. The shortage of nursing staff and nurses voluntarily leaving their jobs has continued to be a problem affecting the delivery of health care all over the world. One way to alleviate this shortfall is via recruitment, but this is not always successful. Another way is to reduce the rate at which nurses voluntarily leave their work places. A descriptive survey was conducted and data were collected using a self-reported structured questionnaire. Nurses were recruited in the Health Bureau and one private hospital in Macao. The status of nurses' intention to leave current employment (yes vs. no) was the dependent variable and nurses' predisposing characteristics, organisational environments and five components on job satisfaction outcomes were independent variables. Of 426 nurses, 166 (39.0%) indicated an intention to leave current employment. The results showed that age (p job satisfaction: pay and benefits (p third of the nurses in Macao indicated an intention to leave current employment. This figure may be a cause of concern for the hospital management and highlights the need to implement strategies to improve the communication between nurses and the organisation, to enhance nurse job satisfaction and commitment to the organisation. Our findings outline some issues contributing to this problem and provide the nurse manager with information regarding specific influences on nurses' turnover in Macao. Given the complexity of issues outlined in this analysis, nurse managers should assist their nursing staff to deal with those influences, make efforts to address the nursing shortage that will require additional communications and recognise the needs and values of their staff and empower them to create a better work environment. As a consequence, their commitment to the organisation can be fostered.

  14. Development and Cross-Validation of Equation for Estimating Percent Body Fat of Korean Adults According to Body Mass Index

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hoyong Sung

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background : Using BMI as an independent variable is the easiest way to estimate percent body fat. Thus far, few studies have investigated the development and cross-validation of an equation for estimating the percent body fat of Korean adults according to the BMI. The goals of this study were the development and cross-validation of an equation for estimating the percent fat of representative Korean adults using the BMI. Methods : Samples were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2008 and 2011. The samples from 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 were labeled as the validation group (n=10,624 and the cross-validation group (n=8,291, respectively. The percent fat was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and the body mass index, gender, and age were included as independent variables to estimate the measured percent fat. The coefficient of determination (R², standard error of estimation (SEE, and total error (TE were calculated to examine the accuracy of the developed equation. Results : The cross-validated R² was 0.731 for Model 1 and 0.735 for Model 2. The SEE was 3.978 for Model 1 and 3.951 for Model 2. The equations developed in this study are more accurate for estimating percent fat of the cross-validation group than those previously published by other researchers. Conclusion : The newly developed equations are comparatively accurate for the estimation of the percent fat of Korean adults.

  15. A Hold-out method to correct PCA variance inflation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garcia-Moreno, Pablo; Artes-Rodriguez, Antonio; Hansen, Lars Kai

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we analyze the problem of variance inflation experienced by the PCA algorithm when working in an ill-posed scenario where the dimensionality of the training set is larger than its sample size. In an earlier article a correction method based on a Leave-One-Out (LOO) procedure...

  16. Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy on Intact Dried Leaves of Sage (Salvia officinalis L.): Accelerated Chemotaxonomic Discrimination and Analysis of Essential Oil Composition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudi, Gennadi; Krähmer, Andrea; Krüger, Hans; Schulz, Hartwig

    2015-10-07

    Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) is cultivated worldwide for its aromatic leaves, which are used as herbal spice, and for phytopharmaceutical applications. Fast analytical strategies for essential oil analysis, performed directly on plant material, would reduce the delay between sampling and analytical results. This would enhance product quality by improving technical control of cultivation. The attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) method described here provides a reliable calibration model for quantification of essential oil components [EOCs; R(2) = 0.96; root-mean-square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) = 0.249 mL 100 g(-1) of dry matter (DM); and range = 1.115-5.280 mL 100 g(-1) of DM] and main constituents [e.g., α-thujone/β-thujone; R(2) = 0.97/0.86; RMSECV = 0.0581/0.0856 mL 100 g(-1) of DM; and range = 0.010-1.252/0.005-0.893 mL 100 g(-1) of DM] directly on dried intact leaves of sage. Except for drying, no further sample preparation is required for ATR-FTIR, and the measurement time of less than 5 min per sample contrasts with the most common alternative of hydrodistillation followed by gas chromatography analysis, which can take several hours per sample.

  17. Influence of yellow rust infextion on 32P transport in detached barley leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schubert, J.

    1982-01-01

    Several barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.) differing in their resistance to yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis West.) were tested for relationships between changes of 32 P transport in detached leaves and resistance to yellow rust disease. Investigation carried out with detached second leaves from plants infected at their first leaf revealed a matter transport in these leaves changed by the infection. Transport was also influenced by inoculation with yellow rust uredospores. In that case rust infection influenced the basipetal transport less strongly in resistent plants than in susceptible ones. Connected with the findings the influence of fungal substances on transport processes is discussed in general. (author)

  18. Crystal macropattern development in Prunus serotina (Rosaceae, Prunoideae) leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lersten, Nels R; Horner, Harry T

    2006-05-01

    Prunus, subgenus Padus, exhibits two completely different calcium oxalate crystal macropatterns in mature leaves. Foliar macropattern development has been described previously in P. virginiana, representing one version. Prunus serotina, in the group exhibiting the second macropattern, is described here. The goal was to describe developmental details for comparison with P. virginiana, and to extend the sparse current knowledge of crystal macropatterns. Leaves at various developmental stages were removed from local trees and from herbarium specimens. Early leaf stages and freehand leaf and stem sections were mounted directly in aqueous glycerine; larger leaves were processed whole or in representative pieces in household bleach, dehydrated in alcohol/xylol, and mounted in Permount. Crystals were detected microscopically between crossed polarizers. Bud scales have a dense druse population. Druses appear first at the stipule tip and proliferate basipetally but soon stop forming; growing stipules therefore have a declining density of druses. Druses appear at the tip of leaves virginiana, and shows that two closely related species can develop radically different modes of crystallization. The few detailed macropattern studies to date reveal striking variations that indicate a new level of organization that must be integrated with the anatomical, physiological and molecular approaches that have been dominant so far.

  19. Design and Implementation of a Smart Home System Using Multisensor Data Fusion Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chou, Po-Huan; Chang, Hsing-Cheng; Lin, Shyan-Lung; Yang, Shih-Chin; Su, Heng-Yi; Chang, Chih-Chien; Cheng, Yuan-Sheng; Kuo, Yu-Chen

    2017-01-01

    This paper aims to develop a multisensor data fusion technology-based smart home system by integrating wearable intelligent technology, artificial intelligence, and sensor fusion technology. We have developed the following three systems to create an intelligent smart home environment: (1) a wearable motion sensing device to be placed on residents’ wrists and its corresponding 3D gesture recognition algorithm to implement a convenient automated household appliance control system; (2) a wearable motion sensing device mounted on a resident’s feet and its indoor positioning algorithm to realize an effective indoor pedestrian navigation system for smart energy management; (3) a multisensor circuit module and an intelligent fire detection and alarm algorithm to realize a home safety and fire detection system. In addition, an intelligent monitoring interface is developed to provide in real-time information about the smart home system, such as environmental temperatures, CO concentrations, communicative environmental alarms, household appliance status, human motion signals, and the results of gesture recognition and indoor positioning. Furthermore, an experimental testbed for validating the effectiveness and feasibility of the smart home system was built and verified experimentally. The results showed that the 3D gesture recognition algorithm could achieve recognition rates for automated household appliance control of 92.0%, 94.8%, 95.3%, and 87.7% by the 2-fold cross-validation, 5-fold cross-validation, 10-fold cross-validation, and leave-one-subject-out cross-validation strategies. For indoor positioning and smart energy management, the distance accuracy and positioning accuracy were around 0.22% and 3.36% of the total traveled distance in the indoor environment. For home safety and fire detection, the classification rate achieved 98.81% accuracy for determining the conditions of the indoor living environment. PMID:28714884

  20. Design and Implementation of a Smart Home System Using Multisensor Data Fusion Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Yu-Liang; Chou, Po-Huan; Chang, Hsing-Cheng; Lin, Shyan-Lung; Yang, Shih-Chin; Su, Heng-Yi; Chang, Chih-Chien; Cheng, Yuan-Sheng; Kuo, Yu-Chen

    2017-07-15

    This paper aims to develop a multisensor data fusion technology-based smart home system by integrating wearable intelligent technology, artificial intelligence, and sensor fusion technology. We have developed the following three systems to create an intelligent smart home environment: (1) a wearable motion sensing device to be placed on residents' wrists and its corresponding 3D gesture recognition algorithm to implement a convenient automated household appliance control system; (2) a wearable motion sensing device mounted on a resident's feet and its indoor positioning algorithm to realize an effective indoor pedestrian navigation system for smart energy management; (3) a multisensor circuit module and an intelligent fire detection and alarm algorithm to realize a home safety and fire detection system. In addition, an intelligent monitoring interface is developed to provide in real-time information about the smart home system, such as environmental temperatures, CO concentrations, communicative environmental alarms, household appliance status, human motion signals, and the results of gesture recognition and indoor positioning. Furthermore, an experimental testbed for validating the effectiveness and feasibility of the smart home system was built and verified experimentally. The results showed that the 3D gesture recognition algorithm could achieve recognition rates for automated household appliance control of 92.0%, 94.8%, 95.3%, and 87.7% by the 2-fold cross-validation, 5-fold cross-validation, 10-fold cross-validation, and leave-one-subject-out cross-validation strategies. For indoor positioning and smart energy management, the distance accuracy and positioning accuracy were around 0.22% and 3.36% of the total traveled distance in the indoor environment. For home safety and fire detection, the classification rate achieved 98.81% accuracy for determining the conditions of the indoor living environment.

  1. Intra-Generational Mobility and Repeated Cross-Sections: A Three Country Validation Exercise

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cruces, G.; Lanjouw, P.F.; Lucchetti, L.; Perova, E.; Vakis, R.; Viollaz, M.

    2015-01-01

    This paper validates a recently proposed method to estimate intra-generational poverty transitions through repeated cross-sectional surveys. The technique allows the creation of a “synthetic panel” – done by predicting future or past household income or consumption using a set of simple modeling and

  2. The assessment of water resources in ungauged catchments in Rwanda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O.P. Abimbola

    2017-10-01

    New hydrological insights for the region: Results of this study show that climate, physiography and land cover strongly influence the hydrology of catchments in Rwanda. Using leave-one-out cross-validation, the log-transformed models were found to predict the flow parameters more suitably. These models can be used for estimating the flow parameters in ungauged catchments in Rwanda and the methodology can be applied in any other region, as long as sufficient and good quality streamflow data is available.

  3. [The strategy and process of out-hospital emergency care of acute cardiovascular events].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Gang; Wu, Li-e; Li, Qian-ying; Yang, Ye; Wang, Zi-chao; Zhang, Jing-yin; Li, Shu-jun; Yan, Xu-long; Wang, Ming; Zhang, Wen-xiang; Huang, Guan-hua

    2009-06-01

    To study the strategy and process of out-hospital emergency care of acute cardiovascular events. One hundred and eighty-three patients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College were prospectively studied. The patients were divided into two groups according to the different ways of out-hospital care, one group consisted of patients who received first-aid care after calling "120" (94 cases), another was self-aid group consisting of patients sent to hospital by relatives (89 cases). The proportion of persons with higher than high school education and better knowledge for emergency care of patients with heart disease in first-aid group was higher than self-aid group (50.0% vs. 29.2%, 83.0% vs. 60.7%, both Pemergency room, they were all treated according to our standard procedure and then registered. All patients were followed up at the end of first and third month after illness. Cardiovascular events were mainly myocardial infarction (61.7%) among 183 patients. There were statistically significant differences between two groups in self-aid response time, first disposal time and out-hospital rescuing time [(32.3+/-5.6) minutes vs. (89.6+/- 8.4) minutes, (47.3+/-7.3) minutes vs. (149.8+/-13.5) minutes, (61.7+/-8.3) minutes vs. [(149.8+/- 13.5) minutes, all P0.05]. Morbidity rate was lower in first-aid group than self-aid group in 1st and 3rd month, respectively (2.1% vs. 9.0%, 4.2% vs. 12.4%, both Pemergency system and procedure can shorten initial disposal time and out-hospital rescuing time, thus improve patients' prognosis. The education level and health knowledge of patients and their relatives directly affect their mode of arriving hospital and prognosis.

  4. The development and cross-validation of an MMPI typology of murderers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holcomb, W R; Adams, N A; Ponder, H M

    1985-06-01

    A sample of 80 male offenders charged with premeditated murder were divided into five personality types using MMPI scores. A hierarchical clustering procedure was used with a subsequent internal cross-validation analysis using a second sample of 80 premeditated murderers. A Discriminant Analysis resulted in a 96.25% correct classification of subjects from the second sample into the five types. Clinical data from a mental status interview schedule supported the external validity of these types. There were significant differences among the five types in hallucinations, disorientation, hostility, depression, and paranoid thinking. Both similarities and differences of the present typology with prior research was discussed. Additional research questions were suggested.

  5. WaLIDD score, a new tool to diagnose dysmenorrhea and predict medical leave in university students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teherán, Aníbal A; Piñeros, Luis Gabriel; Pulido, Fabián; Mejía Guatibonza, María Camila

    2018-01-01

    Background Dysmenorrhea is a frequent and misdiagnosed symptom affecting the quality of life in young women. A working ability, location, intensity, days of pain, dysmenorrhea (WaLIDD) score was designed to diagnose dysmenorrhea and to predict medical leave. Methods This cross-sectional design included young medical students, who completed a self-administered questionnaire that contained the verbal rating score (VRS; pain and drug subscales) and WaLIDD scales. The correlation between scales was established through Spearman test. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio (LR +/−) were evaluated to diagnose students availing medical leave due to dysmenorrhea; moreover, to predict medical leave in students with dysmenorrhea, a binary logistic regression was performed. Results In all, 585 students, with a mean age of 21 years and menarche at 12 years, participated. Most of them had regular cycles, 5 days of menstrual blood flow and 1–2 days of lower abdominal pain. The WaLIDD scale presented an adequate internal consistency and strong correlation with VRS subscales. With a cutoff of >6 for WaLIDD and 2 for VRS subscales (drug subscale and pain subscale) to identify students with dysmenorrhea, these scales presented an area under the curve (AUC) ROC of 0.82, 0.62, and 0.67, respectively. To identify students taking medical leave due to dysmenorrhea, WaLIDD (cutoff >9) and VRS subscales (cutoff >2) presented an AUC ROC of 0.97, 0.68, and 0.81; moreover, the WaLIDD scale showed a good LR +14.2 (95% CI, 13.5–14.9), LR −0.00 (95% CI, undefined), and predictive risk (OR 5.38; 95% CI, 1.78–16.2). Conclusion This research allowed a comparison between two multidimensional scales regarding their capabilities, one previously validated and a new one, to discriminate among the general population of medical students, among those with dysmenorrhea or those availing medical leave secondary to dysmenorrhea

  6. Methodological Issues in Cross-Cultural Counseling Research: Equivalence, Bias, and Translations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aegisdottir, Stefania; Gerstein, Lawrence A.; Cinarbas, Deniz Canel

    2008-01-01

    Concerns about the cross-cultural validity of constructs are discussed, including equivalence, bias, and translation procedures. Methods to enhance equivalence are described, as are strategies to evaluate and minimize types of bias. Recommendations for translating instruments are also presented. To illustrate some challenges of cross-cultural…

  7. Influence of chemical treatment on dimensional stability of narrow-leaved ash - part one: Tangential swelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popović Jasmina

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Dimensional change in wood occurs with the change in hygroscopic moisture content, as a consequence of available hydroxyl groups in wood constituents, allowing for the hydrogen bonding with water molecules. Various pretreatments of wood material are being frequently applied in the wood processing industry. One of the main effects of such processes is the hydrolysis of hemicelluloses, which is the main carrier of the free hydroxyl groups in wood material. Hence, the influence of water treatment and the acetic acid treatment on dimensional stability of narrow-leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. ssp. Pannonica Soó & Simon were examined in this paper. Duration of treatments was 1h, 2h, 3h and 4h for both solvents. In addition the acetic acid was separately used in concentrations of 3% and 6%. Dimensional stability of the control (referent and treated sample groups were tested on oven dried samples which were consequently submerged in the distilled water during 32 days. The increase of dimensional stability of narrow-leaved ash was achieved with all of the three treatments (one treatment with water and the two with acetic acid solutions. Simultaneously, it was noticed that the results of water uptake and tangential swelling were not significantly affected by the duration (length of the treatments. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TP-031041

  8. Different Diagnosis, Shared Vulnerabilities: The Value of Cross Disorder Validation of Capacity to Consent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Allyson; Weitlauf, Julie C

    2015-01-01

    A screening measure of capacity to consent can provide an efficient method of determining the appropriateness of including individuals from vulnerable patient populations in research, particularly in circumstances in which no caregiver is available to provide surrogate consent. Seaman et al. (2015) cross-validate a measure of capacity to consent to research developed by Jeste et al. (2007). They provide data on controls, caregivers, and patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia. The study demonstrates the importance of validating measures across disorders with different domains of incapacity, as well as the need for timely and appropriate follow-up with potential participants who yield positive screens. Ultimately clinical measures need to adapt to the dimensional diagnostic approaches put forward in DSM 5. Integrative models of constructs, such as capacity to consent, will make this process more efficient by avoiding the need to test measures in each disorder. Until then, cross-validation studies, such as the work by Seaman et al. (2015) are critical.

  9. STRATEGI KOMUNIKASI PEMASARAN ONLINE PRODUK BUSANA MUSLIM QUEENOVA

    OpenAIRE

    Dian Sarastuti

    2017-01-01

    Queenova is one of the Muslim fashion brand who play in the online market that has been able to grow rapidly. The purpose of this study is to find out the online marketing communication strategy conducted by Queenova Muslim fashion in increasing brand awareness. This type of research uses descriptive type qualitative approach with qualitative descriptive research method. Technique of data collecting by interview and observation. Technique examination of data validity using triangulation. Quee...

  10. The Temporary Leave Dilemma -

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amilon, Anna

    2010-01-01

    Lone mothers have to take care of a sick child with little or no help from the child’s other parent and have to carry all costs connected to leave-taking. This paper empirically tests whether lone mothers take more temporary parental leave to care for sick children than partnered mothers...... and whether parental leave is associated with a signaling cost. The results from this study of Swedish mothers show that lone mothers use more temporary parental leave than partnered mothers. Further, within the group of lone mothers, those with higher socioeconomic status take less temporary parental leave...... than those with lower socioeconomic status, whereas no such differences are found within the group of partnered mothers. One possible interpretation is that signaling costs negatively influence the utilization of temporary parental leave for lone mothers....

  11. Strategy of formation and training for the basic units of cooperative production. Actions for their implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iriadna Marín de León

    2014-06-01

    The implementation of the strategy of Formation and Training had great importance since applying the same one, they could get rich our cooperatives, of elements that contribute to the obtaining of a bigger level of efficiency and effectiveness of the human resources, given by the knowledge that they can acquire the same ones.   The article approaches the topics of Administration of human resources, formation and training theoretically, the elements of the functional strategy, and lastly a journey for the Cooperative Sector leaving of its emergence until specifying the characteristics of the Basic Units of Cooperative Production as part of the same one.   He is also carried out a valuation of the current situation as for Formation and Training of the human resources in the UBPC of the County of Pinar del Ro. This is made going to different diagnosis techniques. Later on they intend the actions that allow the implementation of this strategy.

  12. International Harmonization and Cooperation in the Validation of Alternative Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barroso, João; Ahn, Il Young; Caldeira, Cristiane; Carmichael, Paul L; Casey, Warren; Coecke, Sandra; Curren, Rodger; Desprez, Bertrand; Eskes, Chantra; Griesinger, Claudius; Guo, Jiabin; Hill, Erin; Roi, Annett Janusch; Kojima, Hajime; Li, Jin; Lim, Chae Hyung; Moura, Wlamir; Nishikawa, Akiyoshi; Park, HyeKyung; Peng, Shuangqing; Presgrave, Octavio; Singer, Tim; Sohn, Soo Jung; Westmoreland, Carl; Whelan, Maurice; Yang, Xingfen; Yang, Ying; Zuang, Valérie

    The development and validation of scientific alternatives to animal testing is important not only from an ethical perspective (implementation of 3Rs), but also to improve safety assessment decision making with the use of mechanistic information of higher relevance to humans. To be effective in these efforts, it is however imperative that validation centres, industry, regulatory bodies, academia and other interested parties ensure a strong international cooperation, cross-sector collaboration and intense communication in the design, execution, and peer review of validation studies. Such an approach is critical to achieve harmonized and more transparent approaches to method validation, peer-review and recommendation, which will ultimately expedite the international acceptance of valid alternative methods or strategies by regulatory authorities and their implementation and use by stakeholders. It also allows achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness by avoiding duplication of effort and leveraging limited resources. In view of achieving these goals, the International Cooperation on Alternative Test Methods (ICATM) was established in 2009 by validation centres from Europe, USA, Canada and Japan. ICATM was later joined by Korea in 2011 and currently also counts with Brazil and China as observers. This chapter describes the existing differences across world regions and major efforts carried out for achieving consistent international cooperation and harmonization in the validation and adoption of alternative approaches to animal testing.

  13. Using smartphone technology to deliver a virtual pedestrian environment: usability and validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwebel, David C; Severson, Joan; He, Yefei

    2017-09-01

    Various programs effectively teach children to cross streets more safely, but all are labor- and cost-intensive. Recent developments in mobile phone technology offer opportunity to deliver virtual reality pedestrian environments to mobile smartphone platforms. Such an environment may offer a cost- and labor-effective strategy to teach children to cross streets safely. This study evaluated usability, feasibility, and validity of a smartphone-based virtual pedestrian environment. A total of 68 adults completed 12 virtual crossings within each of two virtual pedestrian environments, one delivered by smartphone and the other a semi-immersive kiosk virtual environment. Participants completed self-report measures of perceived realism and simulator sickness experienced in each virtual environment, plus self-reported demographic and personality characteristics. All participants followed system instructions and used the smartphone-based virtual environment without difficulty. No significant simulator sickness was reported or observed. Users rated the smartphone virtual environment as highly realistic. Convergent validity was detected, with many aspects of pedestrian behavior in the smartphone-based virtual environment matching behavior in the kiosk virtual environment. Anticipated correlations between personality and kiosk virtual reality pedestrian behavior emerged for the smartphone-based system. A smartphone-based virtual environment can be usable and valid. Future research should develop and evaluate such a training system.

  14. RECRUITMENT FINANCED BY SAVED LEAVE (RSL PROGRAMME)

    CERN Multimedia

    Division du Personnel; Tel. 73903

    1999-01-01

    Transfer to the saved leave account and saved leave bonusStaff members participating in the RSL programme may opt to transfer up to 10 days of unused annual leave or unused compensatory leave into their saved leave account, at the end of the leave year, i.e. 30 September (as set out in the implementation procedure dated 27 August 1997).A leave transfer request form, which you should complete, sign and return, if you wish to use this possibility, has been addressed you. To allow the necessary time for the processing of your request, you should return it without delay.As foreseen in the implementation procedure, an additional day of saved leave will be granted for each full period of 20 days remaining in the saved leave account on 31 December 1999, for any staff member participating in the RSL programme until that date.For part-time staff members participating in the RSL programme, the above-mentioned days of leave (annual, compensatory and saved) are adjusted proportionally to their contractual working week as...

  15. Enhancing the cross-cultural adaptation and validation process: linguistic and psychometric testing of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of a self-report measure for dry eye.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santo, Ruth Miyuki; Ribeiro-Ferreira, Felipe; Alves, Milton Ruiz; Epstein, Jonathan; Novaes, Priscila

    2015-04-01

    To provide a reliable, validated, and culturally adapted instrument that may be used in monitoring dry eye in Brazilian patients and to discuss the strategies for the enhancement of the cross-cultural adaptation and validation process of a self-report measure for dry eye. The cross-cultural adaptation process (CCAP) of the original Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) into Brazilian-Portuguese was conducted using a 9-step guideline. The synthesis of translations was tested twice, for face and content validity, by different subjects (focus groups and cognitive interviews). The expert committee contributed on several steps, and back translations were based on the final rather than the prefinal version. For validation, the adapted version was applied in a prospective longitudinal study to 101 patients from the Dry Eye Clinic at the General Hospital of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Simultaneously to the OSDI, patients answered the short form-36 health survey (SF-36) and the 25-item visual function questionnaire (VFQ-25) and underwent clinical evaluation. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and measure validity were assessed. Cronbach's alpha value of the cross-culturally adapted Brazilian-Portuguese version of the OSDI was 0.905, and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.801. There was a statistically significant difference between OSDI scores in patients with dry eye (41.15 ± 27.40) and without dry eye (17.88 ± 17.09). There was a negative association between OSDI and VFQ-25 total score (P adaptation process requires skill, knowledge, experience, and a considerable investment of time to maximize the attainment of semantic, idiomatic, experiential, and conceptual equivalence between the source and target questionnaires. A well-established guideline resulted in a culturally adapted Brazilian-Portuguese version of the OSDI, tested and validated on a sample of Brazilian population, and proved to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing

  16. Who takes paternity leave? A cohort study on prior social and health characteristics among fathers in Stockholm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Månsdotter, Anna; Fredlund, Peeter; Hallqvist, Johan; Magnusson, Cecilia

    2010-09-01

    Progress towards gender equality involves changes in the traditional parental division - female caring and male breadwinning. One aspect is increased parental leave for fathers, which may benefit the health of mothers, children, and fathers themselves. We examined how social and health characteristics (2002) were associated with paternity leave in excess of the 'father quota' of 60 days (2003-2006) in the Stockholm Public Health Cohort. Generally, fathers with stable social position, fit lifestyles, and good health had increased chances of paternity leave uptake. Our findings may contribute to identifying target groups for parental leave strategies among fathers; they indicate also that research on gender equality and public health must carefully address the problems of confounding and health-related selection.

  17. What accounting leaves out of hospital financial management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boles, K E; Glenn, J K

    1986-01-01

    As PPS and other fixed-price initiatives replace cost-based reimbursement in the hospital industry, the burden of assuming the risk for business success or failure shifts from the payor to the hospital. As a consequence, theories of risk to the business firm which have found application in other industries now deserve attention by hospital management. Incorporating such risk concepts into hospital strategies and actions requires a view of financial management that goes beyond the generally accepted accounting principles of managing and assigning costs for maximum revenue and profitability. This article examines the financial theory of risk in business firms, illustrates the various components of risk as they apply to a hospital business, and discusses how the hospital management strategies of cost-reduction, marketing, diversification, and multiorganizational affiliation can alter the risk characteristics of a hospital business.

  18. One Size Fits All? The Validity of a Composite Poverty Index Across Urban and Rural Households in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steinert, Janina Isabel; Cluver, Lucie Dale; Melendez-Torres, G J; Vollmer, Sebastian

    2018-01-01

    Composite indices have been prominently used in poverty research. However, validity of these indices remains subject to debate. This paper examines the validity of a common type of composite poverty indices using data from a cross-sectional survey of 2477 households in urban and rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Multiple-group comparisons in structural equation modelling were employed for testing differences in the measurement model across urban and rural groups. The analysis revealed substantial variations between urban and rural respondents both in the conceptualisation of poverty as well as in the weights and importance assigned to individual poverty indicators. The validity of a 'one size fits all' measurement model can therefore not be confirmed. In consequence, it becomes virtually impossible to determine a household's poverty level relative to the full sample. Findings from our analysis have important practical implications in nuancing how we can sensitively use composite poverty indices to identify poor people.

  19. Cross-cultural validation of Cancer Communication Assessment Tool in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shin, Dong Wook; Shin, Jooyeon; Kim, So Young; Park, Boram; Yang, Hyung-Kook; Cho, Juhee; Lee, Eun Sook; Kim, Jong Heun; Park, Jong-Hyock

    2015-02-01

    Communication between cancer patients and caregivers is often suboptimal. The Cancer Communication Assessment Tool for Patient and Families (CCAT-PF) is a unique tool developed to measure congruence in patient-family caregiver communication employing a dyadic approach. We aimed to examine the cross-cultural applicability of the CCAT in the Korean healthcare setting. Linguistic validation of the CCAT-PF was performed through a standard forward-backward translation process. Psychometric validation was performed with 990 patient-caregiver dyads recruited from 10 cancer centers. Mean scores of CCAT-P and CCAT-F were similar at 44.8 for both scales. Mean CCAT-PF score was 23.7 (8.66). Concordance of each items between patients and caregivers was low (weighted kappa values communication congruence between cancer patient and family caregivers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Diabetes Empowerment Scale - Short Form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaves, Fernanda Figueredo; Reis, Ilka Afonso; Pagano, Adriana Silvina; Torres, Heloísa de Carvalho

    2017-03-23

    To translate, cross-culturally adapt and validate the Diabetes Empowerment Scale - Short Form for assessment of psychosocial self-efficacy in diabetes care within the Brazilian cultural context. Assessment of the instrument's conceptual equivalence, as well as its translation and cross-cultural adaptation were performed following international standards. The Expert Committee's assessment of the translated version was conducted through a web questionnaire developed and applied via the web tool e-Surv. The cross-culturally adapted version was used for the pre-test, which was carried out via phone call in a group of eleven health care service users diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The pre-test results were examined by a group of experts, composed by health care consultants, applied linguists and statisticians, aiming at an adequate version of the instrument, which was subsequently used for test and retest in a sample of 100 users diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus via phone call, their answers being recorded by the web tool e-Surv. Internal consistency and reproducibility of analysis were carried out within the statistical programming environment R. Face and content validity were attained and the Brazilian Portuguese version, entitled Escala de Autoeficácia em Diabetes - Versão Curta, was established. The scale had acceptable internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha of 0.634 (95%CI 0.494- 0.737), while the correlation of the total score in the two periods was considered moderate (0.47). The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.50. The translated and cross-culturally adapted version of the instrument to spoken Brazilian Portuguese was considered valid and reliable to be used for assessment within the Brazilian population diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The use of a web tool (e-Surv) for recording the Expert Committee responses as well as the responses in the validation tests proved to be a reliable, safe and innovative method. Traduzir

  1. Development and construct validity of the Classroom Strategies Scale-Observer Form.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, Linda A; Fabiano, Gregory; Dudek, Christopher M; Hsu, Louis

    2013-12-01

    Research on progress monitoring has almost exclusively focused on student behavior and not on teacher practices. This article presents the development and validation of a new teacher observational assessment (Classroom Strategies Scale) of classroom instructional and behavioral management practices. The theoretical underpinnings and empirical basis for the instructional and behavioral management scales are presented. The Classroom Strategies Scale (CSS) evidenced overall good reliability estimates including internal consistency, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, and freedom from item bias on important teacher demographics (age, educational degree, years of teaching experience). Confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) of CSS data from 317 classrooms were carried out to assess the level of empirical support for (a) a 4 first-order factor theory concerning teachers' instructional practices, and (b) a 4 first-order factor theory concerning teachers' behavior management practice. Several fit indices indicated acceptable fit of the (a) and (b) CFA models to the data, as well as acceptable fit of less parsimonious alternative CFA models that included 1 or 2 second-order factors. Information-theory-based indices generally suggested that the (a) and (b) CFA models fit better than some more parsimonious alternative CFA models that included constraints on relations of first-order factors. Overall, CFA first-order and higher order factor results support the CSS-Observer Total, Composite, and subscales. Suggestions for future measurement development efforts are outlined. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  2. Fission fragment angular distributions and fission cross section validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leong, Lou Sai

    2013-01-01

    sphere was surrounded by enriched uranium 235 U so as to approach criticality with fast neutrons. The simulation predicts a multiplication factor k eff in better agreement with the experiment (the deviation of 750 pcm is reduced to 250 pcm) when we replace the ENDF/B- VII.0 evaluation of the 237 Np fission cross section by the n-TOF data. We also explore the hypothesis of deficiencies of the inelastic cross section in 235 U which has been invoked by some authors to explain the deviation of 750 pcm. The large distortion that should be applied to the inelastic cross sections in order to reconcile the critical experiment with its simulation is incompatible with existing measurements. Also we show that the ν-bar of 237 Np can hardly be incriminated because of the high accuracy of the existing data. Fission rate ratios or averaged fission cross sections measured in several fast neutron fields seem to give contradictory results on the validation of the 237 Np cross section but at least one of the benchmark experiments, where the active deposits have been well calibrated for the number of atoms, favors the n-TOF data set. These outcomes support the hypothesis of a higher fission cross section of 237 Np. (author)

  3. Cross-cultural adaptation and initial validation of the Stroke-Specific Quality of Life Scale into the Yoruba language.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akinpelu, Aderonke O; Odetunde, Marufat O; Odole, Adesola C

    2012-12-01

    Stroke-Specific Quality of Life 2.0 (SS-QoL 2.0) scale is used widely and has been cross-culturally adapted to many languages. This study aimed at the cross-cultural adaptation of SS-QoL 2.0 to Yoruba, the indigenous language of south-western Nigeria, and to carry out an initial investigation on its validity. English SS-QoL 2.0 was first adapted to Yoruba language by including Yoruba culture-specific examples in items SC4, UE2 and UE6. The adapted English version (AEV) was independently translated into Yoruba by two language experts who later agreed on a consensus translation, which was then back translated, subjected to an expert committee review and pretested; a cognitive debriefing interview was also carried out to generate the Yoruba translated version (YTV). Thirty-five stroke survivors completed the AEV and Yoruba version (YV) in English and Yoruba. The order of administration was randomized. Data were analysed using Spearman's rank order correlation and Wilcoxon's signed-rank test at a P value less than 0.05. The mean age of the participants (23 men, 12 women) was 58.5±11.3 years. The domain scores of the participants on AEV and YV did not differ significantly, except in the work/productivity domain. In both versions, the mean domain score of the participants was the highest in the language domain [22.6±3.8 (AEV) and 22.7±3.4 (YV)] and the lowest in the work domain [9.0±3.7 (AEV) and 8.0±3.3 (YTV)]. Domain scores on both versions correlated significantly (P<0.05). Participants' ratings of their current state and prestroke state correlated significantly (P<0.01) in all the general areas, except energy and mood. The YTV of SS-QoL 2.0 fulfilled the initial criteria for validity.

  4. [Career perspectives of hospital health workers after maternity and paternity leave: survey and observational study in Germany].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelmann, C; Grote, G; Miemietz, B; Vaske, B; Geyer, S

    2015-02-01

    A term of maternity and paternity (parental) leave becomes frequent on the career paths of medical personnel. Hospitals are highly competitive environments. The question employees universally face is how such a leave will alter their personal work situation and prospects upon return. We questioned 709 leave-takers and 88 department heads of a German university hospital (2009-12; full data sets: n = 406 and n = 63) about their experiences. This data was validated by epidemiology data extraction and expert interviews, also in a Swiss and in a Norwegian institution. Parental leave elicited high emotionality (score: 4.0 +/- 2 out of 5). Superiors' appraisal of employees' parental leave was more positive than negative (p leave takers doubled to 39 %; 51 % of leave-takers experienced significant task profile changes. 58 % of doctors thought about changing their employer and 17 % of leave-taking executives lost status after return. Employees' "power" and "influence" dropped significantly (p leave. The Swiss and Norwegian comparators appeared to have more liberal substitution and part-time schemes than the German institution. A competitive hospital environment can effectively demote leave-taking medical employees in their jobs. Despite sufficient financial arrangements high-commitment staff will only take parental leave of adequate length when an institutional framework protects their status. Data support four requirements: 1. Formal recognition of the leave taker's status pre-leave. 2. Establishment of a written ("claimable") return policy. 3. Substitution scheme for each individual, preferably by a locum. 4. Redirection of funds to facilitate part-time work schemes temporarily after return. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  5. Cross-Cultural Validation of the Korean Version of the Chalder Fatigue Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ha, Hyeju; Jeong, Donghee; Hahm, Bong-Jin; Shim, Eun-Jung

    2018-06-01

    University students are vulnerable to fatigue. If not adequately dealt with, fatigue might develop into various health problems and negatively affect quality of life (QOL). The present study examined psychometric properties of the Korean version of the Chalder Fatigue Scale (K-CFQ) in university students. Data were obtained from two samples of undergraduate students in Korea. The first dataset (N = 557) was collected in a cross-sectional survey in 2015 and the second dataset (N = 338) from a longitudinal survey with three time points over a semester period in 2016. Participants completed measures of fatigue, QOL, depression, anxiety, and sleep quality. Three-factor model (physical fatigue, low energy, and mental fatigue) rather than the original two-factor model (physical and mental fatigue) provided a better goodness of fit indices to the data. Internal consistency of the K-CFQ was satisfactory, with Cronbach's α value of 0.88 for the total scale and those of subscales ranging from 0.73 to 0.87. Its convergent validity was supported by its significant association with anxiety, depression, sleep quality, and QOL. Significant association between T1 K-CFQ with physical QOL at T2 and T3 supported its predictive validity. Its known-group validity was proven with higher K-CFQ scores observed in the participants with depression and those with poor sleep quality. Current results suggest that K-CFQ is a valid and reliable measure of fatigue, and a better model fit of the three-factor structure of the K-CFQ implies potential cross-cultural differences in the dimensionality of fatigue.

  6. Nuclear Data Uncertainty Propagation in Depletion Calculations Using Cross Section Uncertainties in One-group or Multi-group

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Díez, C.J., E-mail: cj.diez@upm.es [Dpto. de Ingeníera Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Cabellos, O. [Dpto. de Ingeníera Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Instituto de Fusión Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid (Spain); Martínez, J.S. [Dpto. de Ingeníera Nuclear, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28006 Madrid (Spain)

    2015-01-15

    Several approaches have been developed in last decades to tackle nuclear data uncertainty propagation problems of burn-up calculations. One approach proposed was the Hybrid Method, where uncertainties in nuclear data are propagated only on the depletion part of a burn-up problem. Because only depletion is addressed, only one-group cross sections are necessary, and hence, their collapsed one-group uncertainties. This approach has been applied successfully in several advanced reactor systems like EFIT (ADS-like reactor) or ESFR (Sodium fast reactor) to assess uncertainties on the isotopic composition. However, a comparison with using multi-group energy structures was not carried out, and has to be performed in order to analyse the limitations of using one-group uncertainties.

  7. Nuclear Data Uncertainty Propagation in Depletion Calculations Using Cross Section Uncertainties in One-group or Multi-group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Díez, C.J.; Cabellos, O.; Martínez, J.S.

    2015-01-01

    Several approaches have been developed in last decades to tackle nuclear data uncertainty propagation problems of burn-up calculations. One approach proposed was the Hybrid Method, where uncertainties in nuclear data are propagated only on the depletion part of a burn-up problem. Because only depletion is addressed, only one-group cross sections are necessary, and hence, their collapsed one-group uncertainties. This approach has been applied successfully in several advanced reactor systems like EFIT (ADS-like reactor) or ESFR (Sodium fast reactor) to assess uncertainties on the isotopic composition. However, a comparison with using multi-group energy structures was not carried out, and has to be performed in order to analyse the limitations of using one-group uncertainties

  8. Nuclear Data Uncertainty Propagation in Depletion Calculations Using Cross Section Uncertainties in One-group or Multi-group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez, C. J.; Cabellos, O.; Martínez, J. S.

    2015-01-01

    Several approaches have been developed in last decades to tackle nuclear data uncertainty propagation problems of burn-up calculations. One approach proposed was the Hybrid Method, where uncertainties in nuclear data are propagated only on the depletion part of a burn-up problem. Because only depletion is addressed, only one-group cross sections are necessary, and hence, their collapsed one-group uncertainties. This approach has been applied successfully in several advanced reactor systems like EFIT (ADS-like reactor) or ESFR (Sodium fast reactor) to assess uncertainties on the isotopic composition. However, a comparison with using multi-group energy structures was not carried out, and has to be performed in order to analyse the limitations of using one-group uncertainties.

  9. Rigor or Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research: Perspectives, Strategies, Reconceptualization, and Recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cypress, Brigitte S

    Issues are still raised even now in the 21st century by the persistent concern with achieving rigor in qualitative research. There is also a continuing debate about the analogous terms reliability and validity in naturalistic inquiries as opposed to quantitative investigations. This article presents the concept of rigor in qualitative research using a phenomenological study as an exemplar to further illustrate the process. Elaborating on epistemological and theoretical conceptualizations by Lincoln and Guba, strategies congruent with qualitative perspective for ensuring validity to establish the credibility of the study are described. A synthesis of the historical development of validity criteria evident in the literature during the years is explored. Recommendations are made for use of the term rigor instead of trustworthiness and the reconceptualization and renewed use of the concept of reliability and validity in qualitative research, that strategies for ensuring rigor must be built into the qualitative research process rather than evaluated only after the inquiry, and that qualitative researchers and students alike must be proactive and take responsibility in ensuring the rigor of a research study. The insights garnered here will move novice researchers and doctoral students to a better conceptual grasp of the complexity of reliability and validity and its ramifications for qualitative inquiry.

  10. Combined Training of One Cognitive and One Metacognitive Strategy Improves Academic Writing Skills.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wischgoll, Anke

    2016-01-01

    Academic writing is a challenging task. Expert writers apply various writing skills as they anticipate the reader's view of their text while paying attention to structure and content. Research in the high school setting shows that the acquisition of writing skills can be supported by single-strategy training. However, research in higher education is scarce. We tested whether the development of academic writing skills can also be effectively supported by training single strategies or even combined strategies. As metacognition is an important skill for advanced and adult learners, we focused in this study on the benefit of combined cognitive strategies with and without a metacognitive strategy. An experiment including three conditions was conducted (N = 60 German-speaking psychology undergraduates, M = 22.8, SD = 4.4), which lasted for three hours. Each group received a modeling intervention of a basic cognitive strategy on the application of text structure knowledge. Two groups received an additional modeling intervention with either a cognitive strategy treatment on text summarization or a metacognitive strategy treatment on self-monitoring the writing process. One group received no further strategy treatment. Prior knowledge and learning outcomes were measured with a specially developed test on academic writing skills. In addition, all participants wrote an abstract of an empirical article. We found that learners who received the additional self-monitoring strategy intervention benefited significantly more in terms of acquisition of academic writing skills and the quality of their texts than learners who did not receive this intervention. Thus, the results underline the importance of self-monitoring strategies in academic writing. Implications and further research opportunities are discussed.

  11. Combined training of one cognitive and one metacognitive strategy improves academic writing skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anke eWischgoll

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Academic writing is a challenging task. Expert writers apply various writing skills as they anticipate the reader’s view of their text while paying attention to structure and content. Research in the high school setting shows that the acquisition of writing skills can be supported by single-strategy training. However, research in higher education is scarce. We tested whether the development of academic writing skills can also be effectively supported by training single strategies or even combined strategies. As metacognition is an important skill for advanced and adult learners, we focused in this study on the benefit of combined cognitive strategies with and without a metacognitive strategy. An experiment including three conditions was conducted (N = 60 German-speaking psychology undergraduates, M=22.8, SD=4.4, which lasted for three hours. Each group received a modeling intervention of a basic cognitive strategy on the application of text structure knowledge. Two groups received an additional modeling intervention with either a cognitive strategy treatment on text summarization or a metacognitive strategy treatment on self-monitoring the writing process. One group received no further strategy treatment. Prior knowledge and learning outcomes were measured with a specially developed test on academic writing skills. In addition, all participants wrote an abstract of an empirical article. We found that learners who received the additional self-monitoring strategy intervention benefited significantly more in terms of acquisition of academic writing skills and the quality of their texts than learners who did not receive this intervention. Thus, the results underline the importance of self-monitoring strategies in academic writing. Implications and further research opportunities are discussed.

  12. Combined Training of One Cognitive and One Metacognitive Strategy Improves Academic Writing Skills

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wischgoll, Anke

    2016-01-01

    Academic writing is a challenging task. Expert writers apply various writing skills as they anticipate the reader’s view of their text while paying attention to structure and content. Research in the high school setting shows that the acquisition of writing skills can be supported by single-strategy training. However, research in higher education is scarce. We tested whether the development of academic writing skills can also be effectively supported by training single strategies or even combined strategies. As metacognition is an important skill for advanced and adult learners, we focused in this study on the benefit of combined cognitive strategies with and without a metacognitive strategy. An experiment including three conditions was conducted (N = 60 German-speaking psychology undergraduates, M = 22.8, SD = 4.4), which lasted for three hours. Each group received a modeling intervention of a basic cognitive strategy on the application of text structure knowledge. Two groups received an additional modeling intervention with either a cognitive strategy treatment on text summarization or a metacognitive strategy treatment on self-monitoring the writing process. One group received no further strategy treatment. Prior knowledge and learning outcomes were measured with a specially developed test on academic writing skills. In addition, all participants wrote an abstract of an empirical article. We found that learners who received the additional self-monitoring strategy intervention benefited significantly more in terms of acquisition of academic writing skills and the quality of their texts than learners who did not receive this intervention. Thus, the results underline the importance of self-monitoring strategies in academic writing. Implications and further research opportunities are discussed. PMID:26941671

  13. Principles of Proper Validation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esbensen, Kim; Geladi, Paul

    2010-01-01

    to suffer from the same deficiencies. The PPV are universal and can be applied to all situations in which the assessment of performance is desired: prediction-, classification-, time series forecasting-, modeling validation. The key element of PPV is the Theory of Sampling (TOS), which allow insight......) is critically necessary for the inclusion of the sampling errors incurred in all 'future' situations in which the validated model must perform. Logically, therefore, all one data set re-sampling approaches for validation, especially cross-validation and leverage-corrected validation, should be terminated...

  14. Out-of-plane vibrations of inhomogeneous curved bars having varying cross-sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Katsuyoshi; Kosawada, Tadashi

    1987-01-01

    An exact method using power series expansions is presented for solving out-of-plane free vibrations of inhomogeneous curved bars with varying curvatures and cross-sections. Equations of motion and boundary conditions are derived from the stationary conditions of the Lagrangian of curved bars. Natural frequencies and mode shapes are presented for elliptical and circular arc bars having both ends clamped and clamped-free ends. (author)

  15. Influence of yellow rust infection on /sup 32/P transport in detached barley leaves

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schubert, J. (Akademie der Landwirtschaftswissenschaften der DDR, Aschersleben. Inst. fuer Phytopathologie)

    1982-01-01

    Several barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.) differing in their resistance to yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis West.) were tested for relationships between changes of /sup 32/P transport in detached leaves and resistance to yellow rust disease. Investigation carried out with detached second leaves from plants infected at their first leaf revealed a matter transport in these leaves changed by the infection. Transport was also influenced by inoculation with yellow rust uredospores. In that case rust infection influenced the basipetal transport less strongly in resistent plants than in susceptible ones. Connected with the findings the influence of fungal substances on transport processes is discussed in general.

  16. Estimation of daily energy expenditure in pregnant and non-pregnant women using a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Hees, Vincent T; Renström, Frida; Wright, Antony; Gradmark, Anna; Catt, Michael; Chen, Kong Y; Löf, Marie; Bluck, Les; Pomeroy, Jeremy; Wareham, Nicholas J; Ekelund, Ulf; Brage, Søren; Franks, Paul W

    2011-01-01

    Few studies have compared the validity of objective measures of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE) in pregnant and non-pregnant women. PAEE is commonly estimated with accelerometers attached to the hip or waist, but little is known about the validity and participant acceptability of wrist attachment. The objectives of the current study were to assess the validity of a simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEA, Unilever Discover, UK) to estimate PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to evaluate participant acceptability. Non-pregnant (N = 73) and pregnant (N = 35) Swedish women (aged 20-35 yrs) wore the accelerometer on their wrist for 10 days during which total energy expenditure (TEE) was assessed using doubly-labelled water. PAEE was calculated as 0.9×TEE-REE. British participants (N = 99; aged 22-65 yrs) wore accelerometers on their non-dominant wrist and hip for seven days and were asked to score the acceptability of monitor placement (scored 1 [least] through 10 [most] acceptable). There was no significant correlation between body weight and PAEE. In non-pregnant women, acceleration explained 24% of the variation in PAEE, which decreased to 19% in leave-one-out cross-validation. In pregnant women, acceleration explained 11% of the variation in PAEE, which was not significant in leave-one-out cross-validation. Median (IQR) acceptability of wrist and hip placement was 9(8-10) and 9(7-10), respectively; there was a within-individual difference of 0.47 (p<.001). A simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer adds significantly to the prediction of energy expenditure in non-pregnant women and is scored acceptable by participants.

  17. Estimation of daily energy expenditure in pregnant and non-pregnant women using a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent T van Hees

    Full Text Available Few studies have compared the validity of objective measures of physical activity energy expenditure (PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women. PAEE is commonly estimated with accelerometers attached to the hip or waist, but little is known about the validity and participant acceptability of wrist attachment. The objectives of the current study were to assess the validity of a simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn accelerometer (GENEA, Unilever Discover, UK to estimate PAEE in pregnant and non-pregnant women, and to evaluate participant acceptability.Non-pregnant (N = 73 and pregnant (N = 35 Swedish women (aged 20-35 yrs wore the accelerometer on their wrist for 10 days during which total energy expenditure (TEE was assessed using doubly-labelled water. PAEE was calculated as 0.9×TEE-REE. British participants (N = 99; aged 22-65 yrs wore accelerometers on their non-dominant wrist and hip for seven days and were asked to score the acceptability of monitor placement (scored 1 [least] through 10 [most] acceptable.There was no significant correlation between body weight and PAEE. In non-pregnant women, acceleration explained 24% of the variation in PAEE, which decreased to 19% in leave-one-out cross-validation. In pregnant women, acceleration explained 11% of the variation in PAEE, which was not significant in leave-one-out cross-validation. Median (IQR acceptability of wrist and hip placement was 9(8-10 and 9(7-10, respectively; there was a within-individual difference of 0.47 (p<.001.A simple summary measure derived from a wrist-worn tri-axial accelerometer adds significantly to the prediction of energy expenditure in non-pregnant women and is scored acceptable by participants.

  18. The cross-cultural validity of the Caregiving Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ) among Danish mothers with preschool children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røhder, Katrine; George, Carol; Brennan, Jessica

    2018-01-01

    The present study explored the Danish cross-cultural validity of the Caregiving Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), a new measure of caregiving representations in parent-child relationships. Low-risk Danish mothers (N = 159) with children aged 1.5–5 years completed the CEQ and predictive validity...

  19. Selectivity criterion for pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrid[az]ine derivatives as GSK-3 inhibitors: CoMFA and molecular docking studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Dhilon S; Bharatam, Prasad V

    2008-05-01

    In the development of drugs targeted for GSK-3, its selective inhibition is an important requirement owing to the possibility of side effects arising from other kinases for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. A three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship study (3D-QSAR) has been carried out on a set of pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrid[az]ine derivatives, which includes non-selective and selective GSK-3 inhibitors. The CoMFA models were derived from a training set of 59 molecules. A test set containing 14 molecules (not used in model generation) was used to validate the CoMFA models. The best CoMFA model generated by applying leave-one-out (LOO) cross-validation study gave cross-validation r(cv)(2) and conventional r(conv)(2) values of 0.60 and 0.97, respectively, and r(pred)(2) value of 0.55, which provide the predictive ability of model. The developed models well explain (i) the observed variance in the activity and (ii) structural difference between the selective and non-selective GSK-3 inhibitors. Validation based on the molecular docking has also been carried out to explain the structural differences between the selective and non-selective molecules in the given series of molecules.

  20. Every finite strategic form game has at least one mixed strategy ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    First page Back Continue Last page Overview Graphics. Every finite strategic form game has at least one mixed strategy Nash equilibrium. Every finite strategic form game has at least one mixed strategy Nash equilibrium.

  1. Flute Teachers’ One-to-One Instructional Strategies at Individual Teaching Stages in Music School

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Kavčič Pucihar

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on one-to-one studio based instrumental instruction in music schools. Some novelties in the music school woodwind curricula are presented within various contexts. Teacher – student relationship, their interactions, and knowledge transfer are essential in individual instrumental instruction. The learning process is systematically structured within six teaching stages, ranging from new content presentation to learning reviews. We examined music school flute teachers’ beliefs (N=78 about teaching stages in individual studio based instruction. We researched their new content teaching strategies, guided practice and reinforcement, feedback, homework monitoring strategies, formative review and assessment within music studio academic year.

  2. Job control, work-family balance and nurses' intention to leave their profession and organization: A comparative cross-sectional survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaguchi, Yoshiko; Inoue, Takahiro; Harada, Hiroko; Oike, Miyako

    2016-12-01

    The shortage of nurses is a problem in many countries. In Japan, the distribution of nurses across different care settings is uneven: the shortage of nurses in home healthcare and nursing homes is more serious than in hospitals. Earlier research has identified numerous factors affecting nurses' intention to leave work (e.g., job control, family-related variables, work-family conflict); however, these factors' levels and effect size may vary between nurses in hospitals, home healthcare, and nursing homes. This study measured job control, family-related variables, and work-family conflict among nurses in hospitals, home healthcare, and nursing homes, and compared these variables' levels and effect size on nurses' intention to leave their organization or profession between these care settings. The research design was cross-sectional. Participating nurses from hospitals, home healthcare facilities, and nursing homes self-administered an anonymous questionnaire survey; nurses were recruited from the Kyushu district of Japan. Nurses from nine hospitals, 86 home healthcare offices, and 107 nursing homes participated. We measured nurses' intention to leave nursing or their organization, perceived job control, family variables and work-family conflict. We analyzed 1461 participants (response rate: 81.7%). The level of job control, family variables, and work-family conflict affecting nurses varied between hospitals, home healthcare, and nursing homes; additionally, these variables' effect on nurses' intention to leave their organization or profession varied between these care settings. Work-family conflict, family variables, and job control most strongly predicted nurses' intention to leave their organization or profession in hospitals, home healthcare, and nursing homes, respectively. Interventions aiming to increase nurse retention should distinguish between care settings. Regarding hospitals, reducing nurses' work-family conflict will increase nurse retention. Regarding

  3. Investigating determinants of out-of-pocket spending and strategies for coping with payments for healthcare in southeast Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Okoronkwo Ijeoma

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Out-of-pocket spending (OOPS is the major payment strategy for healthcare in Nigeria. Hence, the paper assessed the determinants socio-economic status (SES of OOPS and strategies for coping with payments for healthcare in urban, semi-urban and rural areas of southeast Nigeria. This paper provides information that would be required to improve financial accessibility and equity in financing within the public health care system. Methods The study areas were three rural and three urban areas from Ebonyi and Enugu states in South-east Nigeria. Cross-sectional survey using interviewer-administered questionnaires to randomly selected householders was the study tool. A socio-economic status (SES index that was developed using principal components analysis was used to examine levels of inequity in OOPS and regression analysis was used to examine the determinants of use of OOPS. Results All the SES groups equally sought healthcare when they needed to. However, the poorest households were most likely to use low level and informal providers such as traditional healers, whilst the least poor households were more likely to use the services of higher level and formal providers such as health centres and hospitals. The better-off SES more than worse-off SES groups used OOPS to pay for healthcare. The use of own money was the commonest payment-coping mechanism in the three communities. The sales of movable household assets or land were not commonly used as payment-coping mechanisms. Decreasing SES was associated with increased sale of household assets to cope with payment for healthcare in one of the communities. Fee exemptions and subsidies were almost non-existent as coping mechanisms in this study Conclusions There is the need to reduce OOPS and channel and improve equity in healthcare financing by designing and implementing payment strategies that will assure financial risk protection of the poor such pre-payment mechanisms with

  4. Relevant feature set estimation with a knock-out strategy and random forests

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ganz, Melanie; Greve, Douglas N; Fischl, Bruce

    2015-01-01

    unintuitive and difficult to determine. In this article, we propose a novel MVPA method for group analysis of high-dimensional data that overcomes the drawbacks of the current techniques. Our approach explicitly aims to identify all relevant variations using a "knock-out" strategy and the Random Forest...

  5. Derivation of the extended elastic stiffness formula of the holddown spring assembly comprised of several leaves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song, Kee Nam; Kang, H. S.; Yoon, K. H.

    1999-01-01

    Based on the Euler beam theory and the elastic strain energy method, the elastic stiffness formula of the holddown spring assembly consisting of several leaves was previously derived. Even though the previous formula was known to be useful to estimate the elastic stiffness of the holddown spring assembly, recently it was reported that the elastic stiffness from the previous formula deviated greatly from the test results as the number of leaves was increased. The objective of this study is to extend the previous formula in order to resolve such an increasing deviation when increasing the number of leaves. Additionally, considering the friction forces acting on the interfaces between the leaves, we obtained an extended elastic stiffness formula. The characteristic test and the elastic stiffness analysis on the various kinds of specimens of the holddown spring assembly have been carried out; the validity of the extended formula has been verified by the comparison of their results. As a result of comparisons, it is found that the extended formula is able to evaluate the elastic stiffness of the holddown spring assembly within the maximum error range of +12%, irrespective of the number of the leaves. (author). 9 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab

  6. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the teamwork climate scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Mariana Charantola; Peduzzi, Marina; Sangaleti, Carine Teles; Silva, Dirceu da; Agreli, Heloise Fernandes; West, Michael A; Anderson, Neil R

    2016-08-22

    To adapt and validate the Team Climate Inventory scale, of teamwork climate measurement, for the Portuguese language, in the context of primary health care in Brazil. Methodological study with quantitative approach of cross-cultural adaptation (translation, back-translation, synthesis, expert committee, and pretest) and validation with 497 employees from 72 teams of the Family Health Strategy in the city of Campinas, SP, Southeastern Brazil. We verified reliability by the Cronbach's alpha, construct validity by the confirmatory factor analysis with SmartPLS software, and correlation by the job satisfaction scale. We problematized the overlap of items 9, 11, and 12 of the "participation in the team" factor and the "team goals" factor regarding its definition. The validation showed no overlapping of items and the reliability ranged from 0.92 to 0.93. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated suitability of the proposed model with distribution of the 38 items in the four factors. The correlation between teamwork climate and job satisfaction was significant. The version of the scale in Brazilian Portuguese was validated and can be used in the context of primary health care in the Country, constituting an adequate tool for the assessment and diagnosis of teamwork. Adaptar e validar a escala Team Climate Invetory, de medida do clima de trabalho em equipe, para o idioma português, no contexto da atenção primária à saúde no Brasil. Estudo metodológico com abordagem quantitativa de adaptação transcultural (tradução, retrotradução, síntese, comitê de especialistas e pré-teste) e validação com 497 trabalhadores de 72 equipes da Estratégia Saúde da Família no município de Campinas, São Paulo. Verificou-se confiabilidade pelo alfa de Cronbach, validade de construto pela análise fatorial confirmatória pelo software SmartPLS e correlação com escala de satisfação no trabalho. Foi problematizado a sobreposição dos itens 9, 11 e 12 do fator participa

  7. QSAR study of HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitors using the genetic algorithm-multiple linear regression (GA-MLR).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rafiei, Hamid; Khanzadeh, Marziyeh; Mozaffari, Shahla; Bostanifar, Mohammad Hassan; Avval, Zhila Mohajeri; Aalizadeh, Reza; Pourbasheer, Eslam

    2016-01-01

    Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) study has been employed for predicting the inhibitory activities of the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase inhibitors . A data set consisted of 72 compounds was selected, and then different types of molecular descriptors were calculated. The whole data set was split into a training set (80 % of the dataset) and a test set (20 % of the dataset) using principle component analysis. The stepwise (SW) and the genetic algorithm (GA) techniques were used as variable selection tools. Multiple linear regression method was then used to linearly correlate the selected descriptors with inhibitory activities. Several validation technique including leave-one-out and leave-group-out cross-validation, Y-randomization method were used to evaluate the internal capability of the derived models. The external prediction ability of the derived models was further analyzed using modified r(2), concordance correlation coefficient values and Golbraikh and Tropsha acceptable model criteria's. Based on the derived results (GA-MLR), some new insights toward molecular structural requirements for obtaining better inhibitory activity were obtained.

  8. Validity of tools used for surveying physicians about their interactions with pharmaceutical company: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lotfi, Tamara; Morsi, Rami Z; Zmeter, Nada; Godah, Mohammad W; Alkhaled, Lina; Kahale, Lara A; Nass, Hala; Brax, Hneine; Fadlallah, Racha; Akl, Elie A

    2015-11-25

    There is evidence that physicians' prescription behavior is negatively affected by the extent of their interactions with pharmaceutical companies. In order to develop and implement policies and interventions for better management of interactions, we need to understand physicians' perspectives on this issue. Surveys addressing physicians' interactions with pharmaceutical companies need to use validated tools to ensure the validity of their findings. To assess the validity of tools used in surveys of physicians about the extent and nature of their interactions with pharmaceutical companies, and about their knowledge, beliefs and attitudes towards such interactions; and to identify those tools that have been formally validated. We developed a search strategy with the assistance of a medical librarian. We electronically searched MEDLINE and EMBASE databases in September 2015. Teams of two reviewers conducted data selection and data abstraction. They identified eligible studies in one table and then abstracted the relevant data from the studies with validated tools in another table. Tables were piloted and standardized. We identified one validated questionnaire out of the 11 assessing the nature and extent of the interaction, and three validated questionnaires out of the 47 assessing knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of physicians toward the interaction. None of these validated questionnaires were used in more than one survey. The available supporting evidence of the issue of physicians' interaction with pharmaceutical company is of low quality. There is a need for research to develop and validate tools to survey physicians about their interactions with pharmaceutical companies.

  9. Employer Provisions for Parental Leave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisenheimer, Joseph R., II

    1989-01-01

    Slightly more than one-third of full-time employees in medium and large firms in private industry were covered by maternity- or paternity-leave policies; days off were usually leave without pay. (Author)

  10. Psychometrically and qualitatively validating a cross-national cumulative measure of fear-based xenophobia

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Veer, C.G.; Ommundsen, R.; Yakushko, O.; Higler, L.E.A.; Woelders, S.; Hagen, K.A.

    2013-01-01

    The article reports the results of a Mokken Scale Procedure (MSP) developing a hierarchical cross-national scale to measure xenophobia, and a qualitative validation of this scale. A pool of 30 xenophobic scale items were collected from several sources and edited according to established

  11. [Computer evaluation of hidden potential of phytochemicals of medicinal plants of the traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lagunin, A A; Druzhilovsky, D S; Rudik, A V; Filimonov, D A; Gawande, D; Suresh, K; Goel, R; Poroikov, V V

    2015-01-01

    Applicability of our computer programs PASS and PharmaExpert to prediction of biological activity spectra of rather complex and structurally diverse phytocomponents of medicinal plants, both separately and in combinations has been evaluated. The web-resource on phytochemicals of 50 medicinal plants used in Ayurveda was created for the study of hidden therapeutic potential of Traditional Indian Medicine (TIM) (http://ayurveda.pharmaexpert.ru). It contains information on 50 medicinal plants, their using in TIM and their pharmacology activities, also as 1906 phytocomponents. PASS training set was updated by addition of information about 946 natural compounds; then the training procedure and validation were performed, to estimate the quality of PASS prediction. It was shown that the difference between the average accuracy of prediction obtained in leave-5%-out cross-validation (94,467%) and in leave-one-out cross-validation (94,605%) is very small. These results showed high predictive ability of the program. Results of biological activity spectra prediction for all phytocomponents included in our database are in good correspondence with the experimental data. Additional kinds of biological activity predicted with high probability provide the information about most promising directions of further studies. The analysis of prediction results of sets of phytocomponents in each of 50 medicinal plants was made by PharmaExpert software. Based on this analysis, we found that the combination of phytocomponents from Passiflora incarnata may exhibit nootropic, anticonvulsant and antidepressant effects. Experiments carried out in mice models confirmed the predicted effects of Passiflora incarnata extracts.

  12. Relation between sick leave and selected exposure variables among women semiconductor workers in Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chee, H; Rampal, K

    2003-01-01

    Aims: To determine the relation between sick leave and selected exposure variables among women semiconductor workers. Methods: This was a cross sectional survey of production workers from 18 semiconductor factories. Those selected had to be women, direct production operators up to the level of line leader, and Malaysian citizens. Sick leave and exposure to physical and chemical hazards were determined by self reporting. Three sick leave variables were used; number of sick leave days taken in the past year was the variable of interest in logistic regression models where the effects of age, marital status, work task, work schedule, work section, and duration of work in factory and work section were also explored. Results: Marital status was strongly linked to the taking of sick leave. Age, work schedule, and duration of work in the factory were significant confounders only in certain cases. After adjusting for these confounders, chemical and physical exposures, with the exception of poor ventilation and smelling chemicals, showed no significant relation to the taking of sick leave within the past year. Work section was a good predictor for taking sick leave, as wafer polishing workers faced higher odds of taking sick leave for each of the three cut off points of seven days, three days, and not at all, while parts assembly workers also faced significantly higher odds of taking sick leave. Conclusion: In Malaysia, the wafer fabrication factories only carry out a limited portion of the work processes, in particular, wafer polishing and the processes immediately prior to and following it. This study, in showing higher illness rates for workers in wafer polishing compared to semiconductor assembly, has implications for the governmental policy of encouraging the setting up of wafer fabrication plants with the full range of work processes. PMID:12660374

  13. Ballistic One-Dimensional InAs Nanowire Cross-Junction Interconnects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gooth, Johannes; Borg, Mattias; Schmid, Heinz; Schaller, Vanessa; Wirths, Stephan; Moselund, Kirsten; Luisier, Mathieu; Karg, Siegfried; Riel, Heike

    2017-04-12

    Coherent interconnection of quantum bits remains an ongoing challenge in quantum information technology. Envisioned hardware to achieve this goal is based on semiconductor nanowire (NW) circuits, comprising individual NW devices that are linked through ballistic interconnects. However, maintaining the sensitive ballistic conduction and confinement conditions across NW intersections is a nontrivial problem. Here, we go beyond the characterization of a single NW device and demonstrate ballistic one-dimensional (1D) quantum transport in InAs NW cross-junctions, monolithically integrated on Si. Characteristic 1D conductance plateaus are resolved in field-effect measurements across up to four NW-junctions in series. The 1D ballistic transport and sub-band splitting is preserved for both crossing-directions. We show that the 1D modes of a single injection terminal can be distributed into multiple NW branches. We believe that NW cross-junctions are well-suited as cross-directional communication links for the reliable transfer of quantum information as required for quantum computational systems.

  14. Research on verification and validation strategy of detonation fluid dynamics code of LAD2D

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, R. L.; Liang, X.; Liu, X. Z.

    2017-07-01

    The verification and validation (V&V) is an important approach in the software quality assurance of code in complex engineering application. Reasonable and efficient V&V strategy can achieve twice the result with half the effort. This article introduces the software-Lagrangian adaptive hydrodynamics code in 2D space (LAD2D), which is self-developed software in detonation CFD with plastic-elastic structure. The V&V strategy of this detonation CFD code is presented based on the foundation of V&V methodology for scientific software. The basic framework of the module verification and the function validation is proposed, composing the detonation fluid dynamics model V&V strategy of LAD2D.

  15. Autonomous home-care nursing staff are more engaged in their work and less likely to consider leaving the healthcare sector: a questionnaire survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurits, Erica E M; de Veer, Anke J E; van der Hoek, Lucas S; Francke, Anneke L

    2015-12-01

    The need for home care is rising in many Western European countries, due to the ageing population and governmental policies to substitute institutional care with home care. At the same time, a general shortage of qualified home-care staff exists or is expected in many countries. It is important to retain existing nursing staff in the healthcare sector to ensure a stable home-care workforce for the future. However, to date there has been little research about the job factors in home care that affect whether staff are considering leaving the healthcare sector. The main purpose of the study was to examine how home-care nursing staff's self-perceived autonomy relates to whether they have considered leaving the healthcare sector and to assess the possible mediating effect of work engagement. The questionnaire-based, cross-sectional study involved 262 registered nurses and certified nursing assistants employed in Dutch home-care organisations (mean age of 51; 97% female). The respondents were members of the Dutch Nursing Staff Panel, a nationwide group of nursing staff members in various healthcare settings (67% response rate). The questionnaire included validated scales concerning self-perceived autonomy and work engagement and a measure for considering pursuing an occupation outside the healthcare sector. Logistic regression and mediation analyses were conducted to test associations between self-perceived autonomy, work engagement and considering leaving the healthcare sector. Nursing staff members in home care who perceive more autonomy are more engaged in their work and less likely to have considered leaving the healthcare sector. The positive association between self-perceived autonomy and considering leaving, found among nursing staff members regardless of their level of education, is mediated by work engagement. In developing strategies for retaining nursing staff in home care, employers and policy makers should target their efforts at enhancing nursing staff

  16. Pharmacognostic Investigation of the Leaves and Stems of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Purpose: Some pharmacognostical investigations were carried out on the leaves and stems of Viburnum erubescens Wall.ex DC to record parameters for identifying and differentiating various species of Viburnum. Methods: The research specimens were authenticated and preserved both in fresh and dry forms. The leaves ...

  17. Predicting Classifier Performance with Limited Training Data: Applications to Computer-Aided Diagnosis in Breast and Prostate Cancer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basavanhally, Ajay; Viswanath, Satish; Madabhushi, Anant

    2015-01-01

    Clinical trials increasingly employ medical imaging data in conjunction with supervised classifiers, where the latter require large amounts of training data to accurately model the system. Yet, a classifier selected at the start of the trial based on smaller and more accessible datasets may yield inaccurate and unstable classification performance. In this paper, we aim to address two common concerns in classifier selection for clinical trials: (1) predicting expected classifier performance for large datasets based on error rates calculated from smaller datasets and (2) the selection of appropriate classifiers based on expected performance for larger datasets. We present a framework for comparative evaluation of classifiers using only limited amounts of training data by using random repeated sampling (RRS) in conjunction with a cross-validation sampling strategy. Extrapolated error rates are subsequently validated via comparison with leave-one-out cross-validation performed on a larger dataset. The ability to predict error rates as dataset size increases is demonstrated on both synthetic data as well as three different computational imaging tasks: detecting cancerous image regions in prostate histopathology, differentiating high and low grade cancer in breast histopathology, and detecting cancerous metavoxels in prostate magnetic resonance spectroscopy. For each task, the relationships between 3 distinct classifiers (k-nearest neighbor, naive Bayes, Support Vector Machine) are explored. Further quantitative evaluation in terms of interquartile range (IQR) suggests that our approach consistently yields error rates with lower variability (mean IQRs of 0.0070, 0.0127, and 0.0140) than a traditional RRS approach (mean IQRs of 0.0297, 0.0779, and 0.305) that does not employ cross-validation sampling for all three datasets. PMID:25993029

  18. Validation of the FEEL-KJ: An Instrument to Measure Emotion Regulation Strategies in Children and Adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emiel Cracco

    Full Text Available Although the field of emotion regulation in children and adolescents is growing, there is need for age-adjusted measures that assess a large variety of strategies. An interesting instrument in this respect is the FEEL-KJ because it measures 7 adaptive and 5 maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in response to three different emotions. However, the FEEL-KJ has not yet been validated extensively. Therefore, the current study aims to test the internal structure and validity of the FEEL-KJ in a large sample of Dutch-speaking Belgian children and adolescents (N = 1102, 8-18 years old. The investigation of the internal structure confirms earlier reports of a two-factor structure with Adaptive and Maladaptive Emotion Regulation as overarching categories. However, it also suggests that the two-factor model is more complex than what was previously assumed. The evaluation of the FEEL-KJ validity furthermore provides evidence for its construct and external validity. In sum, the current study confirms that the FEEL-KJ is a valuable and reliable measure of emotion regulation strategies in children and adolescents.

  19. ANALGETIC ACTIVITY OF CEP-CEPAN (Saurauia cauliflora DC. LEAVES EXTRACT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emil Salim

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. The people who live in Karo use several types of plants to relieve pain, one of which is cep-cepan (Saurauia cauliflora DC. The leaves of this plant traditionally used to treat gastrointestinal disorders. There is no scientific evidence about analgetic effect of the leaves. Thus, this study aimed to determine the potential effect of the ethanolic extract of cep-cepan leaves as an analgesic. Fresh Cep-cepan leaves were dried in a drying cabinet at 40°C. Furthermore, the water content of the powdered dried leaves was determined using azeotropic distillation method. Phytochemical screening was carried out to determine chemical groups contained in the dried leaves. Plant extraction was done by maceration method using ethanol 96%. Analgesic effect of the extract was evaluated by observing respon time of mices to infrared as pain inducer. Mices were grouped into six categories, they were: vehicle, antalgin 65 mg/kgBW, and extracts at the dose of 500 mg/kgBW, 250 mg/kgBW, 125 mg/kgBW, 62,5 mg/kgBW, all were administered orally. The data were analayzed using ANOVA followed by LSD. Results showed that the dried leaves contained flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, anthraquinone glycosides and steroids/triterpenoids. The water contain of the dried leaves was 5,3%. The analgesic test results showed the extract at the dose of 250 mg/kgBW had strong analgesic effect similar to that of 500 mg/kgBW and antalgin 65 mg/kgBW.

  20. Prognostic Factors of Returning to Work after Sick Leave due to Work-Related Common Mental Disorders: A One- and Three-Year Follow-Up Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Netterstrøm, Bo; Eller, Nanna Hurwitz; Borritz, Marianne

    2015-01-01

    The aim of this paper was to assess the prognostic factors of return to work (RTW) after one and three years among people on sick leave due to occupational stress. Methods. The study population comprised 223 completers on sick leave, who participated in a stress treatment program. Self-reported psychosocial work environment, life events during the past year, severity of the condition, occupational position, employment sector, marital status, and medication were assessed at baseline. RTW was assessed with data from a national compensation database (DREAM). Results. Self-reported high demands, low decision authority, low reward, low support from leaders and colleagues, bullying, high global symptom index, length of sick leave at baseline, and stressful negative life events during the year before baseline were associated with no RTW after one year. Low work ability and full-time sick leave at inclusion were predictors after three years too. Being single was associated with no RTW after three years. The type of treatment, occupational position, gender, age, and degree of depression were not associated with RTW after one or three years. Conclusion. The impact of the psychosocial work environment as predictor for RTW disappeared over time and only the severity of the condition was a predictor for RTW in the long run.

  1. Ellipsoid clustering machine: a front line to aid in disease diagnosis - DOI: 10.3395/reciis.v1i2.Sup.101en

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Costa Carvalho

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a new machine learning strategy to address the disease diagnosis classification problem that comprises an unknown number of disease classes. This is exemplified by a software called Ellipsoid Clustering Machine (ECM that identifies conserved regions in mass spectrometry proteomic profiles obtained from control subjects and uses these to estimate classification boundaries based on sample variance. The software can also be used for visual inspection of data reproducibility. ECM was evaluated using mass spectrometry protein profiles obtained from serum of Hodgkin’s disease patients (HD and control subjects. According to the leave-one-out cross validation, ECM completely separated both groups based only on the information derived from four selected mass spectral peaks. Classification details and a 3D graphical model showing the separation between the control subject cluster and HD patients is also presented. The software is available on the project website together with online interactive models of the dataset and an animation demonstrating the method.

  2. A validated HPLC-UV method for the analysis of galloylquinic acid derivatives and flavonoids in Copaifera langsdorffii leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motta, Erick Vicente da Silva; da Costa, Juliana de Carvalho; Bastos, Jairo Kenupp

    2017-09-01

    Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (Fabaceae, Caesalpinioideae), popularly known as "copaiba" or "pau d'óleo", is a species of tree that is found throughout Brazil. The leaves of this tree are used in folk medicine to treat kidney stones. Galloylquinic acid derivatives and flavonoids are the main secondary metabolites found in C. langsdorffii leaves and are likely to be responsible for the effectiveness of this treatment. As an attempt to produce a phytotherapic, we have developed a reliable HPLC-UV method for the quality control of C. langsdorffii leaves. Phenolic compounds were extracted from C. langsdorffii leaves using 70% aqueous ethanol as the extraction solvent. HPLC-UV analyses were carried out on a Synergi Polar-RP column (100×3.0mm, 2.5μm), and the mobile phase was made up of formic acid-water (0.1:99.9, solvent A), and isopropanol-methanol-acetonitrile (5:40:60, solvent B). The elution gradient was A:B (90:10 to 85:15) in 8.0min, followed by A:B (85:15 to 64:36) up to 30.0min, using a flow rate of 0.7mL/min, and UV detection at 280nm. This method was used to quantify nine galloylquinic acid derivatives and two flavonoids, which gave a good detection response and linearity in the range of 1.88-110.0μg/mL. Furthermore, the detection and quantification limits ranged from 0.070 to 0.752μg/mL, and 0.211-2.278μg/mL respectively, with a maximum RSD of 4.18%. The method is reliable for the quality control of C. langsdorffii raw material, its hydroethanolic extract, and could potentially be used to quantify these compounds in other Copaifera species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A new model of flavonoids affinity towards P-glycoprotein: genetic algorithm-support vector machine with features selected by a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Ying; Chen, Qinggang; Li, Yaxiao; Tang, Ling

    2017-02-01

    Flavonoids exhibit a high affinity for the purified cytosolic NBD (C-terminal nucleotide-binding domain) of P-glycoprotein (P-gp). To explore the affinity of flavonoids for P-gp, quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) models were developed using support vector machines (SVMs). A novel method coupling a modified particle swarm optimization algorithm with random mutation strategy and a genetic algorithm coupled with SVM was proposed to simultaneously optimize the kernel parameters of SVM and determine the subset of optimized features for the first time. Using DRAGON descriptors to represent compounds for QSAR, three subsets (training, prediction and external validation set) derived from the dataset were employed to investigate QSAR. With excluding of the outlier, the correlation coefficient (R 2 ) of the whole training set (training and prediction) was 0.924, and the R 2 of the external validation set was 0.941. The root-mean-square error (RMSE) of the whole training set was 0.0588; the RMSE of the cross-validation of the external validation set was 0.0443. The mean Q 2 value of leave-many-out cross-validation was 0.824. With more informations from results of randomization analysis and applicability domain, the proposed model is of good predictive ability, stability.

  4. Development and validation of a logistic regression model to distinguish transition zone cancers from benign prostatic hyperplasia on multi-parametric prostate MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iyama, Yuji [Kumamoto Chuo Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kumamoto, Kumamoto (Japan); Kumamoto University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto, Kumamoto (Japan); Nakaura, Takeshi; Nagayama, Yasunori; Utsunomiya, Daisuke; Yamashita, Yasuyuki [Kumamoto University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kumamoto, Kumamoto (Japan); Katahira, Kazuhiro; Oda, Seitaro [Kumamoto Chuo Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kumamoto, Kumamoto (Japan); Iyama, Ayumi [National Hospital Organization Kumamoto Medical Center, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Kumamoto, Kumamoto (Japan)

    2017-09-15

    To develop a prediction model to distinguish between transition zone (TZ) cancers and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) on multi-parametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI). This retrospective study enrolled 60 patients with either BPH or TZ cancer, who had undergone 3 T-MRI. We generated ten parameters for T2-weighted images (T2WI), diffusion-weighted images (DWI) and dynamic MRI. Using a t-test and multivariate logistic regression (LR) analysis to evaluate the parameters' accuracy, we developed LR models. We calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) of LR models by a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure, and the LR model's performance was compared with radiologists' performance with their opinion and with the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (Pi-RADS v2) score. Multivariate LR analysis showed that only standardized T2WI signal and mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maintained their independent values (P < 0.001). The validation analysis showed that the AUC of the final LR model was comparable to that of board-certified radiologists, and superior to that of Pi-RADS scores. A standardized T2WI and mean ADC were independent factors for distinguishing between BPH and TZ cancer. The performance of the LR model was comparable to that of experienced radiologists. (orig.)

  5. Fathers' Leave, Fathers' Involvement and Child Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    del Carmen Huerta, Maria; Lausten, Mette; Baxter, Jennifer

    involved’ perform better during the early years than their peers with less involved fathers. This paper analyses data of four OECD countries — Australia; Denmark; United Kingdom; United States — to describe how leave policies may influence father’s behaviours when children are young and whether...... their involvement translates into positive child cognitive and behavioural outcomes. This analysis shows that fathers’ leave, father’s involvement and child development are related. Fathers who take leave, especially those taking two weeks or more, are more likely to carry out childcare related activities when...

  6. A pilot study combining a GC-sensor device with a statistical model for the identification of bladder cancer from urine headspace.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanzeela Khalid

    Full Text Available There is a need to reduce the number of cystoscopies on patients with haematuria. Presently there are no reliable biomarkers to screen for bladder cancer. In this paper, we evaluate a new simple in-house fabricated, GC-sensor device in the diagnosis of bladder cancer based on volatiles. Sensor outputs from 98 urine samples were used to build and test diagnostic models. Samples were taken from 24 patients with transitional (urothelial cell carcinoma (age 27-91 years, median 71 years and 74 controls presenting with urological symptoms, but without a urological malignancy (age 29-86 years, median 64 years; results were analysed using two statistical approaches to assess the robustness of the methodology. A two-group linear discriminant analysis method using a total of 9 time points (which equates to 9 biomarkers correctly assigned 24/24 (100% of cancer cases and 70/74 (94.6% controls. Under leave-one-out cross-validation 23/24 (95.8% of cancer cases were correctly predicted with 69/74 (93.2% of controls. For partial least squares discriminant analysis, the correct leave-one-out cross-validation prediction values were 95.8% (cancer cases and 94.6% (controls. These data are an improvement on those reported by other groups studying headspace gases and also superior to current clinical techniques. This new device shows potential for the diagnosis of bladder cancer, but the data must be reproduced in a larger study.

  7. Randomized dynamical decoupling strategies and improved one-way key rates for quantum cryptography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kern, Oliver

    2009-05-25

    The present thesis deals with various methods of quantum error correction. It is divided into two parts. In the first part, dynamical decoupling methods are considered which have the task of suppressing the influence of residual imperfections in a quantum memory. Such imperfections might be given by couplings between the finite dimensional quantum systems (qudits) constituting the quantum memory, for instance. The suppression is achieved by altering the dynamics of an imperfect quantum memory with the help of a sequence of local unitary operations applied to the qudits. Whereas up to now the operations of such decoupling sequences have been constructed in a deterministic fashion, strategies are developed in this thesis which construct the operations by random selection from a suitable set. Formulas are derived which estimate the average performance of such strategies. As it turns out, randomized decoupling strategies offer advantages and disadvantages over deterministic ones. It is possible to benefit from the advantages of both kind of strategies by designing combined strategies. Furthermore, it is investigated if and how the discussed decoupling strategies can be employed to protect a quantum computation running on the quantum memory. It is shown that a purely randomized decoupling strategy may be used by applying the decoupling operations and adjusted gates of the quantum algorithm in an alternating fashion. Again this method can be enhanced by the means of deterministic methods in order to obtain a combined decoupling method for quantum computations analogously to the combining strategies for quantum memories. The second part of the thesis deals with quantum error-correcting codes and protocols for quantum key distribution. The focus is on the BB84 and the 6-state protocol making use of only one-way communication during the error correction and privacy amplification steps. It is shown that by adding additional errors to the preliminary key (a process called

  8. Randomized dynamical decoupling strategies and improved one-way key rates for quantum cryptography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kern, Oliver

    2009-01-01

    The present thesis deals with various methods of quantum error correction. It is divided into two parts. In the first part, dynamical decoupling methods are considered which have the task of suppressing the influence of residual imperfections in a quantum memory. Such imperfections might be given by couplings between the finite dimensional quantum systems (qudits) constituting the quantum memory, for instance. The suppression is achieved by altering the dynamics of an imperfect quantum memory with the help of a sequence of local unitary operations applied to the qudits. Whereas up to now the operations of such decoupling sequences have been constructed in a deterministic fashion, strategies are developed in this thesis which construct the operations by random selection from a suitable set. Formulas are derived which estimate the average performance of such strategies. As it turns out, randomized decoupling strategies offer advantages and disadvantages over deterministic ones. It is possible to benefit from the advantages of both kind of strategies by designing combined strategies. Furthermore, it is investigated if and how the discussed decoupling strategies can be employed to protect a quantum computation running on the quantum memory. It is shown that a purely randomized decoupling strategy may be used by applying the decoupling operations and adjusted gates of the quantum algorithm in an alternating fashion. Again this method can be enhanced by the means of deterministic methods in order to obtain a combined decoupling method for quantum computations analogously to the combining strategies for quantum memories. The second part of the thesis deals with quantum error-correcting codes and protocols for quantum key distribution. The focus is on the BB84 and the 6-state protocol making use of only one-way communication during the error correction and privacy amplification steps. It is shown that by adding additional errors to the preliminary key (a process called

  9. 38 CFR 21.342 - Leave accounting policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 38 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Leave accounting policy. 21.342 Section 21.342 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.... Chapter 31 Leaves of Absence § 21.342 Leave accounting policy. (a) Amount of leave. A veteran pursuing one...

  10. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Arabic version of the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly among community-dwelling older adults in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alqarni, Ayidh M; Vennu, Vishal; Alshammari, Sulaiman A; Bindawas, Saad M

    2018-01-01

    Older adults are the fastest growing population group worldwide. Regular physical activity (PA) is reported to reduce the risk of health conditions and improve personal well-being. Few validated instruments can be used to measure the PA levels among older adults in Saudi Arabia. The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE) is used worldwide for evaluating the PA levels of the elderly in epidemiological studies. However, this scale has not been translated into Arabic. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt the PASE into Arabic language and evaluate its reliability and validity among community-dwelling older adults in Saudi Arabia. This study was a cross-sectional one following Beaton guidelines to translate and perform cultural adaptation, as well as test the reliability and validity of the PASE Arabic version (PASE-A). Elderly (N=74) people from both genders, who lived in a community dwelling in Riyadh city, were selected from several primary health care centers. The study used Cronbach's alpha coefficient to assess the internal consistency reliability, while intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC 2,1 ) was used for test-retest reliability and the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient ( r ) was used to evaluate the correlation among PASE-A and grip strength, Timed Up and Go test, body mass index, and fat percentage. Out of 74 older adults, 59 (79.7%) completed the PASE-A questionnaire twice. The internal consistency of the PASE-A components was good (Cronbach's alpha 0.70-0.75), and the reliability of the components was excellent (ICC 2,1 0.90-0.98). A higher PASE-A score was associated with higher grip strength ( r =0.28, p =0.05) and with shorter Timed Up and Go test times ( r =-0.45, p =0.01). The PASE-A version was easy, understandable, and relevant for Saudi older adults' culture. This scale was a reliable and valid tool for evaluating and assessing the PA level among community-dwelling older adults in Saudi Arabia.

  11. Comparing the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Normand

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Job satisfaction is an important determinant of health worker motivation, retention, and performance, all of which are critical to improving the functioning of health systems in low- and middle-income countries. A number of small-scale surveys have measured the job satisfaction and intention to leave of individual health worker cadres in different settings, but there are few multi-country and multi-cadre comparative studies. Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the job satisfaction and intention to leave of different categories of health workers in Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Methods: We undertook a cross-sectional survey of a stratified cluster sample of 2,220 health workers, 564 from Tanzania, 939 from Malawi, and 717 from South Africa. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire, which included demographic information, a 10-item job satisfaction scale, and one question on intention to leave. Multiple regression was used to identify significant predictors of job satisfaction and intention to leave. Results: There were statistically significant differences in job satisfaction and intention to leave between the three countries. Approximately 52.1% of health workers in South Africa were satisfied with their jobs compared to 71% from Malawi and 82.6% from Tanzania (χ2=140.3, p<0.001. 18.8% of health workers in Tanzania and 26.5% in Malawi indicated that they were actively seeking employment elsewhere, compared to 41.4% in South Africa (χ2=83.5, p<0.001. The country differences were confirmed by multiple regression. The study also confirmed that job satisfaction is statistically related to intention to leave. Conclusions: We have shown differences in the levels of job satisfaction and intention to leave between different groups of health workers from Tanzania, Malawi, and South Africa. Our results caution against generalising about the effectiveness of interventions in different contexts and

  12. Are environmental characteristics in the municipal eldercare, more closely associated with frequent short sick leave spells among employees than with total sick leave: a cross-sectional study

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background It has been suggested that frequent-, short-term sick leave is associated with work environment factors, whereas long-term sick leave is associated mainly with health factors. However, studies of the hypothesis of an association between a poor working environment and frequent short spells of sick leave are few and results are inconsistent. Therefore, we aimed to explore associations between self-reported psychosocial work factors and workplace-registered frequency and length of sick leave in the eldercare sector. Methods Employees from the municipal eldercare in Aarhus (N = 2,534) were included. In 2005, they responded to a work environment questionnaire. Sick leave records from 2005 were dichotomised into total sick leave days (0–14 and above 14 days) and into spell patterns (0–2 short, 3–9 short, and mixed spells and 1–3 long spells). Logistic regression models were used to analyse associations; adjusted for age, gender, occupation, and number of spells or sick leave length. Results The response rate was 76%; 96% of the respondents were women. Unfavourable mean scores in work pace, demands for hiding emotions, poor quality of leadership and bullying were best indicated by more than 14 sick leave days compared with 0–14 sick leave days. For work pace, the best indicator was a long-term sick leave pattern compared with a non-frequent short-term pattern. A frequent short-term sick leave pattern was a better indicator of emotional demands (1.62; 95% CI: 1.1-2.5) and role conflict (1.50; 95% CI: 1.2-1.9) than a short-term non-frequent pattern. Age (= 40 years) statistically significantly modified the association between the 1–3 long-term sick leave spell pattern and commitment to the workplace compared with the 3–9 frequent short-term pattern. Conclusions Total sick leave length and a long-term sick leave spell pattern were just as good or even better indicators of unfavourable work factor scores than a frequent short-term sick leave

  13. Modernization of Physical Appearance and Solution Color Tests Using Quantitative Tristimulus Colorimetry: Advantages, Harmonization, and Validation Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pack, Brian W; Montgomery, Laura L; Hetrick, Evan M

    2015-10-01

    Color measurements, including physical appearance, are important yet often misunderstood and underappreciated aspects of a control strategy for drug substances and drug products. From a patient safety perspective, color can be an important control point for detecting contamination, impurities, and degradation products, with human visual acuity often more sensitive for colored impurities than instrumental techniques such as HPLC. Physical appearance tests and solution color tests can also serve an important role in ensuring that appropriate steps are taken such that clinical trials do not become unblinded when the active material is compared with another product or a placebo. Despite the importance of color tests, compendial visual tests are not harmonized across the major pharmacopoeias, which results in ambiguous specifications of little value, difficult communication of true sample color, and significant extra work required for global registration. Some pharmacopoeias have not yet recognized or adopted technical advances in the instrumental measurement of color and appearance, whereas others begin to acknowledge the advantage of instrumental colorimetry, yet leave implementation of the technology ambiguous. This commentary will highlight the above-mentioned inconsistencies, provide an avenue toward harmonization and modernization, and outline a scientifically sound approach for implementing quantitative technologies for improved measurement, communication, and control of color and appearance for both solutions and solids. Importantly, this manuscript, for the first time, outlines a color method validation approach that is consistent with the International Conference on Harmonization's guidance on the topic of method validation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association.

  14. Cross-Cultural Adaptation, Validity, and Reliability of the Persian Version of the Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafeei, Asrin; Mokhtarinia, Hamid Reza; Maleki-Ghahfarokhi, Azam; Piri, Leila

    2017-08-01

    Observational study. To cross-culturally translate the Orebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (OMPQ) into Persian and then evaluate its psychometric properties (reliability, validity, ceiling, and flooring effects). To the authors' knowledge, prior to this study there has been no validated instrument to screen the risk of chronicity in Persian-speaking patients with low back pain (LBP) in Iran. The OMPQ was specifically developed as a self-administered screening tool for assessing the risk of LBP chronicity. The forward-backward translation method was used for the translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original questionnaire. In total, 202 patients with subacute LBP completed the OMPQ and the pain disability questionnaire (PDQ), which was used to assess convergent validity. 62 patients completed the OMPQ a week later as a retest. Slight changes were made to the OMPQ during the translation/cultural adaptation process; face validity of the Persian version was obtained. The Persian OMPQ showed excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient=0.89). Its internal consistency was 0.71, and its convergent validity was confirmed by good correlation coefficient between the OMPQ and PDQ total scores ( r =0.72, p validity, construct validity, reliability, and consistency. It is therefore considered a useful instrument for screening Iranian patients with LBP.

  15. Cross-cultural equivalence of the patient- and parent-reported quality of life in short stature youth (QoLISSY) questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullinger, Monika; Quitmann, Julia; Silva, Neuza; Rohenkohl, Anja; Chaplin, John E; DeBusk, Kendra; Mimoun, Emmanuelle; Feigerlova, Eva; Herdman, Michael; Sanz, Dolores; Wollmann, Hartmut; Pleil, Andreas; Power, Michael

    2014-01-01

    Testing cross-cultural equivalence of patient-reported outcomes requires sufficiently large samples per country, which is difficult to achieve in rare endocrine paediatric conditions. We describe a novel approach to cross-cultural testing of the Quality of Life in Short Stature Youth (QoLISSY) questionnaire in five countries by sequentially taking one country out (TOCO) from the total sample and iteratively comparing the resulting psychometric performance. Development of the QoLISSY proceeded from focus group discussions through pilot testing to field testing in 268 short-statured patients and their parents. To explore cross-cultural equivalence, the iterative TOCO technique was used to examine and compare the validity, reliability, and convergence of patient and parent responses on QoLISSY in the field test dataset, and to predict QoLISSY scores from clinical, socio-demographic and psychosocial variables. Validity and reliability indicators were satisfactory for each sample after iteratively omitting one country. Comparisons with the total sample revealed cross-cultural equivalence in internal consistency and construct validity for patients and parents, high inter-rater agreement and a substantial proportion of QoLISSY variance explained by predictors. The TOCO technique is a powerful method to overcome problems of country-specific testing of patient-reported outcome instruments. It provides an empirical support to QoLISSY's cross-cultural equivalence and is recommended for future research.

  16. Cross-cultural Context and Politeness

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    朱芬

    2012-01-01

    In social interaction,politeness is a universal phenomenon existing in all languages.However,for social,ethnographic and even historical reasons,politeness strategies in a specific cultural context may vary from one to another.And for most time it is not language itself but different politeness strategies that lead to cross-cultural communicative failure.Knowing about these differences will help to overcome pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication.

  17. Dynamic radar cross section measurements of a full-scale aircraft for RCS modelling validation

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Van Schalkwyk, Richard F

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper the process followed in generating a high fidelity reference data set for radar cross section (RCS) modelling validation for a full-scale aircraft, is presented. An overview of two dynamic RCS measurement campaigns, involving both...

  18. Translation, Cross-cultural Adaptation and Psychometric Validation of the Korean-Language Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS-K).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Sora; Park, Hee-Won; Lee, Yookyung; Grace, Sherry L; Kim, Won-Seok

    2017-10-01

    To perform a translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the Cardiac Rehabilitation Barriers Scale (CRBS) for use in Korea, followed by psychometric validation. The CRBS was developed to assess patients' perception of the degree to which patient, provider and health system-level barriers affect their cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation. The CRBS consists of 21 items (barriers to adherence) rated on a 5-point Likert scale. The first phase was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the CRBS to the Korean language. After back-translation, both versions were reviewed by a committee. The face validity was assessed in a sample of Korean patients (n=53) with history of acute myocardial infarction that did not participate in CR through semi-structured interviews. The second phase was to assess the construct and criterion validity of the Korean translation as well as internal reliability, through administration of the translated version in 104 patients, principle component analysis with varimax rotation and cross-referencing against CR use, respectively. The length, readability, and clarity of the questionnaire were rated well, demonstrating face validity. Analysis revealed a six-factor solution, demonstrating construct validity. Cronbach's alpha was greater than 0.65. Barriers rated highest included not knowing about CR and not being contacted by a program. The mean CRBS score was significantly higher among non-attendees (2.71±0.26) than CR attendees (2.51±0.18) (pKorea.

  19. Development of a French-Canadian version of the Oswestry Disability Index: cross-cultural adaptation and validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denis, Isabelle; Fortin, Luc

    2012-04-01

    Cross-cultural translation and psychometric testing. To translate, culturally adapt, and validate the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) version 2.0 for the French-Canadian population. Many authors have recommended the administration of standardized instruments, rather than the creation of new scales, and advocate the adaptation of validated questionnaires in other languages. The application of these scales in different countries and by cultural groups necessitates cross-cultural adaptation. Many scales evaluate the functional incapacity resulting from low back pain. The ODI is among the most commonly used for this purpose. The French-Canadian ODI (ODI-FC) was developed by cross-cultural adaptation following internationally recommended methodology: forward translation, back translation, expert committee revision, and clinical evaluation of the prefinal version. Psychometric testing was performed on 72 patients with chronic low back pain. The subjects were recruited from a physiatry department in a university hospital and from a private practice physiatry clinic. They came from the Montreal area. The psychometric testing included internal consistency (Cronbach α), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient) with a time interval set at 48 hours, and construct validity, comparing the ODI-FC with the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (Pearson correlation coefficient). In 44.4% of the subjects, the average duration of low-back pain varied between 1 and 5 years. Average score for the ODI-FC was 29.2. Good internal consistency was found (Cronbach α = 0.88). Reliability was excellent, with intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.92 (95% confidence interval, 0.87-0.95). Construct validity results revealed excellent correlations between the ODI and the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (r = 0.90) and between the ODI and the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (r = 0.84). Cross-cultural translation and

  20. Validation of annual growth rings in freshwater mussel shells using cross dating .Can

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrew L. Rypel; Wendell R. Haag; Robert H. Findlay

    2009-01-01

    We examined the usefulness of dendrochronological cross-dating methods for studying long-term, interannual growth patterns in freshwater mussels, including validation of annual shell ring formation. Using 13 species from three rivers, we measured increment widths between putative annual rings on shell thin sections and then removed age-related variation by...

  1. Construct Validity of the Nepalese School Leaving English Reading Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawadi, Saraswati; Shrestha, Prithvi N.

    2018-01-01

    There has been a steady interest in investigating the validity of language tests in the last decades. Despite numerous studies on construct validity in language testing, there are not many studies examining the construct validity of a reading test. This paper reports on a study that explored the construct validity of the English reading test in…

  2. One bipolar transistor selector - One resistive random access memory device for cross bar memory array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aluguri, R.; Kumar, D.; Simanjuntak, F. M.; Tseng, T.-Y.

    2017-09-01

    A bipolar transistor selector was connected in series with a resistive switching memory device to study its memory characteristics for its application in cross bar array memory. The metal oxide based p-n-p bipolar transistor selector indicated good selectivity of about 104 with high retention and long endurance showing its usefulness in cross bar RRAM devices. Zener tunneling is found to be the main conduction phenomena for obtaining high selectivity. 1BT-1R device demonstrated good memory characteristics with non-linearity of 2 orders, selectivity of about 2 orders and long retention characteristics of more than 105 sec. One bit-line pull-up scheme shows that a 650 kb cross bar array made with this 1BT1R devices works well with more than 10 % read margin proving its ability in future memory technology application.

  3. Down-regulation of microRNAs controlling tumourigenic factors in follicular thyroid carcinoma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rossing, Maria; Helweg-Larsen, Rehannah Borup; Henao Giraldo, Ricardo

    2012-01-01

    pattern in distinguishing malignant from benign nodules we employed a supervised learning algorithm and leave-one-out-cross-validation. By this procedure, FA and FC were identified with a negative predicted value (NPV) of 83% (data generated by microarray platform) and of 92% (data generated by q......RT-PCR platform). We conclude that follicular neoplasia is associated by major changes in miRNA expression that may promote malignant transformation by increasing the expression of transcripts encoding tumourigenic factors. Moreover, miRNA profiling may facilitate the diagnosis of carcinoma vs. adenoma....

  4. Optimization of an NLEO-based algorithm for automated detection of spontaneous activity transients in early preterm EEG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmu, Kirsi; Vanhatalo, Sampsa; Stevenson, Nathan; Wikström, Sverre; Hellström-Westas, Lena; Palva, J Matias

    2010-01-01

    We propose here a simple algorithm for automated detection of spontaneous activity transients (SATs) in early preterm electroencephalography (EEG). The parameters of the algorithm were optimized by supervised learning using a gold standard created from visual classification data obtained from three human raters. The generalization performance of the algorithm was estimated by leave-one-out cross-validation. The mean sensitivity of the optimized algorithm was 97% (range 91–100%) and specificity 95% (76–100%). The optimized algorithm makes it possible to systematically study brain state fluctuations of preterm infants. (note)

  5. Capturing the musical brain with Lasso

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Toiviainen, Petri; Alluri, Vinoo; Brattico, Elvira

    2014-01-01

    accuracy using a leave-one-out cross-validation scheme. The method was applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data that were collected using a naturalistic paradigm, in which participants' brain responses were recorded while they were continuously listening to pieces of real music...... to be consistent with areas of significant activation observed in previous research using a naturalistic paradigm with fMRI. Of the six musical features considered, five could be significantly predicted for the majority of participants. The areas significantly contributing to the optimal decoding models agreed...

  6. From Conception Through Delivery: Developing a Just and Equitable Faculty Maternity Leave Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Untener, Joseph

    2008-01-01

    While much has been written on the need for faculty maternity leave policies in institutions of higher learning, the development of such policies is difficult given inherent administrative complexities and multiple approval processes. As a result, many institutions have either no policy or one that is inadequate or out of compliance with…

  7. Chemical composition on cacao leaves infected by viruses

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mustafa, M.; Delilah, M.; Syafrul, L.; Suryadi.

    1980-01-01

    Chemical analysis on cacao leaves that have chlorosis spots caused by cocoa swollen shoot viruses were carried out. It can be shown that leaves with chlorosis spots contain less chlorophyl and lipides than those without, but both do not show any significant difference in the concentration of water, glucose, saccharides, amino acid and proteins. It can be concluded that transport systems in the infected leaves are good so that the water and saccharides distribution in them are not disturbed. (author tr.)

  8. Assessing behavioural changes in ALS: cross-validation of ALS-specific measures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto-Grau, Marta; Costello, Emmet; O'Connor, Sarah; Elamin, Marwa; Burke, Tom; Heverin, Mark; Pender, Niall; Hardiman, Orla

    2017-07-01

    The Beaumont Behavioural Inventory (BBI) is a behavioural proxy report for the assessment of behavioural changes in ALS. This tool has been validated against the FrSBe, a non-ALS-specific behavioural assessment, and further comparison of the BBI against a disease-specific tool was considered. This study cross-validates the BBI against the ALS-FTD-Q. Sixty ALS patients, 8% also meeting criteria for FTD, were recruited. All patients were evaluated using the BBI and the ALS-FTD-Q, completed by a carer. Correlational analysis was performed to assess construct validity. Precision, sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of the BBI when compared to the ALS-FTD-Q, were obtained. The mean score of the whole sample on the BBI was 11.45 ± 13.06. ALS-FTD patients scored significantly higher than non-demented ALS patients (31.6 ± 14.64, 9.62 ± 11.38; p ALS-FTD-Q was observed (r = 0.807, p ALS-FTD-Q. Good construct validity has been further confirmed when the BBI is compared to an ALS-specific tool. Furthermore, the BBI is a more comprehensive behavioural assessment for ALS, as it measures the whole behavioural spectrum in this condition.

  9. Spanish translation, cross-cultural adaptation, and validation of the Questionnaire for Diabetes-Related Foot Disease (Q-DFD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo-Tandazo, Wilson; Flores-Fortty, Adolfo; Feraud, Lourdes; Tettamanti, Daniel

    2013-01-01

    To translate, cross-culturally adapt, and validate the Questionnaire for Diabetes-Related Foot Disease (Q-DFD), originally created and validated in Australia, for its use in Spanish-speaking patients with diabetes mellitus. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation were based on international guidelines. The Spanish version of the survey was applied to a community-based (sample A) and a hospital clinic-based sample (samples B and C). Samples A and B were used to determine criterion and construct validity comparing the survey findings with clinical evaluation and medical records, respectively; while sample C was used to determine intra- and inter-rater reliability. After completing the rigorous translation process, only four items were considered problematic and required a new translation. In total, 127 patients were included in the validation study: 76 to determine criterion and construct validity and 41 to establish intra- and inter-rater reliability. For an overall diagnosis of diabetes-related foot disease, a substantial level of agreement was obtained when we compared the Q-DFD with the clinical assessment (kappa 0.77, sensitivity 80.4%, specificity 91.5%, positive likelihood ratio [LR+] 9.46, negative likelihood ratio [LR-] 0.21); while an almost perfect level of agreement was obtained when it was compared with medical records (kappa 0.88, sensitivity 87%, specificity 97%, LR+ 29.0, LR- 0.13). Survey reliability showed substantial levels of agreement, with kappa scores of 0.63 and 0.73 for intra- and inter-rater reliability, respectively. The translated and cross-culturally adapted Q-DFD showed good psychometric properties (validity, reproducibility, and reliability) that allow its use in Spanish-speaking diabetic populations.

  10. Quality Control Assays for Clinical-Grade Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells: Validation Strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radrizzani, Marina; Soncin, Sabrina; Bolis, Sara; Lo Cicero, Viviana; Andriolo, Gabriella; Turchetto, Lucia

    2016-01-01

    The present chapter focuses on the validation of the following analytical methods for the control of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) for cell therapy clinical trials: Microbiological control for cellular product Endotoxin assay Mycoplasma assay Cell count and viability Immunophenotype Clonogenic potential (CFU-F assay) In our lab, these methods are in use for product release, process control or control of the biological starting materials. They are described in detail in the accompanying Chapter 19.For each method, validation goals and strategy are presented, and a detailed experimental scheme is proposed.

  11. CFD Analysis for Predicting Flow Resistance of the Cross Flow Gap in Prismatic VHTR Core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Jeong Hun; Yoon, Su Jong; Park, Goon Cherl; Park, Jong Woon

    2011-01-01

    The core of Very High Temperature Reactor (VHTR) consists of assemblies of hexagonal graphite blocks and its height and across-flats width are 800 mm and 360 mm respectively. They are equipped with 108 coolant holes 16 mm in diameter. Up to ten fuel blocks arranged in vertical order form a fuel element column and the neutron flux varies over the cross section of the core. It makes different axial shrinkage of fuel element and this leads to make wedge-shaped gaps between the base and top surfaces of stacked blocks. The cross flow is defined as the core flow that passes through this cross gaps. The cross flow complicates the flow distribution of reactor core. Moreover, the cross flow could lead to uneven coolant distribution and consequently to superheating of individual fuel element zones with increased fission product release. Since the core cross flow has a negative impact on safety and efficiency of VHTR, core cross flow phenomena have to be investigated to improve the core thermal margin of VHTR. In particular, to predict amount of flow at the cross flow gap obtaining accurate flow loss coefficient is important. Nevertheless, there has not been much effort in domestic. The experiment of cross flow was carried out by H. G. Groehn in 1981 Germany. For the study of cross flow the applicability of CFD code should be validated. In this paper a commercial CFD code CFX-12 validation will be carried out with this cross flow experiment. Validated data can be used for validation of other thermal-hydraulic analysis codes

  12. Synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy for authentication of the adulteration of edible vegetable oil with refined used frying oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Jin; Li, Rong; Jiang, Zi-Tao; Tang, Shu-Hua; Wang, Ying; Shi, Meng; Xiao, Yi-Qian; Jia, Bin; Lu, Tian-Xiang; Wang, Hao

    2017-02-15

    Synchronous front-face fluorescence spectroscopy has been developed for the discrimination of used frying oil (UFO) from edible vegetable oil (EVO), the estimation of the using time of UFO, and the determination of the adulteration of EVO with UFO. Both the heating time of laboratory prepared UFO and the adulteration of EVO with UFO could be determined by partial least squares regression (PLSR). To simulate the EVO adulteration with UFO, for each kind of oil, fifty adulterated samples at the adulterant amounts range of 1-50% were prepared. PLSR was then adopted to build the model and both full (leave-one-out) cross-validation and external validation were performed to evaluate the predictive ability. Under the optimum condition, the plots of observed versus predicted values exhibited high linearity (R(2)>0.96). The root mean square error of cross-validation (RMSECV) and root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) were both lower than 3%. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. THE EFFECT OF HARVESTING TIME AND DEGREE OF LEAVES MATURATION ON VITEKSIKARPIN LEVEL IN LEGUNDI LEAVES (Vitex trifolia L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yosi Bayu Murti

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Legundi (Vitex trifolia L. is one of Indonesia’s traditional crops that have not been studied and developed into fitofarmaka. Legundi leaves can be used for therapy in asthmatics with optimum level. Therefore it is necessary for optimization of harvesting Legundi leaves which includes time and degree of maturation of the leaves. Harvesting time optimization by means of harvesting the leaves at the different times i.e. morning, noon, and evening, while the leaf maturation level optimization by way of harvesting leaves numbered one through five of the youngest end, then the time of harvesting and leaves that provide optimum levels of viteksikarpin were assigned. Measurements of viteksikarpin assigned using TLCdensitometry then analyzed using Wincats software and Microsoft Office Excel 2007. The highest viteksikarpin levels in Legundi leaves harvested in the afternoon, then during the day, and the lowest in the morning. The highest viteksikarpin levels of Legundi leaves were on second leaf, first leaf, third leaf, fourth leaf, and the lowest on fifth leaf. Optimum levels of viteksikarpin in Legundi leaves was harvested in the afternoon by picking the first until the third leaf.

  14. Tools and approaches to operationalize the commitment to equity, gender and human rights: towards leaving no one behind in the Sustainable Development Goals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamora, Gerardo; Koller, Theadora Swift; Thomas, Rebekah; Manandhar, Mary; Lustigova, Eva; Diop, Adama; Magar, Veronica

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this article is to present specific resources developed by the World Health Organization on equity, gender and human rights in order to support Member States in operationalizing their commitment to leave no one behind in the health Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and other health-related goals and targets. The resources cover: (i) health inequality monitoring; (ii) barrier analysis using mixed methods; (iii) human rights monitoring; (iv) leaving no one behind in national and subnational health sector planning; and (v) equity, gender and human rights in national health programme reviews. Examples of the application of the tools in a range of country contexts are provided for each resource.

  15. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Italian Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucci, Rosaria; Rongo, Roberto; Zito, Eugenio; Galeotti, Angela; Valletta, Rosa; D'Antò, Vincenzo

    2015-03-01

    To validate and cross-culturally adapt the Italian version of the Psychological Impact of Dental Aesthetics Questionnaire (PIDAQ) among Italian young adults. After translation, back translation, and cross-cultural adaptation of the English PIDAQ, a first version of the Italian questionnaire was pretested. The final Italian PIDAQ was administered to 598 subjects aged 18-30 years, along with two other instruments: the aesthetic component of the index of orthodontic treatment need (IOTN-AC) and the perception of occlusion scale (POS), which identified the self-reporting grade of malocclusion. Structural validity was assessed by means of factorial analysis, internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α), convergent validity was assessed by means of Spearman correlation, and test-retest reliability was calculated with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard measurement error. Criterion validity was evaluated by multivariate and univariate analysis of variance with Bonferroni post hoc tests. The α of the Italian PIDAQ domains ranged between 0.79 and 0.92. The ICC was between 0.81 and 0.90. The mean scores of each PIDAQ domain showed a statistically significant difference when analysed according to the IOTN-AC and POS scores. The satisfactory psychometric properties make PIDAQ a usable tool for future studies on oral health-related quality of life among Italian young adults.

  16. Self-Regulated Strategies for School Writing Tasks: A Cross-Cultural Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malpique Anabela

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigated cross-cultural differences in ninth-grade students’ reported use of self-regulated strategies for writing. We assessed 12 self-regulated strategies for writing tapping environmental, behavioural, and personal self-regulated processes. Seven hundred and thirty-two Portuguese and Brazilian students in transition to high school (Mage = 14.3; 372 male and 306 female from mainstream urban schools reported on their use of the strategies. Statistical analyses included a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA with 12 dependent variables (self-regulated strategies for writing and 2 between-subjects variables (country and gender. There were significant main effects for country with medium effect sizes and statistically significant small effect sizes for gender main effects. All-male and all-female comparisons indicated significant differences and medium effect sizes within gender groups. The majority of the differences tapped personal self-regulated strategies. Taken together, these findings suggest that initiating and controlling writing may be a contextualised bounded process.

  17. Validation and Comparison of One-Dimensional Ground Motion Methodologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    B. Darragh; W. Silva; N. Gregor

    2006-01-01

    Both point- and finite-source stochastic one-dimensional ground motion models, coupled to vertically propagating equivalent-linear shear-wave site response models are validated using an extensive set of strong motion data as part of the Yucca Mountain Project. The validation and comparison exercises are presented entirely in terms of 5% damped pseudo absolute response spectra. The study consists of a quantitative analyses involving modeling nineteen well-recorded earthquakes, M 5.6 to 7.4 at over 600 sites. The sites range in distance from about 1 to about 200 km in the western US (460 km for central-eastern US). In general, this validation demonstrates that the stochastic point- and finite-source models produce accurate predictions of strong ground motions over the range of 0 to 100 km and for magnitudes M 5.0 to 7.4. The stochastic finite-source model appears to be broadband, producing near zero bias from about 0.3 Hz (low frequency limit of the analyses) to the high frequency limit of the data (100 and 25 Hz for response and Fourier amplitude spectra, respectively)

  18. Validation and Comparison of One-Dimensional Graound Motion Methodologies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    B. Darragh; W. Silva; N. Gregor

    2006-06-28

    Both point- and finite-source stochastic one-dimensional ground motion models, coupled to vertically propagating equivalent-linear shear-wave site response models are validated using an extensive set of strong motion data as part of the Yucca Mountain Project. The validation and comparison exercises are presented entirely in terms of 5% damped pseudo absolute response spectra. The study consists of a quantitative analyses involving modeling nineteen well-recorded earthquakes, M 5.6 to 7.4 at over 600 sites. The sites range in distance from about 1 to about 200 km in the western US (460 km for central-eastern US). In general, this validation demonstrates that the stochastic point- and finite-source models produce accurate predictions of strong ground motions over the range of 0 to 100 km and for magnitudes M 5.0 to 7.4. The stochastic finite-source model appears to be broadband, producing near zero bias from about 0.3 Hz (low frequency limit of the analyses) to the high frequency limit of the data (100 and 25 Hz for response and Fourier amplitude spectra, respectively).

  19. The DUNDRUM Quartet: validation of structured professional judgement instruments DUNDRUM-3 assessment of programme completion and DUNDRUM-4 assessment of recovery in forensic mental health services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McDonnell Kim

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Moving a forensic mental health patient from one level of therapeutic security to a lower level or to the community is influenced by more than risk assessment and risk management. We set out to construct and validate structured professional judgement instruments for consistency and transparency in decision making Methods Two instruments were developed, the seven-item DUNDRUM-3 programme completion instrument and the six item DUNDRUM-4 recovery instrument. These were assessed for all 95 forensic patients at Ireland's only forensic mental health hospital. Results The two instruments had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.911 and 0.887. Scores distinguished those allowed no leave or accompanied leave from those with unaccompanied leave (ANOVA F = 38.1 and 50.3 respectively, p Conclusions The DUNDRUM-3 programme completion items distinguished significantly between levels of therapeutic security while the DUNDRUM-4 recovery items consistently distinguished those given unaccompanied leave outside the hospital and those in the lowest levels of therapeutic security. This data forms the basis for a prospective study of outcomes now underway.

  20. Transferability of Skills: Convergent, Postdictive, Criterion-Related, and Construct Validation of Cross-Job Retraining Time Estimates

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kavanagh, Michael

    1997-01-01

    ... (job learning difficulty and cross-AFS differences in aptitude requirements), (b) XJRThs exhibited some postdictive validity when evaluated against Airman Retraining Program Survey retraining ease criteria, (c...

  1. Cross-cultural validation of Lupus Impact Tracker in five European clinical practice settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Matthias; Mosca, Marta; Pego-Reigosa, José-Maria; Gunnarsson, Iva; Maurel, Frédérique; Garofano, Anna; Perna, Alessandra; Porcasi, Rolando; Devilliers, Hervé

    2017-05-01

    The aim was to evaluate the cross-cultural validity of the Lupus Impact Tracker (LIT) in five European countries and to assess its acceptability and feasibility from the patient and physician perspectives. A prospective, observational, cross-sectional and multicentre validation study was conducted in clinical settings. Before the visit, patients completed LIT, Short Form 36 (SF-36) and care satisfaction questionnaires. During the visit, physicians assessed disease activity [Safety of Estrogens in Lupus Erythematosus National Assessment (SELENA)-SLEDAI], organ damage [SLICC/ACR damage index (SDI)] and flare occurrence. Cross-cultural validity was assessed using the Differential Item Functioning method. Five hundred and sixty-nine SLE patients were included by 25 specialists; 91.7% were outpatients and 89.9% female, with mean age 43.5 (13.0) years. Disease profile was as follows: 18.3% experienced flares; mean SELENA-SLEDAI score 3.4 (4.5); mean SDI score 0.8 (1.4); and SF-36 mean physical and mental component summary scores: physical component summary 42.8 (10.8) and mental component summary 43.0 (12.3). Mean LIT score was 34.2 (22.3) (median: 32.5), indicating that lupus moderately impacted patients' daily life. A cultural Differential Item Functioning of negligible magnitude was detected across countries (pseudo- R 2 difference of 0.01-0.04). Differences were observed between LIT scores and Physician Global Assessment, SELENA-SLEDAI, SDI scores = 0 (P cultural invariability across countries. They suggest that LIT can be used in routine clinical practice to evaluate and follow patient-reported outcomes in order to improve patient-physician interaction. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  2. Oxford Shoulder Score: A Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation Study of the Persian Version in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ebrahimzadeh, Mohammad H; Birjandinejad, Ali; Razi, Shiva; Mardani-Kivi, Mohsen; Reza Kachooei, Amir

    2015-09-01

    Oxford shoulder score is a specific 12-item patient-reported tool for evaluation of patients with inflammatory and degenerative disorders of the shoulder. Since its introduction, it has been translated and culturally adapted in some Western and Eastern countries. The aim of this study was to translate the Oxford Shoulder Score (OSS) in Persian and to test its validity and reliability in Persian speaking population in Iran. One hundred patients with degenerative or inflammatory shoulder problem participated in the survey in 2012. All patients completed the Persian version of OSS, Persian DASH and the SF-36 for testing validity. Randomly, 37 patients filled out the Persian OSS again three days after the initial visit to assess the reliability of the questionnaire. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.93. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.93. In terms of validity, there was a significant correlation between the Persian OSS and DASH and SF-36 scores (P Persian version of the OSS proved to be a valid, reliable, and reproducible tool as demonstrated by high Cronbach's alpha and Pearson's correlation coefficients. The Persian transcript of OSS is administrable to Persian speaking patients with shoulder condition and it is understandable by them.

  3. Cross-Cultural Validation of Stages of Exercise Change Scale among Chinese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keating, Xiaofen D.; Guan, Jianmin; Huang, Yong; Deng, Mingying; Wu, Yifeng; Qu, Shuhua

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of the study was to test the cross-cultural concurrent validity of the stages of exercise change scale (SECS) in Chinese college students. The original SECS was translated into Chinese (C-SECS). Students from four Chinese universities (N = 1843) participated in the study. The leisure-time exercise (LTE) questionnaire was used to…

  4. Weed Interference Effects on Leaves, Internode and Harvest Index of Dry Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein GHAMARI

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available The development of appropriate weed management strategies and efficient use of herbicides relies upon understanding weed-crop interactions. A field study was carried out to assess the effect of weed interference on leaves, internode and harvest index of dry bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.. The experiment was established under a randomized complete block design with two types of weed interference treatments: plots with weeds and plots without weeds at different time intervals (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 days after crop emergence. The sigmoid Boltzmann model was used to quantify the crop traits as influenced by weed interference. Prolonged delays in weed removal reduced gradually the number of leaves of the crop. Weed interference decreased dry weight of leaves as well, so that the lowest value of it (33.49 g plant-1 was observed in full season during weed-infested treatment. Infestation of weeds affected the length of the crop internodes. While the weed interference duration increased, the length of the internodes decreased. Harvest index was also sensitive to weed competition. As the crop was kept weed-infested from the emergence for increasing periods of time, harvest index decreased to a value of 28.01%. A significant negative correlation between total biomass of weeds and dry bean traits (number of leaves, leaves dry weight, internode length and harvest index was observed. Therefore, weeds are able to adversely affect dry bean growth through constraining environmental resources and impairing leaves as the photosynthetic areas.

  5. Does moonlighting influence South African nurses’ intention to leave their primary jobs?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laetitia C. Rispel

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Staff retention and turnover have risen in prominence in the global discourse on the health workforce. Moonlighting, having a second job in addition to a primary job, has not featured in debates on turnover. Objective: This paper examines whether moonlighting is a determinant of South African nurses’ intention to leave their primary jobs. Design: During 2010, a one-stage cluster random sample of 80 hospitals was selected in four South African provinces. On the survey day, all nurses working in critical care, theatre, emergency, maternity, and general medical and surgical wards completed a self-administered questionnaire after giving informed consent. In addition to demographic information and information on moonlighting, the questionnaire obtained information on the participants’ intention to leave their primary jobs in the 12 months following the survey. A weighted analysis of the survey data was done using STATA® 13. Results: Survey participants (n=3,784 were predominantly middle-aged with a mean age of 41.5 (SD±10.4 years. Almost one-third of survey participants (30.9% indicated that they planned to leave their jobs within 12 months. Intention to leave was higher among the moonlighters (39.5% compared to non-moonlighters (27.9%; p<0.001. Predictors of intention to leave in a multiple logistic regression were moonlighting in the preceding year, nursing category, sector of primary employment, period working at the primary job, and number of children. The odds of intention to leave was 1.40 (95% CI: 1.16–1.69 times higher for moonlighters than for non-moonlighters. The odds ratio of intention to leave was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.42–0.66 for nursing assistants compared to professional nurses and 2.09 (95% CI: 1.49–2.94 for nurses working for a commercial nursing agency compared to those working in the public sector. Conclusions: Moonlighting is a predictor of intention to leave. Both individual and organisational strategies are

  6. Validation of drying models and rehydration characteristics of betel (Piper betel L.) leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balasubramanian, S; Sharma, R; Gupta, R K; Patil, R T

    2011-12-01

    Effect of temperature on drying behaviour of betel leaves at drying air temperatures of 50, 60 and 70°C was investigated in tunnel as well as cabinet dryer. The L* and b* values increased whereas, a* values decreased, as the drying air temperature increased from 50 to 70°C in both the dryers, but the colour values remained higher for cabinet dryer than tunnel dryer in all cases. Eleven different drying models were compared according to their coefficients of determination (R(2)), root mean square error (RMSE) and chi square (χ (2)) to estimate drying curves. The results indicated that, logarithmic model and modified Page model could satisfactorily describe the drying curve of betel leaves for tunnel drying and cabinet dryer, respectively. In terms of colour quality, drying of betel leaves at 60°C in tunnel dryer and at 50°C in cabinet dryer was found optimum whereas, rehydration at 40°C produced the best acceptable product.

  7. What Strategies Do Physicians and Patients Discuss to Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs? Analysis of Cost-Saving Strategies in 1,755 Outpatient Clinic Visits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hunter, Wynn G; Zhang, Cecilia Z; Hesson, Ashley; Davis, J Kelly; Kirby, Christine; Williamson, Lillie D; Barnett, Jamison A; Ubel, Peter A

    2016-10-01

    More than 1 in 4 Americans report difficulty paying medical bills. Cost-reducing strategies discussed during outpatient physician visits remain poorly characterized. We sought to determine how often patients and physicians discuss health care costs during outpatient visits and what strategies, if any, they discussed to lower patient out-of-pocket costs. Retrospective analysis of dialogue from 1,755 outpatient visits in community-based practices nationwide from 2010 to 2014. The study population included 677 patients with breast cancer, 422 with depression, and 656 with rheumatoid arthritis visiting 56 oncologists, 36 psychiatrists, and 26 rheumatologists, respectively. Thirty percent of visits contained cost conversations (95% confidence interval [CI], 28 to 32). Forty-four percent of cost conversations involved discussion of cost-saving strategies (95% CI, 40 to 48; median duration, 68 s). We identified 4 strategies to lower costs without changing the care plan. They were, in order of overall frequency: 1) changing logistics of care, 2) facilitating co-pay assistance, 3) providing free samples, and 4) changing/adding insurance plans. We also identified 4 strategies to reduce costs by changing the care plan: 1) switching to lower-cost alternative therapy/diagnostic, 2) switching from brand name to generic, 3) changing dosage/frequency, and 4) stopping/withholding interventions. Strategies were relatively consistent across health conditions, except for switching to a lower-cost alternative (more common in breast oncology) and providing free samples (more common in depression). Focus on 3 conditions with potentially high out-of-pocket costs. Despite price opacity, physicians and patients discuss a variety of out-of-pocket cost reduction strategies during clinic visits. Almost half of cost discussions mention 1 or more cost-saving strategies, with more frequent mention of those not requiring care-plan changes. © The Author(s) 2016.

  8. Adding support to cross-cultural emotional assessment: Validation of the International Affective Picture System in a Chilean sample

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rocío Mayol Troncoso

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The present study aimed to obtain a valid set of images of the International Affective Picture System (Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2005 –a widely used instrumentation in emotion research- in a Chilean sample, as well as to compare these results with those obtained from the US study in order to contribute to its cross-cultural validation. A sample of 135 college students assessed 188 pictures according to standard instructions in valence and arousal dimensions. The results showed the expected organization of affectivity, with main variations between sex in valence judgments, and differences between countries in the arousal dimension. It is concluded that the Chilean adaptation of the IAPS is consistent with previous evidence, adding support to it cross-cultural validity.

  9. Out-of-the-Box Marketing Strategies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Joanna Warren

    1997-01-01

    The new definition of camp includes year-round camp programs for a variety of populations at multiple sites. Developing a marketing strategy involves creating a mission statement that is unique, publishing a year-round marketing strategy, delivering a consistent quality product, and getting people to talk about camp. Sidebar lists elements of how…

  10. Sound quality indicators for urban places in Paris cross-validated by Milan data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricciardi, Paola; Delaitre, Pauline; Lavandier, Catherine; Torchia, Francesca; Aumond, Pierre

    2015-10-01

    A specific smartphone application was developed to collect perceptive and acoustic data in Paris. About 3400 questionnaires were analyzed, regarding the global sound environment characterization, the perceived loudness of some emergent sources and the presence time ratio of sources that do not emerge from the background. Sound pressure level was recorded each second from the mobile phone's microphone during a 10-min period. The aim of this study is to propose indicators of urban sound quality based on linear regressions with perceptive variables. A cross validation of the quality models extracted from Paris data was carried out by conducting the same survey in Milan. The proposed sound quality general model is correlated with the real perceived sound quality (72%). Another model without visual amenity and familiarity is 58% correlated with perceived sound quality. In order to improve the sound quality indicator, a site classification was performed by Kohonen's Artificial Neural Network algorithm, and seven specific class models were developed. These specific models attribute more importance on source events and are slightly closer to the individual data than the global model. In general, the Parisian models underestimate the sound quality of Milan environments assessed by Italian people.

  11. Identification, validation and cross-species transferability of novel Lavandula EST-SSRs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adal, Ayelign M; Demissie, Zerihun A; Mahmoud, Soheil S

    2015-04-01

    We identified and characterized EST-SSRs with strong discrimination power against Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia . The markers also showed considerable cross-species transferability rate into six related Lavandula species. Lavenders (Lavandula) are important economical crops grown around the globe for essential oil production. In an attempt to develop genetic markers for these plants, we analyzed over 13,000 unigenes developed from L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia EST databases, and identified 3,459 simple sequence repeats (SSR), which were dominated by trinucleotides (41.2 %) and dinucleotides (31.45 %). Approximately, 19 % of the unigenes contained at least one SSR marker, over 60 % of which were localized in the UTRs. Only 252 EST-SSRs were 18 bp or longer from which 31 loci were validated, and 24 amplified discrete fragments with 85 % polymorphism in L. x intermedia and L. angustifolia. The average number of alleles in L. x intermedia and L. angustifolia were 3.42 and 3.71 per marker with average PIC values of 0.47 and 0.52, respectively. These values suggest a moderate to strong level of informativeness for the markers, with some loci producing unique fingerprints. The cross-species transferability rate of the markers ranges 50-100 % across eight species. The utility of these markers was assessed in eight Lavandula species and 15 L. angustifolia and L. x intermedia cultivars, and the dendrogram deduced from their similarity indexes successfully delineated the species into their respective sections and the cultivars into their respective species. These markers have potential for application in fingerprinting, diversity studies and marker-assisted breeding of Lavandula.

  12. Creation of knock out and knock in mice by CRISPR/Cas9 to validate candidate genes for human male infertility, interest, difficulties and feasibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kherraf, Zine-Eddine; Conne, Beatrice; Amiri-Yekta, Amir; Kent, Marie Christou; Coutton, Charles; Escoffier, Jessica; Nef, Serge; Arnoult, Christophe; Ray, Pierre F

    2018-06-15

    High throughput sequencing (HTS) and CRISPR/Cas9 are two recent technologies that are currently revolutionizing biological and clinical research. Both techniques are complementary as HTS permits to identify new genetic variants and genes involved in various pathologies and CRISPR/Cas9 permits to create animals or cell models to validate the effect of the identified variants, to characterize the pathogeny of the identified variants and the function of the genes of interest and ultimately to provide ways of correcting the molecular defects. We analyzed a cohort of 78 infertile men presenting with multiple morphological anomalies of the sperm flagella (MMAF), a severe form of male infertility. Using whole exome sequencing (WES), homozygous mutations in autosomal candidate genes were identified in 63% of the tested subjects. We decided to produce by CRISPR/cas9 four knock-out (KO) and one knock-in (KI) mouse lines to confirm these results and to increase our understanding of the physiopathology associated with these genetic variations. Overall 31% of the live pups obtained presented a mutational event in one of the targeted regions. All identified events were insertions or deletions localized near the PAM sequence. Surprisingly we observed a high rate of germline mosaicism as 30% of the F1 displayed a different mutation than the parental event characterized on somatic tissue (tail), indicating that CRISPR/Cas9 mutational events kept happening several cell divisions after the injection. Overall, we created mouse models for 5 distinct loci and in each case homozygous animals could be obtained in approximately 6 months. These results demonstrate that the combined use of WES and CRISPR/Cas9 is an efficient and timely strategy to identify and validate mutations responsible for infertility phenotypes in human. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Law, ethics and pandemic preparedness: the importance of cross-jurisdictional and cross-cultural perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Belinda; Carney, Terry

    2010-04-01

    To explore social equity, health planning, regulatory and ethical dilemmas in responding to a pandemic influenza (H5N1) outbreak, and the adequacy of protocols and standards such as the International Health Regulations (2005). This paper analyses the role of legal and ethical considerations for pandemic preparedness, including an exploration of the relevance of cross-jurisdictional and cross-cultural perspectives in assessing the validity of goals for harmonisation of laws and policies both within and between nations. Australian and international experience is reviewed in various areas, including distribution of vaccines during a pandemic, the distribution of authority between national and local levels of government, and global and regional equity issues for poorer countries. This paper finds that questions such as those of distributional justice (resource allocation) and regulatory frameworks raise important issues about the cultural and ethical acceptability of planning measures. Serious doubt is cast on a 'one size fits all' approach to international planning for managing a pandemic. It is concluded that a more nuanced approach than that contained in international guidelines may be required if an effective response is to be constructed internationally. The paper commends the wisdom of reliance on 'soft law', international guidance that leaves plenty of room for each nation to construct its response in conformity with its own cultural and value requirements. © 2010 The Authors. Journal Compilation © 2010 Public Health Association of Australia.

  14. Impact of DC link control strategies on the power-flow convergence of integrated AC–DC systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shagufta Khan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available For the power-flow solution of integrated AC–DC systems, five quantities are required to be solved per converter, against three independent equations available. These three equations consist of two basic converter equations and one DC network equation, corresponding to each converter. Thus, for solution, two additional equations are required. These two equations are derived from the control specifications adopted for the DC link. Depending on the application, several combinations of valid control specifications are possible. A set of valid control specifications constitutes a control strategy. It is observed that the control strategy adopted for the DC link strongly affects the power-flow convergence of integrated AC–DC systems. This paper investigates how different control strategies affect the power flow convergence of integrated AC–DC systems. Sequential method is used to solve the DC variables in the Newton Raphson (NR power flow model. Seven typical control strategies have been taken into consideration. This is validated by numerous case studies carried out with multiple DC links incorporated in the IEEE 118-bus and 300-bus test systems.

  15. The modified patient enablement instrument: a Portuguese cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remelhe, Mafalda; Teixeira, Pedro M; Lopes, Irene; Silva, Luís; Correia de Sousa, Jaime

    2017-01-12

    Enabling patients with asthma to obtain the knowledge, confidence and skills they need in order to assume a major role in the management of their disease is cost effective. It should be an integral part of any plan for long-term control of asthma. The modified Patient Enablement Instrument (mPEI) is an easily administered questionnaire that was adapted in the United Kingdom to measure patient enablement in asthma, but its applicability in Portugal is not known. Validity and reliability of questionnaires should be tested before use in settings different from those of the original version. The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the mPEI to Portuguese asthma patients after translation and cross-cultural adaptation, and to verify the structural validity, internal consistency and reproducibility of the instrument. The mPEI was translated to Portuguese and back translated to English. Its content validity was assessed by a debriefing interview with 10 asthma patients. The translated instrument was then administered to a random sample of 142 patients with persistent asthma. Structural validity and internal consistency were assessed. For reproducibility analysis, 86 patients completed the instrument again 7 days later. Item-scale correlations and exploratory factor analysis were used to assess structural validity. Cronbach's alpha was used to test internal consistency, and the intra-class correlation coefficient was used for the analysis of reproducibility. All items of the Portuguese version of the mPEI were found to be equivalent to the original English version. There were strong item-scale correlations that confirmed construct validity, with a one component structure and good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha >0.8) as well as high test-retest reliability (ICC=0.85). The mPEI showed sound psychometric properties for the evaluation of enablement in patients with asthma making it a reliable instrument for use in research and clinical practice in

  16. Film Cross-culture Research under the Perspective of Language and Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    罗淞译

    2015-01-01

    Language as an important tool of cultural transmission, it can achieve the cross-culture development of film. With the strength of globalization, film cross-culture communication are increasing, and how to enhance the communication of film through language and culture and let more people enjoy the thought expressed in film is one of the most important content for cross-culture development of mant films. Different cultural backgrounds will produce large diversities in watching a same film, so it is helpful for the cross-culture development of film when making good use of culture and language, on the contrary, it will become a hindrance. This article do research on cross-culture development of film under the perspective of language and culture to find out the existing problems in present cross-culture development of film and put forward effective resolution strategy in order to promote certain reference for the internationalization of China’s film industry.

  17. The maternal health outcomes of paid maternity leave: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aitken, Zoe; Garrett, Cameryn C; Hewitt, Belinda; Keogh, Louise; Hocking, Jane S; Kavanagh, Anne M

    2015-04-01

    Paid maternity leave has become a standard benefit in many countries throughout the world. Although maternal health has been central to the rationale for paid maternity leave, no review has specifically examined the effect of paid maternity leave on maternal health. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of studies that examine the association between paid maternity leave and maternal health. We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts) and Google Scholar. We searched websites of relevant organisations, reference lists of key papers and journals, and citation indices for additional studies including those not in refereed journals. There were no language restrictions. Studies were included if they compared paid maternity leave versus no paid maternity leave, or different lengths of paid leave. Data were extracted and an assessment of bias was performed independently by authors. Seven studies were identified, with participants from Australia, Sweden, Norway, USA, Canada, and Lebanon. All studies used quantitative methodologies, including cohort, cross-sectional, and repeated cross-sectional designs. Outcomes included mental health and wellbeing, general health, physical wellbeing, and intimate partner violence. The four studies that examined leave at an individual level showed evidence of maternal health benefits, whereas the three studies conducting policy-level comparisons reported either no association or evidence of a negative association. The synthesis of the results suggested that paid maternity leave provided maternal health benefits, although this varied depending on the length of leave. This has important implications for public health and social policy. However, all studies were subject to confounding bias and many to reverse causation. Given the small number of studies and the methodological limitations of the evidence, longitudinal studies are

  18. Space and place in researching male early high school leaving in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Space and place in researching male early high school leaving in Orange Farm Township. ... South African Journal of Education ... I reflect on the methodological processes underpinning a dissertation that investigated male learners' reasons for leaving high school early and the strategies they employed to negotiate ...

  19. Compact fitting formulas for electron-impact cross sections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Y.K.

    1992-01-01

    Compact fitting formulas, which contain four fitting constants, are presented for electron-impact excitation and ionization cross sections of atoms and ions. These formulas can fit experimental and theoretical cross sections remarkably well, when resonant structures are smoothed out, from threshold to high incident electron energies (<10 keV), beyond which relativistic formulas are more appropriate. Examples of fitted cross sections for some atoms and ions are presented. The basic form of the formula is valid for both atoms and molecules

  20. Developing a validation for environmental sustainability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adewale, Bamgbade Jibril; Mohammed, Kamaruddeen Ahmed; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Aziz, Zulkifli

    2016-08-01

    One of the agendas for addressing environmental protection in construction is to reduce impacts and make the construction activities more sustainable. This important consideration has generated several research interests within the construction industry, especially considering the construction damaging effects on the ecosystem, such as various forms of environmental pollution, resource depletion and biodiversity loss on a global scale. Using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling technique, this study validates environmental sustainability (ES) construct in the context of large construction firms in Malaysia. A cross-sectional survey was carried out where data was collected from Malaysian large construction firms using a structured questionnaire. Results of this study revealed that business innovativeness and new technology are important in determining environmental sustainability (ES) of the Malaysian construction firms. It also established an adequate level of internal consistency reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity for each of this study's constructs. And based on this result, it could be suggested that the indicators for organisational innovativeness dimensions (business innovativeness and new technology) are useful to measure these constructs in order to study construction firms' tendency to adopt environmental sustainability (ES) in their project execution.

  1. Creating Cross-disciplinary Courses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Elaine R

    2012-01-01

    Because of its focus on the biological underpinnings of action and behavior, neuroscience intersects with many fields of human endeavor. Some of these cross-disciplinary intersections have been long standing, while others, such as neurotheology or neuroeconomics, are more recently formed fields. Many undergraduate institutions have sought to include cross-disciplinary courses in their curriculum because this style of pedagogy is often seen as applicable to real world problems. However, it can be difficult for faculty with specialized training within their discipline to expand beyond their own fields to offer cross-disciplinary courses. I have been creating a series of multi- or cross-disciplinary courses and have found some strategies that have helped me successfully teach these classes. I will discuss general strategies and tools in developing these types of courses including: 1) creating mixed experience classrooms of students and contributing faculty 2) finding the right tools that will allow you to teach to a mixed population without prerequisites 3) examining the topic using multiple disciplinary perspectives 4) feeding off student experience and interest 5) assessing the impact of these courses on student outcomes and your neuroscience program. This last tool in particular is important in establishing the validity of this type of teaching for neuroscience students and the general student population.

  2. [Return to Work Strategies of Employees who Experienced Depression: Employers and HR's Perspectives].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Corbière, Marc; Lecomte, Tania; Lachance, Jean-Philippe; Coutu, Marie-France; Negrini, Alessia; Laberon, Sonia

    Major depression is one of the leading causes of work disability across the world. In Canada, the lifetime prevalence of depression varies from 10 to 12%. Depression impacts not only the employee who is often stigmatized and can lose his professional identity, but also has consequences on colleagues and supervisors in organizations. In the literature, four models are described from which employers and managers use in their organizations to make decisions regarding the work disability of employees on sick leave: biomedical, financial management, personnel management, and organizational development. These models can also be supported by economic, legal and ethical interests. Even though these models are essential to better understand the decision of employers and HR regarding work disability, information remains scarce regarding the concrete strategies used by these stakeholders to facilitate the return to work for employees on sick leave due to depression.Objectives the aim of this paper is to document, considering employers' and human resources' perspectives, the best strategies to put in place to facilitate the return to work of employees on sick leave due to depression.Method This study was part of a larger study carried out in Canada to assess factors influencing the return to work after a depression-related sick leave, taking into account the viewpoint of four types of stakeholders: employers/human resources, supervisors, unions and people diagnosed with depression. 219 employers (68.5%) and human resources directors (31.5%) from 82.6% organizations having more than 100 employees accepted to answer a telephone semi-structured interview. The question of interest in this study is: In your opinion, what are the best strategies to help an employee who has had a depression to return to work? Coding was influenced by empirical findings and theories related to psychosocial risk factors that the authors use in their respective disciplines as well as return to work

  3. Assessing predictors of intention to prescribe sick leave among primary care physicians using the theory of planned behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swarna Nantha, Yogarabindranath; Wee, Lei Hum; Chan, Caryn Mei-Hsien

    2018-01-16

    Providing sickness certification is a decision that primary care physicians make on a daily basis. The majority of sickness certification studies in the literature involve a general assessment of physician or patient behaviour without the use of a robust psychological framework to guide research accuracy. To address this deficiency, this study utilized the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to specifically gauge the intention and other salient predictors related to sickness certification prescribing behaviour amongst primary care physicians. A cross-sectional study was conducted among N = 271 primary care physicians from 86 primary care practices throughout two states in Malaysia. Questionnaires used were specifically developed based on the TPB, consisting of both direct and indirect measures related to the provision of sickness leave. Questionnaire validity was established through factor analysis and the determination of internal consistency between theoretically related constructs. The temporal stability of the indirect measures was determined via the test-retest correlation analysis. Structural equation modelling was conducted to determine the strength of predictors related to intentions. The mean scores for intention to provide patients with sickness was low. The Cronbach α value for the direct measures was good: overall physician intent to provide sick leave (0.77), physician attitude towards prescribing sick leave for patients (0.77) and physician attitude in trusting the intention of patients seeking sick leave (0.83). The temporal stability of the indirect measures of the questionnaire was satisfactory with significant correlation between constructs separated by an interval of two weeks (p sick leave to patients. An integrated behavioural model utilizing the TPB could help fully explain the complex act of providing sickness leave to patients. Findings from this study could assist relevant agencies to facilitate the creation of policies that may help

  4. Validating a Spanish Version of the PIMRS: Application in National and Cross-National Research on Instructional Leadership

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fromm, Germán; Hallinger, Philip; Volante, Paulo; Wang, Wen Chung

    2017-01-01

    The purposes of this study were to report on a systematic approach to validating a Spanish version of the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale and then to apply the scale in a cross-national comparison of principal instructional leadership. The study yielded a validated Spanish language version of the PIMRS Teacher Form and offers a…

  5. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Italian version of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic Shoulder and Elbow score.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merolla, Giovanni; Corona, Katia; Zanoli, Gustavo; Cerciello, Simone; Giannotti, Stefano; Porcellini, Giuseppe

    2017-12-01

    The Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic (KJOC) Shoulder and Elbow score is a reliable and sensitive tool to measure the performance of overhead athletes. The purpose of this study was to carry out a cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the KJOC questionnaire in Italian and to assess its reliability, validity, and responsiveness. Ninety professional athletes with a painful shoulder were included in this study and were assigned to the "injury group" (n = 32) or the "overuse group" (n = 58); 65 were managed conservatively and 25 were treated by arthroscopic surgery. To assess the reliability of the KJOC score, patients were asked to fill in the questionnaire at baseline and after 2 weeks. To test the construct validity, KJOC scores were compared to those obtained with the Italian version of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) scale, and with the DASH sports/performing arts module. To test KJOC score responsiveness, the follow-up KJOC scores of the participants treated conservatively were compared to those of the patients treated by arthroscopic surgery. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the KJOC questionnaire is reliable in terms of the single items and the overall score (ICC 0.95-0.99); that it has high construct validity (r s  = -0.697; p differences in shoulder function (p < 0.0001). The Italian version of the KJOC Shoulder and Elbow score performed in a similar way to the English version and demonstrated good validity, reliability, and responsiveness after conservative and surgical treatment. II.

  6. Potato Sprout Inhibition and Tuber Quality after Post-Harvest Treatment with Rosemary (Rosmarinus Officinalis L.) Leaves and Branches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Talei, Daryush; Bina, Fatemeh; Valdiani, Alireza

    2017-01-01

    Storage of potatoes is one of the most important concerns in maintaining freshness and nutritional quality in the storage process. To achieve this, an experiment was carried out with five different storage conditions at various temperatures using fresh rosemary leaves and branches with three...... replicates. The results revealed that storage of potatoes at 25°C with rosemary leaves and branches resulted in the lowest sprout development and weight loss after 10 weeks. This was significantly different from either 4°C or 30°C. The findings indicated the potential of rosemary fresh leaves and branches...

  7. Saved Leave Scheme (SLS) : Simplified procedure for the transfer of leave to saved leave accounts

    CERN Multimedia

    HR Division

    2001-01-01

    As part of the process of streamlining procedures, the HR and AS Divisions have jointly developed a system whereby annual and compensatory leave will henceforth be automatically transferred1) to saved leave accounts. Under the provisions of the voluntary saved leave scheme (SLS), a maximum total of 10 days'2) annual and compensatory leave (excluding saved leave accumulated in accordance with the provisions of Administrative Circular No. 22 B) can be transferred to the saved leave account at the end of the leave year (30 September). Previously, every person taking part in the scheme has been individually issued with a form for the purposes of requesting the transfer of leave to the leave account and the transfer has then had to be done manually by HR Division. To streamline the procedure, unused leave of all those taking part in the saved leave scheme at the closure of of the leave-year accounts will henceforth be transferred automatically to the saved leave account on that date. This simplification is in the ...

  8. Cross-border regional innovation systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Makkonen, Teemu; Rohde, Stephan

    2016-01-01

    . This paper discusses the reasons behind this mismatch which means that the concept still rests upon and draws policy suggestions based on a thin evidence base. Directions for further research are pointed out by underlining the need for holistic empirical validations of the concept together with the need......The concept of cross-border regional innovation systems (CBRIS) surfaced in the literature on economic geography through discourses that highlighted the need of broadening innovation systems to cross-border contexts. Since these early discussions, the theoretical backgrounds of CBRIS have been...

  9. A validity assessment of the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI)™.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desiere, Sam; Vellema, Wytse; D'Haese, Marijke

    2015-04-01

    Development organisations need easy-to-use and quick-to-implement indicators to quantify poverty when requested to measure program impact. In this paper we assess the validity of the Progress out of Poverty Index (PPI)™, a country-specific indicator based on ten closed questions on directly observable household characteristics, by its compliance to the SMART criteria. Each response receives a pre-determined score, such that the sum of these scores can be converted into the likelihood the household is living below the poverty line. We focus on the PPI scorecard for Rwanda, which was validated using two national household surveys conducted in 2005/06 and 2010/11. The PPI is Specific, Measurable, Available cost effectively, and Timely available. Yet, its Relevance depends on the way it is used. Although it accurately distinguishes poor from non-poor households, making it a useful reporting tool, its limited sensitivity to changes in poverty status restricts its usefulness for evaluating the impact of development projects. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Paid Family Leave, Fathers' Leave-Taking, and Leave-Sharing in Dual-Earner Households.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartel, Anne P; Rossin-Slater, Maya; Ruhm, Christopher J; Stearns, Jenna; Waldfogel, Jane

    Using difference-in-difference and difference-in-difference-in-difference designs, we study California's Paid Family Leave (CA-PFL) program, the first source of government-provided paid parental leave available to fathers in the Unites States. Relative to the pre-treatment mean, fathers of infants in California are 46 percent more likely to be on leave when CA-PFL is available. In households where both parents work, we find suggestive evidence that CA-PFL increases both father-only leave-taking (i.e., father on leave while mother is at work) and joint leave-taking (i.e., both parents on leave at the same time). Effects are larger for fathers of first-born children than for fathers of later-born children.

  11. The Intersection between Out-of-Class Language Learning Strategies and In-Class Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saad, Noor Saazai Mat; Yunus, Melor Md; Embi, Mohamed Amin

    2013-01-01

    Studies on out-of-class language learning strategies (OCLLSs) are usually divorced from the activities in class. Thus, this study addresses the connection of the two entities. The participants in this study were nine international postgraduate students who were undergoing their English language proficiency course in an institution in Malaysia.…

  12. The In-Out dispositional affective style questionnaire (IN-OUT DASQ: an exploratory factorial analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viridiana eMazzola

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The issue of individual differences has always been an important area of research in psychology and, more recently, neuroimaging. A major source of interindividual variability stems from differences in basic affective dispositions. In order to make a contribution to this field of research, we have developed a new type of assessment - the In-Out Dispositional Affective Style Questionnaire (IN-OUT DASQ - to measure the proneness between two different ways of feeling situated: a predominantly body-bound one in the case of the inward tendency and an externally anchored one in the case of the outward tendency (Arciero and Bondolfi, 2009. The IN-OUT DASQ contains 2 scales of 7 items each, Self-centric engagement (SCE and Other-centric engagement (OCE, as a disposition index for inwardness and outwardness respectively. The exploratory factor analysis in sample 1 (n= 292 confirmed a two-factor solution. Confirmatory factor analysis in sample 2 (n= 300 showed the good fit of this two-factor model. Next, we examined construct validity also investigating the correlations between the IN-OUT DASQ, the Big Five Questionnaire and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule in sample 3 (n=153. The SCE and OCE scales had robust internal consistency and reliability, and therefore the capacity to discriminate higher inward and outward participants was stronger in SCE. Although further validation research is required, the present study suggests the IN-OUT DASQ has the potential to be a measurement tool for detecting individual differences in social behavior and social affective neuroscience.

  13. Validation of KENO V.a. and two cross-section libraries for criticality calculations of low-enriched uranium systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Easter, M.E.

    1985-07-01

    The SCALE code system, utilizing the Monte Carlo computer code KENO V.a, was employed to calculate 37 critical experiments. The critical assemblies had 235 U enrichments of 5% or less and cover a variety of geometries and materials. Values of k/sub eff/ were calculated using two different results using either of the cross-section libraries. The 16-energy-group Hansen-Roach and the 27-energy-group ENDF/B-IV cross-section libraries, available in SCALE, were used in this validation study, and both give good results for the experiments considered. It is concluded that the code and cross sections are adequate for low-enriched uranium systems and that reliable criticality safety calculations can be made for such systems provided the limits of validated applicability are not exceeded

  14. Developing the Polish Educational Needs Assessment Tool (Pol-ENAT) in rheumatoid arthritis and systemic sclerosis: a cross-cultural validation study using Rasch analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierakowska, Matylda; Sierakowski, Stanisław; Sierakowska, Justyna; Horton, Mike; Ndosi, Mwidimi

    2015-03-01

    To undertake cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the educational needs assessment tool (ENAT) for use with people with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic sclerosis (SSc) in Poland. The study involved two main phases: (1) cross-cultural adaptation of the ENAT from English into Polish and (2) Cross-cultural validation of Polish Educational Needs Assessment Tool (Pol-ENAT). The first phase followed an established process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. The second phase involved completion of the Pol-ENAT by patients and subjecting the data to Rasch analysis to assess the construct validity, unidimensionality, internal consistency and cross-cultural invariance. An adequate conceptual equivalence was achieved following the adaptation process. The dataset for validation comprised a total of 278 patients, 237 (85.3 %) of which were female. In each disease group (145, RA and 133, SSc), the 7 domains of the Pol-ENAT were found to fit the Rasch model, X (2)(df) = 16.953(14), p = 0.259 and 8.132(14), p = 0.882 for RA and SSc, respectively. Internal consistency of the Pol-ENAT was high (patient separation index = 0.85 and 0.89 for SSc and RA, respectively), and unidimensionality was confirmed. Cross-cultural differential item functioning (DIF) was detected in some subscales, and DIF-adjusted conversion tables were calibrated to enable cross-cultural comparison of data between Poland and the UK. Using a standard process in cross-cultural adaptation, conceptual equivalence was achieved between the original (UK) ENAT and the adapted Pol-ENAT. Fit to the Rasch model, confirmed that the construct validity, unidimensionality and internal consistency of the ENAT have been preserved.

  15. Towards the Adriatic meteotsunami early warning system: modelling strategy and validation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denamiel, Clea; Šepić, Jadranka; Vilibić, Ivica

    2017-04-01

    Destructive meteotsunamis are known to occur along the eastern Adriatic coastal areas and islands (Vilibić and Šepić, 2009). The temporal lag between the offshore generation of meteotsunamis due to specific atmospheric conditions and the arrival of a dangerous nearshore propagating wave at known locations is of the order of tens of minutes to a couple of hours. In order to reduce the coastal risk for the coastal communities, an early warning system must rely on the ability to detect these extreme storms offshore with in-situ measurements and to predict the hydrodynamic response nearshore via numerical models within this short time lag. However, the numerical modelling of meteotsunamis requires both temporal and spatial high-resolution atmospheric and ocean models which are highly demanding concerning time and computer resources. Furthermore, both a multi-model approach and an ensemble modelling strategy should be used to better forecast the distribution of the nearshore impact of meteotsunamis. The modelling strategy used in this study thus rely on the development of an operational atmosphere-ocean model of the Adriatic Sea at 1km spatial resolution based on the state-of-the-art fully coupled COAWST model (Warner et al., 2010). The model allows for generation of meteotsunamis offshore, while various high-resolution (up to 5m) nearshore hydrodynamic models (such as ADCIRC - Luettich and Westerink, 1991; SELFE - Zhang et al., 2008 and GeoClaw - LeVeque, 2012) are setup to properly reproduce meteotsunami dynamics of the entire Croatian coastal areas, which are characterized by a great number of islands, channels and bays. The implementation and validation of each component of this modelling system is first undertaken for the well documented meteotsunami event (Šepić et al., 2016), which was recorded along the Croatian Adriatic coast on the 25th and the 26th of June 2014. The validation of the modelling strategy as well as the model results is presented and

  16. Validity and Utilization of the Out-Pile Testing Facilities at HANARO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choo, Kee-Nam; Cho, Man-Soon; Yang, Sung-Woo; Shin, Yoon-Taek; Park, Seng-Jae; Jun, Byung-Hyuk; Kim, Myong-Seop [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    Various neutron irradiation facilities such as rabbit irradiation facilities, loop facilities and the capsule irradiation facilities for irradiation tests of nuclear materials, fuels and radioisotope products have been developed at HANARO. Among these irradiation facilities, the capsule is the most useful device for coping with the various test requirements at HANARO. To support the national research and development programs on nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle technology in Korea, new irradiation capsules have been developed and actively utilized for the irradiation tests requested by numerous users. The environmental conditions for these reactors are generally beyond present day reactor technology, especially regarding the higher neutron fluence and higher operating temperature. To effectively support the national R and Ds relevant to the future nuclear systems, the development of advanced irradiation technologies concerning higher neutron fluence and irradiation temperature are being preferentially developed at HANARO. The utilization of the out-pile testing facilities to satisfy the criteria of safety evaluation for a new device installed in the core of HANARO was summarized. In addition, the validity of the out-pile testing facilities was evaluated and proved to be effective for verifying the integrity of irradiation capsule.

  17. Validity and Utilization of the Out-Pile Testing Facilities at HANARO

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choo, Kee-Nam; Cho, Man-Soon; Yang, Sung-Woo; Shin, Yoon-Taek; Park, Seng-Jae; Jun, Byung-Hyuk; Kim, Myong-Seop

    2016-01-01

    Various neutron irradiation facilities such as rabbit irradiation facilities, loop facilities and the capsule irradiation facilities for irradiation tests of nuclear materials, fuels and radioisotope products have been developed at HANARO. Among these irradiation facilities, the capsule is the most useful device for coping with the various test requirements at HANARO. To support the national research and development programs on nuclear reactors and the nuclear fuel cycle technology in Korea, new irradiation capsules have been developed and actively utilized for the irradiation tests requested by numerous users. The environmental conditions for these reactors are generally beyond present day reactor technology, especially regarding the higher neutron fluence and higher operating temperature. To effectively support the national R and Ds relevant to the future nuclear systems, the development of advanced irradiation technologies concerning higher neutron fluence and irradiation temperature are being preferentially developed at HANARO. The utilization of the out-pile testing facilities to satisfy the criteria of safety evaluation for a new device installed in the core of HANARO was summarized. In addition, the validity of the out-pile testing facilities was evaluated and proved to be effective for verifying the integrity of irradiation capsule

  18. Survey of parental-leave policies and experiences in Ontario academic departments of psychiatry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, D E; Richardson, B; Lent, B

    1998-11-01

    To analyze psychiatrists' self-reports on a survey of faculty parental leaves conducted in 5 Ontario faculties of medicine. A self-report questionnaire was mailed to all Ontario academic medical faculty members requesting information on demographics, parenting status, knowledge of parental-leave policies, personal and collegial experience of recent parental leave, and opinions about ideal parental-leave policies. The survey yielded a 48.6% response rate (3104 respondents). Of the respondents, 318 (10.2%) were academic psychiatrists and 113 (35.5%) of them had or adopted children since 1990. Of the 113 recent parents, 59 (53.2%) did not know their official university parental-leave policy. Fifty-one (48.1%) psychiatrists had recently taken parental leave (30 female, 21 male). Of these, females (26, 86.7%) were more likely than males (0%) to take more than 8 weeks' leave (P = 0.001). The income paid during parental leave was highly variable. Although 192 (64.4%) psychiatrists recommended that temporary replacements be hired and 175 (59.1%) recommended that the replacements be paid from a common faculty risk pool, replacements were hired for only 7 (13.7%) recent leaves. This replacement rate for psychiatry parental leaves was the second lowest of 8 medical specialties. Several leave takers felt that the leave negatively affected their research (32, 32.7%), administration (24, 23.3%), overall career course (23, 21.5%), colleagues' workload (27, 26.2), clinical work (19, 18.3%), teaching (18, 17.3%) and colleagues' attitudes toward them (11, 10.4%). Although 220 (71.5%) academic psychiatrists recommended paid leave to the primary caregiver for 16 or more weeks, 88 (28.6%) recommended less than the 17-week national standard. For secondary caregivers, 202 (66.0%) academic psychiatrists recommended a paid leave of 1-8 weeks, but 63 (20.6%) recommended paid leave for less than 1 week. One hundred and fifty-four psychiatrists (53.1%) recommended that parental-leave income

  19. The Child Dental Control Assessment (CDCA) in youth: reliability, validity and cross-cultural differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coolidge, T; Heima, M; Heaton, L J; Nakai, Y; Höskuldsson, O; Smith, T A; Weinstein, P; Milgrom, P

    2005-03-01

    The Child Dental Control Assessment (CDCA) measures children's preferred control strategies in the dental situation. Three studies are reported, assessing aspects of this instrument in youths from the USA, Japan and Australia. In particular, measurements were made as to the reliability and validity of this instrument in this age group in the three cultures, as well as comparing some results across cultures. These studies used a questionnaire design. Questionnaires (including the CDCA and other measures) were given to youths aged 11-15 in the three cultures. In one culture, youths received the questionnaire twice, to compute test-retest reliability. The measure's reliability and validity were similar to those of other measures. The CDCA behaves similarly to the Revised Iowa Dental Control Index (R-IDCI). Youths in all three cultures showed similar responses, although the Japanese were less likely to endorse items. Internal reliability of the scale ranged from 0.74 to 0.85. Test- retest reliability was 0.74. Participants in the High Desire/Low Predicted classification on the R-IDCI scored higher on the CDCA (t (73) = 2.9, p < .01). In the Japanese and Australian samples the correlation between CDCA and dental fear was 0.29-0.33 (p < .001). The Australian and USA samples scored significantly higher than the Japanese sample (overall F(2,1544) = 383.98, p < .001, followed by Tukey's HSD, p < .001). These results provide evidence for the reliability and validity of the CDCA in youth. It appears to measure the discrepancy between Desired and Predicted Control identified in the Revised Iowa Dental Control Index (R-IDCI). Responses of the youth in all three cultures were similar, indicating common dental control preferences for individuals of this age. However, consistent with cultural values, Japanese youth were less likely to endorse the control strategies. These results underline the need to develop culturally-specific, as well as situationally-specific control measures.

  20. Paid Family Leave, Fathers' Leave-Taking, and Leave-Sharing in Dual-Earner Households

    OpenAIRE

    Bartel, Ann P.; Rossin-Slater, Maya; Ruhm, Christopher J.; Stearns, Jenna; Waldfogel, Jane

    2015-01-01

    This paper provides quasi-experimental evidence on the impact of paid leave legislation on fathers' leave-taking, as well as on the division of leave between mothers and fathers in dual-earner households. Using difference-in-difference and difference-in-difference-in-difference designs, we study California's Paid Family Leave (CA-PFL) program, which is the first source of government-provided paid parental leave available to fathers in the United States. Our results show that fathers in Califo...

  1. Investigation of Separate Meter-In Separate Meter-Out Control Strategies for Systems with Over Centre Valves

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Henrik C.; Andersen, Torben Ole; Hansen, Rico Hjerm

    2010-01-01

    to overcome this problem, but it typically implies higher energy consumption and/or decreased control performance. With the development of robust sensors and new valve types with separate meter-in, separate meter-out control it is, however, possible to overcome these stability problems in a much more...... intelligent way, also adding increased functionality to the system. The focus of the current paper is therefore on investigation of different control strategies for Separate Meter-In Separate Meter-Out (SMISMO) control of general single axis hydraulic system with a differential cylinder and an over......-centre valve included. The paper first presents a general model of the system considered, which is experimentally verified. This is followed by a discussion of different control strategies and their implications. For each of the control strategies controllers are described, taking into account the dynamics...

  2. The arts in and out of school: Educational policy, provision and practice in Ireland today

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siobhán Dowling Long

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The debate relating to the place and value of the arts in Irish Education is one that has dominated educational policy, provision, and practice down through the history of Irish educational policy from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Indeed, interest in this topic has been re-ignited with the recent publication of two educational policy documents, one based on the arts-in-education in and out of school The Arts in Education Charter (2013, and the other on the development of children and young people’s literacy and numeracy Literacy and Numeracy For Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011––2020 (2011. Despite the Irish Government’s commitments to promote the arts in and out of school, this paper draws attention to the lack of any real investment in the Arts in Education Charter by the Irish Government, and the neglect of policymakers to include references to national and international educational research on the value of the arts for enhancing children’s life-long learning. Noting the pressures on primary teachers to allocate more time to the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, it highlights the potential threat of this initiative to the primary school arts education programme. Finally, it draws attention to the notable absence of an arts education programme for the majority of senior post-primary pupils who leave school without any in-depth knowledge and appreciation of their rich cultural heritage. This is an area of grave concern, and one that has received very little, if any, attention to date.

  3. The Arts In and Out of School: Educational Policy, Provision and Practice in Ireland Today

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siobhán Dowling LONG

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The debate relating to the place and value of the arts in Irish Education is one that has dominated educational policy, provision, and practice down through the history of Irish educational policy from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Indeed, interest in this topic has been re-ignited with the recent publication of two educational policy documents, one based on the arts-in-education in and out of school The Arts in Education Charter (2013, and the other on the development of children and young people’s literacy and numeracy Literacy and Numeracy For Learning and Life: The National Strategy to Improve Literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People 2011––2020 (2011. Despite the Irish Government’s commitments to promote the arts in and out of school, this paper draws attention to the lack of any real investment in the Arts in Education Charter by the Irish Government, and the neglect of policymakers to include references to national and international educational research on the value of the arts for enhancing children’s life-long learning. Noting the pressures on primary teachers to allocate more time to the Literacy and Numeracy Strategy, it highlights the potential threat of this initiative to the primary school arts education programme. Finally, it draws attention to the notable absence of an arts education programme for the majority of senior post-primary pupils who leave school without any in-depth knowledge and appreciation of their rich cultural heritage. This is an area of grave concern, and one that has received very little, if any, attention to date.

  4. Quantification of the antiplasmodial alkaloid carpaine in papaya (Carica papaya) leaves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julianti, Tasqiah; Oufir, Mouhssin; Hamburger, Matthias

    2014-08-01

    Daily consumption of papaya (Carica papaya) leaves as greens and an herbal infusion is common in some parts of Indonesia as a means for preventing malaria. Antiplasmodial activity of the leaf extracts and of the main alkaloid carpaine were recently confirmed. A quantitative assay for determination of carpaine in papaya leaves was developed and validated. The assay involved pressurized liquid extraction and quantification with the aid of ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy. Extraction conditions were optimized with respect to solvent, temperature, and number of extraction cycles. The ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy assay was validated over a range of 20-5000 ng/mL (R(2) of 0.9908). A total of 29 papaya leaf samples were analyzed, and carpaine concentration in dry leaves was found to range from 0.02 to 0.31%. No obvious dependence on geographic origin and leaf maturity was observed. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  5. [Maternity leave and experience of working mothers in Lebanon].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saadé, N; Barbour, B; Salameh, P

    2010-09-01

    We conducted a cross-sectional study of 802 Lebanese mothers to evaluate effect of rapid return to work on their health and that of their child. Breastfeeding practices were also assessed. The duration of maternity leave was insufficient for 72.8% of the women. Rapid return to work could cause physical and psychological problems depending on the type of work. The average length of breastfeeding was 4.7 months and while the average desired length was 10.9 months. Breastfeeding depended on the duration of the maternity leave, the possibility of breaks for breastfeeding and the presence of nurseries at work. Urgent interventions are necessary to prolong maternity leave and promote breastfeeding among working women.

  6. Adaptation and Validation of the Teacher Emotional Labour Strategy Scale in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Hongbiao

    2012-01-01

    The present study reports the adaptation and validation of the Teacher Emotional Labour Strategy Scale (TELSS) as tested on samples of 633 Beijing teachers and 648 Chongqing teachers in Chinese mainland. Results show that the 13-item TELSS adapted for this study had good internal consistency on three subscales which measure three types of teacher…

  7. Psychometric properties of the Intentions to Leave the Organization Scale (ILOS): a cross-cultural study

    OpenAIRE

    Nisipeanu, Damar Sandbrand

    2015-01-01

    The focus of the present study is to introduce into organizational researches a new psychometric scale that identifies the intention of an employee to leave the company he works for, based only on external and internal aspects to the organization (e.g. payroll, work and life balance); aspects that could stimulate a person to leave or remain in his/her current job. The Intention to Leave the Organization Scale (ILOS) was built with 31 items, using the Likert Scale model, ranging from 1 – Total...

  8. Efficient mining of association rules for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaves, R; Gorriz, J M; Ramirez, J; Illan, I A; Salas-Gonzalez, D; Gomez-RIo, M

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, a novel technique based on association rules (ARs) is presented in order to find relations among activated brain areas in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. In this sense, the aim of this work is to discover associations among attributes which characterize the perfusion patterns of normal subjects and to make use of them for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Firstly, voxel-as-feature-based activation estimation methods are used to find the tridimensional activated brain regions of interest (ROIs) for each patient. These ROIs serve as input to secondly mine ARs with a minimum support and confidence among activation blocks by using a set of controls. In this context, support and confidence measures are related to the proportion of functional areas which are singularly and mutually activated across the brain. Finally, we perform image classification by comparing the number of ARs verified by each subject under test to a given threshold that depends on the number of previously mined rules. Several classification experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the proposed methods using a SPECT database that consists of 41 controls (NOR) and 56 AD patients labeled by trained physicians. The proposed methods were validated by means of the leave-one-out cross validation strategy, yielding up to 94.87% classification accuracy, thus outperforming recent developed methods for computer aided diagnosis of AD.

  9. Efficient mining of association rules for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaves, R.; Górriz, J. M.; Ramírez, J.; Illán, I. A.; Salas-Gonzalez, D.; Gómez-Río, M.

    2011-09-01

    In this paper, a novel technique based on association rules (ARs) is presented in order to find relations among activated brain areas in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging. In this sense, the aim of this work is to discover associations among attributes which characterize the perfusion patterns of normal subjects and to make use of them for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Firstly, voxel-as-feature-based activation estimation methods are used to find the tridimensional activated brain regions of interest (ROIs) for each patient. These ROIs serve as input to secondly mine ARs with a minimum support and confidence among activation blocks by using a set of controls. In this context, support and confidence measures are related to the proportion of functional areas which are singularly and mutually activated across the brain. Finally, we perform image classification by comparing the number of ARs verified by each subject under test to a given threshold that depends on the number of previously mined rules. Several classification experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the proposed methods using a SPECT database that consists of 41 controls (NOR) and 56 AD patients labeled by trained physicians. The proposed methods were validated by means of the leave-one-out cross validation strategy, yielding up to 94.87% classification accuracy, thus outperforming recent developed methods for computer aided diagnosis of AD.

  10. Detection of Colletotrichum acutatum Latent Infections in Strawberry Petioles and Leaves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nataša Duduk

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Colletotrichum acutatum is the most significant agent of anthracnose strawberry fruit rot. Besides being a necrotrophic pest, it can spend a part of its life cycle as an epiphyte, in a form of latent infection. The presence of the fungi on symptomless plant tissue is considered one of the main ways of distribution of this economically harmful pathogen in the world. Investigation of latent C. acutatum infection was carried out on artificially inoculated strawberries. The initiation of fungi sporulation on symptomless petioles and leaves was carried out by exposing them to the herbicide paraquat (0.25% and low temperatures, which caused plant tissue decay in different ways. Surface sterilization with 0.5% NaOCl precedes the exposure of plant material to paraquat. The freezing procedure was carried out by exposure of plant material to the temperature of -20°C for 2h. After the freezing, one group was rinsed in Tween 20 (18 μl/l, and another group underwent surface sterilization in 0.0525% NaOCl with an addition of Tween 20 (18 μl/l. After 6 days of incubation, the appearance of acervuli and conidia was detected in 93.33 to 100% plant parts exposed to paraquat treatment and freezing procedure. In inoculated parts which were not exposed to herbicides or low temperatures, the presence of acervuli was detected in 3.33% tested petioles and 6.67% leaves.

  11. Does moonlighting influence South African nurses' intention to leave their primary jobs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rispel, Laetitia C; Chirwa, Tobias; Blaauw, Duane

    2014-01-01

    Staff retention and turnover have risen in prominence in the global discourse on the health workforce. Moonlighting, having a second job in addition to a primary job, has not featured in debates on turnover. This paper examines whether moonlighting is a determinant of South African nurses' intention to leave their primary jobs. During 2010, a one-stage cluster random sample of 80 hospitals was selected in four South African provinces. On the survey day, all nurses working in critical care, theatre, emergency, maternity, and general medical and surgical wards completed a self-administered questionnaire after giving informed consent. In addition to demographic information and information on moonlighting, the questionnaire obtained information on the participants' intention to leave their primary jobs in the 12 months following the survey. A weighted analysis of the survey data was done using STATA(®) 13. Survey participants (n=3,784) were predominantly middle-aged with a mean age of 41.5 (SD±10.4) years. Almost one-third of survey participants (30.9%) indicated that they planned to leave their jobs within 12 months. Intention to leave was higher among the moonlighters (39.5%) compared to non-moonlighters (27.9%; pleave in a multiple logistic regression were moonlighting in the preceding year, nursing category, sector of primary employment, period working at the primary job, and number of children. The odds of intention to leave was 1.40 (95% CI: 1.16-1.69) times higher for moonlighters than for non-moonlighters. The odds ratio of intention to leave was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.42-0.66) for nursing assistants compared to professional nurses and 2.09 (95% CI: 1.49-2.94) for nurses working for a commercial nursing agency compared to those working in the public sector. Moonlighting is a predictor of intention to leave. Both individual and organisational strategies are needed to manage moonlighting and to enhance retention among South African nurses.

  12. Does moonlighting influence South African nurses’ intention to leave their primary jobs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rispel, Laetitia C.; Chirwa, Tobias; Blaauw, Duane

    2014-01-01

    Background Staff retention and turnover have risen in prominence in the global discourse on the health workforce. Moonlighting, having a second job in addition to a primary job, has not featured in debates on turnover. Objective This paper examines whether moonlighting is a determinant of South African nurses’ intention to leave their primary jobs. Design During 2010, a one-stage cluster random sample of 80 hospitals was selected in four South African provinces. On the survey day, all nurses working in critical care, theatre, emergency, maternity, and general medical and surgical wards completed a self-administered questionnaire after giving informed consent. In addition to demographic information and information on moonlighting, the questionnaire obtained information on the participants’ intention to leave their primary jobs in the 12 months following the survey. A weighted analysis of the survey data was done using STATA® 13. Results Survey participants (n=3,784) were predominantly middle-aged with a mean age of 41.5 (SD±10.4) years. Almost one-third of survey participants (30.9%) indicated that they planned to leave their jobs within 12 months. Intention to leave was higher among the moonlighters (39.5%) compared to non-moonlighters (27.9%; pleave in a multiple logistic regression were moonlighting in the preceding year, nursing category, sector of primary employment, period working at the primary job, and number of children. The odds of intention to leave was 1.40 (95% CI: 1.16–1.69) times higher for moonlighters than for non-moonlighters. The odds ratio of intention to leave was 0.53 (95% CI: 0.42–0.66) for nursing assistants compared to professional nurses and 2.09 (95% CI: 1.49–2.94) for nurses working for a commercial nursing agency compared to those working in the public sector. Conclusions Moonlighting is a predictor of intention to leave. Both individual and organisational strategies are needed to manage moonlighting and to enhance retention

  13. [Cross-cultural validated adaptation of dysfunctional voiding symptom score (DVSS) to Japanese language and cognitive linguistics in questionnaire for pediatric patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Imamura, Masaaki; Usui, Tomoko; Johnin, Kazuyoshi; Yoshimura, Koji; Farhat, Walid; Kanematsu, Akihiro; Ogawa, Osamu

    2014-07-01

    Validated questionnaire for evaluation of pediatric lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is of a great need. We performed cross-cultural validated adaptation of Dysfunctional Voiding Symptom Score (DVSS) to Japanese language, and assessed whether children understand and respond to questionnaire correctly, using cognitive linguistic approach. We translated DVSS into two Japanese versions according to a standard validation methodology: translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert review, and pre-testing. One version was written in adult language for parents, and the other was written in child language for children. Pre-testing was done with 5 to 15-year-old patients visiting us, having normal intelligence. A specialist in cognitive linguistics observed the response by children and parents to DVSS as an interviewer. When a child could not understand a question without adding or paraphrasing the question by the parents, it was defined as 'misidentification'. We performed pretesting with 2 trial versions of DVSS before having the final version. The pre-testing for the first trial version was done for 32 patients (male to female ratio was 19 : 13). The pre-testing for the second trial version was done for 11 patients (male to female ratio was 8 : 3). In DVSS in child language, misidentification was consistently observed for representation of time or frequency. We completed the formal validated translation by amending the problems raised in the pre-testing. The cross-cultural validated adaptation of DVSS to child and adult Japanese was completed. Since temporal perception is not fully developed in children, caution should be taken for using the terms related with time or frequency in the questionnaires for children.

  14. Paid maternity and paternity leave: rights and choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Claire

    2007-01-01

    From April 2007 onwards, maternity leave will be raised to nine months Paid maternity leave is associated with significant health benefits for babies, including reduced infant mortality The Government proposes to increase paid maternity leave to one year and introduce additional paternity leave by around 2009 The U.K's provision for maternity leave and child care is more generous than the U.S.A. or Australia but less than in the Scandinavian countries

  15. Loving and Leaving Public Health: Predictors of Intentions to Quit Among State Health Agency Workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liss-Levinson, Rivka; Bharthapudi, Kiran; Leider, Jonathon P; Sellers, Katie

    2015-01-01

    State health agencies play a critical role in protecting and promoting the health and well-being of the people they serve. To be effective, they must maintain a highly skilled, diverse workforce of sufficient size and with proper training. The goal of this study was to examine demographics, job and workplace environment characteristics, job satisfaction, and reasons for initially joining the public health workforce as predictors of an employee's intentions to leave an organization within the next year. This study used a cross-sectional design. Respondents were selected on the basis of a stratified sampling approach, with 5 geographic (paired Health and Human Services [HHS] regions) as the primary strata. Balanced repeated replication was used as a resampling method for variance estimation. A logistic regression model was used to examine the correlates of intentions to leave one's organization within the next year. The independent variables included several measures of satisfaction, perceptions about the workplace environment, initial reasons for joining public health, gender, age, education, salary, supervisory status, program area, and paired HHS region. The sample for this study consisted of 10,246 permanently employed state health agency central office employees who responded to the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS). Considering leaving one's organization within the next year. Being a person of color, living in the West (HHS regions 9 and 10), and shorter tenure in one's current position were all associated with higher odds of intentions to leave an organization within the next year. Conversely, greater employee engagement, organizational support, job satisfaction, organization satisfaction, and pay satisfaction were all significant predictors of lower intentions to leave one's organization within the next year. Results from this study suggest several variables related to demographics, job characteristics, workplace environment, and

  16. Validating self-reported food expenditures against food store and eating-out receipts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, W; Aggarwal, A; Liu, Z; Acheson, M; Rehm, C D; Moudon, A V; Drewnowski, A

    2016-03-01

    To compare objective food store and eating-out receipts with self-reported household food expenditures. The Seattle Obesity Study II was based on a representative sample of King County adults, Washington, USA. Self-reported household food expenditures were modeled on the Flexible Consumer Behavior Survey (FCBS) Module from 2007 to 2009 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Objective food expenditure data were collected using receipts. Self-reported food expenditures for 447 participants were compared with receipts using paired t-tests, Bland-Altman plots and κ-statistics. Bias by sociodemographics was also examined. Self-reported expenditures closely matched with objective receipt data. Paired t-tests showed no significant differences between receipts and self-reported data on total food expenditures, expenditures at food stores or eating out. However, the highest-income strata showed weaker agreement. Bland-Altman plots confirmed no significant bias across both methods-mean difference: 6.4; agreement limits: -123.5 to 143.4 for total food expenditures, mean difference 5.7 for food stores and mean difference 1.7 for eating out. The κ-statistics showed good agreement for each (κ 0.51, 0.41 and 0.49 respectively. Households with higher education and income had significantly more number of receipts and higher food expenditures. Self-reported food expenditures using NHANES questions, both for food stores and eating out, serve as a decent proxy for objective household food expenditures from receipts. This method should be used with caution among high-income populations, or with high food expenditures. This is the first validation of the FCBS food expenditures question using food store and eating-out receipts.

  17. Prediction of the GC-MS Retention Indices for a Diverse Set of Terpenes as Constituent Components of Camu-camu (Myrciaria dubia (HBK Mc Vaugh Volatile Oil, Using Particle Swarm Optimization-Multiple Linear Regression (PSO-MLR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid Mohammadhosseini

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available A reliable quantitative structure retention relationship (QSRR study has been evaluated to predict the retention indices (RIs of a broad spectrum of compounds, namely 118 non-linear, cyclic and heterocyclic terpenoids (both saturated and unsaturated, on an HP-5MS fused silica column. A principal component analysis showed that seven compounds lay outside of the main cluster. After elimination of the outliers, the data set was divided into training and test sets involving 80 and 28 compounds. The method was tested by application of the particle swarm optimization (PSO method to find the most effective molecular descriptors, followed by multiple linear regressions (MLR. The PSO-MLR model was further confirmed through “leave one out cross validation” (LOO-CV and “leave group out cross validation” (LGO-CV, as well as external validations. The promising statistical figures of merit associated with the proposed model (R2train=0.936, Q2LOO=0.928, Q2LGO=0.921, F=376.4 confirm its high ability to predict RIs with negligible relative errors of predictions (REP train=4.8%, REP test=6.0%.

  18. Different strategies for spatial updating in yaw and pitch path integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Caspar Mathias Goeke

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Research in spatial navigation revealed the existence of discrete strategies defined by the use of distinct reference frames during virtual path integration. The present study investigated the distribution of these navigation strategies as a function of gender, video gaming experience, and self-estimates of spatial navigation abilities in a population of 300 subjects. Participants watched videos of virtual passages through a star-field with one turn in either the horizontal (yaw or the vertical (pitch axis. At the end of a passage they selected one out of four homing arrows to indicate the initial starting location. To solve the task, participants could employ two discrete strategies, navigating within either an egocentric or an allocentric reference frame. The majority of valid subjects (232/260 consistently used the same strategy in more than 75% of all trials. With that approach 33.1% of all participants were classified as Turners (using an egocentric reference frame on both axes and 46.5% as Nonturners (using an allocentric reference frame on both axes. 9.2% of all participants consistently used an egocentric reference frame in the yaw plane but an allocentric reference frame in the pitch plane (Switcher. Investigating the influence of gender on navigation strategies revealed that females predominantly used the Nonturner strategy while males used both the Turner and the Nonturner strategy with comparable probabilities. Other than expected, video gaming experience did not influence strategy use. Based on a strong quantitative basis with the sample size about an order of magnitude larger than in typical psychophysical studies these results demonstrate that most people reliably use one out of three possible navigation strategies (Turners, Nonturners, Switchers for spatial updating and provides a sound estimate of how those strategies are distributed within the general population.

  19. A Validity and Reliability Study of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erturan Ilker, Gökçe; Arslan, Yunus; Demirhan, Giyasettin

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) for high school students. In total, 1605 students (829 girls, 776 boys, average age = 15.67 ± 1.19) from three different high schools in the central district of Ankara voluntarily participated in the study. The MSLQ was…

  20. Dedicated Shift Wrap-up Time Does Not Improve Resident Sign-out Volume or Efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeanmonod, Rebecca K; Brook, Christopher; Winther, Mark; Pathak, Soma; Boyd, Molly

    2010-02-01

    Sign-out (SO) is a challenge to the emergency physician. Some training programs have instituted overlapping 9-hour shifts. The residents see patients for eight hours, and have one hour of wrap-up time. This hour helps them complete patient care, leaving fewer patients to sign-out. We examined whether this strategy impacts SO burden. This is a retrospective review of patients evaluated by emergency medicine (EM) residents working 9-hour (eight hours of patient care, one hour wrap-up time) and 12-hour shifts (12 hours patient care, no reserved time for wrap-up). Data were collected by reviewing the clinical tracker. A patient was assigned to the resident who initiated care and dictated the chart. SO was defined as any patient in the ED without disposition at change of shift. Patient turn-around-time (TAT) was also recorded. One-hundred sixty-one postgraduate-year-one resident (PGY1), 264 postgraduate-year-two resident (PGY2), and 193 postgraduate-year-three resident (PGY3) shifts were included. PGY1s signed out 1.9 patients per 12-hour shift. PGY2s signed out 2.3 patients on 12-hour shifts and 1.8 patients on 9-hour shifts. PGY3s signed out 2.1 patients on 12-hour shifts and 2.0 patients on 9-hour shifts. When we controlled for patients seen per hour, SO burden was constant by class regardless of shift length, with PGY2s signing out 18% of patients seen compared to 15% for PGY3s. PGY1s signed out 18% of patients seen. TAT for patients seen by PGY1s and PGY2s was similar, at 189 and 187 minutes, respectively. TAT for patients seen by PGY3s was significantly less at 175 minutes. The additional hour devoted to wrapping up patients in the ED had no affect on SO burden. The SO burden represented a fixed percentage of the total number of patients seen by the residents. PGY3s sign-out a smaller percentage of patients seen compared to other classes, and have faster TATs.

  1. Dedicated Shift Wrap-up Time Does Not Improve Resident Sign-out Volume or Efficiency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeanmonod, Rebecca K

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Sign-out (SO is a challenge to the emergency physician. Some training programs have instituted overlapping 9-hour shifts. The residents see patients for eight hours, and have one hour of wrap-up time. This hour helps them complete patient care, leaving fewer patients to sign-out. We examined whether this strategy impacts SO burden.Methods: This is a retrospective review of patients evaluated by emergency medicine (EM residents working 9-hour (eight hours of patient care, one hour wrap-up time and 12-hour shifts (12 hours patient care, no reserved time for wrap-up. Data were collected by reviewing the clinical tracker. A patient was assigned to the resident who initiated care and dictated the chart. SO was defined as any patient in the ED without disposition at change of shift. Patient turn-around-time (TAT was also recorded.Results: One-hundred sixty-one postgraduate-year-one resident (PGY1, 264 postgraduate-year-two resident (PGY2, and 193 postgraduate-year-three resident (PGY3 shifts were included. PGY1s signed out 1.9 patients per 12-hour shift. PGY2s signed out 2.3 patients on 12-hour shifts and 1.8 patients on 9-hour shifts. PGY3s signed out 2.1 patients on 12-hour shifts and 2.0 patients on 9-hour shifts. When we controlled for patients seen per hour, SO burden was constant by class regardless of shift length, with PGY2s signing out 18% of patients seen compared to 15% for PGY3s. PGY1s signed out 18% of patients seen. TAT for patients seen by PGY1s and PGY2s was similar, at 189 and 187 minutes, respectively. TAT for patients seen by PGY3s was significantly less at 175 minutes.Conclusion: The additional hour devoted to wrapping up patients in the ED had no affect on SO burden. The SO burden represented a fixed percentage of the total number of patients seen by the residents. PGY3s sign-out a smaller percentage of patients seen compared to other classes, and have faster TATs. [West J Emerg Med. 2010; 11(1:35-39].

  2. Gene expression-based molecular diagnostic system for malignant gliomas is superior to histological diagnosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shirahata, Mitsuaki; Iwao-Koizumi, Kyoko; Saito, Sakae; Ueno, Noriko; Oda, Masashi; Hashimoto, Nobuo; Takahashi, Jun A; Kato, Kikuya

    2007-12-15

    Current morphology-based glioma classification methods do not adequately reflect the complex biology of gliomas, thus limiting their prognostic ability. In this study, we focused on anaplastic oligodendroglioma and glioblastoma, which typically follow distinct clinical courses. Our goal was to construct a clinically useful molecular diagnostic system based on gene expression profiling. The expression of 3,456 genes in 32 patients, 12 and 20 of whom had prognostically distinct anaplastic oligodendroglioma and glioblastoma, respectively, was measured by PCR array. Next to unsupervised methods, we did supervised analysis using a weighted voting algorithm to construct a diagnostic system discriminating anaplastic oligodendroglioma from glioblastoma. The diagnostic accuracy of this system was evaluated by leave-one-out cross-validation. The clinical utility was tested on a microarray-based data set of 50 malignant gliomas from a previous study. Unsupervised analysis showed divergent global gene expression patterns between the two tumor classes. A supervised binary classification model showed 100% (95% confidence interval, 89.4-100%) diagnostic accuracy by leave-one-out cross-validation using 168 diagnostic genes. Applied to a gene expression data set from a previous study, our model correlated better with outcome than histologic diagnosis, and also displayed 96.6% (28 of 29) consistency with the molecular classification scheme used for these histologically controversial gliomas in the original article. Furthermore, we observed that histologically diagnosed glioblastoma samples that shared anaplastic oligodendroglioma molecular characteristics tended to be associated with longer survival. Our molecular diagnostic system showed reproducible clinical utility and prognostic ability superior to traditional histopathologic diagnosis for malignant glioma.

  3. RNs and LPNs: emotional exhaustion and intention to leave.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Havaei, Farinaz; MacPhee, Maura; Dahinten, V Susan

    2016-04-01

    To describe and compare registered nurse (RN) and licensed practical nurse (LPN) emotional exhaustion, intention to leave and reasons for leaving. Different skill mix/care delivery models are being used to address nurse shortages and rising health-care costs. Skill mix may include RNs and LPNs. More LPNs are being employed in areas, such as acute care, that have been previously staffed by all RNs. Little is known about nurse outcomes since the introduction of LPNs to acute care settings. This study was a cross-sectional correlational design. A stratified, random sample of acute care nurses completed surveys via Fluidsurveys. The survey was modelled after the RN4CAST nursing workforce survey. For both groups of nurses higher levels of emotional exhaustion were associated with intention to leave and workload was the most frequent reason cited for intention to leave. More RNs than LPNs cited career advancement as a reason to leave, and more LPNs than RNs identified poor salary as a reason to leave. Emotional exhaustion is linked to intention to leave health care. Nurse managers should address work environment factors associated with turnover intentions, such as professional development opportunities and shared decision-making. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. The relationship between job satisfaction and intention to leave current employment among registered nurses in a teaching hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramoo, Vimala; Abdullah, Khatijah L; Piaw, Chua Yan

    2013-11-01

    To assess Malaysian nurses' perceived job satisfaction and to determine whether any association exists between job satisfaction and intention to leave current employment. There is currently a shortage of qualified nurses, and healthcare organisations often face challenges in retaining trained nurses. Job satisfaction has been identified as a factor that influences nurse turnover. However, this has not been widely explored in Malaysia. Cross-sectional survey. Registered nurses in a teaching hospital in Malaysia completed a self-administered questionnaire. Of the 150 questionnaires distributed, 141 were returned (response rate = 94%). Overall, nurses had a moderate level of job satisfaction, with higher satisfaction for motivational factors. Significant effects were observed between job satisfaction and demographic variables. About 40% of the nurses intended to leave their current employment. Furthermore, age, work experience and nursing education had significant associations with intention to leave. Logistic regression analysis revealed that job satisfaction was a significant and independent predictor of nurses' intention to leave after controlling for demographic variables. The results suggest that there is a significant association between job satisfaction and nurses' intention to leave their current employment. It adds to the existing literature on the relationship between nurses' job satisfaction and intention to leave. Methods for enhancing nurses' job satisfaction are vital to promote the long-term retention of nurses within organisations. Attention must be paid to the needs of younger nurses, as they represent the majority of the nursing workforce and often have lower satisfaction and greater intention to leave than older nurses do. Strategies to nurture younger nurses, such as providing opportunities for further education, greater management decision-making capabilities and flexible working environment, are essential. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Carotenoids retention in processed curry leaves (Murraya koenigii L. Spreng).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shivanna, Varnashree Boraiah; Subban, Nagarajan

    2013-02-01

    Lutein content and β-carotene content of dried curry leaves (Murraya koenigii L. Spreng) by various methods [microwave, combo, infrared (IR), hot air oven, freeze drying, cross flow tray drying, sun and shade drying] have been evaluated. The dried leaves were treated with ice-cold acetone to get the extracts (0.69-3.64% w/w) on dry weight basis. Lutein content and β-carotene content of all these extracts were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography using an established method and found in the range of 8.2-99.5 mg/100 g and 2.9-19.2 mg/100 g, respectively. The results indicated that the microwave processed leaves contain higher levels of lutein (99.4 mg/100 g) and β-carotene (19.2 mg/100 g) compared with other drying methods. The cross flow dried (8.2 mg/100 g and 3.5 mg/100 g) and IR dried samples (23 mg/100 g and 2.9 mg/100 g) retained minimum amount of lutein and β-carotene, respectively.

  6. Validation of new cross section data for the Loviisa reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuusisto, J.

    1995-01-01

    The cross section data used with HEXBU-3D/MOD 5 core simulator code in the reload design calculations of the Loviisa reactors is revised. The new data was calculated with CASMO-HEX code using library based mainly on ENDF/B-IV. The new data is tested against measurements representing both current type low leakage reduced cores and original type full size cores with out-in-in loading patterns. Reactivity coefficients, boron concentration as a function of cycle burnup and assemblywise power distributions are compared to measurements. Slight adjustments are made so that good results are obtained for current type low leakage cores. When the data is applied to initial cores with out-in-in loading pattern some deviations are observed. (orig.) (4 refs., 18 figs.)

  7. Cross-cultural validation of the Italian version of the Cumulated Ambulation Score

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Grana, Elisa; Verzellotti, Simone; Grassi, Federico A

    2016-01-01

    -cultural adapt, and validate the CAS in the Italian language (CAS-I). The translation was carried out according to recommended guidelines. The final version of the CAS-I was administered to 80 geriatric patients with hip fracture admitted to a Traumatology Unit, and allowed full weight-bearing after treatment...

  8. Factor Validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) in Asynchronous Online Learning Environments (AOLE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Moon-Heum; Summers, Jessica

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the factor validity of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) in asynchronous online learning environments. In order to check the factor validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with 193 cases. Using CFA, it was found that the original measurement model fit for…

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

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekimoto, Hiroshi; Nemoto, Atsushi; Yoshimura, Yoshikane

    2001-01-01

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

  10. Building and Solving Odd-One-Out Classification Problems: A Systematic Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Philippe E.

    2011-01-01

    Classification problems ("find the odd-one-out") are frequently used as tests of inductive reasoning to evaluate human or animal intelligence. This paper introduces a systematic method for building the set of all possible classification problems, followed by a simple algorithm for solving the problems of the R-ASCM, a psychometric test derived…

  11. Taking Leave?

    CERN Multimedia

    2000-01-01

    Planning a holiday? Then if you're a member of the personnel, you'll need to use the Laboratory's new leave system that will be put in place on 1 October. Leave allocations don't change - you are entitled to just as much holiday as before - but instead of being credited annually, your leave will be credited on a monthly basis, and this information will be communicated on your salary slip. The reason for the change is that with the various new leave schemes such as Recruitment by Saved Leave (RSL) and the Progressive Retirement Programme (PRP), a streamlined procedure was required for dealing with all kinds of leave. In the new system, each member of the personnel will have leave accounts to which leave will be credited monthly from the payroll and debited each time an absence is registered in the CERN Electronic Document Handling system (EDH). Leave balances will appear on monthly pay slips, and full details of leave transactions and balances will be available through EDH at all times. As the leave will be c...

  12. Cross-cultural adaptation, validity, and reliability of the Persian version of the spine functional index.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokhtarinia, Hamid Reza; Hosseini, Azadeh; Maleki-Ghahfarokhi, Azam; Gabel, Charles Philip; Zohrabi, Majid

    2018-05-15

    There are various instruments and methods to evaluate spinal health and functional status. Whole-spine patient reported outcome (PRO) measures, such as the Spine Functional Index (SFI), assess the spine from the cervical to lumbo-sacral sections as a single kinetic chain. The aim of this study was to cross-culturally adapt the SFI for Persian speaking patients (SFI-Pr) and determine the psychometric properties of reliability and validity (convergent and construct) in a Persian patient population. The SFI (English) PRO was translated into Persian according to published guidelines. Consecutive symptomatic spine patients (104 female and 120 male aged between 18 and 60) were recruited from three Iranian physiotherapy centers. Test-retest reliability was performed in a sub-sample (n = 31) at baseline and repeated between days 3-7. Convergent validity was determined by calculating the Pearson's r correlation coefficient between the SFI-Pr and the Persian Roland Morris Questionnaire (RMQ) for back pain patients and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) for neck patients. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's α. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) used Maximum Likelihood Extraction followed by Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). High levels of internal consistency (α = 0.81, item range = 0.78-0.82) and test-retest reliability (r = 0.96, item range = 0.83-0.98) were obtained. Convergent validity was very good between the SFI and RMQ (r = 0.69) and good between the SFI and NDI (r = 0.57). The EFA from the perspective of parsimony suggests a one-factor solution that explained 26.5% of total variance. The CFA was inconclusive of the one factor structure as the sample size was inadequate. There were no floor or ceiling effects. The SFI-Pr PRO can be applied as a specific whole-spine status assessment instrument for clinical and research studies in Persian language populations.

  13. Implementation of real-time energy management strategy based on reinforcement learning for hybrid electric vehicles and simulation validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Zehui; Zou, Yuan; Liu, Teng

    2017-01-01

    To further improve the fuel economy of series hybrid electric tracked vehicles, a reinforcement learning (RL)-based real-time energy management strategy is developed in this paper. In order to utilize the statistical characteristics of online driving schedule effectively, a recursive algorithm for the transition probability matrix (TPM) of power-request is derived. The reinforcement learning (RL) is applied to calculate and update the control policy at regular time, adapting to the varying driving conditions. A facing-forward powertrain model is built in detail, including the engine-generator model, battery model and vehicle dynamical model. The robustness and adaptability of real-time energy management strategy are validated through the comparison with the stationary control strategy based on initial transition probability matrix (TPM) generated from a long naturalistic driving cycle in the simulation. Results indicate that proposed method has better fuel economy than stationary one and is more effective in real-time control.

  14. Implementation of real-time energy management strategy based on reinforcement learning for hybrid electric vehicles and simulation validation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zehui Kong

    Full Text Available To further improve the fuel economy of series hybrid electric tracked vehicles, a reinforcement learning (RL-based real-time energy management strategy is developed in this paper. In order to utilize the statistical characteristics of online driving schedule effectively, a recursive algorithm for the transition probability matrix (TPM of power-request is derived. The reinforcement learning (RL is applied to calculate and update the control policy at regular time, adapting to the varying driving conditions. A facing-forward powertrain model is built in detail, including the engine-generator model, battery model and vehicle dynamical model. The robustness and adaptability of real-time energy management strategy are validated through the comparison with the stationary control strategy based on initial transition probability matrix (TPM generated from a long naturalistic driving cycle in the simulation. Results indicate that proposed method has better fuel economy than stationary one and is more effective in real-time control.

  15. Job demands-resources, burnout and intention to leave the nursing profession: a questionnaire survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jourdain, Geneviève; Chênevert, Denis

    2010-06-01

    The aims of the paper are to examine the role of burnout in the relationship between stress factors related to nurses' work and social environment and intention to leave the profession and to investigate the nature of the relationship between burnout and intention to leave the nursing profession. A postulate of the job demands-resources model is that two distinct yet related processes contribute to the development of burnout. The energetic process originates from demands and is mainly centered on emotional exhaustion; the motivational process originates from resources and is mainly centered on depersonalization. Moreover, we postulated that the two components of burnout are linked indirectly to intention to leave the profession via psychosomatic complaints, associated with the energetic process, and via professional commitment, associated with the motivational process. The research model was tested on cross-sectional data collected in 2005 from 1636 registered nurses working in hospitals who responded to a self-administrated questionnaire. Demands are the most important determinants of emotional exhaustion and indirectly induce depersonalization via emotional exhaustion, whereas resources mainly predict depersonalization. Moreover, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization are linked to psychosomatic complaints and professional commitment, which are in turn associated with intention to leave the profession. The results suggest that a dual strategy is needed in order to retain nurses within the profession: a decrease in job demands, coupled with an increase in available job resources. In particular, nurses' tasks and role should be restructured to reduce work overload and increase the meaning of their work. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Genotoxicity of Nicotiana tabacum leaves on Helix aspersa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Fernanda R; Erdtmann, Bernardo; Dalpiaz, Tiago; Nunes, Emilene; Ferraz, Alexandre; Martins, Tales L C; Dias, Johny F; da Rosa, Darlan P; Porawskie, Marilene; Bona, Silvia; da Silva, Juliana

    2013-07-01

    Tobacco farmers are routinely exposed to complex mixtures of inorganic and organic chemicals present in tobacco leaves. In this study, we examined the genotoxicity of tobacco leaves in the snail Helix aspersa as a measure of the risk to human health. DNA damage was evaluated using the micronucleus test and the Comet assay and the concentration of cytochrome P450 enzymes was estimated. Two groups of snails were studied: one fed on tobacco leaves and one fed on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L) leaves (control group). All of the snails received leaves (tobacco and lettuce leaves were the only food provided) and water ad libitum. Hemolymph cells were collected after 0, 24, 48 and 72 h. The Comet assay and micronucleus test showed that exposure to tobacco leaves for different periods of time caused significant DNA damage. Inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes occurred only in the tobacco group. Chemical analysis indicated the presence of the alkaloid nicotine, coumarins, saponins, flavonoids and various metals. These results show that tobacco leaves are genotoxic in H. aspersa and inhibit cytochrome P450 activity, probably through the action of the complex chemical mixture present in the plant.

  17. Genotoxicity of Nicotiana tabacum leaves on Helix aspersa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda R. da Silva

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Tobacco farmers are routinely exposed to complex mixtures of inorganic and organic chemicals present in tobacco leaves. In this study, we examined the genotoxicity of tobacco leaves in the snail Helix aspersa as a measure of the risk to human health. DNA damage was evaluated using the micronucleus test and the Comet assay and the concentration of cytochrome P450 enzymes was estimated. Two groups of snails were studied: one fed on tobacco leaves and one fed on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L leaves (control group. All of the snails received leaves (tobacco and lettuce leaves were the only food provided and water ad libitum. Hemolymph cells were collected after 0, 24, 48 and 72 h. The Comet assay and micronucleus test showed that exposure to tobacco leaves for different periods of time caused significant DNA damage. Inhibition of cytochrome P450 enzymes occurred only in the tobacco group. Chemical analysis indicated the presence of the alkaloid nicotine, coumarins, saponins, flavonoids and various metals. These results show that tobacco leaves are genotoxic in H. aspersa and inhibit cytochrome P450 activity, probably through the action of the complex chemical mixture present in the plant.

  18. Validating the cross-cultural factor structure and invariance property of the Insomnia Severity Index: evidence based on ordinal EFA and CFA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Po-Yi; Yang, Chien-Ming; Morin, Charles M

    2015-05-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the factor structure of the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) across samples recruited from different countries. We tried to identify the most appropriate factor model for the ISI and further examined the measurement invariance property of the ISI across samples from different countries. Our analyses included one data set collected from a Taiwanese sample and two data sets obtained from samples in Hong Kong and Canada. The data set collected in Taiwan was analyzed with ordinal exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to obtain the appropriate factor model for the ISI. After that, we conducted a series of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs), which is a special case of the structural equation model (SEM) that concerns the parameters in the measurement model, to the statistics collected in Canada and Hong Kong. The purposes of these CFA were to cross-validate the result obtained from EFA and further examine the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the ISI. The three-factor model outperforms other models in terms of global fit indices in Taiwan's population. Its external validity is also supported by confirmatory factor analyses. Furthermore, the measurement invariance analyses show that the strong invariance property between the samples from different cultures holds, providing evidence that the ISI results obtained in different cultures are comparable. The factorial validity of the ISI is stable in different populations. More importantly, its invariance property across cultures suggests that the ISI is a valid measure of the insomnia severity construct across countries. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Cross-cultural validation of health literacy measurement tools in Italian oncology patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zotti, Paola; Cocchi, Simone; Polesel, Jerry; Cipolat Mis, Chiara; Bragatto, Donato; Cavuto, Silvio; Conficconi, Alice; Costanzo, Carla; De Giorgi, Melissa; Drace, Christina A; Fiorini, Federica; Gangeri, Laura; Lisi, Andrea; Martino, Rosalba; Mosconi, Paola; Paradiso, Angelo; Ravaioli, Valentina; Truccolo, Ivana; De Paoli, Paolo

    2017-06-19

    The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric characteristics of four Health Literacy (HL) measurement tools, viz. Newest Vital Sign (NVS), Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (STOFHLA), Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) and Single question on Self-rated Reading Ability (SrRA) among Italian oncology patients. The original version of the tools were translated from the English language into Italian using a standard forward-backward procedure and according to internationally recognized good practices. Their internal consistency (reliability) and validity (construct, convergent and discriminative) were tested in a sample of 245 consecutive cancer patients recruited from seven Italian health care centers. The internal consistency of the STOFHLA-I was Chronbach's α=0.96 and that of NVS-I was α=0.74. The STOFHLA-I, NVS-I, SILS-I and SrRA-I scores were in a good relative correlation and in all tools the discriminative known-group validity was confirmed. The reliability and validity values were similar to those obtained from other cultural context studies. The psychometric characteristics of the Italian version of NVS, STHOFLA, SILS and SrRA were found to be good, with satisfactory reliability and validity. This indicates that they could be used as a screening tool in Italian patients. Moreover, the use of the same cross-cultural tools, validated in different languages, is essential for implementing multicenter studies to measure and compare the functional HL levels across countries.

  20. Job satisfaction, work environment and intention to leave among migrant nurses working in a publicly funded tertiary hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goh, Yong-Shian; Lopez, Violeta

    2016-10-01

    This study sought to explore the job satisfaction level of migrant nurses working in a multicultural society and, more specifically, the relationship between their job satisfaction levels, work environment, their intentions to leave and the predictors of their intentions to leave. Nursing shortages have led to the increasing trend of employing migrant nurses, which necessitated studies examining nurses' migration. A cross-sectional, correlational design using a stratified random sample was conducted on 495 migrant nurses working in a tertiary public-funded hospital in Singapore. The results showed that migrant nurses were satisfied with their jobs; with job satisfaction negatively correlated with work environment. Interestingly, pre-existing groups of Chinese migrant nurses did not help newly arrived Chinese migrant nurses to assimilate better. Predictors of migrant nurses' intentions to leave included having supportive nurse managers and nursing practice environment. The presence of a supportive work environment is essential to retain migrant nurses. Health administrators need to empower nursing managers with skills to implement career development plans as part of hospitals' retention strategies for migrant nurses. Information should also be provided during recruitment campaigns to enable migrant nurses to make informed choices. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.