Necessity of including medico-legal autopsy data in epidemiological surveys of individuals with major trauma.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagher, A; Wingren, C J; Ottosson, A; Andersson, L; Wangefjord, S; Acosta, S

2015-08-01

It is rare that epidemiological surveys of patients with major trauma include both those admitted to the emergency department and those sent for medico-legal autopsy. The main aim of the present population-based study of major trauma was to examine the importance of medico-legal autopsy data. A new injury severity score (NISS)>15 or lethal outcome was used as criteria for major trauma and to identify patients at the emergency, anaesthesiology and forensic departments and/or being within the jurisdiction of the Malmö police authority and subjected to a medico-legal autopsy between 2011 and 2013. According to Swedish legislation all trauma related deaths should be reported to the police who refer these cases for medico-legal autopsy. Among the 174 individuals included, 92 (53%) died and 81 (47%) underwent medico-legal autopsy. One hundred twenty-six patients were primarily admitted to hospital and 48 died before admission to hospital and were sent directly for medico-legal autopsy. Forty-four in-hospital deaths occurred, of whom 33 (75%) were sent to medico-legal autopsy. In those sent directly to the department of forensic medicine the proportion of accidents was lower (pautopsies among trauma-related deaths at hospital were high age (pautopsy according to legislation, but did not. The high proportion of positive toxicological findings among fatalities examined at medico-legal autopsy implies that toxicology screening should be routine in major trauma patients, in order to improve treatment and prevention. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The CRC 20 years: An overview of some of the major achievements and remaining challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Doek, Jaap E

2009-11-01

On 20 November 1989, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). It entered into force on 2 September 1990 and has by now been ratified by 193 States, making the most universally ratified human rights treaty. This overview will present and discuss the impact of this treaty both at the international and the national level, an overview which necessarily has to be limited to some of the developments as a result of the implementation of the CRC. The first part of this paper will be devoted to the impact the CRC had and still has on the setting and development of the international agenda for the promotion and protection of the rights and welfare of children. Special attention will given to developments, achievements, and remaining challenges at the international level with regard to protection of children in armed conflict; prevention and the protection of children from sexual exploitation; and from all forms of violence. This will include some information on the impact of these international developments and actions at the national level, for example, in the area of legislation. The second part will focus on the impact at the national level. Given the wide scope of the CRC this part will be limited to some of the General Measures of Implementation (law reform, national programmes, and independent monitoring) and the General Principles (non-discrimination, best interest, right to be heard) of the CRC. This will be based on reports of States on the implementation of the CRC submitted to the CRC Committee and the Concluding Observations of this Committee and on a number of studies. The conclusion will provide remarks on poverty as one of the major remaining challenges for the implementation of children's rights.

Hopanoid-producing bacteria in the Red Sea include the major marine nitrite-oxidizers

KAUST Repository

Kharbush, Jenan J

2018-04-10

Hopanoids, including the extended side chain-containing bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), are bacterial lipids found abundantly in the geological record and across Earth\\'s surface environments. However, the physiological roles of this biomarker remain uncertain, limiting interpretation of their presence in current and past environments. Recent work investigating the diversity and distribution of hopanoid producers in the marine environment implicated low-oxygen regions as important loci of hopanoid production, and data from marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) suggested that the dominant hopanoid producers in these environments are nitrite-utilizing organisms, revealing a potential connection between hopanoid production and the marine nitrogen cycle. Here we use metagenomic data from the Red Sea to investigate the ecology of hopanoid producers in an environmental setting that is biogeochemically distinct from those investigated previously. The distributions of hopanoid production and nitrite oxidation genes in the Red Sea are closely correlated, and the majority of hopanoid producers are taxonomically affiliated with the major marine nitrite oxidizers, Nitrospinae and Nitrospirae. These results suggest that the relationship between hopanoid production and nitrite oxidation is conserved across varying biogeochemical conditions in dark ocean microbial ecosystems.

Hopanoid-producing bacteria in the Red Sea include the major marine nitrite-oxidizers

KAUST Repository

Kharbush, Jenan J; Thompson, Luke R; Haroon, Mohamed; Knight, Rob; Aluwihare, Lihini I

2018-01-01

Hopanoids, including the extended side chain-containing bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs), are bacterial lipids found abundantly in the geological record and across Earth's surface environments. However, the physiological roles of this biomarker remain uncertain, limiting interpretation of their presence in current and past environments. Recent work investigating the diversity and distribution of hopanoid producers in the marine environment implicated low-oxygen regions as important loci of hopanoid production, and data from marine oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) suggested that the dominant hopanoid producers in these environments are nitrite-utilizing organisms, revealing a potential connection between hopanoid production and the marine nitrogen cycle. Here we use metagenomic data from the Red Sea to investigate the ecology of hopanoid producers in an environmental setting that is biogeochemically distinct from those investigated previously. The distributions of hopanoid production and nitrite oxidation genes in the Red Sea are closely correlated, and the majority of hopanoid producers are taxonomically affiliated with the major marine nitrite oxidizers, Nitrospinae and Nitrospirae. These results suggest that the relationship between hopanoid production and nitrite oxidation is conserved across varying biogeochemical conditions in dark ocean microbial ecosystems.

Urban mental health: Challenges and perspectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Okkels, Niels

2018-01-01

Purpose of review: To provide an update on urban mental health and highlight the challenges that require urgent attention. Recent findings: The majority of the world's population live in towns and urbanization is expected to increase in all areas of the world. Challenges to mental health in urban...... services. Fast and unstructured urbanization, such as that seen in many developing countries, further exacerbates these challenges. There are promising initiatives emerging including initiatives to end homelessness, to improve access to green areas in urban environments, to provide emergency psychiatric...

Investigating Challenges Facing Self-Management Empowerment Education in Adolescents and Youths with Major Thalassemia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Razzazan

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Background Thalassemia is considered an important public health problem worldwide, especially in developing and poor countries. Although several advanced techniques have been developed for prevention of thalassemia in the recent years, many adolescents and youths are still living with this disease. Independence from parents, decisions about high-risk behaviors, uncovering the identity, and adapting to mental and physical effects of the disease occur together in adolescents. Objectives This study was conducted to explore challenges of self-management empowerment in adolescents and youths with major thalassemia. Materials and Methods This was a descriptive-exploratory study. The study population consisted of adolescents and youths with major thalassemia who had medical records in the Bushehr Thalassemia Center, affiliated with Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The study samples were purposively selected. Demographic information questionnaire and empowerment questionnaire were used to collect data from the semistructured interview. We analyzed qualitative data by content analysis method and quantitative data by descriptive (mean, standard deviation and analytical (Student's t-test, ANOVA and Pearson’s correlation coefficient statistical methods, using the statistical software SPSS 18. Results In qualitative part of the study, data from semistructured in-depth interviews with 15 participants were coded and summarized in five themes including: 1 awareness of personal changes; 2 need for adaptation; 3 maintaining independence and self-management; 4 uncovering the identity and role playing; and 5 sense of control and satisfaction. Results of the quantitative part showed that the overall score of participants on empowerment was 92.46 of 149 scores, which showed a moderate situation in the empowerment of these individuals. In addition, the empowerment score showed no statistically significant correlation with demographic characteristics

Including Health in Environmental Assessments of Major Transport Infrastructure Projects: A Documentary Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Emily; Harris, Patrick; Kent, Jennifer; Sainsbury, Peter; Lane, Anna; Baum, Fran

2018-05-10

Transport policy and practice impacts health. Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) are regulated public policy mechanisms that can be used to consider the health impacts of major transport projects before they are approved. The way health is considered in these environmental assessments (EAs) is not well known. This research asked: How and to what extent was human health considered in EAs of four major transport projects in Australia. We developed a comprehensive coding framework to analyse the Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) of four transport infrastructure projects: three road and one light rail. The coding framework was designed to capture how health was directly and indirectly included. We found that health was partially considered in all four EISs. In the three New South Wales (NSW) projects, but not the one South Australian project, this was influenced by the requirements issued to proponents by the government which directed the content of the EIS. Health was assessed using human health risk assessment (HHRA). We found this to be narrow in focus and revealed a need for a broader social determinants of health approach, using multiple methods. The road assessments emphasised air quality and noise risks, concluding these were minimal or predicted to improve. The South Australian project was the only road project not to include health data explicitly. The light rail EIS considered the health benefits of the project whereas the others focused on risk. Only one project considered mental health, although in less detail than air quality or noise. Our findings suggest EIAs lag behind the known evidence linking transport infrastructure to health. If health is to be comprehensively included, a more complete model of health is required, as well as a shift away from health risk assessment as the main method used. This needs to be mandatory for all significant developments. We also found that considering health only at the EIA stage may be a significant

The diesel challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobin, Geoff

1997-01-01

This article is focused on the challenges being faced by the diesel producer and these include a number of interesting developments which illustrate the highly competitive world of the European refiner. These include: The tightening quality requirements being legislated coupled with the availability of the ''city diesel'' from Scandinavia and elsewhere which is already being sold into the market. For a time there will be a clear means of product differentiation. One of the key questions is whether the consumer will value the quality difference; a growing demand for diesel which is outstripping the growth in gasoline demand and causing refiners headaches when it comes to balancing their supply/demand barrels; the emergence of alternative fuels which are challenging the traditional markets of the refiner and in particular, the niche markets for the higher quality diesel fuels. All of this at a time of poor margins and over-capacity in the industry with further major challenges ahead such as fuel oil disposal, tighter environmental standards and the likelihood of heavier, higher sulphur crude oils in the future. Clearly, in such a difficult and highly-competitive business environment it will be important to find low-cost solutions to the challenges of the diesel quality changes. An innovative approach will be required to identify the cheapest and best route to enable the manufacture of the new quality diesel. (Author)

The Almajiri educational system in Nigeria: cost and challenges ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The cost implications of Almajiri system include human resources wastage, exposure of children to harsh environmental hazards, and deprivation of these children of parental care. The paper also highlighted on the major challenges to include illiterate teachers involve in teaching the children, lack of basic infrastructural ...

Linguistic Knowledge Aspects in Academic Reading: Challenges and Deployed Strategies by English-Major Undergraduates at a Jordanian Institution of Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Albashtawi, Abeer H.; Jaganathan, Paramaswari; Singh, Manjet

2016-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the linguistic knowledge aspect in academic reading, the challenges and the deployed strategies by English major undergraduates at a Jordanian institution of higher education. The importance of the study is attributed to the importance of the academic reading at university which is closely related to the academic…

Student Motivation in Science Subjects in Tanzania, Including Students' Voices

Science.gov (United States)

Mkimbili, Selina Thomas; Ødegaard, Marianne

2017-12-01

Fostering and maintaining students' interest in science is an important aspect of improving science learning. The focus of this paper is to listen to and reflect on students' voices regarding the sources of motivation for science subjects among students in community secondary schools with contextual challenges in Tanzania. We conducted a group-interview study of 46 Form 3 and Form 4 Tanzanian secondary school students. The study findings reveal that the major contextual challenges to student motivation for science in the studied schools are limited resources and students' insufficient competence in the language of instruction. Our results also reveal ways to enhance student motivation for science in schools with contextual challenges; these techniques include the use of questioning techniques and discourse, students' investigations and practical work using locally available materials, study tours, more integration of classroom science into students' daily lives and the use of real-life examples in science teaching. Also we noted that students' contemporary life, culture and familiar language can be utilised as a useful resource in facilitating meaningful learning in science in the school. Students suggested that, to make science interesting to a majority of students in a Tanzanian context, science education needs to be inclusive of students' experiences, culture and contemporary daily lives. Also, science teaching and learning in the classroom need to involve learners' voices.

Plasmodium falciparum Resistance to Artemisinin Derivatives and Piperaquine: A Major Challenge for Malaria Elimination in Cambodia

Science.gov (United States)

Duru, Valentine; Witkowski, Benoit; Ménard, Didier

2016-01-01

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the cornerstone of current strategies for fighting malaria. Over the last decade, ACTs have played a major role in decreasing malaria burden. However, this progress is being jeopardized by the emergence of artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites. Artemisinin resistance was first detected in western Cambodia in 2008 and has since been observed in neighboring countries in southeast Asia. The problem of antimalarial drug resistance has recently worsened in Cambodia, with reports of parasites resistant to piperaquine, the latest generation of partner drug used in combination with dihydroartemisinin, leading to worrying rates of clinical treatment failure. The monitoring and the comprehension of both types of resistance are crucial to prevent the spread of multidrug-resistant parasites outside southeast Asia, and particularly to Africa, where the public health consequences would be catastrophic. To this end, new tools are required for studying the biological and molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to antimalarial drugs and for monitoring the geographic distribution of the resistant parasites. In this review, we detail the major advances in our understanding of resistance to artemisinin and piperaquine and define the challenges that the malaria community will have to face in the coming years. PMID:27928074

Including refugees in disease elimination: challenges observed from a sleeping sickness programme in Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Palmer, Jennifer J; Robert, Okello; Kansiime, Freddie

2017-01-01

Ensuring equity between forcibly-displaced and host area populations is a key challenge for global elimination programmes. We studied Uganda's response to the recent refugee influx from South Sudan to identify key governance and operational lessons for national sleeping sickness programmes working with displaced populations today. A refugee policy which favours integration of primary healthcare services for refugee and host populations and the availability of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) to detect sleeping sickness at this health system level makes Uganda well-placed to include refugees in sleeping sickness surveillance. Using ethnographic observations of coordination meetings, review of programme data, interviews with sleeping sickness and refugee authorities and group discussions with health staff and refugees (2013-2016), we nevertheless identified some key challenges to equitably integrating refugees into government sleeping sickness surveillance. Despite fears that refugees were at risk of disease and posed a threat to elimination, six months into the response, programme coordinators progressed to a sentinel surveillance strategy in districts hosting the highest concentrations of refugees. This meant that RDTs, the programme's primary surveillance tool, were removed from most refugee-serving facilities, exacerbating existing inequitable access to surveillance and leading refugees to claim that their access to sleeping sickness tests had been better in South Sudan. This was not intentionally done to exclude refugees from care, rather, four key governance challenges made it difficult for the programme to recognise and correct inequities affecting refugees: (a) perceived donor pressure to reduce the sleeping sickness programme's scope without clear international elimination guidance on surveillance quality; (b) a problematic history of programme relations with refugee-hosting districts which strained supervision of surveillance quality; (c) difficulties that

Workplace Charging Challenge Mid-Program Review: Employees Plug In

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2015-12-31

The EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge aims to have 500 U.S. employers offering workplace charging by 2018. These reports describe the progress made in the Challenge. In 2015, the Workplace Charging Challenge celebrated a major milestone – it reached the halfway point to its goal of 500 Challenge partners committed to installing workplace charging by 2018. More than 250 employers have joined as Challenge partners and the installation of workplace charging as a sustainable business practice is growing across the country. Their efforts have resulted in more than 600 workplaces with over 5,500 charging stations accessible to nearly one million employees. In 2015, more than 9,000 PEV-driving employees charged at these worksites on a regular basis. Our Workplace Charging Challenge Mid-Program Review reports this progress and other statistics related to workplace charging, including employee satisfaction and charger usage.

Interoperability in healthcare: major challenges in the creation of the enterprise environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lindsköld, L.; Wintell, M.; Lundberg, N.

2009-02-01

There is today a lack of interoperability in healthcare although the need for it is obvious. A new healthcare enterprise environment has been deployed for secure healthcare interoperability in the Western Region in Sweden (WRS). This paper is an empirical overview of the new enterprise environment supporting regional shared and transparent radiology domain information in the WRS. The enterprise environment compromises 17 radiology departments, 1,5 million inhabitants, using different RIS and PACS in a joint work-oriented network and additional cardiology, dentistry and clinical physiology departments. More than 160 terabytes of information are stored in the enterprise repository. Interoperability is developed according to the IHE mission, i.e. applying standards such as Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) and Health Level 7 (HL7) to address specific clinical communication needs and support optimal patient care. The entire enterprise environment is implemented and used daily in WRS. The central prerequisites in the development of the enterprise environment in western region of Sweden were: 1) information harmonization, 2) reuse of standardized messages e.g. HL7 v2.x and v3.x, 3) development of a holistic information domain including both text and images, and 4) to create a continuous and dynamic update functionality. The central challenges in this project were: 1) the many different vendors acting in the region and the negotiations with them to apply communication roles/profiles such as HL7 (CDA, CCR), DICOM, and XML, 2) the question of whom owns the data, and 3) incomplete technical standards. This study concludes that to create a workflow that runs within an enterprise environment there are a number of central prerequisites and challenges that needs to be in place. This calls for negotiations on an international, national and regional level with standardization organizations, vendors, health management and health personnel.

The importance of fungi and mycology for addressing major global challenges*.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Lene

2014-12-01

In the new bioeconomy, fungi play a very important role in addressing major global challenges, being instrumental for improved resource efficiency, making renewable substitutes for products from fossil resources, upgrading waste streams to valuable food and feed ingredients, counteracting life-style diseases and antibiotic resistance through strengthening the gut biota, making crop plants more robust to survive climate change conditions, and functioning as host organisms for production of new biological drugs. This range of new uses of fungi all stand on the shoulders of the efforts of mycologists over generations: the scientific discipline mycology has built comprehensive understanding within fungal biodiversity, classification, evolution, genetics, physiology, ecology, pathogenesis, and nutrition. Applied mycology could not make progress without this platform. To unfold the full potentials of what fungi can do for both environment and man we need to strengthen the field of mycology on a global scale. The current mission statement gives an overview of where we are, what needs to be done, what obstacles to overcome, and which potentials are within reach. It further provides a vision for how mycology can be strengthened: The time is right to make the world aware of the immense importance of fungi and mycology for sustainable global development, where land, water and biological materials are used in a more efficient and more sustainable manner. This is an opportunity for profiling mycology by narrating the role played by fungi in the bioeconomy. Greater awareness and appreciation of the role of fungi can be used to build support for mycology around the world. Support will attract more talent to our field of study, empower mycologists around the world to generate more funds for necessary basic research, and strengthen the global mycology network. The use of fungi for unlocking the full potentials of the bioeconomy relies on such progress. The fungal kingdom can be an

Challenges in biomimetic design and innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lenau, Torben Anker; Barfoed, Michael; Shu, Li

Biomimetic design copies desired principles found in nature and implement them into artificial applications. Applications could be products we use in our daily life but it can also be used to inspire material innovation. However there are significant challenges in performing biomimetic design. One....... This is a key issue in design and innovation work where problem identification and systematic search for suitable solution principle are major activities. One way to deal with this challenge is to use a biology search method. The use of such a method is illustrated with a case story describing the design...... including the terminology and knowledge organisation. It is often easy to recognise the splendour of a biological solution, but it can be much more difficult to understand the underlying mechanisms. Another challenge in biomimetic design is the search and identification of relevant solutions in nature...

Challenges to and the future of medication safety in Saudi Arabia: A qualitative study

Science.gov (United States)

Aljadhey, Hisham; Mahmoud, Mansour Adam; Hassali, Mohamed Azmi; Alrasheedy, Alian; Alahmad, Amjad; Saleem, Fahad; Sheikh, Aziz; Murray, Michael; Bates, David W.

2013-01-01

Background Medication safety is a global concern among healthcare providers. However, the challenges to and the future of medication safety in Saudi Arabia have not been explored. Objectives We explored the perspectives of healthcare practitioners on current issues about medication safety in hospitals and community settings in Saudi Arabia in order to identify challenges to improving it and explore the future of medication safety practice. Methods A total of 65 physicians, pharmacists, academics and nurses attended a one-day meeting in March 2010, designed especially for the purpose of this study. The participants were divided into nine round-table discussion sessions. Three major themes were explored in these sessions, including: major factors contributing to medication safety problems, challenges to improving medication safety practice, and participants’ suggestions for improving medication safety. The round-table discussion sessions were videotaped and transcribed verbatim and analyzed by two independent researchers. Results The round-table discussions revealed that major factors contributing to medication safety problems included unrestricted public access to medications from various hospitals and community pharmacies, communication gaps between healthcare institutions, limited use of important technologies such as computerized provider order entry, and the lack of medication safety programs in hospitals. Challenges to current medication safety practice identified by participants included underreporting of medication errors and adverse drug reactions, multilingualism and differing backgrounds of healthcare professionals, lack of communication between healthcare providers and patients, and high workloads. Suggestions for improving medication safety practices in Saudi Arabia included continuous education for healthcare professionals and competency assessment focusing on medication safety, development of a culture that encourages medication error and adverse

Chaos: Challenges from and to socio-spatial form and policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios S. Dendrinos

1997-01-01

Full Text Available A brief assessment is given of the major accomplishments made through the mathematics of chaos to the understanding of socio-spatial dynamics to date. Certain shortfalls are also presented, mostly associated with model testing and falsifiability which transcend socio-spatial dynamics. Beyond such shortcomings, lie an array of challenges for chaotic dynamics involving specifically socio-spatial form and policy. A few directions on meeting these challenges are suggested including the case of limited chaos.

Financing dengue vaccine introduction in the Americas: challenges and opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Constenla, Dagna; Clark, Samantha

2016-01-01

Dengue has escalated in the region of the Americas unabated despite major investments in integrated vector control and prevention strategies. An effective and affordable dengue vaccine can play a critical role in reducing the human and economic costs of the disease by preventing millions around the world from getting sick. However, there are considerable challenges on the path towards vaccine introduction. These include lack of sufficient financing tools, absence of capacity within national level decision-making bodies, and demands that new vaccines place on stressed health systems. Various financing models can be used to overcome these challenges including setting up procurement mechanisms, integrating regional and domestic taxes, and setting up low interest multilateral loans. In this paper we review these challenges and opportunities of financing dengue vaccine introduction in the Americas.

Major ecosystems in China: dynamics and challenges for sustainable management.

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Yihe; Fu, Bojie; Wei, Wei; Yu, Xiubo; Sun, Ranhao

2011-07-01

Ecosystems, though impacted by global environmental change, can also contribute to the adaptation and mitigation of such large scale changes. Therefore, sustainable ecosystem management is crucial in reaching a sustainable future for the biosphere. Based on the published literature and publicly accessible data, this paper discussed the status and trends of forest, grassland, and wetland ecosystems in China that play important roles in the ecological integrity and human welfare of the nation. Ecological degradation has been observed in these ecosystems at various levels and geographic locations. Biophysical (e.g., climate change) and socioeconomic factors (e.g., intensive human use) are the main reasons for ecosystem degradation with the latter factors serving as the dominant driving forces. The three broad categories of ecosystems in China have partially recovered from degradation thanks to large scale ecological restoration projects implemented in the last few decades. China, as the largest and most populated developing nation, still faces huge challenges regarding ecosystem management in a changing and globalizing world. To further improve ecosystem management in China, four recommendations were proposed, including: (1) advance ecosystem management towards an application-oriented, multidisciplinary science; (2) establish a well-functioning national ecological monitoring and data sharing mechanism; (3) develop impact and effectiveness assessment approaches for policies, plans, and ecological restoration projects; and (4) promote legal and institutional innovations to balance the intrinsic needs of ecological and socioeconomic systems. Any change in China's ecosystem management approach towards a more sustainable one will benefit the whole world. Therefore, international collaborations on ecological and environmental issues need to be expanded.

Quality Assurance Challenges for Motion-Adaptive Radiation Therapy: Gating, Breath Holding, and Four-Dimensional Computed Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang, Steve B.; Wolfgang, John; Mageras, Gig S.

2008-01-01

Compared with conventional three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiation therapy and intensity-modulated radiation therapy treatments, quality assurance (QA) for motion-adaptive radiation therapy involves various challenges because of the added temporal dimension. Here we discuss those challenges for three specific techniques related to motion-adaptive therapy: namely respiratory gating, breath holding, and four-dimensional computed tomography. Similar to the introduction of any other new technologies in clinical practice, typical QA measures should be taken for these techniques also, including initial testing of equipment and clinical procedures, as well as frequent QA examinations during the early stage of implementation. Here, rather than covering every QA aspect in depth, we focus on some major QA challenges. The biggest QA challenge for gating and breath holding is how to ensure treatment accuracy when internal target position is predicted using external surrogates. Recommended QA measures for each component of treatment, including simulation, planning, patient positioning, and treatment delivery and verification, are discussed. For four-dimensional computed tomography, some major QA challenges have also been discussed

Challenges in diabetes mellitus type 2 management in Nepal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gyawali, Bishal; Ferrario, Alessandra; van Teijlingen, Edwin

2016-01-01

references. Results Diabetes mellitus type 2 is emerging as a major health care problem in Nepal, with rising prevalence and its complications especially in urban populations. Several challenges in diabetes management were identified, including high cost of treatment, limited health care facilities, and lack...... on the prevalence, cost and treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2 and its complications in Nepal and to critically assess the challenges to be addressed to contain the epidemic and its negative economic impact. Design A comprehensive review of available evidence and data sources on prevalence, risk factors, cost...

Self trust, a major challenge for nuclear regulators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eibenschutz, J. [National Nuclear Safety and Safeguards Commission (CNSN), Mexico City (Mexico)

2014-07-01

Self trust. The nuclear community and particularly nuclear regulators overreact to accidents, this has been the case with the three NPP major accidents. Lowering admissible radiation levels, for example, conveys the wrong message to politicians and the general public, and contributes to enhance mistrust towards nuclear. Industry as well as regulators should mature and act with self respect, since the scientific bases of regulation are very solid and should be trusted. Lessons learned should be seriously pursued in spite of the 'uneven playing field'. Obviously safety continues as the main priority, but paranoid reactions from the nuclear professionals could destroy the future of nuclear power. (author)

Self trust, a major challenge for nuclear regulators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eibenschutz, J.

2014-01-01

Self trust. The nuclear community and particularly nuclear regulators overreact to accidents, this has been the case with the three NPP major accidents. Lowering admissible radiation levels, for example, conveys the wrong message to politicians and the general public, and contributes to enhance mistrust towards nuclear. Industry as well as regulators should mature and act with self respect, since the scientific bases of regulation are very solid and should be trusted. Lessons learned should be seriously pursued in spite of the 'uneven playing field'. Obviously safety continues as the main priority, but paranoid reactions from the nuclear professionals could destroy the future of nuclear power. (author)

The Adverse Drug Reactions from Patient Reports in Social Media Project: Five Major Challenges to Overcome to Operationalize Analysis and Efficiently Support Pharmacovigilance Process.

Science.gov (United States)

Bousquet, Cedric; Dahamna, Badisse; Guillemin-Lanne, Sylvie; Darmoni, Stefan J; Faviez, Carole; Huot, Charles; Katsahian, Sandrine; Leroux, Vincent; Pereira, Suzanne; Richard, Christophe; Schück, Stéphane; Souvignet, Julien; Lillo-Le Louët, Agnès; Texier, Nathalie

2017-09-21

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) are an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Classical Pharmacovigilance process is limited by underreporting which justifies the current interest in new knowledge sources such as social media. The Adverse Drug Reactions from Patient Reports in Social Media (ADR-PRISM) project aims to extract ADRs reported by patients in these media. We identified 5 major challenges to overcome to operationalize the analysis of patient posts: (1) variable quality of information on social media, (2) guarantee of data privacy, (3) response to pharmacovigilance expert expectations, (4) identification of relevant information within Web pages, and (5) robust and evolutive architecture. This article aims to describe the current state of advancement of the ADR-PRISM project by focusing on the solutions we have chosen to address these 5 major challenges. In this article, we propose methods and describe the advancement of this project on several aspects: (1) a quality driven approach for selecting relevant social media for the extraction of knowledge on potential ADRs, (2) an assessment of ethical issues and French regulation for the analysis of data on social media, (3) an analysis of pharmacovigilance expert requirements when reviewing patient posts on the Internet, (4) an extraction method based on natural language processing, pattern based matching, and selection of relevant medical concepts in reference terminologies, and (5) specifications of a component-based architecture for the monitoring system. Considering the 5 major challenges, we (1) selected a set of 21 validated criteria for selecting social media to support the extraction of potential ADRs, (2) proposed solutions to guarantee data privacy of patients posting on Internet, (3) took into account pharmacovigilance expert requirements with use case diagrams and scenarios, (4) built domain-specific knowledge resources embeding a lexicon, morphological rules, context rules, semantic rules

Challenges of Integrating Affordable and Sustainable Housing in Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Syed Jamaludin, S. Z. H.; Mahayuddin, S. A.; Hamid, S. H. A.

2018-04-01

Developing countries including Malaysia have begun to comprehend the needs for affordable and sustainable housing development. The majority of the population is still aspiring for a comfortable, safe and reasonably priced house. Households in the low-middle income range face difficulties to find housing that can satisfy their needs and budget. Unfortunately, most of the housing development programs are considering affordability rather than sustainable aspects. Furthermore, developers are more interested in profit and neglect sustainability issues. Thus, the aim of this paper is to review the challenges in integrating affordable housing and sustainable practices in Malaysia. This paper is produced based on an extensive literature review as a basis to develop strategies of integrated affordable and sustainable housing in Malaysia. The challenges are divided into four sections, namely market challenges, professional challenges, societal challenges and technological challenges. The outcomes of this paper will assist in the decision making involving housing development and in enhancing quality of life for sustainable communities.

Women's decision to major in STEM fields

Science.gov (United States)

Conklin, Stephanie

This paper explores the lived experiences of high school female students who choose to enter into STEM fields, and describes the influencing factors which steered these women towards majors in computer science, engineering and biology. Utilizing phenomenological methodology, this study seeks to understand the essence of women's decisions to enter into STEM fields and further describe how the decision-making process varies for women in high female enrollment fields, like biology, as compared with low enrollment fields like, computer science and engineering. Using Bloom's 3-Stage Theory, this study analyzes how relationships, experiences and barriers influenced women towards, and possibly away, from STEM fields. An analysis of women's experiences highlight that support of family, sustained experience in a STEM program during high school as well as the presence of an influential teacher were all salient factors in steering women towards STEM fields. Participants explained that influential teacher worked individually with them, modified and extended assignments and also steered participants towards coursework and experiences. This study also identifies factors, like guidance counselors as well as personal challenges, which inhibited participant's path to STEM fields. Further, through analyzing all six participants' experiences, it is clear that a linear model, like Bloom's 3-Stage Model, with limited ability to include potential barriers inhibited the ability to capture the essence of each participant's decision-making process. Therefore, a revised model with no linear progression which allows for emerging factors, like personal challenges, has been proposed; this model focuses on how interest in STEM fields begins to develop and is honed and then mastered. This study also sought to identify key differences in the paths of female students pursuing different majors. The findings of this study suggest that the path to computer science and engineering is limited. Computer

HUMAN CAPITAL: Major Human Capital Challenges at SEC and Key Trade Agencies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hillman, Richard

2002-01-01

.... The leadership provided by this subcommittee and the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs has been especially important in focusing attention on the federal government s human capital challenges.

[Improving treatment adherence in kidney transplantation: a major challenge].

Science.gov (United States)

Kessler, Michèle

2014-06-01

The kidney transplant recipient is faced not only with the perspective of taking immunosuppressive drugs lifelong, but also the possibility of other long-term treatments prescribed for preexisting conditions, complications, or side effects. Proper management, and most importantly patient adherence, can become a complex challenge. Here we recall current definitions and describe methods for measuring treatment adherence, followed by a discussion on the prevalence of non-adherence in kidney transplant recipients, its effect on graft survival, and factors predictive of non-adherence. Ways of improving adherence are examined, leading to the conviction that helping patients take their medications regularly would probably have a greater impact on graft survival than marketing a new immunosuppressive agent. Copyright © 2014 Association Société de néphrologie. Published by Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

Ensuring energy security in ASEAN countries: Current trends and major challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Senderov, Sergey; Vorobev, Sergey

2018-01-01

The paper discusses the issues of formation of future challenges to energy security of the ASEAN countries in the period up to 2035. The article gives examples of strategic threats to the energy security of Russia. The opportunities to meet future demand for primary energy for individual countries of ASEAN and the whole region are discussed.

HUMAN CAPITAL: Major Human Capital Challenges at SEC and Key Trade Agencies

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hillman, Richard

2002-01-01

We appreciate the opportunity to appear here today to discuss the human capital challenges facing the agencies that play key roles in monitoring publicly traded companies and enforcing our nation's trade laws...

Challenges for fuel cells as stationary power resource in the evolving energy enterprise

Science.gov (United States)

Rastler, Dan

The primary market challenges for fuel cells as stationary power resources in evolving energy markets are reviewed. Fuel cell power systems have significant barriers to overcome in their anticipated role as decentralized energy power systems. Market segments for fuel cells include combined heat and power; low-cost energy, premium power; peak shaving; and load management and grid support. Understanding the role and fit of fuel cell systems in evolving energy markets and the highest value applications are a major challenge for developers and government funding organizations. The most likely adopters of fuel cell systems and the challenges facing each adopter in the target market segment are reviewed. Adopters include generation companies, utility distribution companies, retail energy service providers and end-users. Key challenges include: overcoming technology risk; achieving retail competitiveness; understanding high value markets and end-user needs; distribution and service channels; regulatory policy issues; and the integration of these decentralized resources within the electrical distribution system.

Melittin, a major peptide component of bee venom, and its conjugates in cancer therapy

OpenAIRE

Rady, Islam; Siddiqui, Imtiaz A.; Rady, Mohamad; Mukhtar, Hasan

2017-01-01

Melittin (MEL), a major peptide component of bee venom, is an attractive candidate for cancer therapy. This agent has shown a variety of anti-cancer effects in preclinical cell culture and animal model systems. Despite a convincing efficacy data against variety of cancers, its applicability to humans has met with challenges due to several issues including its non-specific cytotoxicity, degradation and hemolytic activity. Several optimization approaches including utilization of nanoparticle ba...

An analysis of the major challenges and obstacles for international technical cooperation in health, Brazil-Mozambique.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Eduardo Mazzaroppi Barao

2017-07-01

Health has become a priority issue on the agenda in relation to Brazilian international technical cooperation in the last decade. This applies to Mozambique which is a strategic partner of Brazil's when one takes into consideration the volume of projects that have been undertaken between the two countries and the available resources on offer. There has been a shift in the foreign policy paradigm which has resulted in a new Brazilian foreign policy posture that promotes bilateral agreements and international cooperation. On conducting a retrospective and current analysis it is clear that there are, however, major obstacles and challenges for bilateral agreements and technical international cooperation that require in-depth study and which need to be dealt with in the area of health. This paper seeks to identify and analyze these obstacles with a view to providing proposals for ways forward. It takes the approach of using the methodology of reviewing specialized journals on this topic as well as using qualitative research from the main actors and institutions involved in bilateral cooperation.

Medical mycology and fungal immunology: new research perspectives addressing a major world health challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Gow, Neil A R; Netea, Mihai G

2016-12-05

Fungi cause more than a billion skin infections, more than 100 million mucosal infections, 10 million serious allergies and more than a million deaths each year. Global mortality owing to fungal infections is greater than for malaria and breast cancer and is equivalent to that owing to tuberculosis (TB) and HIV. These statistics evidence fungal infections as a major threat to human health and a major burden to healthcare budgets worldwide. Those patients who are at greatest risk of life-threatening fungal infections include those who have weakened immunity or have suffered trauma or other predisposing infections such as HIV. To address these global threats to human health, more research is urgently needed to understand the immunopathology of fungal disease and human disease susceptibility in order to augment the advances being made in fungal diagnostics and drug development. Here, we highlight some recent advances in basic research in medical mycology and fungal immunology that are beginning to inform clinical decisions and options for personalized medicine, vaccine development and adjunct immunotherapies.This article is part of the themed issue 'Tackling emerging fungal threats to animal health, food security and ecosystem resilience'. © 2016 The Authors.

Patients as team members: opportunities, challenges and paradoxes of including patients in multi-professional healthcare teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Graham P; Finn, Rachael

2011-11-01

Current healthcare policy emphasises the need for more collaborative, team-based approaches to providing care, and for a greater voice for service users in the management and delivery of care. Increasingly, policy encourages 'partnerships' between users and professionals so that users, too, effectively become team members. In examining this phenomenon, this paper draws on insights from the organisational-sociological literature on team work, which highlights the challenges of bringing together diverse professional groups, but which has not, to date, been applied in contexts where users, too, are included in teams. Using data from a qualitative study of five pilot cancer-genetics projects, in which service users were included in teams responsible for managing and developing new services, it highlights the difficulties involved in making teams of such heterogeneous members-and the paradoxes that arise when this task is achieved. It reveals how the tension between integration and specialisation of team members, highlighted in the literature on teams in general, is especially acute for service users, the distinctiveness of whose contribution is more fragile, and open to blurring. © 2011 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2011 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Self-Esteem Challenges of Nursing Students: An Integrative Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leila Valizadeh

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Self-esteem among nursing students is important in providing high-quality serviceto clients, yet each study in this field has described only a portion of existing relevant knowledge.Integrative review studies are the best practice for identification of existing nursing knowledge.The purpose of this study was to determine self-esteem challenges among nursing students. Methods: An integrative review was conducted in this study. The databases ProQuest, Medlineon PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Iran Medix were used for the review. The articleswere retrieved in three steps, including searching by search terms, reviewing the proceedingsbased on inclusion criteria and final retrieval and assessment of the available full texts. We used alist of keywords, including nursing, self-esteem and challenges and mixed them with "AND" and"OR" as a search strategy. Papers were included and eligible if they were associated with problemsrelated to nursing students’ self-esteem. Those studies that focused only on the self-esteem ofregistered nurses or patients were excluded. Search results were limited to the years 1960-2014. Results: Our findings showed three major challenges, including challenges associated withinconsistency in determining the level of students’ self-esteem, self-esteem associated challengesin professionalism of students, and the psychosocial challenges pertaining to the consequences oflow self-esteem. Conclusion: The findings suggest there is a need for more qualitative research to explore thefactors that contribute to self-esteem in nursing students with a particular focus on the factorsthat increase or decrease self-esteem. In addition, strategies to maintain and increase self-esteemneed to be designed, implemented and evaluated.

Performance profiles of major energy producers, 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-01-01

The energy industry generally and petroleum and natural gas operations in particular are frequently reacting to a variety of unsettling forces. Falling oil prices, economic upswings, currency devaluations, increasingly rigorous environmental quality standards, deregulation of electricity markets, and continued advances in exploration and production technology were among the challenges and opportunities to the industry in 1997. To analyze the extent to which these and other developments have affected energy industry financial and operating performance, strategies, and industry structure, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) maintains the Financial Reporting Systems (FRS). Through Form EIA-28, major US energy companies annually report to the FRS. Financial and operating information is reported by major lines of business, including oil and gas production (upstream), petroleum refining and marketing (downstream), other energy operations, and nonenergy business. Performance Profiles of Major Producers 1997 examines the interplays of energy markets, companies` strategies, and government policies (in 1997 and in historical context) that gave rise to the results given here. The report also analyzes other key aspects of energy company financial performance as seen through the multifaceted lens provided by the FRS data and complementary data for industry overall. 41 figs., 77 tabs.

Big data business models: Challenges and opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ralph Schroeder

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper, based on 28 interviews from a range of business leaders and practitioners, examines the current state of big data use in business, as well as the main opportunities and challenges presented by big data. It begins with an account of the current landscape and what is meant by big data. Next, it draws distinctions between the ways organisations use data and provides a taxonomy of big data business models. We observe a variety of different business models, depending not only on sector, but also on whether the main advantages derive from analytics capabilities or from having ready access to valuable data sources. Some major challenges emerge from this account, including data quality and protectiveness about sharing data. The conclusion discusses these challenges, and points to the tensions and differing perceptions about how data should be governed as between business practitioners, the promoters of open data, and the wider public.

Challenges for ICT/UCT Applications and Cultural Heritage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kim H. Veltman

2005-06-01

Full Text Available While a precise forecast for the next decades is clearly impossible, some major challenges that need to be addressed in the next 10-20 years can be identified. Technologically there will be a shift from Information and Communication Technologies (ICT to Universal Convergence Technologies (UCT. In the cultural realm, these challenges include problems of repositories, the changing scope of cultural heritage; new links between national, regional and local; between culture, knowledge and scholarship; approaches to intellectual property and to models of culture. Five dangers are outlined, namely, over-zealous commercialism; anti-technology among scholars, anti-universal narratives; forgetting the past and a systematic destruction of memory. The need for a permanent E-Culture Net is outlined which would a address these challenges; b develop critical methods; c create new models of culture that transcend Euro-Centric visions and d focus on a Distributed European Electronic Resource (DEER.The American vision of the Internet remains focusses largely on uni-lingual e-commerce. By contrast, the European vision, through its links with tourism, clearly has financial dimensions, and at the same time is developing a multi-lingual approach to cultural heritage that includes historical and cultural dimensions. This vision extends beyond culture to new definitions of knowledge. While the rhetoric of the day may focus on profit schedules for the next quarter, it is important to recall that major changes in new media have much longer cycles entailing decades and even centuries before their full effects are appreciated.

‘Moderate universalism’ in China and the Nordic countries: reviewing the major challenges in unemployment protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kristian Kongshøj

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Rapid welfare expansion is taking place in China across a range of policy fields. In the Nordic countries, intra-Nordic diversity and significant policy changes are not difficult to identify despite the notion of universal Nordic welfare regimes. This article will bridge these very different worlds of welfare in an effort to classify the Chinese unemployment-protection system with a comparative framework aimed at furthering the emerging Sino-Nordic research dialogue. This research dialogue has gained relevance in recent years with the new official Chinese goal of building a more universal welfare system. Welfare research that includes China from a comparative perspective is still extremely rare. Despite the lofty Chinese goals, many Chinese policy challenges still loom large. These are the rural-urban divide exacerbated by the Chinese household registration system, coverage of unemployment insurance and social assistance, inadequate and declining benefit levels, and, finally, funding issues. As this article will also substantiate, Denmark and Finland are something approaching best cases for illustrating intra-Nordic diversity. As regards the Chinese challenges, it is explained how they can to some extent be understood as the teething troubles of a developmental welfare state, since the Nordic counterparts have faced similar issues during their eras of welfare expansion.

A major challenge. Entrepreneurship characterizes the work of the Soviet Family Health Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Manuilova, I A

1991-09-01

The work of the Soviet Family Health Association (SFHA) is described. Created in January, 1989, the organization boasts 25 state-paid workers, and as of June 1991, membership of 15,000 corporate and individual members. Individual annual membership fee is 5 rubles, and entitles members to counseling and family planning (FP) services. The SFHA works in cooperation with the Commission on Family Planning Problems of the USSR's Academy of Sciences, and has been a member of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) since 1990. Association activities include lectures for students, newly-weds, adolescents, and working women on modern contraceptive methods; research on attitude regarding sex, sex behaviors, and the perceived need for effective contraception; clinical trials of contraceptive suitability for women; and the training of doctors in FP and contraceptives. Problems central to the SFHA's operations include insufficient service and examination equipment, a shortage of hard currency, and the small number of FP specialists in the country. Solutions to these obstacles are sought through collaboration with the government, non-governmental organizations in the Soviet Union, and international groups. The SFHA has a series of activities planned for 1991 designed to foster wider acceptance of FP. Increased FP services at industrial enterprises, establishing more FP centers throughout the Soviet Union, and studying FP programs in other countries are among Association targets for the year. Research on and promotion of contraceptives has been virtually stagnant since abortion was declared illegal in 1936. Catching up on these lost decades and remaining self-reliant are challenges to the SPHA.

Neurocognitive differential diagnosis of dementing diseases: Alzheimer's Dementia, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Braaten, Alyssa J; Parsons, Thomas D; McCue, Robert; Sellers, Alfred; Burns, William J

2006-11-01

Similarities in presentation of Dementia of Alzheimer's Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder, pose differential diagnosis challenges. The current study identifies specific neuropsychological patterns of scores for Dementia of Alzheimer's Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder. Neuropsychological domains directly assessed in the study included: immediate memory, delayed memory, confrontational naming, verbal fluency, attention, concentration, and executive functioning. The results reveal specific neuropsychological comparative profiles for Dementia of Alzheimer's Type, Vascular Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia, and Major Depressive Disorder. The identification of these profiles will assist in the differential diagnosis of these disorders and aid in patient treatment.

How is it going? Peformance assessment in major projects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maylor, Harvey; Johnson, Mark; Turner, Neil

2017-01-01

an enhanced service performance model. This was then tested using a survey and a structural equation model derived. Development of this yielded new classifications but most importantly, provided a more meaningful method for measuring the performance of operational transformation projects. Specifically......Determining the performance of a major project is a challenge for both practitioners and scholars. In the context of operational change projects the challenge is exacerbated by the service-intensive nature of the transformation, temporal disconnects between contracting and delivery and lack...... management in major projects from an OM perspective....

Adjuvant occupational therapy for work-related major depression works: randomized trial including economic evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schene, Aart H.; Koeter, Maarten W. J.; Kikkert, Martijn J.; Swinkels, Jan A.; McCrone, Paul

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Major depression has far-reaching consequences for work functioning and absenteeism. In most cases depression is treated by medication and clinical management. The addition of occupational therapy (OT) might improve outcome. We determined the cost-effectiveness of the addition of OT to

Various Political and Social Challenges Including Wars and Displacement in Empowering Women and Girls in Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilüfer Narli

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Poor gender ratio in science and engineering has been a global concern, despite growing number of female scientists in the world. Women’s empowerment in science is key to achieve human progress and dignity and directly related to accomplishing SDG 16: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". What are the challenges that hinder women and girls’ progress in science? Added to several challenges discussed below, wars and displaced population create obstacles for female education and women’s advancement in science and technology. There are some challenges that have prevailed for the last two decades (e.g. economic insecurity and new challenges that are the results of the new forms wars, civil wars and extremism (e.g., large scale armed conflicts that involves state and non-state actors which have produced large numbers of displaced women in the Middle East who lost their jobs and isolated elsewhere, many young displaced females and refugees and who have no access to formal education and who face health risks in conflict and displacement settings, and new forms of gender discrimination produced by religious extremism.......

The boomer challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Barr, Paul

2014-01-01

Hospitals and the rest of health care will have to make some major adjustments to meet the needs of the aging baby boom generation. The first article in our year-long series inventories the many challenges that lie ahead.

Media practices and the challenge of political asymmetries

OpenAIRE

Pleyers, Geoffrey; Suzina, Ana

2016-01-01

In contemporary democracies, the establishment of a public space which is more open and accessible to disadvantaged groups, popular movements and communities is a major challenge. The media are both part of the problem and the solution. On the one hand, they strengthen or even produce divisions and the fragmentation of the public space. On the other, their use by social movements and civil society can establish connections between different social groups, include marginalized populations and ...

Diploma R.N.'s: A New Challenge for Career Planning and Placement

Science.gov (United States)

Bostaph, Charles; Moore, Marti

1978-01-01

Need for additional college education or career change is becoming common for registered nurses who are graduates of hospital diploma programs. This creates challenges for career planning and placement professionals, including counseling of R.N.s with a variety of majors and needs who wish to enter fields other than hospital nursing. (Author)

Personality, academic majors and performance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vedel, Anna; Thomsen, Dorthe Kirkegaard; Larsen, Lars

2015-01-01

Personality–performance research typically uses samples of psychology students without questioning their representativeness. The present article reports two studies challenging this practice. Study 1: group differences in the Big Five personality traits were explored between students (N = 1067......) in different academic majors (medicine, psychology, law, economics, political science, science, and arts/humanities), who were tested immediately after university enrolment. Study 2: six and a half years later the students’ academic records were obtained, and predictive validity of the Big Five personality...... traits and their subordinate facets was examined in the various academic majors in relation to Grade Point Average (GPA). Significant group differences in all Big Five personality traits were found between students in different academic majors. Also, variability in predictive validity of the Big Five...

Investigating the Molecular Basis of Major Depressive Disorder Etiology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jabbi, Mbemba; Korf, Jaalp; Ormel, Johan; Kema, Ido P.; den Boer, Johan A.; Kvetnansky, R; Aguilera, G; Goldstein, D; Jezova, D; Krizanova, O; Sabban, EL; Pacak, K

2008-01-01

Genes play a major role in behavioral adaptation to challenging environmental stimuli, but the complexity of their contribution remains unclear. There is growing evidence linking disease phenotypes with genes on the one hand, and the genesis of stress-related disorders like major depression, as a

[New challenges in basic and applied nutrition].

Science.gov (United States)

Palou, A

2006-01-01

The quality standards for nutrition and food have undergone major changes during recent years in parallel with the increase in scientific knowledge in the area of food and health. Trends in consumer demands are changing accordingly. While during the last century our concerns were firstly focused on ensuring the availability of basic foods and later on ensuring its safety, nowadays our society is concentrating on improving wellbeing and, particularly, on tackling and preventing the major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, diverse types of cancer, osteoporosis and autoimmune diseases. These problems account for almost 50% of the diseases and 60% of deaths over the world, and are directly related with the food we eat, irrespective of the importance of other factors (age, sex, physical exercise, genetic predisposition, nicotine poisoning or alcoholism). Europe has decided to go ahead with a major legislative change in the food sector (the Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods) which opens new perspectives to improve public health and offer clear economic growth for the health-related food sector. Putting into practice this new legislation and its consequences constitutes a major challenge. Nevertheless, new challenges are foreseen: our response to food depends on our individual genetic characteristics (nutrigenetics); it also depends on the individual history that is being imprinted (in a permanent or temporary form) on our chromosomes (epigenetics), as determined by the individual life style (food, different episodes and facts, including emotions) and, particularly, nutrition during the most active stages of our development. For the future, the additional contribution we will ask of food is to promote health and well-being in all facets. The requirement is that it should develop in a free framework, based on the best scientific available advice, with transparency as a fundamental guarantee. In this context, new

The international gas markets. Of major changes and challenges for Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Westphal, Kirsten

2014-01-01

Already in the 2010 edition of its World Energy Outlook the World Energy Agency noted an unprecedented degree of uncertainty surrounding the international energy markets. The rate of change in these markets is indeed stupendous, posing formidable tasks to business companies as well as the political leadership. The European gas markets face new challenges in protecting their security of supply which stem from the combined effects of the shift of LNG trade flows into the Pacific region, decreasing rates of home production and the ongoing transformation process within the EU.

Methodological challenges when doing research that includes ethnic minorities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Morville, Anne-Le; Erlandsson, Lena-Karin

2016-01-01

minorities are included. Method: A thorough literature search yielded 21 articles obtained from the scientific databases PubMed, Cinahl, Web of Science and PsychInfo. Analysis followed Arksey and O’Malley’s framework for scoping reviews, applying content analysis. Results: The results showed methodological...

The challenge of global warming

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bryner, G.C.

1992-01-01

The chapter outlines the science of global warming, the likely consequences of global warming and some of the major challenges in dealing with global climate change. Some of the major international organisations concerned with environmental issues are listed. International agreements might be used to limit emissions of greenhouse gases. 32 refs., 2 tabs

Static, Lightweight Includes Resolution for PHP

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M.A. Hills (Mark); P. Klint (Paul); J.J. Vinju (Jurgen)

2014-01-01

htmlabstractDynamic languages include a number of features that are challenging to model properly in static analysis tools. In PHP, one of these features is the include expression, where an arbitrary expression provides the path of the file to include at runtime. In this paper we present two

The medical leadership challenge in healthcare is an identity challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersson, Thomas

2015-01-01

The purpose of this article is to describe and analyse the identity challenges that physicians with medical leadership positions face. Four qualitative case studies were performed to address the fact that identity is processual, relational and situational. Physicians with managerial roles were interviewed, as well as their peers, supervisors and subordinates. Furthermore, observations were made to understand how different identities are displayed in action. This study illustrates that medical leadership implies identity struggles when physicians have manager positions, because of the different characteristics of the social identities of managers and physicians. Major differences are related between physicians as autonomous individuals in a system and managers as subordinates to the organizational system. There are psychological mechanisms that evoke the physician identity more often than the managerial identity among physicians who are managers, which explains why physicians who are managers tend to remain foremost physicians. The implications of the findings, that there are major identity challenges by being both a physician and manager, suggest that managerial physicians might not be the best prerequisite for medical leadership, but instead, cooperative relationships between physicians and non-physician managers might be a less difficult way to support medical leadership. Acknowledging and addressing identity challenges can be important both in creating structures in organizations and designing the training for managers in healthcare (both physicians and non-physicians) to support medical leadership. Medical leadership is most often related to organizational structure and/or leadership skills, but this paper discusses identity requirements and challenges related to medical leadership.

Levels of major and trace elements, including rare earth elements, and ²³⁸U in Croatian tap waters.

Science.gov (United States)

Fiket, Željka; Rožmarić, Martina; Krmpotić, Matea; Benedik, Ljudmila

2015-05-01

Concentrations of 46 elements, including major, trace, and rare earth elements, and (238)U in Croatian tap waters were investigated. Selected sampling locations include tap waters from various hydrogeological regions, i.e., different types of aquifers, providing insight into the range of concentrations of studied elements and (238)U activity concentrations in Croatian tap waters. Obtained concentrations were compared with the Croatian maximum contaminant levels for trace elements in water intended for human consumption, as well as WHO and EPA drinking water standards. Concentrations in all analyzed tap waters were found in accordance with Croatian regulations, except tap water from Šibenik in which manganese in concentration above maximum permissible concentration (MPC) was measured. Furthermore, in tap water from Osijek, levels of arsenic exceeded the WHO guidelines and EPA regulations. In general, investigated tap waters were found to vary considerably in concentrations of studied elements, including (238)U activity concentrations. Causes of variability were further explored using statistical methods. Composition of studied tap waters was found to be predominately influenced by hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifer, at regional and local level, the existing redox conditions, and the household plumbing system. Rare earth element data, including abundances and fractionation patterns, complemented the characterization and facilitated the interpretation of factors affecting the composition of the analyzed tap waters.

Transistor challenges - A DRAM perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faul, Juergen W.; Henke, Dietmar

2005-01-01

Key challenges of the transistor scaling from a DRAM perspective will be reviewed. Both, array transistors as well as DRAM support devices face challenges that differ essentially from high performance logic device scaling. As a major difference, retention time and standby current requirements characterize special boundary conditions in the DRAM device design. Array device scaling is determined by a chip size driven aggressive node scaling. To continue scaling, major innovations need to be introduced into state-of-the-art planar array transistors. Alternatively, non planar device concepts will have to be evaluated. Support device design for DRAMs is driven by today's market demand for increased chip performances at little to no extra cost. Major innovations are required to continue that path. Besides this strive for performance increase, special limitations for 'on pitch' circuits at the array edge will come up due to the aggressive cell size scaling

The Marihuana Dilemma: Challenge to Commanders.

Science.gov (United States)

The marihuana dilemma poses a major challenge to commanders in the US Army today. The problem was analyzed as to the characteristics of the drug...available to commanders to meet the challenge. The essay concludes that marihuana should not be legalized; drug users or former drug users should not be

Ongoing ostomy self-care challenges of long-term rectal cancer survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Bulkley, Joanna E; McMullen, Carmit K; Grant, Marcia; Wendel, Christopher; Hornbrook, Mark C; Krouse, Robert S

2018-05-29

Surgical treatment for rectal cancer (RC) can result in an intestinal ostomy that requires lifelong adaptation and investment of physical, cognitive, and financial resources. However, little is known about the extent of ongoing challenges related to ostomy self-care among long-term RC survivors. We analyzed the prevalence of self-reported ostomy self-care challenges and the physical and environmental factors that can support or undermine ostomy self-care. We mailed surveys to long-term (≥ 5 years post-diagnosis) RC survivors, including 177 adults with ostomies who were members of integrated health systems in northern California, Oregon, and Washington State. Potential participants were identified through tumor registries. Data were also extracted from electronic health records. The response rate was 65%. The majority of respondents were male (67%), and the mean age was 75 years. Sixty-three percent of respondents reported at least one ostomy self-care challenge. The most common challenges were leakage or skin problems around the ostomy and needing to change the pouching system too frequently. Twenty-two percent reported difficulty caring for their ostomy. Younger age and higher BMI were consistently related to ostomy self-care challenges. The majority of RC survivors reported ostomy-related self-care challenges, and 31% experienced problems across multiple domains of ostomy self-care. In addition, most survivors reported significant physical challenges that could lead to ostomy-related disability. Although the participants surveyed had access to ostomy care nurses, the care gaps we found suggest that additional work is needed to understand barriers to ostomy care, reduce unmet needs, and improve well-being among this group.

Reflections on Teaching App Inventor for Non-Beginner Programmers: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, Andrey

2014-01-01

App Inventor has been used successfully to teach introduction to programming course for CS/IS/IT and Non-CS majors. Now, researchers are looking on how to include the tool in the curriculum of more advanced computing courses. This paper presents some Issues, Challenges and Opportunities observed while teaching courses on Mobile Application…

BALB/c Mice Vaccinated with Leishmania major Ribosomal Proteins Extracts Combined with CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides Become Resistant to Disease Caused by a Secondary Parasite Challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laura Ramírez

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Leishmaniasis is an increasing public health problem and effective vaccines are not currently available. We have previously demonstrated that vaccination with ribosomal proteins extracts administered in combination of CpG oligodeoxynucleotides protects susceptible BALB/c mice against primary Leishmania major infection. Here, we evaluate the long-term immunity to secondary infection conferred by this vaccine. We show that vaccinated and infected BALB/c mice were able to control a secondary Leishmania major challenge, since no inflammation and very low number of parasites were observed in the site of reinfection. In addition, although an increment in the parasite burden was observed in the draining lymph nodes of the primary site of infection we did not detected inflammatory lesions at that site. Resistance against reinfection correlated to a predominant Th1 response against parasite antigens. Thus, cell cultures established from spleens and the draining lymph node of the secondary site of infection produced high levels of parasite specific IFN-γ in the absence of IL-4 and IL-10 cytokine production. In addition, reinfected mice showed a high IgG2a/IgG1 ratio for anti-Leishmania antibodies. Our results suggest that ribosomal vaccine, which prevents pathology in a primary challenge, in combination with parasite persistence might be effective for long-term maintenance of immunity.

Clinical Research Informatics: Challenges, Opportunities and Definition for an Emerging Domain

Science.gov (United States)

Embi, Peter J.; Payne, Philip R.O.

2009-01-01

Objectives Clinical Research Informatics, an emerging sub-domain of Biomedical Informatics, is currently not well defined. A formal description of CRI including major challenges and opportunities is needed to direct progress in the field. Design Given the early stage of CRI knowledge and activity, we engaged in a series of qualitative studies with key stakeholders and opinion leaders to determine the range of challenges and opportunities facing CRI. These phases employed complimentary methods to triangulate upon our findings. Measurements Study phases included: 1) a group interview with key stakeholders, 2) an email follow-up survey with a larger group of self-identified CRI professionals, and 3) validation of our results via electronic peer-debriefing and member-checking with a group of CRI-related opinion leaders. Data were collected, transcribed, and organized for formal, independent content analyses by experienced qualitative investigators, followed by an iterative process to identify emergent categorizations and thematic descriptions of the data. Results We identified a range of challenges and opportunities facing the CRI domain. These included 13 distinct themes spanning academic, practical, and organizational aspects of CRI. These findings also informed the development of a formal definition of CRI and supported further representations that illustrate areas of emphasis critical to advancing the domain. Conclusions CRI has emerged as a distinct discipline that faces multiple challenges and opportunities. The findings presented summarize those challenges and opportunities and provide a framework that should help inform next steps to advance this important new discipline. PMID:19261934

The success factors and the major challenges that Tal-Massar Winery in Gozo needs to address to develop the full potential of wine tourism

OpenAIRE

Borg, Jesmond

2017-01-01

This study focuses on the concept of wine tourism as a growing niche on the island of Gozo. Over the last decade, Gozo has seen a synergy between wine and the tourism indus-try which has led to the development of what is commonly known as wine tourism. As in other countries, wine tourism on this small island is leaving an impact on the social and economic aspects. This research aims to portray the success factors and the major challenges that Gozo needs to address to develop the full pot...

Do Biology Majors Really Differ from Non–STEM Majors?

Science.gov (United States)

Cotner, Sehoya; Thompson, Seth; Wright, Robin

2017-01-01

Recent calls to action urge sweeping reform in science education, advocating for improved learning for all students—including those majoring in fields beyond the sciences. However, little work has been done to characterize the differences—if any exist—between students planning a career in science and those studying other disciplines. We describe an attempt to clarify, in broad terms, how non–STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors differ from life sciences majors, and how they are similar. Using survey responses and institutional data, we find that non–STEM majors are not unilaterally science averse; non–STEM majors are more likely than biology majors to hold misconceptions about the nature of science, yet they are not completely ignorant of how science works; non–STEM majors are less likely than biology majors to see science as personally relevant; and non–STEM majors populations are likely to be more diverse—with respect to incoming knowledge, perceptions, backgrounds, and skills—than a biology majors population. We encourage science educators to consider these characteristics when designing curricula for future scientists or simply for a well-informed citizenry. PMID:28798210

Motivation, Challenge, and Opportunity of Successful Solvers on an Innovation Platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hossain, Mokter

2017-01-01

. The main motivational factors of successful solvers engaged in problem solving are money, learning, fun, sense of achievement, passion, and networking. Major challenges solvers face include unclear or insufficient problem description, lack of option for communication, language barrier, time zone...... other experts, the ability to work in a diverse environment, options of work after retirement and from distant locations, and a new source of income....

Challenges to effective crisis management: using information and communication technologies to coordinate emergency medical services and emergency department teams.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Madhu C; Paul, Sharoda A; Abraham, Joanna; McNeese, Michael; DeFlitch, Christopher; Yen, John

2009-04-01

The purpose of this study is to identify the major challenges to coordination between emergency department (ED) teams and emergency medical services (EMS) teams. We conducted a series of focus groups involving both ED and EMS team members using a crisis scenario as the basis of the focus group discussion. We also collected organizational workflow data. We identified three major challenges to coordination between ED and EMS teams including ineffectiveness of current information and communication technologies, lack of common ground, and breakdowns in information flow. The three challenges highlight the importance of designing systems from socio-technical perspective. In particular, these inter-team coordination systems must support socio-technical issues such as awareness, context, and workflow between the two teams.

"Hedge Your Bets": Technology's Role in Young Gay Men's Relationship Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

McKie, Raymond M; Milhausen, Robin R; Lachowsky, Nathan J

2017-01-01

Technology is playing an increasingly pervasive role among young gay men in the process of meeting potential romantic or sexual partners. We investigated challenges posed by technology related to young gay men's relationships. Focus groups (n = 9) of young gay men aged 18-24 (n = 43) were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was used to identify two major themes regarding challenges to relationship development and maintenance. Subthemes include unrealistic expectations of relationships, inauthentic self-presentation online, sexual primacy over romance, increased opportunities for infidelity, and jealousy. The implications of this study for sexual education and sexual health promotion are discussed.

Major life events and development of major depression in Parkinson's disease patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rod, Naja Hulvej; Bordelon, Y; Thompson, A

2012-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Non-motor symptoms including depression are important features of Parkinson's disease (PD). We aim to address the relationship between major life events and depression amongst PD patients free of depressive symptoms at baseline. METHODS: New-onset PD patients from California...... were recruited in 2001-2007 and followed up for 3-4 years. The participants (n = 221) were examined by neurologists and responded to comprehensive interviews that included major life events, social support, and coping measures from validated scales. Major depression was assessed using the Structured...... Clinical Interview for the DSM-IV depression module (SCID). RESULTS: More than half of all patients had experienced major life events since diagnosed with PD, and 22 patients developed a major depression. The number of life events was associated with risk of depression in an exposure-dependent manner...

International Charter "Space and Major Disasters": Typical Examples of Disaster Management Including Asian Tsunami

Science.gov (United States)

Cubero-Castan, Eliane; Bequignon, Jerome; Mahmood, Ahmed; Lauritson, Levin; Soma, P.; Platzeck, Gabriel; Chu, Ishida

2005-03-01

The International Charter 'Space and Major Disaster', now entering its 5th year of operation, has been activated nearly 80 times to provide space-based data and information in response to natural disasters. The disasters ranged from volcanic eruption in Columbia, floods in Europe, Argentina, Sudan to earthquakes in Iran, from landslides in Philippines to the tragic tsunami in Asia, all resulting in major loss of life and property. The Charter provided imagery and the related information were found to be useful in disaster relief and assessment. Since July 1st 2003, a framework cooperation agreement has been allowing United Nations organizations involved in disaster response to request activation of the Charter.The purpose of the Charter is to provide assistance in situations of emergencies caused by natural and technological disasters by pooling together the space and associated ground resources of the Charter participants, which are currently the European (ESA), French (CNES), Canadian (CSA), Indian (ISRO), American (NOAA), Argentinean (CONAE) and Japanese (JAXA) space organizations.This paper will point out some of the best cases of Charter activation for different disasters leading to change detection imagery and damage assessment products which could be used for disaster reduction in close co-ordination with the end users after the crisis period.

Operational challenges and opportunities in pastured poultry operations in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Elkhoraibi, C; Pitesky, M; Dailey, N; Niemeier, D

2017-06-01

As pastured poultry production has gained increased popularity in the United States in recent years, there is a growing need for research and outreach efforts aimed at this sector of poultry production. In order to get familiarized with American pastured poultry producers, we conducted an online questionnaire aimed primarily at evaluating what operational challenges are faced by producers and what educational opportunities should be initiated by researchers. Results showed that pastured poultry farms largely vary in total number of acres farmed and total number of birds kept. The vast majority of farms (96%) rotate their flocks on pasture and include livestock species (78%) in their rotation systems. Mobile coops are the preferred housing option provided by producers (88%). The most common source of mortality listed by respondents was predation (52%), followed by "other" (32%). However, predation was not selected as the most important challenge by the majority of respondents. Sixty-four percent of participants instead mentioned providing adequate feed at reasonable cost as the major challenge in raising poultry on pasture, followed again by "other" (52%) and lack of processing facilities for small numbers of birds (40%). Finally, the topics considered by respondents as the most helpful to learn more about were how to improve egg production rate and/or feed conversion ratio (67%), followed by how to improve pasture condition and optimum vegetative cover all year round (62%). Despite its small sample size, this study's results provide some valuable insights of challenges encountered and information needed on pastured poultry farms. © 2017 Poultry Science Association Inc.

MAJOR TRENDS OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION IN CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Iulia ZINCA (VOICULESCU

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Given that the economic landscape becomes more and more complex and dynamic, the internal audit plays an increasing role, being considered a pillar of the corporate governance structure of credit institutions. Failures of risk management have demonstrated the important role of internal audit and the need for it to evolve and to meet the multiple expectations of the stakeholders. Beyond the core assurance provided by internal audit relating to risk and controls, these expectations include providing a deeper insight and value, particularly in the areas of strategy achievement, emerging risks and use of advanced data analysis. This paper aims to identify the major challenges encountered by the internal audit function in credit institutions in the current period and the ways in which internal audit can respond to these challenges, to deliver according to the growing expectations on corporate governance and to actively support the organizations in achieving a steady and sound development.

MAJOR TRENDS OF THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION IN CREDIT INSTITUTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clara Iulia ZINCA (VOICULESCU

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Given that the economic landscape becomes more and more complex and dynamic, the internal audit plays an increasing role, being considered a pillar of the corporate governance structure of credit institutions. Failures of risk management have demonstrated the important role of internal audit and the need for it to evolve and to meet the multiple expectations of the stakeholders. Beyond the core assurance provided by internal audit relating to risk and controls, these expectations include providing a deeper insight and value, particularly in the areas of strategy achievement, emerging risks and use of advanced data analysis. This paper aims to identify the major challenges encountered by the internal audit function in credit institutions in the current period and the ways in which internal audit can respond to these challenges, to deliver according to the growing expectations on corporate governance and to actively support the organizations in achieving a steady and sound development.

Comparison of views of the nature of science between natural science and nonscience majors.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Marie C Desaulniers; Montplaisir, Lisa M; Offerdahl, Erika G; Cheng, Fu-Chih; Ketterling, Gerald L

2010-01-01

Science educators have the common goal of helping students develop scientific literacy, including understanding of the nature of science (NOS). University faculties are challenged with the need to develop informed NOS views in several major student subpopulations, including science majors and nonscience majors. Research into NOS views of undergraduates, particularly science majors, has been limited. In this study, NOS views of undergraduates in introductory environmental science and upper-level animal behavior courses were measured using Likert items and open-ended prompts. Analysis revealed similarities in students' views between the two courses; both populations held a mix of naïve, transitional, and moderately informed views. Comparison of pre- and postcourse mean scores revealed significant changes in NOS views only in select aspects of NOS. Student scores on sections addressing six aspects of NOS were significantly different in most cases, showing notably uninformed views of the distinctions between scientific theories and laws. Evidence-based insight into student NOS views can aid in reforming undergraduate science courses and will add to faculty and researcher understanding of the impressions of science held by undergraduates, helping educators improve scientific literacy in future scientists and diverse college graduates.

Challenges of ITER diagnostic electrical services

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Encheva, A., E-mail: anna.encheva@iter.org [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Omran, H. [Oxford Technologies Ltd, 7 Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL (United Kingdom); Pérez-Lasala, M. [The European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy, c/Josep Pla, n° 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral, Edificio B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain); Alekseev, A. [Efremov Institute, Metallostroy, Doroga na Metallostroy, 3 bld., Saint-Petersburg 196641 (Russian Federation); Arshad, S. [The European Joint Undertaking for ITER and the Development of Fusion Energy, c/Josep Pla, n° 2, Torres Diagonal Litoral, Edificio B3, 08019 Barcelona (Spain); Bede, O. [Oxford Technologies Ltd, 7 Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL (United Kingdom); Bender, S. [Efremov Institute, Metallostroy, Doroga na Metallostroy, 3 bld., Saint-Petersburg 196641 (Russian Federation); Bertalot, L.; Direz, M.-F.; Drevon, J.-M.; Jakhar, S.; Kaschuk, Y.; Komarov, V.; Lebarbier, R. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Lucca, F. [L.T. Calcoli SaS, Piazza Prinetti 26/B, 23807 Merate (Italy); Macklin, B.; Maquet, P. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Marin, A. [L.T. Calcoli SaS, Piazza Prinetti 26/B, 23807 Merate (Italy); Martin, A. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 St Paul-Lez-Durance (France); Mills, S. [Oxford Technologies Ltd, 7 Nuffield Way, Abingdon OX14 1RL (United Kingdom); and others

2013-10-15

Highlights: • A brief description of all major components part of diagnostic electrical services has been given. • The integration challenges have been presented. • Design assumptions and requirements for the components have been described. • The design of the conduit/loom and the relevant analysis has been highlighted. -- Abstract: Diagnostic electrical services provide the electrical infrastructure to serve diagnostic components installed on the ITER tokamak. This infrastructure is composed of cables, connectors, cable tails, looms, conduits and feedthroughs. The diagnostic services offer as well a shelter for various instrumentations – vacuum vessel (VV), blanket and divertor. The diagnostic sensors are located on the inner and outer VV wall, on blanket shield modules, divertor cassettes and in port plugs. They require electrical cabling to extract the measurement and, in some cases, to supply electrical power to the sensors. These cables run from the sensors to feedthroughs on the VV and the port interspace or cryostat. The design and integration of all components that are part of diagnostic electrical services is an important engineering activity that is being challenged by the multiple requirements and constraints which have to be satisfied while at the same time delivering the required diagnostic performance. The positioning of the components must correlate not only with their functional specifications but also with the design of the major ITER components. This is a particular challenge because not all systems have reached the same level of design maturity. This paper outlines the engineering challenges of ITER diagnostics electrical services. The environmental conditions inside the VV will have an important impact. Leading risks to these components include poor electrical contact at connectors, the effects of exposure to nuclear irradiation, such as material transmutation, heating, and generation of spurious electrical signals etc., failure due to

Managing nuclear liabilities: 'hospital pass' or major opportunity?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

May, D.

1995-01-01

This paper sets out to start changing the perception that liabilities management is an unattractive part of the UK Nuclear Industry. The paper describes BNFL's successes and long term challenges in this area and concludes that liabilities management presents a major opportunity to:-Remove an Achilles heel of the industry; Create value for the companies concerned by successfully driving down costs; Sustain and exploit internationally a major UK competitive edge. (Author)

Panorama 2009 - trends and challenges in passenger mobility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Current demand for mobility encourages people to seek fast, individual means of transport. The automobile accounts for the bulk of passenger travel worldwide. This mode of transport is a source of annoying and harmful effects including noise, accidents, deteriorating infrastructure, traffic congestion and pollution (local and atmospheric). Some of these issues are now under regulation and have become less acute, but traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions are still major problems. Before assessing any policy undertaken to curb nuisance levels and harmful effects, one must be familiar with global mobility trends and the challenges involved

Ergonomics and sustainability – challenges from global supply chains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hasle, Peter; Jensen, Per Langaa

2012-01-01

The development of globalised supply chains is a major challenge for sustainability. For several years, there has been discussion within the profession whether and how ergonomics and human factors can play a role. Based on our research, we have identified five major challenges from global supply...... chains especially related to the social aspects of sustainability: (1) criteria for social sustainability, (2) the role of key performance indicators in the management of supply chains, (3) the constant changes in supply chains, (4) the challenge in establishing participation, and (5) the development...... of agency and regulatory mechanisms. There are obviously no clear and simple solutions to these challenges. One possible avenue for progress might lie in acquiring a greater understanding of the challenges from global supply chains and developing a strategy which combines social and long-term business...

Challenges of designing fusion reactors for remote maintainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Masson, L.S.

1981-01-01

One of the major problems faced by the fusion community is the development of the high level of reliability required to assure that fusion will be a viable commercial power source. Much of the responsibility for solving this problem falls directly on the designer in developing concepts that have a high level of maintainability for the next generation engineering oriented reactors; and long range, in developing full maintainability for the more complicated commercial concepts with their required high level of on-line time. The near-term challenge will include development of unique design concepts to perform inspection, maintenance, replacement, and testing under the stringent conditions imposed by the next generation engineering oriented machines. The long range challenge will focus on basic design concepts that will enable the full maintainability required by commercial fusion. In addition to the purely technical challenges, the fusion community is also faced with the problem of developing programmatic means to assure that reactor maintenance issues are given proper and timely emphasis as the nuclear phase of fusion is approached

Challenges of designing fusion reactors for remote maintainability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mason, L.S.

1981-01-01

One of the major problems faced by the fusion community is the development of the high level of reliability required to assure that fusion will be a viable commercial power source. Much of the responsibility for solving this problem falls directly on the designer in developing concepts that have a high level of maintainability. The problems are both near-term, in developing maintainability for next generation engineering oriented reactors; and long range, in developing full maintainability for the more commercial concepts with their required high level of on-line time. The near-time challenge will include development of unqiue design concepts to perform inspection, maintenance, replacement, and testing under the stringent conditions imposed by the next generation engineering oriented machines. The long range challenge will focus on basic design concepts that will enable the full mainatability required by commerical fusion

Challenges and Prospects of Traditional Food Processing ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper focuses on challenges and prospects of traditional food processing technologies and their products in Nigeria. The major objective of the paper is to identify the challenges confronting traditional food processing technologies as well as the potentials the traditional food processing technologies has in boosting the ...

Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2014

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

Ireland’s Competitiveness Challenge 2014, which is produced under the Action Plan for Jobs 2014, outlines the National Competitiveness Council’s view of the main competitiveness issues confronting the business sector in Ireland over the medium term, and sets out a series of policy responses required to address these challenges. Building on their earlier benchmarking of Irish competitiveness, the Council focus on six major themes in the 2014 report: addressing cost competitiveness; broadening ...

Systems Challenges for Hypersonic Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, James L.; Laruelle, Gerard; Wagner, Alain

1997-01-01

This paper examines the system challenges posed by fully reusable hypersonic cruise airplanes and access to space vehicles. Hydrocarbon and hydrogen fueled airplanes are considered with cruise speeds of Mach 5 and 10, respectively. The access to space matrix is examined. Airbreathing and rocket powered, single- and two-stage vehicles are considered. Reference vehicle architectures are presented. Major systems/subsystems challenges are described. Advanced, enhancing systems concepts as well as common system technologies are discussed.

Orbital Cellulitis: Clinical Course and Management Challenges. The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Orbital Cellulitis: Clinical Course and Management Challenges. The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Experience. ... The major management challenges were poor financial status of patients precluding necessary diagnostic laboratory and imaging studies. Early recognition, diagnosis and treatment are crucial to ...

Challenges to studying the health effects of early life environmental chemical exposures on children's health.

Science.gov (United States)

Braun, Joseph M; Gray, Kimberly

2017-12-01

Epidemiological studies play an important role in quantifying how early life environmental chemical exposures influence the risk of childhood diseases. These studies face at least four major challenges that can produce noise when trying to identify signals of associations between chemical exposure and childhood health. Challenges include accurately estimating chemical exposure, confounding from causes of both exposure and disease, identifying periods of heightened vulnerability to chemical exposures, and determining the effects of chemical mixtures. We provide recommendations that will aid in identifying these signals with more precision.

Nano-based theranostics for chronic obstructive lung diseases: challenges and therapeutic potential

OpenAIRE

Vij, Neeraj

2011-01-01

The major challenges in the delivery and therapeutic efficacy of nano-delivery systems in chronic obstructive airway conditions is airway defense, severe inflammation and mucous hypersecretion. Chronic airway inflammation and mucous hypersecretion are hallmarks of chronic obstructive airway diseases, including asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and CF (cystic fibrosis). Distinct etiologies drive inflammation and mucous hyper secretion in these diseases, that is further induc...

Motivations, Challenges, and Opportunities of Successful Solvers on an Innovation Intermediary Platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hossain, Mokter

2018-01-01

. The main motivational factors of successful solvers engaged in problem solving are money, learning, fun, sense of achievement, passion, and networking. Major challenges solvers face include unclear or insufficient problem description, lack of option for communication, language barrier, time zone...... other experts, the ability to work in a diverse environment, options of work after retirement and from distant locations, and a new source of income....

Breast Cancer in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: An Emerging and Challenging Epidemic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arafat Tfayli

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Breast cancer is a major health care problem that affects more than one million women yearly. While it is traditionally thought of as a disease of the industrialized world, around 45% of breast cancer cases and 55% of breast cancer deaths occur in low and middle income countries. Managing breast cancer in low income countries poses a different set of challenges including access to screening, stage at presentation, adequacy of management and availability of therapeutic interventions. In this paper, we will review the challenges faced in the management of breast cancer in low and middle income countries.

Type 1 diabetes: Awareness, management and challenges: Current scenario in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K M Prasanna Kumar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM has a wide presence in children and has a high mortality rates. The disease, if left unmanaged, poses various challenges to the patient and healthcare providers, including development of diabetic complications and thus decreasing the life expectancy of the affected child. The challenges of T1DM include awareness of the disease that is very poor among the general public and also in parents of T1DM children along with the health care professionals. The challenge of lack of awareness of T1DM can be met by increasing public awareness programs, conducting workshops for diabetes educators regarding T1DM in children, newsletters, CMEs, online courses, and by structured teaching modules for diabetes educators. Diagnosis of T1DM was a challenge a few decades ago but the situation has improved today with diagnostic tests and facilities, made available even in villages. Investigation facilities and infrastructure, however, are very poor at the primary care level, especially in rural areas. Insulin availability, acceptability, and affordability are also major problems, compounded by the various types of insulin that are available in the market with a varied price range. But effective use of insulin remains a matter of utmost importance.

Type 1 diabetes: Awareness, management and challenges: Current scenario in India

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, K.M. Prasanna; Saboo, Banshi; Rao, P.V.; Sarda, Archana; Viswanathan, Vijay; Kalra, Sanjay; Sethi, Bipin; Shah, Nalini; Srikanta, S.S.; Jain, Sunil M; Raghupathy, P.; Shukla, Rishi; Jhingan, Ashok; Chowdhury, Subhankar; Jabbar, P.K.; Kanungo, Alok; Joshi, Rajesh; Kumar, Surendra; Tandon, Nikhil; Khadilkar, Vaman; Chadha, Manoj

2015-01-01

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) has a wide presence in children and has a high mortality rates. The disease, if left unmanaged, poses various challenges to the patient and healthcare providers, including development of diabetic complications and thus decreasing the life expectancy of the affected child. The challenges of T1DM include awareness of the disease that is very poor among the general public and also in parents of T1DM children along with the health care professionals. The challenge of lack of awareness of T1DM can be met by increasing public awareness programs, conducting workshops for diabetes educators regarding T1DM in children, newsletters, CMEs, online courses, and by structured teaching modules for diabetes educators. Diagnosis of T1DM was a challenge a few decades ago but the situation has improved today with diagnostic tests and facilities, made available even in villages. Investigation facilities and infrastructure, however, are very poor at the primary care level, especially in rural areas. Insulin availability, acceptability, and affordability are also major problems, compounded by the various types of insulin that are available in the market with a varied price range. But effective use of insulin remains a matter of utmost importance. PMID:25941655

Challenges and Opportunities of Airborne Metagenomics

KAUST Repository

Behzad, H.

2015-05-06

Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles.

The pain of chronic pancreatitis: a persistent clinical challenge

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

The pain of chronic pancreatitis represents a major challenge to those working in the field, including pain specialists, gastroenterologists and surgeons. This article describes the different aetiologies of chronic pancreatitis and lists the models for the pathogenesis of pain, including novel ideas such as the role of the immune system in the modulation of pain. The patient profile in chronic pancreatitis is discussed along with the social impact of the disease in relation to alcohol misuse. The range of treatment strategies including medical, endoscopic and surgical approaches are evaluated. Common analgesic regimes and their limitations are reviewed. The pain of chronic pancreatitis remains refractory to effective treatment in many cases and further study and understanding of the underlying pathophysiology are required. PMID:26516493

Challenges in Piaget's legacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bibace, Roger

2013-03-01

The publication of After Piaget (Martí and Rodríguez 2012) hopefully triggers a new effort to understand the richness of the efforts of that major psychologist of the 20th century. Piaget was consistently concerned with part/whole relationships throughout his life. He addressed this issue philosophically, epistemologically, and psychologically. Conceptually Piaget struggled with the issue of continuity/discontinuity in development and changed his mind about how to reconcile the discontinuities of stages with his concept of development. I also attribute his variability to the implications of his important work on perception, and to his willingness to get involved in widespread concrete applications of his approach to education including the education of children with special needs; his center for genetic epistemology, and his interest in psychoanalysis. Benefiting from all the authors of After Piaget, I want to point out that Piaget has identified many major issues that will continue to constitute challenges to psychology in this century. These include specifying terms such as 'development;' methodological issues such as sampling both quantitatively in one culture and across cultures; comprehensive inclusion of the psychological processes covered by introductory textbooks in psychology; and conceptual issues such as the relationships among all these parts within a whole. I make a distinction between an 'issue' and a 'problem'--problems have solutions; while issues refer to controversies in science generally as well as in psychology that have persisted for centuries.

The Mock LISA Data Challenges: from Challenge 1B to Challenge 3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babak, Stanislav; Porter, Edward K; Gair, Jonathan; Baker, John G; Arnaud, Keith; Benacquista, Matthew J; Cornish, Neil J; Crowder, Jeff; Vallisneri, Michele; Cutler, Curt; Larson, Shane L; Plagnol, Eric; Vecchio, Alberto; Barack, Leor; Blaut, Arkadiusz; Fairhurst, Stephen; Harry, Ian; Gong Xuefei; Khurana, Deepak; Krolak, Andrzej

2008-01-01

The Mock LISA Data Challenges are a programme to demonstrate and encourage the development of LISA data-analysis capabilities, tools and techniques. At the time of this workshop, three rounds of challenges had been completed, and the next was about to start. In this paper we provide a critical analysis of the entries to the latest completed round, Challenge 1B. The entries confirm the consolidation of a range of data-analysis techniques for galactic and massive-black-hole binaries, and they include the first convincing examples of detection and parameter estimation of extreme-mass-ratio inspiral sources. In this paper we also introduce the next round, Challenge 3. Its data sets feature more realistic waveform models (e.g., galactic binaries may now chirp, and massive-black-hole binaries may precess due to spin interactions), as well as new source classes (bursts from cosmic strings, isotropic stochastic backgrounds) and more complicated nonsymmetric instrument noise

Canada's oil sands, opportunities and challenges to 2015 : an energy market assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-05-01

The National Energy Board monitors the supply of all energy commodities in Canada along with the demand for Canadian energy commodities in domestic and export markets. This report provides an assessment of the current state of the oil sands industry and the potential for growth. It also identifies the major issues and challenges associated with the development of Canada's oil sands, one of the world's largest hydrocarbon resources. Initial production of Canada's oil sands began in 1967. The resource has become more economic to develop in recent years due to higher energy prices and new technologies. The economic potential of Canada's oil sands has been recognized internationally. Canadian oil sands production in 2004 will surpass 160,000 cubic metres per day. By 2015, production is expected to more than double to meet market demands. The challenges facing the industry include higher natural gas prices, capital cost overruns and environmental impacts. The major factors that affect the rate of oil sands development include natural gas supply, energy demand, oil and gas pricing, markets and pipelines, environmental considerations, emerging technologies, geopolitical issues, and labour. This report includes key findings for the following four key components: economic potential and development of the resource base; markets and pipelines; environmental and socio-economic impacts; and, potential spin-off developments in the electricity and petrochemical industries. 26 tabs., 53 figs

Do Biology Majors Really Differ from Non-STEM Majors?

Science.gov (United States)

Cotner, Sehoya; Thompson, Seth; Wright, Robin

2017-01-01

Recent calls to action urge sweeping reform in science education, advocating for improved learning for all students-including those majoring in fields beyond the sciences. However, little work has been done to characterize the differences-if any exist-between students planning a career in science and those studying other disciplines. We describe an attempt to clarify, in broad terms, how non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors differ from life sciences majors, and how they are similar. Using survey responses and institutional data, we find that non-STEM majors are not unilaterally science averse; non-STEM majors are more likely than biology majors to hold misconceptions about the nature of science, yet they are not completely ignorant of how science works; non-STEM majors are less likely than biology majors to see science as personally relevant; and non-STEM majors populations are likely to be more diverse-with respect to incoming knowledge, perceptions, backgrounds, and skills-than a biology majors population. We encourage science educators to consider these characteristics when designing curricula for future scientists or simply for a well-informed citizenry. © 2017 S. Cotner et al. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2017 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Challenges in Designing Mechatronic Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Torry-Smith, Jonas; Qamar, Ahsan; Achiche, Sofiane

2013-01-01

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. In order to tackle this, the critical challenges in mechatronics have to be well understood and well...... supported through applicable methods and tools. This paper aims at identifying the major challenges, by conducting a systematic and thorough survey of the most relevant research work in mechatronic design. Solutions proposed in literature are assessed and illustrated through a case study in order...... to investigate if the challenges can be handled appropriately by the methods, tools, and mindsets suggested by the mechatronic community. Using a real world mechatronics case, the paper identifies the areas where further research is required, by showing a clear connection between the actual problems faced during...

Challenges, issues and trends in fall detection systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Since falls are a major public health problem among older people, the number of systems aimed at detecting them has increased dramatically over recent years. This work presents an extensive literature review of fall detection systems, including comparisons among various kinds of studies. It aims to serve as a reference for both clinicians and biomedical engineers planning or conducting field investigations. Challenges, issues and trends in fall detection have been identified after the reviewing work. The number of studies using context-aware techniques is still increasing but there is a new trend towards the integration of fall detection into smartphones as well as the use of machine learning methods in the detection algorithm. We have also identified challenges regarding performance under real-life conditions, usability, and user acceptance as well as issues related to power consumption, real-time operations, sensing limitations, privacy and record of real-life falls. PMID:23829390

Challenges and Recent Progress in the Development of a Closed-loop Artificial Pancreas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bequette, B Wayne

2012-12-01

Pursuit of a closed-loop artificial pancreas that automatically controls the blood glucose of individuals with type 1 diabetes has intensified during the past six years. Here we discuss the recent progress and challenges in the major steps towards a closed-loop system. Continuous insulin infusion pumps have been widely available for over two decades, but "smart pump" technology has made the devices easier to use and more powerful. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) technology has improved and the devices are more widely available. A number of approaches are currently under study for fully closed-loop systems; most manipulate only insulin, while others manipulate insulin and glucagon. Algorithms include on-off (for prevention of overnight hypoglycemia), proportional-integral-derivative (PID), model predictive control (MPC) and fuzzy logic based learning control. Meals cause a major "disturbance" to blood glucose, and we discuss techniques that our group has developed to predict when a meal is likely to be consumed and its effect. We further examine both physiology and device-related challenges, including insulin infusion set failure and sensor signal attenuation. Finally, we discuss the next steps required to make a closed-loop artificial pancreas a commercial reality.

Challenges in Evaluating Clinical Governance Systems in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Hooshmand, Elaheh; Tourani, Sogand; Ravaghi, Hamid; Ebrahimipour, Hossein

2014-01-01

Background: In spite of the pivotal role of clinical governance in enhancing quality of services provided by hospitals across the country, a scientific framework with specific criteria for evaluating hospitals has not been developed so far. Objectives: This study was conducted with the aim to identify the challenges involved in evaluating systems of clinical governance in Iran. Materials and Methods: For the purposes of this qualitative study, 15 semi-structured interviews with experts in the field were conducted in 2011 and the data were analyzed using framework analysis method. Results: Five major challenges in evaluating clinical governance include managing human resources, improving clinical quality, managing development, organizing clinical governance, and providing patient-oriented healthcare system. Conclusions: Healthcare system in Iran requires a clinical governance program which has a patient-oriented approach in philosophy, operation, and effectiveness in order to meet the challenges ahead. PMID:24910799

Analytical chemistry challenges in MSRs and HTRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dulera, I.V.; Basak, A.; Vijayan, P.K.

2015-01-01

Efficient utilisation of our abundant thorium reserves is key to long term energy sustainability for our country. The Indian Molten Salt Breeder Reactor (IMSBR), being developed in BARC, is a very attractive option for this purpose. This reactor uses molten salts as fuel, and operates at high temperature, thus providing high efficiency electricity generation. The major challenges include technology development for molten salts, high temperature resistant materials, high efficiency power generation and on-line reprocessing of fuel. Innovative High Temperature Reactor (IHTR), is being developed for production of high efficiency production of hydrogen; which is attractive as an alternate energy carrier for transport applications

Extent of alcohol prohibition in civil policy in Muslim majority countries: the impact of globalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Ansari, Basma; Thow, Anne-Marie; Day, Carolyn A; Conigrave, Katherine M

2016-10-01

Many policies have been introduced to reduce alcohol harm in different countries. However, Muslim majority countries (MMCs), where the major religion (Islam) prohibits alcohol consumption, have less well-developed civil alcohol policies. Overall, MMCs have low prevalence of alcohol consumption, although recently most MMCs have been undergoing transition, which has sometimes increased pressure for alcohol availability and impacted on social practices, alcohol policies and broader public health. Globalization, the influence of the global alcohol industry, recent governmental transition or political instability and the presence of immigrants from non-Muslim countries can all affect civil alcohol policy. In this context, consumption overall has increased compared with two decades ago. This paper presents an overview of current civil alcohol policy, with regard to the presence or absence of alcohol prohibition, and provides an insight into the legal availability of alcohol in MMCs and the challenges facing policymakers. English, Arabic and Persian language sources were examined, using PubMed, government websites for each country and the World Health Organization (WHO). Some of the challenges MMCs may face in developing alcohol policies are explored, including the need to interact with the global economy and the potential influence of the alcohol industry. Muslim majority countries have adopted a range of civil alcohol policies in recent decades. There is a pressing need for better data and to support Muslim majority countries in alcohol policy development. Lessons from Muslim majority countries can help to inform other parts of the world. © 2015 Society for the Study of Addiction.

New capacity and the status of major projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osborne, R.; Eastman, P.; Bajc, F.; Hawthorne, D.

2003-01-01

This session included highlights from from four guest speakers who were asked to comment on new electricity capacity in Ontario and the status of major projects. The summer of 2002 was one of the hottest on record in Ontario and presented a challenge for suppliers of electricity to meet demand. Some of the extra demand was met by interties. Imports provided 5 per cent of consumption in July and 8 per cent in August. TransAlta and ATCO are currently involved in 2 major projects to add generation capacity. In addition, Ontario Power Generation is getting more production from its existing nuclear plants and has made significant investment to get greater efficiency and increase safety margins at the plants. One panelist suggested that nuclear power is a key part of meeting Canada's Kyoto greenhouse reduction obligations. It was emphasized that market participants should allow time to let the market work and let a free market respond to price signals. It was argued that consumers expect and rely too much on low-cost electricity and are therefore not encouraged to conserve energy or look into new generation requirements. figs

Major Management Challenges and Program Risks Department of Defense

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

1999-01-01

.... The report also addresses corrective actions that DOD has taken or initiated on these issues- including DOD'S blueprint for a strategy-based, balanced, and affordable defense program as outlined...

Challenges in diabetes mellitus type 2 management in Nepal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gyawali, Bishal; Ferrario, Alessandra; van Teijlingen, Edwin

2016-01-01

on the prevalence, cost and treatment of diabetes mellitus type 2 and its complications in Nepal and to critically assess the challenges to be addressed to contain the epidemic and its negative economic impact. DESIGN: A comprehensive review of available evidence and data sources on prevalence, risk factors, cost......, complications, treatment, and management of diabetes mellitus type 2 in Nepal was conducted through an online database search for articles published in English between January 2000 and November 2015. Additionally, we performed a manual search of articles and reference lists of published articles for additional...... references. RESULTS: Diabetes mellitus type 2 is emerging as a major health care problem in Nepal, with rising prevalence and its complications especially in urban populations. Several challenges in diabetes management were identified, including high cost of treatment, limited health care facilities...

Research Challenges for the Internet of Things: What Role Can OR Play?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Ryan

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The Internet of Things (IoT is an extension of the Internet in which large numbers of “things”, including sensors, actuators and processors, in addition to human users, are networked and able to provide high resolution data on their environment and exercise a degree of control over it. It is still at an early stage of development, and many problems/research challenges must be solved before it is widely adopted. Many of these are technical, including interoperability and scalability, as billions of heterogeneous devices will be connected, but deciding on how to invest in the IoT is a challenge for business, and there are also major social, legal and ethical challenges, including security and privacy of data collection, which must be resolved. As the future IoT will be a multi-national, multi-industry, multi-technology infrastructure, the paper reviews the global standardization efforts that are underway to facilitate its worldwide creation and adoption. The main purpose of the paper is to give a broad survey, based on published literature, of the methods of Operations Research (OR, both the mathematical tools and techniques of “hard” OR, and the various approaches of Systems Thinking, including “soft” OR, which may assist in dealing with these problems. A subset of these is described in greater depth to better convey what might be involved in applying OR and Systems Thinking to the IoT. It is suggested that OR has a role to play in balancing the technical and non-technical research challenges which confront the IoT.

Deep Space Exploration: Will We Be Ready? Infectious Diseases, Microgravity and Other Forces Affecting Health Pose Challenges for Humans Planning to Explore Space

Science.gov (United States)

LaRocco, Mark T.; Pierson, Duane L.

1999-01-01

In contemplating space travel beyond earth orbits, we humans face significant barriers and major challenges. Although researchers involved in several scientific subdisciplines, including space medicine and space life sciences, may provide insights to help overcome those barriers, their efforts are at an early stage of development, leaving open many questions of potentially major consequence.

Machine Learning wins the Higgs Challenge

CERN Multimedia

Abha Eli Phoboo

2014-01-01

The winner of the four-month-long Higgs Machine Learning Challenge, launched on 12 May, is Gábor Melis from Hungary, followed closely by Tim Salimans from the Netherlands and Pierre Courtiol from France. The challenge explored the potential of advanced machine learning methods to improve the significance of the Higgs discovery.   Winners of the Higgs Machine Learning Challenge: Gábor Melis and Tim Salimans (top row), Tianqi Chen and Tong He (bottom row). Participants in the Higgs Machine Learning Challenge were tasked with developing an algorithm to improve the detection of Higgs boson signal events decaying into two tau particles in a sample of simulated ATLAS data* that contains few signal and a majority of non-Higgs boson “background” events. No knowledge of particle physics was required for the challenge but skills in machine learning - the training of computers to recognise patterns in data – were essential. The Challenge, hosted by Ka...

Development of an Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Major in The Earth System, Environment and Society

Science.gov (United States)

Wuebbles, D. J.

2003-12-01

Humanity faces great challenges in the 21st Century to understand and limit our impact on the Earth System. To address these challenges, it is essential to understand the nature and implications of environmental change, and the complexity of the Earth system. We need to educate citizens that have the background to make new developments in understanding technical aspects of the Earth System, and to develop an understanding the interactions between society and the Earth System sufficient to make informed policy choices. Traditional disciplinary departments and majors don't fully address this; teaching and research talent in the study of the Earth System is spread over many disciplinary-oriented departments. At the University of Illinois, we are currently developing a new cross-disciplinary undergraduate major being called The Earth system, environment and Society. This development is co-sponsored by a number of departments centered in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (but including other departments throughout the university). Our intention is that this major will be a catalyst for bringing together the many disciplines involved in Earth System Science education. The curriculum and course for study will focus on the science and human dimensions of the Earth system, with special emphasis on the processes and issues related to the environment across a range of spatial scales from local and regional to global. Along with meeting the requirements expected of all students in a liberal arts and sciences major, students in The Earth System, Environment and Society major will be required to complete a core set of courses designed to introduce students to all of the different components of the Earth System (students will choose from course options in both the sciences and the social sciences). After completing the core courses, students will then focus their studies on one of the two options within the major, Science of the Earth System (this option will emphasize the

Vaccine prevention of meningococcal disease in Africa: Major advances, remaining challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Mustapha, Mustapha M; Harrison, Lee H

2017-12-06

Africa historically has had the highest incidence of meningococcal disease with high endemic rates and periodic epidemics. The meningitis belt, a region of sub-Saharan Africa extending from Senegal to Ethiopia, has experienced large, devastating epidemics. However, dramatic shifts in the epidemiology of meningococcal disease have occurred recently. For instance, meningococcal capsular group A (NmA) epidemics in the meningitis belt have essentially been eliminated by use of conjugate vaccine. However, NmW epidemics have emerged and spread across the continent since 2000; NmX epidemics have occurred sporadically, and NmC recently emerged in Nigeria and Niger. Outside the meningitis belt, NmB predominates in North Africa, while NmW followed by NmB predominate in South Africa. Improved surveillance is necessary to address the challenges of this changing epidemiologic picture. A low-cost, multivalent conjugate vaccine covering NmA and the emergent and prevalent meningococcal capsular groups C, W, and X in the meningitis belt is a pressing need.

Perseverative thought: a robust predictor of response to emotional challenge in generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruscio, Ayelet Meron; Seitchik, Allison E; Gentes, Emily L; Jones, Jason D; Hallion, Lauren S

2011-12-01

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) frequently co-occur, yet the reasons for their comorbidity remain poorly understood. In the present experiment, we tested whether a tendency to engage in negative, repetitive thinking constitutes a common risk process for the two disorders. A mixed sample of adults with comorbid GAD-MDD (n=50), GAD only (n=35), MDD only (n=34), or no lifetime psychopathology (n=35) was administered noncontingent failure and success feedback on consecutive performance tasks. Perseverative thought (PT), measured by negative thought intrusions during a baseline period of focused breathing, emerged as a powerful prospective predictor of responses to this experimental challenge. Participants reporting more frequent negative thought intrusions at baseline, irrespective of thought content or diagnostic status, exhibited a stronger negative response to failure that persisted even after subsequent success. Higher PT over the course of the experiment was associated with later behavioral avoidance, with negative affect and other traits closely linked to anxiety and depression, and with the presence and severity of GAD and MDD. These findings provide evidence for a broadly-defined PT trait that is shared by GAD and MDD and contributes to adverse outcomes in these disorders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The challenges and possibilities of public access defibrillation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ringh, Mattias; Hollenberg, Jacob; Palsgaard-Moeller, Thea; Svensson, Leif; Rosenqvist, Mårten; Lippert, Freddy K.; Wissenberg, Mads; Malta Hansen, Carolina; Claesson, Andreas; Viereck, Soren; Zijlstra, Jolande A.; Koster, Rudolph W.; Herlitz, Johan; Blom, Marieke T.; Kramer-Johansen, Jo; Tan, Hanno L.; Beesems, Steffie; Hulleman, Michiel; Olasveengen, Theresa M.; Folke, Fredrik

2018-01-01

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is a major health problem that affects approximately four hundred and thousand patients annually in the United States alone. It is a major challenge for the emergency medical system as decreased survival rates are directly proportional to the time delay from

The GREAT3 challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyatake, H; Mandelbaum, R; Rowe, B

2014-01-01

The GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing 3 (GREAT3) challenge is an image analysis competition that aims to test algorithms to measure weak gravitational lensing from astronomical images. The challenge started in October 2013 and ends 30 April 2014. The challenge focuses on testing the impact on weak lensing measurements of realistically complex galaxy morphologies, realistic point spread function, and combination of multiple different exposures. It includes simulated ground- and space-based data. The details of the challenge are described in [1], and the challenge website and its leader board can be found at http://great3challenge.info and http://great3.projects.phys.ucl.ac.uk/leaderboard/, respectively

Knowledge and challenges of serodiscordant couples living among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Depression (51.4%) was the major challenge outlined by respondents followed by social isolation (37.1%). Despite these challenges the respondents exhibited relatively good knowledge on prevention measures as 69.2% resorted to the use of condoms and 92.3% did not share sharp objects. It was also revealed that there ...

Emotional labour demands in enabling education: A qualitative exploration of the unique challenges and protective factors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Crawford

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Students in enabling programs bring richness, diversity, and complexity to the teaching and learning environment. They are often from under-represented backgrounds, have experienced educational disadvantage or disruption, belong to multiple equity groups, and face academic and non-academic challenges, including mental ill-health. This pilot study explored academic staff experiences in teaching and supporting students in enabling programs. Using a collaborative autoethnographical approach, four members of a multi-institutional research group wrote first-person reflections in response to guiding questions. From generative and reflective discussions, different themes arose. A major theme was the high ‘emotional labour demands’ of teaching a vulnerable cohort, with both positive and negative effects on staff. Other major themes included: the diversity of emotional responses and coping strategies; the complex, sometimes contradictory, role of the enabling educator; the importance of communities of care and support; and the impact of witnessing students’ transformations. Within these themes, the challenges, rewards, and protective factors, which mitigate stress among enabling educators, were identified.

Challenges for malaria elimination in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira, Marcelo U; Castro, Marcia C

2016-05-20

Brazil currently contributes 42 % of all malaria cases reported in the Latin America and the Caribbean, a region where major progress towards malaria elimination has been achieved in recent years. In 2014, malaria burden in Brazil (143,910 microscopically confirmed cases and 41 malaria-related deaths) has reached its lowest levels in 35 years, Plasmodium falciparum is highly focal, and the geographic boundary of transmission has considerably shrunk. Transmission in Brazil remains entrenched in the Amazon Basin, which accounts for 99.5 % of the country's malaria burden. This paper reviews major lessons learned from past and current malaria control policies in Brazil. A comprehensive discussion of the scientific and logistic challenges that may impact malaria elimination efforts in the country is presented in light of the launching of the Plan for Elimination of Malaria in Brazil in November 2015. Challenges for malaria elimination addressed include the high prevalence of symptomless and submicroscopic infections, emerging anti-malarial drug resistance in P. falciparum and Plasmodium vivax and the lack of safe anti-relapse drugs, the largely neglected burden of malaria in pregnancy, the need for better vector control strategies where Anopheles mosquitoes present a highly variable biting behaviour, human movement, the need for effective surveillance and tools to identify foci of infection in areas with low transmission, and the effects of environmental changes and climatic variability in transmission. Control actions launched in Brazil and results to come are likely to influence control programs in other countries in the Americas.

Challenges and countermeasures of China’s energy security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, Wensheng; Bluth, Christoph

2013-01-01

China is now a major consumer and importer of energy, and its choices and policies will increasingly affect the rest of the world. This paper analyses the key features of China’s energy policy as it faces the prospect of possible challenges to its energy security given the increasing reliance on fuel imports and the need to transform its energy to meet the requirements of a modern, fast-growing economy. The paper examines whether the current energy mix is appropriate and sustainable, and considers the China’s policymakers new emphasis on energy efficiency, conservation, renewable energy and the shift to natural gas the primary energy source. It examines the internal and external constraints on China’s energy policy and considers the strategic dilemmas arising from China’s increasing involvement in international energy markets. It concludes that both the domestic and international implications of China’s search for energy security will confront policymakers with hard choices that will affect not only energy policy, but also China’s geopolitical grand strategy. - Highlights: ► Conception of energy security and energy policy in China’s grand strategy are expatiated. ► Challenges China is facing are analyzed from 4 aspects. ► New strategic thoughts of China including 6 capability enhancements are raised. ► Major tasks of safeguarding energy security contain 3 measures of improvement.

SEEDi1.0-3.0 strategies for major noncommunicable diseases in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Chun-Song; Tkebuchava, Tengiz

2017-07-01

The purpose of this article is to briefly introduce the status and challenges of major noncommunicable diseases (mNCDs), which include cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, as well as related risk factors, such as environmental pollution, smoking, obesity and sleep disorders. "S-E-E-D" rules or the strategies of "S-E-E-D" intervention (SEEDi) consist of four core healthy elements: sleep, emotion, exercise and diet. The history of SEEDi 1.0-3.0 is also introduced, which includes versions 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 3.0 of the program. These guidelines are suitable for prevention and control of mNCDs. Not only the "Healthy China" initiated in China's "13th Five-year Plan," but also the "Healthy World" philosophy needs SEEDi 1.0-3.0 strategies for control of mNCDs.

Oral food challenge outcomes in a pediatric tertiary care center

OpenAIRE

Abrams, Elissa M.; Becker, Allan B.

2017-01-01

Background Oral food challenges are the clinical standard for diagnosis of food allergy. Little data exist on predictors of oral challenge failure and reaction severity. Methods A retrospective chart review was done on all pediatric patients who had oral food challenges in a tertiary care pediatric allergy clinic from 2008 to 2010. Results 313 oral challenges were performed, of which the majority were to peanut (105), egg (71), milk (41) and tree nuts (29). There were 104 (33%) oral challenge...

The Grand Challenges of Organ Banking: Proceedings from the first global summit on complex tissue cryopreservation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Jedediah K; Bischof, John C; Braslavsky, Ido; Brockbank, Kelvin G M; Fahy, Gregory M; Fuller, Barry J; Rabin, Yoed; Tocchio, Alessandro; Woods, Erik J; Wowk, Brian G; Acker, Jason P; Giwa, Sebastian

2016-04-01

The first Organ Banking Summit was convened from Feb. 27 - March 1, 2015 in Palo Alto, CA, with events at Stanford University, NASA Research Park, and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs. Experts at the summit outlined the potential public health impact of organ banking, discussed the major remaining scientific challenges that need to be overcome in order to bank organs, and identified key opportunities to accelerate progress toward this goal. Many areas of public health could be revolutionized by the banking of organs and other complex tissues, including transplantation, oncofertility, tissue engineering, trauma medicine and emergency preparedness, basic biomedical research and drug discovery - and even space travel. Key remaining scientific sub-challenges were discussed including ice nucleation and growth, cryoprotectant and osmotic toxicities, chilling injury, thermo-mechanical stress, the need for rapid and uniform rewarming, and ischemia/reperfusion injury. A variety of opportunities to overcome these challenge areas were discussed, i.e. preconditioning for enhanced stress tolerance, nanoparticle rewarming, cyroprotectant screening strategies, and the use of cryoprotectant cocktails including ice binding agents. Copyright © 2015.

Plain language and organisational challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Karsten

2014-01-01

Changing the language in an organization is a major organizational change. In this article, I discuss some of the organizational challenges for one specific language change implementation, taking the stance that language change must be treated as any other organizational change for it to have an ...

Sustainable Supply of Resources and Energy is a Challenge

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kühn, Michael; Ask, Maria; Bruckman, Viktor; Hangx, S.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/30483579X; Juhlin, Christopher

2015-01-01

The European Geosciences Union brings together geoscientists from all over Europe and the rest of the world, covering all disciplines of the earth sciences. This geoscientific inter- and multi-disciplinarity is needed to tackle the challenges of the future. A major challenge for humankind is to

On Challenges for Hypersonic Turbulent Simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yee, H.C.; Sjogreen, B.

2009-01-01

This short note discusses some of the challenges for design of suitable spatial numerical schemes for hypersonic turbulent flows, including combustion, and thermal and chemical nonequilibrium flows. Often, hypersonic turbulent flows in re-entry space vehicles and space physics involve mixed steady strong shocks and turbulence with unsteady shocklets. Material mixing in combustion poses additional computational challenges. Proper control of numerical dissipation in numerical methods beyond the standard shock-capturing dissipation at discontinuities is an essential element for accurate and stable simulations of the subject physics. On one hand, the physics of strong steady shocks and unsteady turbulence/shocklet interactions under the nonequilibrium environment is not well understood. On the other hand, standard and newly developed high order accurate (fourth-order or higher) schemes were developed for homogeneous hyperbolic conservation laws and mixed hyperbolic and parabolic partial differential equations (PDEs) (without source terms). The majority of finite rate chemistry and thermal nonequilibrium simulations employ methods for homogeneous time-dependent PDEs with a pointwise evaluation of the source terms. The pointwise evaluation of the source term might not be the best choice for stability, accuracy and minimization of spurious numerics for the overall scheme

Challenges for nurse managers in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Frances Kam Yuet

2010-07-01

To critically review the challenges facing nurse leaders in China during healthcare reform. China is now undergoing a major reform aimed at enhancing the accessibility and quality of its healthcare at a level that is affordable to the people. Nurses have a key role to play in this reform. Key documents produced by the government of China were critically reviewed using the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) framework. A number of factors, including the insufficient number of nurses and the medical orientation of the health system, have hindered the development of nursing. However, healthcare reform has created new opportunities for nurses and nursing. This paper reviews the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by nurse managers in China. It identifies barriers but also possibilities for nurse leaders to advance nursing and make nurses visible in this era of transforming healthcare. Many of the issues identified in this review, such as the enhancement of quality and accessibility of care, are important to nurse leaders around the world. However, this article reveals the particular challenges faced by nurse leaders in China, with its unique social and historical background.

Mechatronic Design - Still a Considerable Challenge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Torry-Smith, Jonas; Qamar, Ahsan; Achiche, Sofiane

2011-01-01

Development of mechatronic products is traditionally carried out by several design experts from different design domains. Performing development of mechatronic products is thus greatly challenging. In order to tackle this, the critical challenges in mechatronics have to be well understood and well...... supported through applicable methods and tools. This paper aims at identifying the major challenges, by conducting a survey of the most relevant research work in mechatronic design. Solutions proposed in literature are assessed and illustrated through a case study in order to investigate, if the challenges...... can be handled appropriately by the methods, tools, and mindsets suggested by the mechatronic community. Using a real world mechatronics case, the paper identifies the areas where further research is required, by showing a clear connection between the actual problems faced during the design task...

Embracing the challenge of competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacDonald, C.

1998-01-01

The new and creative solutions that Edmonton Power is using to meet the challenges of deregulation, competition and demand for customer choice in the electric power industry are discussed. Among these creative initiatives, in 1997 Edmonton Power extended account management services to 850 accounts to deliver commercial and operational analysis of energy consumption and management. Another major focus of effort has been the introduction of time of use (TOU) pricing options to commercial and industrial customers above 150 kWh. This required the installation of the latest hourly metering technology and the establishment of new price plans and contracts. Two major challenges were highlighted: (1) the mismatch between the prices utilities pay at the power pool and what the customer pays at the meter, and (2) the increased volatility of hour to hour price changes are just some of the risks that will have to be resolved under the new market structure

Weaving History through the Major

Science.gov (United States)

Mayfield, Betty

2014-01-01

The benefits of including the study of the history of mathematics in the education of mathematics majors have been discussed at length elsewhere. Many colleges and universities now offer a History of Mathematics course for mathematics majors, for mathematics education majors, or for general credit. At Hood College, we emphasize our commitment to…

LncRNAs in vertebrates: advances and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Mallory, Allison C; Shkumatava, Alena

2015-10-01

Beyond the handful of classic and well-characterized long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), more recently, hundreds of thousands of lncRNAs have been identified in multiple species including bacteria, plants and vertebrates, and the number of newly annotated lncRNAs continues to increase as more transcriptomes are analyzed. In vertebrates, the expression of many lncRNAs is highly regulated, displaying discrete temporal and spatial expression patterns, suggesting roles in a wide range of developmental processes and setting them apart from classic housekeeping ncRNAs. In addition, the deregulation of a subset of these lncRNAs has been linked to the development of several diseases, including cancers, as well as developmental anomalies. However, the majority of vertebrate lncRNA functions remain enigmatic. As such, a major task at hand is to decipher the biological roles of lncRNAs and uncover the regulatory networks upon which they impinge. This review focuses on our emerging understanding of lncRNAs in vertebrate animals, highlighting some recent advances in their functional analyses across several species and emphasizing the current challenges researchers face to characterize lncRNAs and identify their in vivo functions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and Société Française de Biochimie et Biologie Moléculaire (SFBBM). All rights reserved.

Challenges and opportunities of airborne metagenomics.

Science.gov (United States)

Behzad, Hayedeh; Gojobori, Takashi; Mineta, Katsuhiko

2015-05-06

Recent metagenomic studies of environments, such as marine and soil, have significantly enhanced our understanding of the diverse microbial communities living in these habitats and their essential roles in sustaining vast ecosystems. The increase in the number of publications related to soil and marine metagenomics is in sharp contrast to those of air, yet airborne microbes are thought to have significant impacts on many aspects of our lives from their potential roles in atmospheric events such as cloud formation, precipitation, and atmospheric chemistry to their major impact on human health. In this review, we will discuss the current progress in airborne metagenomics, with a special focus on exploring the challenges and opportunities of undertaking such studies. The main challenges of conducting metagenomic studies of airborne microbes are as follows: 1) Low density of microorganisms in the air, 2) efficient retrieval of microorganisms from the air, 3) variability in airborne microbial community composition, 4) the lack of standardized protocols and methodologies, and 5) DNA sequencing and bioinformatics-related challenges. Overcoming these challenges could provide the groundwork for comprehensive analysis of airborne microbes and their potential impact on the atmosphere, global climate, and our health. Metagenomic studies offer a unique opportunity to examine viral and bacterial diversity in the air and monitor their spread locally or across the globe, including threats from pathogenic microorganisms. Airborne metagenomic studies could also lead to discoveries of novel genes and metabolic pathways relevant to meteorological and industrial applications, environmental bioremediation, and biogeochemical cycles. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Progress and challenges of disaster health management in China: a scoping review.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Shuang; Clark, Michele; Hou, Xiang-Yu; Zang, Yuli; FitzGerald, Gerard

2014-01-01

Despite the importance of an effective health system response to various disasters, relevant research is still in its infancy, especially in middle- and low-income countries. This paper provides an overview of the status of disaster health management in China, with its aim to promote the effectiveness of the health response for reducing disaster-related mortality and morbidity. A scoping review method was used to address the recent progress of and challenges to disaster health management in China. Major health electronic databases were searched to identify English and Chinese literature that were relevant to the research aims. The review found that since 2003 considerable progress has been achieved in the health disaster response system in China. However, there remain challenges that hinder effective health disaster responses, including low standards of disaster-resistant infrastructure safety, the lack of specific disaster plans, poor emergency coordination between hospitals, lack of portable diagnostic equipment and underdeveloped triage skills, surge capacity, and psychological interventions. Additional challenges include the fragmentation of the emergency health service system, a lack of specific legislation for emergencies, disparities in the distribution of funding, and inadequate cost-effective considerations for disaster rescue. One solution identified to address these challenges appears to be through corresponding policy strategies at multiple levels (e.g. community, hospital, and healthcare system level).

Challenges and strategies of medication adherence in Parkinson's disease: A qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Ju Young; Habermann, Barbara; Pretzer-Aboff, Ingrid

2015-01-01

Little is known about strategies used by people with Parkinson's disease (PD) to facilitate medication adherence in the U.S. The purpose of this study was to describe challenges in adherence to medication regimens and to identify strategies used to facilitate adherence to medication regimens. A qualitative research design was used to interview sixteen community-dwelling people with PD and five caregivers. Data analysis was performed using content analysis. The majority of the participants (81.3%) reported decreased adherence to medication regimens. Seven themes emerged from the data. The main challenges of medication adherence included medication responses, cost of medications, and forgetfulness. Strategies used to facilitate adherence to medication regimens included seeking knowledge about antiparkinsonian medications, seeking advice from family and friends, use of devices, and use of reminders. These findings may be important in formulating interventions to improve adherence to medication regimens for people living with PD. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of natural anaerobic dechlorination of TCE and 1,1,1-TCA in clay till including isotope fractionation and molecular biological tools

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, Ida; Bælum, J.; Hunkeler, D.

2010-01-01

One of the major challenges when using enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) as a remediation technology at clay till sites is to obtain good contact between added agents such as donor, bacteria and the contamination. It is unclear whether degradation only takes place in fractures and/or sand l...... including the location of degradation in the fracture matrix geology. An extensive field collection of cores and discrete soil sampling has been conducted and samples have been analysed using state of the art microbial and chemical tools including isotope fractionation....

Challenges and Opportunities for Occupational Epidemiology in the Twenty-first Century.

Science.gov (United States)

Stayner, L T; Collins, J J; Guo, Y L; Heederik, D; Kogevinas, M; Steenland, K; Wesseling, C; Demers, P A

2017-09-01

There are many opportunities and challenges for conducting occupational epidemiologic studies today. In this paper, we summarize the discussion of a symposium held at the Epidemiology in Occupational Health (EPICOH) conference, Chicago 2014, on challenges for occupational epidemiology in the twenty-first century. The increasing number of publications and attendance at our conferences suggests that worldwide interest in occupational epidemiology has been growing. There are clearly abundant opportunities for new research in occupational epidemiology. Areas ripe for further work include developing improved methods for exposure assessment, statistical analysis, studying migrant workers and other vulnerable populations, the use of biomarkers, and new hazards. Several major challenges are also discussed such as the rapidly changing nature and location of work, lack of funding, and political/legal conflicts. As long as work exists there will be occupational diseases that demand our attention, and a need for epidemiologic studies designed to characterize these risks and to support the development of preventive strategies. Despite the challenges and given the important past contribution in this field, we are optimistic about the importance and continued vitality of the research field of occupational epidemiology.

Technological challenges for manganese nodule mining

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Sharma, R.

The major technological challenges of deep-sea mining venture involve delineation of mine site and development of mining technology to bring out the minerals from extreme conditions (more than 5 km water depth, 0-3 degrees C temperature and 500 bars...

Challenges confronting female surgical leaders: overcoming the barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kass, Rena B; Souba, Wiley W; Thorndyke, Luanne E

2006-05-15

The number of women reaching top ranks in academic surgery is remarkably low. The purpose of this study was to identify: 1) barriers to becoming a female surgical leader; 2) key attributes that enable advancement and success; and 3) current leadership challenges faced as senior leaders. Semi-structured interviews of ten female surgical leaders queried the following dimensions: attributes for success, lessons learned, mistakes, key career steps, the role of mentoring, gender advantages/disadvantages, and challenges. Perseverance (60%) and drive (50%) were identified as critical success factors, as were good communication skills, a passion for scholarship, a stable home life and a positive outlook. Eighty percent identified discrimination or gender prejudice as a major obstacle in their careers. While 90% percent had mentors, 50% acknowledged that they had not been effectively mentored. Career advice included: develop broad career goals (50%); select a conducive environment (30%); find a mentor (60%); take personal responsibility (40%); organize time and achieve balance (40%); network (30%); create a niche (30%); pursue research (30%); publish (50%); speak in public (30%); and enjoy the process (30%). Being in a minority, being highly visible and being collaborative were identified as advantages. Obtaining buy-in and achieving consensus was the greatest leadership challenge reported. Female academic surgeons face challenges to career advancement. While these barriers are real, they can be overcome by resolve, commitment, and developing strong communication skills. These elements should be taken into consideration in designing career development programs for junior female surgical faculty.

The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Frederick S; Bradstreet, Matthew P; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie S; Johnson, Matthew W; Griffiths, Roland R

2016-12-01

Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens ("bad trips" or "challenging experiences"), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including affective (panic, depressed mood), cognitive (confusion, feelings of losing sanity), and somatic (nausea, heart palpitation) symptoms. Responses to items from several hallucinogen-sensitive questionnaires (Hallucinogen Rating Scale, the States of Consciousness Questionnaire, and the Five-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness questionnaire) in an Internet survey of challenging experiences with the classic hallucinogen psilocybin were used to construct and validate a Challenging Experience Questionnaire. The stand-alone Challenging Experience Questionnaire was then validated in a separate sample. Seven Challenging Experience Questionnaire factors (grief, fear, death, insanity, isolation, physical distress, and paranoia) provide a phenomenological profile of challenging aspects of experiences with psilocybin. Factor scores were associated with difficulty, meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and change in well-being attributed to the challenging experiences. The factor structure did not differ based on gender or prior struggle with anxiety or depression. The Challenging Experience Questionnaire provides a basis for future investigation of predictors and outcomes of challenging experiences with classic hallucinogens. © The Author(s) 2016.

Challenges in oral drug delivery in patients with esophageal dysphagia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kappelle, W.F.; Siersema, P.D.; Bogte, A.; Vleggaar, F.P.

2016-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Esophageal dysphagia is a commonly reported symptom with various benign and malignant causes. Esophageal dysphagia can impede intake of oral medication, which often poses a major challenge for both patients and physicians. The best way to address this challenge depends of the cause of

Methodological Challenges of Research in Nudging

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kleef, van E.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

2018-01-01

Complex societal issues, related to health and sustainability, provide major challenges to scientists, business managers, and policy makers alike. Despite their diversity, these issues have in common that effective solutions to public health (e.g., reducing prevalence of overweight and obesity) and

Challenges and Action Points to Amplify Agroecology in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Wezel

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Agriculture in Europe results in the production of food for both the European population and for the export sector. Significant environmental and social problems have emerged with the intensification of European agriculture. These include the loss of biodiversity, the contamination of soils, water, and food with pesticides, and the eutrophication of water bodies. Industrialized agricultural and food systems are also a major contributing factor in the decline of farm numbers, and the high use of antibiotics has led to serious human health problems. In this respect, agroecology can provide insights into important pathways and guide the design, development, and promotion of the transition towards sustainable farming and food systems. An analysis of the major challenges for the amplification of agroecology in Europe was carried out by 310 stakeholders in a World Café exercise and 23 sessions and workshops during the Agroecology Europe Forum 2017. The different challenges that were identified can be grouped into seven categories: (1 definition and concepts; (2 education, training, and knowledge sharing; (3 research approach and funding; (4 policies; (5 productivity and practices; (5 food systems and consumer awareness; and (6 co-optation. To address these challenges, the following key actions are recommended: (1 to develop a common understanding of agroecology; (2 to enhance education in agroecology and knowledge exchange; (3 to invest in agroecological research; (4 to develop policies enhancing agroecology; (5 to support new and existing agroecological practices; (6 to transform food systems; and (7 to strengthen communication and alliances. In this paper we present and discuss these recommendations for pathways and actions to develop sustainable agro-food systems in Europe through agroecology.

Proposed NOAA Budget Includes Hefty Increase for Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Showstack, Randy

2010-03-01

The Obama administration's proposed fiscal year (FY) 2011 budget for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would provide the agency with $5.55 billion, which represents a total increase of $806.1 million, or 17% above the FY 2010 budget enacted by Congress. At a February briefing about the budget, NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said the budget is a very good package for the agency and that it reflects the administration's commitment to the environment, science, public safety, and job creation. Noting that the agency's budget remained essentially flat between FY 2005 and FY 2008 during the George W. Bush administration, Lubchenco said, “the increasing demand for NOAA's services, coupled with a static budget, created a major challenge for NOAA in delivering on expectations.” She said the funding picture for the agency improved with the FY 2009 and FY 2010 enacted budgets. Lubchenco noted that the proposed budget would include $949 million for research and development, an $82 million increase, adding, “Our 2011 request for each line office [within NOAA] is higher than it was in 2010, and we are better aligned with congressional funding levels than in previous budgets.”

Courage under Fire: Duval County's School Board Chair Faces a Major Leadership Challenge

Science.gov (United States)

Fossey, Richard; Jenkins, Lynn

2011-01-01

This case set in Jacksonville, Florida, covers the years 1998 to 2001. A new nontraditional superintendent, Major General John C. Fryer, focuses on student achievement, but financial needs and Florida law require him to bid contracts for student transportation, upsetting a 50-year pattern of contracting without competitive bidding with more than…

Major workplace related accidents in Singapore: A major trauma centre's experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Zhi Xu; Teo, Li Tserng; Go, Karen T S; Yeo, Yen Teng; Chiu, Ming Terk

2010-12-01

Major workplace related accidents pose a significant healthcare resource challenge in Singapore. Our study looks at the epidemiology of patients who were admitted for workplace related accidents, in a single institution, with an Injury Severity Score of >9. There were 196 cases of major workplace related accidents admitted between January 2006 and December 2007. The median age of patients admitted was 37 years with a large percentage being males (95.4%) and non-residents (57.1%). The most common ethnic group was Chinese (53.1%) followed by Indians (23.5%). The most common mechanism of injury was fall from height (66.3%) followed by injuries as a result of falling objects at work (21.9%). The percentage of patients who required surgical intervention was 69.9%. Patients admitted for major workplace related accidents had a median length of stay of 5 days in the hospital, a median length of 24 days of medical leave (ML), certifying them unfit for duty and the average cost of stay for each patient was S$11,000. We have a better understanding of the epidemiology and socio-economic impact of workplace related accidents through this study. Workplace related accidents result in significant number of man-days lost from work and monetary cost to employers, medical insurance and the hospital. With an improved understanding, we propose methods to prevent and reduce such accidents in future. A direct consequence of which will be the possible reduction of hospitalisation costs and better allocation of healthcare resources in the future.

Democracy and Majority Rule in South Africa: Implications for Good Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Umezurike

2016-12-01

Full Text Available South Africa is a leading example of democracy in Africa albeit many argue that it has lost meaningful direction in aspects which range from its practice of majority rule, social cohesion, and neoliberalization of its political economy and international diplomacy. South Africa could fairly well be viewed as an emerging middle power but many of its actions have belied this thus allowing certain analysts to consider it as inconsistent, confusing, and even sinister. Some of the core problematic areas of South African democracy include poverty, unemployment, inequality, high level of HIV/AIDS, corruption, fast decaying educational system, electricity (load shedding, fast loss of rand value in the international market and rampant strike actions, especially in the mining industry. However, this paper depends on the documentary method of research to examine the drama surrounding the security upgrade of the President’s home at Nkandla. The findings show that in a democratic society like South Africa, majority rule may sometimes be a limitation of democratic practices. In order to avert the challenges which majority rule may pose to the other principles of democracy, the principles of values, such as separation of power among the three levels of government and rule of law, must be respected.

Nuclear energy safety - new challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rausch, Julio Cezar; Fonseca, Renato Alves da, E-mail: jrausch@cnen.gov.b, E-mail: rfonseca@cnen.gov.b [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2011-07-01

Fukushima accident in March this year, the second most serious nuclear accident in the world, put in evidence a discussion that in recent years with the advent of the 'nuclear renaissance' has been relegated in the background: what factors influence the use safe nuclear energy? Organizational precursor, latent errors, reduction in specific areas of competence and maintenance of nuclear programs is a scenario where the guarantee of a sustainable development of nuclear energy becomes a major challenge for society. A deep discussion of factors that influenced the major accidents despite the nuclear industry use of the so-called 'lessons learned' is needed. Major accidents continue to happen if a radical change is not implemented in the focus of safety culture. (author)

Nuclear energy safety - new challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rausch, Julio Cezar; Fonseca, Renato Alves da

2011-01-01

Fukushima accident in March this year, the second most serious nuclear accident in the world, put in evidence a discussion that in recent years with the advent of the 'nuclear renaissance' has been relegated in the background: what factors influence the use safe nuclear energy? Organizational precursor, latent errors, reduction in specific areas of competence and maintenance of nuclear programs is a scenario where the guarantee of a sustainable development of nuclear energy becomes a major challenge for society. A deep discussion of factors that influenced the major accidents despite the nuclear industry use of the so-called 'lessons learned' is needed. Major accidents continue to happen if a radical change is not implemented in the focus of safety culture. (author)

Nuclear energy safety - new challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rausch, Julio Cezar; Fonseca, Renato Alves da, E-mail: jrausch@cnen.gov.b, E-mail: rfonseca@cnen.gov.b [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2011-07-01

Fukushima accident in March this year, the second most serious nuclear accident in the world, put in evidence a discussion that in recent years with the advent of the 'nuclear renaissance' has been relegated in the background: what factors influence the use safe nuclear energy? Organizational precursor, latent errors, reduction in specific areas of competence and maintenance of nuclear programs is a scenario where the guarantee of a sustainable development of nuclear energy becomes a major challenge for society. A deep discussion of factors that influenced the major accidents despite the nuclear industry use of the so-called 'lessons learned' is needed. Major accidents continue to happen if a radical change is not implemented in the focus of safety culture. (author)

Challenges and opportunities for T cell-mediated strategies to eliminate HIV reservoirs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark Alan Brockman

2015-10-01

Full Text Available HIV’s ability to establish latent reservoirs of reactivation-competent virus is the major barrier to cure. Shock and kill methods consisting of latency reversing agents (LRAs followed by elimination of reactivating cells through cytopathic effects are under active development. However, the clinical efficacy of LRAs remains to be established. Moreover, recent studies indicate that reservoirs may not be reduced efficiently by either viral cytopathic or CD8+ T-cell-mediated mechanisms. In this perspective, we highlight challenges to T-cell-mediated elimination of HIV reservoirs, including characteristics of responding T-cells, aspects of the cellular reservoirs and properties of the latent virus itself. We also discuss potential strategies to overcome these challenges by targeting the antiviral activity of T-cells towards appropriate viral antigens following latency.

Dosimetry challenges for implementing emerging technologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin Fangfang; Oldham, Mark; Cai Jing; Wu Qiuwen, E-mail: Fangfang.yin@duke.ed [Department of Radiation Oncology Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27516 (United States)

2010-11-01

During the last 10 years, radiation therapy technologies have gone through major changes, mainly related introduction of sophisticated delivery and imaging techniques to improve the target localization accuracy and dose conformity. While implementation of these emerging technologies such as image-guided SRS/SBRT, IMRT/IMAT, IGRT, 4D motion management, and special delivery technologies showed substantial clinical gains for patient care, many other factors, such as training/quality, efficiency/efficacy, and cost/effectiveness etc. remain to be challenging. This talk will address technical challenges for dosimetry verification of implementing these emerging technologies in radiation therapy.

CHALLENGES IN THE MANAGEMENT OF GLAUCOMA IN A DEVELOPING COUNTRY; A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF PROVIDERS' PERSPECTIVES.

Science.gov (United States)

Adekoya, B J; Adepoju, F G; Moshood, K F; Balarabe, A H

2015-01-01

Glaucoma management is challenging to patients as well as to the eye care providers. The study is aimed at describing the challenges faced by providers using qualitative methods. In-depth interviews were conducted with selected Ophthalmologists and resident doctors in ophthalmology at centres offering medical and surgical glaucoma services in Lagos state, Nigeria, according to established qualitative methods. This was done using semi-structured, open ended questions to explore the providers' perspective on glaucoma burden, challenges in the management, surgery for glaucoma, acceptance of glaucoma surgery by patients, and recommendations for improving glaucoma services. The discussions were recorded with the aid of a micro-cassette recorder. Familiarisation was done to identify key ideas in the data, then, the main themes and sub-themes were identified. Quotes that reflect the themes and sub-themes were then identified in the data. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 11 ophthalmologists and resident doctors in training. Majority were of the opinion that glaucoma is a significant burden constituting about 35% of outpatient visits. Identified patient related challenges include; late presentation, lack of glaucoma awareness, delay in referral from optometrists, and poor compliance with medications. Shortages in needed equipment were also identified. Availability, affordability and counterfeiting of drugs were the major challenges related to medical treatment. Majority of the participants agreed that surgery should be offered to the patients as soon as the diagnosis of glaucoma is made. However, continuous monitoring of the patient on medical treatment is another line of option for them in early cases; if they are convinced the patients will be compliant. Some respondents considered the current number of glaucoma surgeries as adequate, while some think otherwise. Reasons put forward for reluctance to offer glaucoma surgery include; late presentation, lack

Transsphenoidal surgery in patients with acromegaly: operative strategies for overcoming technically challenging anatomical variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Zada, Gabriel; Cavallo, Luigi M; Esposito, Felice; Fernandez-Jimenez, Julio Cesar; Tasiou, Anastasia; De Angelis, Michelangelo; Cafiero, Tullio; Cappabianca, Paolo; Laws, Edward R

2010-10-01

In addition to difficulties with anesthetic and medical management, transsphenoidal operations in patients with longstanding acromegaly are associated with inherent intraoperative challenges because of anatomical variations that occur frequently in these patients. The object of this study was to review the overall safety profile and anatomical/technical challenges associated with transsphenoidal surgery in patients with acromegaly. The authors performed a retrospective analysis of 169 patients who underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal operations for growth hormone-secreting adenomas to assess the incidence of surgical complications. A review of frequently occurring anatomical challenges and operative strategies employed during each phase of the operation to address these particular issues was performed. Of 169 cases reviewed, there was no perioperative mortality. Internal carotid artery injury occurred in 1 patient (0.6%) with complex sinus anatomy, who remained neurologically intact following endovascular unilateral carotid artery occlusion. Other complications included: significant postoperative epistaxis (5 patients [3%]), transient diabetes insipidus (5 patients [3%]), delayed symptomatic hyponatremia (4 patients [2%]), CSF leak (2 patients [1%]), and pancreatitis (1 patient [0.6%]). Preoperative considerations in patients with acromegaly should include a cardiopulmonary evaluation and planning regarding intubation and other aspects of the anesthetic technique. During the nasal phase of the transsphenoidal operation, primary challenges include maintaining adequate visualization and hemostasis, which is frequently compromised by redundant, edematous nasal mucosa and bony hypertrophy of the septum and the nasal turbinates. During the sphenoid phase, adequate bony removal, optimization of working space, and correlation of imaging studies to intraoperative anatomy are major priorities. The sellar phase is frequently challenged by increased sellar floor thickness

Loyalty programs challenges in retail banking industry

OpenAIRE

Ivanauskienė, Neringa; Auruškevičienė, Viltė

2009-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to examine the challenges of loyalty programs in retail banks in Lithuania. Case study methodology was chosen to analyze the loyalty programs launched by various banks to show how banks are building the loyalty of individual customers and what challenges these banks face. The findings suggest that the majority of analyzed loyalty programs reward a repeat purchasing. Lithuanian retail banks launching loyalty programs for two customer segments - the potentially prof...

Perceived mathematical ability under challenge: a longitudinal perspective on sex segregation among STEM degree fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Nix, Samantha; Perez-Felkner, Lara; Thomas, Kirby

2015-01-01

Students' perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree choice. Related, students' perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. In this manuscript, we investigate how perceived ability under challenge-in particular in mathematics domains-influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC). Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS) data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type 2 years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women's 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased their probability of selecting PEMC majors over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students' selection of health science majors. Perceptions of ability under challenge in general and verbal domains also influenced retention in and declaration of certain STEM majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women's perceptions of

Model-based nonlinear control of hydraulic servo systems: Challenges, developments and perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Jianyong

2018-06-01

Hydraulic servo system plays a significant role in industries, and usually acts as a core point in control and power transmission. Although linear theory-based control methods have been well established, advanced controller design methods for hydraulic servo system to achieve high performance is still an unending pursuit along with the development of modern industry. Essential nonlinearity is a unique feature and makes model-based nonlinear control more attractive, due to benefit from prior knowledge of the servo valve controlled hydraulic system. In this paper, a discussion for challenges in model-based nonlinear control, latest developments and brief perspectives of hydraulic servo systems are presented: Modelling uncertainty in hydraulic system is a major challenge, which includes parametric uncertainty and time-varying disturbance; some specific requirements also arise ad hoc difficulties such as nonlinear friction during low velocity tracking, severe disturbance, periodic disturbance, etc.; to handle various challenges, nonlinear solutions including parameter adaptation, nonlinear robust control, state and disturbance observation, backstepping design and so on, are proposed and integrated, theoretical analysis and lots of applications reveal their powerful capability to solve pertinent problems; and at the end, some perspectives and associated research topics (measurement noise, constraints, inner valve dynamics, input nonlinearity, etc.) in nonlinear hydraulic servo control are briefly explored and discussed.

Distortion product otoacoustic emissions in college music majors and nonmusic majors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rebecca L. Warner Henning

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The presence and absence of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs as well as DPOAE amplitudes were compared between college music majors and a control group of nonmusic majors. Participants included 28 music majors and 35 nonmusic majors enrolled at a university with ages ranging from 18-25 years. DPOAEs and hearing thresholds were measured bilaterally on all the participants. DPOAE amplitudes were analyzed at the following f2 frequencies: 1,187 Hz, 1,500 Hz, 1,906 Hz, 2,531 Hz, 3,031 Hz, 3812 Hz, 4,812 Hz, and 6,031 Hz. Significantly more music majors (7/28 than nonmusic majors (0/35 exhibited absent DPOAEs for at least one frequency in at least one ear. Both groups of students reported similar histories of recreational and occupational noise exposures that were unrelated to studying music, and none of the students reported high levels of noise exposure within the previous 48 h. There were no differences in audiometric thresholds between the groups at any frequency. At DPOAE f2 frequencies from 3,031 Hz to 6,031 Hz, nonsignificantly lower amplitudes of 2-4 dB were seen in the right ears of music majors versus nonmajors, and in the right ears of music majors playing brass instruments compared to music majors playing nonbrass instruments. Given the greater prevalence of absent DPOAEs in university music majors compared to nonmusic majors, it appears that early stages of cochlear damage may be occurring in this population. Additional research, preferably longitudinal and across multiple colleges/universities, would be beneficial to more definitively determine when the music students begin to show signs of cochlear damage, and to identify whether any particular subgroups of music majors are at a greater risk of cochlear damage.

Getting Australia more active: challenges and opportunities for health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Hills, A P; Street, S J; Harris, N

2014-04-01

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that regular physical activity promotes health and assists in the prevention of non-communicable diseases but this is presently curtailed by low and unhealthy participation rates in Australia and comparable industrialised countries. Compounding the problem is knowledge that physical inactivity is independently associated with poor health outcomes. Despite physical activity being described as public health's 'best bet' or 'best buy', motivating individuals and groups to adopt and maintain physical activity continues to be a major challenge for health professionals. Global advocacy for prevention efforts must be operationalised through national to local strategies to promote and support physical activity in multiple settings including the home, schools and workplace. The Australian health promotion community has and continues to play a leadership role in physical activity promotion. However, there is an urgent need to continue to promote the importance of physical activity, along with its pivotal role in the prevention of non-communicable diseases, alongside related agendas including healthy diets, tobacco control and environmental sustainability. This commentary overviews the contemporary status of physical activity promotion in Australia and identifies key challenges and opportunities moving forward.

Energy, The Storage Challenge. Better Batteries Included. Running Hot and Cold. A Tank-full of Hydrogen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourdet, Julien; Hait, Jean-Francois; Demarthon, Fabrice; Brault, Pascal; Dollet, Alain; Py, Olivier; Tarascon, Jean-Marie; Gonbeau, Danielle; Simon, Patrice; Pourcelly, Gerald; Latroche, Michel; Rango, Patricia de; Miraglia, Salvatore

2013-01-01

To secure its future and that of the planet, humanity must find alternatives to oil. But this vital transition toward renewable energy (currently the subject of a national debate in France), is highly dependent on the development of efficient storage solutions. Today's technologies make it relatively easy to produce electricity, heat, and even hydrogen, but their long-term storage remains a daunting scientific and technical challenge-a high priority for CNRS researchers

The challenges of biofuels from the perspective of small-scale producers in Ohio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morrone, Michele; Stuart, Ben J.; McHenry, Izaak; Buckley, Geoffrey L.

2009-01-01

Increased interest in renewable fuels in the United States, such as biodiesel and ethanol, is mainly the result of higher cost for traditional fuels after years of low prices. A growing concern over oil imports from politically unstable parts of the world has also led people to seriously consider alternatives to gasoline. Despite this attention, there are issues that challenge the widespread acceptance of biofuels, including the availability of raw materials and food security concerns. Ohio is one of the most productive agricultural states in the country, able to contribute significant amounts of corn and soybeans, the main feedstock for biofuels. Even though Ohio is rich in the raw materials needed for biofuel production, it is still an endeavor that mainly involves small businesses that face numerous challenges. Some of these challenges are national in scope, while others are localized. Interviews with small-scale biofuels producers in Ohio identify some of the major political, economic, and perceptual hurdles confronting this fledgling industry

Ecological Challenges for Closed Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, William; Allen, John P.

2012-07-01

Closed ecological systems are desirable for a number of purposes. In space life support systems, material closure allows precious life-supporting resources to be kept inside and recycled. Closure in small biospheric systems facilitates detailed measurement of global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Closed testbeds facilitate research topics which require isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) so their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied separate from interactions with the outside environment. But to achieve and maintain closure entails solving complex ecological challenges. These challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet and recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, the sustaining of healthy air and water and preventing the loss of crucial elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities the challenge is also to produce analogues to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils. Other challenges include the dynamics and genetics of small populations, the psychological challenges for small isolated human groups and measures and options which may be necessary to ensure long-term operation of closed ecological systems.

Rethinking Environmental Protection: Meeting the Challenges ...

Science.gov (United States)

Background: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made great progress in addressing some major environmental problems. These successes were framed within EPA’s statutory mandates which are largely media-specific and receptor-focused and follow a segmented risk-based construct. Today’s environmental problems are increasingly complex, and new approaches are needed to achieve sustainable solutions that protect the environment and public health. Objectives: We provide an overview of environmental protection at EPA and highlight today’s environmental challenges. We provide case examples of systems approaches that consider the links between environment and human health. We offer a strategic framework for tackling challenges so EPA can continue to protect the environment and public health.Discussion: Expanded approaches will be transdisciplinary, informed by vast new sources of data, and build upon new stakeholder partnerships. A systems approach to environmental protection looks at problems holistically, includes the drivers and stressors that impact the issue and the dimensions that frame it, and integrates various types of data from health, ecological, and social sciences, with the goal of formulating sustainable solutions to environmental issues. Conclusions: The natural environment and human health are inextricably linked, and human health, well-being, and economic prosperity depend on healthy ecosystems. EPA research is leading an evolution in

Challenges in scaling up biofuels infrastructure.

Science.gov (United States)

Richard, Tom L

2010-08-13

Rapid growth in demand for lignocellulosic bioenergy will require major changes in supply chain infrastructure. Even with densification and preprocessing, transport volumes by mid-century are likely to exceed the combined capacity of current agricultural and energy supply chains, including grain, petroleum, and coal. Efficient supply chains can be achieved through decentralized conversion processes that facilitate local sourcing, satellite preprocessing and densification for long-distance transport, and business models that reward biomass growers both nearby and afar. Integrated systems that are cost-effective and energy-efficient will require new ways of thinking about agriculture, energy infrastructure, and rural economic development. Implementing these integrated systems will require innovation and investment in novel technologies, efficient value chains, and socioeconomic and policy frameworks; all are needed to support an expanded biofuels infrastructure that can meet the challenges of scale.

Challenges and opportunities in multichannel customer management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neslin, Scott A.; Grewal, Dhruv; Leghorn, Robert; Shankar, Venkatesh; Teerling, Marije L.; Thomas, Jacquelyn S.; Verhoef, Peter C.

Multichannel customer management is the design, deployment, coordination, and evaluation of channels through which firms and customers interact, with the goal of enhancing customer value through effective customer acquisition, retention, and development. The authors identify five major challenges

Challenges and opportunities in multichannel customer management

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Neslin, Scott A.; Grewal, Dhruv; Leghorn, Robert; Shankar, Venkatesh; Teerling, Marije L.; Thomas, Jacquelyn S.; Verhoef, Peter C.

2006-01-01

Multichannel customer management is the design, deployment, coordination, and evaluation of channels through which firms and customers interact, with the goal of enhancing customer value through effective customer acquisition, retention, and development. The authors identify five major challenges

Recommendations on Arresting Global Health Challenges Facing Adolescents and Young Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Lassi, Zohra S; Salam, Rehana A; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A

The health challenges faced by young people are more complex than adults and can compromise their full growth and development. Attention must be paid to the health of this age group, yet adolescents and youth remain largely invisible and often disappear from the major global datasets. The aim of this paper is to discuss the global health challenges faced by adolescents and youth, global legislations and guidelines pertaining to this particular age group, recommendations to arrest these challenges, and research priorities. Major direct and indirect global health risks faced by adolescents include early pregnancy and childbirth, femicide, honor killing, female genital mutilation, nutritional habits and choices, social media, and peer pressure. There are no standard legal age cut-offs for adulthood; rather, the age varies for different activities, such as age of consent or the minimum age that young people can legally work, leave school, drive, buy alcohol, marry, be held accountable for criminal action, and make medical decisions. This reflects the fact that the existing systems and structures are focused on either children or adults, with very few investments and interventions directed specifically to young people. Existing legislation and guidelines need transformation to bring about a specific focus on adolescents in the domains of substance use and sexual behaviors, and the capacity for adolescent learning should be exploited through graduated legal and policy frameworks. Sustainable development goals provide an opportunity to target this neglected and vulnerable age group. A multisectoral approach is needed to bring about healthy change and address the challenges faced by adolescents and youth, from modifications at a broader legislative and policy level to ground-level (community-level) implementations. Copyright © 2017 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Aesthetic Breast Surgery and Concomitant Procedures: Incidence and Risk Factors for Major Complications in 73,608 Cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Gupta, Varun; Yeslev, Max; Winocour, Julian; Bamba, Ravinder; Rodriguez-Feo, Charles; Grotting, James C; Higdon, K Kye

2017-05-01

Major complications following aesthetic breast surgery are uncommon and thus assessment of risk factors is challenging. To determine the incidence and risk factors of major complications following aesthetic breast surgery and concomitant procedures. A prospective cohort of patients who enrolled into the CosmetAssure (Birmingham, AL) insurance program and underwent aesthetic breast surgery between 2008 and 2013 was identified. Major complications (requiring reoperation, readmission, or emergency room visit) within 30 days of surgery were recorded. Risk factors including age, smoking, body mass index (BMI), diabetes, type of surgical facility, and combined procedures were evaluated. Among women, augmentation was the most common breast procedure (n = 41,651, 58.6%) followed by augmentation-mastopexy, mastopexy, and reduction. Overall, major complications occurred in 1.46% with hematoma (0.99%) and infection (0.25%) being most common. Augmentation-mastopexy had a higher risk of complications, particularly infection (relative risk [RR] 1.74, P procedures. Age was the only significant predictor for hematomas (RR 1.01, P procedures or abdominoplasty performed alone. Among men, correction of gynecomastia was the most common breast procedure (n = 1613, 64.6%) with a complication rate of 1.80% and smoking as a risk factor (RR 2.73, P = 0.03). Incidence of major complications after breast cosmetic surgical procedures is low. Risk factors for major complications include increasing age and BMI. Combining abdominoplasty with any breast procedure increases the risk of major complications. 2. © 2017 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com

Loops formed by tidal tails as fossil records of a major merger

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Hammer, F.; Athanassoula, E.; Puech, M.; Yang, Y.; Flores, H.

2012-02-01

:1 to 5:1) and possibly by intermediate mergers (5:1 to 12:1). The major merger scenario thus challenges the minor merger one and could explain many properties that haloes of spiral galaxies have in common, including their red colours and the presence of faint extended features.

Pediatric hearing aid use: parent-reported challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Muñoz, Karen; Olson, Whitney A; Twohig, Michael P; Preston, Elizabeth; Blaiser, Kristina; White, Karl R

2015-01-01

troubleshoot hearing aid problems. More than half of the parents reported child behavior and activities, such as playing outside, as a major hearing aid use challenge. Parents reported hearing aids were worn all waking hours by 35% of children and less than 5 hr/day by 31%. Almost half of the parents (47%) did not feel that they had enough time to talk about their emotions when speaking with their audiologist(s), 69% reported the audiologist did not help them know what to expect related to emotions about their child's hearing loss, and 22% reported symptoms of depression. Parents reported an array of challenges, even after their child had been wearing hearing aids for a prolonged time, revealing critical implications for how to provide audiological care. Audiologists have an important role in partnering with parents to identify and jointly problem-solving challenges related to their child's hearing aid use. Supporting parents includes not only addressing technical aspects of hearing testing and hearing aid function but also addressing parent thoughts, feelings, and emotions.

Adapting to climate change in China: achievements and challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yin, Yongyuan; Cuccillato, Emanuele; Kelly, Ellen

2011-11-15

With millions of people dependent on natural resources and agriculture, China is very vulnerable to climate change. The need to adapt to future changes is gaining importance in the country's political agenda. The government's latest five-year plan, for example, is the first to include a section on adaptation, and the development of a national adaptation strategy is under way. But there are still major gaps in the knowledge and processes required to develop effective adaptation policies at national and local levels. Some of the key challenges include a lack of accurate regional climate models and vulnerability assessments, little integration across sectors and disciplines, and limited stakeholder engagement. The Adapting to Climate Change in China (ACCC) project is focused on these issues and is expected to significantly contribute to developing effective adaptation planning processes.

Positivists, Postmodernists, Aristotelians, and the Challenger Disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Walzer, Arthur E.; Gross, Alan

1994-01-01

Examines the deliberations prior to the Challenger disaster from the perspective of three major approaches in recent scholarship in rhetoric as applied to technical communications: positivism, postmodernistic social constructionism, and classical Aristotelianism. Champions an approach based on Aristotle's "Rhetoric." (HB)

Major challenges to scale up of visual inspection-based cervical cancer prevention programs: the experience of Guatemalan NGOs.

Science.gov (United States)

Chary, Anita Nandkumar; Rohloff, Peter J

2014-08-01

Like many other low- and middle-income countries, Guatemala has adopted visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as a low-resource alternative to the Pap smear for cervical cancer screening. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) introduced VIA to Guatemala in 2004, and a growing number of NGOs, working both independently and in collaboration with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, employ VIA in cervical cancer prevention programs today. While much research describes VIA efficacy and feasibility in Latin America, little is known about NGO involvement with VIA programming or experiences with VIA outside the context of clinical trials and pilot projects in the region. To explore challenges faced by NGOs implementing VIA programs in Guatemala, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 36 NGO staff members involved with 20 VIA programs as direct service providers, program administrators, and training course instructors. Additionally, we collected data through observation at 30 NGO-sponsored cervical cancer screening campaigns, 8 cervical cancer prevention conferences, and 1 week-long NGO-sponsored VIA training course. Frequently highlighted challenges included staff turnover, concerns over training quality, a need for opportunities for continued supervision, and problems with cryotherapy referrals when immediate treatment for VIA-positive women was unavailable. Reducing staff turnover, budgeting to train replacement providers, standardizing training curricula, and offering continued supervision are key strategies to improve VIA service quality and program sustainability. Alternative training methods, such as on-the-job mentoring and course prerequisites of online learning, could help increase training time available for clinical supervision. Efforts should be made to ensure that VIA testing is coupled with immediate cryotherapy, that providers trained in VIA are also trained in cryotherapy, and that cryotherapy supplies and equipment are maintained. Where this is not

Melittin, a major peptide component of bee venom, and its conjugates in cancer therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Rady, Islam; Siddiqui, Imtiaz A; Rady, Mohamad; Mukhtar, Hasan

2017-08-28

Melittin (MEL), a major peptide component of bee venom, is an attractive candidate for cancer therapy. This agent has shown a variety of anti-cancer effects in preclinical cell culture and animal model systems. Despite a convincing efficacy data against variety of cancers, its applicability to humans has met with challenges due to several issues including its non-specific cytotoxicity, degradation and hemolytic activity. Several optimization approaches including utilization of nanoparticle based delivery of MEL have been utilized to circumvent the issues. Here, we summarize the current understanding of the anticancer effects of bee venom and MEL on different kinds of cancers. Further, we also present the available information for the possible mechanism of action of bee venom and/or MEL. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Successful Control of Major Project Budgets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steen Lichtenberg

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This paper differs from scientific papers describing current research. In line with the theme of this special issue, it challenges conventional risk management practice against the background of former research results successfully finished decades ago. It is well-known that conventional practice frequently results in budget overruns of large projects. International reviews document that. Severe delays of schedules are also well-known. This paper describes successful research results from almost three decades ago, which successfully challenges this severe problem and has led to new practices. The research involved is an unusual mix: Scandinavian researchers from psychology, statistical theory and engineering economy. The resulting procedure has been widely used since around 1990 and challenges conventional procedures. The procedure is documented to be able to yield statistically correct prognoses, when the “rules of the game” have been correctly followed. After a short summary of the basic situation, this paper summarizes the research, followed by some resulting experiences, focusing on two recent studies each of 40 infrastructures and other major projects. In both sets, the actual final cost largely equaled the expected project cost. This result is a marked change from international past and present experience. Finally, the need for further research and progress is discussed.

Combined gait disorder: a diagnostic challenge –a case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ioana Stanescu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Gait disorders are a major cause of functional impairment and morbidity, especially in the elderly population. Prevalence of gait disorders is higher in persons over 60: is estimated to be around 15% at 60 years of age and more than 50% in people > 80 years. Most gait disorders are multifactorial and have both neurologic and non-neurologic components. Neurological gait abnormalities result from focal or diffuse lesions occurring in the neural pathways linking the cortical motor centers to the peripheral neuromuscular systems. Nonneurological gait abnormalities include gait limitations caused by musculoskeletal, cardiac, or respiratory diseases. Assessment of a gait abnormality should include history, clinical presentation and additional diagnostic tests. Finding the ethiology of a gait disorder could be a challenge for the practitioners in many cases, requiring interdisciplinary cooperation.

Ten Challenges of the Amyloid Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Kepp, Kasper Planeta

2017-01-01

The inability to effectively halt or cure Alzheimer's disease (AD), exacerbated by the recent failures of high-profile clinical trials, emphasizes the urgent need to understand the complex biochemistry of this major neurodegenerative disease. In this paper, ten central, current challenges of the major paradigm in the field, the amyloid hypothesis, are sharply formulated. These challenges together show that new approaches are necessary that address data heterogeneity, increase focus on the proteome level, use available human patient data more actively, account for the aging phenotype as a background model of the disease, unify our understanding of the interplay between genetic and non-genetic risk factors, and combine into one framework both the familial and sporadic forms of the disease.

Using Grand Challenges to Teach Science: A Biology-Geology Collaboration

Science.gov (United States)

Lyford, M.; Myers, J. D.

2012-12-01

Three science courses at the University of Wyoming explore the inextricable connections between science and society by centering on grand challenges. Two of these courses are introductory integrated science courses for non-majors while the third is an upper level course for majors and non-majors. Through collaboration, the authors have developed these courses to explore the grand challenges of energy, water and climate. Each course focuses on the fundamental STEM principles required for a citizen to understand each grand challenge. However, the courses also emphasize the non-STEM perspectives (e.g., economics, politics, human well-being, externalities) that underlie each grand challenge and argue that creating equitable, sustainable and just solutions to the grand challenges hinges on an understanding of STEM and non-STEM perspectives. Moreover, the authors also consider the multitude of personal perspectives individuals bring to the classroom (e.g., values, beliefs, empathy misconceptions) that influence any stakeholder's ability to engage in fruitful discussions about grand challenge solutions. Discovering Science (LIFE 1002) focuses on the grand challenges of energy and climate. Students attend three one-hour lectures, one two-hour lab and a one-hour discussion each week. Lectures emphasize the STEM and non-STEM principles underlying each grand challenge. Laboratory activities are designed to be interdisciplinary and engage students in inquiry-driven activities to reinforce concepts from lecture and to model how science is conducted. Labs also expose students to the difficulties often associated with scientific studies, the limits of science, and the inherent uncertainties associated with scientific findings. Discussion sessions provide an opportunity for students to explore the complexity of the grand challenges from STEM and non-STEM perspectives, and expose the multitude of personal perspectives an individual might harbor related to each grand challenge

School-based youth health nurses: roles, responsibilities, challenges, and rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Barnes, Margaret; Courtney, Mary D; Pratt, Jan; Walsh, Anne M

2004-01-01

A case study and focus-group discussions were conducted with 10 youth health nurses (nurses) employed in the recently introduced School-Based Youth Health Nurse Program (SBYHNP) to identify their roles, responsibilities, and professional development needs. Major roles are support, referral, health promotion, and marketing. Clients include high school students, teachers, and parents; the majority of whom are female and aged 13-16 years. Health issues addressed during individual consultations are predominantly psychosocial but also include medical, sexual health and sexuality issues, health surveillance, and risk-taking behaviors. Nurses also provide clients with health information and promote enhanced personal skill development during these consultations. Health promotion strategies undertaken by nurses were predominantly health education and health information displays. Nurses reported marketing their role and function within the school to be an essential and often difficult aspect of their role. Professional development through the SBYHNP was excellent; however, there was concern relating to the availability of future educational opportunities. The SBYHNP provides nurses with a new, challenging, autonomous role within the school environment and the opportunity to expand their role to incorporate all aspects of the health-promoting schools' framework.

Challenges for Life Support Systems in Space Environments, Including Food Production

Science.gov (United States)

Wheeler, Raymond M.

2012-01-01

Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) refer to the technologies needed to sustain human life in space environments. Histor ically these technologies have focused on providing a breathable atmo sphere, clean water, food, managing wastes, and the associated monitoring capabilities. Depending on the space agency or program, ELCSS has sometimes expanded to include other aspects of managing space enviro nments, such as thermal control, radiation protection, fire detection I suppression, and habitat design. Other times, testing and providing these latter technologies have been associated with the vehicle engi neering. The choice of ECLSS technologies is typically driven by the mission profile and their associated costs and reliabilities. These co sts are largely defined by the mass, volume, power, and crew time req uirements. For missions close to Earth, e.g., low-Earth orbit flights, stowage and resupply of food, some 0 2, and some water are often the most cost effective option. But as missions venture further into spa ce, e.g., transit missions to Mars or asteroids, or surface missions to Moon or Mars, the supply line economics change and the need to clos e the loop on life support consumables increases. These are often ref erred to as closed loop or regenerative life support systems. Regardless of the technologies, the systems must be capable of operating in a space environment, which could include micro to fractional g setting s, high radiation levels, and tightly closed atmospheres, including perhaps reduced cabin pressures. Food production using photosynthetic o rganisms such as plants by nature also provides atmospheric regenerat ion (e.g., CO2 removal and reduction, and 0 2 production), yet to date such "bioregenerative" technologies have not been used due largely t o the high power requirements for lighting. A likely first step in te sting bioregenerative capabilities will involve production of small a mounts of fresh foods to supplement to crew

Challenges and a checklist for biodiversity conservation in fire-prone forests: perspecitves from the Pacific Northwest of USA and Southeastern Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas A. Spies; David B. Lindenmayer; A. Malcolm Gill; Scott L. Stephens; James K. Agee

2012-01-01

Conserving biodiversity in fire-prone forest ecosystems is challenging for several reasons including differing and incomplete conceptual models of fire-related ecological processes, major gaps in ecological and management knowledge, high variability in fire behavior and ecological responses to fires, altered fire regimes as a result of land-use history and climate...

Privacy and technology challenges for ubiquitous social networking

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sapuppo, Antonio; Seet, Boon-Chong

2015-01-01

towards important challenges such as social sensing, enabling social networking and privacy protection. In this paper we firstly investigate the methods and technologies for acquisition of the relevant context for promotion of sociability among inhabitants of USN environments. Afterwards, we review...... architectures and techniques for enabling social interactions between participants. Finally, we identify privacy as the major challenge for networking in USN environments. Consequently, we depict design guidelines and review privacy protection models for facilitating personal information disclosure....

Next-generation sequencing for endocrine cancers: Recent advances and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Suresh, Padmanaban S; Venkatesh, Thejaswini; Tsutsumi, Rie; Shetty, Abhishek

2017-05-01

Contemporary molecular biology research tools have enriched numerous areas of biomedical research that address challenging diseases, including endocrine cancers (pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, testicular, ovarian, and neuroendocrine cancers). These tools have placed several intriguing clues before the scientific community. Endocrine cancers pose a major challenge in health care and research despite considerable attempts by researchers to understand their etiology. Microarray analyses have provided gene signatures from many cells, tissues, and organs that can differentiate healthy states from diseased ones, and even show patterns that correlate with stages of a disease. Microarray data can also elucidate the responses of endocrine tumors to therapeutic treatments. The rapid progress in next-generation sequencing methods has overcome many of the initial challenges of these technologies, and their advantages over microarray techniques have enabled them to emerge as valuable aids for clinical research applications (prognosis, identification of drug targets, etc.). A comprehensive review describing the recent advances in next-generation sequencing methods and their application in the evaluation of endocrine and endocrine-related cancers is lacking. The main purpose of this review is to illustrate the concepts that collectively constitute our current view of the possibilities offered by next-generation sequencing technological platforms, challenges to relevant applications, and perspectives on the future of clinical genetic testing of patients with endocrine tumors. We focus on recent discoveries in the use of next-generation sequencing methods for clinical diagnosis of endocrine tumors in patients and conclude with a discussion on persisting challenges and future objectives.

Perceived mathematical ability under challenge: a longitudinal perspective on sex segregation among STEM degree fields

Science.gov (United States)

Nix, Samantha; Perez-Felkner, Lara; Thomas, Kirby

2015-01-01

Students' perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degree choice. Related, students' perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. In this manuscript, we investigate how perceived ability under challenge—in particular in mathematics domains—influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC). Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS) data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type 2 years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women's 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased their probability of selecting PEMC majors over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students' selection of health science majors. Perceptions of ability under challenge in general and verbal domains also influenced retention in and declaration of certain STEM majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women

Challenges and solutions for climate change

CERN Document Server

Gaast, Wytze

2012-01-01

The latest scientific knowledge on climate change indicates that higher greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere through unchecked emissions will provoke severe climate change and ocean acidification threatening environmental structures on which humanity relies. Climate change therefore poses major socio-economic, technical and environmental challenges which will have serious impacts on countries’ pathways towards sustainable development. As a result, climate change and sustainable development have increasingly become interlinked. A changing climate makes achieving Millennium Development Goals more difficult and expensive, so there is every reason to achieve development goals with low greenhouse gas emissions. This leads to the following five challenges discussed by Challenges and Solutions for Climate Change: To place climate negotiations in the wider context of sustainability, equity and social change so that development benefits can be maximised at the same time as decreasing greenhouse gas emissi...

Benefits of and Barriers to Pharmacogenomics-Guided Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Ahmed T; Weinshilboum, Richard; Frye, Mark A

2018-05-01

Antidepressants have reduced the symptom burden for many Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients, but drug-related side effects and treatment resistance continue to present major challenges. Pharmacogenomics represents one approach to enhance antidepressant efficacy and avoid adverse reactions, but concerns remain with regard to the overall "value equation," and several barriers must be overcome to achieve the full potential of MDD pharmacogenomics. © 2018 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Barrett, Frederick S.; Bradstreet, Matthew P.; Leoutsakos, Jeannie-Marie S.; Johnson, Matthew W.; Griffiths, Roland R.

2017-01-01

Acute adverse psychological reactions to classic hallucinogens (“bad trips”, or “challenging experiences”), while usually benign with proper screening, preparation, and support in controlled settings, remain a safety concern in uncontrolled settings (such as illicit use contexts). Anecdotal and case reports suggest potential adverse acute symptoms including affective (panic, depressed mood), cognitive (confusion, feelings of losing sanity), and somatic (nausea, heart palpitation) symptoms. Responses to items from several hallucinogen-sensitive questionnaires (Hallucinogen Rating Scale, the States of Consciousness Questionnaire, and the 5-Dimensional Altered States of Consciousness questionnaire) in an internet survey of challenging experiences with the classic hallucinogen psilocybin were used to construct and validate a Challenging Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). The stand-alone CEQ was then validated in a separate sample. Seven CEQ factors (grief, fear, death, insanity, isolation, physical distress, and paranoia) provide a phenomenological profile of challenging aspects of experiences with psilocybin. Factor scores were associated with the difficulty, meaningfulness, spiritual significance, and change in well-being attributed to the challenging experiences. The factor structure did not differ based on gender or prior struggle with anxiety or depression. The CEQ provides a basis for future investigation of predictors and outcomes of challenging experiences with psilocybin, and should be explored as a measure of challenging experiences with the broad class of classic hallucinogens. PMID:27856683

A Learner-Centered Molecular Modeling Exercise for Allied Health Majors in a Biochemistry Class

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, Terace M.; Ershler, Jeff

2014-01-01

Learner-centered molecular modeling exercises in college science courses can be especially challenging for nonchemistry majors as students typically have a higher degree of anxiety and may not appreciate the relevance of the work. This article describes a learner-centered project given to allied health majors in a Biochemistry course. The project…

A study on evaluation of public dose for hypothetical exposure from industrial sources in major Indian cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chandrasekaran, S.; Sivasubramanian, K.; Venkatraman, B.

2016-01-01

With expanding industrial establishments in India, the requirements for quality Assurance (QA) have become stringent at every stages of process including selection of raw material, manufacturing process and packing and transport. Radiography, a non-destructive method is widely employed for QA testing. Inadvertent handling or loss of these sources may result in exposure of public/workers to higher levels of ionizing radiation. A well planned emergency preparedness is essential to manage any such untoward incidents. Dose estimation to members of public involved is the major challenge as the time available is very short and eases of availability/labs surrounding the location. This paper determines the dose up to 30m distance as prescribed in AERB safety guidelines and using the population data of four major metropolitan cities in India, public dose is also estimated

Challenges in contemporary academic neurosurgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Peter M

2006-03-01

Traditionally, the ideal academic neurosurgeon has been a "quadruple threat," with excellence in clinical work, teaching, research, and administration. This tradition was best exemplified in Harvey Cushing, who developed the field of neurosurgery 90 years ago. This paradigm will probably have to change as academic neurosurgeons face major challenges. In patient care, these include increasing regulatory control, increasing malpractice costs, consolidation of expensive care in academic centers, and decreasing reimbursement; in resident teaching, work hour limitations and a changing resident culture; in research, the increasing dominance of basic scientists in governmental funding decisions and decreased involvement of neurosurgeons in scientific review committees; and in administration, problems of relationships in the workplace, patient safety, and employment compliance in an increasingly bureaucratic system. To meet these challenges, the new academic neurosurgeon will probably not be a quadruple threat personally but will be part of a quadruple threat in a department and institution. Neurosurgeons in such a setting will have to work with hospital, medical school, and national and international groups to address malpractice, reimbursement, subspecialization, and training problems; find supplemental sources of income through grants, development funds, and hospital support; lead in the development of multidisciplinary centers for neuroscience, brain tumor, spine, and other initiatives; and focus on training leaders for hospital, regional, and national groups to reconfigure neurosurgery. Collaboration, flexibility, and leadership will be characteristic of the academic neurosurgeon in this new era.

Grand societal challenges in information systems research and education

CERN Document Server

vom Brocke, Jan; Hofmann, Sara; Tumbas, Sanja

2015-01-01

This book examines how information systems research and education can play a major role in contributing to solutions to the Societal Grand Challenges formulated in "The Millennium Project" (millenium-project.org). Individual chapters focus on specific challenges, review existing approaches and contributions towards solutions in information systems research and outline a research agenda for these challenges. The topics considered in this volume range from climate change, population growth, global ICT availability, breakthroughs in science and technology and energy demand to ethical decision-making, policymaking, gender status and transnational crime prevention. It is the first book to present ideas on how the Information Systems discipline can contribute to the solution on this wide spectrum of grand societal challenges.

Group Health Coaching: Strengths, Challenges, and Next Steps

Science.gov (United States)

Wolever, Ruth Q.; Manning, Linda; Elam, Roy; Moore, Margaret; Frates, Elizabeth Pegg; Duskey, Heidi; Anderson, Chelsea; Curtis, Rebecca L.; Masemer, Susan; Lawson, Karen

2013-01-01

There is great need for cost effective approaches to increase patient engagement and improve health and well-being. Health and wellness coaching has recently demonstrated great promise, but the majority of studies to date have focused on individual coaching (ie, one coach with one client). Newer initiatives are bringing a group coaching model from corporate leadership development and educational settings into the healthcare arena. A group approach potentially increases cost-effective access to a larger number of clients and brings the possible additional benefit of group support. This article highlights some of the group coaching approaches currently being conducted across the United States. The group coaching interventions included in this overview are offered by a variety of academic and private sector institutions, use both telephonic and in-person coaching, and are facilitated by professionally trained health and wellness coaches as well as trained peer coaches. Strengths and challenges experienced in these efforts are summarized, as are recommendations to address those challenges. A working definition of “Group Health and Wellness Coaching” is proposed, and important next steps for research and for the training of group coaches are presented. PMID:24416678

Group health coaching: strengths, challenges, and next steps.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Colin; Wolever, Ruth Q; Manning, Linda; Elam, Roy; Moore, Margaret; Frates, Elizabeth Pegg; Duskey, Heidi; Anderson, Chelsea; Curtis, Rebecca L; Masemer, Susan; Lawson, Karen

2013-05-01

There is great need for cost effective approaches to increase patient engagement and improve health and well-being. Health and wellness coaching has recently demonstrated great promise, but the majority of studies to date have focused on individual coaching (ie, one coach with one client). Newer initiatives are bringing a group coaching model from corporate leadership development and educational settings into the healthcare arena. A group approach potentially increases cost-effective access to a larger number of clients and brings the possible additional benefit of group support. This article highlights some of the group coaching approaches currently being conducted across the United States. The group coaching interventions included in this overview are offered by a variety of academic and private sector institutions, use both telephonic and in-person coaching, and are facilitated by professionally trained health and wellness coaches as well as trained peer coaches. Strengths and challenges experienced in these efforts are summarized, as are recommendations to address those challenges. A working definition of "Group Health and Wellness Coaching" is proposed, and important next steps for research and for the training of group coaches are presented.

Perceived Mathematical Ability under Challenge: A Longitudinal Perspective on Sex Segregation among STEM Degree Fields

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha eNix

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Students’ perceptions of their mathematics ability vary by gender and seem to influence science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM degree choice. Related, students’ perceptions during academic difficulty are increasingly studied in educational psychology, suggesting a link between such perceptions and task persistence. Despite interest in examining the gender disparities in STEM, these concepts have not been considered in tandem. We investigate how perceived ability under challenge – in particular in mathematics domains – influences entry into the most sex-segregated and mathematics-intensive undergraduate degrees: physics, engineering, mathematics, and computer science (PEMC. Using nationally representative Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS data, we estimate the influence of perceived ability under challenging conditions on advanced high school science course taking, selection of an intended STEM major, and specific major type two years after high school. Demonstrating the importance of specificity when discussing how gender influences STEM career pathways, the intersecting effects of gender and perceived ability under mathematics challenge were distinct for each scientific major category. Perceived ability under challenge in secondary school varied by gender, and was highly predictive of selecting PEMC and health sciences majors. Notably, women’s 12th grade perceptions of their ability under mathematics challenge increased the probability that they would select PEMC majors, increasing women's probability of selecting PEMC over and above biology. In addition, gender moderated the effect of growth mindset on students’ selection of health science majors. The implications of these results are discussed, with particular attention to access to advanced scientific coursework in high school and interventions aimed at enhancing young women’s perceptions of their ability to facilitate their pathways to scientific degrees.

Data Challenges

CERN Multimedia

McCubbin, N A

Some two years ago we planned a series of Data Challenges starting at the end of 2001. At the time, that seemed to be comfortingly far in the future... Well, as the saying goes, doesn't time fly when you are having fun! ATLAS Computing is now deep in the throes of getting the first Data Challenge (DC0) up and running. One of the main aims of DC0 is to have a software 'release' in which we can generate full physics events, track all particles through the detector, simulate the detector response, reconstruct the event, and study it, with appropriate data storage en route. As all software is "always 95% ready" (!), we have been able to do most of this, more or less, for some time. But DC0 forces us to have everything working, together, at the same time: a reality check. DC0 should finish early next year, and it will be followed almost immediately afterwards by DC1 (DC0 was foreseen as the 'check' for DC1). DC1 will last into the middle of 2002, and has two major goals. The first is generation, simulation, and r...

Re-Greening Ethiopia: History, Challenges and Lessons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mulugeta Lemenih

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In Ethiopia, deforestation rates remain high and the gap between demand and domestic supply of forest products is expanding, even though government-initiated re-greening efforts began over a century ago. Today, over 3 million hectares (ha of degraded forest land are under area exclosure; smallholder plantations cover 0.8 million ha; and state-owned industrial plantations stagnate at under 0.25 million ha. This review captures experiences related to re-greening practices in Ethiopia, specifically with regards to area exclosure and afforestation and reforestation, and distills lessons regarding processes, achievements and challenges. The findings show that farmers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs are the main players, and that the private sector has so far played only a small role. The role of the government was mixed: supportive in some cases and hindering in others. The challenges of state- and NGO-led re-greening practices are: inadequate involvement of communities; poorly defined rehabilitation objectives; lack of management plans; unclear responsibilities and benefit-sharing arrangements; and poor silvicultural practices. The lessons include: a more active role for non-state actors in re-greening initiatives; more attention to market signals; devolution of management responsibility; clear definition of responsibilities and benefit-sharing arrangements; and better tenure security, which are all major factors to success.

Environmental and security challenges of nuclear plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Omar, A.S.

2014-01-01

The world population increase, the acceleration of global requirement for development and the need to expand energy production, have led to the depletion of natural resources. The international efforts are increasing to get clean, safe and economical energy sources . The electricity generated from nuclear energy considers less polluting and high economic competitiveness as well as reliability and efficiency. The nuclear power plants projects face significant challenges, especially after two major accidents, in Chernobyl 1986 and Fukushima 2011 including the fears of radiation effects, nuclear waste management and nuclear proliferation issues, as well as the lack of public acceptance. So those bodies interested in operating nuclear power plants work to increase nuclear safety standards, review the nuclear facilities safety, know the strict application of laws, seek to prove the economic competitiveness, maintain environmental security, assist in the nonproliferation regime and gain public acceptance. This article discusses the most important environmental and security challenges of nuclear power plants. It highlights the importance of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy as a source of sustainable development and environmental security. It also offers a number of recommendations to support the Arab countries trend towards the inclusion of nuclear energy option within their national programs to generate electricity. (author)

Special Education in Arab Countries: Current Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Hadidi, Muna S.; Al Khateeb, Jamal M.

2015-01-01

Arab countries have undertaken various measures to develop special education programmes and services over the last three decades; nevertheless, major challenges remain regarding the expansion of these programmes and services and improving their quality. "This article provides an update on disability and special education in Arab…

Waste to energy opportunities and challenges for developing and transition economies

CERN Document Server

2012-01-01

Solid waste management is currently a major issue worldwide with numerous areas reaching critical levels. Many developing countries and countries in transition still miss basic waste management  infrastructure and awareness. It is here that many of the solid waste management problems and challenges are currently being faced. As such, waste-to-energy (WTE) consists of a proven and continuously developing spectrum and range of technologies in a number of (mostly) developed countries. However, it’s integration in developing countries and systems in transition is often faced with scepticism and a complex set of barriers which are quite unique and differ greatly from those where WTE has been validated and applied over the years. Waste-to-Energy: Opportunities and Challenges for Developing and Transition Economies will address this issue both theoretically and using concrete examples, including: ·         contributions from numerous scholars and practitioners in the field, ·         useful less...

DNA vaccination with a plasmid encoding LACK-TSA fusion against Leishmania major infection in BALB/c mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Maspi, N; Ghaffarifar, F; Sharifi, Z; Dalimi, A; Khademi, S Z

2017-12-01

Vaccination would be the most important strategy for the prevention and elimination of leishmaniasis. The aim of the present study was to compare the immune responses induced following DNA vaccination with LACK (Leishmania analogue of the receptor kinase C), TSA (Thiol-specific-antioxidant) genes alone or LACK-TSA fusion against cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL). Cellular and humoral immune responses were evaluated before and after challenge with Leishmania major (L. major). In addition, the mean lesion size was also measured from 3th week post-infection. All immunized mice showed a partial immunity characterized by higher interferon (IFN)-γ and Immunoglobulin G (IgG2a) levels compared to control groups (pTSA fusion. Mean lesion sizes reduced significantly in all immunized mice compared with control groups at 7th week post-infection (pTSA and TSA groups than LACK group after challenge (pTSA antigens against CL. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that a bivalent vaccine can induce stronger immune responses and protection against infectious challenge with L. major.

Dealing with completeness, structural hierarchy, and seismic coupling issues: three major challenges for #Fault2SHA

Science.gov (United States)

Valensise, Gianluca; Barba, Salvatore; Basili, Roberto; Bonini, Lorenzo; Burrato, Pierfrancesco; Carafa, Michele; Kastelic, Vanja; Fracassi, Umberto; Maesano, Francesco Emanuele; Tarabusi, Gabriele; Tiberti, Mara Monica; Vannoli, Paola

2016-04-01

The vast majority of active faulting studies are performed at the scale of individual, presumably seismogenic faults or fault strands. Most SHA approaches and models, however, require homogeneus information on potential earthquake sources over the entire tectonic domain encompassing the site(s) of interest. Although it is out of question that accurate SHA must rely on robust investigations of individual potential earthquake sources, it is only by gathering this information in regionally extensive databases that one can address some of the most outstanding issues in the use of #Fault2SHA. We will briefly recall three issues that are particularly relevant in the investigation of seismogenic faulting in southern Europe. A fundamental challenge is the completeness of the geologic record of active faulting. In most tectonic environments many potential seismogenic faults are blind or hidden, or deform the lower crust without leaving a discernible signal at the surface, or occur offshore, or slip so slowly that nontectonic erosional-depositional processes easily outpace their surface effects. Investigating only well-expressed faults is scientifically rewarding but also potentially misleading as it draws attention on the least insidious faults, leading to a potential underestimation of the regional earthquake potential. A further issue concerns the hierarchy of fault systems. Most active faults do not comprise seismogenic sources per se but are part of larger systems, and slip only in conjunction with the master fault of each system. In the most insidious cases, only secondary faults are expressed at the surface while the master fault lies hidden beneath them. This may result in an overestimation of the true number of seismogenic sources that occur in each region and in a biased identification of the characteristics of the main player in each system. Recent investigations of geologic and geodetic vs earthquake release budgets have shown that the "seismic coupling", which

Majorization arrow in quantum-algorithm design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Latorre, J.I.; Martin-Delgado, M.A.

2002-01-01

We apply majorization theory to study the quantum algorithms known so far and find that there is a majorization principle underlying the way they operate. Grover's algorithm is a neat instance of this principle where majorization works step by step until the optimal target state is found. Extensions of this situation are also found in algorithms based in quantum adiabatic evolution and the family of quantum phase-estimation algorithms, including Shor's algorithm. We state that in quantum algorithms the time arrow is a majorization arrow

Launching of New Pharmaceutical Product and Promotional Challenges

OpenAIRE

Manish Gunjan; Jegathambigai Rameshwar Naidu; Ishab Kumar; Yogesh Kumar

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Purpose: The purpose of the study was to find out the basic challenges and major aspects in launching of new pharmaceutical products, and the usual way to overcome with the concerned challenges. The second most important purpose was to find out the role of innovative and creative way in promotion of new pharmaceutical product and its impact on their market value. Methodology: I went through questionnaire based survey on 10 medical representatives and 10 doctors respectively to find o...

Snow Leopard cloud : A multi-national education training and experimentation cloud and its security challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cayirci, E.; Rong, C.; Huiskamp, W.; Verkoelen, C.A.A.

2009-01-01

Military/civilian education training and experimentation networks (ETEN) are an important application area for the cloud computing concept. However, major security challenges have to be overcome to realize an ETEN. These challenges can be categorized as security challenges typical to any cloud and

Meeting the challenge of new fatherhood during the early weeks.

Science.gov (United States)

St John, Winsome; Cameron, Catherine; McVeigh, Carol

2005-01-01

To explore new/subsequent Australian fathers' perspectives on the experiences, processes, and life changes in the early weeks of fatherhood. Interpretive study using in-depth interviews and grounded theory analysis techniques, based on a symbolic interactionist framework. Participants were recruited from the postnatal wards of a major public hospital, early discharge program, and early childhood centers in southeast Queensland, Australia. Eighteen first-time/subsequent fathers interviewed 6 to 12 weeks after the birth. Although rewarding, fathers found new or expanding fatherhood to be a significant challenge and time of change. Major themes included making a commitment, taking responsibility, negotiating responsibilities, developing and maintaining relationships, maintaining family integrity, balancing activities, and perceiving the self as father. Work had a major impact on fathers' ability to participate with their family and newborn. To manage, fathers sought to balance the demands of work and home, deal with stressors, manage their time, develop routines, and reprioritize. Fathers developed a sense of themselves as fathers over time, building confidence and deriving satisfaction from their fathering role. A range of competing factors affected fathers' ability to participate in the home with their newborn in the early weeks after birth.

The environment as radical politics: Can ?Third World? education rise to the challenge?

Science.gov (United States)

Hickling-Hudson, Anne

1994-01-01

The pattern of industrial development which has been adopted globally in the last two centuries by both capitalist and socialist economies has caused unprecedented damage to the physical and ecological health of our planet. This paper argues that any challenges to these systems, including educational challenges, will involve political understanding and activism. It examines the potential of educational structures in Third World regions, using the Caribbean as the main example, for implementing eco-political education. This would involve encouraging students to use ecological and social justice criteria for comparing consumerist with sustainable development approaches to rethinking and refashioning the international economy, particularly the Third World share of it. It would involve teachers and students exploring how political and economic structures could be challenged and altered to obtain a fairer quality of life for the majorities now living in poverty and an adjustment of the opulent and wasteful lifestyles of affluent minorities primarily responsible for environmental degradation. Finally, those in eco-political education would work to achieve such goals within broad movements and pressure groups in rich and poor countries.

Sino­Pakistan Relations and the Challenges of Post-­Cold War Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mutahir Ahmed

2015-04-01

Full Text Available China has emerged as the world’s second largest economy, and the largest exporter of goods with 9.6 per cent of the global share. Moreover, the last two decades have seen China emerging as an international and regional power of the 21st century. Thus, in order to continue with the economic benefits, China wants peace and stability as well as to play an active role on international and regional fronts. On the other hand, Pakistan, the world’s sixth most populous country, is a major power of South Asia. While having a developed infrastructure and vibrant political and security institutions, Pakistan is nevertheless currently facing many challenges on the economic front, including political instability and religious extremism. This paper is an attempt to analyze the challenges faced by both China and Pakistan in the post-Cold War era.

Sustaining the rural workforce: nursing perspectives on worklife challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunsberger, Mabel; Baumann, Andrea; Blythe, Jennifer; Crea, Mary

2009-01-01

Concerns have been raised about the sustainability of health care workforces in rural settings. According to the literature, rural nurses' work satisfaction varies with the resources and supports available to respond to specific challenges. Given the probable effects of stressors on retention, it is essential to understand the unique requirements of nurses in rural practice environments. To investigate whether nurses receive the resources and supports necessary to meet the challenges of rural practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 managers and 44 staff nurses in 19 selected rural hospitals in Ontario, Canada. The interviews were taped and transcripts interpreted through a thematic analysis. Major worklife themes were identified and analyzed within a healthy work environment model based on the work of Kristensen. Three interrelated dimensions of the model were relevant to workforce sustainability: the balance between demands and the resources of the person, the level of social support, and the degree of influence. The availability of resources and supports affected whether the nurses perceived challenges as stimulating or overwhelming. Deficits interfered with practice and the well-being of the nurses and patients. The nurses felt frustrated and powerless when they lacked resources, support, and influence to manage negative situations. Strategies to achieve workforce sustainability include resources to reduce stress in the workplace, education to meet the needs of new and experienced nurses, and offering of employment preferences to the workforce. Addressing resources, support, and influence of rural nurses is essential to alleviate workplace challenges and sustain the rural nursing workforce.

Plastic surgery in Nigeria-Scope and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

TOG Chukwuanukwu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Background Plastic surgery as a major subspecialty of surgery has existed in Nigeria for several decades but the populace including medical practitioners are yet to fully appreciate its scope. This leads to very late presentation/referral of cases and management of cases that should have been referred by less qualified practitioners with attendant poor outcomes and complications. Most people still regard plastic surgery as being synonymous with cosmetic/aesthetic surgery but the scope goes far beyond this entity. It is therefore important that the public including medical practitioners who are the main sources of referral to the subspecialty are aware of the range of cases handled by plastic surgery units. The plastic surgeon in Nigeria is also faced with a lot of challenges ranging from the arduous task of one having to manage very many different and complicated cases to being very poorly equipped and appreciated. Objectives To educate the populace especially the medical practitioners on the scope of plastic surgery and the extent of development of the subspecialty in Nigeria and solicit for colleague′s cooperation in order to move plastic surgery forward. To also highlight the difficulties faced by the plastic surgeon in Nigeria and seeking help from appropriate quarters which will help to reduce unnecessary referrals abroad while improving the services rendered to patients locally. Conclusion Plastic surgery in Nigeria has developed significantly both in scope and manpower but it is still faced with a lot of challenges. Knowledge of its scope will help to reduce unnecessary referrals abroad while improving services/skill here in Nigeria.

Challenges in Regulating Radiation Sources and Radioactive Waste in Nigeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngwakwe, C.

2016-01-01

Identifying challenges that hamper the efficiency and efficacy of Regulatory Infrastructure (People and Processes) as regards ensuring safety & security of radiation sources and radioactive waste is a major step towards planning for improvement. In a world constantly motivated by technological advancements, there has been considerable increase in the use of new technologies incorporating radioactive sources in both medical and industrial applications due to its perceived benefits, hence changing the dynamics of regulation. This paper brings to the fore, contemporary challenges experienced by regulators in the course of regulating radiation sources and radioactive waste in Nigeria. These challenges encountered in the business of regulating radiation sources and radioactive waste in Nigeria amongst others include; knowledge gap in the use of novel technologies for industrial applications (e.g. radiotracers in oil & gas and wastewater management), inadequate collaboration with operators to ensure transparency in their operations, inadequate cooperation from other government agencies using ionizing radiation sources, lack of synergy between relevant government agencies, difficulty in establishing standard radioactive waste management facility for orphan & disused sources, and inadequate control of NORMS encountered in industrial activities (e.g. well logging, mining). Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), the body saddled with the responsibility of regulating the use of ionizing radiation sources in Nigeria is empowered by the Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection Act to ensure the protection of life, property, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionizing radiation, hence are not immune to the aforementioned challenges. (author)

Differential responsiveness of Holstein and Angus dermal fibroblasts to LPS challenge occurs without major differences in the methylome.

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, Aimee L; Green, Benjamin B; Crooker, Brian A; McKay, Stephanie D; Kerr, David E

2016-03-24

We have previously found substantial animal-to-animal and age-dependent variation in the response of Holstein fibroblast cultures challenged with LPS. To expand on this finding, fibroblast cultures were established from dairy (Holstein) and beef (Angus) cattle and challenged with LPS to examine breed-dependent differences in the innate immune response. Global gene expression was measured by RNA-Seq, while an epigenetic basis for expression differences was examined by methylated CpG island recovery assay sequencing (MIRA-Seq) analysis. The Holstein breed displayed a more robust response to LPS than the Angus breed based on RNA-Seq analysis of cultures challenged with LPS for 0, 2, and 8 h. Several immune-associated genes were expressed at greater levels (FDR Angus fibroblasts, and two of these regions fell within the promoter region (-2500 to +500 bp of the transcription start site) of the genes NTRK2 and ADAMTS5. Fibroblasts isolated from Holstein cattle display a more robust response to LPS in comparison to cultures from Angus cattle. Different selection strategies and management practices exist between these two breeds that likely give rise to genetic and epigenetic factors contributing to the different immune response phenotypes.

Challenges in obesity research.

Science.gov (United States)

Palou, Andreu; Bonet, M Luisa

2013-09-01

Obesity is the main nutritional problem and one of the most important health problems in developed societies. Central to the challenge of obesity prevention and management is a thoroughly understanding of its determinants. Multiple socio-cultural, socio-economic, behavioural and biological factors--often interrelated and many of them still unknown or poorly understood--can contribute to the establishment and perpetuation of obese phenotypes. Here, we address current research challenges regarding basic aspects of obesity and emerging science for its control, including brown adipose tissue thermogenesis and browning of white fat as possible therapeutic targets for obesity, the influence of the microbioma, and genetics, epigenetics, nutrigenomics and nutrigenetics of obesity. We also highlight hot topics in relation to food and lifestyle as determinants of obesity, including the brain mechanisms underlying environmental motivation to eat, the biological control of spontaneous physical activity, the possible role of concrete foods and food components, and the importance of early life nutrition and environment. Challenges regarding the connections of obesity with other alterations and pathologies are also briefly addressed, as well as social and economical challenges in relation to healthy food production and lifestyle for the prevention of obesity, and technological challenges in obesity research and management. The objective is to give a panoramic of advances accomplished and still ahead relevant to the different stakeholders engaged in understanding and combating obesity. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

Cardiovascular diseases and diabetes as economic and developmental challenges in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Kengne, Andre Pascal; June-Rose McHiza, Zandile; Amoah, Albert George Baidoe; Mbanya, Jean-Claude

2013-01-01

Current estimates and projections suggest that the burden of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), diabetes and related risk factors in African countries is important, somewhat unique and rapidly growing. Various segments of the population are affected; however, the group mostly affected is young adults residing in urban areas, and increasingly those in the low socioeconomic strata. The African milieu/environment is compounded by weak health systems, which are unable to cope with the looming double burden of communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases. This review discusses the economic and developmental challenges posed by CVDs and diabetes in countries in Africa. Using several lines of evidence, we demonstrate that the cost of care for major CVDs and diabetes is beyond the coping capacities of individuals, households, families and governments in most African countries. We have reviewed modeling studies by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and other major international agencies on the current and projected impact that CVDs and diabetes have on the economy and development of countries in the region. Locally, appropriate strategies to limit the impact of the conditions on the economies and development of countries in Africa are suggested and discussed. These include monitoring diseases and risk factors, and primordial, primary and secondary preventions implemented following a life-course perspective. Structural, logistic, human capacity and organizational challenges to be surmounted during the implementations of these strategies will be reviewed. © 2013.

Bipolar polygenic loading and bipolar spectrum features in major depressive disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Wiste, Anna; Robinson, Elise B; Milaneschi, Yuri; Meier, Sandra; Ripke, Stephan; Clements, Caitlin C; Fitzmaurice, Garrett M; Rietschel, Marcella; Penninx, Brenda W; Smoller, Jordan W; Perlis, Roy H

2014-01-01

Objectives Family and genetic studies indicate overlapping liability for major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. The purpose of this study was to determine whether this shared genetic liability influences clinical presentation. Methods A polygenic risk score for bipolar disorder, derived from a large genome-wide association meta-analysis, was generated for each subject of European–American ancestry (n = 1,274) in the Sequential Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression study (STAR*D) outpatient major depressive disorder cohort. A hypothesis-driven approach was used to test for association between bipolar disorder risk score and features of depression associated with bipolar disorder in the literature. Follow-up analyses were performed in two additional cohorts. Results A generalized linear mixed model including seven features hypothesized to be associated with bipolar spectrum illness was significantly associated with bipolar polygenic risk score [F = 2.07, degrees of freedom (df) = 7, p = 0.04). Features included early onset, suicide attempt, recurrent depression, atypical depression, subclinical mania, subclinical psychosis, and severity. Post-hoc univariate analyses demonstrated that the major contributors to this omnibus association were onset of illness at age ≤ 18 years [odds ratio (OR) = 1.2, p = 0.003], history of suicide attempt (OR = 1.21, p = 0.03), and presence of at least one manic symptom (OR = 1.16, p = 0.02). The maximal variance in these traits explained by polygenic score ranged from 0.8–1.1%. However, analyses in two replication cohorts testing a five feature model did not support this association. Conclusions Bipolar genetic loading appeared to be associated with bipolar-like presentation in major depressive disorder in the primary analysis. However, results are at most inconclusive because of lack of replication. Replication efforts are challenged by different ascertainment and assessment strategies in the different cohorts

biomedical challenges of human senescence: a review

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2002-12-12

Dec 12, 2002 ... generation per mitochondrion. Understanding the role of cellular ageing in vivo is another major challenge for integrative study. The in vitro model of cell replicative senescence pioneered by. Sith and Pereira has elucidated the mechanisms limiting cell proliferation(30). Until recently the link between in.

Challenging Anti-fragile Blockchain Applications

OpenAIRE

González , Miguel Alejandro; Rudametkin , Walter; Monperrus , Martin; Rouvoy , Romain

2017-01-01

International audience; Failures in production are a de facto rule for distributed software systems. In particular, modern distributed systems are composed of heterogeneous building blocks contributed by third parties and guaranteeing the end-to-end resilience is becoming a major challenge. Even though each of these software components can embed fault tolerance or dependability protocols, it remains difficult to assess their effectiveness upon the occurrences of unexpected failures. As part o...

Centennial Challenges Program

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega, Sam; Eberly, Eric

2015-01-01

NASA's Centennial Challenges Program was initiated in 2005 to directly engage the public in the process of advanced technology development. The program offers incentive prizes to generate revolutionary solutions to problems of interest to NASA and the nation. The program seeks innovations from diverse and nontraditional sources. Competitors are not supported by government funding and awards are only made to successful teams when the challenges are met. In keeping with the spirit of the Wright Brothers and other American innovators, the Centennial Challenge prizes are offered to independent inventors including small businesses, student groups, and individuals. These independent inventors are sought to generate innovative solutions for technical problems of interest to NASA and the nation and to provide them with the opportunity to stimulate or create new business ventures.

Development of Cryogenic Engine for GSLV MkIII: Technological Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Praveen, RS; Jayan, N.; Bijukumar, KS; Jayaprakash, J.; Narayanan, V.; Ayyappan, G.

2017-02-01

Cryogenic engine capable of delivering 200 kN thrust is being developed for the first time in the country by ISRO for powering the upper stage of GSLV Mk-III, the next generation launch vehicle of ISRO capable of launching four tonne class satellites to Geo-synchronous Transfer Orbit(GTO). Development of this engine started a decade ago when various sub-systems development and testing were taken up. Starting with injector element development, the design, realization and testing of the major sub-systems viz the gas generator, turbopumps, start-up system and thrust chamber have been successfully done in a phased manner before conducting a series of developmental tests in the integrated engine mode. Apart from the major sub-systems, many critical components like the igniter, control components etc were independently developed and qualified. During the development program many challenges were faced in almost all areas of propulsion engineering. Systems engineering of the engine was another key challenge in the realization. This paper gives an outlook on various technological challenges faced in the key areas related to the engine development, insight to the solutions and measures taken to overcome the challenges.

Major operations and activities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Black, D.G.

1995-06-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report summarizes the major operations and activities on the site. These operations and activities include site management, waste management, environmental restoration and corrective actions, and research and technology development.

Major operations and activities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Black, D.G.

1995-01-01

This section of the 1994 Hanford Site Environmental Report summarizes the major operations and activities on the site. These operations and activities include site management, waste management, environmental restoration and corrective actions, and research and technology development

Past, Current, and Future Challenges in Linking Data to Publications

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, B.

2015-12-01

Data are the currency of science and assure the integrity of published research. As the ability to collect, analyze, and visualize data has grown beyond what could be included in a publication, and as the value of the data become more clear (or the lack of availability of data was criticized), publishers and the scientific community developed several solutions to enhance access to underlying data. Most leading journals now require authors to agree as a condition of submission that underlying data will be included or made available; indeed, publication is the key leverage point in exposing much scholarly data. Most journals allow PDF or other supplements and links to data sets hosted by authors or labs, or better, data repositories such as Dryad, and some have banned "data not shown" or any reference to unpublished work. Many of these solutions have proven problematic and recent studies have found that large fraction of data are undiscoverable even a few years after publication. The best solution has been dedicated domain repositories collectively supported by publishers, funders, and the scientific community and where deposition is required before or at the time of publication. These provide quality control and curation and facilitate reuse. However, expanding these beyond a few key repositories and developing standardized workflows and functionality among repositories and between them and publishers has been problematic. Addressing these and other data challenges requires collaborative efforts among funders, publishers, repositories, societies, and researchers. One example is the Coalition on Publishing Data in the the Earth and space sciences, where most major publishers and repositories have signed a joint statement of commitment (COPDESS.org), and are starting work to direct and link published data to domain repositories. Much work remains to be done. Major challenges include establishing data curation practices into the workflow of science from data collection

Strategies for replacement of obsolete equipment - including reverse engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irish, C.S.

2000-01-01

The presentation shall detail the challenges facing nuclear power plants with the replacement of obsolete equipment and the strategies used to overcome those challenges. The presentation will outline the common equipment types which are either obsolete or are becoming obsolete, with a focus on safety related components. The four options of the obsolete equipment replacement philosophy will be presented with replacement examples from each of the options shown for discussion purposes. Detailed examples from each of the four obsolete equipment replacement options of: commercially available equivalent component; modification of a commercial available component; reverse engineering of the original component; and finally, design changes using a new component, shall be presented to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each option. The presentation will include the technical challenges, cost and schedule concerns for each of the four options. Emphasis will be placed on the technological challenges associated with replacing old and obsolete equipment. The following is a bullet list of the challenges which will be discussed: Missing, misleading or no information on the original component; Acquiring information from the original equipment manufacturer and the plant; Using a sample component for the replacement evaluation and or reverse engineering; and Reverse engineering old equipment with newly available discrete components. The presentation will include the equivalency documentation using the EPRI guidelines when replacing an original component with a different yet form, fit and functional equivalent component. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the replacement of the obsolete component with a form, fit and functional equivalent component vs. the replacement of the original component with a new component with today's technology. (author)

Challenges of using methadone in the Indian pain and palliative care practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vidya Viswanath

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Palliative care providers across India lobbied to gain access to methadone for pain relief and this has finally been achieved. Palliative care activists will count on the numerous strengths for introducing methadone in India, including the various national and state government initiatives that have been introduced recognizing the importance of palliative care as a specialty in addition to improving opioid accessibility and training. Adding to the support are the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs, the medical fraternity and the international interactive and innovative programs such as the Project Extension for Community Health Outcome. As compelling as the need for methadone is, many challenges await. This article outlines the challenges of procuring methadone and also discusses the challenges specific to methadone. Balancing the availability and diversion in a setting of opioid phobia, implementing the amended laws to improve availability and accessibility in a country with diverse health-care practices are the major challenges in implementing methadone for relief of pain. The unique pharmacology of the drug requires meticulous patient selection, vigilant monitoring, and excellent communication and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team and caregivers. The psychological acceptance of the patient, the professional training of the team and the place where care is provided are also challenges which need to be overcome. These challenges could well be the catalyst for a more diligent and vigilant approach to opioid prescribing practices. Start low, go slow could well be the way forward with caregiver education to prescribe methadone safely in the Indian palliative care setting.

Challenges of Using Methadone in the Indian Pain and Palliative Care Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Viswanath, Vidya; Palat, Gayatri; Chary, Srini; Broderick, Ann

2018-01-01

Palliative care providers across India lobbied to gain access to methadone for pain relief and this has finally been achieved. Palliative care activists will count on the numerous strengths for introducing methadone in India, including the various national and state government initiatives that have been introduced recognizing the importance of palliative care as a specialty in addition to improving opioid accessibility and training. Adding to the support are the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the medical fraternity and the international interactive and innovative programs such as the Project Extension for Community Health Outcome. As compelling as the need for methadone is, many challenges await. This article outlines the challenges of procuring methadone and also discusses the challenges specific to methadone. Balancing the availability and diversion in a setting of opioid phobia, implementing the amended laws to improve availability and accessibility in a country with diverse health-care practices are the major challenges in implementing methadone for relief of pain. The unique pharmacology of the drug requires meticulous patient selection, vigilant monitoring, and excellent communication and collaboration with a multidisciplinary team and caregivers. The psychological acceptance of the patient, the professional training of the team and the place where care is provided are also challenges which need to be overcome. These challenges could well be the catalyst for a more diligent and vigilant approach to opioid prescribing practices. Start low, go slow could well be the way forward with caregiver education to prescribe methadone safely in the Indian palliative care setting.

International Year of Planet Earth - Accomplishments, Activities, Challenges and Plans in Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Fucugauchi, J. U.; Perez-Cruz, L. L.; Alaniz-Alvarez, S.

2009-12-01

The International Year of Planet Earth started as a joint initiative by UNESCO and IUGS with the participation of several geosciences organizations, and developed into a major international geosciences program for the triennium 2007-2009, with the inclusion and participation of national and regional committees. In this presentation we focus on current activities and plans in our country and the participation in international activities. Mexican community has been part of international programs since the International Geophysical Year, continuing through its participation in other programs, e.g., Upper Mantle, Geodynamics, Lithosphere, IHY, IPY and eGY. IYPE activities have concentrated in publications, OneGeology, radio/TV programs, organization of conferences, meetings and outreach events. A book series on Earth Science Experiments for Children has been edited, with first books published on “Atmospheric Pressure and Free Fall of Objects”, “Light and Colors”, “Standing on Archimedes”, “Foucault and Climate” and “Earth and its Waves “. Books are distributed to schools, with tens of thousand copies distributed nationwide and new editions underway. Other publications include leaflets, books and special El Faro issues (edited by the National University) and articles in other journals. In 2007 the AGU Joint Assembly with international participation from US, Canada, Europe and Latin America was held in Acapulco. Current plans include an electronic open-access journal, additional publications of the Planet Earth series, articles and special issues in journals and magazines, plus events on selected themes from the IYPE science program, particularly on Megacities, Hazards, Resources and Biodiversity. Mexico City metropolitan area, with > 22 million inhabitants presents special challenges, being at high altitude within an active tectonic and volcanic area requiring major efforts in water supply, water control, rains and waste disposal and management

Power System Challenge: Synthesis Report for the 7th Clean Energy Ministerial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None, None

2016-06-01

The Clean Energy Ministerial's (CEM's) Power System Challenge was established in 2015 to create a shared vision among major economies regarding the pathway to clean, reliable, resilient, and affordable power. Endorsing governments have created core principles and challenge propositions as a framework for government and industry action to support and guide power system transformation. This brochure details the status of the Challenge, how countries are working to meet the Challenge, and the relevant milestones reached by initiatives of the Clean Energy Ministerial.

Challenges in Request Management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommer, Anita Friis

2014-01-01

and its customers. The study provides an insight into a new area of supply chain management, including the process activity flow and challenges involved across the process. Furthermore, the method is dyadic including the customer in the case study, which is rare in related research....... profitability. This research study seeks to investigate the challenges of RQM in practice. Existing demand chain management literature is used as a basis for developing a RQM framework. RQM is investigated through an explorative research design in a dyadic B2B case study including a global industrial company......Request management (RQM) is a new term used for managing customer requests for new products. It is the counterpart to typical product development processes, which has no direct customer involvement. It is essential to manage customer requests in a structured and efficient way to obtain...

HEP technologies to address medical imaging challenges

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Developments in detector technologies aimed at solving challenges in present and future CERN experiments, particularly at the LHC, have triggered exceptional advances in the performance of medical imaging devices, allowing for a spectacular progress in in-vivo molecular imaging procedures, which are opening the way for tailored therapies of major diseases. This talk will briefly review the recent history of this prime example of technology transfer from HEP experiments to society, will describe the technical challenges being addressed by some ongoing projects, and will present a few new ideas for further developments and their foreseeable impact.

Pharmacogenetics of warfarin: challenges and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Ta Michael Lee, Ming; Klein, Teri E

2014-01-01

Since the introduction in the 1950s, warfarin has become the commonly used oral anticoagulant for the prevention of thromboembolism in patients with deep vein thrombosis, atrial fibrillation or prosthetic heart valve replacement. Warfarin is highly efficacious; however, achieving the desired anticoagulation is difficult because of its narrow therapeutic window and highly variable dose response among individuals. Bleeding is often associated with overdose of warfarin. There is overwhelming evidence that an individual's warfarin maintenance is associated with clinical factors and genetic variations, most notably polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 2C9 and vitamin K epoxide reductase subunit 1. Numerous dose-prediction algorithms incorporating both genetic and clinical factors have been developed and tested clinically. However, results from major clinical trials are not available yet. This review aims to provide an overview of the field of warfarin which includes information about the drug, genetics of warfarin dose requirements, dosing algorithms developed and the challenges for the clinical implementation of warfarin pharmacogenetics. PMID:23657428

Health care delivery in Malaysia: changes, challenges and champions

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Susan; Beh, LooSee; Nordin, Rusli Bin

2011-01-01

Since 1957, there has been major reorganization of health care services in Malaysia. This article assesses the changes and challenges in health care delivery in Malaysia and how the management in health care processes has evolved over the years including equitable health care and health care financing. The health care service in Malaysia is changing towards wellness service as opposed to illness service. The Malaysian Ministry of Health (MOH), being the main provider of health services, may need to manage and mobilize better health care services by providing better health care financing mechanisms. It is recommended that partnership between public and private sectors with the extension of traditional medicine complementing western medicine in medical therapy continues in the delivery of health care. PMID:28299064

Argos at NRPA - added value and major challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorshaug, S.; Holo, E.N.

2003-01-01

Full text: The national emergency response organization with the Crisis Committee for Nuclear Accidents, their advisors and their information group will gather at NRPA in case of a nuclear or radiological accident. Prognoses and actual measurements presented through a decision support system are regarded being of major importance as a basis for the decision making. ARGOS presents predictions of several quantities that are likely to be of interest to decision makers during and alter an accident, such as air concentration, deposition, effective dose and foodstuff activity. It is expected that ARGOS will be an important tool for the decision makers in case of an accident at a foreign nuclear power plant, at one of the two research reactors in Norway or in case of a nuclear accident in a nuclear powered vessel. Information from meteorological forecasts and atmospheric dispersion models will be of key importance in case of such an accident. Therefore, the main emphasis in the implementation process so far has been on the integration between ARGOS and the long-range dispersion model, SNAP, used at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. A new technical solution represents an improvement of the existing arrangement within the Norwegian emergency preparedness organization, and facilitates presentation of dose calculations based on numerical weather prediction data in a clear and intuitive manner. ARGOS also represents an improved and more centralized approach to data handling and data processing within the Norwegian nuclear emergency response organization. This is due mainly to its quality as a central repository for different types of measurement data. The data of interest are produced for example by mobile ground- or air-based measuring teams (civilian or military), by measuring stations within the automatic monitoring network or by laboratory analysis of air samples or environmental- and food samples. The ability to graphically present such measuring data together with

IT Challenges for Space Medicine

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson-Throop, Kathy

2010-01-01

This viewgraph presentation reviews the various Information Technology challenges for aerospace medicine. The contents include: 1) Space Medicine Activities; 2) Private Medical Information; 3) Lifetime Surveillance of Astronaut Health; 4) Mission Medical Support; 5) Data Repositories for Research; 6) Data Input and Output; 7) Finding Data/Information; 8) Summary of Challenges; and 9) Solutions and questions.

42 CFR 493.941 - Hematology (including routine hematology and coagulation).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Hematology (including routine hematology and....941 Hematology (including routine hematology and coagulation). (a) Program content and frequency of challenge. To be approved for proficiency testing for hematology, a program must provide a minimum of five...

Generating evidence for health policy in challenging settings: lessons learned from four prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV implementation research studies in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Sam-Agudu, Nadia A; Aliyu, Muktar H; Adeyemi, Olusegun A; Oronsaye, Frank; Oyeledun, Bolanle; Ogidi, Amaka G; Ezeanolue, Echezona E

2018-04-17

Implementation research (IR) facilitates health systems strengthening and optimal patient outcomes by generating evidence for scale-up of efficacious strategies in context. Thus, difficulties in generating IR evidence, particularly in limited-resource settings with wide disease prevention and treatment gaps, need to be anticipated and addressed. Nigeria is a priority country for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT). This paper analyses the experiences of four PMTCT IR studies in Nigeria, and proffers solutions to major challenges encountered during implementation. Multicentre PMTCT IR studies conducted in Nigeria during the Global Plan's assessment period (2011 to 2015) were included. Four studies were identified, namely The Baby Shower Trial, Optimizing PMTCT, MoMent and Lafiyan Jikin Mata. Major common challenges encountered were categorised as 'External' (beyond the control of study teams) and 'Internal' (amenable to rectification by study teams). External challenges included healthcare worker strikes and turnover, acts and threats of ethnic and political violence and terrorism, and multiplicity of required local ethical reviews. Internal challenges included limited research capacity among study staff, research staff turnover and travel restrictions hindering study site visits. Deliberate research capacity-building was provided to study staff through multiple opportunities before and during study implementation. Post-study employment opportunities and pathways for further research career-building are suggested as incentives for study staff retention. Engagement of study community-resident personnel minimised research staff turnover in violence-prone areas. The IR environment in Nigeria is extremely diverse and challenging, yet, with local experience and anticipatory planning, innovative solutions can be implemented to modulate internal challenges. Issues still remain with healthcare worker strikes and often unpredictable insecurity

Challenges, needs, and experiences of recently hospitalized cardiac patients and their informal caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, Judith; Volpe, Marie; Aggarwal, Brooke

2014-01-01

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in the United States. Unpaid family caregivers of patients who experienced a cardiac event may occupy a key position in disseminating continuous health messages to these patients, yet more information is needed to guide the development of educational and behavioral interventions targeting caregivers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the challenges, needs, and personal experiences of cardiac patients and their informal caregivers to explore the types of programs and services that would be most beneficial in promoting adherence to national CVD guidelines among cardiac patients and their caregivers. Patients who had been admitted to the cardiovascular service line of a large urban academic medical center and their informal caregivers (N = 38, 63% women, 74% white) participated in semistructured interviews and focus groups. Participants were asked to speak about 4 major categories of their personal experiences: support, challenges, coping, and program delivery, to determine their needs, the kind of educational interventions that would be most helpful to them, and how they would prefer this information/education to be delivered. Both patients and caregivers ranked diet as the most pressing challenge (91% and 78%, respectively). The Internet, television, and social media were the preferred methods of delivery of such programs. Challenges most commonly cited by caregivers and patients included issues related to taking/administering prescribed medications and medication side effects, and mental stress. Caregivers expressed that not knowing what to expect after the patient's discharge from the hospital was a major stressor. These findings may inform the development of educational interventions targeted to cardiac caregivers so that they may be more effective in assisting the patients in their care to adhere to national CVD prevention guidelines.

Nuclear energy and challenges for India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamalapur, Gopalkrishna Dhruvaraj

2017-01-01

The challenge for the nuclear community is to assure that nuclear power remains a viable option in meeting the energy requirements of the next century. It could be a major provider of electricity for base load as well as for urban transport in megacities. It can play a role in non-electric applications in district heating, process industries, maritime transport. (author)

Social Licence to Operate through a gender lens : The challenges of including women’s interests in development assistance projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jijelava, David; Vanclay, Frank

2014-01-01

The paper analyses the concept of social licence to operate from a gender perspective. We examine the challenges associated with obtaining a gender-aware social licence for development assistance organizations working in conservative, traditional rural societies. We argue that during project

E-Government in the Asia-Pacific Region: Progress and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clay Wescott

2005-12-01

Full Text Available This paper will focus on two issues: (i recent e-government progress and challenges, and (ii the practices regional organizations follow to cope with the challenges, while maximizing the benefits. Beginning with an overview of efforts to improve governance in the region, it then analyzes recent progress in the use of information and communication technology (ICT in the Asia-Pacific region to promote more efficient, cost-effective, and participatory government, facilitate more convenient government services, allow greater public access to information, and make government more accountable to citizens. Successful adoption of e-government presents major challenges. The paper concludes by examining the practices regional organizations follow to cope with the challenges, while maximizing the benefits.

Electronic health records approaches and challenges: a comparison between Malaysia and four East Asian countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Abd Ghani, Mohd Khanapi; Bali, Rajeev K; Naguib, Raouf N G; Marshall, Ian M

2008-01-01

An integrated Lifetime Health Record (LHR) is fundamental for achieving seamless and continuous access to patient medical information and for the continuum of care. However, the aim has not yet been fully realised. The efforts are actively progressing around the globe. Every stage of the development of the LHR initiatives had presented peculiar challenges. The best lessons in life are those of someone else's experiences. This paper presents an overview of the development approaches undertaken by four East Asian countries in implementing a national Electronic Health Record (EHR) in the public health system. The major challenges elicited from the review including integration efforts, process reengineering, funding, people, and law and regulation will be presented, compared, discussed and used as lessons learned for the further development of the Malaysian integrated LHR.

Donor Motivations and Decision Making: Understanding the Major Gift Development Process from a Donor's Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Morrison, Anna Lee

2015-01-01

Higher education is faced with a challenge to its traditional funding structure. As a result, academic programs must seek alternative sources of support. Chief among these sources is philanthropy in the form of major gifts. Insight into donor motivations and decision making when approached to consider a major gift may help to maximize the success…

Policing Challenged and People’s Expectations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thakur Mohan Shrestha

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Peace, security, rule of law, and sustainable development are driving principles in a democratic notion of developing country like Nepal. "3Is': Injustice, Insecurity and Imbalance have been reflecting in the post transitional Nepal. The study came with the objectives of investigating the peoples' perceptions on the adaptation of policing, the challenges and expectation. The information was collected from 1111(N respondents all over the country from different ways of life, applying mixed method questionnaire survey and interview. The research show the need of system based policing like 'intelligence-led'; 'police public partnership', and 'proactive' respectively. The influence of politicization, political instability, external influence, lack of role model leadership, open border, rampant corruption, nepotism-favoritism, lack of research are the major challenges in the security organizations. Furthermore, most educated and high profile personalities have less interest to encourage their generation in police services. People are expecting proficient and accountable police forces. Keywords: Policing, Challenges, People's Expectation

Development trends in the Azerbaijan oil and gas sector: Achievements and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ciarreta, Aitor; Nasirov, Shahriyar

2012-01-01

This article is study of Azerbaijan oil and gas industry. It illustrates the business climate, the impact of this sector on Azerbaijan's economy including role of SOFAZ and highlights recent developments in the energy production and the main concepts of . Meanwhile, the article establishes the government policy by indentifying several factors that influenced to attract foreign investment to oil and gas sector and examines significant challenges that still remain for further development of the country's oil industry. - Highlights: ► In this study, we review the oil and gas sector in Azerbaijan and describe the main government policies for attracting foreign investment to the sector. ► We showed that providing a predictable legislative and regulatory framework and attractive conditions for oil contracting encourages foreign investment inflows to the country. ► Issues such as the lack of independent regulatory institutions, rehabilitation of oil refineries and resolution of the legal status of the Caspian Sea remain major challenges for further development of the oil and gas industries.

Changing household responses to drought in Tharaka, Kenya: vulnerability, persistence and challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Smucker, Thomas A; Wisner, Ben

2008-06-01

Drought is a recurring challenge to the livelihoods of those living in Tharaka District, Kenya, situated in the semi-arid zone to the east of Mount Kenya, from the lowest slopes of the mountain to the banks of the Tana River. This part of Kenya has been marginal to the economic and political life of Kenya from the colonial period until the present day. A study of more than 30 years of change in how people in Tharaka cope with drought reveals resilience in the face of major macro-level transformations, which include privatisation of landownership, population growth, political decentralisation, increased conflict over natural resources, different market conditions, and environmental shifts. However, the study also shows troubling signs of increased use of drought responses that are incompatible with long-term agrarian livelihoods. Government policy needs to address the challenge of drought under these new macro conditions if sustainable human development is to be achieved.

Professionally responsible intrapartum management of patients with major mental disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Babbitt, Kriste E; Bailey, Kala J; Coverdale, John H; Chervenak, Frank A; McCullough, Laurence B

2014-01-01

Pregnant women with major mental disorders present obstetricians with a range of clinical challenges, which are magnified when a psychotic or agitated patient presents in labor and there is limited time for decision making. This article provides the obstetrician with an algorithm to guide professionally responsible decision making with these patients. We searched for articles related to the intrapartum management of pregnant patients with major mental disorders, using 3 main search components: pregnancy, chronic mental illness, and ethics. No articles were found that addressed the clinical ethical challenges of decision making during the intrapartum period with these patients. We therefore developed an ethical framework with 4 components: the concept of the fetus as a patient; the presumption of decision-making capacity; the concept of assent; and beneficence-based clinical judgment. On the basis of this framework we propose an algorithm to guide professionally responsible decision making that asks 5 questions: (1) Does the patient have the capacity to consent to treatment?; (2) Is there time to attempt restoration of capacity?; (3) Is there an opportunity for substituted judgment?; (4) Is the patient accepting treatment?; (5) Is there an opportunity for active assent?; and (6) coerced clinical management as the least worst alternative. The algorithm is designed to support a deliberative, clinically comprehensive, preventive-ethics approach to guide obstetricians in decision making with this challenging population of patients. Copyright © 2014 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Strategies for replacement of obsolete equipment, including reverse engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irish, C.S.

2003-01-01

The presentation shall detail the challenges facing nuclear power plants with the replacement of obsolete equipment and the strategies used to overcome those challenges. The presentation will outline the common equipment types which are either obsolete or are becoming obsolete, with a focus on safety related components. The four options of the obsolete equipment replacement philosophy will be presented with replacement examples from each of the options shown for discussion purposes. Detailed examples from each of the four obsolete equipment replacement options of, (1) commercially available equivalent component, (2) modification of a commercial available component, (3) reverse engineering of the original component and finally (4) design changes using a new component, shall be presented to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each option. The presentation will include the technical challenges, cost and schedule concerns for each of the four options. Emphasis will be placed on the technological challenges associated with replacing old and obsolete equipment. The following is a bullet list of the challenges which will be discussed: 1) Missing, misleading or no information on the original component. 2) Acquiring information from the original equipment manufacturer and the plant. 3) Using a sample component for the replacement evaluation and or reverse engineering. 4) Reverse engineering old equipment with newly available discrete components. The presentation will include the equivalency documentation using the EPRI guidelines when replacing an original component with a different yet form, fit and functional equivalent component. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of the replacement of the obsolete component with a form, fit and functional equivalent component vs. the replacement of the original component with a new component with today's technology. (author)

Promotion of trade in service in developing economy: challenges and prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AA Okharedia

2014-01-01

Full Text Available In the past, trade in services was not considered important by international Economists. One of the main arguments put forward for ignoring the concept of trade in service was that services were non- tradable In view of this, this paper attempts to investigate the role played by service industries and the associated challenges in a developing economy with particular reference to the SADC countries. This investigation shows that the service industries are uncompetitive and inefficient when compared with their peers in developed economy. This paper recommends that there is an urgent need for a major-shake up especially within the core economic infrastructure services. This paper also highlights that the service industries in the SADC region contributes greatly to GDP, creates employment opportunity, improved access to transport which translates into improved access to customers and suppliers. The transport sector is of crucial importance in poverty alleviation and regional economic integration. Some of the challenges identified include, the need for SADC countries to conform to international standards in delivery of its services since most SADC countries are members of GATS, ILO and WTO. The other challenge is the different legislative framework in the service industries within the SADC region. There is an urgent need to harmonise the different legislative framework.

Occupational health and safety challenges in China--focusing on township-village enterprises.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaorong; Wu, Siying; Song, Qingkun; Tse, Lap-Ah; Yu, Ignatius T S; Wong, Tze-Wai; Griffiths, Sian

2011-01-01

China has experienced dramatic industrialization, urbanization, and economic growth over the last 3 decades. The rapid transformation and dramatic prosperity of industries in rural areas have, in turn, created tremendous challenges for occupational health and safety (OHS). This article was prepared to address occupational health and safety issues in township- and village-owned enterprises (TVEs) from several aspects, including working conditions and workplace hazards, major recognized OHS problems, implications of TVE industries to environmental health, and migrant workers. Among the major recognized OHS problems, pneumoconiosis, chemical poisoning, and workplace accidents, especially in small-scale coal mines, are highlighted. It is suggested that the national polices and regulations that specifically target TVEs are indispensable and a more powerful administrative structure should be established to ensure that the pertinent polices, regulations, and OHS standards can be enforced widely and effectively in practice. Copyright © 2011 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Managing Challenges in a Multi Contractor Project

Science.gov (United States)

King, Ron

2011-01-01

The presentation provides a project description, describes the integrated product team, and review project challenges. The challenges include programmatic, technical, basic drop tests, heavy drop tests, C-17 envelope expansion, and Ares I-X.

Long-term dietary intervention trials: critical issues and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crichton Georgina E

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are many challenges involved in running randomised controlled dietary intervention trials that investigate health outcomes. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the recruitment process, retention of participants and challenges faced in our dairy intervention trial, and to provide strategies to combat the difficulties of running long-term dietary intervention trials. Methods A 12-month, randomised, two-way crossover study was conducted in overweight adults with habitually low dairy food consumption to assess the effects of a high dairy intake (4 servings of reduced-fat dairy per day compared with a low dairy intake (1 serving of reduced-fat dairy per day on measures of cardiometabolic and cognitive health. On completion of the high dairy intake phase, each participant was interviewed about their experience in the trial and responses were used to evaluate the key issues for study participants. Results Although the recruitment target was achieved, high rates of attrition (49.3% and difficulties maintaining participant compliance (reported by 37.8% of participants were major threats to the viability of the study. Factors that contributed to the high attrition included inability to comply with the dietary requirements of the study protocol (27.0%, health problems or medication changes (24.3% and time commitment (10.8%. Conclusion Attrition and adherence to study requirements present challenges to trials requiring longer-term dietary change. Including a run-in period to further assess the motivation, commitment and availability of participants, maintaining regular contact with participants during control phases, minimising time commitment, providing flexibility with dietary requirements, facilitating positive experiences, and stringent monitoring of diet are some key recommendations for future dietary intervention trials. Trial registration Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN 12608000538347

Challenges: a state and compact perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, H.

1987-01-01

The challenges facing states and compacts in their efforts to implement the Low-Level Waste Policy Amendments Act are described. Institutional challenges include: small-volume sites; compact maintenance; shifting agencies and changing personnel; and timing of progress. The technical challenge lies in the enormous number of plans, procedures, and regulations that have to be developed over the next four years. There are two main fiscal challenges: funding of day-to-day operations of compact commissions; and financing the siting and construction of new disposal sites. There are also two main regulatory challenges: host states must develop regulations for siting and selection of technology; and all states have to await federal regulations to be completed. The final challenge is political: whether a region can overcome public opposition and actually site a facility

Challenges in Modeling Disturbance Regimes and Their Impacts in Arctic and Boreal Ecosystems (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, A. D.; Rupp, T. S.; Kurz, W.

2013-12-01

Disturbances in arctic and boreal terrestrial ecosystems influence services provided by these ecosystems to society. In particular, changes in disturbance regimes in northern latitudes have uncertain consequences for the climate system. A major challenge for the scientific community is to develop the capability to predict how the frequency, severity and resultant impacts of disturbance regimes will change in response to future changes in climate projected for northern high latitudes. Here we compare what is known about drivers and impacts of wildfire, phytophagous insect pests, and thermokarst disturbance to illustrate the complexities in predicting future changes in disturbance regimes and their impacts in arctic and boreal regions. Much of the research on predicting fire has relied on the use of drivers related to fire weather. However, changes in vegetation, such as increases in broadleaf species, associated with intensified fire regimes have the potential to influence future fire regimes through negative feedbacks associated with reduced flammability. Phytophagous insect outbreaks have affected substantial portions of the boreal region in the past, but frequently the range of the tree host is larger than the range of the insect. There is evidence that a number of insect species are expanding their range in response to climate change. Major challenges to predicting outbreaks of phytophagous insects include modeling the effects of climate change on insect growth and maturation, winter mortality, plant host health, the synchrony of insect life stages and plant host phenology, and changes in the ranges of insect pests. Moreover, Earth System Models often simplify the representation of vegetation characteristics, e.g. the use of plant functional types, providing insufficient detail to link to insect population models. Thermokarst disturbance occurs when the thawing of ice-rich permafrost results in substantial ground subsidence. In the boreal forest, thermokarst can

Institutional fragility – challenge for peacebuilding in Kosovo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dr.Sc. Samet Dalipi

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Peace building, as part of conflict resolution strategy, is challenged by several internal factors with socio-economic, political, governmental nature, and factors coming from outside the country and violent past under governance of ex Yugoslavia/Serbia. This process becomes more difficult by the transition from socialist to free economy. Kosovo independence undermines taking responsibilities by institutions on peace building perspective which will bring to the gradual reconciliation with neighbors, including Serbia. Growing authoritarian tendencies on decision making mechanisms chock already existing fragile democracy. Enhancing the rule of law and system of justice will create a good basement for elimination of corruption and increase the quality of governance as strengthening elements of the social peace and reconciliation between the communities inside Kosovo.                              Even that, Kosovo institutions have made huge efforts in building the state mechanisms in preparation for the country’s independence phase. Rise of care in the rule of law, legislation implementation, efforts for combating corruption as a major source of state vulnerability, democratic institution building, and economic development, will be the challenges faced Kosovo’s future.

Adolescence and AAC: Intervention Challenges and Possible Solutions

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Martine M.

2015-01-01

Adolescence is a unique developmental period, spanning the gulf between childhood and adulthood. For adolescents who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), the major physical, cognitive, linguistic, social, and emotional changes associated with adolescence may have significant implications for their use of AAC. These challenges are…

Baseline integrated behavioural and biological assessment among most at-risk populations in six high-prevalence states of India: design and implementation challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Saidel, Tobi; Adhikary, Rajatashuvra; Mainkar, Mandar; Dale, Jayesh; Loo, Virginia; Rahman, Motiur; Ramesh, Banadakoppa M; Paranjape, Ramesh S

2008-12-01

This paper presents key methodological approaches and challenges in implementing and analysing the first round of the integrated biobehavioural assessment of most-at-risk populations, conducted in conjunction with evaluation of Avahan, the India AIDS initiative. The survey collected data on HIV risk behaviours, sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevalence in 29 districts in six high-prevalence states of India. Groups included female sex workers and clients, men who have sex with men, injecting drug users and truck drivers. Strategies for overcoming some challenges of the large-scale surveys among vulnerable populations, including sampling hidden populations, involvement of the communities targeted by the survey, laboratory and quality control in remote, non-clinic field settings, and data analysis and data use are presented. Satisfying the need for protocols, guidelines and tools that allowed for sufficient standardization, while being tailored enough to fit diverse local situations on such a large scale, with so many implementing partners, emerged as a major management challenge. A major lesson from the first round is the vital importance of investing upfront time in tailoring the sampling methods, data collection instruments, and analysis plan to match measurement objectives. Despite the challenges, the integrated biobehavioural assessment was a huge achievement, and was largely successful in providing previously unavailable information about the HIV situation among populations that are critical to the curtailment of HIV spread in India. Lessons from the first round will be used to evolve the second round into an exercise with increased evaluative capability for Avahan.

Energy challenges and strategic challenges in the 21. Century

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paillard, Christophe-Alexandre

2011-01-01

Prices of fossil fuels are still increasing in 2011. This trend should accentuate in the next years. Because natural resources are indeed limited and without any possibility of quickly reversing current consuming habits, world consumers must find a way to limit the impact of these bullish tendencies. This challenge must be confronted to the lack of credible alternative to fossil fuels. In fact, there is no energy with comparable qualities to oil and gas. Thus other resources will keep a low profile in the world energy balance in the next twenty years. This phenomenon of scarcity and a high level of dependency to hydrocarbons will have four consequences: redefinition of military and economic alliances; calling into questions the positions of established powers; implementation of policies which aim to reduce any external dependency; upholding of the Middle East as a key energy area, due to the amount of its natural reserves. In such a context, producing countries will try to preserve their resources from any external lust. For all, any energy policy based on abstinence should contribute to limit the risks of a possible world energy crisis. However, such a development seems to be unlikely on the mid term. Energy will stay one of the major challenges of the 21. century

Mexico’s National Security Challenges and the Military Endeavor

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-01

10 highlighted major challenges for nations in the region and their armies, such as poverty and lack of social development, massive migration ...31 15 2006 2007-2009 2010 2011 Sinaloa cartel Sinaloa cartel Sinaloa cartel Sinaloa cartel Beltran Leyva cartel South pacific cartel...Mexican population in many states, such as Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sinaloa , and Durango, is fearful of organized crime. The majority of the

A common agenda of global challenges. Japan and U.S. pool resources to tackle global issues including population and HIV / AIDS.

Science.gov (United States)

1998-05-01

The Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective is a bilateral partnership established in 1993 between the US and Japan to address important global challenges of the 21st century such as global health and human development, including population and HIV/AIDS, global stability, protection of the global environment, and the advancement of science and technology. On the fifth anniversary of the agenda, representatives of the Japan and the US governments, international organizations, and private sectors discussed ways to further promote US-Japan cooperation under the agenda at a meeting held in Tokyo during March 12-13. Participants of the Common Agenda Open Forum also reviewed efforts made by Japan and the US under the agenda to address population and the environment. Forum participants focused upon developing new ideas for future cooperation between the governments, the private sector, and other nations, especially in the areas of health and the environment. The meeting was jointly organized by Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State. Attention was also given during talks to diminishing international assistance budgets worldwide.

Food Security In South Asia: Major Challenges And Solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. V. Galistcheva

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The subject of the study is analysis of the state of food security of the South Asian countries at the present time. The methodological basis of the study is such methods as induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis. The systematic approach to the overall study of the South Asian countries’ economy and the state of its food security in particular has become the base of this research. Historical and statistical method were used to solve the main task of the research to reveal the conditions of the region’s agricultural development and food availability and food accessibility in the region as well as to carry out an assessment of the ability of households to obtain nutritious food all year round. The author also used the comparative method to analyze the South Asian countries’ approaches to realization of food policy that has allowed to reveal the specific tools used by certain countries of the region and the common characteristics of all countries of South Asia. While selecting the research topics the author proceeded from the idea that the problem of the state of food security of the South Asian countries has not been studied for the last two decades. The research required to attract and summarize a large amount of statistical data that has been drawn from many sources including official-sites of international organizations and South Asian countries. The author also used Russian and Indian scientific journals and monographs. The article highlights the state of food security in the region in accordance with criteria offered by the FAO. The author examines the situation in the South Asian countries’ agriculture sector, its productivity, the volume of production, food waste as well as the countries’ dependency on food imports. The article also presents some information on food accessibility which is generally considered within the context of household income, food distribution systems and ability of the household to obtain food

Environmental challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conable, B.; Warford, J.; Partow, Z.; Lutz, E.; Munasinghe, M.

1991-09-01

The contents include the following: Development and the Environment: A Global Balance; Evolution of the World Bank's Environmental Policy; Accounting for the Environment; Public Policy and the Environment; Managing Drylands; Environmental Action Plans in Africa; Agroforestry in Sub-Saharan Africa; Irrigation and the Environmental Challenge; Curbing Pollution in Developing Countries; Global Warming and the Developing World; and The Global Environment Facility

Materials challenges in present and future wind energy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hayman, B.; Wedel-Heinen, J.; Brøndsted, Povl

2008-01-01

The main concept currently in use in wind energy involves horizontal-axis wind turbines with blades of fiber composite materials. This turbine concept is expected to remain as the major provider of wind power in the foreseeable future. However, turbine sizes are increasing, and installation......, preventing buckling failure, ensuring adequate fatigue life under variable wind loading combined with gravitational loading, and minimizing the occurrence and consequences of production defects. A major challenge is to develop cost-effective ways to ensure that production defects do not cause unacceptable...

Seven challenges for neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Markram, Henry

2013-01-01

Although twenty-first century neuroscience is a major scientific enterprise, advances in basic research have not yet translated into benefits for society. In this paper, I outline seven fundamental challenges that need to be overcome. First, neuroscience has to become "big science" - we need big teams with the resources and competences to tackle the big problems. Second, we need to create interlinked sets of data providing a complete picture of single areas of the brain at their different levels of organization with "rungs" linking the descriptions for humans and other species. Such "data ladders" will help us to meet the third challenge - the development of efficient predictive tools, enabling us to drastically increase the information we can extract from expensive experiments. The fourth challenge goes one step further: we have to develop novel hardware and software sufficiently powerful to simulate the brain. In the future, supercomputer-based brain simulation will enable us to make in silico manipulations and recordings, which are currently completely impossible in the lab. The fifth and sixth challenges are translational. On the one hand we need to develop new ways of classifying and simulating brain disease, leading to better diagnosis and more effective drug discovery. On the other, we have to exploit our knowledge to build new brain-inspired technologies, with potentially huge benefits for industry and for society. This leads to the seventh challenge. Neuroscience can indeed deliver huge benefits but we have to be aware of widespread social concern about our work. We need to recognize the fears that exist, lay them to rest, and actively build public support for neuroscience research. We have to set goals for ourselves that the public can recognize and share. And then we have to deliver on our promises. Only in this way, will we receive the support and funding we need.

Data Sets from Major NCI Initiaves

Science.gov (United States)

The NCI Data Catalog includes links to data collections produced by major NCI initiatives and other widely used data sets, including animal models, human tumor cell lines, epidemiology data sets, genomics data sets from TCGA, TARGET, COSMIC, GSK, NCI60.

Key ecological challenges for closed systems facilities

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Mark; Dempster, William F.; Allen, John P.

2013-07-01

Closed ecological systems are desirable for a number of purposes. In space life support systems, material closure allows precious life-supporting resources to be kept inside and recycled. Closure in small biospheric systems facilitates detailed measurement of global ecological processes and biogeochemical cycles. Closed testbeds facilitate research topics which require isolation from the outside (e.g. genetically modified organisms; radioisotopes) so their ecological interactions and fluxes can be studied separate from interactions with the outside environment. But to achieve and maintain closure entails solving complex ecological challenges. These challenges include being able to handle faster cycling rates and accentuated daily and seasonal fluxes of critical life elements such as carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, macro- and mico-nutrients. The problems of achieving sustainability in closed systems for life support include how to handle atmospheric dynamics including trace gases, producing a complete human diet, recycling nutrients and maintaining soil fertility, the maintenance of healthy air and water and preventing the loss of critical elements from active circulation. In biospheric facilities, the challenge is also to produce analogues to natural biomes and ecosystems, studying processes of self-organization and adaptation in systems that allow specification or determination of state variables and cycles which may be followed through all interactions from atmosphere to soils. Other challenges include the dynamics and genetics of small populations, the psychological challenges for small isolated human groups and backup technologies and strategic options which may be necessary to ensure long-term operation of closed ecological systems.

Panel - Ethics in modern universities of technology : Challenges of the 21st century

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Engel-Hills, Penelope; Hillerbrand, Rafaela; Rip, Arie; Sunderland, Mary; Taebi, Behnam; Werker, Claudia; Wineberg, Chris

2014-01-01

The challenges of the 21st century will fully reflect on universities of technology. The world population is growing while we pursue higher levels of global well-being. The increasing energy demands and the resulting problems of climate change will be only two of the many major challenges humanity

The Internet of Things: New Interoperability, Management and Security Challenges

OpenAIRE

Elkhodr, Mahmoud; Shahrestani, Seyed; Cheung, Hon

2016-01-01

The Internet of Things (IoT) brings connectivity to about every objects found in the physical space. It extends connectivity to everyday objects. From connected fridges, cars and cities, the IoT creates opportunities in numerous domains. However, this increase in connectivity creates many prominent challenges. This paper provides a survey of some of the major issues challenging the widespread adoption of the IoT. Particularly, it focuses on the interoperability, management, securi...

Strains of Sarcocystis neurona exhibit differences in their surface antigens, including the absence of the major surface antigen SnSAG1.

Science.gov (United States)

Howe, Daniel K; Gaji, Rajshekhar Y; Marsh, Antoinette E; Patil, Bhagyashree A; Saville, William J; Lindsay, David S; Dubey, J P; Granstrom, David E

2008-05-01

A gene family of surface antigens is expressed by merozoites of Sarcocystis neurona, the primary cause of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). These surface proteins, designated SnSAGs, are immunodominant and therefore excellent candidates for development of EPM diagnostics or vaccines. Prior work had identified an EPM isolate lacking the major surface antigen SnSAG1, thus suggesting there may be some diversity in the SnSAGs expressed by different S. neurona isolates. Therefore, a bioinformatic, molecular and immunological study was conducted to assess conservation of the SnSAGs. Examination of an expressed sequence tag (EST) database revealed several notable SnSAG polymorphisms. In particular, the EST information implied that the EPM strain SN4 lacked the major surface antigen SnSAG1. The absence of this surface antigen from the SN4 strain was confirmed by both Western blot and Southern blot. To evaluate SnSAG polymorphisms in the S. neurona population, 14 strains were examined by Western blots using monospecific polyclonal antibodies against the four described SnSAGs. The results of these analyses demonstrated that SnSAG2, SnSAG3, and SnSAG4 are present in all 14 S. neurona strains tested, although some variance in SnSAG4 was observed. Importantly, SnSAG1 was not detected in seven of the strains, which included isolates from four cases of EPM and a case of fatal meningoencephalitis in a sea otter. Genetic analyses by PCR using gene-specific primers confirmed the absence of the SnSAG1 locus in six of these seven strains. Collectively, the data indicated that there is heterogeneity in the surface antigen composition of different S. neurona isolates, which is an important consideration for development of serological tests and prospective vaccines for EPM. Furthermore, the diversity reported herein likely extends to other phenotypes, such as strain virulence, and may have implications for the phylogeny of the various Sarcocystis spp. that undergo sexual stages

Big data in complex systems challenges and opportunities

CERN Document Server

Azar, Ahmad; Snasael, Vaclav; Kacprzyk, Janusz; Abawajy, Jemal

2015-01-01

This volume provides challenges and Opportunities with updated, in-depth material on the application of Big data to complex systems in order to find solutions for the challenges and problems facing big data sets applications. Much data today is not natively in structured format; for example, tweets and blogs are weakly structured pieces of text, while images and video are structured for storage and display, but not for semantic content and search. Therefore transforming such content into a structured format for later analysis is a major challenge. Data analysis, organization, retrieval, and modeling are other  foundational challenges treated in this book. The material of this book will be useful for researchers and practitioners in the field of big data as well as advanced undergraduate and graduate  students. Each of the 17 chapters in the book opens with a chapter abstract and key terms list. The chapters are organized along the lines of problem description, related works, and analysis of the results and ...

Challenges to Business Excellence: Some Empirical Evidence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brown Alan

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The business excellence models are used by many organisations around the world as a strategic driver for business improvement and in some cases as the basis for applications for awards based on the models. These include the Baldrige, EFQM, Australian Business Excellence Framework and many other national and regional models. Whilst many award recipients showcase their achievements, comparatively little is known about the challenges and impediments they face in reaching and sustaining high levels of success as evidenced by winning awards. This paper seeks to identify challenges faced by examining the experience of a sample of Australian Business Excellence Award winners. Findings suggest that the primary challenges include; leadership support, drive and consistency throughout the organisation and communicating strategy and making it meaningful for people at all levels. The study also found variability in challenges across organisations.

Gaucher disease: Progress and ongoing challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Mistry, Pramod K; Lopez, Grisel; Schiffmann, Raphael; Barton, Norman W; Weinreb, Neal J; Sidransky, Ellen

Over the past decades, tremendous progress has been made in the field of Gaucher disease, the inherited deficiency of the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Many of the colossal achievements took place during the course of the sixty-year tenure of Dr. Roscoe Brady at the National Institutes of Health. These include the recognition of the enzymatic defect involved, the isolation and characterization of the protein, the localization and characterization of the gene and its nearby pseudogene, as well as the identification of the first mutant alleles in patients. The first treatment for Gaucher disease, enzyme replacement therapy, was conceived of, developed and tested at the Clinical Center of the National Institutes of Health. Advances including recombinant production of the enzyme, the development of mouse models, pioneering gene therapy experiments, high throughput screens of small molecules and the generation of induced pluripotent stem cell models have all helped to catapult research in Gaucher disease into the twenty-first century. The appreciation that mutations in the glucocerebrosidase gene are an important risk factor for parkinsonism further expands the impact of this work. However, major challenges still remain, some of which are described here, that will provide opportunities, excitement and discovery for the next generations of Gaucher investigators. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Leadership and Cultural Challenges in Operating the International Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, J. L.; Ritsher, J. B.; Saylor, S. A.; Kanas, N.

2006-01-01

Operating the International Space Station (ISS) involves an indefinite, continuous series of long-duration international missions, and this requires an unprecedented degree of cooperation across multiple sites, organizations, and nations. ISS flight controllers have had to find ways to maintain effective team performance in this challenging new context. The goal of this study was to systematically identify and evaluate the major leadership and cultural challenges faces by ISS flight controllers, and to highlight the approaches that they have found most effective to surmount these challenges. We conducted a qualitative survey using a semi-structured interview. Subjects included 14 senior NASA flight controllers who were chosen on the basis of having had substantial experience working with international partners. Data were content analyzed using an iterative process with multiple coders and consensus meetings to resolve discrepancies. To further explore the meaning of the interview findings, we also conducted some new analyses of data from a previous questionnaire study of Russian and American ISS mission control personnel. The interview data showed that respondents had substantial consensus on several leadership and cultural challenges and on key strategies for dealing with them, and they offered a wide range of specific tactics for implementing these strategies. Surprisingly few respondents offered strategies for addressing the challenge of working with team members whose native language is not American English. The questionnaire data showed that Americans think it is more important than Russians that mission control personnel speak the same dialect of one shared common language. Although specific to the ISS program, our results are consistent with recent management, cultural, and aerospace research. We aim to use our results to improve training for current and future ISS flight controllers.

Satisfaction amid professional challenges: International medical graduates in rural Tasmania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel R Terry

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background At the time of recruitment, migration, and placement, international medical graduates (IMGs encounter professional challenges. These challenges may include a loss of status and professional identity, professional isolation in rural practice, restrictions on medical practice, and social isolation. Understanding the nature of these challenges may facilitate the recruitment, placement, and success of international medical graduates within rural Tasmania. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the experiences, challenges,and barriers that IMGs encounter as they work and live in rural Tasmania. Methods The study used a mixed-methods design where data were collected using a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews across the south, north, and northwest of Tasmania. IMGs were recruited through purposive snowball and convenience sampling. Results A total of 105 questionnaires were returned (response rate 30.0per cent and 23semi-structured interviews were conducted with IMGs across Tasmania. Questionnaire participants indicated that the majority of IMGs are satisfied in their current employment; however, interview participants indicated there were a number of barriers to practising medicine in Tasmania as well as factors that would influence ongoing employment in the state. Despite these challenges, professional support was recognised as a key contributor to professional satisfaction, particularly among IMGs who had just arrived. Conclusion The study contributes to the current knowledge and understanding of IMGs who live and work in rural areas. The study shows that there are high levels of satisfaction among IMGs with their current position; however, the research also provides insight into the complexities and factors that impact IMGs as they work and live within rural areas such as Tasmania. This study offers an understanding for policy to improve greater retention of IMGs across rural areas.

A Cross-Cultural Perspective on Challenges Facing Comparative Cancer Survivorship Research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syse, A.; Syse, A.; Geller, B.

2011-01-01

Cancer survivorship research includes the study of physical, psychosocial, and economic consequences of cancer diagnosis and treatment among pediatric and adult cancer survivors. Historically, the majority of cancer survivorship studies were from the United States, but survivorship issues are increasingly being addressed in other developed countries. Cross-cultural studies remain, however, scarce. The degree to which knowledge attained may or may not be transferred across cultures, countries, or regions is not known. Some important challenges for comparative research are therefore discussed in a cross-cultural perspective. Several substantive and methodological challenges that complicate the execution of cross-cultural cancer survivorship research are presented with examples and discussed to facilitate comparative research efforts in the establishment of new survivorship cohorts and in the planning and implementation of survivorship studies. Comparative research is one key to understanding the nature of cancer survivorship, distinguishing modifiable from non modifiable factors at individual, hospital, societal, and system levels and may thus guide appropriate interventions. Lastly, suggested future courses of action within the field of comparative cancer survivorship research are provided.

Trends, demands and challenges in TCAD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bork, Ingo; Moroz, Victor; Bomholt, Lars; Pramanik, Dipu

2005-01-01

Currently, TCAD is most heavily used in the device research and process integration phases of a technology life cycle. However, a major trend visible in the industry is the demand to apply TCAD tools far beyond the integration phase into manufacturing and yield optimization. Short IC product lifetimes make fast yield ramp-up critical for being profitable and TCAD tools build a bridge between IC design and manufacturing. Another major trend is to use TCAD to evaluate layout dependent stress variations and account for these variations in the design flow of standard cells, libraries and custom ICs. This article gives an overview of those trends and addresses resulting challenges for TCAD models and tools

Physics Education Research efforts to promote diversity: Challenges and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Brahmia, Suzanne

2015-04-01

We begin this talk with a brief description of the gender and ethnic diversity of the physics community. We then discuss several current efforts within Physics Education Research that have the potential to further our understanding of issues surrounding underrepresentation. These efforts include research into (1) the role of community and strategies for developing effective communities; (2) physics identity and self-efficacy; (3) the affordances that students from underrepresented groups bring to physics learning; (4) socioeconomics and its impact on mathematization. One of the challenges to conducting this research is the relatively small proportion of underrepresented minority students in current physics classes, and the small number of women in physics and engineering majors. In collaboration with Stephen Kanim, New Mexico State University.

Non-governmental organizations in international health: past successes, future challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Gellert, G A

1996-01-01

Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, are increasingly instrumental to the implementation of international health programs. Following an overview of current conditions in global health and the problems that could be targeted by NGOs, this article describes the activities and philosophies of several representative approaches in this sector. The attributes of NGOs that increase their potential effectiveness are discussed, including ability to reach areas of severe need, promotion of local involvement, low cost of operations, adaptiveness and innovation, independence, and sustainability. A summary is provided of major future challenges in international health that may be addressed by NGOs, with particular emphasis on tobacco-related disease, communicable diseases and the AIDS epidemic, maternal mortality and women's health, injury prevention and control, and the need to secure durable financial support.

Challenges in the Preservation of Riga’s Architectural Cultural Heritage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarmite Barvika

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Historical buildings are the most visible part of cultural heritage. They make up Latvia’s historical landscape that has been centuries in the making. In the vast majority of cases these buildings are included in the historical cultural heritage of Latvia. However, the practical mechanisms of their preservation (ownership preservation, maintenance, renewal opportunities and, consequently, their economic potential, still have not yet been fully evaluated. Does cultural value interact with market value? What factors affect urban planning in the Historic Centre of Riga and its PZ – a UNESCO World Heritage site? Answers to these questions, as well as the main challenges in the preservation of values of Riga’s architectural heritage will be discussed in the paper.

An Overview of Science Challenges Pertaining to our Understanding of Extreme Geomagnetically Induced Currents. Chapter 8

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwira, Chigomezyo M.; Pulkkinen, Antti A.

2018-01-01

Vulnerability of man-made infrastructure to Earth-directed space weather events is a serious concern for today's technology-dependent society. Space weather-driven geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) can disrupt operation of extended electrically conducting technological systems. The threat of adverse impacts on critical technological infrastructure, like power grids, oil and gas pipelines, and communication networks, has sparked renewed interest in extreme space weather. Because extreme space weather events have low occurrence rate but potentially high impact, this presents a major challenge for our understanding of extreme GIC activity. In this chapter, we discuss some of the key science challenges pertaining to our understanding of extreme events. In addition, we present an overview of GICs including highlights of severe impacts over the last 80 years and recent U.S. Federal actions relevant to this community.

Fate of challenge schistosomula in the murine anti-schistosome vaccine model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Von Lichtenberg, F.; Correa-Oliveira, R.; Sher, A.

1985-01-01

Mice exposed to irradiated cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni develop a partial resistance to subsequent parasite challenge. In this study the authors utilized histopathologic methods to investigate the fate of both the immunizing and challenge cercariae in C57BL/6J mice. After immunization by percutaneous infection, a large number of the 50 Kr irradiated organisms could be detected in tissue sections of lung. However, as early as 2 weeks after immunization, the majority of these schistosomula apparently had died, leaving residual inflammatory foci. The numbers of these foci then gradually declined during the next 4 weeks of examination. Cercarial challenge of mice vaccinated 4 weeks previously provoked an intense eosinophil-enriched inflammatory response in percutaneously exposed ear pinnae. Despite these pronounced tissue reactions, no evidence of significant parasite damage or attrition was detected in this migration site. In contrast, schistosomula arriving in the lungs of vaccinated mice produced a greater number of residual inflammatory foci than did larvae appearing in the lungs of normal mice. In addition, challenge schistosomula were cleared from the lungs of vaccinated mice at a slower rate than they were from the lungs of control mice. These observations suggest that the lung is a major site of parasite attrition for both immunizing and challenge infections in the mouse irradiated vaccine model

KSAC, a defined Leishmania antigen, plus adjuvant protects against the virulence of L. major transmitted by its natural vector Phlebotomus duboscqi.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Regis Gomes

Full Text Available Recombinant KSAC and L110f are promising Leishmania vaccine candidates. Both antigens formulated in stable emulsions (SE with the natural TLR4 agonist MPL® and L110f with the synthetic TLR4 agonist GLA in SE protected BALB/c mice against L. major infection following needle challenge. Considering the virulence of vector-transmitted Leishmania infections, we vaccinated BALB/c mice with either KSAC+GLA-SE or L110f+GLA-SE to assess protection against L. major transmitted via its vector Phlebotomus duboscqi.Mice receiving the KSAC or L110f vaccines were challenged by needle or L. major-infected sand flies. Weekly disease progression and terminal parasite loads were determined. Immunological responses to KSAC, L110f, or soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA were assessed throughout vaccination, three and twelve weeks after immunization, and one week post-challenge.Following sand fly challenge, KSAC-vaccinated mice were protected while L110f-vaccinated animals showed partial protection. Protection correlated with the ability of SLA to induce IFN-γ-producing CD4(+CD62L(lowCCR7(low effector memory T cells pre- and post-sand fly challenge.This study demonstrates the protective efficacy of KSAC+GLA-SE against sand fly challenge; the importance of vector-transmitted challenge in evaluating vaccine candidates against Leishmania infection; and the necessity of a rapid potent Th1 response against Leishmania to attain true protection.

Bringing nanomedicines to market: regulatory challenges, opportunities, and uncertainties.

Science.gov (United States)

Nijhara, Ruchika; Balakrishnan, Krishna

2006-06-01

Scientists and entrepreneurs who contemplate developing nanomedicine products face several unique challenges in addition to many of the traditional hurdles of product development. In this review we analyze the major physicochemical, biologic and functional characteristics of several nanomedicine products on the market and explore the question of what made them unique. What made them successful? We also focus on the regulatory challenges faced by nanomedicine product developers. Based on these analyses, we propose the factors that are most likely to contribute to the success of nanomedicine products.

Homeland Security. Management Challenges Facing Federal Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

2002-12-01

Security Management Challenges Facing Federal Leadership 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT...including attention to management practices and key success factors. HOMELAND SECURITY Management Challenges Facing Federal Leadership www.gao.gov/cgi...significant management and coordination challenges if it is to provide this leadership and be successful in preventing and responding to any future

Safety analysis - current and future regulatory challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, T., E-mail: Terry.Jamieson@cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca [Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

'Full text:' The current and future regulatory challenges associated with deterministic safety analysis are reviewed, including: 1. The CNSC's and safety control areas. 2. Traditional safety analysis approach. 3. Experience gained and impact. 4. Current analysis and regulatory approaches. 5. Current status. 6. Complexity and challenges In particular, the technical, regulatory and strategic aspects of these challenges are discussed. (author)

Safety analysis - current and future regulatory challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jamieson, T.

2015-01-01

'Full text:' The current and future regulatory challenges associated with deterministic safety analysis are reviewed, including: 1. The CNSC's and safety control areas. 2. Traditional safety analysis approach. 3. Experience gained and impact. 4. Current analysis and regulatory approaches. 5. Current status. 6. Complexity and challenges In particular, the technical, regulatory and strategic aspects of these challenges are discussed. (author)

The Retention Challenge--Should We Include Parents?

Science.gov (United States)

Cartmell, Brandy Mallory

2015-01-01

University campuses continue to see an increase in the number of helicopter parents, those parents who are hovering about the campus, ready to swoop down and rescue their children at the first sign of distress (Cartmell and McCullough 2014). Retention personnel on campus questioned whether it would be possible to develop initiatives that would…

Challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change in Southeast Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C.C. Ifeanyi-Obi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The study examined the challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change in Southeast, Nigeria. Three hundred and eighty-four respondents selected through multi-stage sampling technique were used for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaire and interview schedule and analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Findings showed that majority were females (67%, married (92% and maintain average household size of 6 persons and a mean age of 51 years. They were mainly primary (32% and secondary (34% school certificate holders with farming (77% as their major occupation. The major cropping pattern practiced was mixed farming with cassava (63% and maize (58% as the major crops cultivated by the farmers. Majority of the farmers owned farms of one hectare and below accessed mainly through inheritance (76% and labour sourced mainly through hiring (50%. Most (81% of the farmers have spent more than ten years in farming. Climate change information was accessed mainly through their personal experience (64%, radio (42% and fellow villagers (39%. The study identified eight major challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in adapting to climate change namely Lack/high cost of farm inputs and low soil fertility (Factor 1, Land and labour constraints (Factor 2, Poor access to information and ineffectiveness of cooperatives (Factor 3, lack of/poor access to fund and credit facilities and poor government support (Factor 4, lack of improved varieties of cocoyam (factor 5, poor value attached to cocoyam (Factor 6, poor infrastructural capacity and technology know-how (Factor 7 and Transportation constraint (Factor 8. Analysis of variance identified significant variations in the challenges faced by cocoyam farmers in the study area. The study recommends enrollment in cooperatives and revitalizing existing cooperatives, re-orientation of farmers on the benefits of cocoyam and increased used of climate change

Overcoming the Challenges of Co-creation

Science.gov (United States)

Pandya, R.; Udu-gama, N.; Goodwin, M.; Otellini, P.

2016-12-01

There is growing interest in co-creation, especially for community-related issues like climate change, resilience, pollution, and environmental justice. Nevertheless, co-creation is still not mainstream practice in either geosciences or the world of decision-makers. This presents many challenges. On the science side, challenges include a paucity of training opportunities, lack of funding for co-creation, difficulty publishing or otherwise getting credit for the effort, and a perceived lack of prestige compared to theoretical research. On the community side, parallel challenges include a lack of experience working with scientists or thinking about geoscience's relevance to community issues, tight budgets and competing priorities, the need for outputs beyond publications, and the difficulty including science among a range of factors. Additionally, scientists and community leaders often work across public and private sectors and must navigate different approaches to data, privacy, and accountability. We'll use this session to explore opportunities to overcome the challenges of co-creation. Systems thinking suggests a range of approaches: enabling individuals, reducing specific challenges, changing the relationship between the elements of the systems, and changing the goals or mindsets of the systems - each more powerful than the last. For example, mentoring and coaching enables individuals, and pro-bono work eases the challenge of getting professional credit. New modes of output, like plain language abstracts, change the relationship between publications and other outputs. We can work on changing mindsets by publicizing and celebrating individual successes. With more effort and impact, we can build collaborations in the collective impact model, where we bring scientific and community organizations together around a common agenda and shared measurement. Building on these examples, we will use this session to collect strategies and opportunities from all participants.

Achieving competitive excellence in nuclear energy: The threat of proliferation; the challenge of inertial confinement fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nuckolls, J.H.

1994-06-01

Nuclear energy will have an expanding role in meeting the twenty-first-century challenges of population and economic growth, energy demand, and global warming. These great challenges are non-linearly coupled and incompletely understood. In the complex global system, achieving competitive excellence for nuclear energy is a multi-dimensional challenge. The growth of nuclear energy will be driven by its margin of economic advantage, as well as by threats to energy security and by growing evidence of global warming. At the same time, the deployment of nuclear energy will be inhibited by concerns about nuclear weapons proliferation, nuclear waste and nuclear reactor safety. These drivers and inhibitors are coupled: for example, in the foreseeable future, proliferation in the Middle East may undermine energy security and increase demand for nuclear energy. The Department of Energy's nuclear weapons laboratories are addressing many of these challenges, including nuclear weapons builddown and nonproliferation, nuclear waste storage and burnup, reactor safety and fuel enrichment, global warming, and the long-range development of fusion energy. Today I will focus on two major program areas at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL): the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the development of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) energy

Challenges in modelling nanoparticles for drug delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnard, Amanda S

2016-01-01

Although there have been significant advances in the fields of theoretical condensed matter and computational physics, when confronted with the complexity and diversity of nanoparticles available in conventional laboratories a number of modeling challenges remain. These challenges are generally shared among application domains, but the impacts of the limitations and approximations we make to overcome them (or circumvent them) can be more significant one area than another. In the case of nanoparticles for drug delivery applications some immediate challenges include the incompatibility of length-scales, our ability to model weak interactions and solvation, the complexity of the thermochemical environment surrounding the nanoparticles, and the role of polydispersivity in determining properties and performance. Some of these challenges can be met with existing technologies, others with emerging technologies including the data-driven sciences; some others require new methods to be developed. In this article we will briefly review some simple methods and techniques that can be applied to these (and other) challenges, and demonstrate some results using nanodiamond-based drug delivery platforms as an exemplar. (topical review)

Challenges to Life on Mars --- Ecological Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, H.; McKay, C.; Friedmann, I.; McDonald, G.

2003-12-01

This talk will address the habitability of Mars by considering major environmental challenges against the tolerance limits of microorganisms from extreme terrestrial environments including the Antarctic desert and permafrost. At the planet surface, the combination of low atmospheric pressure (below the triple point of water), high fluxes of ultraviolet radiation, and one or more powerful oxidants are likely to create sterilizing conditions that will be a barrier to the colonization and dispersal of microorganisms. In the subsurface below, long-term survival is dependent upon the frequency and duration of warm, metabolically active periods that are needed to repair cellular damages. Low temperature itself does little harm to microorganisms, but a long dormant period will accrue lethal dosages of ionizing radiation and amino acid racemization. It is probable that within the depth range of current sampling technologies, there are no conditions for extant life, leaving organic or inorganic fossils as the only legitimate target in the search for life on Mars.

JACoW Challenges of the ALICE Detector Control System for the LHC RUN3

CERN Document Server

Chochula, Peter; Bond, Peter; Kurepin, Alexander; Lechman, Mateusz; Lang, John; Pinazza, Ombretta

2018-01-01

The ALICE Detector Control System (DCS) has provided its services to the experiment since 10 years. During this period it ensured uninterrupted operation of the experiment and guaranteed stable conditions for the data taking. The DCS has been designed to cope with the detector requirements compatible with the LHC operation during its RUN1 and RUN2 phases. The decision to extend the lifetime of the experiment beyond this horizon requires the redesign of the DCS data flow and represents a major challenge. The major challenges of the system upgrade are presented in this paper.

Relationship challenges and relationship maintenance activities following disclosure of transsexualism.

Science.gov (United States)

Alegría, C Aramburu

2010-12-01

• Transsexual persons are increasing their visibility in society, and health care providers and others (such as social workers) will be called upon to help with issues that transsexual persons face. Challenges that face transsexual persons often include issues involving relationships. Psychiatric and mental health nurses and other caregivers can increase their therapeutic skills in working with couples that include transsexual persons by becoming aware of these challenges and subsequent activities that can help with them. • This research study looks at couple relationships in which one partner reveals male-to-female transsexual identity. These are relationships that were established as man-woman and now will transition into relationships that include a male-to-female person and a female partner. • Common challenges for these couples include issues related to: (1) sexual identity and relationship uncertainty; (2) male-to-female transition decision making; and (3) presenting in public. • Relationship maintenance activities that helped the couples in the study maintain and strengthen their relationships through these challenges include: (1) communication; (2) self-talk (for example, putting the situation in perspective); (3) social networks; (4) positive interactions; (5) impression management (for example, managing displays of affection in public); and (6) social activism. This qualitative study describes the relational dynamics that help sustain relationships of couples that include male-to-female transsexual persons (MTF) and their natal female partners (NF) following disclosure of transsexualism. Relationship challenges and relationship maintenance activities are identified. Each partner in 17 MTF-NF couples participated in individual surveys and interviews. The data were coded for themes related to relationship challenges and activities. MTF-NF couples experience challenges within the contexts of their relationships and of society. These challenges

Engagement of non-government organisations and community care workers in collaborative TB/HIV activities including prevention of mother to child transmission in South Africa: Opportunities and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uwimana Jeannine

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The implementation of collaborative TB/HIV activities may help to mitigate the impact of the dual epidemic on patients and communities. Such implementation requires integrated interventions across facilities and levels of government, and with communities. Engaging Community Care Workers (CCWs in the delivery of integrated TB/HIV services may enhance universal coverage and treatment outcomes, and address human resource needs in sub-Saharan Africa. Methods Using pre-intervention research in Sisonke district, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa as a case study, we report on three study objectives: (1 to determine the extent of the engagement of NGOs and CCWs in the implementation of collaborative TB/HIV including PMTCT; (2 to identify constraints related to provision of TB/HIV/PMTCT integrated care at community level; and (3 to explore ways of enhancing the engagement of CCWs to provide integrated TB/HIV/PMTCT services. Our mixed method study included facility and NGO audits, a household survey (n = 3867, 33 key informant interviews with provincial, district, facility, and NGO managers, and six CCW and patient focus group discussions. Results Most contracted NGOs were providing TB or HIV support and care with little support for PMTCT. Only 11% of facilities’ TB and HIV patients needing care and support at the community level were receiving support from CCWs. Only 2% of pregnant women reported being counseled by CCWs on infant feeding options and HIV testing. Most facilities (83% did not have any structural linkage with NGOs. Major constraints identified were system-related: structural, organizational and managerial constraints; inadequate CCW training and supervision; limited scope of CCW practice; inadequate funding; and inconsistency in supplies and equipment. Individual and community factors, such as lack of disclosure, stigma related to HIV, and cultural beliefs were also identified as constraints. Conclusions NGO

Meeting the Challenges for Gender Diversity in the Geosciences

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, R. E.; Cane, M. A.; Kastens, K. A.; Miller, R. B.; Mutter, J. C.; Pfirman, S. L.

2003-12-01

Women are now routinely chief scientists on major cruises, lead field parties to all continents, and have risen to leadership positions in professional organizations, academic departments and government agencies including major funding agencies. They teach at all levels, advise research students, make research discoveries and receive honors in recognition of their achievements. Despite these advances, women continue to be under-represented in the earth, ocean, and atmospheric sciences. As of 1997 women received only 29% of the doctorates in the earth, atmospheric, and oceanographic sciences and accounted for only 13% of employed Ph.D.s in these fields. Women's salaries also lag: the median annual salary for all Ph.D. geoscientists was \\60,000; for women the figure is \\47,000. Solving the problem of gender imbalance in the geosciences requires understanding of the particular obstacles women face in our field. The problem of under-representation of women requires that earth science departments, universities and research centers, funding agencies, and professional organizations like AGU take constructive action to recognize the root causes of the evident imbalance, and enact corrective policies. We have identified opportunities and challenges for each of these groups. A systematic study of the flux of women at Columbia University enabled a targeted strategy towards improving gender diversity based on the observed trends. The challenge for academic institutions is to document the flux of scientists and develop an appropriate strategy to balance the geoscience demographics. Based on the MIT study, an additional challenge faces universities and research centers. To enhance gender diversity these institutions need to develop transparency in promotion processes and open distribution of institutional resources. The challenge for granting agencies is to implement policies that ease the burden of extensive fieldwork on parents. Many fields of science require long work hours

Challenges of Working in a Multicultural Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Howland, Joan S.

2001-01-01

Addresses challenges faced when working in a multicultural library setting and discusses the need for library administration to create supportive environments. Highlights include fluctuating power dynamics; merging diverse opinions and approaches; overcoming perceived lack of empathy; tokenism; accountability; and transforming challenges into…

Eight challenges in phylodynamic inference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon D.W. Frost

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The field of phylodynamics, which attempts to enhance our understanding of infectious disease dynamics using pathogen phylogenies, has made great strides in the past decade. Basic epidemiological and evolutionary models are now well characterized with inferential frameworks in place. However, significant challenges remain in extending phylodynamic inference to more complex systems. These challenges include accounting for evolutionary complexities such as changing mutation rates, selection, reassortment, and recombination, as well as epidemiological complexities such as stochastic population dynamics, host population structure, and different patterns at the within-host and between-host scales. An additional challenge exists in making efficient inferences from an ever increasing corpus of sequence data.

Functional analysis-based interventions for challenging behaviour in dementia.

Science.gov (United States)

Moniz Cook, Esme D; Swift, Katie; James, Ian; Malouf, Reem; De Vugt, Marjolein; Verhey, Frans

2012-02-15

Functional analysis (FA) for the management of challenging behaviour is a promising behavioural intervention that involves exploring the meaning or purpose of an individual's behaviour. It extends the 'ABC' approach of behavioural analysis, to overcome the restriction of having to derive a single explanatory hypothesis for the person's behaviour. It is seen as a first line alternative to traditional pharmacological management for agitation and aggression. FA typically requires the therapist to develop and evaluate hypotheses-driven strategies that aid family and staff caregivers to reduce or resolve a person's distress and its associated behavioural manifestations. To assess the effects of functional analysis-based interventions for people with dementia (and their caregivers) living in their own home or in other settings. We searched ALOIS: the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's Specialized Register on 3 March 2011 using the terms: FA, behaviour (intervention, management, modification), BPSD, psychosocial and Dementia. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) with reported behavioural outcomes that could be associated with functional analysis for the management of challenging behaviour in dementia. Four reviewers selected trials for inclusion. Two reviewers worked independently to extract data and assess trial quality, including bias. Meta-analyses for reported incidence, frequency, severity of care recipient challenging behaviour and mood (primary outcomes) and caregiver reaction, burden and mood were performed. Details of adverse effects were noted. Eighteen trials are included in the review. The majority were in family care settings. For fourteen studies, FA was just one aspect of a broad multi-component programme of care. Assessing the effect of FA was compromised by ill-defined protocols for the duration of component parts of these programmes (i.e. frequency of the intervention or actual time spent). Therefore, establishing the real effect of the

Opportunities and challenges for emerging nuclear power states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nkong-Njock, V.; Facer, R.I.; Boussaha, A.

2009-01-01

Energy and reliable access to energy sources are essential to economic and social development and improved quality of life. However, limited access to modern energy still remains one of the major constraints to socio-economic development in many parts in the world. On the other hand, energy production, distribution and consumption may have many adverse effects on the local, regional and global environment including climate change. Production and consumption of fossil fuels constitutes the main source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Cleaner and affordable energy systems are therefore needed to address all of these effects and to contribute to environmental sustainability. Nuclear power is a proven technology with virtually no greenhouse gas emissions or emission of pollutants, and therefore is expected to play an increasing role in meeting this rapidly growing global requirements for clean and economic electricity. But, it is known that challenges and opportunities are polarities, and as opposite poles of the magnet, they do not exist separately. An opportunity for some can be a challenge for others, or a challenge today can become an opportunity tomorrow. The potential growth of nuclear power has increased, in some quarters, concern that nonproliferation should be given sufficient attention. In particular, since introduction of many new power reactors will require increased uranium enrichment services, with the potential proliferation risk of adding enrichment facilities in new countries. This has urged the international community to strongly support the development of safeguarded and well-regulated nuclear power around the world, with the aim to ensure that nuclear power is deployed through a commitment to the highest possible standards of nuclear safety, security, and non-proliferation. The keys issues and trends for nuclear power expansion include therefore problems related to (i) safety, security and reliability, (ii) public perception and acceptance, (iii

Designing the robot inclusive space challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajesh Elara Mohan

2015-11-01

Full Text Available A novel robotic challenge, namely the robot inclusive spaces (RIS challenge, is proposed in this paper, which is a cross disciplinary and design focused initiative. It aims to foster the roboticists, architects, and designers towards realizing robot friendly social spaces. Contrary to conventional robotics competitions focusing on designing robots and its component technologies, robot inclusive spaces challenge adopts an interdisciplinary “design for robots” strategy to overcome the traditional research problem in real world deployments of social robots. In order to realize the RIS, various architectural elements must be adapted including: design principles for inclusive spaces, lighting schemes, furniture choices and arrangement, wall and floor surfaces, pathways among others. This paper introduces the format and design principles of RIS challenge, presents a first run of the challenge, and gives the corresponding analysis.

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation for thalassemia major in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikram Mathews

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT is the only currently available curative treatment for thalassemia major. Since it was first done in 1981, several thousand patients have benefited from it and it is now possible to offer this treatment in different parts of the world with good results. With better risk stratification and supportive care, the results of allo-SCT are now very good even in high risk patients who have significant iron overload related organ dysfunction. The improvements have mainly been in the conditioning strategies with less toxic myeloablation and management of the complications of SCT. However, several challenges remain. Transplant related complications still cause significant morbidity and mortality. There is data to show that the results of transplantation as best if done in well transfused and chelated patients <7 years of age. As only a third of the patients will have a matched related donor, there is need for investigating SCT with alternative donors. Experience with SCT for thalassemia major from matched unrelated donors or haplo-identical donors is still limited but needs further exploration. Adequate management needs to be provided post-SCT for all pre-existing complications particularly iron chelation to prevent further organ dysfunction. Systematic follow-up is needed to measure long term outcomes. The biggest challenges in India are the cost of this treatment and access to centres capable of providing this treatment. With greater support from the government, health insurance and philanthropic programs, there has been a rapid increase in the number of SCTs for thalassemia major in India. The number centres providing this treatment are also increasing making this curative treatment more widely available in India.

Scalable privacy-preserving data sharing methodology for genome-wide association studies: an application to iDASH healthcare privacy protection challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Fei; Ji, Zhanglong

2014-01-01

In response to the growing interest in genome-wide association study (GWAS) data privacy, the Integrating Data for Analysis, Anonymization and SHaring (iDASH) center organized the iDASH Healthcare Privacy Protection Challenge, with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of applying privacy-preserving methodologies to human genetic data. This paper is based on a submission to the iDASH Healthcare Privacy Protection Challenge. We apply privacy-preserving methods that are adapted from Uhler et al. 2013 and Yu et al. 2014 to the challenge's data and analyze the data utility after the data are perturbed by the privacy-preserving methods. Major contributions of this paper include new interpretation of the χ2 statistic in a GWAS setting and new results about the Hamming distance score, a key component for one of the privacy-preserving methods.

RNAi nanomedicines: challenges and opportunities within the immune system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weinstein, Shiri; Peer, Dan

2010-01-01

RNAi, as a novel therapeutic modality, has an enormous potential to bring the era of personalized medicine one step further from notion into reality. However, delivery of RNAi effector molecules into their target tissues and cells remain extremely challenging. Major attempts have been made in recent years to develop sophisticated nanocarriers that could overcome these hurdles. This review will present the recent progress with the challenges and opportunities in this emerging field, focusing mostly on the in vivo applications with special emphasis on the strategies for RNAi delivery into immune cells. (topical review)

Well construction hydraulics in challenging environments; Hidraulica de construcao de pocos em cenarios criticos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, Andre Leibsohn; Folsta, Mauricio Gimenes; Waldmann, Alex Tadeu de Almeida; Gandelman, Roni Abensur [Centro de Pesquisas da Petrobras (CENPES). Gerencia de Interacao Rocha-Fluido (Brazil)], e-mails: aleibsohn@petrobras.com.br, folsta@petrobras.com.br, awaldmann@petrobras.com.br, roniag@petrobras.com.br; Aragao, Atila Fernando Lima [E and P Construcao de Pocos Maritimos. Gerencia de Tecnologia de Fluidos (Brazil)], e-mail: atila-aragao@petrobras.com.br; Aranha, Pedro Esteves [Centro de Pesquisas da Petrobras (CENPES). Gerencia de Perfuracao e Completacao de Pocos (Brazil)], e-mail: pearanha@petrobras.com.br

2009-12-15

This article reports the main R and D efforts on well bore construction hydraulics which facilitated the technological development of major Brazilian offshore fields in challenging scenarios. These include: deep and ultra deep water exploratory campaigns, inclined, horizontal and complex trajectory development wells, extended reach wells, long horizontal section wells and drilling through sensitive formations (heavy oil reservoirs, salt zones and fractured carbonates). The relevant scenarios, technical aspects, project development strategies, the history of well bore hydraulics in the main PETROBRAS R and D programs, as well as the contribution of Brazilian universities are detailed. (author)

Demand side management. Benefits and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strbac, Goran

2008-01-01

In this paper, the major benefits and challenges of electricity demand side management (DSM) are discussed in the context of the UK electricity system. The relatively low utilisation of generation and networks (of about 50%) means that there is significant scope for DSM to contribute to increasing the efficiency of the system investment. The importance of the diversity of electricity load is discussed and the negative effects of DSM on load diversity illustrated. Ageing assets, the growth in renewable and other low-carbon generation technologies and advances in information and communication technologies are identified as major additional drivers that could lead to wider applications of DSM in the medium term. Potential benefits of DSM are discussed in the context of generation and of transmission and distribution networks. The provision of back-up capacity by generation may not be efficient as it will be needed relatively infrequently, and DSM may be better placed to support security. We also present an analysis of the value of DSM in balancing generation and demand in a future UK electricity system with significant variable renewable generation. We give a number of reasons for the relatively slow uptake of DSM, particularly in the residential, commercial and small business sectors. They include a lack of metering, information and communication infrastructure, lack of understanding of the benefits of DSM, problems with the competitiveness of DSM when compared with traditional approaches, an increase in the complexity of system operation and inappropriate market incentives. (author)

Undergraduate Neuroscience Majors: A Missed Opportunity for Psychiatry Workforce Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldenberg, Matthew N; Krystal, John H

2017-04-01

This study sought to determine whether and to what extent medical students with an undergraduate college major in neuroscience, relative to other college majors, pursue psychiatry relative to other brain-based specialties (neurology and neurosurgery) and internal medicine. The authors analyzed data from AAMC matriculation and graduation surveys for all students who graduated from US medical schools in 2013 and 2014 (n = 29,714). Students who majored in neuroscience, psychology, and biology were compared to all other students in terms of their specialty choice at both time points. For each major, the authors determined rates of specialty choice of psychiatry, neurology, neurosurgery, and, for comparison, internal medicine. This study employed Chi-square statistic to compare odds of various specialty choices among different majors. Among medical students with an undergraduate neuroscience major (3.5% of all medical students), only 2.3% preferred psychiatry at matriculation, compared to 21.5% who chose neurology, 13.1% neurosurgery, and 11% internal medicine. By graduation, psychiatry specialty choice increased to 5.1% among neuroscience majors while choice of neurology and neurosurgery declined. Psychology majors (OR = 3.16, 95% CI 2.60-4.47) but not neuroscience majors (OR 1.28, 0.92-1.77) were more likely than their peers to choose psychiatry. Psychiatry struggles to attract neuroscience majors to the specialty. This missed opportunity is an obstacle to developing the neuroscience literacy of the workforce and jeopardizes the neuroscientific future of our field. Several potential strategies to address the recruitment challenges exist.

High Luminosity LHC: challenges and plans

Science.gov (United States)

Arduini, G.; Barranco, J.; Bertarelli, A.; Biancacci, N.; Bruce, R.; Brüning, O.; Buffat, X.; Cai, Y.; Carver, L. R.; Fartoukh, S.; Giovannozzi, M.; Iadarola, G.; Li, K.; Lechner, A.; Medina Medrano, L.; Métral, E.; Nosochkov, Y.; Papaphilippou, Y.; Pellegrini, D.; Pieloni, T.; Qiang, J.; Redaelli, S.; Romano, A.; Rossi, L.; Rumolo, G.; Salvant, B.; Schenk, M.; Tambasco, C.; Tomás, R.; Valishev, S.; Van der Veken, F. F.

2016-12-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the largest scientific instruments ever built. Since opening up a new energy frontier for exploration in 2010, it has gathered a global user community working in fundamental particle physics and the physics of hadronic matter at extreme temperature and density. To sustain and extend its discovery potential, the LHC will undergo a major upgrade in the 2020s. This will increase its rate of collisions by a factor of five beyond the original design value and the integrated luminosity by a factor ten. The new configuration, known as High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), will rely on a number of key innovations that push accelerator technology beyond its present limits. Among these are cutting-edge 11-12 T superconducting magnets, including Nb3Sn-based magnets never used in accelerators before, compact superconducting cavities for longitudinal beam rotation, new technology and physical processes for beam collimation. The dynamics of the HL-LHC beams will be also particularly challenging and this aspect is the main focus of this paper.

High Luminosity LHC: Challenges and plans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arduini, G.; Barranco, J.; Bertarelli, A.; Biancacci, N.; Bruce, R.

2016-01-01

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is one of the largest scientific instruments ever built. Since opening up a new energy frontier for exploration in 2010, it has gathered a global user community working in fundamental particle physics and the physics of hadronic matter at extreme temperature and density. To sustain and extend its discovery potential, the LHC will undergo a major upgrade in the 2020s. This will increase its rate of collisions by a factor of five beyond the original design value and the integrated luminosity by a factor ten. The new configuration, known as High Luminosity LHC (HL-LHC), will rely on a number of key innovations that push accelerator technology beyond its present limits. Among these are cutting-edge 11–12 T superconducting magnets, including Nb 3 Sn-based magnets never used in accelerators before, compact superconducting cavities for longitudinal beam rotation, new technology and physical processes for beam collimation. As a result, the dynamics of the HL-LHC beams will be also particularly challenging and this aspect is the main focus of this paper.

Collaboration challenges in systematic reviews: a survey of health sciences librarians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joey Nicholson

2017-10-01

Results: Of the 17 challenges listed in the survey, 8 were reported as common by over 40% of respondents. These included methodological issues around having too broad or narrow research questions, lacking eligibility criteria, having unclear research questions, and not following established methods. The remaining challenges were interpersonal, including issues around student-led projects and the size of the research team. Of the top 8 most frequent challenges, 5 were also ranked as most difficult to handle. Open-ended responses underscored many of the challenges included in the survey and revealed several additional challenges. Conclusions: These results suggest that the most frequent and challenging issues relate to development of the research question and general communication with team members. Clear protocols for collaboration on systematic reviews, as well as a culture of mentorship, can help librarians prevent and address these challenges.  This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program.

Themes and challenges in making supply chains socially sustainable

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abbasi, Maisam

2014-01-01

Purpose Purpose of this paper is to explore and classify pattern of the currently discussed themes and challenges in making supply chains socially sustainable. Design/methodology/approach The methodology was based on a systematic review of the existing literature in order to explore what major...... themes and challenges have been discussed as well as the significant gaps where opportunities for further research can be found. Findings In total five categories of themes were identified, namely goods/service-centric, human-centric, organization-centric, corporate-centric, and management...... holistic view of the pattern of currently discussed themes and challenges may be beneficial in increasing the absorptive capacity of industrial and business practitioners when they design and operationalize innovative strategies in developing sustainable supply chains. Originality/value This paper may...

Cyber security challenges in Smart Cities: Safety, security and privacy

Science.gov (United States)

Elmaghraby, Adel S.; Losavio, Michael M.

2014-01-01

The world is experiencing an evolution of Smart Cities. These emerge from innovations in information technology that, while they create new economic and social opportunities, pose challenges to our security and expectations of privacy. Humans are already interconnected via smart phones and gadgets. Smart energy meters, security devices and smart appliances are being used in many cities. Homes, cars, public venues and other social systems are now on their path to the full connectivity known as the “Internet of Things.” Standards are evolving for all of these potentially connected systems. They will lead to unprecedented improvements in the quality of life. To benefit from them, city infrastructures and services are changing with new interconnected systems for monitoring, control and automation. Intelligent transportation, public and private, will access a web of interconnected data from GPS location to weather and traffic updates. Integrated systems will aid public safety, emergency responders and in disaster recovery. We examine two important and entangled challenges: security and privacy. Security includes illegal access to information and attacks causing physical disruptions in service availability. As digital citizens are more and more instrumented with data available about their location and activities, privacy seems to disappear. Privacy protecting systems that gather data and trigger emergency response when needed are technological challenges that go hand-in-hand with the continuous security challenges. Their implementation is essential for a Smart City in which we would wish to live. We also present a model representing the interactions between person, servers and things. Those are the major element in the Smart City and their interactions are what we need to protect. PMID:25685517

Cyber security challenges in Smart Cities: Safety, security and privacy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adel S. Elmaghraby

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The world is experiencing an evolution of Smart Cities. These emerge from innovations in information technology that, while they create new economic and social opportunities, pose challenges to our security and expectations of privacy. Humans are already interconnected via smart phones and gadgets. Smart energy meters, security devices and smart appliances are being used in many cities. Homes, cars, public venues and other social systems are now on their path to the full connectivity known as the “Internet of Things.” Standards are evolving for all of these potentially connected systems. They will lead to unprecedented improvements in the quality of life. To benefit from them, city infrastructures and services are changing with new interconnected systems for monitoring, control and automation. Intelligent transportation, public and private, will access a web of interconnected data from GPS location to weather and traffic updates. Integrated systems will aid public safety, emergency responders and in disaster recovery. We examine two important and entangled challenges: security and privacy. Security includes illegal access to information and attacks causing physical disruptions in service availability. As digital citizens are more and more instrumented with data available about their location and activities, privacy seems to disappear. Privacy protecting systems that gather data and trigger emergency response when needed are technological challenges that go hand-in-hand with the continuous security challenges. Their implementation is essential for a Smart City in which we would wish to live. We also present a model representing the interactions between person, servers and things. Those are the major element in the Smart City and their interactions are what we need to protect.

Bangladesh Midlife Women's Health Study (BMWHS): methods, challenges and experiences.

Science.gov (United States)

Islam, Rakibul M; Bell, Robin J; Hossain, Mohammad B; Davis, Susan R

2015-01-01

To understand the challenges and experiences encountered during data collection for Bangladesh Midlife Women's Health Study (BMWHS) that investigated the low uptake of cervical cancer (CCa) screening barriers, understanding of breast cancer (BCa) knowledge and practices, the prevalence of urinary and fecal incontinence and menopausal symptoms. A multistage cluster sampling technique was used to recruit women from the 32 districts of Bangladesh that had offered CCa screening. Female interviewers were trained to undertake structured face-to-face interviews that incorporated both non-validated and several validated questionnaires, such as Question for Urinary Incontinence Diagnosis, Pelvic Organ Prolapse Distress Inventory, Colorectal-Anal Distress Inventory and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life. We completed surveys of 1590 women, estimated age 30-59 years, between September 2013 and March 2014. We implemented several strategies to deal with low literacy and used the temporal relationship between marriage and childbirth, and the average age of onset of menarche, to estimate age. Cultural and religious sensitivities and personal security were managed by engaging community leaders, limiting activities to daylight hours, adopting local codes of dress, such as the wearing of head scarves. Our major challenges and experiences included difficulties in age determination, selection of and access to households, interview privacy, lack of basic and health literacy, transportation, political unrest and security of the interviewers. By anticipating challenges, we have been able to comprehensively survey a representative sample of Bangladeshi women. Disseminating information about the field challenges and experiences from the BMWHS should assist other researchers planning to conduct surveys about women's health issues in similar context. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cyber security challenges in Smart Cities: Safety, security and privacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmaghraby, Adel S; Losavio, Michael M

2014-07-01

The world is experiencing an evolution of Smart Cities. These emerge from innovations in information technology that, while they create new economic and social opportunities, pose challenges to our security and expectations of privacy. Humans are already interconnected via smart phones and gadgets. Smart energy meters, security devices and smart appliances are being used in many cities. Homes, cars, public venues and other social systems are now on their path to the full connectivity known as the "Internet of Things." Standards are evolving for all of these potentially connected systems. They will lead to unprecedented improvements in the quality of life. To benefit from them, city infrastructures and services are changing with new interconnected systems for monitoring, control and automation. Intelligent transportation, public and private, will access a web of interconnected data from GPS location to weather and traffic updates. Integrated systems will aid public safety, emergency responders and in disaster recovery. We examine two important and entangled challenges: security and privacy. Security includes illegal access to information and attacks causing physical disruptions in service availability. As digital citizens are more and more instrumented with data available about their location and activities, privacy seems to disappear. Privacy protecting systems that gather data and trigger emergency response when needed are technological challenges that go hand-in-hand with the continuous security challenges. Their implementation is essential for a Smart City in which we would wish to live. We also present a model representing the interactions between person, servers and things. Those are the major element in the Smart City and their interactions are what we need to protect.

The Visual Object Tracking VOT2016 Challenge Results

KAUST Repository

Kristan, Matej

2016-11-02

The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2016 aims at comparing short-term single-object visual trackers that do not apply pre-learned models of object appearance. Results of 70 trackers are presented, with a large number of trackers being published at major computer vision conferences and journals in the recent years. The number of tested state-of-the-art trackers makes the VOT 2016 the largest and most challenging benchmark on short-term tracking to date. For each participating tracker, a short description is provided in the Appendix. The VOT2016 goes beyond its predecessors by (i) introducing a new semi-automatic ground truth bounding box annotation methodology and (ii) extending the evaluation system with the no-reset experiment. The dataset, the evaluation kit as well as the results are publicly available at the challenge website (http://votchallenge.net).

The Visual Object Tracking VOT2016 Challenge Results

KAUST Repository

Kristan, Matej; Leonardis, Aleš; Matas, Jiři; Felsberg, Michael; Pflugfelder, Roman; Čehovin, Luka; Vojí r̃, Tomá š; Hä ger, Gustav; Lukežič, Alan; Ferná ndez, Gustavo; Gupta, Abhinav; Petrosino, Alfredo; Memarmoghadam, Alireza; Garcia-Martin, Alvaro; Solí s Montero, André s; Vedaldi, Andrea; Robinson, Andreas; Ma, Andy J.; Varfolomieiev, Anton; Alatan, Aydin; Erdem, Aykut; Ghanem, Bernard; Liu, Bin; Han, Bohyung; Martinez, Brais; Chang, Chang-Ming; Xu, Changsheng; Sun, Chong; Kim, Daijin; Chen, Dapeng; Du, Dawei; Mishra, Deepak; Yeung, Dit-Yan; Gundogdu, Erhan; Erdem, Erkut; Khan, Fahad; Porikli, Fatih; Zhao, Fei; Bunyak, Filiz; Battistone, Francesco; Zhu, Gao; Roffo, Giorgio; Subrahmanyam, Gorthi R. K. Sai; Bastos, Guilherme; Seetharaman, Guna; Medeiros, Henry; Li, Hongdong; Qi, Honggang; Bischof, Horst; Possegger, Horst; Lu, Huchuan; Lee, Hyemin; Nam, Hyeonseob; Chang, Hyung Jin; Drummond, Isabela; Valmadre, Jack; Jeong, Jae-chan; Cho, Jae-il; Lee, Jae-Yeong; Zhu, Jianke; Feng, Jiayi; Gao, Jin; Choi, Jin Young; Xiao, Jingjing; Kim, Ji-Wan; Jeong, Jiyeoup; Henriques, Joã o F.; Lang, Jochen; Choi, Jongwon; Martinez, Jose M.; Xing, Junliang; Gao, Junyu; Palaniappan, Kannappan; Lebeda, Karel; Gao, Ke; Mikolajczyk, Krystian; Qin, Lei; Wang, Lijun; Wen, Longyin; Bertinetto, Luca; Rapuru, Madan Kumar; Poostchi, Mahdieh; Maresca, Mario; Danelljan, Martin; Mueller, Matthias; Zhang, Mengdan; Arens, Michael; Valstar, Michel; Tang, Ming; Baek, Mooyeol; Khan, Muhammad Haris; Wang, Naiyan; Fan, Nana; Al-Shakarji, Noor; Miksik, Ondrej; Akin, Osman; Moallem, Payman; Senna, Pedro; Torr, Philip H. S.; Yuen, Pong C.; Huang, Qingming; Martin-Nieto, Rafael; Pelapur, Rengarajan; Bowden, Richard; Laganiè re, Robert; Stolkin, Rustam; Walsh, Ryan; Krah, Sebastian B.; Li, Shengkun; Zhang, Shengping; Yao, Shizeng; Hadfield, Simon; Melzi, Simone; Lyu, Siwei; Li, Siyi; Becker, Stefan; Golodetz, Stuart; Kakanuru, Sumithra; Choi, Sunglok; Hu, Tao; Mauthner, Thomas; Zhang, Tianzhu; Pridmore, Tony; Santopietro, Vincenzo; Hu, Weiming; Li, Wenbo; Hü bner, Wolfgang; Lan, Xiangyuan; Wang, Xiaomeng; Li, Xin; Li, Yang; Demiris, Yiannis; Wang, Yifan; Qi, Yuankai; Yuan, Zejian; Cai, Zexiong; Xu, Zhan; He, Zhenyu; Chi, Zhizhen

2016-01-01

The Visual Object Tracking challenge VOT2016 aims at comparing short-term single-object visual trackers that do not apply pre-learned models of object appearance. Results of 70 trackers are presented, with a large number of trackers being published at major computer vision conferences and journals in the recent years. The number of tested state-of-the-art trackers makes the VOT 2016 the largest and most challenging benchmark on short-term tracking to date. For each participating tracker, a short description is provided in the Appendix. The VOT2016 goes beyond its predecessors by (i) introducing a new semi-automatic ground truth bounding box annotation methodology and (ii) extending the evaluation system with the no-reset experiment. The dataset, the evaluation kit as well as the results are publicly available at the challenge website (http://votchallenge.net).

Protein Biomarkers for Early Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Progress and Challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Root, Alex; Allen, Peter; Tempst, Paul; Yu, Kenneth

2018-03-07

Approximately 75% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are diagnosed with advanced cancer, which cannot be safely resected. The most commonly used biomarker CA19-9 has inadequate sensitivity and specificity for early detection, which we define as Stage I/II cancers. Therefore, progress in next-generation biomarkers is greatly needed. Recent reports have validated a number of biomarkers, including combination assays of proteins and DNA mutations; however, the history of translating promising biomarkers to clinical utility suggests that several major hurdles require careful consideration by the medical community. The first set of challenges involves nominating and verifying biomarkers. Candidate biomarkers need to discriminate disease from benign controls with high sensitivity and specificity for an intended use, which we describe as a two-tiered strategy of identifying and screening high-risk patients. Community-wide efforts to share samples, data, and analysis methods have been beneficial and progress meeting this challenge has been achieved. The second set of challenges is assay optimization and validating biomarkers. After initial candidate validation, assays need to be refined into accurate, cost-effective, highly reproducible, and multiplexed targeted panels and then validated in large cohorts. To move the most promising candidates forward, ideally, biomarker panels, head-to-head comparisons, meta-analysis, and assessment in independent data sets might mitigate risk of failure. Much more investment is needed to overcome these challenges. The third challenge is achieving clinical translation. To moonshot an early detection test to the clinic requires a large clinical trial and organizational, regulatory, and entrepreneurial know-how. Additional factors, such as imaging technologies, will likely need to improve concomitant with molecular biomarker development. The magnitude of the clinical translational challenge is uncertain, but interdisciplinary

Protein Biomarkers for Early Detection of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: Progress and Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex Root

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Approximately 75% of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are diagnosed with advanced cancer, which cannot be safely resected. The most commonly used biomarker CA19-9 has inadequate sensitivity and specificity for early detection, which we define as Stage I/II cancers. Therefore, progress in next-generation biomarkers is greatly needed. Recent reports have validated a number of biomarkers, including combination assays of proteins and DNA mutations; however, the history of translating promising biomarkers to clinical utility suggests that several major hurdles require careful consideration by the medical community. The first set of challenges involves nominating and verifying biomarkers. Candidate biomarkers need to discriminate disease from benign controls with high sensitivity and specificity for an intended use, which we describe as a two-tiered strategy of identifying and screening high-risk patients. Community-wide efforts to share samples, data, and analysis methods have been beneficial and progress meeting this challenge has been achieved. The second set of challenges is assay optimization and validating biomarkers. After initial candidate validation, assays need to be refined into accurate, cost-effective, highly reproducible, and multiplexed targeted panels and then validated in large cohorts. To move the most promising candidates forward, ideally, biomarker panels, head-to-head comparisons, meta-analysis, and assessment in independent data sets might mitigate risk of failure. Much more investment is needed to overcome these challenges. The third challenge is achieving clinical translation. To moonshot an early detection test to the clinic requires a large clinical trial and organizational, regulatory, and entrepreneurial know-how. Additional factors, such as imaging technologies, will likely need to improve concomitant with molecular biomarker development. The magnitude of the clinical translational challenge is uncertain, but

Oral food challenge outcomes in a pediatric tertiary care center.

Science.gov (United States)

Abrams, Elissa M; Becker, Allan B

2017-01-01

Oral food challenges are the clinical standard for diagnosis of food allergy. Little data exist on predictors of oral challenge failure and reaction severity. A retrospective chart review was done on all pediatric patients who had oral food challenges in a tertiary care pediatric allergy clinic from 2008 to 2010. 313 oral challenges were performed, of which the majority were to peanut (105), egg (71), milk (41) and tree nuts (29). There were 104 (33%) oral challenge failures. Children were more likely to fail an oral challenge if they were older (P = .04), had asthma (P = .001) or had atopic dermatitis (P = .03). Risk of challenge failure was significantly different between food allergens, with more failures noted for peanut than for tree nuts, milk or egg (P = .001). Among challenge failures, 19% met criteria for anaphylaxis. Significantly more tree nut and peanut challenges met criteria for anaphylaxis than milk or egg (P Skin test size and specific IgE level were significantly higher in those who failed oral challenges (P < .001). The highest rate of challenge failure and severity of failure was to cashew, with 63% of cashew challenges reacting, of which 80% met clinical criteria for anaphylaxis. The risk of challenge failure differed with type of food studied, with peanut and tree nut having a higher risk of challenge failure and anaphylaxis. Cashew in particular carried a high risk and caution must be exercised when performing these types of oral challenges in children.

The International Data Sharing Challenge: Realities and Lessons Learned from International Field Projects and Data Analysis Efforts

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, S. F.; Moore, J. A.

2014-12-01

One of the major challenges facing science in general is how foster trust and cooperation between nations that then allows the free and open exchange of data. The rich data coming from many nations conducting Arctic research must be allowed to be brought together to understand and assess the huge changes now underway in the Arctic regions. The NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory has been supporting a variety of international field process studies and WCRP sponsored international projects that require international data collection and exchange in order to be successful. Some of the programs include the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) International Tundra Experiment (ITEX), the Arctic Climate Systems Study (ACSYS), the Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO), and the Coordinated Energy and water-cycle Observations Project (CEOP) to name a few. EOL played a major role in the data management of these projects, but the CEOP effort in particular involved coordinating common site documentation and data formatting across a global network (28 sites). All these unique projects occurred over 25 years but had similar challenges in the international collection, archival, and access to the rich datasets that are their legacy. The Belmont Forum offers as its main challenge to deliver knowledge needed for action to avoid or adapt to environmental change. One of their major themes is related to the study of these changes in the Arctic. The development of capable e-infrastructure (technologies and groups supporting international collaborative environments networks and data centers) to allow access to large diverse data collections is key to meeting this challenge. The reality of meeting this challenge, however, is something much more difficult. The authors will provide several specific examples of successes and failures when trying to meet the needs of an international community of researchers specifically related to Belmont Forum Work Package Themes regarding standards of

Performance profiles of major energy producers, 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers 1991 is the fifteenth annual report of the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Financial Reporting System (FRS). The report examines financial and operating developments, with particular reference to the 23 major energy companies (the FRS companies) required to report annually on Form EIA-28. It also traces key developments affecting the financial performance of major energy companies in 1991, as well as reviews important trends. Financial information is reported by major lines of business including oil and gas production, petroleum refining and marketing, and other energy operations. Domestic and international operations are examined separately in this report

Collaboration challenges in systematic reviews: a survey of health sciences librarians.

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholson, Joey; McCrillis, Aileen; Williams, Jeff D

2017-10-01

While many librarians have been asked to participate in systematic reviews with researchers, often these researchers are not familiar with the systematic review process or the appropriate role for librarians. The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges and barriers that librarians face when collaborating on systematic reviews. To take a wider view of the whole process of collaborating on systematic reviews, the authors deliberately focused on interpersonal and methodological issues other than searching itself. To characterize the biggest challenges that librarians face while collaborating on systematic review projects, we used a web-based survey. The thirteen-item survey included seventeen challenges grouped into two categories: methodological and interpersonal. Participants were required to indicate the frequency and difficulty of the challenges listed. Open-ended questions allowed survey participants to describe challenges not listed in the survey and to describe strategies used to overcome challenges. Of the 17 challenges listed in the survey, 8 were reported as common by over 40% of respondents. These included methodological issues around having too broad or narrow research questions, lacking eligibility criteria, having unclear research questions, and not following established methods. The remaining challenges were interpersonal, including issues around student-led projects and the size of the research team. Of the top 8 most frequent challenges, 5 were also ranked as most difficult to handle. Open-ended responses underscored many of the challenges included in the survey and revealed several additional challenges. These results suggest that the most frequent and challenging issues relate to development of the research question and general communication with team members. Clear protocols for collaboration on systematic reviews, as well as a culture of mentorship, can help librarians prevent and address these challenges.

ATLAS Data Challenge 1

CERN Document Server

Poulard, G

2003-01-01

In 2002 the ATLAS experiment started a series of Data Challenges (DC) of which the goals are the validation of the Computing Model, of the complete software suite, of the data model, and to ensure the correctness of the technical choices to be made. A major feature of the first Data Challenge (DC1) was the preparation and the deployment of the software required for the production of large event samples for the High Level Trigger (HLT) and physics communities, and the production of those samples as a world-wide distributed activity. The first phase of DC1 was run during summer 2002, and involved 39 institutes in 18 countries. More than 10 million physics events and 30 million single particle events were fully simulated. Over a period of about 40 calendar days 71000 CPU-days were used producing 30 Tbytes of data in about 35000 partitions. In the second phase the next processing step was performed with the participation of 56 institutes in 21 countries (~ 4000 processors used in parallel). The basic elements of ...

Key challenges for the creation and maintenance of specialist protein resources

Science.gov (United States)

Holliday, Gemma L; Bairoch, Amos; Bagos, Pantelis G; Chatonnet, Arnaud; Craik, David J; Finn, Robert D; Henrissat, Bernard; Landsman, David; Manning, Gerard; Nagano, Nozomi; O’Donovan, Claire; Pruitt, Kim D; Rawlings, Neil D; Saier, Milton; Sowdhamini, Ramanathan; Spedding, Michael; Srinivasan, Narayanaswamy; Vriend, Gert; Babbitt, Patricia C; Bateman, Alex

2015-01-01

As the volume of data relating to proteins increases, researchers rely more and more on the analysis of published data, thus increasing the importance of good access to these data that vary from the supplemental material of individual articles, all the way to major reference databases with professional staff and long-term funding. Specialist protein resources fill an important middle ground, providing interactive web interfaces to their databases for a focused topic or family of proteins, using specialized approaches that are not feasible in the major reference databases. Many are labors of love, run by a single lab with little or no dedicated funding and there are many challenges to building and maintaining them. This perspective arose from a meeting of several specialist protein resources and major reference databases held at the Wellcome Trust Genome Campus (Cambridge, UK) on August 11 and 12, 2014. During this meeting some common key challenges involved in creating and maintaining such resources were discussed, along with various approaches to address them. In laying out these challenges, we aim to inform users about how these issues impact our resources and illustrate ways in which our working together could enhance their accuracy, currency, and overall value. Proteins 2015; 83:1005–1013. © 2015 The Authors. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:25820941

Women's challenges with postpartum weight loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Kristen S; Bushee, Tracy D; Phillips, Jennifer D; Kirkpatrick, Terrie; Catledge, Courtney; Braveboy, Kristin; O'Rourke, Carol; Patel, Neema; Prophet, Malshundria; Cooper, Anita; Mosley, Lori; Parker, Christie; Douglas, Gaye M

2011-11-01

This study was designed to examine women's experiences of weight loss during the postpartum period. Understanding women's positive and negative experiences can assist health care providers to successfully intervene in helping women lose weight following pregnancy and avoid long-term weight gain and obesity development. Phenomenology, according to Husserl's perspective. Private location of the women's choosing. Twenty-six women, who ranged in age from 25 to 35 years, and had given birth within the last 5 years, were interviewed regarding their experiences with postpartum weight loss. The majority of the sample was Caucasian. Interviews were transcribed and themes were identified from each of the interviews. Comparisons were made between interviews to identify common experiences between women. Data were analyzed according to the Giorgi method. The women in the study had a wide range of experiences. Themes that emerged from the interviews related to women's challenges with return to prepregnancy weight. These included: time and motivation issues, the need for support, and weight and other struggles. This study provides a look inside the lives of women faced with the reality of losing weight after childbirth. Losing weight after delivery is multi-faceted and influenced by many factors. Interventions to assist women with weight loss should target the challenges described in this paper. When effective strategies are developed, education can be done during pregnancy to prepare for the postpartum period. Ultimately, future research efforts can help us to eliminate pregnancy as a risk factor for obesity in women.

2005 the North American Solar Challenge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dan Eberle

2008-12-22

In July 2005 the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) featured university built solar powered cars ran across the United States into Canada. The competition began in Austin, Texas with stops in Weatherford, Texas; Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Fargo, North Dakota; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Brandon, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; Medicine Hat, Alberta; mainly following U.S. Highway 75 and Canadian Highway 1 to the finish line in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for a total distance of 2,500 miles. NASC major sponsors include the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Natural Resources Canada and DOEs National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The event is designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science and engineering. NASCs predecessors, the American Solar Challenge and Sunrayce, generally have been held every two years since 1990. With each race, the solar cars travel faster and further with greater reliability. The NASC promotes: -Renewable energy technologies (specifically photovoltaic or solar cells) -Educational excellence in science, engineering and mathematics -Creative integration of technical and scientific expertise across a wide-range of disciplines -Hands-on experience for students and engineers to develop and demonstrate their technical and creative abilities. Safety is the first priority for the NASC. Each team put its car through grueling qualifying and technical inspections. Teams that failed to meet the requirements were not allowed participate. During the race, each team was escorted by lead and chase vehicles sporting rooftop hazard flashers. An official observer accompanied each solar car team to keep it alert to any safety issues.

Mobility assessment in older people : new possibilities and challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zijlstra, Wiebren; Aminian, Kamiar

A major challenge for researchers and clinicians who address health issues in the ageing population is to monitor functioning, and to timely initiate interventions that aim to prevent loss of functional abilities and to improve the quality of life of older people. With the progress of technologies

The challenges and opportunities in cumulative effects assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foley, Melissa M., E-mail: mfoley@usgs.gov [U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, 400 Natural Bridges, Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 (United States); Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, 99 Pacific St., Monterey, CA 93940 (United States); Mease, Lindley A., E-mail: lamease@stanford.edu [Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Martone, Rebecca G., E-mail: rmartone@stanford.edu [Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, 99 Pacific St., Monterey, CA 93940 (United States); Prahler, Erin E. [Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Morrison, Tiffany H., E-mail: tiffany.morrison@jcu.edu.au [ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811 (Australia); Murray, Cathryn Clarke, E-mail: cmurray@pices.int [WWF-Canada, 409 Granville Street, Suite 1588, Vancouver, BC V6C 1T2 (Canada); Wojcik, Deborah, E-mail: deb.wojcik@duke.edu [Nicholas School for the Environment, Duke University, 9 Circuit Dr., Durham, NC 27708 (United States)

2017-01-15

The cumulative effects of increasing human use of the ocean and coastal zone have contributed to a rapid decline in ocean and coastal resources. As a result, scientists are investigating how multiple, overlapping stressors accumulate in the environment and impact ecosystems. These investigations are the foundation for the development of new tools that account for and predict cumulative effects in order to more adequately prevent or mitigate negative effects. Despite scientific advances, legal requirements, and management guidance, those who conduct assessments—including resource managers, agency staff, and consultants—continue to struggle to thoroughly evaluate cumulative effects, particularly as part of the environmental assessment process. Even though 45 years have passed since the United States National Environmental Policy Act was enacted, which set a precedent for environmental assessment around the world, defining impacts, baseline, scale, and significance are still major challenges associated with assessing cumulative effects. In addition, we know little about how practitioners tackle these challenges or how assessment aligns with current scientific recommendations. To shed more light on these challenges and gaps, we undertook a comparative study on how cumulative effects assessment (CEA) is conducted by practitioners operating under some of the most well-developed environmental laws around the globe: California, USA; British Columbia, Canada; Queensland, Australia; and New Zealand. We found that practitioners used a broad and varied definition of impact for CEA, which led to differences in how baseline, scale, and significance were determined. We also found that practice and science are not closely aligned and, as such, we highlight opportunities for managers, policy makers, practitioners, and scientists to improve environmental assessment.

The challenges and opportunities in cumulative effects assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foley, Melissa M.; Mease, Lindley A.; Martone, Rebecca G.; Prahler, Erin E.; Morrison, Tiffany H.; Murray, Cathryn Clarke; Wojcik, Deborah

2017-01-01

The cumulative effects of increasing human use of the ocean and coastal zone have contributed to a rapid decline in ocean and coastal resources. As a result, scientists are investigating how multiple, overlapping stressors accumulate in the environment and impact ecosystems. These investigations are the foundation for the development of new tools that account for and predict cumulative effects in order to more adequately prevent or mitigate negative effects. Despite scientific advances, legal requirements, and management guidance, those who conduct assessments—including resource managers, agency staff, and consultants—continue to struggle to thoroughly evaluate cumulative effects, particularly as part of the environmental assessment process. Even though 45 years have passed since the United States National Environmental Policy Act was enacted, which set a precedent for environmental assessment around the world, defining impacts, baseline, scale, and significance are still major challenges associated with assessing cumulative effects. In addition, we know little about how practitioners tackle these challenges or how assessment aligns with current scientific recommendations. To shed more light on these challenges and gaps, we undertook a comparative study on how cumulative effects assessment (CEA) is conducted by practitioners operating under some of the most well-developed environmental laws around the globe: California, USA; British Columbia, Canada; Queensland, Australia; and New Zealand. We found that practitioners used a broad and varied definition of impact for CEA, which led to differences in how baseline, scale, and significance were determined. We also found that practice and science are not closely aligned and, as such, we highlight opportunities for managers, policy makers, practitioners, and scientists to improve environmental assessment.

The challenges and opportunities in cumulative effects assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Foley, Melissa M.; Mease, Lindley A; Martone, Rebecca G; Prahler, Erin E; Morrison, Tiffany H; Clarke Murray, Cathryn; Wojcik, Deborah

2016-01-01

The cumulative effects of increasing human use of the ocean and coastal zone have contributed to a rapid decline in ocean and coastal resources. As a result, scientists are investigating how multiple, overlapping stressors accumulate in the environment and impact ecosystems. These investigations are the foundation for the development of new tools that account for and predict cumulative effects in order to more adequately prevent or mitigate negative effects. Despite scientific advances, legal requirements, and management guidance, those who conduct assessments—including resource managers, agency staff, and consultants—continue to struggle to thoroughly evaluate cumulative effects, particularly as part of the environmental assessment process. Even though 45 years have passed since the United States National Environmental Policy Act was enacted, which set a precedent for environmental assessment around the world, defining impacts, baseline, scale, and significance are still major challenges associated with assessing cumulative effects. In addition, we know little about how practitioners tackle these challenges or how assessment aligns with current scientific recommendations. To shed more light on these challenges and gaps, we undertook a comparative study on how cumulative effects assessment (CEA) is conducted by practitioners operating under some of the most well-developed environmental laws around the globe: California, USA; British Columbia, Canada; Queensland, Australia; and New Zealand. We found that practitioners used a broad and varied definition of impact for CEA, which led to differences in how baseline, scale, and significance were determined. We also found that practice and science are not closely aligned and, as such, we highlight opportunities for managers, policy makers, practitioners, and scientists to improve environmental assessment.

Science and the major racket sports: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lees, Adrian

2003-09-01

The major racket sports include badminton, squash, table tennis and tennis. The growth of sports science and the commercialization of racket sports in recent years have focused attention on improved performance and this has led to a more detailed study and understanding of all aspects of racket sports. The aim here, therefore, is to review recent developments of the application of science to racket sports. The scientific disciplines of sports physiology and nutrition, notational analysis, sports biomechanics, sports medicine, sports engineering, sports psychology and motor skills are briefly considered in turn. It is evident from these reviews that a great deal of scientific endeavour has been applied to racket sports, but this is variable across both the racket sports and the scientific disciplines. A scientific approach has helped to: implement training programmes to improve players' fitness; guide players in nutritional and psychological preparation for play; inform players of the strategy and tactics used by themselves and their opponents; provide insight into the technical performance of skills; understand the effect of equipment on play; and accelerate the recovery from racket-arm injuries. Racket sports have also posed a unique challenge to scientists and have provided vehicles for developing scientific methodology. Racket sports provide a good model for investigating the interplay between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism and the effect of nutrition, heat and fatigue on performance. They have driven the development of mathematical solutions for multi-segment interactions within the racket arm during the performance of shots, which have contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms of both performance and injury. They have provided a unique challenge to sports engineers in relation to equipment performance and interaction with the player. Racket sports have encouraged developments in notational analysis both in terms of analytical procedures and the

Audiovisual quality assessment in communications applications: Current status, trends and challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korhonen, Jari

2010-01-01

Audiovisual quality assessment is one of the major challenges in multimedia communications. Traditionally, algorithm-based (objective) assessment methods have focused primarily on the compression artifacts. However, compression is only one of the numerous factors influencing the perception...... addressed in practical quality metrics is the co-impact of audio and video qualities. This paper provides an overview of the current trends and challenges in objective audiovisual quality assessment, with emphasis on communication applications...

Malaysian Container Seaport-Hinterland Connectivity: Status, Challenges and Strategies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shu-Ling Chen

2016-09-01

Full Text Available This paper adopts a qualitative methodology to assess the Malaysian container seaport-hinterland connectivity from the perspective of its physical properties. The findings reveal that although Malaysia's major container seaports are connected to the hinterlands through road and rail transport, they are highly dependent on road. These seaports are also connected to inland freight facilities such as dry ports and ICDs, which are positioned as transit points to help connect exporters and importers in the hinterlands to seaports as well as facilitating regional and cross-border trades. This paper suggests that the quality of hinterland connectivity of Malaysian container seaports could be improved by implementing strategies which tackle the existing challenges including overcoming an extremely imbalanced modal split, insufficient rail capacity and limited train services, increasing road congestion and the limitations of space restriction in some inland facilities.

Challenges and Obstacles of e-Government Streamlining: A Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anupam K. Nath

2014-05-01

Full Text Available e-Government streamlining has been a challenge since its inception in the domain of e-business. Business organizations face challenges while trying to collaborate with partners through the use of information technology in order to ensure efficient delivery of services. One of the major reasons for these inefficient services has been political bureaucracies among government organizations. To meet this challenge, a transparent and networked environment is required where government organizations can effectively partner with other relevant organizations. Using a case study analysis, we intend to identify not just the challenges in government organizations while providing services which require collaborative effort, but also the obstacles in adopting new technology for collaboration. We believe that the outcome of our research could provide a generalized guideline for government agencies where there is need for digital collaboration. Our findings will thus help government organizations to address the challenges in digital collaboration, and also help them implement new technology successfully to ensure efficient delivery of services.

Deploying Missile Defense: Major Operational Challenges

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Bunn, M

2004-01-01

By October 2004, the United States will have begun initial deployment of a missile defense capability albeit a modest, limited, and not completely proven one to defend the homeland against a limited...

OR Challenges in Major Sport Events

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Barros, A.I.

2012-01-01

Although the origins of Operations Research are usually linked to the military, nowadays successful applications in different areas of the society (business, industrial, health sector and sports) can be found. In particular, applications in sports like sport tactics and strategy, scheduling and

Being Included and Excluded

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korzenevica, Marina

2016-01-01

Following the civil war of 1996–2006, there was a dramatic increase in the labor mobility of young men and the inclusion of young women in formal education, which led to the transformation of the political landscape of rural Nepal. Mobility and schooling represent a level of prestige that rural...... politics. It analyzes how formal education and mobility either challenge or reinforce traditional gendered norms which dictate a lowly position for young married women in the household and their absence from community politics. The article concludes that women are simultaneously excluded and included from...... community politics. On the one hand, their mobility and decision-making powers decrease with the increase in the labor mobility of men and their newly gained education is politically devalued when compared to the informal education that men gain through mobility, but on the other hand, schooling strengthens...

Differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Hirschfeld, R M

2014-12-01

Patients with bipolar disorder spend approximately half of their lives symptomatic and the majority of that time suffering from symptoms of depression, which complicates the accurate diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Challenges in the differential diagnosis of bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are reviewed, and the clinical utility of several screening instruments is evaluated. The estimated lifetime prevalence of major depressive disorder (i.e., unipolar depression) is over 3 and one-half times that of bipolar spectrum disorders. The clinical presentation of a major depressive episode in a bipolar disorder patient does not differ substantially from that of a patient with major depressive disorder (unipolar depression). Therefore, it is not surprising that without proper screening and comprehensive evaluation many patients with bipolar disorder may be misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder (unipolar depression). In general, antidepressants have demonstrated little or no efficacy for depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder, and treatment guidelines recommend using antidepressants only as an adjunct to mood stabilizers for patients with bipolar disorder. Thus, correct identification of bipolar disorder among patients who present with depression is critical for providing appropriate treatment and improving patient outcomes. Clinical characteristics indicative of bipolar disorder versus major depressive disorder identified in this review are based on group differences and may not apply to each individual patient. The overview of demographic and clinical characteristics provided by this review may help medical professionals distinguish between major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. Several validated, easily administered screening instruments are available and can greatly improve the recognition of bipolar disorder in patients with depression. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Alcohol and burden of disease in Australia: the challenge in assessing consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogeil, Rowan P; Room, Robin; Matthews, Sharon; Lloyd, Belinda

2015-04-01

Alcohol consumption is one of the major avoidable risk factors for disease, illness and injury in the Australian community. Population health scientists and economists use estimates of alcohol consumption in burden of disease frameworks to estimate the impact of alcohol on disease, illness and injury. This article highlights challenges associated with estimating alcohol consumption in these models and provides a series of recommendations to improve estimates. Key challenges in measuring alcohol consumption at the population level are identified and discussed with respect to how they apply to burden of disease frameworks. Methodological advances and limitations in the estimation of alcohol consumption are presented with respect to use of survey data, population distributions of alcohol consumption, consideration of 'patterns' of alcohol use including 'bingeing', and capping exposure. Key recommendations for overcoming these limitations are provided. Implications and conclusion: Alcohol-related burden has a significant impact on the health of the Australian population. Improving estimates of alcohol related consumption will enable more accurate estimates of this burden to be determined to inform future alcohol policy by legislators. © 2015 Public Health Association of Australia.

Challenges and Priorities for Pediatric Critical Care Clinician-Researchers in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amelie O. von Saint André-von Arnim

2017-12-01

Full Text Available IntroductionThere is need for more data on critical care outcomes and interventions from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC. Global research collaborations could help improve health-care delivery for critically ill children in LMIC where child mortality rates remain high.Materials and methodsTo inform the role of collaborative research in health-care delivery for critically ill children in LMIC, an anonymous online survey of pediatric critical care (PCC physicians from LMIC was conducted to assess priorities, major challenges, and potential solutions to PCC research. A convenience sample of 56 clinician-researchers taking care of critically ill children in LMIC was targeted. In addition, the survey was made available on a Latin American PCC website. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.ResultsThe majority of the 47 survey respondents worked at urban, public teaching hospitals in LMIC. Respondents stated their primary PCC research motivations were to improve clinical care and establish guidelines to standardize care. Top challenges to conducting research were lack of funding, high clinical workload, and limited research support staff. Respondent-proposed solutions to these challenges included increasing research funding options for LMIC, better access to mentors from high-income countries, research training and networks, and higher quality medical record documentation.ConclusionLMIC clinician-researchers must be better empowered and resourced to lead and influence the local and global health research agenda for critically ill children. Increased funding options, access to training and mentorship in research methodology, and improved data collection systems for LMIC PCC researchers were recognized as key needs for success.

Regulatory challenges in the review of data from global clinical trials: the PMDA perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Asano, K; Tanaka, A; Sato, T; Uyama, Y

2013-08-01

Regulatory agencies face challenges in reviewing data from global clinical trials (GCTs) in the era of globalization of drug development. One major challenge is consideration of ethnic factors in evaluating GCT data so as to extrapolate foreign population data to one's own national population. Here, we present the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) perspective in reviewing GCT data in new drug applications (NDAs) and discuss future challenges for new drug approval.

Air quality management in China: issues, challenges, and options.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuxiao; Hao, Jiming

2012-01-01

This article analyzed the control progress and current status of air quality, identified the major air pollution issues and challenges in future, proposed the long-term air pollution control targets, and suggested the options for better air quality in China. With the continuing growth of economy in the next 10-15 years, China will face a more severe situation of energy consumption, electricity generation and vehicle population leading to increase in multiple pollutant emissions. Controlling regional air pollution especially fine particles and ozone, as well as lowering carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption will be a big challenge for the country. To protect public health and the eco-system, the ambient air quality in all Chinese cities shall attain the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and ambient air quality guideline values set by the World Health Organization (WHO). To achieve the air quality targets, the emissions of SO2, NOx, PM10, and volatile organic compounds (VOC) should decrease by 60%, 40%, 50%, and 40%, respectively, on the basis of that in 2005. A comprehensive control policy focusing on multiple pollutants and emission sources at both the local and regional levels was proposed to mitigate the regional air pollution issue in China. The options include development of clean energy resources, promotion of clean and efficient coal use, enhancement of vehicle pollution control, implementation of synchronous control of multiple pollutants including SO2, NOx, VOC, and PM emissions, joint prevention and control of regional air pollution, and application of climate friendly air pollution control measures.

Small finance banks: Challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jayadev M

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A recent innovation in the Indian banking structure has been the formation of a new banking institution—small finance banks (SFBs. These banks are expected to penetrate into financial inclusion by providing basic banking and credit services with a differentiated banking model to the larger population. In this context the new SFBs have multiple challenges in coming out with a new, differentiated business model. The challenges include building low cost liability portfolio, technology management, and balancing the regulatory compliances. This paper also presents the top of mind views of three senior executives of new small finance banks.

Neonatal Vaccination: Challenges and Intervention Strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Morris, Matthew C; Surendran, Naveen

2016-01-01

While vaccines have been tremendously successful in reducing the incidence of serious infectious diseases, newborns remain particularly vulnerable in the first few months of their life to life-threatening infections. A number of challenges exist to neonatal vaccination. However, recent advances in the understanding of neonatal immunology offer insights to overcome many of those challenges. This review will present an overview of the features of neonatal immunity which make vaccination difficult, survey the mechanisms of action of available vaccine adjuvants with respect to the unique features of neonatal immunity, and propose a possible mechanism contributing to the inability of neonates to generate protective immune responses to vaccines. We surveyed recent published findings on the challenges to neonatal vaccination and possible intervention strategies including the use of novel vaccine adjuvants to develop efficacious neonatal vaccines. Challenges in the vaccination of neonates include interference from maternal antibody and excessive skewing towards Th2 immunity, which can be counteracted by the use of proper adjuvants. Synergistic stimulation of multiple Toll-like receptors by incorporating well-defined agonist-adjuvant combinations to vaccines is a promising strategy to ensure a protective vaccine response in neonates. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Developing advanced fingerprint attacks on challenge-based collaborative intrusion detection networks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Wenjuan; Meng, Weizhi; Kwok, Lam-For

2017-01-01

Traditionally, an isolated intrusion detection system (IDS) is vulnerable to various types of attacks. In order to enhance IDS performance, collaborative intrusion detection networks (CIDNs) are developed through enabling a set of IDS nodes to communicate with each other. Due to the distributed...... network architecture, insider attacks are one of the major threats. In the literature, challenge-based trust mechanisms have been built to identify malicious nodes by evaluating the satisfaction levels between challenges and responses. However, such mechanisms rely on two major assumptions, which may...... result in a weak threat model. In this case, CIDNs may be still vulnerable to advanced insider attacks in real-world deployment. In this paper, we propose a novel collusion attack, called passive message fingerprint attack (PMFA), which can collect messages and identify normal requests in a passive way...

Exploring the experiences of older Chinese adults with comorbidities including diabetes: surmounting these challenges in order to live a normal life

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Hsiu-Yu; Chen, Mei-Hui

2018-01-01

Background Many people with diabetes have comorbidities, even multimorbidities, which have a far-reaching impact on the older adults, their family, and society. However, little is known of the experience of older adults living with comorbidities that include diabetes. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the experience of older adults living with comorbidities including diabetes. Methods A qualitative approach was employed. Data were collected from a selected field of 12 patients with diabetes mellitus in a medical center in northern Taiwan. The data were analyzed by Colaizzi’s phenomenological methodology, and four criteria of Lincoln and Guba were used to evaluate the rigor of the study. Results The following 5 themes and 14 subthemes were derived: 1) expecting to heal or reduce the symptoms of the disease (trying to alleviate the distress of symptoms and trusting in health practitioners combining the use of Chinese and Western medicines); 2) comparing complex medical treatments (differences in physician practices and presentation, conditionally adhering to medical treatment, and partnering with medical professionals); 3) inconsistent information (inconsistent health information and inconsistent medical advice); 4) impacting on daily life (activities are limited and hobbies cannot be maintained and psychological distress); and 5) weighing the pros and cons (taking the initiative to deal with issues, limiting activity, adjusting mental outlook and pace of life, developing strategies for individual health regimens, and seeking support). Surmounting these challenges in order to live a normal life was explored. Conclusion This study found that the experience of older adults living with comorbidities including diabetes was similar to that of a single disease, but the extent was greater than a single disease. The biggest difference is that the elderly think that their most serious problem is not diabetes, but rather, the comorbidities causing life limitations

Meeting the challenge of poverty and inequality? 'Hindrances and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The findings of an empirical study entitled 'Meeting the challenge of poverty and inequality in the Cape Metropole: Factors impacting the mobilisation of congregations in their response to poverty and injustice' reaffirm that the majority of congregations are still largely operating within a 'relief and welfare' paradigm with ...

Meeting Hintikka's Challenge to Paraconsistentism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Walter Carnielli

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Jaakko Hintikka, in a series of talks in Brazil in 2008, defended that IF (“independence- friendly” logic and paraconsistent logic are, in a sense, very similar. Having sketched the proposal of a new paraconsistent system, he maintains that several achievements of IF logic could be reproducible in paraconsistent logic. One of the major difficulties, left as a challenge, would be to formulate some truth conditions for this new paraconsistent first-order language in order to make IF logic and paraconsistent logic more inter-related. My proposal is that this would demand an innovative game-theoretical semantic approach to paraconsistentism, but also that the syntax of the paraconsistent “Logics of Formal Inconsistency” can model the internal logic of Socratic elenchi. I aim to discuss these, and other points posed by Hintikka, as challenges and opportunities for paraconsistentism, paraconsistent logics and IF logics, as well as to raise some criticisms on Hintikka’s view about paraconsistency.

Malaria eradication: the economic, financial and institutional challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Anne; Lubell, Yoel; Hanson, Kara

2008-12-11

Malaria eradication raises many economic, financial and institutional challenges. This paper reviews these challenges, drawing on evidence from previous efforts to eradicate malaria, with a special focus on resource-poor settings; summarizes more recent evidence on the challenges, drawing on the literature on the difficulties of scaling-up malaria control and strengthening health systems more broadly; and explores the implications of these bodies of evidence for the current call for elimination and intensified control. Economic analyses dating from the eradication era, and more recent analyses, suggest that, in general, the benefits of malaria control outweigh the costs, though few studies have looked at the relative returns to eradication versus long-term control. Estimates of financial costs are scanty and difficult to compare. In the 1960s, the consolidation phase appeared to cost less than $1 per capita and, in 1988, was estimated to be $2.31 per capita (both in 2006 prices). More recent estimates for high coverage of control measures suggest a per capita cost of several dollars. Institutional challenges faced by malaria eradication included limits to the rule of law (a major problem where malaria was concentrated in border areas with movement of people associated with illegal activities), the existence and performance of local implementing structures, and political sustainability at national and global levels. Recent analyses of the constraints to scaling-up malaria control, together with the historical evidence, are used to discuss the economic, financial and institutional challenges that face the renewed call for eradication and intensified control. The paper concludes by identifying a research agenda covering: issues of the allocative efficiency of malaria eradication, especially using macro-economic modelling to estimate the benefits and costs of malaria eradication and intensified control, and studies of the links between malaria control and economic

Malaria eradication: the economic, financial and institutional challenge

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanson Kara

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Malaria eradication raises many economic, financial and institutional challenges. This paper reviews these challenges, drawing on evidence from previous efforts to eradicate malaria, with a special focus on resource-poor settings; summarizes more recent evidence on the challenges, drawing on the literature on the difficulties of scaling-up malaria control and strengthening health systems more broadly; and explores the implications of these bodies of evidence for the current call for elimination and intensified control. Economic analyses dating from the eradication era, and more recent analyses, suggest that, in general, the benefits of malaria control outweigh the costs, though few studies have looked at the relative returns to eradication versus long-term control. Estimates of financial costs are scanty and difficult to compare. In the 1960s, the consolidation phase appeared to cost less than $1 per capita and, in 1988, was estimated to be $2.31 per capita (both in 2006 prices. More recent estimates for high coverage of control measures suggest a per capita cost of several dollars. Institutional challenges faced by malaria eradication included limits to the rule of law (a major problem where malaria was concentrated in border areas with movement of people associated with illegal activities, the existence and performance of local implementing structures, and political sustainability at national and global levels. Recent analyses of the constraints to scaling-up malaria control, together with the historical evidence, are used to discuss the economic, financial and institutional challenges that face the renewed call for eradication and intensified control. The paper concludes by identifying a research agenda covering: ∘ issues of the allocative efficiency of malaria eradication, especially using macro-economic modelling to estimate the benefits and costs of malaria eradication and intensified control, and studies of the links between

The energy challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

This chapter addresses the challenge of switching US energy dependency from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy for economic and environmental reasons. The topics discussed include the role of fossil fuels in the US economy, the role of chlorofluorocarbons and fossil fuel combustion on the greenhouse effect, energy choices, and the role of energy efficiency and nuclear energy

The role of beta-endorphin in the pathophysiology of major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Hegadoren, K M; O'Donnell, T; Lanius, R; Coupland, N J; Lacaze-Masmonteil, N

2009-10-01

A role for beta-endorphin (beta-END) in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD) is suggested by both animal research and studies examining clinical populations. The major etiological theories of depression include brain regions and neural systems that interact with opioid systems and beta-END. Recent preclinical data have demonstrated multiple roles for beta-END in the regulation of complex homeostatic and behavioural processes that are affected during a depressive episode. Additionally, beta-END inputs to regulatory pathways involving feeding behaviours, motivation, and specific types of motor activity have important implications in defining the biological foundations for specific depressive symptoms. Early research linking beta-END to MDD did so in the context of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity, where it was suggested that HPA axis dysregulation may account for depressive symptoms in some individuals. The primary aims of this paper are to use both preclinical and clinical research (a) to critically review data that explores potential roles for beta-END in the pathophysiology of MDD and (b) to highlight gaps in the literature that limit further development of etiological theories of depression and testable hypotheses. In addition to examining methodological and theoretical challenges of past clinical studies, we summarize studies that have investigated basal beta-END levels in MDD and that have used challenge tests to examine beta-END responses to a variety of experimental paradigms. A brief description of the synthesis, location in the CNS and behavioural pharmacology of this neuropeptide is also provided to frame this discussion. Given the lack of clinical improvement observed with currently available antidepressants in a significant proportion of depressed individuals, it is imperative that novel mechanisms be investigated for antidepressant potential. We conclude that the renewed interest in elucidating the role of beta

Photovoltaics (PV) as an Eligible Measure in Residential PACE Programs: Benefits and Challenges (Fact Sheet)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coughlin, J.

2010-06-01

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing is one of several new financial models broadening access to clean energy by addressing the barrier of initial capital cost. The majority of the PACE programs in the market today include PV as an eligible measure. PV appeals to homeowners as a way to reduce utility bills, self-generate sustainable power, increase energy independence and demonstrate a commitment to the environment. If substantial state incentives for PV exist, PV projects can be economic under PACE, especially when partnered with good net metering policies. At the same time, PV is expensive relative to other eligible measures with a return on investment horizon that might exceed program targets. This fact sheet reviews the benefits and potential challenges of including PV in PACE programs.

Iron chelation therapy in thalassemia major: a systematic review with meta-analyses of 1520 patients included on randomized clinical trials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maggio, Aurelio; Filosa, Aldo; Vitrano, Angela

2011-01-01

The effectiveness of deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), or deferasirox (DFX) in thalassemia major was assessed. Outcomes were reported as means±SD, mean differences with 95% CI, or standardized mean differences. Statistical heterogeneity was tested using χ2 (Q) and I2. Sources of bias...

Facing Tomorrow's Challenges - An Overview

Science.gov (United States)

,

2008-01-01

In 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a science strategy outlining the major natural-science issues facing the Nation in the next decade. The science strategy consists of six science directions of critical importance, focusing on areas where natural science can make a substantial contribution to the well-being of the Nation and the world. This fact sheet is an overview of the science strategy and describes how USGS research can strengthen the Nation with information needed to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

The everyday challenges of Pro-environmental practices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berthou, Sara Kristine Gløjmar

2013-01-01

Much research and policy planning aimed at climate change mitigation currently focuses on individual behavioural change as a means to reduce carbon emissions. An often used approach in order to achieve this is the attempt to influence behaviour through transfers of knowledge and information...... guiding everyday pro-environmental practices, the aim was to examine the challenges experienced in this regard. Based on visits to households in Copenhagen, four major challenges are identified and discussed. The paper argues that everyday life, as the starting point of individual pro......-environmental practices, is characterised by a complexity which people have to navigate, and thus that pro-environmental practices should not be seen as one demarcated field, but as interlinked with other practices in everyday life....

Performance profiles of major energy producers 1989

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1991-01-23

Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers 1989 is the thirteenth annual report of the Energy Information Administration's (EIA) Financial Reporting System (FRS). The report examines financial and operating developments, with particular reference to the 23 major energy companies (the FRS companies'') required to report annually on Form EIA-28. Financial information is reported by major lines of business including oil and gas production, petroleum refining and marketing, and other energy operations. Domestic and international operations are examined separately in this report. It also traces key developments affecting the financial performance of major energy companies in 1989, as well as review of important trends.

DuraChem trademark - challenges and solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, I.S.; Bowan, B.W.; Kirshe, M.H.

1996-01-01

Vitrification of low-level ion exchange resins represents numerous challenges never before successfully accomplished. These challenges include (1) Feed material preparation and transfer, (2) Melter temperature and volume control, (3) Glass composition, stabilization, and control, and (4) Off-gas treatment and particulate capture. The DuraChem trademark team of Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. and GTS Duratek, Inc. began its journey in 1994 and is in the process of starting-up the first centralized vitrification facility for commercial ion-exchange and filtration media. This paper addresses each of the challenges and provides an update of this unique volume-reduction and stabilization technology

Practical Challenges for Digital Watermarking Applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sharma Ravi K

2002-01-01

Full Text Available The field of digital watermarking has recently seen numerous articles covering novel techniques, theoretical studies, attacks, and analysis. In this paper, we focus on an emerging application to highlight practical challenges for digital watermarking applications. Challenges include design considerations, requirements analysis, choice of watermarking techniques, speed, robustness, and the tradeoffs involved. We describe common attributes of watermarking systems and discuss the challenges in developing real world applications. Our application uses digital watermarking to connect ordinary toys to the digital world. The application captures important aspects of watermarking systems and illustrates some of the design issues faced.

THE THIRD GRAVITATIONAL LENSING ACCURACY TESTING (GREAT3) CHALLENGE HANDBOOK

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandelbaum, Rachel; Kannawadi, Arun; Simet, Melanie; Rowe, Barnaby; Kacprzak, Tomasz; Bosch, James; Miyatake, Hironao; Chang, Chihway; Gill, Mandeep; Courbin, Frederic; Jarvis, Mike; Armstrong, Bob; Lackner, Claire; Leauthaud, Alexie; Nakajima, Reiko; Rhodes, Jason; Zuntz, Joe; Bridle, Sarah; Coupon, Jean; Dietrich, Jörg P.

2014-01-01

The GRavitational lEnsing Accuracy Testing 3 (GREAT3) challenge is the third in a series of image analysis challenges, with a goal of testing and facilitating the development of methods for analyzing astronomical images that will be used to measure weak gravitational lensing. This measurement requires extremely precise estimation of very small galaxy shape distortions, in the presence of far larger intrinsic galaxy shapes and distortions due to the blurring kernel caused by the atmosphere, telescope optics, and instrumental effects. The GREAT3 challenge is posed to the astronomy, machine learning, and statistics communities, and includes tests of three specific effects that are of immediate relevance to upcoming weak lensing surveys, two of which have never been tested in a community challenge before. These effects include many novel aspects including realistically complex galaxy models based on high-resolution imaging from space; a spatially varying, physically motivated blurring kernel; and a combination of multiple different exposures. To facilitate entry by people new to the field, and for use as a diagnostic tool, the simulation software for the challenge is publicly available, though the exact parameters used for the challenge are blinded. Sample scripts to analyze the challenge data using existing methods will also be provided. See http://great3challenge.info and http://great3.projects.phys.ucl.ac.uk/leaderboard/ for more information

Perceived medication use challenges and coping strategies among medical outpatients in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Yusuff, Kazeem B

2013-02-01

The use of medicines is an action that involves a change in behaviour and it is a complex construct involving reciprocal interactions between social, environmental and cognitive factors. This is particularly true when a patient uses medicines for asymptomatic chronic conditions, requiring life-long use. To identify patient-perceived medication use challenges, determine the coping strategies used and investigate the relationship between patient-perceived challenges and self-initiation of coping strategies. A premier 900-bed tertiary/teaching hospital located in Ibadan, Nigeria. Ten pharmacists conducted cross-sectional medication use interviews for a random sample of 324 medical outpatients in 4 weeks (25th October-19th November 2006). Patient-perceived challenges with prescribed medications, self-initiated coping strategies used and relationship between patient-perceived challenges and self-initiation of coping strategies Eighty-one percent (324) of the random sample of 400 patients consented and completed the interview. Of these, 50.3 % were males while 49.7 % were females with mean age (SD) of 51.5 (17.6) and 52.1 (17.4) years respectively. The most frequent diagnoses were hypertension (53 %) and type-2 diabetes + hypertension (14.5 %). Two hundred and twenty-four patients reported one or more perceived challenges. Of these, 43.8 % were 65 years or older and about half reported at least 3 challenges. The majority (95.6 %) of patients who reported perceived challenges initiated one or more coping strategies without the knowledge of their physicians or pharmacists. Of 100 patients who did not report any perceived challenge, 43 % admitted initiating strategies to maintain perceived "cure" of their medical conditions. Self-initiation and use of coping strategies was far more likely among patients who reported perceived challenges (OR: 28.4, 95 % CI 26.1-30.5). The number of coping strategies reported appeared strongly related to the number of perceived challenges (r

Households’ use of information and communication technologies – a future challenge for energy savings?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Jesper Ole; Gram-Hanssen, Kirsten; Røpke, Inge

2009-01-01

of theories of domestication of technologies, it is argued that aspects such as consumers' creativity in technology use and their non-adaption are relevant aspects to include in policy and regulation discussions on how to limit the escalating electricity consumption from household ICT use.......Increasing consumption of electricity due to a growing number of information and communication technology (ICT) appliances in households is a major challenge to reducing energy consumption. Several studies have predicted escalating ICT-related energy consumption, but relatively little has been said...... and done about possible initiatives to curb this increase. This paper presents results of a research project focusing on how dynamics of consumption influence household energy consumption on ICT. Results of the project include scenarios on how electricity consumption on ICT is expected to grow, suggesting...

Adult education and the challenges of regional development:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Palle Damkjær; Staugaard, Hans Jørgen

2016-01-01

of the Danish nation-state. In many ways, the current educational challenges in this remote region of Europe are similar to what can be observed worldwide and especially in countries which are generally considered welfare states. The authors see the growing social and educational divide between the region......Adult education is governed at many levels – internationally, nationally and locally. The authors of this paper look at the challenges, structures and practices of adult education policy at the local level, more specifically in North Denmark Northern Jutland), one of the five administrative regions......’s peripheral areas and its largest city centre as a major challenge – for society as a whole and for adult education in particular. It is from this perspective that the authors describe the present structures of adult education in the region and the strategies employed by local authorities and educational...

Karyotype characterization of Mugil incilis Hancock, 1830 (Mugiliformes: Mugilidae, including a description of an unusual co-localization of major and minor ribosomal genes in the family

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne Kathrin Hett

Full Text Available This study reports the description of the karyotype of Mugil incilis from Venezuela. The chromosome complement is composed of 48 acrocentric chromosomes, which uniformly decrease in size. Therefore, the homologues can not be clearly identified, with the exception of one of the largest chromosome pairs, classified as number 1, whose homologues may show a subcentromeric secondary constriction, and of chromosome pair number 24, which is considerably smaller than the others. C-banding showed heterochromatic blocks at the centromeric/pericentromeric regions of all chromosomes, which were more conspicuous on chromosomes 1, given the C-positive signals include the secondary constrictions. AgNO3 and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH with 45S rDNA demonstrated that the nucleolus organizer regions are indeed located on the secondary constrictions of chromosome pair number 1. FISH with 5S rDNA revealed that the minor ribosomal genes are located on this same chromosome pair, near the NORs, though signals are closer to the centromeres and of smaller size, compared to those of the major ribosomal gene clusters. This is the first description of co-localization of major and minor ribosomal genes in the family. Data are discussed from a cytotaxonomic and phylogenetic perspective.

Multicore Programming Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Perrone, Michael

The computer industry is facing fundamental challenges that are driving a major change in the design of computer processors. Due to restrictions imposed by quantum physics, one historical path to higher computer processor performance - by increased clock frequency - has come to an end. Increasing clock frequency now leads to power consumption costs that are too high to justify. As a result, we have seen in recent years that the processor frequencies have peaked and are receding from their high point. At the same time, competitive market conditions are giving business advantage to those companies that can field new streaming applications, handle larger data sets, and update their models to market conditions faster. The desire for newer, faster and larger is driving continued demand for higher computer performance.

Challenges in Bio-fabrication of Organoid Cultures.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Weijie; Datta, Pallab; Wu, Yang; Dey, Madhuri; Ayan, Bugra; Dababneh, Amer; Ozbolat, Ibrahim T

2018-06-01

Three-dimensional (3D) organoids have shown advantages in cell culture over traditional two-dimensional (2D) culture, and have great potential in various applications of tissue engineering. However, there are limitations in current organoid fabrication technologies, such as uncontrolled size, poor reproductively, and inadequate complexity of organoids. In this chapter, we present the existing techniques and discuss the major challenges for 3D organoid biofabrication. Future perspectives on organoid bioprinting are also discussed, where bioprinting technologies are expected to make a major contribution in organoid fabrication, such as realizing mass production and constructing complex heterotypic tissues, and thus further advance the translational application of organoids in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine as well drug testing and pharmaceutics.

Advanced nuclear plants: Meeting the economic challenge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Redding, J.R.; MacGregor, P.R.

1993-01-01

This article examines the economic challenges to nuclear power meeting the forecasted power demand of the end of the century. The topics of the article include the economic challenge, safety, competition from other energy sources, a US case study, environmental costs, capital costs, reducing operation and maintenance costs, and non-technical features

Challenges in setting up quality control in diagnostic radiology ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Journal Home > Vol 24, No 4 (2015) >. Log in or ... Quality control (QC) on diagnostic radiology equipment form part of the fundamental requirements for the ... Inadequate cooperation by facilities management, lack of QC equipment and insufficient staff form the major challenges in setting up QC in the facilities under study.

Development of the German network for transporting electricity: A major challenge for managers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feix, Olivier

2013-01-01

The catastrophe at the Japanese nuclear power plant in Fukushima has deeply altered Germany's energy policy. The news from Japan forced the federal government to step up its efforts so as to expand more quickly the share of renewable sources in the German energy mix and, on short notice, put an end to nuclear power. This Energiewende, as the Germans call it, is a major policy priority for the government and an outstanding project that mobilizes all of German society. This turning point in energy policy has entailed rewriting several laws so as to provide a legal framework for the transition. Most stakeholders expect that important amendments will be made to the texts directly related to production facilities. What is noticeable and even surprising is the scope of the changes in laws about electricity grids, in particular about managing and developing the network for transporting electricity

An Examination of Factors Influencing Students Selection of Business Majors Using TRA Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Anil; Kumar, Poonam

2013-01-01

Making decisions regarding the selection of a business major is both very important and challenging for students. An understanding of this decision-making process can be valuable for students, parents, and university programs. The current study applies the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) consumer decision-making model to examine factors that…

Securing Major Events

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeoef, Susanna

2013-01-01

When asked why the IAEA should provide nuclear security support to countries that organize large public events, Nuclear Security Officer Sophia Miaw answers quickly and without hesitation. ''Imagine any major public event such as the Olympics, a football championship, or an Expo. If a dirty bomb were to be exploded at a site where tens of thousands of people congregate, the radioactive contamination would worsen the effects of the bomb, increase the number of casualties, impede a rapid emergency response, and cause long term disruption in the vicinity,'' she said. Avoiding such nightmarish scenarios is the driving purpose behind the assistance the IAEA offers States that host major sporting or other public events. The support can range from a single training course to a comprehensive programme that includes threat assessment, training, loaned equipment and exercises. The type and scope of assistance depends on the host country's needs. ''We incorporate nuclear security measures into their security plan. We don't create anything new,'' Miaw said

IT-support for healthcare professionals acting in major incidents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Margit; Kyng, Morten; Nielsen, Esben Toftdahl

2005-01-01

This paper focuses on development of it support for healthcare professionals acting in major incidents. We introduce the participatory design approach as adequate for analysis, design and development of technologies for use in complex environments and situations, and describe the actual...... the BlueBio biomonitor prototype, a wireless multifunction biomonitor. BlueBio data can be accessed by the healthcare professionals independent of where they are located and displayed on different types of devices tailored to the needs of the individual professional. Finally we discuss some challenges...

Ethical challenges in neonatal intensive care nursing.

Science.gov (United States)

Strandås, Maria; Fredriksen, Sven-Tore D

2015-12-01

Neonatal nurses report a great deal of ethical challenges in their everyday work. Seemingly trivial everyday choices nurses make are no more value-neutral than life-and-death choices. Everyday ethical challenges should also be recognized as ethical dilemmas in clinical practice. The purpose of this study is to investigate which types of ethical challenges neonatal nurses experience in their day-to-day care for critically ill newborns. Data were collected through semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews. Phenomenological-hermeneutic analysis was applied to interpret the data. Six nurses from neonatal intensive care units at two Norwegian hospitals were interviewed on-site. The study is designed to comply with Ethical Guidelines for Nursing Research in the Nordic Countries and the Helsinki declaration. Findings suggest that nurses experience a diverse range of everyday ethical challenges related to challenging interactions with parents and colleagues, emotional strain, protecting the vulnerable infant, finding the balance between sensitivity and authority, ensuring continuity of treatment, and miscommunication and professional disagreement. A major finding in this study is how different agents involved in caring for the newborn experience their realities differently. When these realities collide, ethical challenges arise. Findings suggest that acting in the best interests of the child becomes more difficult in situations involving many agents with different perceptions of reality. The study presents new aspects which increases knowledge and understanding of the reality of nursing in a neonatal intensive care unit, while also demanding increased research in this field of care. © The Author(s) 2014.

Natural gas pipelines: emerging market challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smart, A.; Balfe, P

2001-01-01

The Australian gas industry has come a long way in recent years. Most of the formerly government owned gas transmission, distribution and retail businesses have been privatised; major utility companies have been fundamentally restructured; the convergence of energy markets has seen many companies stepping outside the boundaries of their traditional businesses; and national competition policy has led to profound changes in the regulatory landscape. Yet despite the magnitude of these changes, it is clear that the journey of competitive reform has a long way to go. The Australian Gas Association's Industry Development Strategy identifies the potential for gas to increase its share of Australia's primary energy market, from around 18 percent at present to 22 percent by 2005, and 28 percent by 2015. Our analysis, using ACIL's Eastern Australian Gas Model, clearly shows that in the absence of major new sources of gas, these challenging targets will not be met and, indeed, there will be an increasing supply shortfall. However, with the emergence of new competitive supply sources such as Papua New Guinea and the Timor Sea, our modelling suggests that most of this demand can be satisfied at prices which will maintain gas' competitiveness in energy markets. Such developments provide both opportunities and challenges for the industry. In particular, they will profoundly affect the owners and operators of transmission pipeline systems. (Authors)

Addressing current challenges in cancer immunotherapy with mathematical and computational modelling.

Science.gov (United States)

Konstorum, Anna; Vella, Anthony T; Adler, Adam J; Laubenbacher, Reinhard C

2017-06-01

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to boost a patient's immune response to a tumour. Yet, the design of an effective immunotherapy is complicated by various factors, including a potentially immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment, immune-modulating effects of conventional treatments and therapy-related toxicities. These complexities can be incorporated into mathematical and computational models of cancer immunotherapy that can then be used to aid in rational therapy design. In this review, we survey modelling approaches under the umbrella of the major challenges facing immunotherapy development, which encompass tumour classification, optimal treatment scheduling and combination therapy design. Although overlapping, each challenge has presented unique opportunities for modellers to make contributions using analytical and numerical analysis of model outcomes, as well as optimization algorithms. We discuss several examples of models that have grown in complexity as more biological information has become available, showcasing how model development is a dynamic process interlinked with the rapid advances in tumour-immune biology. We conclude the review with recommendations for modellers both with respect to methodology and biological direction that might help keep modellers at the forefront of cancer immunotherapy development. © 2017 The Author(s).

The Bioethanol Industry in Sub-Saharan Africa: History, Challenges, and Prospects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Evanie Devi Deenanath

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Recently, interest in using bioethanol as an alternative to petroleum fuel has been escalating due to decrease in the availability of crude oil. The application of bioethanol in the motor-fuel industry can contribute to reduction in the use of fossil fuels and in turn to decreased carbon emissions and stress of the rapid decline in crude oil availability. Bioethanol production methods are numerous and vary with the types of feedstock used. Feedstocks can be cereal grains (first generation feedstock, lignocellulose (second generation feedstock, or algae (third generation feedstock feedstocks. To date, USA and Brazil are the leading contributors to global bioethanol production. In sub-Saharan Africa, bioethanol production is stagnant. During the 1980s, bioethanol production has been successful in several countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Kenya. However, because of numerous challenges such as food security, land availability, and government policies, achieving sustainability was a major hurdle. This paper examines the history and challenges of bioethanol production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA and demonstrates the bioethanol production potential in SSA with a focus on using bitter sorghum and cashew apple juice as unconventional feedstocks for bioethanol production.

The bioethanol industry in sub-Saharan Africa: history, challenges, and prospects.

Science.gov (United States)

Deenanath, Evanie Devi; Iyuke, Sunny; Rumbold, Karl

2012-01-01

Recently, interest in using bioethanol as an alternative to petroleum fuel has been escalating due to decrease in the availability of crude oil. The application of bioethanol in the motor-fuel industry can contribute to reduction in the use of fossil fuels and in turn to decreased carbon emissions and stress of the rapid decline in crude oil availability. Bioethanol production methods are numerous and vary with the types of feedstock used. Feedstocks can be cereal grains (first generation feedstock), lignocellulose (second generation feedstock), or algae (third generation feedstock) feedstocks. To date, USA and Brazil are the leading contributors to global bioethanol production. In sub-Saharan Africa, bioethanol production is stagnant. During the 1980s, bioethanol production has been successful in several countries including Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Kenya. However, because of numerous challenges such as food security, land availability, and government policies, achieving sustainability was a major hurdle. This paper examines the history and challenges of bioethanol production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and demonstrates the bioethanol production potential in SSA with a focus on using bitter sorghum and cashew apple juice as unconventional feedstocks for bioethanol production.

The Australian stock market development: Prospects and challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheilla Nyasha

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This paper highlights the origin and development of the Australian stock market. The country has three major stock exchanges, namely: the Australian Securities Exchange Group, the National Stock Exchange of Australia, and the Asia-Pacific Stock Exchange. These stock exchanges were born out of a string of stock exchanges that merged over time. Stock-market reforms have been implemented since the period of deregulation, during the 1980s; and the Exchanges responded largely positively to these reforms. As a result of the reforms, the Australian stock market has developed in terms of the number of listed companies, the market capitalisation, the total value of stocks traded, and the turnover ratio. Although the stock market in Australia has developed remarkably over the years, and was spared by the global financial crisis of the late 2000s, it still faces some challenges. These include the increased economic uncertainty overseas, the downtrend in global financial markets, and the restrained consumer confidence in Australia.

Overview of principles and challenges of fusion nuclear technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdou, M.

2007-01-01

Fusion offers very attractive features as a sustainable, broadly available energy source: no emissions of greenhouse gases, no risk of severe accident, and no long-lived radioactive waste. Significant advances in the science and technology of fusion have been realized in the past decades. Seven countries (EU, Japan, USA, Russia, S. Korea, China, and India) comprising about half the world population are constructing a major magnetic fusion facility, called ITER, in France. The objectives of ITER are to demonstrate self-sustaining burning fusion plasma and to test fusion technologies relevant to fusion reactor. Many challenges to the practical utilization of fusion energy remain ahead. Among these challenges is the successful development of Fusion Nuclear Technology (FNT). FNT includes those fusion system components circumscribing the plasma and responsible for tritium production and processing, heat removal at high temperature and power density, and high heat flux components. FNT components face a new and more challenging environment than experienced by any previous nuclear application. Beyond plasma physics, FNT has most of the remaining feasibility and attractiveness issues in the development of fusion as an energy source. The blanket, a key FNT component, determines the critical path to DEMO. The blanket is exposed to an intense radiation environment. Radioactivity and decay heat can be produced in the structure and other blanket elements. Hence, material choices have a large impact on safety and environmental attractiveness. The unique conditions of the fusion environment include high radiation flux, high surface heat flux, strong 3-D-component magnetic field with large gradients, and ultra-low vacuum. These conditions, together with the requirements for high-temperature operation and tritium self-sufficiency, make blanket design and development challenging tasks. The blanket concepts being considered worldwide can be classified into solid breeders and liquid

CERN openlab Whitepaper on Future IT Challenges in Scientific Research

CERN Document Server

Di Meglio, Alberto; Purcell, Andrew

2014-01-01

This whitepaper describes the major IT challenges in scientific research at CERN and several other European and international research laboratories and projects. Each challenge is exemplified through a set of concrete use cases drawn from the requirements of large-scale scientific programs. The paper is based on contributions from many researchers and IT experts of the participating laboratories and also input from the existing CERN openlab industrial sponsors. The views expressed in this document are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of their organisations and/or affiliates.

Major histocompatibility complex harbors widespread genotypic variability of non-additive risk of rheumatoid arthritis including epistasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Wen-Hua; Bowes, John; Plant, Darren; Viatte, Sebastien; Yarwood, Annie; Massey, Jonathan; Worthington, Jane; Eyre, Stephen

2016-04-25

Genotypic variability based genome-wide association studies (vGWASs) can identify potentially interacting loci without prior knowledge of the interacting factors. We report a two-stage approach to make vGWAS applicable to diseases: firstly using a mixed model approach to partition dichotomous phenotypes into additive risk and non-additive environmental residuals on the liability scale and secondly using the Levene's (Brown-Forsythe) test to assess equality of the residual variances across genotype groups per marker. We found widespread significant (P 5e-05) vGWAS signals within the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) across all three study cohorts of rheumatoid arthritis. We further identified 10 epistatic interactions between the vGWAS signals independent of the MHC additive effects, each with a weak effect but jointly explained 1.9% of phenotypic variance. PTPN22 was also identified in the discovery cohort but replicated in only one independent cohort. Combining the three cohorts boosted power of vGWAS and additionally identified TYK2 and ANKRD55. Both PTPN22 and TYK2 had evidence of interactions reported elsewhere. We conclude that vGWAS can help discover interacting loci for complex diseases but require large samples to find additional signals.

Time for a change: addressing R&D and commercialization challenges for antibacterials

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, David J.; Miller, Linda Federici; Findlay, David; Anderson, James; Marks, Lynn

2015-01-01

The antibacterial therapeutic area has been described as the perfect storm. Resistance is increasing to the point that our hospitals encounter patients infected with untreatable pathogens, the overall industry pipeline is described as dry and most multinational pharmaceutical companies have withdrawn from the area. Major contributing factors to the declining antibacterial industry pipeline include scientific challenges, clinical/regulatory hurdles and low return on investment. This paper examines these challenges and proposes approaches to address them. There is a need for a broader scientific agenda to explore new approaches to discover and develop antibacterial agents. Additionally, ideas of how industry and academia could be better integrated will be presented. While promising progress in the regulatory environment has been made, more streamlined regulatory paths are still required and the solutions will lie in global harmonization and clearly defined guidance. Creating the right incentives for antibacterial research and development is critical and a new commercial model for antibacterial agents will be proposed. One key solution to help resolve both the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and lack of new drug development are rapid, cost-effective, accurate point of care diagnostics that will transform antibacterial prescribing and enable more cost-effective and efficient antibacterial clinical trials. The challenges of AMR are too great for any one group to resolve and success will require leadership and partnerships among academia, industry and governments globally. PMID:25918443

Recognizing and overcoming challenges of couple interview research.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellor, Ruth M; Slaymaker, Emma; Cleland, John

2013-10-01

In this article we discuss some methodological and ethical challenges we faced when conducting a couple-based study on men's role in contraceptive switching, and how we overcame them. The challenges we discuss include recruiting couples with a range of experiences, ensuring informed consent of participants, maintaining confidentiality within interviews, and participants discussing interview content between interviews. As appropriate, we have drawn on study participants' views of these challenges. We conclude that although couple research poses challenges, they can be overcome or minimized, and that for certain research questions this methodology is well worth using.

Preferences in Interactive Systems: Technical Challenges and Case Studies

OpenAIRE

Peintner, Bart; Viappiani, Paolo; Yorke-Smith, Neil

2008-01-01

Interactive artificial intelligence systems employ preferences in both their reasoning and their interaction with the user. This survey considers preference handling in applications such as recommender systems, personal assistant agents, and personalized user interfaces. We survey the major questions and approaches, present illustrative examples, and give an outlook on potential benefits and challenges.

South African Academic Health--the future challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

van Zyl, G J

2004-02-01

In South Africa, significant changes in Academic Health have taken place since the first democratic elections in 1994. Academic Health came from a separated academic hospital, departmental-based curriculum and research focussed on achievement, and an abundance of money, to a position of integrated service delivery with specific reference to primary health care, separation of service levels, a new integrated curriculum, research focussed according to the need and contract research, and financial constraints with limited budgets. The management of this change is a task challenging the manager in all fields of Academic Health. Leaders need to know their environment and organisation to be able to manage change. Academic Health centres are experiencing major changes as a result of the effects of managed care, reduced rate and growing expenditure on health services. In addition to restructuring of the clinical services, Academic Health centres are being challenged to sustain their academic mission and priorities in the face of resource constraints. In order to tackle these challenges, institutions need physicians in administrative positions at all levels who can provide leadership and thoughtful managerial initiatives. The future challenge for managers focuses on service delivery, research, health education and training, Academic Health management, professionalism and financial management.

Global challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blix, H.

1990-01-01

A major challenge now facing the world is the supply of energy needed for growth and development in a manner which is not only economically viable but also environmentally acceptable and sustainable in view of the demands of and risks to future generations. The internationally most significant pollutants from energy production through fossil fuels are SO 2 and NO x which cause acid rain, and CO 2 which is the most significant contributor to the greenhouse effect. Nuclear power, now providing about 17% of the world's electricity and 5% of the primary energy already is making a notable contribution to avoiding these emissions. While the industrialized countries will need more energy and especially electricity in the future, the needs of the developing countries are naturally much larger and present a tremendous challenge to the shaping of the world's future energy supply system. The advanced countries will have to accept special responsibilities, as they can most easily use advanced technologies and they have been and remain the main contributors to the environmental problems we now face. Energy conservation and resort to new renewable energy sources, though highly desirable, appear inadequate alone to meet the challenges. The world can hardly afford to do without an increased use of nuclear power, although it is strongly contested in many countries. The objections raised against the nuclear option focus on safety, waste management and disposal problems and the risk for proliferation of nuclear weapons. These issues are not without their problems. The risk of proliferation exists but will not appreciably diminish with lesser global reliance on nuclear power. The waste issue is more of a political than a technical problem. The use of nuclear power, or any other energy source, will never be at zero risk, but the risks are constantly reduced by new techniques and practices. The IAEA sees it as one of its priority tasks to promote such techniques. (author)

Technical Challenges in the Derivation of Human Pluripotent Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parinya Noisa

2011-01-01

Full Text Available It has long been discovered that human pluripotent cells could be isolated from the blastocyst state of embryos and called human embryonic stem cells (ESCs. These cells can be adapted and propagated indefinitely in culture in an undifferentiated manner as well as differentiated into cell representing the three major germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. However, the derivation of human pluripotent cells from donated embryos is limited and restricted by ethical concerns. Therefore, various approaches have been explored and proved their success. Human pluripotent cells can also be derived experimentally by the nuclear reprogramming of somatic cells. These techniques include somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT, cell fusion and overexpression of pluripotent genes. In this paper, we discuss the technical challenges of these approaches for nuclear reprogramming, involving their advantages and limitations. We will also highlight the possible applications of these techniques in the study of stem cell biology.

Challenges in Translational Development of Pharmaceutical Cocrystals.

Science.gov (United States)

Kale, Dnyaneshwar P; Zode, Sandeep S; Bansal, Arvind K

2017-02-01

The last 2 decades have witnessed increased research in the area of cocrystals resulting in deeper scientific understanding, increase in intellectual property landscape, and evolution in the regulatory environment. Pharmaceutical cocrystals have received significant attention as a new solid form on account of their ability to modulate poor physicochemical properties of drug molecules. However, pharmaceutical development of cocrystals could be challenging, thus limiting their translation into viable drug products. In the present commentary, the role of cocrystals in the modulation of material properties and challenges involved in the pharmaceutical development of cocrystals have been discussed. The major hurdles encountered in the development of cocrystals such as safety of coformers, unpredictable performance during dissolution and solubility in different media, difficulties in establishing in vitro-in vivo correlation, and polymorphism have been extensively discussed. The influence of selecting appropriate formulation and process design on these challenges has been discussed. Finally, a brief outline of cocrystals that are undergoing clinical development has also been presented. Copyright © 2017 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

ATLAS Data Challenges - A Collaborative Worldwide Activity

CERN Multimedia

Poulard, G

The goals of the ATLAS Data Challenges (DC) are the validation of the Computing Model, of the complete software suite, of the data model, and to ensure the correctness of the technical choices to be made. It is understood that these Data Challenges should be of increasing complexity and that their results will be used as input for a Computing TDR and for preparing an MoU in due time. A major feature of the current computing activities (DC1) in ATLAS is the preparation and deployment of the software required for the production of large event samples for the High Level Trigger (HLT) and physics communities, and the actual production of those samples. It should be noted that it is not an option to "run everything at CERN" even if we wanted to; the resources are not available at CERN to carry out the production on a reasonable time-scale. We have therefore had to face the great challenge of organising and then carrying out this large-scale production at a significant number of sites around the world. However, th...

ARL and Association 3.0: Ten Management Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Funk, Carla J.

2009-01-01

Association management in today's "association 3.0" environment presents some new challenges and new perspectives on old ones. This paper summarizes 10 such challenges including collaboration, diversity, innovation, transparency, financial stability, member benefits, knowledge-based decision-making, a demand-driven association model, pro-activity…

Meeting the Challenges of Personal Development and Character Building in University Students

OpenAIRE

Chong, Yen Wan; Hamid, Siti Norasyikin Binti Abdul

2016-01-01

Graduate unemployment and corruption are two major challenges faced by Malaysia. One of the top reasons for graduate unemployment in Malaysia, according to a recent survey of Malaysian employers, is poor character or attitude among university graduates. Despite intensifying anti-corruption efforts, corruption in Malaysia has remained a serious challenge. Character education and personal development programs which instil good values in our future leaders can be effective tools in the fight aga...

International gas trade: Potential major projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haamsoe, B.; Mashayekhi, A.; Razavi, H.

1994-01-01

The present paper reviews some key factors affecting continued expansion of the use and trade of natural gas, with a particular focus on a group of major gas trade and transport projects now in various stages of consideration. The paper begins by outlining the distribution of potential gas supplies, it also sketches the sectorial and regional structures of potential demand for natural gas. It continues by considering current and emerging trends in the international trade of natural gas by pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG). Within the context thus provided, the paper then details a number of significant potential gas trade and transportation projects individually. Finally, the paper comments on the challenges in financing and implementing gas projects, especially with regard to economic, political, and institutional issues in the producing, transit, and consuming countries

Challenges of including nitrogen effects on decomposition in earth system models

Science.gov (United States)

Hobbie, S. E.

2011-12-01

Despite the importance of litter decomposition for ecosystem fertility and carbon balance, key uncertainties remain about how this fundamental process is affected by nitrogen (N) availability. Nevertheless, resolving such uncertainties is critical for mechanistic inclusion of such processes in earth system models, towards predicting the ecosystem consequences of increased anthropogenic reactive N. Towards that end, we have conducted a series of experiments examining nitrogen effects on litter decomposition. We found that both substrate N and externally supplied N (regardless of form) accelerated the initial decomposition rate. Faster initial decomposition rates were linked to the higher activity of carbohydrate-degrading enzymes associated with externally supplied N and the greater relative abundances of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria associated with green leaves and externally supplied organic N (assessed using phospholipid fatty acid analysis, PLFA). By contrast, later in decomposition, externally supplied N slowed decomposition, increasing the fraction of slowly decomposing litter and reducing lignin-degrading enzyme activity and relative abundances of Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. Our results suggest that elevated atmospheric N deposition may have contrasting effects on the dynamics of different soil carbon pools, decreasing mean residence times of active fractions comprising very fresh litter, while increasing those of more slowly decomposing fractions including more processed litter. Incorporating these contrasting effects of N on decomposition processes into models is complicated by lingering uncertainties about how these effects generalize across ecosystems and substrates.

Back to the basics: Identifying and addressing underlying challenges in achieving high quality and relevant health statistics for indigenous populations in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Smylie, Janet; Firestone, Michelle

Canada is known internationally for excellence in both the quality and public policy relevance of its health and social statistics. There is a double standard however with respect to the relevance and quality of statistics for Indigenous populations in Canada. Indigenous specific health and social statistics gathering is informed by unique ethical, rights-based, policy and practice imperatives regarding the need for Indigenous participation and leadership in Indigenous data processes throughout the spectrum of indicator development, data collection, management, analysis and use. We demonstrate how current Indigenous data quality challenges including misclassification errors and non-response bias systematically contribute to a significant underestimate of inequities in health determinants, health status, and health care access between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. The major quality challenge underlying these errors and biases is the lack of Indigenous specific identifiers that are consistent and relevant in major health and social data sources. The recent removal of an Indigenous identity question from the Canadian census has resulted in further deterioration of an already suboptimal system. A revision of core health data sources to include relevant, consistent, and inclusive Indigenous self-identification is urgently required. These changes need to be carried out in partnership with Indigenous peoples and their representative and governing organizations.

Tailoring the Variational Implicit Solvent Method for New Challenges: Biomolecular Recognition and Assembly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clarisse Gravina Ricci

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Predicting solvation free energies and describing the complex water behavior that plays an important role in essentially all biological processes is a major challenge from the computational standpoint. While an atomistic, explicit description of the solvent can turn out to be too expensive in large biomolecular systems, most implicit solvent methods fail to capture “dewetting” effects and heterogeneous hydration by relying on a pre-established (i.e., guessed solvation interface. Here we focus on the Variational Implicit Solvent Method, an implicit solvent method that adds water “plasticity” back to the picture by formulating the solvation free energy as a functional of all possible solvation interfaces. We survey VISM's applications to the problem of molecular recognition and report some of the most recent efforts to tailor VISM for more challenging scenarios, with the ultimate goal of including thermal fluctuations into the framework. The advances reported herein pave the way to make VISM a uniquely successful approach to characterize complex solvation properties in the recognition and binding of large-scale biomolecular complexes.

Tailoring the Variational Implicit Solvent Method for New Challenges: Biomolecular Recognition and Assembly

Science.gov (United States)

Ricci, Clarisse Gravina; Li, Bo; Cheng, Li-Tien; Dzubiella, Joachim; McCammon, J. Andrew

2018-01-01

Predicting solvation free energies and describing the complex water behavior that plays an important role in essentially all biological processes is a major challenge from the computational standpoint. While an atomistic, explicit description of the solvent can turn out to be too expensive in large biomolecular systems, most implicit solvent methods fail to capture “dewetting” effects and heterogeneous hydration by relying on a pre-established (i.e., guessed) solvation interface. Here we focus on the Variational Implicit Solvent Method, an implicit solvent method that adds water “plasticity” back to the picture by formulating the solvation free energy as a functional of all possible solvation interfaces. We survey VISM's applications to the problem of molecular recognition and report some of the most recent efforts to tailor VISM for more challenging scenarios, with the ultimate goal of including thermal fluctuations into the framework. The advances reported herein pave the way to make VISM a uniquely successful approach to characterize complex solvation properties in the recognition and binding of large-scale biomolecular complexes. PMID:29484300

Research ethics consultation: ethical and professional practice challenges and recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharp, Richard R; Taylor, Holly A; Brinich, Margaret A; Boyle, Mary M; Cho, Mildred; Coors, Marilyn; Danis, Marion; Havard, Molly; Magnus, David; Wilfond, Benjamin

2015-05-01

The complexity of biomedical research has increased considerably in the last decade, as has the pace of translational research. This complexity has generated a number of novel ethical issues for clinical investigators, institutional review boards (IRBs), and other oversight committees. In response, many academic medical centers have created formal research ethics consultation (REC) services to help clinical investigators and IRBs navigate ethical issues in biomedical research. Key functions of a REC service include assisting with research design and implementation, providing a forum for deliberative exploration of ethical issues, and supplementing regulatory oversight. As increasing numbers of academic research institutions establish REC services, there is a pressing need for consensus about the primary aims and policies that should guide these activities. Establishing clear expectations about the aims and policies of REC services is important if REC programs are to achieve their full potential. Drawing on the experiences of a Clinical and Translational Science Award Research Ethics Consultation Working Group, this article describes three major ethical and professional practice challenges associated with the provision of REC: (1) managing multiple institutional roles and responsibilities, (2) managing sensitive information, and (3) communicating with consultation requestors about how these issues are managed. The paper also presents several practical strategies for addressing these challenges and enhancing the quality of REC services.

Responsible Research and Innovation in industry-challenges, insights and perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Martinuzzi, André; Blok, Vincent; Brem, Alexander; Stahl, Bernd; Schönherr, Norma

2018-01-01

The responsibility of industry towards society and the environment is a much discussed topic, both in academia and in business. Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) has recently emerged as a new concept with the potential to advance this discourse in light of two major challenges industry is

Rainwater harvesting in South Africa: Challenges and opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Mwenge Kahinda, J.; Taigbenu, A. E.

Water paucity remains a major threat to poverty, hunger alleviation as well as sustainable development. Innovative water technologies such as rainwater harvesting (RWH) have the potential to improve rural water supply and contribute to the provision of the first 6 kl of water consumed monthly. RWH can also be the solution to South Africa food security by increasing water productivity of dryland agriculture and enabling homestead gardening. Although used for decades in South Africa, rainwater harvesting (RWH) is still far from being utilised to its full potential as unresolved challenges prevent its wide scale adoption. The paper presents the challenges and opportunities to the upscaling of RWH in South Africa. Key challenges preventing the nationwide expansion of RWH are the current water related legislations, the lack of finances and the absence of a national umbrella body that coordinates. While opportunities lie in the worth of knowledge gathered by research projects, funded over the last two decades, on the biophysical and socio-economic impacts of RWH.

Chagas disease in Switzerland: history and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Y; Chappuis, F

2011-09-15

Chagas disease, endemic in Latin America, is an emerging health problem in Europe affecting an estimated 80,000 persons. Around 60,000 Latin American migrants live in Switzerland, and cases of Chagas disease have been reported since 1979. As of June 2011, 258 cases have been diagnosed, mostly adults in the indeterminate phase of the chronic stage of the disease. Vertical transmission has been identified and there is a high potential for blood- and organ-borne transmission in the absence of systematic screening. Major challenges include (i) raising awareness among migrants and healthcare professionals, (ii) developing national protocols for screening and treatment targeting high-risk groups such as pregnant woman, newborns, migrants from highly endemic areas (e.g. Bolivia), and immunocompromised migrants, (iii) preventing blood- and organ-borne transmission by appropriate screening strategies, (iv) taking into account the social vulnerability of individuals at risk in the design and implementation of public health programmes, and (v) facilitating contacts with the communities at risk through outreach programmes, for example in churches and cultural groups.

Plain language: a strategic response to the health literacy challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

Stableford, Sue; Mettger, Wendy

2007-01-01

Low health literacy is a major challenge confronting American and international health organizations. Research in the past decade has documented the prevalence of limited literacy and limited health literacy skills among adults worldwide. This creates a major policy challenge: how to create text-based health information - a common method of health communication - that is accessible to the public. Plain language is a logical, flexible response. While touted by American, Canadian, and European health policy makers, adoption and promotion of plain language standards and skills in health-focused organizations have lagged. Most text-based health information continues to be too hard for most adults to read. Barriers to more rapid diffusion of plain language are reflected in a set of myths perpetuated by critics. These myths are identified and refuted. While plain language is only one of many broad-based solutions needed to address low health literacy, the benefits to everyone demand increased use by health organizations.

The Assurance Challenges of Advanced Packaging Technologies for Electronics

Science.gov (United States)

Sampson, Michael J.

2010-01-01

Advances in microelectronic parts performance are driving towards finer feature sizes, three-dimensional geometries and ever-increasing number of transistor equivalents that are resulting in increased die sizes and interconnection (I/O) counts. The resultant packaging necessary to provide assemble-ability, environmental protection, testability and interconnection to the circuit board for the active die creates major challenges, particularly for space applications, Traditionally, NASA has used hermetically packaged microcircuits whenever available but the new demands make hermetic packaging less and less practical at the same time as more and more expensive, Some part types of great interest to NASA designers are currently only available in non-hermetic packaging. It is a far more complex quality and reliability assurance challenge to gain confidence in the long-term survivability and effectiveness of nonhermetic packages than for hermetic ones. Although they may provide more rugged environmental protection than the familiar Plastic Encapsulated Microcircuits (PEMs), the non-hermetic Ceramic Column Grid Array (CCGA) packages that are the focus of this presentation present a unique combination of challenges to assessing their suitability for spaceflight use. The presentation will discuss the bases for these challenges, some examples of the techniques proposed to mitigate them and a proposed approach to a US MIL specification Class for non-hermetic microcircuits suitable for space application, Class Y, to be incorporated into M. IL-PRF-38535. It has recently emerged that some major packaging suppliers are offering hermetic area array packages that may offer alternatives to the nonhermetic CCGA styles but have also got their own inspectability and testability issues which will be briefly discussed in the presentation,

Resources, challenges and way forward in rare mitochondrial diseases research.

Science.gov (United States)

Rajput, Neeraj Kumar; Singh, Vipin; Bhardwaj, Anshu

2015-01-01

Over 300 million people are affected by about 7000 rare diseases globally. There are tremendous resource limitations and challenges in driving research and drug development for rare diseases. Hence, innovative approaches are needed to identify potential solutions. This review focuses on the resources developed over the past years for analysis of genome data towards understanding disease biology especially in the context of mitochondrial diseases, given that mitochondria are central to major cellular pathways and their dysfunction leads to a broad spectrum of diseases. Platforms for collaboration of research groups, clinicians and patients and the advantages of community collaborative efforts in addressing rare diseases are also discussed. The review also describes crowdsourcing and crowdfunding efforts in rare diseases research and how the upcoming initiatives for understanding disease biology including analyses of large number of genomes are also applicable to rare diseases.

Key Challenges to the introduction of hydrogen - European stakeholder views

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seymour, E. Hugo; Murray, Luke; Fernandes, Rei

2008-01-01

Recent hydrogen policy initiatives focus on fostering the market introduction of hydrogen technologies. These initiatives include hydrogen roadmapping projects. Stakeholder involvement in strategic planning is of key importance to the successful implementation of the strategy. Thus, the views of the stakeholder group involved in the European roadmapping project HyWays are pertinent to the introduction of hydrogen in Europe. A qualitative assessment using the Key Changes and Actor Mapping (KCAM) methodology showed that on average stakeholders expect hydrogen systems to begin to be introduced over the next 15 years. Hydrogen production is expected to be based initially on steam methane reforming of natural gas and onsite electrolysis using wind power, and any hydrogen transport is likely to be by truck. The major challenges envisaged are to do with carbon capture and storage, high-temperature hydrogen production technologies and hydrogen pipeline development. (author)

Parental Challenges in Providing Care for Children with Special ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Majority (45, 61.6%) were in the mid and lower social classes (III-V).The most identified parental challenges were economic and medical, indicated by all the parents. Others were social, stress and educational in that order. Type of child's disorder, severity of the disorder and parental social class were indicated by all the ...

Sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia: Current problems and future challenges

Science.gov (United States)

BaHammam, Ahmed S.

2011-01-01

Sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty in the medical community. The practice of sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia (KSA) began in the mid to late nineties. Since its inception, the specialty has grown, and the number of specialists has increased. Nevertheless, sleep medicine is still underdeveloped in the KSA, particularly in the areas of clinical service, education, training and research. Based on available data, it appears that sleep disorders are prevalent among Saudis, and the demand for sleep medicine service is expected to rise significantly in the near future. A number of obstacles have been defined that hinder the progress of the specialty, including a lack of trained technicians, specialists and funding. Awareness about sleep disorders and their serious consequences is low among health care workers, health care authorities, insurance companies and the general public. A major challenge for the future is penetrating the educational system at all levels to demonstrate the high prevalence and serious consequences of sleep disorders. To attain adequate numbers of staff and facilities, the education and training of health care professionals at the level of sleep medicine specialists and sleep technologists is another important challenge that faces the specialty. This review discusses the current position of sleep medicine as a specialty in the KSA and the expected challenges of the future. In addition, it will guide clinicians interested in setting up new sleep medicine services in the KSA or other developing countries through the potential obstacles that may face them in this endeavor. PMID:21264164

Sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia: Current problems and future challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BaHammam Ahmed

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Sleep medicine is a relatively new specialty in the medical community. The practice of sleep medicine in Saudi Arabia (KSA began in the mid to late nineties. Since its inception, the specialty has grown, and the number of specialists has increased. Nevertheless, sleep medicine is still underdeveloped in the KSA, particularly in the areas of clinical service, education, training and research. Based on available data, it appears that sleep disorders are prevalent among Saudis, and the demand for sleep medicine service is expected to rise significantly in the near future. A number of obstacles have been defined that hinder the progress of the specialty, including a lack of trained technicians, specialists and funding. Awareness about sleep disorders and their serious consequences is low among health care workers, health care authorities, insurance companies and the general public. A major challenge for the future is penetrating the educational system at all levels to demonstrate the high prevalence and serious consequences of sleep disorders. To attain adequate numbers of staff and facilities, the education and training of health care professionals at the level of sleep medicine specialists and sleep technologists is another important challenge that faces the specialty. This review discusses the current position of sleep medicine as a specialty in the KSA and the expected challenges of the future. In addition, it will guide clinicians interested in setting up new sleep medicine services in the KSA or other developing countries through the potential obstacles that may face them in this endeavor.

Qualitative analysis of round-table discussions on the business case and procurement challenges for hospital electronic prescribing systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathrin M Cresswell

Full Text Available There is a pressing need to understand the challenges surrounding procurement of and business case development for hospital electronic prescribing systems, and to identify possible strategies to enhance the efficiency of these processes in order to assist strategic decision making.We organized eight multi-disciplinary round-table discussions in the United Kingdom. Participants included policy makers, representatives from hospitals, system developers, academics, and patients. Each discussion was digitally audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and, together with accompanying field notes, analyzed thematically with NVivo9.We drew on data from 17 participants (approximately eight per roundtable, six hours of discussion, and 15 pages of field notes. Key challenges included silo planning with systems not being considered as part of an integrated organizational information technology strategy, lack of opportunity for interactions between customers and potential suppliers, lack of support for hospitals in choosing appropriate systems, difficulty of balancing structured planning with flexibility, and the on-going challenge of distinguishing "wants" and aspirations from organizational "needs".Development of business cases for major investments in information technology does not take place in an organizational vacuum. Building on previously identified potentially transferable dimensions to the development and execution of business cases surrounding measurements of costs/benefits and risk management, we have identified additional components relevant to ePrescribing systems. These include: considerations surrounding strategic context, case for change and objectives, future service requirements and options appraisal, capital and revenue implications, timescale and deliverability, and risk analysis and management.

Enrichment of foods with omega-3 fatty acids: A multidisciplinary challenge

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jacobsen, Charlotte

2010-01-01

Enrichment of foods with marine omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) poses a multidisciplinary challenge to food industry and academia. Although our knowledge about possible health effects of omega-3 PUFA has increased tremendously during the last 30 years, there is still a lot to be learned...... about these healthy fatty acids. Moreover, consumer acceptance and lipid oxidation of omega-3 PUFA-enriched food are other major challenges that the food industry meet when developing omega-3-enriched foods. Two examples on multidisciplinary research projects to overcome some of these challenges...... are given in this article together with cases studies illustrating how lipid oxidation can be prevented in a range of different omega-3-enriched foods....

Challenges for Better thesis supervision.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghadirian, Laleh; Sayarifard, Azadeh; Majdzadeh, Reza; Rajabi, Fatemeh; Yunesian, Masoud

2014-01-01

Conduction of thesis by the students is one of their major academic activities. Thesis quality and acquired experiences are highly dependent on the supervision. Our study is aimed at identifing the challenges in thesis supervision from both students and faculty members point of view. This study was conducted using individual in-depth interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The participants were 43 students and faculty members selected by purposive sampling. It was carried out in Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Data analysis was done concurrently with data gathering using content analysis method. Our data analysis resulted in 162 codes, 17 subcategories and 4 major categories, "supervisory knowledge and skills", "atmosphere", "bylaws and regulations relating to supervision" and "monitoring and evaluation". This study showed that more attention and planning in needed for modifying related rules and regulations, qualitative and quantitative improvement in mentorship training, research atmosphere improvement and effective monitoring and evaluation in supervisory area.

Stable Plastid Transformation for High-Level Recombinant Protein Expression: Promises and Challenges

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Meili Gao

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Plants are a promising expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. However, low protein productivity remains a major obstacle that limits extensive commercialization of whole plant and plant cell bioproduction platform. Plastid genetic engineering offers several advantages, including high levels of transgenic expression, transgenic containment via maternal inheritance, and multigene expression in a single transformation event. In recent years, the development of optimized expression strategies has given a huge boost to the exploitation of plastids in molecular farming. The driving forces behind the high expression level of plastid bioreactors include codon optimization, promoters and UTRs, genotypic modifications, endogenous enhancer and regulatory elements, posttranslational modification, and proteolysis. Exciting progress of the high expression level has been made with the plastid-based production of two particularly important classes of pharmaceuticals: vaccine antigens, therapeutic proteins, and antibiotics and enzymes. Approaches to overcome and solve the associated challenges of this culture system that include low transformation frequencies, the formation of inclusion bodies, and purification of recombinant proteins will also be discussed.

Managing complexity challenges for industrial engineering and operations management

CERN Document Server

López-Paredes, Adolfo; Pérez-Ríos, José

2014-01-01

This book presents papers by experts in the field of Industrial Engineering, covering topics in business strategy; modelling and simulation in operations research; logistics and production; service systems; innovation and knowledge; and project management. The focus of operations and production management has evolved from product and manufacturing to the capabilities of firms and collaborative management. Nowadays, Industrial Engineering is concerned with the study of how to design, modify, control and improve the performance of complex systems. It has extended its scope to any physical landscape populated by social agents. This raises a major challenge to Industrial Engineering:  managing complexity. This volume shows how experts are dealing with this challenge.

Methodological challenges involved in compiling the Nahua pharmacopeia.

Science.gov (United States)

De Vos, Paula

2017-06-01

Recent work in the history of science has questioned the Eurocentric nature of the field and sought to include a more global approach that would serve to displace center-periphery models in favor of approaches that take seriously local knowledge production. Historians of Iberian colonial science have taken up this approach, which involves reliance on indigenous knowledge traditions of the Americas. These traditions present a number of challenges to modern researchers, including availability and reliability of source material, issues of translation and identification, and lack of systematization. This essay explores the challenges that emerged in the author's attempt to compile a pre-contact Nahua pharmacopeia, the reasons for these challenges, and the ways they may - or may not - be overcome.

Sedimentary Geology Context and Challenges for Cyberinfrastructure Data Management

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, M. A.; Budd, D. A.

2014-12-01

A cyberinfrastructure data management system for sedimentary geology is crucial to multiple facets of interdisciplinary Earth science research, as sedimentary systems form the deep-time framework for many geoscience communities. The breadth and depth of the sedimentary field spans research on the processes that form, shape and affect the Earth's sedimentary crust and distribute resources such as hydrocarbons, coal, and water. The sedimentary record is used by Earth scientists to explore questions such as the continental crust evolution, dynamics of Earth's past climates and oceans, evolution of the biosphere, and the human interface with Earth surface processes. Major challenges to a data management system for sedimentary geology are the volume and diversity of field, analytical, and experimental data, along with many types of physical objects. Objects include rock samples, biological specimens, cores, and photographs. Field data runs the gamut from discrete location and spatial orientation to vertical records of bed thickness, textures, color, sedimentary structures, and grain types. Ex situ information can include geochemistry, mineralogy, petrophysics, chronologic, and paleobiologic data. All data types cover multiple order-of-magnitude scales, often requiring correlation of the multiple scales with varying degrees of resolution. The stratigraphic framework needs dimensional context with locality, time, space, and depth relationships. A significant challenge is that physical objects represent discrete values at specific points, but measured stratigraphic sections are continuous. In many cases, field data is not easily quantified, and determining uncertainty can be difficult. Despite many possible hurdles, the sedimentary community is anxious to embrace geoinformatic resources that can provide better tools to integrate the many data types, create better search capabilities, and equip our communities to conduct high-impact science at unprecedented levels.

Meeting the challenges of micronutrient malnutrition in the developing world.

Science.gov (United States)

Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Salam, Rehana A; Das, Jai K

2013-01-01

Malnutrition still remains one of the major public health challenges, particularly in developing countries. Major risk factors for undernutrition such as suboptimal breastfeeding and micronutrient deficiencies (vitamin A and zinc) are responsible for more than one-third of all under five child deaths and 11% of the global total disease burden. Several strategies have been employed to supplement micronutrients. These include education, dietary modification, food provision, supplementation and fortification either alone or in combination. Supplementation is the most widely practiced intervention while fortification can also be a potentially cost-effective public health intervention and target a larger population through a single strategy. Universal coverage with the full bundle of interventions including micronutrient provision, complementary foods, treatments for worms and diarrheal diseases and behavior change programs package could be the way forward in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Bio-fortification and agricultural interventions including home and school gardening are relatively newer strategies and require further research as they have the potential to impact nutritional status of populations at large. Effectiveness of the various interventions is well recognized; however, consensus needs to be built around approaches to scale up coverage and delivery strategies to reduce disparities and provide equitable access. Future studies should focus on evaluating various approaches to address malnutrition with a standard methodology and defined outcomes. This will help gauge the actual morbidity and mortality impacts of these specific interventions and the long-term viability of these programs. On a broader scale, strategies to address food insecurity and poverty alleviation are the key as these are complex sustainable development issues, linked to health through malnutrition, but also to sustainable economic development, environment and trade.

Technology in Parkinson disease: Challenges and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Espay, Alberto J.; Bonato, Paolo; Nahab, Fatta; Maetzler, Walter; Dean, John M.; Klucken, Jochen; Eskofier, Bjoern M.; Merola, Aristide; Horak, Fay; Lang, Anthony E.; Reilmann, Ralf; Giuffrida, Joe; Nieuwboer, Alice; Horne, Malcolm; Little, Max A.; Litvan, Irene; Simuni, Tanya; Dorsey, E. Ray; Burack, Michelle A.; Kubota, Ken; Kamondi, Anita; Godinho, Catarina; Daneault, Jean-Francois; Mitsi, Georgia; Krinke, Lothar; Hausdorff, Jeffery M.; Bloem, Bastiaan R.; Papapetropoulos, Spyros

2016-01-01

The miniaturization, sophistication, proliferation, and accessibility of technologies are enabling the capturing of more and previously inaccessible phenomena in Parkinson disease (PD). However, more information has not translated into greater understanding of disease complexity to satisfy diagnostic and therapeutic needs. Challenges include non-compatible technology platforms, the need for wide-scale and long-term deployment of sensor technology (in particular among vulnerable elderly patients), and the gap between the “big data” acquired with sensitive measurement technologies and their limited clinical application. Major opportunities could be realized if new technologies are developed as part of open-source and/or open-hardware platforms enabling multi-channel data capture, sensitive to the broad range of motor and non-motor problems that characterize PD, and adaptable into self-adjusting, individualized treatment delivery systems. The International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society Task Force on Technology is entrusted to convene engineers, clinicians, researchers, and patients to promote the development of integrated measurement and closed-loop therapeutic systems with high patient adherence that also serve to: 1) encourage the adoption of clinico-pathophysiologic phenotyping and early detection of critical disease milestones; 2) enhance tailoring of symptomatic therapy; 3) improve subgroup targeting of patients for future testing of disease modifying treatments; and 4) identify objective biomarkers to improve longitudinal tracking of impairments in clinical care and research. This article summarizes the work carried out by the Task Force toward identifying challenges and opportunities in the development of technologies with potential for improving the clinical management and quality of life of individuals with PD. PMID:27125836

Longitudinal assessment of neuropsychological function in major depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Douglas, Katie M; Porter, Richard J

2009-12-01

Neuropsychological impairment is a core component of major depression, yet its relationship to clinical state is unclear. The aims of the present review were to determine which neuropsychological domains and tasks were most sensitive to improvement in clinical state in major depression and to highlight the methodological issues in such research. Studies that included a baseline and at least one follow-up neuropsychological testing session in adults with major depression were identified using MEDLINE, Web of Science and ScienceDirect databases. Thirty studies were included in the review. Findings in younger adult populations suggested that improvement in mood was most strongly related to improved verbal memory and verbal fluency, while measures of executive functioning and attention tended to remain impaired across treatment. In late-life major depression, improved psychomotor speed was most closely related to treatment response, but there was much inconsistency between study findings, which may be due to methodological issues. In major depression, particular neuropsychological domains are more strongly related to clinical state than others. The findings from the present review suggest that the domains most sensitive to clinical state are verbal learning and memory, verbal fluency and psychomotor speed. In contrast, measures of attention and executive functioning perhaps represent more trait-like markers of major depression. With further methodologically sound research, the changes in neuropsychological function associated with treatment response may provide a means of evaluating different treatment strategies in major depression.

Challenges in conducting research in pediatric long-term care facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, Elaine L; Cohen, Bevin; Murray, Meghan; Saiman, Lisa

2014-10-01

Children residing in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) have complex medical problems and unique care needs, yet research in this setting is rare. As part of an intervention study to improve patient safety (Keep It Clean for Kids [KICK]), we describe the challenges encountered and recommend approaches to build a successful and sustained collaborative relationship between pediatric LTCFs and the research team. We implemented a program with 5 components: leadership commitment, active staff participation by the creation of KICK teams, workflow assessments, staff training in the World Health Organization's "5 Moments for Hand Hygiene," and electronic monitoring and feedback to staff regarding hand hygiene practices. Major challenges encountered were establishing trust, building research teams, enhancing staff participation, and engaging families and visitors. Approaches to deal with these challenges are discussed. Conducting research in pediatric LTCFs requires sustained commitment to dealing with challenges and establishing collaborative relationships with administrative and frontline staff. © The Author(s) 2014.

Small- bowel mucosal changes and antibody responses after low- and moderate-dose gluten challenge in celiac disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lähdeaho Marja-Leena

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to the restrictive nature of a gluten-free diet, celiac patients are looking for alternative therapies. While drug-development programs include gluten challenges, knowledge regarding the duration of gluten challenge and gluten dosage is insufficient. We challenged adult celiac patients with gluten with a view to assessing the amount needed to cause some small-bowel mucosal deterioration. Methods Twenty-five celiac disease adults were challenged with low (1-3 g or moderate (3-5g doses of gluten daily for 12 weeks. Symptoms, small-bowel morphology, densities of CD3+ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs and celiac serology were determined. Results Both moderate and low amounts of gluten induced small-bowel morphological damage in 67% of celiac patients. Moderate gluten doses also triggered mucosal inflammation and more gastrointestinal symptoms leading to premature withdrawals in seven cases. In 22% of those who developed significant small- intestinal damage, symptoms remained absent. Celiac antibodies seroconverted in 43% of the patients. Conclusions Low amounts of gluten can also cause significant mucosal deterioration in the majority of the patients. As there are always some celiac disease patients who will not respond within these conditions, sample sizes must be sufficiently large to attain to statistical power in analysis.

Multiphysics software and the challenge to validating physical models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luxat, J.C.

2008-01-01

This paper discusses multi physics software and validation of physical models in the nuclear industry. The major challenge is to convert the general purpose software package to a robust application-specific solution. This requires greater knowledge of the underlying solution techniques and the limitations of the packages. Good user interfaces and neat graphics do not compensate for any deficiencies

Relationship between genome and epigenome--challenges and requirements for future research

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Almouzni, Geneviève; Altucci, Lucia; Amati, Bruno; Ashley, Neil; Baulcombe, David; Beaujean, Nathalie; Bock, Christoph; Bongcam-Rudloff, Erik; Bousquet, Jean; Braun, Sigurd; Bressac-de Paillerets, Brigitte; Bussemakers, Marion; Clarke, Laura; Conesa, Ana; Estivill, Xavier; Fazeli, Alireza; Grgurević, Neža; Gut, Ivo; Heijmans, Bastiaan T; Hermouet, Sylvie; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine; Iacobucci, Ilaria; Ilaš, Janez; Kandimalla, Raju; Krauss-Etschmann, Susanne; Lasko, Paul; Lehmann, Sören; Lindroth, Anders; Majdič, Gregor; Marcotte, Eric; Martinelli, Giovanni; Martinet, Nadine; Meyer, Eric; Miceli, Cristina; Mills, Ken; Moreno-Villanueva, Maria; Morvan, Ghislaine; Nickel, Dörthe; Niesler, Beate; Nowacki, Mariusz; Nowak, Jacek; Ossowski, Stephan; Pelizzola, Mattia; Pochet, Roland; Potočnik, Uroš; Radwanska, Magdalena; Raes, Jeroen; Rattray, Magnus; Robinson, Mark D; Roelen, Bernard; Sauer, Sascha; Schinzer, Dieter; Slagboom, Eline; Spector, Tim; Stunnenberg, Hendrik G; Tiligada, Ekaterini; Torres-Padilla, Maria-Elena; Tsonaka, Roula; Van Soom, Ann; Vidaković, Melita; Widschwendter, Martin

2014-01-01

Understanding the links between genetic, epigenetic and non-genetic factors throughout the lifespan and across generations and their role in disease susceptibility and disease progression offer entirely new avenues and solutions to major problems in our society. To overcome the numerous challenges,

Poverty and health among CDC plantation labourers in Cameroon: Perceptions, challenges and coping strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Makoge, Valerie; Vaandrager, Lenneke; Maat, Harro; Koelen, Maria

2017-11-01

Creating better access to good quality healthcare for the poor is a major challenge to development. In this study, we examined inter-linkages between poverty and disease, referred to as poverty-related diseases (PRDs), by investigating how Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC) camp dwellers respond to diseases that adversely affect their health and wellbeing. Living in plantation camps is associated with poverty, overcrowding, poor sanitation and the rapid spread of diseases. In a survey of 237 CDC camp dwellers in Cameroon, we used the health belief model to understand the drivers (perceived threats, benefits and cues for treatment seeking) of reported responses. Using logistic regression analysis, we looked for trends in people's response to malaria. We calculated the odds ratio of factors shown to have an influence on people's health, such as food, water, sanitation challenges and seeking formal healthcare for malaria. Malaria (40.3%), cholera (20.8%) and diarrhoea (17.7%) were the major PRDs perceived by camp dwellers. We found a strong link between what respondents perceived as PRDS and hygiene conditions. Poverty for our respondents was more about living in poor hygiene conditions than lack of money. Respondents perceived health challenges as stemming from their immediate living environment. Moreover, people employed self-medication and other informal health practices to seek healthcare. Interestingly, even though respondents reported using formal healthcare services as a general response to illness (84%), almost 90% stated that, in the case of malaria, they would use informal healthcare services. Our study recommends that efforts to curb the devastating effects of PRDs should have a strong focus on perceptions (i.e. include diseases that people living in conditions of poverty perceive as PRDs) and on hygiene practices, emphasising how they can be improved. By providing insights into the inter-linkages between poverty and disease, our study offers relevant

Novel Augmentation Strategies in Major Depression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Martiny, Klaus

2017-01-01

Hypothesis The hypotheses of all the four included studies share the common idea that it is possible to augment the effect of antidepressant drug treatment by applying different interventions and with each intervention attain a clinically meaningful better effect compared to a control condition......, and with minor side effects, thus improving the short- and medium-term outcome in major depression. Procedures Study design The basic study design has been the double blind randomised controlled trial (RCT). In the light therapy study, all patients were treated with sertraline for the whole of the study duration...... open psychiatric wards. Only a few patients were re-cruited through advertisements (in the PEMF and Chronos studies). Inclusion criteria Inclusion criteria were major depression according to the DSM-IV, including a depressive episode as part of a bipolar disorder. For the PEMF study, treatment...

Phenotype prediction using regularized regression on genetic data in the DREAM5 Systems Genetics B Challenge.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Po-Ru Loh

Full Text Available A major goal of large-scale genomics projects is to enable the use of data from high-throughput experimental methods to predict complex phenotypes such as disease susceptibility. The DREAM5 Systems Genetics B Challenge solicited algorithms to predict soybean plant resistance to the pathogen Phytophthora sojae from training sets including phenotype, genotype, and gene expression data. The challenge test set was divided into three subcategories, one requiring prediction based on only genotype data, another on only gene expression data, and the third on both genotype and gene expression data. Here we present our approach, primarily using regularized regression, which received the best-performer award for subchallenge B2 (gene expression only. We found that despite the availability of 941 genotype markers and 28,395 gene expression features, optimal models determined by cross-validation experiments typically used fewer than ten predictors, underscoring the importance of strong regularization in noisy datasets with far more features than samples. We also present substantial analysis of the training and test setup of the challenge, identifying high variance in performance on the gold standard test sets.

Challenges of the New Zealand healthcare disaster preparedness prior to the Canterbury earthquakes: a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Shaqsi, Sultan; Gauld, Robin; Lovell, Sarah; McBride, David; Al-Kashmiri, Ammar; Al-Harthy, Abdullah

2013-03-15

Disasters are a growing global phenomenon. New Zealand has suffered several major disasters in recent times. The state of healthcare disaster preparedness in New Zealand prior to the Canterbury earthquakes is not well documented. To investigate the challenges of the New Zealand healthcare disaster preparedness prior to the Canterbury earthquakes. Semi-structured interviews with emergency planners in all the District Health Boards (DHBs) in New Zealand in the period between January and March 2010. The interview protocol revolved around the domains of emergency planning adopted by the World Health Organization. Seventeen interviews were conducted. The main themes included disinterest of clinical personnel in emergency planning, the need for communication backup, the integration of private services in disaster preparedness, the value of volunteers, the requirement for regular disaster training, and the need to enhance surge capability of the New Zealand healthcare system to respond to disasters. Prior to the Canterbury earthquakes, healthcare disaster preparedness faced multiple challenges. Despite these challenges, New Zealand's healthcare response was adequate. Future preparedness has to consider the lessons learnt from the 2011 earthquakes to improve healthcare disaster planning in New Zealand.

Monitoring challenges and innovative ideas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

O' Neill, R.V.; Hunsaker, C.T.; Levine, D.A.

1990-01-01

Monitoring programs are difficult to design even when they focus on specific problems. Ecosystems are complex, and it is often impossible to predetermine what aspects of system structure or dynamics will respond to a specific insult. It is equally difficult to interpret whether a response is a stabilizing compensatory mechanism or a real loss of capacity to maintain the ecosystem. The problems are compounded in a broad monitoring program designed to assess ecosystem health'' at regional and continental scales. It is challenging in the extreme to monitor ecosystem response, at any scale, to past insults as well as an unknown future array of impacts. The present paper will examine some of the fundamental issues and challenges raised by large-scale monitoring efforts. The challenges will serve as a framework and as an excuse to discuss several important topics in more detail. Following the discussion of challenges, we suggest some basic innovations that could be important across a range of monitoring programs. The innovations include integrative measures, innovative methodology, and creative interpretation. 59 refs., 1 tab.

MO-E-12A-01: Quantitative Imaging: Techniques, Applications, and Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jackson, E; Jeraj, R; McNitt-Gray, M; Cao, Y

2014-01-01

The first symposium in the Quantitative Imaging Track focused on the introduction of quantitative imaging (QI) by illustrating the potential of QI in diagnostic and therapeutic applications in research and patient care, highlighting key challenges in implementation of such QI applications, and reviewing QI efforts of selected national and international agencies and organizations, including the FDA, NCI, NIST, and RSNA. This second QI symposium will focus more specifically on the techniques, applications, and challenges of QI. The first talk of the session will focus on modalityagnostic challenges of QI, beginning with challenges of the development and implementation of QI applications in single-center, single-vendor settings and progressing to the challenges encountered in the most general setting of multi-center, multi-vendor settings. The subsequent three talks will focus on specific QI challenges and opportunities in the modalityspecific settings of CT, PET/CT, and MR. Each talk will provide information on modality-specific QI techniques, applications, and challenges, including current efforts focused on solutions to such challenges. Learning Objectives: Understand key general challenges of QI application development and implementation, regardless of modality. Understand selected QI techniques and applications in CT, PET/CT, and MR. Understand challenges, and potential solutions for such challenges, for the applications presented for each modality

Reconstructing tuberculosis services after major conflict: experiences and lessons learned in East Timor.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nelson Martins

2006-10-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB is a major public health problem in developing countries. Following the disruption to health services in East Timor due to violent political conflict in 1999, the National Tuberculosis Control Program was established, with a local non-government organisation as the lead agency. Within a few months, the TB program was operational in all districts. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Using the East Timor TB program as a case study, we have examined the enabling factors for the implementation of this type of communicable disease control program in a post-conflict setting. Stakeholder analysis was undertaken, and semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2003 with 24 key local and international stakeholders. Coordination, cooperation, and collaboration were identified as major contributors to the success of the TB program. The existing local structure and experience of the local non-government organisation, the commitment among local personnel and international advisors to establishing an effective program, and the willingness of international advisers and local counterparts to be flexible in their approach were also important factors. This success was achieved despite major impediments, including mass population displacement, lack of infrastructure, and the competing interests of organisations working in the health sector. CONCLUSIONS: Five years after the conflict, the TB program continues to operate in all districts with high notification rates, although the lack of a feeling of ownership by government health workers remains a challenge. Lessons learned in East Timor may be applicable to other post-conflict settings where TB is highly prevalent, and may have relevance to other disease control programs.

Challenges faced by parents of children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia.

Science.gov (United States)

Taderera, Clever; Hall, Herna

2017-01-01

Parenting children with learning disabilities requires a high level of knowledge and access to resources, information and services. In developing countries, however, these resources and services are not always available. Parents in Namibia, a developing country, therefore face challenges addressing children's learning and other developmental disabilities, including challenges related to preventative and supportive interventions. This research focuses on challenges faced by parents as they parent children with learning disabilities in Opuwo, Namibia. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight parents regarding the challenges they face in parenting their children with learning disabilities. Thematic analysis enabled the researchers to identify, analyse and report on themes that emerged from the qualitative interview data. Analysis of the interviews indicated that some participants had only a vague understanding of learning disabilities, as they did not have access to essential knowledge about this phenomenon. They also lacked an awareness of the availability of programmes, services and policies meant to benefit their children with learning disabilities. Participants voiced that they, their children with learning disabilities and community members have stereotypes and prejudices regarding learning disabilities. In this study, most of the children with learning disabilities were raised by single, unemployed parents who seemed to have access to less support from external sources than married couples parenting children with learning disabilities. These single parents are usually not married and because of lack of financial support from the other parent, the majority of them indicated that they struggle to meet the financial and material needs of their children. The researchers concluded that the participants in this study experience a range of challenges in parenting their children with learning disabilities. The main challenges emanate from financial instability, as

About Big Data and its Challenges and Benefits in Manufacturing

OpenAIRE

Bogdan NEDELCU

2013-01-01

The aim of this article is to show the importance of Big Data and its growing influence on companies. It also shows what kind of big data is currently generated and how much big data is estimated to be generated. We can also see how much are the companies willing to invest in big data and how much are they currently gaining from their big data. There are also shown some major influences that big data has over one major segment in the industry (manufacturing) and the challenges that appear.

US DOE Grand Challenge in Computational Accelerator Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryne, R.; Habib, S.; Qiang, J.; Ko, K.; Li, Z.; McCandless, B.; Mi, W.; Ng, C.; Saparov, M.; Srinivas, V.; Sun, Y.; Zhan, X.; Decyk, V.; Golub, G.

1998-01-01

Particle accelerators are playing an increasingly important role in basic and applied science, and are enabling new accelerator-driven technologies. But the design of next-generation accelerators, such as linear colliders and high intensity linacs, will require a major advance in numerical modeling capability due to extremely stringent beam control and beam loss requirements, and the presence of highly complex three-dimensional accelerator components. To address this situation, the U.S. Department of Energy has approved a ''Grand Challenge'' in Computational Accelerator Physics, whose primary goal is to develop a parallel modeling capability that will enable high performance, large scale simulations for the design, optimization, and numerical validation of next-generation accelerators. In this paper we report on the status of the Grand Challenge

Linguistic and Cultural Challenges in Communication and Translation in US-Sponsored HIV Prevention Research in Emerging Economies.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanrahan, Donna; Sexton, Patrina; Hui, Katrina; Teitcher, Jennifer; Sugarman, Jeremy; London, Alex John; Barnes, Mark; Purpura, James; Klitzman, Robert

2015-01-01

Linguistic and cultural differences can impede comprehension among potential research participants during the informed consent process, but how researchers and IRBs respond to these challenges in practice is unclear. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 researchers, research ethics committee (REC) chairs and members from 8 different countries with emerging economies, involved in HIV-related research sponsored by HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), regarding the ethical and regulatory challenges they face in this regard. In the interviews, problems with translating study materials often arose as major concerns. Four sets of challenges were identified concerning linguistic and cultural translations of informed consent documents and other study materials, related to the: (1) context, (2) process, (3) content and (4) translation of these documents. Host country contextual issues included low literacy rates, education (e.g., documents may need to be written below 5th grade reading level), and experiences with research, and different views of written documentation. Certain terms and concepts may not exist in other languages, or have additional connotations that back translations do not always reveal. Challenges arise because of not only the content of word-for-word, literal translation, but the linguistic form of the language, such as tone (e.g., appropriate forms of politeness vs. legalese, seen as harsh), syntax, manner of questions posed, and the concept of the consent); and the contexts of use affect meaning. Problems also emerged in bilateral communications--US IRBs may misunderstand local practices, or communicate insufficiently the reasons for their decisions to foreign RECs. In sum, these data highlight several challenges that have received little, if any, attention in past literature on translation of informed consent and study materials, and have crucial implications for improving practice, education, research and policy, suggesting several strategies

Linguistic and Cultural Challenges in Communication and Translation in US-Sponsored HIV Prevention Research in Emerging Economies

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Linguistic and cultural differences can impede comprehension among potential research participants during the informed consent process, but how researchers and IRBs respond to these challenges in practice is unclear. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 researchers, research ethics committee (REC) chairs and members from 8 different countries with emerging economies, involved in HIV-related research sponsored by HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN), regarding the ethical and regulatory challenges they face in this regard. In the interviews, problems with translating study materials often arose as major concerns. Four sets of challenges were identified concerning linguistic and cultural translations of informed consent documents and other study materials, related to the: (1) context, (2) process, (3) content and (4) translation of these documents. Host country contextual issues included low literacy rates, education (e.g., documents may need to be written below 5th grade reading level), and experiences with research, and different views of written documentation. Certain terms and concepts may not exist in other languages, or have additional connotations that back translations do not always reveal. Challenges arise because of not only the content of word-for-word, literal translation, but the linguistic form of the language, such as tone (e.g., appropriate forms of politeness vs. legalese, seen as harsh), syntax, manner of questions posed, and the concept of the consent); and the contexts of use affect meaning. Problems also emerged in bilateral communications – US IRBs may misunderstand local practices, or communicate insufficiently the reasons for their decisions to foreign RECs. In sum, these data highlight several challenges that have received little, if any, attention in past literature on translation of informed consent and study materials, and have crucial implications for improving practice, education, research and policy, suggesting several strategies

Linguistic and Cultural Challenges in Communication and Translation in US-Sponsored HIV Prevention Research in Emerging Economies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donna Hanrahan

Full Text Available Linguistic and cultural differences can impede comprehension among potential research participants during the informed consent process, but how researchers and IRBs respond to these challenges in practice is unclear. We conducted in-depth interviews with 15 researchers, research ethics committee (REC chairs and members from 8 different countries with emerging economies, involved in HIV-related research sponsored by HIV Prevention Trials Network (HPTN, regarding the ethical and regulatory challenges they face in this regard. In the interviews, problems with translating study materials often arose as major concerns. Four sets of challenges were identified concerning linguistic and cultural translations of informed consent documents and other study materials, related to the: (1 context, (2 process, (3 content and (4 translation of these documents. Host country contextual issues included low literacy rates, education (e.g., documents may need to be written below 5th grade reading level, and experiences with research, and different views of written documentation. Certain terms and concepts may not exist in other languages, or have additional connotations that back translations do not always reveal. Challenges arise because of not only the content of word-for-word, literal translation, but the linguistic form of the language, such as tone (e.g., appropriate forms of politeness vs. legalese, seen as harsh, syntax, manner of questions posed, and the concept of the consent; and the contexts of use affect meaning. Problems also emerged in bilateral communications--US IRBs may misunderstand local practices, or communicate insufficiently the reasons for their decisions to foreign RECs. In sum, these data highlight several challenges that have received little, if any, attention in past literature on translation of informed consent and study materials, and have crucial implications for improving practice, education, research and policy, suggesting several

Sports broadcasting, journalism and the challenge of new media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten Frandsen

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This article explores the challenge faced by established media organisations integrating digital media in their production. Using a case study of a Danish broadcaster’s use of blogs in their coverage of major sports events, it is argued that the challenge is strategic in a broader sense, as the move to digital platforms is influenced by economic, organisational as well as conceptual parameters for roles. It is argued that in order to understand the potential and challenges of this case, the peculiarities of the role of sports journalists in broadcasting have to be taken into consideration. The case illustrates how their distinctive engagement with their topic and the audience makes some of them more prone to work for pleasure and produce for the digital platform on very unclear conditions, just as it influences the interaction that takes place in the blogs in various ways.

Major KEEP Findings, 1971 - 1975.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamehameha Schools, Honolulu, HI. Kamehameha Early Education Project.

This report lists the 34 major research findings from the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) for the years 1971-1975. Each finding is accompanied by a listing of KEEP technical reports and working papers which contain information relevant to that finding. Included among areas covered in the findings are: (1) student motivation, (2) teacher…

Assessment of the Impact of Oil: Opportunities and Challenges for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

heavy dependence on oil presents challenges to policy makers, partly because oil is an exhaustible ..... In this section we examine the impact of oil on the Sudanese economy. We first start ... balance of payment, FDI and social development in Sudan. Beginning ..... Therefore the major policy implication from our findings is ...

Respiratory challenge MRI: Practical aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiona C. Moreton

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Respiratory challenge MRI is the modification of arterial oxygen (PaO2 and/or carbon dioxide (PaCO2 concentration to induce a change in cerebral function or metabolism which is then measured by MRI. Alterations in arterial gas concentrations can lead to profound changes in cerebral haemodynamics which can be studied using a variety of MRI sequences. Whilst such experiments may provide a wealth of information, conducting them can be complex and challenging. In this paper we review the rationale for respiratory challenge MRI including the effects of oxygen and carbon dioxide on the cerebral circulation. We also discuss the planning, equipment, monitoring and techniques that have been used to undertake these experiments. We finally propose some recommendations in this evolving area for conducting these experiments to enhance data quality and comparison between techniques.

LHC luminosity upgrade detector challenges

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva; de Roeck, Albert; Bortoletto, Daniela; Wigmans, Richard; Riegler, Werner; Smith, Wesley H

2006-01-01

LHC luminosity upgrade: detector challenges The upgrade of the LHC machine towards higher luminosity (1035 cm -2s-1) has been studied over the last few years. These studies have investigated scenarios to achieve the increase in peak luminosity by an order of magnitude, as well as the physics potential of such an upgrade and the impact of a machine upgrade on the LHC DETECTORS. This series of lectures will cover the following topics: • Physics motivation and machine scenarios for an order of magnitude increase in the LHC peak luminosity (lecture 1) • Detector challenges including overview of ideas for R&D programs by the LHC experiments: tracking and calorimetry, other new detector developments (lectures 2-4) • Electronics, trigger and data acquisition challenges (lecture 5) Note: the much more ambitious LHC energy upgrade will not be covered

Big challenges for the Norwegian processessing industries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The emission of greenhouse gases from the Norwegian aluminium industry has been reduced by 50 per cent during the last decade. This is due to the large sums invested by the industry in environmental technology. The article deals with the environmental challenges of the Norwegian processing industry in general, but with an emphasis on energy recovery from waste. It also discusses industrial competitivity; unlike Norway, some of the major competing countries have not committed themselves to the Kyoto agreement

[Restoring vision in blind patients following photoreceptor degeneration: clinical results and future challenges].

Science.gov (United States)

Bendali, Amel; Lorach, Henri; Djilas, Milan; Marre, Olivier; Bensoman, Ryad; Rousseau, Lionel; Lissorgues, Gaëlle; Scorsone, Emmanuel; Bergonzo, Philippe; Garrido, Jose A; Sahel, José Alain; Picaud, Serge

2013-01-01

Retinal prostheses aim at restoring vision in patients blind from photoreceptor degeneration by electrically stimulating the residual retinal tissue. Currently, the most efficient implants are either inserted in the subretinal space or on the vitreal side of the retina (epi-retinal). Although the residual tissue can partly degenerate, it was shown that acute stimulation of residual neurones can induce visual percepts. Recently, a clinical trial with the epiretinal Argus2 device (60 electrodes) from the company 2nd Sight enabled most patients to orient and find light targets, some even reading words. This device has received a CE mark. Surprisingly, when the subretinal implant from the company Retina Implant AG displaying many more electrodes (1500 electrodes) was evaluated in clinical trials, the patient visual performances were fairly similar. The restored visual performances of the patients demonstrate that blind patients can recover some visual function when their residual retina is properly stimulated. However, the resolution is not yet sufficient to perform complex tasks such as autonomous locomotion, face identification or text reading. Several challenges remain to generate an increase in pixel density corresponding to the increase in electrode number and density. These challenges include the stimulation modality, the tissue/implant interface design, the electrode materials, and the visual information encoder. This review will discuss these great challenges after introducing the major clinical results. © Société de Biologie, 2013.

Defining teaching hospitals' GME strategy in response to new financial and market challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Wray, J L; Sadowski, S M

1998-04-01

The authors present an overview of current graduate medical education (GME) issues, particularly the financial challenges to teaching hospitals resulting from the Balanced Budget and Tax Payer Relief Acts of 1997 and other recent market-driven factors. They describe in detail the nature of Medicare GME payments before and after the 1997 legislation, with specific examples, and explain the negative financial impact of the legislation and aspects of the legislation that are designed to alleviate that impact. Other factors influencing GME program size and composition are also discussed, including oversupplies or shortages of physicians, the concern that teaching hospitals are using public funds to train international medical graduates, changing training requirements, etc. The authors also describe a recent consulting assignment during which they assisted a major teaching hospital to develop a GME strategy that was responsive to the organization's mission and patients and that took into account future GME financing challenges. Detailed explanations are given of how the consultants analyzed the hospital's GME programs and finances, developed and ranked key institution-specific program criteria (strategic, organizational and operational, and financial), and, in consultation with all key stakeholders, formulated a GME strategy specific to the institution's needs. The authors conclude by cautioning that each institution's GME strategy will be different, but that it is important for institutions to develop such strategies to better face future challenges.

Cancer prevention and control: alarming challenges in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Bode, Ann M; Dong, Zigang; Wang, Hongyang

2016-03-01

China is geographically the third largest country in the world and the most populated low-to-middle-income country. Cancer incidence and mortality rates for some cancers in the USA and European countries have steadily decreased over the last decades, whereas the incidence and mortality of certain cancers in China have been increasing at an alarming speed. Rapid industrialization and urbanization in China have been accompanied by incredible changes in lifestyle and environment combined with an aging population. Mortality caused by lung, colorectal and breast cancers has been steadily increasing, whereas cancer mortality from gastric, esophageal and cervical tumors has tended to decrease. Similar to what has occurred in the United States, unhealthy lifestyles in China, including heavy smoking and poor diet combined with pollution, have contributed to increased cancer risk. China is facing many challenges in cancer treatment and prevention for the general population. The major areas that need to be addressed in the control of cancer in China include cancers associated with environmental pollution, tobacco use, occupational carcinogens, infection, excessive alcohol consumption, dietary deficiencies and obesity. In this perspective, we review the problems in each area and suggest ideas for future directions in cancer research and strategies and actions to reduce the incidence of cancer in China.

Dietary Supplements: Regulatory Challenges and Research Resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Dwyer, Johanna T; Coates, Paul M; Smith, Michael J

2018-01-04

Many of the scientific and regulatory challenges that exist in research on the safety, quality and efficacy of dietary supplements are common to all countries as the marketplace for them becomes increasingly global. This article summarizes some of the challenges in supplement science and provides a case study of research at the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health, USA, along with some resources it has developed that are available to all scientists. It includes examples of some of the regulatory challenges faced and some resources for those who wish to learn more about them.

The unknown on the doorstep: Hong Kong's fears concerning Daya Bay, China's first major nuclear power station and the public relations challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chan, Albert [Hong Kong Nuclear Investment Co Ltd., Hongkong (China)

1995-07-01

The Guangdong Nuclear Power Station at Daya Bay is located east of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Southern China. It is a joint venture between Hong Kong and China. In terms of construction schedule, budget and performance, Daya Bay ranks amongst the best plants anywhere. This achievement is even more apparent when one takes into account the fact that Daya Bay is the first major nuclear power station in China and that a large amount of interface and co-ordination is required to bring together French and British technologies in a non-English speaking environment. This Paper addresses the various and challenging public relations issues faced by Daya Bay during the last 15 years (from feasibility study stage). The negotiation for the Daya Bay nuclear power station project coincided with the political negotiations between China and Britain over the future of Hong Kong - the 1997 issue. (The political negotiations commenced in September 1982 and concluded in late 1984). Concerns over the nuclear project were heard during this phase but were limited to local environmental groups rather than the general public. The focus was more on the environmental and radiological impact of a nuclear power station than specific technical and safety issues. As for the general public, the project wasn't much of an issue until April, 1986 (Chernobyl accident). Period from 1986-1993 was the period of construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station. An antinuclear campaign was launched by a few local activists who claimed to have collected signatures from one million people in Hong Kong urging the Chinese Government to shelve the project. The Hong Kong public did not understand the difference between Chernobyl type and PWR-type nuclear reactors (Daya Bay is a PWR) nor were they aware that even in the case of Chernobyl, only residents within 30 km needed to be evacuated. These rational arguments and facts could not compete with the horror stories and news photos appearing in the

The unknown on the doorstep: Hong Kong's fears concerning Daya Bay, China's first major nuclear power station and the public relations challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, Albert

1995-01-01

The Guangdong Nuclear Power Station at Daya Bay is located east of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Southern China. It is a joint venture between Hong Kong and China. In terms of construction schedule, budget and performance, Daya Bay ranks amongst the best plants anywhere. This achievement is even more apparent when one takes into account the fact that Daya Bay is the first major nuclear power station in China and that a large amount of interface and co-ordination is required to bring together French and British technologies in a non-English speaking environment. This Paper addresses the various and challenging public relations issues faced by Daya Bay during the last 15 years (from feasibility study stage). The negotiation for the Daya Bay nuclear power station project coincided with the political negotiations between China and Britain over the future of Hong Kong - the 1997 issue. (The political negotiations commenced in September 1982 and concluded in late 1984). Concerns over the nuclear project were heard during this phase but were limited to local environmental groups rather than the general public. The focus was more on the environmental and radiological impact of a nuclear power station than specific technical and safety issues. As for the general public, the project wasn't much of an issue until April, 1986 (Chernobyl accident). Period from 1986-1993 was the period of construction of the Daya Bay nuclear power station. An antinuclear campaign was launched by a few local activists who claimed to have collected signatures from one million people in Hong Kong urging the Chinese Government to shelve the project. The Hong Kong public did not understand the difference between Chernobyl type and PWR-type nuclear reactors (Daya Bay is a PWR) nor were they aware that even in the case of Chernobyl, only residents within 30 km needed to be evacuated. These rational arguments and facts could not compete with the horror stories and news photos appearing in the

The challenges of theatre workshop in Katsina-Ala and Oju Colleges ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper recommends more funding by the College management for Theatre Arts Department, motivation of theatre Lecturers handling theatre workshop and making Theatre Arts a double major course among others to avert these challenges. Keywords: Theatre, theatre workshop, college of education, training and ...

[Challenges of Digital Medicine].

Science.gov (United States)

Blaser, Jürg

2018-06-01

Challenges of Digital Medicine Abstract. Digitization is increasingly covering more and more sectors, including medicine. To ensure medical operation 365 × 24 hours, progressively more human and financial resources are necessary. The transformation of patient histories from paper into electronic patient records focused initially on documentation. Today, hospital information systems are increasingly used as a platform for the communication of all professionals involved in the patient process - in Switzerland, however, so far without providing patients direct access to their data. Digititizing processes intend to increase efficiency, but also to enhance clinical and administrative decision support and quality assurance. The introduction of the electronic patient record in Switzerland in 2020 is expected to provide cross-company, more complete documentation of patient care. Multimorbid patients, often treated in different institutions and by different specialists, should benefit from this in particular. Advances in artificial intelligence offer new opportunities in medicine. Challenges include ensuring reliable data protection, and better interoperability of the systems involved. Semantically structured, machine-readable data exchange is a necessity for both networked services and internationally competitive research.

Session Introduction: Challenges of Pattern Recognition in Biomedical Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Shefali Setia; Verma, Anurag; Basile, Anna Okula; Bishop, Marta-Byrska; Darabos, Christian

2018-01-01

The analysis of large biomedical data often presents with various challenges related to not just the size of the data, but also to data quality issues such as heterogeneity, multidimensionality, noisiness, and incompleteness of the data. The data-intensive nature of computational genomics problems in biomedical informatics warrants the development and use of massive computer infrastructure and advanced software tools and platforms, including but not limited to the use of cloud computing. Our session aims to address these challenges in handling big data for designing a study, performing analysis, and interpreting outcomes of these analyses. These challenges have been prevalent in many studies including those which focus on the identification of novel genetic variant-phenotype associations using data from sources like Electronic Health Records (EHRs) or multi-omic data. One of the biggest challenges to focus on is the imperfect nature of the biomedical data where a lot of noise and sparseness is observed. In our session, we will present research articles that can help in identifying innovative ways to recognize and overcome newly arising challenges associated with pattern recognition in biomedical data.

Nuclear fission and nuclear safeguards: Common technologies and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keepin, G.R.

1989-01-01

Nuclear fission and nuclear safeguards have much in common, including the basic physical phenomena and technologies involved as well as the commitments and challenges posed by expanding nuclear programs in many countries around the world. The unique characteristics of the fission process -- such as prompt and delayed neutron and gamma ray emission -- not only provide the means of sustaining and controlling the fission chain reaction, but also provide unique ''signatures'' that are essential to quantitative measurement and effective safeguarding of key nuclear materials (notably 239 Pu and 235 U) against theft, loss, or diversion. In this paper, we trace briefly the historical emergence of safeguards as an essential component of the expansion of the nuclear enterprise worldwide. We then survey the major categories of passive and active nondestructive assay techniques that are currently in use or under development for rapid, accurate measurement and verification of safe-guarded nuclear materials in the many forms in which they occur throughout the nuclear fuel cycle. 23 refs., 14 figs

Operation for LHC Cryomagnet Tests Concerns, Challenges & Successful Collaboration

CERN Document Server

Chohan, V

2007-01-01

The LHC construction phase is coming to a close, with installation work progressing rapidly and beam start-up foreseen by end 2007. For the testing of the 1706 LHC cryomagnets in cryogenic conditions and its successful completion by early 2007, considerable challenges had to be overcome since 2002 to assure certain semi-routine tests operation at CERN. In particular, the majority of staff for tests and measurement purposes was provided by India on a rotating, one-year-stay basis, as part of the CERN-India Collaboration for LHC. This was complemented by some CERN accelerator Operation staff. While only 95 dipoles were tested till 2003, the efforts and innovative ideas coming from the Operation team contributed significantly to the completion of tests of nearly all 1706 magnets by end-2006. These included the improvements and management of the tests work flow as well as the test rates. Amongst these, certain pivotal ideas to stream-line the tests methodology as proposed and implemented successfully by the India...

Opportunities and challenges working in the former Soviet Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gueritte, C.

1992-01-01

The recent opening up of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to foreign companies has provided oil and gas companies with the opportunity to enter into business relationships with CIS partners to develop that region's vast hydrocarbon resources. The CIS is experiencing a decline in production due to major declines in output from the giant oil fields, lack of equipment and technology, limited exploration investment, environmental problems, inadequate pricing structures, and social instability. Gas production, although rising up to the end of 1990, is threatened by emergence of technological problems in maintaining productivity of the main gas fields. The challenges for carrying out business in the CIS are outlined, including technical aspects, business mentality, economic approach, political organization, legal and fiscal stability, and financing. Experiences in operating in the CIS are illustrated from the viewpoint of the French company Total Exploration and Production, which is engaged in enhanced recovery operations and development of fields in joint ventures. 5 figs., 2 tabs

Performance profiles of major energy producers 1994

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-02-01

Performance Profiles of Major Energy Producers 1994 is the eighteenth annual report of the Energy Information Administration`s (EIA) Financial Reporting System (FRS). The report examines financial and operating developments in energy markets, with particular reference to the 24 major U.S. energy companies required to report annually on Form EIA-28. Financial information is reported by major lines of business, including oil and gas production, petroleum refining and marketing, other energy operations, and nonenergy businesses. Financial and operating results are presented in the context of energy market developments with a view toward identifying changing corporate strategies and measuring the performance of ongoing operations both in the United States and abroad.

Cultural Competence in Alberta Schools: Perceptions of ESL Families in Four Major School Boards

Science.gov (United States)

Ngo, Hieu V.

2012-01-01

Complex linguistic, acculturative, and social needs of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners challenge the K-12 education system to develop cultural competence in working with culturally diverse families. This study surveyed 242 self-identified ESL students and their parents from four of Alberta's major school boards. Results of the survey…

Building Scaffolds in the Field: The Benefits and Challenges of Teacher Candidate Peer Mentorship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arlene Grierson

2011-05-01

Full Text Available This paper details the perspectives of teacher candidates who participated in a paired practicum peer mentorship program. A total of 227 dyads of novice first year and mentor second or third year concurrent education students took part in a program that was developed with the intent of providing scaffolding through opportunities to engage in reciprocal learning. Of the 454 potential study participants, 166 elected to complete anonymous electronic post-program surveys documenting their perceptions of the benefits and challenges of this field experience model. Findings indicated that the majority perceived the practicum peer mentorship program to provide increased support through reciprocal learning and collegial collaboration, which enhanced their confidence and professional growth. Challenges included adjusting to the paradigm shift of paired practicum experiences, which necessitates deviating from perceptions of teaching as independent practice and developing contextual supports in collaboration with school board partners. The findings and implications may provide direction for teacher educators seeking to implement paired practicum experiences in attempts to scaffold candidates’ growth and promote their enculturation into collaborative communities of professional practice.

Successes and Challenges of HIV Mentoring in Malawi: The Mentee Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Emily; Phiri, Khumbo; Schooley, Alan; Chivwala, Mackenzie; Hamilton, John; Hoffman, Risa M

2016-01-01

HIV clinical mentoring has been utilized for capacity building in Africa, but few formal program evaluations have explored mentee perspectives on these programs. EQUIP is a PEPFAR-USAID funded program in Malawi that has been providing HIV mentoring on clinical and health systems since 2010. We sought to understand the successes and challenges of EQUIP's mentorship program. From June-September 2014 we performed semi-structured, in-depth interviews with EQUIP mentees who had received mentoring for ≥ 1 year. Interview questions focused on program successes and challenges and were performed in English, audio recorded, coded, and analyzed using inductive content analysis with ATLAS.ti v7. Fifty-two mentees from 32 health centers were interviewed. The majority of mentees were 18-40 years old (79%, N = 41), 69% (N = 36) were male, 50% (N = 26) were nurses, 29% (N = 15) medical assistants, and 21% (N = 11) clinical officers. All mentees felt that EQUIP mentorship was successful (100%, N = 52). The most common benefit reported was an increase in clinical knowledge allowing for initiation of antiretroviral therapy (33%, N = 17). One-third of mentees (N = 17) reported increased clinic efficiency and improved systems for patient care due to EQUIP's systems mentoring including documentation, supply chain and support for minor construction at clinics. The most common challenge (52%, N = 27) was understaffing at facilities, with mentees having multiple responsibilities during mentorship visits resulting in impaired ability to focus on learning. Mentees also reported that medication stock-outs (42%, N = 22) created challenges for the mentoring process. EQUIP's systems-based mentorship and infrastructure improvements allowed for an optimized environment for clinical training. Shortages of health workers at sites pose a challenge for mentoring programs because mentees are pulled from learning experiences to perform non-HIV-related clinic duties. Evaluations of existing mentoring

A review of neem biopesticide utilization and challenges in Central ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The status of neem biopesticide research, utilization and challenges in the central part of northern Nigeria was reviewed. In the sampled areas such as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and Niger State, the highest category of neem users (17.19%) were the rural farmers. Majority of the neem users obtained their ...

Global surgery for pediatric hydrocephalus in the developing world: a review of the history, challenges, and future directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Muir, Ryan T; Wang, Shelly; Warf, Benjamin C

2016-11-01

OBJECTIVE Pediatric hydrocephalus is one of the most common neurosurgical conditions and is a major contributor to the global burden of surgically treatable diseases. Significant health disparities exist for the treatment of hydrocephalus in developing nations due to a combination of medical, environmental, and socioeconomic factors. This review aims to provide the international neurosurgery community with an overview of the current challenges and future directions of neurosurgical care for children with hydrocephalus in low-income countries. METHODS The authors conducted a literature review around the topic of pediatric hydrocephalus in the context of global surgery, the unique challenges to creating access to care in low-income countries, and current international efforts to address the problem. RESULTS Developing countries face the greatest burden of pediatric hydrocephalus due to high birth rates and greater risk of neonatal infections. This burden is related to more general global health challenges, including malnutrition, infectious diseases, maternal and perinatal risk factors, and education gaps. Unique challenges pertaining to the treatment of hydrocephalus in the developing world include a preponderance of postinfectious hydrocephalus, limited resources, and restricted access to neurosurgical care. In the 21st century, several organizations have established programs that provide hydrocephalus treatment and neurosurgical training in Africa, Central and South America, Haiti, and Southeast Asia. These international efforts have employed various models to achieve the goals of providing safe, sustainable, and cost-effective treatment. CONCLUSIONS Broader commitment from the pediatric neurosurgery community, increased funding, public education, surgeon training, and ongoing surgical innovation will be needed to meaningfully address the global burden of untreated hydrocephalus.

Environmental radiation protection-future challenges with regard to science and decision-making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsson, C. M.

2004-01-01

With Publication 91 on the impact of ionizing radiation on non-human species, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has taken a major step towards the integration of environmental issues into radiological protection. The conceptual framework has developed in response to public demand and concern for environmental issues, and is underpinned by technical development undertaken by several organisations at both national and international levels. The EC-funded FASSET project (Framework for Assessment of Environmental Impact), completed in 2004, has developed an assessment framework that includes: source characterisation and initial hazard analysis; ecosystem description and selection of reference organisms; exposure analysis including conversion to dose rates; effects analysis; and, guidance for interpretation. On the basis of experience from FASSET and other recent developments, it can be concluded that (i) there is substantial agreement in terms of conceptual approaches between different frameworks currently in use being or proposed, and that (ii) differences in technical approaches can be largely attributed to differences in ecosystems of concern or in national regulatory requirements. A major future challenge is the development of an integrated approach where decision-making can be guided by sound scientific judgements. This requires, inter alia: filling gaps in basic knowledge of relevance to assessment and protection, through targeted experimental, theoretical (including expert judgements) and real case studies; development of risk characterisation methodologies; development of screening standards, where appropriate; development of user-friendly assessment tools; and, stakeholder involvement, including the development of supporting communication strategies. These issues will be addressed in the ERICA project (Environmental Risks from Ionizing Contaminants Assessment and Management) launched under the EC 6th Framework Programme during the

Workshop and conference on Grand Challenges applications and software technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1993-12-31

On May 4--7, 1993, nine federal agencies sponsored a four-day meeting on Grand Challenge applications and software technology. The objective was to bring High-Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) Grand Challenge applications research groups supported under the federal HPCC program together with HPCC software technologists to: discuss multidisciplinary computational science research issues and approaches, identify major technology challenges facing users and providers, and refine software technology requirements for Grand Challenge applications research. The first day and a half focused on applications. Presentations were given by speakers from universities, national laboratories, and government agencies actively involved in Grand Challenge research. Five areas of research were covered: environmental and earth sciences; computational physics; computational biology, chemistry, and materials sciences; computational fluid and plasma dynamics; and applications of artificial intelligence. The next day and a half was spent in working groups in which the applications researchers were joined by software technologists. Nine breakout sessions took place: I/0, Data, and File Systems; Parallel Programming Paradigms; Performance Characterization and Evaluation of Massively Parallel Processing Applications; Program Development Tools; Building Multidisciplinary Applications; Algorithm and Libraries I; Algorithms and Libraries II; Graphics and Visualization; and National HPCC Infrastructure.

Challenges of Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicles In Civil Application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eid, B M; Albatsh, F; Faris, W F; Chebil, J

2013-01-01

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has evolved rapidly over the past decade. There have been an increased number of studies aiming at improving UAV and in its use for different civil applications. This paper highlights the fundamentals of UAV system and examines the challenges related with the major components such as motors, drives, power systems, communication systems and image processing tools and equipment

Emerging bio-ethanol projects in Nigeria. Their opportunities and challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohimain, Elijah I.

2010-01-01

Despite being a major petroleum producing and exporting country, Nigeria has for a long time imported refined petroleum products for domestic consumption. The country has recently made an entrance into the bio-energy sector by seeding the market with imported ethanol until enough capability exists for the domestic production of ethanol. The Nigerian Biofuel Policy was released in 2007 calling for the domestic production of bio-ethanol to meet the national demand of 5.14 billion litres/year. Some investors have responded by investing over $3.86 billion for the construction of 19 ethanol bio-refineries, 10,000 units of mini-refineries and feedstock plantations for the production of over 2.66 billion litres of fuel grade ethanol per annum. Also, another 14 new projects are in the offing. Of the 20 pioneer projects, 4 are at the conception phase, 8 are in the planning phase, and 7 are under construction with only 1 operational. The potential benefits of the emerging bio-ethanol projects include investment in the economy, employment, energy security and boost rural infrastructure, while the major challenge is land take (859,561 ha). This is the first time an attempt is been made to document the emerging bio-ethanol projects in Nigeria. (author)

Energy challenges in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niquet, V.

2007-01-01

Energy challenges represent one of the most important security paradigms in the Asia Pacific region where you have a mixture of growing energy dependency, fuelled by high economic growth, the emergence of new major players like China and India, and a quasi-complete absence of regional regulatory mechanisms to tackle the challenges in a multilateral way. These challenges mostly concern Japan and China, where crucial energy issues are aggravated by power rivalry, historical and ideological issues, and a lack of both economic and political harmony between them. Neither countries are self sufficient in terms of energy needs. This can lead to a shared analysis and common approaches regarding Japan and China concerning this issue. Their cases are. however very different and the solutions applied are related to different world views that are not easily reconcilable. Both countries share common objectives: both want security and stable supply. But there are also big divergences and these divergences could be new sources of conflict and misunderstanding between Tokyo and Beijing. One of the main differences is history related. Both China and Japan are uneasy regarding outside energy dependency. In Japan, memories of the pre-war oil embargo have not disappeared. The oil shocks of the 70's renewed this uneasiness. However, Japan's outside dependency is not new. Tokyo has learned to live with it, finding a system to alleviate this vulnerability in cooperation with its partners, multilateral institutions like the International Energy Agency (IEA). China's outside dependency is new. The country's dependency on oil, which began in 1993, is particularly challenging since the principles of independence, non interference and military autonomy, principles at the core of Maoist foreign strategy, did not completely disappear in spite of China's new policy of reform and opening up. China's leadership, even the fourth generation, did not forget its isolation during the 60's and 70's

Preventing and managing challenging behaviour.