Modeling the Sliding/Falling Ladder Paradox

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, William P.; Fox, James B.

2003-01-01

Recently we were presented with an interesting twist to the sliding ladder problem viewed in the related rates section of most calculus textbooks. Our problem concerning a sliding ladder that eventually hits the ground. At first, those attempting this problem fell into the calculus trap using only related rates. Previous work for this problem…

5 CFR 335.104 - Eligibility for career ladder promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Eligibility for career ladder promotion... REGULATIONS PROMOTION AND INTERNAL PLACEMENT General Provisions § 335.104 Eligibility for career ladder promotion. No employee shall receive a career ladder promotion unless his or her current rating of record...

Doped spin ladders under magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roux, G.

2007-07-01

This thesis deals with the physics of doped two-leg ladders which are a quasi one-dimensional and unconventional superconductor. We particularly focus on the properties under magnetic field. Models for strongly correlated electrons on ladders are studied using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG). Results are also enlightened by using the bosonization technique. Taking into account a ring exchange it highlights the relation between the pairing of holes and the spin gap. Its influence on the dynamics of the magnetic fluctuations is also tackled. Afterwards, these excitations are probed by the magnetic field by coupling it to the spin degree of freedom of the electrons through Zeeman effect. We show the existence of doping-dependent magnetization plateaus and also the presence of an inhomogeneous superconducting phase (FFLO phase) associated with an exceeding of the Pauli limit. When a flux passes through the ladder, the magnetic field couples to the charge degree of freedom of the electrons via orbital effect. The diamagnetic response of the doped ladder probes the commensurate phases of the t-J model at low J/t. Algebraic transverse current fluctuations are also found once the field is turned on. Lastly, we report numerical evidences of a molecular superfluid phase in the 3/2-spin attractive Hubbard model: at a density low enough, bound states of four fermions, called quartets, acquire dominant superfluid fluctuations. The observed competition between the superfluid and density fluctuations is connected to the physics of doped ladders. (author)

The Static Ladder Problem with Two Sources of Friction

Science.gov (United States)

Bennett, Jonathan; Mauney, Alex

2011-01-01

The problem of a ladder leaning against a wall in static equilibrium is a classic example encountered in introductory mechanics texts. Most discussions of this problem assume that the static frictional force between the ladder and wall can be ignored. A few authors consider the case where the static friction coefficients between ladder/wall…

Superconductivity in doped two-leg ladder cuprates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qin Jihong; Yuan Feng; Feng Shiping

2006-01-01

Within the t-J ladder model, superconductivity with a modified d-wave symmetry in doped two-leg ladder cuprates is investigated based on the kinetic energy driven superconducting mechanism. It is shown that the spin-liquid ground-state at the half-filling evolves into the superconducting ground-state upon doping. In analogy to the doping dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in the planar cuprate superconductors, the superconducting transition temperature in doped two-leg ladder cuprates increases with increasing doping in the underdoped regime, and reaches a maximum in the optimal doping, then decreases in the overdoped regime

Quantifying Ladder Fuels: A New Approach Using LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Heather Kramer; Brandon Collins; Maggi Kelly; Scott Stephens

2014-01-01

We investigated the relationship between LiDAR and ladder fuels in the northern Sierra Nevada, California USA. Ladder fuels are often targeted in hazardous fuel reduction treatments due to their role in propagating fire from the forest floor to tree crowns. Despite their importance, ladder fuels are difficult to quantify. One common approach is to calculate canopy base...

Selectivity of fish ladders: a bottleneck in Neotropical fish movement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos Sérgio Agostinho

Full Text Available Although dozens of fish ladders have been constructed at dams of Brazilian reservoirs, there are few studies evaluating their efficiency as a tool for the conservation of Neotropical ichthyofauna, especially for migratory species. Therefore, the present study evaluated the selectivity of the species that entered and ascended the fish ladder located next to Lajeado Dam (Luis Eduardo Magalhães Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Tocantins River. Samples were taken monthly from November, 2002 through October, 2003, in the resting pools of the ladder, using cast nets, and in the downstream stretch, using gillnets. The selectivity of the ladder in attracting fish was evaluated by comparing the occurrence, relative abundance, dominance and the congruence of abundance ranks of migratory and non-migratory species in the ladder and in the stretch of river immediately downstream. Species richness and fish abundance in the resting pools were used to evaluate selectivity along the ladder. The effects on selectivity by temporal variations in water level downriver and maximum flow velocity in the fish ladder were also analyzed. Out of the 130 species recorded downriver, 62.3% were caught in the ladder, and migratory species were clearly favored. However, more than 2/3 of the catch belonged to only three species (Rhaphiodon vulpinus, Psectrogaster amazonica and Oxydoras niger. Although the majority of the species that entered the ladder were able to reach its top, there was a sharp reduction in abundance of individuals towards the top. Temporal variations in the water level below the dam influenced richness and abundance of fish concentrated downstream and in the ladder, with lower values during periods of low water. In the ladder, a maximum flow velocity of 2.3 m/s, although also selective, proved to be more appropriate for fish ascension than a velocity of 2.8 m/s. It was concluded that the entry and ascension of the fish in the ladder were not congruent with

The snakes and ladders of FM service excellence

OpenAIRE

Price, Ilfryn; Mccarroll, Patricia

2015-01-01

A report to accompany a workshop and gamification event at EFMC 2015 in Glasgow.\\ud \\ud Snakes and Ladders is an ancient Indian board game regarded today as a worldwide classic. The historic version had its root in morality lessons, where a player's progression up the board represented a life journey complicated by virtues (ladders) and vices (snakes). Our version brings back the morality element by associating each ladder and snake with enablers or barriers to service excellence in FM all id...

Baryons and ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ball, R.D.

1990-01-01

By formal manipulation of the QCD functional integral we arrive at a relativistic low energy effective theory of non-local color singlet mesons and baryons, which at tree level sums up ladders of effective glue exchange between constituent quarks. (orig.)

29 CFR 1910.25 - Portable wood ladders.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... for the construction, care, and use of the common types of portable wood ladders, in order to insure... density wood shall not be used. (ii) [Reserved] (2) [Reserved] (c) Construction requirements. (1... 29 Labor 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Portable wood ladders. 1910.25 Section 1910.25 Labor...

Understanding the Behaviour of Infinite Ladder Circuits

Science.gov (United States)

Ucak, C.; Yegin, K.

2008-01-01

Infinite ladder circuits are often encountered in undergraduate electrical engineering and physics curricula when dealing with series and parallel combination of impedances, as a part of filter design or wave propagation on transmission lines. The input impedance of such infinite ladder circuits is derived by assuming that the input impedance does…

Gluing Ladder Feynman Diagrams into Fishnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basso, Benjamin; Dixon, Lance J.; Stanford University, CA; University of California, Santa Barbara, CA

2017-01-01

We use integrability at weak coupling to compute fishnet diagrams for four-point correlation functions in planar Φ "4 theory. Our results are always multilinear combinations of ladder integrals, which are in turn built out of classical polylogarithms. The Steinmann relations provide a powerful constraint on such linear combinations, which leads to a natural conjecture for any fishnet diagram as the determinant of a matrix of ladder integrals.

Modification of the Ladder Rung Walking Task—New Options for Analysis of Skilled Movements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iwa Antonow-Schlorke

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Method sensitivity is critical for evaluation of poststroke motor function. Skilled walking was assessed in horizontal, upward, and downward rung ladder walking to compare the demands of the tasks and test sensitivity. The complete step sequence of a walk was subjected to analysis aimed at demonstrating the walking pattern, step sequence, step cycle, limb coordination, and limb interaction to complement the foot fault scoring system. Rats (males, n=10 underwent unilateral photothrombotic lesion of the motor cortex of the forelimb and hind limb areas. Locomotion was video recorded before the insult and at postischemic days 7 and 28. Analysis of walking was performed frame-by-frame. Walking along the rung ladder revealed different results that were dependent on ladder inclination. Horizontal walking was found to discriminate lesion-related motor deficits in forelimb, whereas downward walking demonstrates hind limb use most sensitively. A more frequent use of the impaired forelimb that possibly supported poststroke motor learning in rats was shown. The present study provides a novel system for a detailed analysis of the complete walking sequence and will help to provide a better understanding of how rats deal with motor impairments.

Fish ladders: safe fish passage or hotspot for predation?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Antonio Agostinho

Full Text Available Fish ladders are a strategy for conserving biodiversity, as they can provide connectivity between fragmented habitats and reduce predation on shoals that accumulate immediately below dams. Although the impact of predation downstream of reservoirs has been investigated, especially in juvenile salmonids during their downstream movements, nothing is known about predation on Neotropical fish in the attraction and containment areas commonly found in translocation facilities. This study analysed predation in a fish passage system at the Lajeado Dam on the Tocantins River in Brazil. The abundance, distribution, and the permanence (time spent of large predatory fish along the ladder, the injuries imposed by piranhas during passage and the presence of other vertebrate predators were investigated. From December 2002 to October 2003, sampling was conducted in four regions (downstream, along the ladder, in the forebay, and upstream of the reservoir using gillnets, cast nets and counts or visual observations. The captured fish were tagged with thread and beads, and any mutilations were registered. Fish, birds and dolphins were the main predator groups observed, with a predominance of the first two groups. The entrance to the ladder, in the downstream region, was the area with the highest number of large predators and was the only region with relevant non-fish vertebrates. The main predatory fish species were Rhaphiodon vulpinus, Hydrolycus armatus, and Serrasalmus rhombeus. Tagged individuals were detected predating along the ladder for up to 90 days. Mutilations caused by Serrasalmus attacks were noted in 36% of species and 4% of individuals at the top of the ladder. Our results suggested that the high density of fish in the restricted ladder environment, which is associated with injuries suffered along the ladder course and the presence of multiple predator groups with different predation strategies, transformed the fish corridor into a hotspot for

A balanced intervention ladder: promoting autonomy through public health action.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffiths, P E; West, C

2015-08-01

The widely cited Nuffield Council on Bioethics 'Intervention Ladder' structurally embodies the assumption that personal autonomy is maximized by non-intervention. Consequently, the Intervention Ladder encourages an extreme 'negative liberty' view of autonomy. Yet there are several alternative accounts of autonomy that are both arguably superior as accounts of autonomy and better suited to the issues facing public health ethics. We propose to replace the one-sided ladder, which has any intervention coming at a cost to autonomy, with a two-sided 'Balanced Intervention Ladder,' where intervention can either enhance or diminish autonomy. We show that not only the alternative, richer accounts of autonomy but even Mill's classic version of negative liberty puts some interventions on the positive side of the ladder. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Boat boarding ladder placement

Science.gov (United States)

1998-04-01

Presented in three volumes; 'Boat Boarding Ladder Placement,' which explores safety considerations including potential for human contact with a rotating propeller; 'Boat Handhold Placement,' which explores essential principles and methods of fall con...

Designing and Implementing Performance-Based Career Ladder Plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

1985-01-01

Reviews the factors that any teacher motivation plan must incorporate to be effective and outlines 11 principles that should be followed in designing career ladder plans to meet teacher needs, increase teacher competence, and facilitate effective instruction. Warns against potential pitfalls in career ladder plans. (PGD)

Measuring a Country's Product Ladder and Technology Level based on Trade Flow

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jong-il Kim

2006-06-01

Full Text Available This study tries to quantify the technology level of products based on the concept of product ladder. While many studies on country technology competitiveness use the aggregate indices such as total factor productivity and revealed comparative advantage, this study estimates the ranking of about 2000 products in product ladder by using SITC 5 digit level export data. Based on the product ladder, this study measures the country and industry ranking and explores the characteristics of the ranking. It provides the international comparison of inter-industry and intra-industry ranking differences in product ladder. The statistical relationships between the ranking in product ladder and the determinants of technology level such as R&D and physical capital investment and wage, confirms that the measured ranking in product ladder could be regarded as an indirect indicator of technology level. The product ladder is applied to the estimation of production function to see the effect of the product differentiation on labor productivity.

Dipoles on a Two-leg Ladder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelmark, Søren; Zinner, Nikolaj Thomas

2013-01-01

We study polar molecules with long-range dipole-dipole interactions confined to move on a two-leg ladder for different orientations of the molecular dipole moments with respect to the ladder. Matrix product states are employed to calculate the many-body ground state of the system as function...... that there is a critical angle at which ordering disappears. This angle is slightly larger than the angle at which the dipoles are non-interacting along a single leg. This behavior should be observable using current experimental techniques....

PT-symmetric ladders with a scattering core

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D' Ambroise, J. [Department of Mathematics, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002-5000 (United States); Lepri, S. [CNR – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto dei Sistemi Complessi, via Madonna del piano 10, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Firenze, via G. Sansone 1, I-50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Italy); Malomed, B.A. [Department of Physical Electronics, School of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel); Kevrekidis, P.G. [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003-9305 (United States)

2014-08-01

We consider a PT-symmetric chain (ladder-shaped) system governed by the discrete nonlinear Schrödinger equation where the cubic nonlinearity is carried solely by two central “rungs” of the ladder. Two branches of scattering solutions for incident plane waves are found. We systematically construct these solutions, analyze their stability, and discuss non-reciprocity of the transmission associated with them. To relate the results to finite-size wavepacket dynamics, we also perform direct simulations of the evolution of the wavepackets, which confirm that the transmission is indeed asymmetric in this nonlinear system with the mutually balanced gain and loss. - Highlights: • We model a PT-symmetric ladder system with cubic nonlinearity on two central rungs. • We examine non-reciprocity and stability of incident plane waves. • Simulations of wavepackets confirm our results.

Development of ultra-light pixelated ladders for an ILC vertex detector

CERN Document Server

Chon-Sen, N.; Claus, G.; De Masi, R.; Deveaux, M.; Dulinski, W.; Goffe, M.; Goldstein, J.; Gregor, I.-M.; Hu-Guo, Ch.; Imhoff, M.; Muntz, C.; Nomerotski, A.; Santos, C.; Schrader, C.; Specht, M.; Stroth, J.; Winter, M.

2010-01-01

The development of ultra-light pixelated ladders is motivated by the requirements of the ILD vertex detector at ILC. This paper summarizes three projects related to system integration. The PLUME project tackles the issue of assembling double-sided ladders. The SERWIETE project deals with a more innovative concept and consists in making single-sided unsupported ladders embedded in an extra thin plastic enveloppe. AIDA, the last project, aims at building a framework reproducing the experimental running conditions where sets of ladders could be tested.

The latrine ownership ladder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Obeng, Peter Appiah; Keraita, Bernard; Oduro-Kwarteng, Sampson

2015-01-01

the challenges that undermine sanitation uptake in low-income peri-urban areas and the prospects of various levels of facility sharing as conceived in the latrine ownership ladder approach. Findings – The authors argue that the infrastructural and other socio-economic challenges of low-income peri-urban areas...... to the promotion of household latrines. The paper identifies provision of special concessions for peri-urban areas in policy formulation, education and technical support to households, regulation and enforcement of sanitation by-laws among complimentary policy interventions to make the latrine ownership ladder...... approach more effective. Originality/value – The paper provides an insight into the debate on redefining improved sanitation in the post-2015 era of the Millennium Development Goals and offers policy alternatives to policy makers in low-income countries seeking to accelerate the uptake of improved latrines...

Role of Structural Asymmetry in Controlling Drop Spacing in Microfluidic Ladder Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, William; Maddala, Jeevan; Vanapalli, Siva; Rengasamy, Raghunathan

2012-02-01

Manipulation of drop spacing is crucial to many processes in microfluidic devices including drop coalescence, detection and storage. Microfluidic ladder networks ---where two droplet-carrying parallel channels are connected by narrow bypass channels through which the motion of drops is forbidden---have been proposed as a means to control relative separation between pairs of drops. Prior studies in microfluidic ladder networks with vertical bypasses, which possess fore-aft structural symmetry, have revealed that pairs of drops can only undergo reduction in drop spacing at the ladder exit. We investigate the dynamics of drops in microfluidic ladder networks with both vertical and slanted bypasses. Our analytical results indicate that unlike symmetric ladder networks, structural asymmetry introduced by a single slanted bypass can be used to modulate the relative spacing between drops, enabling them to contract, synchronize, expand or even flip at the ladder exit. Our experiments confirm all the behaviors predicted by theory. Numerical analysis further shows that ladders containing several identical bypasses can only linearly transform the input drop spacing. Finally, we find that ladders with specific combinations of vertical and slanted bypasses can generate non-linear transformation of input drop spacing, despite the absence of drop decision-making events at the bypass junctions.

Towards automatic verification of ladder logic programs

OpenAIRE

Zoubek , Bohumir; Roussel , Jean-Marc; Kwiatkowska , Martha

2003-01-01

International audience; Control system programs are usually validated by testing prior to their deployment. Unfortunately, testing is not exhaustive and therefore it is possible that a program which passed all the required tests still contains errors. In this paper we apply techniques of automatic verification to a control program written in ladder logic. A model is constructed mechanically from the ladder logic program and subjected to automatic verification against requirements that include...

The massless supersymmetric ladder with L rungs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossi, G.C.; Stanev, Ya.S.

2009-01-01

We show that in the massless N=1 supersymmetric Wess-Zumino theory it is possible to devise a computational strategy by which the x-space calculation of the ladder 4-point correlators can be carried out without introducing any regularization. As an application we derive a representation valid at all loop orders in terms of conformal invariant integrals. We obtain an explicit expression of the 3-loop ladder diagram for collinear external points

Magnetic susceptibilities of integrable quantum ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Soo A; Lee, K.

2001-01-01

As an extension of previous studies, we consider the magnetic susceptibilities of a coupled spin chain model at low temperature and of a more realistic model at low temperature and of a more realistic model having a t-J ladder structure at zero temperature. The magnetic susceptibilities for both models are obtained numerically when the coupling constant is greater than its critical value. In this region, the ladders behave as a single chain for H c and as two independent chains for H>H c , showing a divergence at H c . This divergence is expected to smear out at a finite temperature

Ladder Ising spin configurations. Pt. 1. Heat capacity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mejdani, R.; Lambros, A.

1996-01-01

We consider a ladder Ising spin model (with two coupled Ising spin chains), characterized by two couplings (interchain and intrachain couplings), to study in detail, in an analytical way, its thermal behaviour and particularly the variation of the specific heat versus temperature, the ratio of interaction constants, and the magnetic field. It is interesting that when the competition between interchain and intrachain interactions is strong the specific heat exhibits a double peak and when the competition is not so strong the specific heat has a single peak. Further, without entering into details, we give, in a numerical way, some similar results for more complicated ladder configurations (with more than two linear Ising chains). The spin-1/2 ladders or systems of spin chains may be realized in nature by vanadyl pyrophosphate ((VO) 2 P 2 O 7 ) or similar materials. All these intermediate systems are today important to gain further insight into the physics of one-dimensional spin chains and two-dimensional high-T c spin systems, both of which have shown interesting and unusual magnetic and superconducting properties. It is plausible that experimental and theoretical studies of ladders may lead to other interesting physical phenomena. (orig.)

Discussing Laddering Application by the Means-End Chain Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Veludo-de-Oliveira, Tania Modesto; Ikeda, Ana Akemi; Campomar, Marcos Cortez

2006-01-01

This article aims at analyzing laddering as a technique of qualitative research, emphasizing the procedures for data collection, analysis and interpretation, and its main limitations as well. "Laddering refers to an in-depth, one-on-one interviewing technique used to develop an understanding of how consumers translate the attributes of products…

Biomechanical analysis of loading/unloading a ladder on a truck.

Science.gov (United States)

Moriguchi, Cristiane Shinohara; Carnaz, Leticia; de Miranda, Luiz Carlos; Marklin, Richard William; Coury, Helenice Jane Cote Gil

2012-01-01

Loading/unloading a ladder on vehicles are frequent tasks and involve overhead handling that may expose workers to risk factors of shoulder musculoskeletal disorders. The objective of the present study was to evaluate posture, forces required and perceived exertion when loading and unloading the ladder on a utility truck. Thirteen male overhead line workers from an electric utility in Brazil participated in this study. Shoulder elevation angle was measured using inclinometers. The required force to load/unload the ladder was measured by dynamometer. Subjective assessment of the perceived exertion was recorded to compare the exertion reported during the test conditions to the field conditions. The task of loading/unloading the ladder presented risks of shoulder musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) to workers because it requires high levels of force (approximately 60% of the maximal force) combined with overhead posture of the shoulders (more than 100° from the neutral posture). Age and height presented to interfere in biomechanical risks presented in load/unload task. There was no significant difference between the subjective exertion during the test conditions and handling the ladder in the field. Ergonomic intervention is recommended to reduce these risks for shoulder MSDs.

46 CFR 72.05-20 - Stairways, ladders, and elevators.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Stairways, ladders, and elevators. 72.05-20 Section 72.05-20 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) PASSENGER VESSELS CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT Structural Fire Protection § 72.05-20 Stairways, ladders, and elevators. (a)(1) Except as further noted the provisions of this...

Topological phases in frustrated synthetic ladders with an odd number of legs

Science.gov (United States)

Barbarino, Simone; Dalmonte, Marcello; Fazio, Rosario; Santoro, Giuseppe E.

2018-01-01

The realization of the Hofstadter model in a strongly anisotropic ladder geometry has now become possible in one-dimensional optical lattices with a synthetic dimension. In this work, we show how the Hofstadter Hamiltonian in such ladder configurations hosts a topological phase of matter which is radically different from its two-dimensional counterpart. This topological phase stems directly from the hybrid nature of the ladder geometry and is protected by a properly defined inversion symmetry. We start our analysis by considering the paradigmatic case of a three-leg ladder which supports a topological phase exhibiting the typical features of topological states in one dimension: robust fermionic edge modes, a degenerate entanglement spectrum, and a nonzero Zak phase; then, we generalize our findings—addressable in the state-of-the-art cold-atom experiments—to ladders with a higher number of legs.

Triptycene-based ladder monomers and polymers, methods of making each, and methods of use

KAUST Repository

Pinnau, Ingo

2015-02-05

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a triptycene-based A-B monomer, a method of making a triptycene-based A-B monomer, a triptycene-based ladder polymer, a method of making a triptycene-based ladder polymers, a method of using triptycene-based ladder polymers, a structure incorporating triptycene-based ladder polymers, a method of gas separation, and the like.

Progress in the Supramolecular Architecture-directed Synthesis of Perfect Ladder Polysiloxanes

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

C; C; Han

2007-01-01

1 Introduction Ladder polysiloxanes (LPSs) including organo-bridged ladder polyorganosiloxanes (R-OLPSs, R is side group) and ladder polyorganosilsesquioxanes (R-LPSQs) have intrigued polymer chemists for about 50 years due to their excellent resistance to all kinds of degradations. However, their synthesis has been a great challenge to polymer chemists. Here, we describe a new approach based on supramolecular concerted interactions as follows.2 Results2.1 Synthesis of Perfect R-OLPSsA series of real ...

Assembly procedure for the silicon pixel ladder for PHENIX silicon vertex tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onuki, Y.; Akiba, Y.; En'yo, H.; Fujiwara, K.; Haki, Y.; Hashimoto, K.; Ichimiya, R.; Kasai, M.; Kawashima, M.; Kurita, K.; Kurosawa, M.; Mannel, E.J.; Nakano, K.; Pak, R.; Sekimoto, M.; Sondheim, W.E.; Taketani, A.; Togawa, M.; Yamamoto, Y.

2009-01-01

The silicon vertex tracker (VTX) will be installed in the summer of 2010 to enhance the physics capabilities of the Pioneering High Energy Nuclear Interaction eXperiment (PHENIX) experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The VTX consists of two types of silicon detectors: a pixel detector and a strip detector. The pixel detector consists of 30 pixel ladders placed on the two inner cylindrical layers of the VTX. The ladders are required to be assembled with high precision, however, they should be assembled in both cost and time efficient manner. We have developed an assembly bench for the ladder with several assembly fixtures and a quality assurance (Q/A) system using a 3D measurement machine. We have also developed an assembly procedure for the ladder, including a method for dispensing adhesive uniformly and encapsulation of bonding wires. The developed procedures were adopted in the assembly of the first pixel ladder and satisfy the requirements.

Movements of adult Atlantic salmon in relation to a hydroelectric dam and fish ladder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gowans, A.R.D.; Priede, I.G.

1999-01-01

The movements of adult Atlantic salmon were recorded as they approached, entered and ascended the pool-and-orifice fish ladder at Pitlochry Dam, Scotland. Thirty-nine returning salmon were captured in the River Tummel by rod-and-line angling, radio-tagged and released near where they were caught. The subsequent movements of each fish were then monitored. An electronic fish counter collected additional data on movements of untagged fish past a fixed point in the ladder. Of the 39 fish that were radio-tagged, 29 individuals were recorded approaching and ascending the ladder. The remaining fish either did not approach the dam (three fish), approached the dam after detailed tracking had ended (two fish), were recaptured by anglers (three fish), or the radio tags failed (two fish). Salmon released earlier in the year delayed longer before first approaching the dam. Delays between first approaching the dam and ascent of the ladder were greater for fish that approached the dam earlier. The majority of salmon visited the ladder entrance more than once (maximum 10 visits) before ascending. Having entered, all but four salmon ascended the fish ladder successfully on their first attempt. The four individuals that failed to do so succeeded on their second attempt. The rate at which salmon ascended the ladder was related directly to temperature. The shortest ascent time of a radio-tagged salmon was 5.25 h. Movements of eight of 11 tagged fish through the ladder ceased with the onset of darkness but continued on the following morning. No radio-tagged fish entered the ladder at temperatures below 9 o C. Similarly, few untagged fish were recorded ascending the ladder by the electronic fish counter at water temperatures below 8.5 o C. Records from the fish counter indicated that 92% of upstream movements were made during daylight. (author)

Work-related falls from ladders--a follow-back study of US emergency department cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombardi, David A; Smith, Gordon S; Courtney, Theodore K; Brennan, Melanye J; Kim, Jae Young; Perry, Melissa J

2011-11-01

Ladder falls comprise 16% of all US workplace fall-related fatalities, and ladder use may be particularly hazardous among older workers. This follow-back study of injured workers from a nationally representative sample of US emergency departments (ED) focused on factors related to ladder falls in three domains of the work environment: work equipment, work practices, and worker-related factors. Risk factors for fractures, the most frequent and severe outcome, were also evaluated. Workers injured from a ladder fall, treated in one of the 65 participating ED in the occupational National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) were asked to participate. The questionnaire included worker demographics, injury, ladder and work equipment and environment characteristics, work tasks, and activities. Multivariate logistic regression models estimated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals of a work-related fracture. Three-hundred and six workers experiencing an injury from an--on average--7.5-foot-fall from a step, extension, or straight ladder were interviewed primarily from construction, installation, maintenance, and repair professions. Injuries were most frequently to the arm, elbow or shoulder; head, neck, or face with diagnoses were primarily fracture, strain, sprain, contusion or abrasion. Workers were most frequently standing or sitting on the ladder while installing, hanging an item, or performing a repair when they fell. Ladder movement was the mechanism in 40% of falls. Environmental conditions played a role in cases. There was a significant association between fracture risk and fall height while working on the ladder that was also influenced by older work age. This study advances knowledge of falls from ladders to support those who specify means and methods, select equipment, and plan, supervise, or manage the performance of employees working at heights.

Single-particle potential from resummed ladder diagrams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaiser, N.

2013-01-01

A recent work on the resummation of fermionic in-medium ladder diagrams to all orders is extended by calculating the complex single-particle potential U(p, k f ) + i W(p, k f ) p > k f . The on-shell single-particle potential is constructed by means of a complex-valued in-medium loop that includes corrections from a test particle of momentum vector p added to the filled Fermi sea. The single-particle potential U(k f , k f ) at the Fermi surface as obtained from the resummation of the combined particle and hole ladder diagrams is shown to satisfy the Hugenholtz-Van-Hove theorem. The perturbative contributions at various orders a n in the scattering length are deduced and checked against the known analytical results at order a 1 and a 2 . The limit a → ∞ is studied as a special case and a strong momentum dependence of the real (and imaginary) single-particle potential is found. This feature indicates an instability against a phase transition to a state with an empty shell inside the Fermi sphere such that the density gets reduced by about 5%. The imaginary single-particle potential vanishes linearly at the Fermi surface. For comparison, the same analysis is performed for the resummed particle-particle ladder diagrams alone. In this truncation an instability for hole excitations near the Fermi surface is found at strong coupling. For the set of particle-hole ring diagrams the single-particle potential is calculated as well. Furthermore, the resummation of in-medium ladder diagrams to all orders is studied for a two-dimensional Fermi gas with a short-range two-body contact interaction. (orig.)

Excitation spectrum of Heisenberg spin ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, T.; Dagotto, E.; Riera, J.; Swanson, E.S.

1993-01-01

Heisenberg antiferromagnetic spin ''ladders'' (two coupled spin chains) are low-dimensional magnetic systems which for S=1/2 interpolate between half-integer-spin chains, when the chains are decoupled, and effective integer-spin one-dimensional chains in the strong-coupling limit. The spin-1/2 ladder may be realized in nature by vanadyl pyrophosphate, (VO) 2 P 2 O 7 . In this paper we apply strong-coupling perturbation theory, spin-wave theory, Lanczos techniques, and a Monte Carlo method to determine the ground-state energy and the low-lying excitation spectrum of the ladder. We find evidence of a nonzero spin gap for all interchain couplings J perpendicular >0. A band of spin-triplet excitations above the gap is also analyzed. These excitations are unusual for an antiferromagnet, since their long-wavelength dispersion relation behaves as (k-k 0 ) 2 (in the strong-coupling limit J perpendicular much-gt J, where J is the in-chain antiferromagnetic coupling). Their band is folded, with a minimum energy at k 0 =π, and a maximum between k 1 =π/2 (for J perpendicular =0) and 0 (for J perpendicular =∞). We also give numerical results for the dynamical structure factor S(q,ω), which can be determined in neutron scattering experiments. Finally, possible experimental techniques for studying the excitation spectrum are discussed

Non-ladder extended renormalization group analysis of the dynamical chiral symmetry breaking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aoki, Ken-Ichi; Takagi, Kaoru; Terao, Haruhiko; Tomoyose, Masashi [Kanazawa Univ., Inst. for Theoretical Physics, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (Japan)

2000-04-01

The order parameters of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, the dynamical mass of quarks and the chiral condensates, are evaluated by numerically solving the non-perturbative renormalization group (NPRG) equations. We employ an approximation scheme beyond 'the ladder', that is, beyond the (improved) ladder Schwinger-Dyson equations. The chiral condensates are enhanced in comparison with the ladder approximation, which is phenomenologically favorable. The gauge dependence of the order parameters is reduced significantly in this scheme. (author)

Non-ladder extended renormalization group analysis of the dynamical chiral symmetry breaking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Ken-Ichi; Takagi, Kaoru; Terao, Haruhiko; Tomoyose, Masashi

2000-01-01

The order parameters of dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in QCD, the dynamical mass of quarks and the chiral condensates, are evaluated by numerically solving the non-perturbative renormalization group (NPRG) equations. We employ an approximation scheme beyond 'the ladder', that is, beyond the (improved) ladder Schwinger-Dyson equations. The chiral condensates are enhanced in comparison with the ladder approximation, which is phenomenologically favorable. The gauge dependence of the order parameters is reduced significantly in this scheme. (author)

Laddering em pesquisa de marketing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tânia Modesto Veludo-de-Oliveira

Full Text Available O artigo discute a técnica de pesquisa laddering em marketing, considerando a proposta de renovação de conhecimentos sobre metodologia na área. Para isso investiga diversos estudos, artigos e pesquisas que tratam do assunto em nível nacional e internacional. O conceito de cadeias meios-fins é abordado pela estrutura teórica que fundamenta a técnica, ligando atributos, conseqüências percebidas do consumo e valores pessoais relativos a um produto. O artigo segue com a explicação dos procedimentos de campo, como a entrevista e a análise dos dados. A laddering é um instrumento de pesquisa qualitativa bastante útil e poderoso, mas ainda pouco utilizado tanto por acadêmicos como por profissionais de mercado, no Brasil, provavelmente por desconhecimento e pouca divulgação. Cabe, portanto, uma maior disseminação de seu uso.

Nested Bethe Ansatz for Spin Ladder Model with Open Boundary Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Junfang; Zhang Chunmin; Yue Ruihong; Li Runling

2005-01-01

The nested Bethe ansatz (BA) method is applied to find the eigenvalues and the eigenvectors of the transfer matrix for spin-ladder model with open boundary conditions. Based on the reflection equation, we find the general diagonal solution, which determines the general boundary interaction in the Hamiltonian. We introduce the spin-ladder model with open boundary conditions. By finding the solution K ± of the reflection equation which determines the nontrivial boundary terms in the Hamiltonian, we diagonalize the transfer matrix of the spin-ladder model with open boundary conditions in the framework of nested BA.

Corrosion Control Specialist Career Ladder AFSC 53530, 53550, 53570, and 53690. Occupational Survey Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Air Force Occupational Measurement Center, Lackland AFB, TX.

The report describes the results of a detailed occupational survey of the corrosion control career ladder. Responses to a 457-task, time rating inventory from 1,015 personnel (representing 64 percent of the career field) were analyzed to produce seven specific findings and the career ladder structure. The career ladder includes a variety of jobs…

The chiral Ward-Takahashi identity in the ladder approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kugo, Taichiro; Mitchard, M.G.

1992-01-01

We show that the ladder approximation to the Schwinger-Dyson and Bethe-Salpeter equations preserves the Ward-Takahashi identity for the axial vector vertex if and only if we use the gluon momentum as the argument of the running coupling constant. However, in the usual Landau gauge this is inconsistent with the vector Ward identity. We propose a new method for making the ladder approximation scheme consistent with both vector and axial vector Ward identities. (orig.)

Ladder physics in the spin fermion model

Science.gov (United States)

Tsvelik, A. M.

2017-05-01

A link is established between the spin fermion (SF) model of the cuprates and the approach based on the analogy between the physics of doped Mott insulators in two dimensions and the physics of fermionic ladders. This enables one to use nonperturbative results derived for fermionic ladders to move beyond the large-N approximation in the SF model. It is shown that the paramagnon exchange postulated in the SF model has exactly the right form to facilitate the emergence of the fully gapped d -Mott state in the region of the Brillouin zone at the hot spots of the Fermi surface. Hence, the SF model provides an adequate description of the pseudogap.

Ladder physics in the spin fermion model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsvelik, A. M.

2017-01-01

A link is established between the spin fermion (SF) model of the cuprates and the approach based on the analogy between the physics of doped Mott insulators in two dimensions and the physics of fermionic ladders. This enables one to use nonperturbative results derived for fermionic ladders to move beyond the large-N approximation in the SF model. Here, it is shown that the paramagnon exchange postulated in the SF model has exactly the right form to facilitate the emergence of the fully gapped d-Mott state in the region of the Brillouin zone at the hot spots of the Fermi surface. Hence, the SF model provides an adequate description of the pseudogap.

Dynamic parameterization and ladder operators for the Kratzer molecular potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devi, O Babynanda; Singh, C Amuba

2014-01-01

Introducing independent parameters k and δ to represent the strength of the attractive and repulsive components, respectively, we write the Kratzer molecular potential as V(k,δ)=(ℏ 2 /2 m)(−k/r+δ(δ−1)/r 2 ). This parameterisation is not only natural, but also convenient for the construction of ladder operators for the system. Adopting the straightforward method of deriving recurrence relations among confluent hypergeometric functions, we construct seven pairs of ladder operators for the Kratzer potential system. Detailed analysis of the laddering actions of these operators is given to show that they connect eigenstates of equal energy but belong to a hierarchy of Kratzer potential systems corresponding to different values of the parameters k and δ. Significantly, it is pointed out that it may not be possible to construct, in the position representation, a ladder operator which would connect different eigenstates belonging to the same potential V(k,δ). Transition to the hydrogen atom case is discussed. A number (14 altogether) of functional relations among the confluent hypergeometric functions have been derived and reported separately in an appendix. (paper)

Estimating Ladder Fuels: A New Approach Combining Field Photography with LiDAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heather A. Kramer

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Forests historically associated with frequent fire have changed dramatically due to fire suppression and past harvesting over the last century. The buildup of ladder fuels, which carry fire from the surface of the forest floor to tree crowns, is one of the critical changes, and it has contributed to uncharacteristically large and severe fires. The abundance of ladder fuels makes it difficult to return these forests to their natural fire regime or to meet management objectives. Despite the importance of ladder fuels, methods for quantifying them are limited and imprecise. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging, a form of active remote sensing, is able to estimate many aspects of forest structure across a landscape. This study investigates a new method for quantifying ladder fuel in the field (using photographs with a calibration banner and remotely (using LiDAR data. We apply these new techniques in the Klamath Mountains of Northern California to predict ladder fuel levels across the study area. Our results demonstrate a new utility of LiDAR data to identify fire hazard and areas in need of fuels reduction.

Evaluation through research of a three-track career ladder program for registered nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Korman, Carol; Eliades, Aris Beoglos

2010-01-01

A descriptive study design was employed to survey registered nurse participants in a career ladder program comprising of three tracks: clinical, education, and management. Findings indicate that participation allows nurses of varying education preparation and roles to demonstrate professional development. Implications for staff development include efficacy of the online survey technique, provision of a reliable tool to evaluate a career ladder, and evaluation of a career ladder that includes the staff development educator.

Dissipation, Voltage Profile and Levy Dragon in a Special Ladder Network

Science.gov (United States)

Ucak, C.

2009-01-01

A ladder network constructed by an elementary two-terminal network consisting of a parallel resistor-inductor block in series with a parallel resistor-capacitor block sometimes is said to have a non-dispersive dissipative response. This special ladder network is created iteratively by replacing the elementary two-terminal network in place of the…

Convergence and periodic solutions for the input impedance of a standard ladder network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ucak, C; Acar, C

2007-01-01

The input impedance of an infinite ladder network is computed by using the recursive relation and by assuming that the input impedance does not change when a new block is added to the network. However, this assumption is not true in general and standard textbooks do not always treat these networks correctly. This paper develops a general solution to obtain the input impedance of a standard ladder network of impedances and admittances for any number of blocks. Then, this result is used to provide the convergence condition for the infinite ladder network. The conditions which lead to periodic input impedance are exploited. It is shown that there are infinite numbers of periodic points and no paradoxical behaviour exists in the standard ladder network

A Review and Modern Approach to LC Ladder Synthesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander J. Casson

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Ultra low power circuits require robust and reliable operation despite the unavoidable use of low currents and the weak inversion transistor operation region. For analogue domain filtering doubly terminated LC ladder based filter topologies are thus highly desirable as they have very low sensitivities to component values: non-exact component values have a minimal effect on the realised transfer function. However, not all transfer functions are suitable for implementation via a LC ladder prototype, and even when the transfer function is suitable the synthesis procedure is not trivial. The modern circuit designer can thus benefit from an updated treatment of this synthesis procedure. This paper presents a methodology for the design of doubly terminated LC ladder structures making use of the symbolic maths engines in programs such as MATLAB and MAPLE. The methodology is explained through the detailed synthesis of an example 7th order bandpass filter transfer function for use in electroencephalogram (EEG analysis.

Controlled parity switch of persistent currents in quantum ladders

Science.gov (United States)

Filippone, Michele; Bardyn, Charles-Edouard; Giamarchi, Thierry

2018-05-01

We investigate the behavior of persistent currents for a fixed number of noninteracting fermions in a periodic quantum ladder threaded by Aharonov-Bohm and transverse magnetic fluxes Φ and χ . We show that the coupling between ladder legs provides a way to effectively change the ground-state fermion-number parity, by varying χ . Specifically, we demonstrate that varying χ by 2 π (one flux quantum) leads to an apparent fermion-number parity switch. We find that persistent currents exhibit a robust 4 π periodicity as a function of χ , despite the fact that χ →χ +2 π leads to modifications of order 1 /N of the energy spectrum, where N is the number of sites in each ladder leg. We show that these parity-switch and 4 π periodicity effects are robust with respect to temperature and disorder, and outline potential physical realizations using cold atomic gases and photonic lattices, for bosonic analogs of the effects.

ABC of ladder operators for rationally extended quantum harmonic oscillator systems

Science.gov (United States)

Cariñena, José F.; Plyushchay, Mikhail S.

2017-07-01

The problem of construction of ladder operators for rationally extended quantum harmonic oscillator (REQHO) systems of a general form is investigated in the light of existence of different schemes of the Darboux-Crum-Krein-Adler transformations by which such systems can be generated from the quantum harmonic oscillator. Any REQHO system is characterized by the number of separated states in its spectrum, the number of ‘valence bands’ in which the separated states are organized, and by the total number of the missing energy levels and their position. All these peculiarities of a REQHO system are shown to be detected and reflected by a trinity (A^+/- , B^+/- , C^+/-) of the basic (primary) lowering and raising ladder operators related between themselves by certain algebraic identities with coefficients polynomially-dependent on the Hamiltonian. We show that all the secondary, higher-order ladder operators are obtainable by a composition of the basic ladder operators of the trinity which form the set of the spectrum-generating operators. Each trinity, in turn, can be constructed from the intertwining operators of the two complementary minimal schemes of the Darboux-Crum-Krein-Adler transformations.

29 CFR 1910.27 - Fixed ladders.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

...) All rungs shall have a minimum diameter of three-fourths inch for metal ladders, except as covered in... appurtenances shall be painted or otherwise treated to resist corrosion and rusting when location demands... areas under floors, are frequently located in an atmosphere that causes corrosion and rusting. To...

Hadron structure in the ladder model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soper, D.E.

1979-01-01

The (flavor non-singlet) Green's function to find a far-off-shell quark in a hadron is obtained in the renormalization group improved ladder model for QCD in the space-like axial gauge. Particular attention is paid to the role of the singularity in the gluon propagator. 4 figures

Laughlin-like States in Bosonic and Fermionic Atomic Synthetic Ladders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcello Calvanese Strinati

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The combination of interactions and static gauge fields plays a pivotal role in our understanding of strongly correlated quantum matter. Cold atomic gases endowed with a synthetic dimension are emerging as an ideal platform to experimentally address this interplay in quasi-one-dimensional systems. A fundamental question is whether these setups can give access to pristine two-dimensional phenomena, such as the fractional quantum Hall effect, and how. We show that unambiguous signatures of bosonic and fermionic Laughlin-like states can be observed and characterized in synthetic ladders. We theoretically diagnose these Laughlin-like states focusing on the chiral current flowing in the ladder, on the central charge of the low-energy theory, and on the properties of the entanglement entropy. Remarkably, Laughlin-like states are separated from conventional liquids by Lifschitz-type transitions, characterized by sharp discontinuities in the current profiles, which we address using extensive simulations based on matrix-product states. Our work provides a qualitative and quantitative guideline towards the observability and understanding of strongly correlated states of matter in synthetic ladders. In particular, we unveil how state-of-the-art experimental settings constitute an ideal starting point to progressively tackle two-dimensional strongly interacting systems from a ladder viewpoint, opening a new perspective for the observation of non-Abelian states of matter.

DUNDRUM Restriction-Intrusion of Liberty Ladders (DRILL) Audit Toolkit

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Kennedy, Harry G

2011-09-01

This series of rating \\'ladders\\' is intended to allow a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the use of restrictive and intrusive interventions as part of the therapeutic management of violence and aggression in psychiatric hospital settings. This is an evolving handbook. The ladders are currently organised to facilitate a behavioural analysis. Context, antecedents, behaviour, interventions, consequences are conceptualised as a series of events organised in temporal sequence so that causes, interactions and effects can be considered. The complexity of analysis possible is limited by the statistical power of the numbers of cases and events available. \\r\

A Continuous Game of Sankes and Ladders

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Resonance – Journal of Science Education; Volume 14; Issue 8. The Control of Tuberculosis: A Continuous Game of Sankes and Ladders. T Ramakrishnan P Chandrasekhar. Classics Volume 14 Issue 8 August 2009 pp 820-834 ...

Cavity-induced artificial gauge field in a Bose-Hubbard ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Halati, Catalin-Mihai; Sheikhan, Ameneh; Kollath, Corinna

2017-12-01

We consider theoretically ultracold interacting bosonic atoms confined to quasi-one-dimensional ladder structures formed by optical lattices and coupled to the field of an optical cavity. The atoms can collect a spatial phase imprint during a cavity-assisted tunneling along a rung via Raman transitions employing a cavity mode and a transverse running wave pump beam. By adiabatic elimination of the cavity field we obtain an effective Hamiltonian for the bosonic atoms, with a self-consistency condition. Using the numerical density-matrix renormalization-group method, we obtain a rich steady-state diagram of self-organized steady states. Transitions between superfluid to Mott-insulating states occur, on top of which we can have Meissner, vortex liquid, and vortex lattice phases. Also a state that explicitly breaks the symmetry between the two legs of the ladder, namely, the biased-ladder phase, is dynamically stabilized. We investigate the influence that a trapping potential has on the stability of the self-organized phases.

Estimating ladder fuels: a new approach combining field photography with LiDAR

Science.gov (United States)

Heather Kramer; Brandon Collins; Frank Lake; Marek Jakubowski; Scott Stephens; Maggi Kelly

2016-01-01

Forests historically associated with frequent fire have changed dramatically due to fire suppression and past harvesting over the last century. The buildup of ladder fuels, which carry fire from the surface of the forest floor to tree crowns, is one of the critical changes, and it has contributed to uncharacteristically large and severe fires. The abundance of ladder...

Quantum entanglement and thermal reduced density matrices in fermion and spin systems on ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xiao; Fradkin, Eduardo

2013-01-01

Numerical studies of the reduced density matrix of a gapped spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a two-leg ladder find that it has the same form as the Gibbs density matrix of a gapless spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic chain at a finite temperature determined by the spin gap of the ladder. We investigate this interesting result by considering a model of free fermions on a two-leg ladder (gapped by the inter-chain tunneling operator) and in spin systems on a ladder with a gapped ground state using exact solutions and several controlled approximations. We calculate the reduced density matrix and the entanglement entropy for a leg of the ladder (i.e. a cut made between the chains). In the fermionic system we find the exact form of the reduced density matrix for one of the chains and determine the entanglement spectrum explicitly. Here we find that in the weak tunneling limit of the ladder the entanglement entropy of one chain of the gapped ladder has a simple and universal form dictated by conformal invariance. In the case of the spin system, we consider the strong coupling limit by using perturbation theory and get the reduced density matrix by the Schmidt decomposition. The entanglement entropies of a general gapped system of two coupled conformal field theories (in 1 + 1 dimensions) are discussed using the replica trick and scaling arguments. We show that (1) for a system with a bulk gap the reduced density matrix has the form of a thermal density matrix, (2) the long-wavelength modes of one subsystem (a chain) of a gapped coupled system are always thermal, (3) the von Neumann entropy equals the thermodynamic entropy of one chain, and (4) the bulk gap plays the role of effective temperature. (paper)

Strength Analysis on Ship Ladder Using Finite Element Method

Science.gov (United States)

Budianto; Wahyudi, M. T.; Dinata, U.; Ruddianto; Eko P., M. M.

2018-01-01

In designing the ship’s structure, it should refer to the rules in accordance with applicable classification standards. In this case, designing Ladder (Staircase) on a Ferry Ship which is set up, it must be reviewed based on the loads during ship operations, either during sailing or at port operations. The classification rules in ship design refer to the calculation of the structure components described in Classification calculation method and can be analysed using the Finite Element Method. Classification Regulations used in the design of Ferry Ships used BKI (Bureau of Classification Indonesia). So the rules for the provision of material composition in the mechanical properties of the material should refer to the classification of the used vessel. The analysis in this structure used program structure packages based on Finite Element Method. By using structural analysis on Ladder (Ladder), it obtained strength and simulation structure that can withstand load 140 kg both in static condition, dynamic, and impact. Therefore, the result of the analysis included values of safety factors in the ship is to keep the structure safe but the strength of the structure is not excessive.

Triptycene-based ladder monomers and polymers, methods of making each, and methods of use

KAUST Repository

Pinnau, Ingo; Ghanem, Bader; Swaidan, Raja

2015-01-01

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for a triptycene-based A-B monomer, a method of making a triptycene-based A-B monomer, a triptycene-based ladder polymer, a method of making a triptycene-based ladder polymers, a method of using

One-particle versus two-particle crossover in weakly coupled Hubbard chains and ladders: perturbative renormalization group approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kishine, Jun-Ichiro; Yonemitsu, Kenji

1998-01-01

Physical nature of dimensional crossovers in weakly coupled Hubbard chains and ladders has been discussed within the framework of the perturbative renormalization-group (PRG) approach. The difference between these two cases originates from different universality classes which the corresponding isolated systems belong to. In the present work, we discuss the nature of the dimensional crossovers in the weakly coupled chains and ladders, with emphasis on the difference between the two cases within the framework of the PRG approach. The difference of the universality class of the isolated chain and ladder profoundly affects the relevance or irrelevance of the inter-chain/ladder one-particle hopping. The strong coupling phase of the isolated ladder makes the one-particle process irrelevant so that the d-wave superconducting transition can be induced via the two-particle crossover in the weakly coupled ladders. The weak coupling phase of the isolated chain makes the one-particle process relevant so that the two-particle crossover can hardly be realized in the coupled chains. (Copyright (1998) World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd)

Construction and test of the first Belle II SVD ladder implementing the origami chip-on-sensor design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irmler, C.; Bauer, A.; Bergauer, T.; Adamczyk, K.; Bacher, S.; Aihara, H.; Angelini, C.; Batignani, G.; Bettarini, S.; Bosi, F.; Aziz, T.; Babu, V.; Bahinipati, S.; Barberio, E.; Baroncelli, Ti.; Baroncelli, To.; Basith, A.K.; Behera, P.K.; Bhuyan, B.; Bilka, T.

2016-01-01

The Belle II Silicon Vertex Detector comprises four layers of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs), consisting of ladders with two to five sensors each. All sensors are individually read out by APV25 chips with the Origami chip-on-sensor concept for the central DSSDs of the ladders. The chips sit on flexible circuits that are glued on the top of the sensors. This concept allows a low material budget and an efficient cooling of the chips by a single pipe per ladder. We present the construction of the first SVD ladders and results from precision measurements and electrical tests

Fermion-boson scattering in ladder approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jafarov, R.G.; Hadjiev, S.A.

1992-10-01

A method of calculation of forward scattering amplitude for fermions and scalar bosons with exchanging of scalar particle is suggested. The Bethe-Salpeter ladder equation for the imaginary part of the amplitude is constructed and a solution in Regge asymptotical form is found and the corrections to the amplitude due to the exit from mass shell are calculated. (author). 8 refs

The laddering method in service innovation research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grünbaum, Niels Nolsøe

2017-01-01

The laddering method is a qualitative interview technique applied in a situation with one interviewer and one informant with the aim of creating an understanding of the value that business-to-consumer (B2C) customers extract from product attributes. Thus, this methodology aims to depict a mental ...

A robustification of the chain-ladder method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verdonck, T.; van Wouwe, M.; Dhaene, J.

2009-01-01

In a non-life insurance business an insurer often needs to build up a reserve to able to meet his or her future obligations arising from incurred but not reported completely claims. To forecast these claims reserves, a simple but generally accepted algorithm is the classical chain-ladder method.

Doped spin ladders under magnetic field; Echelles de spins dopees sous champ magnetique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Roux, G

2007-07-15

This thesis deals with the physics of doped two-leg ladders which are a quasi one-dimensional and unconventional superconductor. We particularly focus on the properties under magnetic field. Models for strongly correlated electrons on ladders are studied using exact diagonalization and density-matrix renormalization group (DMRG). Results are also enlightened by using the bosonization technique. Taking into account a ring exchange it highlights the relation between the pairing of holes and the spin gap. Its influence on the dynamics of the magnetic fluctuations is also tackled. Afterwards, these excitations are probed by the magnetic field by coupling it to the spin degree of freedom of the electrons through Zeeman effect. We show the existence of doping-dependent magnetization plateaus and also the presence of an inhomogeneous superconducting phase (FFLO phase) associated with an exceeding of the Pauli limit. When a flux passes through the ladder, the magnetic field couples to the charge degree of freedom of the electrons via orbital effect. The diamagnetic response of the doped ladder probes the commensurate phases of the t-J model at low J/t. Algebraic transverse current fluctuations are also found once the field is turned on. Lastly, we report numerical evidences of a molecular superfluid phase in the 3/2-spin attractive Hubbard model: at a density low enough, bound states of four fermions, called quartets, acquire dominant superfluid fluctuations. The observed competition between the superfluid and density fluctuations is connected to the physics of doped ladders. (author)

Utilization of the fish ladder at the Engenheiro Sergio Motta Dam, Brazil, by long distance migrating potamodromous species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sérgio Makrakis

Full Text Available Utilization of the fish ladder installed at the Engenheiro Sergio Motta Dam (also known as Porto Primavera on the Paraná River, Southern Brazil, by long-distance migrating potamodromous species (sampling Protocol I, and ascending and descending movements (Protocol II were evaluated. Three pools along the fish ladder (designated as lower, middle, and upper were sampled monthly between December, 2004 and March, 2005 to determine the abundance of species in the ladder. The ascending and descending movements of the species in the ladder were also analyzed in the same period. In the samples for both protocols, 37 species representing 17 families and 5 orders (Characiformes, Siluriformes, Perciformes, Gymnotiformes, and Myliobatiformes were recorded. Characiformes were represented by 21 species. Long- distance migratory species (11 species predominated in the ladder (60% of the total number of individuals, with high abundance of Rhinelepis aspera (5645 individuals. For protocol I, mean abundance varied greatly among the months and pools, with lowest values in December and March for all pools, and highest in January for the lower pool due to high capture of R. aspera. Fish abundance declined from the lower to the upper pool, especially for R. aspera and Rhaphiodon vulpinus. For Protocol II, 17 species were recorded ascending the ladder, where Astyanax altiparanae and Leporinus friderici were the most abundant species (684 and 111 individuals, respectively. However, 18 species showed descending movements, with high captures of Metynnis maculatus and A. altiparanae (339 and 319 individuals, respectively. Twelve species (52% moved in both directions, and among the seven migratory species sampled, four were recorded ascending and descending, and three species only ascending the ladder. The fish ladder appears to selectively favor species with high swimming capabilities. A discussion is presented on the requirements for future research on attraction to the

Fish ladder of Lajeado Dam: migrations on one-way routes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angelo Antônio Agostinho

Full Text Available Fish ladders are generally conceived to reestablish connectivity among critical habitats for migratory species, thus mitigating the impacts of the blockage of migration routes by dams. If this management tool is to be meaningful for conserving fish species, it must provide a fully permeable connection and assure both upward and downward movements. However, because reservoirs have very different hydrodynamics than the original river, it is expected that, at least in the inner area, they may constitute an additional barrier to this movement, especially for descending fish. Thus, the present study sought to determine if migratory fish and their offspring disperse downstream from the dam after ascending a ladder and spawning in the upper reaches of a basin. To achieve this purpose, we evaluated the limitation imposed by lentic areas to the descent of eggs, larvae and adults of migratory species; we also determined the abundance and composition of larvae present in the plankton near the dam, and compared the intensity of the upward and downward movements of adult fish. Samples of ichthyoplankton were taken upriver, inside the reservoir, in the river downstream from the dam, and in the forebay of the Lajeado Dam on the Tocantins River (Luis Eduardo Magalhães Hydroelectric Plant, from October, 1999 through September, 2004. The densities of fish ascending and descending the ladder were determined experimentally on eight occasions, from June, 2004 to March, 2005. Due to difficulties in identifying the true fish origin (up or down in the environments connected by the fish passage system, the evaluation of the distribution of migratory fish in reservoirs was based on the landings of the commercial fishery conducted along the Itaipu Reservoir during the four years preceding (2001 through 2003 the construction of the lateral channel (fish-passage mechanism. Fish eggs and larvae drifting down the Tocantins River did not appear in samples taken in the lower

49 CFR 214.519 - Floors, decks, stairs, and ladders of on-track roadway maintenance machines.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... roadway maintenance machines. 214.519 Section 214.519 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to... SAFETY On-Track Roadway Maintenance Machines and Hi-Rail Vehicles § 214.519 Floors, decks, stairs, and ladders of on-track roadway maintenance machines. Floors, decks, stairs, and ladders of on-track roadway...

Explaining choice option attractiveness by beliefs elicited by the laddering method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Bech-Larsen, Tino

2005-01-01

option. The laddering method is used to elicit beliefs of all three types for a choice between conventional and organic pork. As a benchmark, beliefs were also elicited in the traditional way advocated by Ajzen and Fishbein. Using both sets of beliefs in a subsequent survey, it was shown that the beliefs...... elicited by the laddering method increase explanatory power with regard to choice option attractiveness beyond the beliefs elicited by the Ajzen and Fishbein method, and that this additional explanatory power was due to those beliefs which relate the choice option to concepts with a higher level...

Phase diagram of a bosonic ladder with two coupled chains

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luthra, Meetu Sethi; Mishra, Tapan; Pai, Ramesh V.; Das, B. P.

2008-01-01

We study a bosonic ladder with two coupled chains using the finite-size density-matrix renormalization group method. We show that in a commensurate bosonic ladder the critical on-site interaction (U C ) for the superfluid to Mott insulator transition gets larger as the interchain hopping (t perpendicular ) increases. We analyze this quantum phase transition and obtain the phase diagram in the t perpendicular -U plane. We also consider the asymmetric case where the on-site interactions are different in the two chains and have shown that the system as a whole will not be in the Mott insulator phase unless both the chains have on-site interactions greater than the critical value

The search for competing charge orders in frustrated ladder systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lal, Siddhartha; Laad, Mukul S.

2007-08-01

A recent study revealed the dynamics of the charge sector of a one-dimensional quarter- filled electronic system with extended Hubbard interactions to be that of an effective pseudospin transverse-field Ising model (TFIM) in the strong coupling limit. With the twin motivations of studying the co-existing charge and spin order found in strongly correlated chain systems and the effects of inter-chain couplings, we investigate the phase diagram of coupled effective (TFIM) systems. A bosonisation and RG analysis for a two-leg TFIM ladder yields a rich phase diagram showing Wigner/Peierls charge order and Neel/dimer spin order. In a broad parameter regime, the orbital antiferromagnetic phase is found to be stable. An intermediate gapless phase of finite width is found to lie in between two charge-ordered gapped phases. Kosterlitz-Thouless transitions are found to lead from the gapless phase to either of the charge-ordered phases. Low energy effective Hamiltonian analyses of a strongly coupled 2-chain ladder system confirm a phase diagram with in-chain CO, rung-dimer, and orbital antiferromagnetic ordered phases with varying interchain couplings as well as superconductivity upon hole-doping. Our work is potentially relevant for a unified description of a class of strongly correlated, quarter-filled chain and ladder systems. (autor)

Action–angle variables, ladder operators and coherent states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Campoamor-Stursberg, R.; Gadella, M.; Kuru, Ş.; Negro, J.

2012-01-01

This Letter is devoted to the building of coherent states from arguments based on classical action–angle variables. First, we show how these classical variables are associated to an algebraic structure in terms of Poisson brackets. In the quantum context these considerations are implemented by ladder type operators and a structure known as spectrum generating algebra. All this allows to generate coherent states and thereby the correspondence of classical–quantum properties by means of the aforementioned underlying structure. This approach is illustrated with the example of the one-dimensional Pöschl–Teller potential system. -- Highlights: ► We study the building of coherent states from classical action–angle variables arguments. ► The classical variables are associated to an algebraic structure in terms of Poisson brackets. ► In the quantum context these considerations are implemented by ladder type operators. ► All this allows to formulate coherent states and the correspondence of classical–quantum properties.

Resonance self-shielding calculation with regularized random ladders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ribon, P.

1986-01-01

The straightforward method for calculation of resonance self-shielding is to generate one or several resonance ladders, and to process them as resolved resonances. The main drawback of Monte Carlo methods used to generate the ladders, is the difficulty of reducing the dispersion of data and results. Several methods are examined, and it is shown how one (a regularized sampling method) improves the accuracy. Analytical methods to compute the effective cross-section have recently appeared: they are basically exempt from dispersion, but are inevitably approximate. The accuracy of the most sophisticated one is checked. There is a neutron energy range which is improperly considered as statistical. An examination is presented of what happens when it is treated as statistical, and how it is possible to improve the accuracy of calculations in this range. To illustrate the results calculations have been performed in a simple case: nucleus /sup 238/U, at 300 K, between 4250 and 4750 eV.

"Ladder" structure in tonal noise generated by laminar flow around an airfoil.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Tze Pei; Joseph, Phillip

2012-06-01

The presence of a "ladder" structure in the airfoil tonal noise was discovered in the 1970s, but its mechanism hitherto remains a subject of continual investigation in the research community. Based on the measured noise results and some numerical analysis presented in this letter, the variations of four types of airfoil tonal noise frequencies with the flow velocity were analyzed individually. The ladder structure is proposed to be caused by the acoustic/hydrodynamic frequency lag between the scattering of the boundary layer instability noise and the discrete noise produced by an aeroacoustic feedback loop.

High-energy, large-momentum-transfer processes: Ladder diagrams in var-phi 3 theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Newton, C.L.J.

1990-01-01

Relativistic quantum field theories may help one to understand high-energy, large-momentum-transfer processes, where the center-of-mass energy is much larger than the transverse momentum transfers, which are in turn much larger than the masses of the participating particles. With this possibility in mind, the author studies ladder diagrams in var-phi 3 theory. He shows that in the limit s much-gt |t| much-gt m 2 , the scattering amplitude for the N-rung ladder diagram takes the form s -1 |t| -N+1 times a homogeneous polynomial of degree 2N - 2 and ln s and ln |t|. This polynomial takes different forms depending on the relation of ln |t| to ln s. More precisely, the asymptotic formula for the N-rung ladder diagram has points of non-analytically when ln |t| = γ ln s for γ = 1/2, 1/3, hor-ellipsis, 1/N-2

Hopping ladder and power relaxation due to donor-acceptor pairs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kostadinov, I.Z.

1985-11-01

Hopping between donor-acceptor pairs leads to peculiar temperature dependence of the conductivity and the photoconductivity under subband gap illumination in the form of non-linear activation energies ladder. The correlated and uncorrelated distributions of pairs are considered and the conditions for the ladder existence are determined. The relaxation of the carrier concentration fluctuations is studied and power type decay is found. The temperature dependence of the exponent is calculated in agreement with the non-exponential decay of the pulse excited luminescence observed by Dean et al. The temperature dependence of the luminescence intensity also shows variable activation energy as found here. The exponent value α=1.316 is also in agreement with the data for crystalline and amorphous materials. (author)

Model Comparison Exercise Circuit Training Game and Circuit Ladder Drills to Improve Agility and Speed

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susilaturochman Hendrawan Koestanto

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to compare: (1 the effect of circuit training game and circuit ladder drill for the agility; (2 the effect of circuit training game and circuit ladder drill on speed; (3 the difference effect of circuit training game and circuit ladder drill for the speed (4 the difference effect of circuit training game and circuit ladder drill on agility. The type of this research was quantitative with quasi-experimental methods. The design of this research was Factorial Design, with analysing data using ANOVA. The process of data collection was done by using 30 meters sprint speed test and shuttle run test during the pretest and posttest. Furthermore, the data was analyzed by using SPSS 22.0 series. Result: The circuit training game exercise program and circuit ladder drill were significant to increase agility and speed (sig 0.000 < α = 0.005 Group I, II, III had significant differences (sig 0.000 < α = 0.005. The mean of increase in speed of group I = 0.20 seconds, group II = 0.31 seconds, and group III = 0.11 seconds. The average increase agility to group I = 0.34 seconds group II = 0.60 seconds, group III = 0.13 seconds. Based on the analysis above, it could be concluded that there was an increase in the speed and agility of each group after being given a training.

Healthcare organization-education partnerships and career ladder programs for health care workers.

Science.gov (United States)

Dill, Janette S; Chuang, Emmeline; Morgan, Jennifer C

2014-12-01

Increasing concerns about quality of care and workforce shortages have motivated health care organizations and educational institutions to partner to create career ladders for frontline health care workers. Career ladders reward workers for gains in skills and knowledge and may reduce the costs associated with turnover, improve patient care, and/or address projected shortages of certain nursing and allied health professions. This study examines partnerships between health care and educational organizations in the United States during the design and implementation of career ladder training programs for low-skill workers in health care settings, referred to as frontline health care workers. Mixed methods data from 291 frontline health care workers and 347 key informants (e.g., administrators, instructors, managers) collected between 2007 and 2010 were analyzed using both regression and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). Results suggest that different combinations of partner characteristics, including having an education leader, employer leader, frontline management support, partnership history, community need, and educational policies, were necessary for high worker career self-efficacy and program satisfaction. Whether a worker received a wage increase, however, was primarily dependent on leadership within the health care organization, including having an employer leader and employer implementation policies. Findings suggest that strong partnerships between health care and educational organizations can contribute to the successful implementation of career ladder programs, but workers' ability to earn monetary rewards for program participation depends on the strength of leadership support within the health care organization. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase diagram and re-entrant fermionic entanglement in a hybrid Ising-Hubbard ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Sousa, H. S.; Pereira, M. S. S.; de Oliveira, I. N.; Strečka, J.; Lyra, M. L.

2018-05-01

The degree of fermionic entanglement is examined in an exactly solvable Ising-Hubbard ladder, which involves interacting electrons on the ladder's rungs described by Hubbard dimers at half-filling on each rung, accounting for intrarung hopping and Coulomb terms. The coupling between neighboring Hubbard dimers is assumed to have an Ising-like nature. The ground-state phase diagram consists of four distinct regions corresponding to the saturated paramagnetic, the classical antiferromagnetic, the quantum antiferromagnetic, and the mixed classical-quantum phase. We have exactly computed the fermionic concurrence, which measures the degree of quantum entanglement between the pair of electrons on the ladder rungs. The effects of the hopping amplitude, the Coulomb term, temperature, and magnetic fields on the fermionic entanglement are explored in detail. It is shown that the fermionic concurrence displays a re-entrant behavior when quantum entanglement is being generated at moderate temperatures above the classical saturated paramagnetic ground state.

Nestling diets and provisioning rates of sympatric Golden-fronted and Ladder-backed Woodpeckers

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, Evonne L.; Boal, Clint W.; Glasscock, Selma N.

2013-01-01

We examined comparative food use and provisioning of Golden-fronted (Melanerpes aurifrons) and Ladder-backed (Picoides scalaris) woodpeckers at the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation Refuge, in San Patricio County, Texas. We combined video surveillance and direct observations to monitor provisioning rates and identify items delivered by adult woodpeckers to nestlings. We collected 328 hours of data at Ladder-backed Woodpecker nest cavities and 230 hours of data at Golden-fronted Woodpecker nest cavities. Ladder-backed Woodpecker nestling diets consisted of 100% animal matter, comprised of invertebrate larvae (99%) and invertebrate adults (nestlings were also high in animal matter (77%) with more invertebrate adults (55%) and fewer invertebrate larvae (27%), but also included vegetable matter (16%). Morisita's measure of overlap suggested a relatively low dietary overlap of 31% between nestlings of these two sympatric woodpecker species. Foraging methods used by these species may explain their low dietary overlap and facilitate their coexistence.

THE COMPARISON OF USING SNAKE LADDERS AND SCRABBLE MEDIA TOWARDS VOCABULARY MASTERY OF STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eka Pra Setiawati

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Vocabulary is an essential component in learning English. It influences four English skills; they are listening, speaking, reading, and writing, for getting a good result in English. In teaching learning process, the teacher often implements the less interesting method, technique, or even media of vocabulary mastery in teaching and learning process which make the students to be bored, inactive, an uniterested in memorizing English vocabulary. Some media can be interested as the solutions in vocabulary mastery, they are Snake Ladders media and Scrabble media. The investigation was undergone by quantitative research. The researcher applied experimental research. This research underwent pre-test post-test control group design. To analyze data, t-test formula is used to measure the result of collected data. From the t-test measurement, it showed that t-test is 3.15 and t-table is 2.66. It means that t-hit > t-table. Based on the collected data, there is different result of using Snake Ladders from Scrabble media toward students’ vocabulary mastery. It was found that the students who are taught by using Snake Ladders resulted significant outcome than those are instructed by Scrabble media. It means that Snake Ladders is effective to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.

Means-end chains and laddering: An inventory of problems and an agenda for research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Grunert, Suzanne C.; Sørensen, Elin

Executive summary 1. Means-end chains are a device used to understand how consumers mentally link products to self-relevant consequences. Means-end chains are usually measured by a method called laddering. 2. Means-end chains may fall short of tapping all relevant aspects of how consumers think...... about products. Specifically, nonverbal imagery, episodic information, and procedural knowledge are not included in means-end chains. 3. A number of methodological problems can be identified in the collection of means-end chain data. Major problems, which should be addressed in research, are methods...... to elicit the product attributes the laddering is to start with, the integration of a usage situation in the interview, and the basic decision on how much direct the respondent. 4. Concerning the coding of laddering data, a higher degree of transparency of the coding process would be desirable. 5...

Means-end chains and laddering: An inventory of problems and an agenda for research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Beckmann, Suzanne C.; Sørensen, Elin

2001-01-01

and unconscious (or, at least, semiconscious) factors. It is intuitively appealing to the practitioner but has, likewise, attracted academic research. Increased acceptance and use of a new approach inevitably leads to the detection of unresolved issues and problems. Many of these unresolved issues are related...... to the collection and analysis of laddering data. However, many of these also point at problems of a more theoretical nature. In this chapter presented are some of the issues regarded as unresolved and suggested research that could help in solving these problems. The mayor part of this chapter deals...... with methodological problems of the interview technique called laddering, og coding laddering data, and of analysing the coded data. However, also shown, methodological and theoretical issues are partly interlinked: resolutions of methodological problems may require theoretical progress or at least a clarification...

Analytical recursive method to ascertain multisite entanglement in doped quantum spin ladders

Science.gov (United States)

Roy, Sudipto Singha; Dhar, Himadri Shekhar; Rakshit, Debraj; SenDe, Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2017-08-01

We formulate an analytical recursive method to generate the wave function of doped short-range resonating valence bond (RVB) states as a tool to efficiently estimate multisite entanglement as well as other physical quantities in doped quantum spin ladders. We prove that doped RVB ladder states are always genuine multipartite entangled. Importantly, our results show that within specific doping concentration and model parameter regimes, the doped RVB state essentially characterizes the trends of genuine multiparty entanglement in the exact ground states of the Hubbard model with large on-site interactions, in the limit that yields the t -J Hamiltonian.

In-line digital holography with phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Jing; Zhang, Junyong; Zhang, Yanli; Zhou, Shenlei; Zhu, Jianqiang

2018-04-01

Phase shifting is the key technique in in-line digital holography, but traditional phase shifters have their own limitations in short wavelength regions. Here, phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves with amplitude-only modulation are introduced into in-line digital holography, which are essentially a kind of diffraction lens with three-dimensional array diffraction-limited foci. In the in-line digital holographic experiment, we design two kinds of sieves by lithography and verify the validity of their phase-shifting function by measuring a 1951 U.S. Air Force resolution test target and three-dimensional array foci. With advantages of high resolving power, low cost, and no limitations at shorter wavelengths, phase-shifting Greek-ladder sieves have great potential in X-ray holography or biochemical microscopy for the next generation of synchrotron light sources.

The snakes and ladders of National Health Service management in England.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, Martin

2014-01-01

This article explores managerial careers in the National Health Service (NHS) through the lens of talent management, particularly focusing on how managers view barriers (snakes) and facilitators (ladders) to career progression. There is a significant literature on enablers and barriers to career progression, but much of this focuses on specific groups such as black and minority ethnic and female workers, and there is relatively little material on the general workforce of the NHS. The research design is a mixed method quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview and focus group) approach consisting of a quasi-probability element that focuses on a maximum variety sample and a purposive element that seeks policy views at central and strategic health authority level, and examines talent management in high-performing NHS organisations. Ladders are identified as follows: volunteering, secondment, networking, mentoring, academic qualifications, development, good role models/managers and appraisal/personal development plan. Snakes are identified as managing expectations; identity and cognitive diversity; location; sector; NHS toxic and favouritism culture; poor talent spotting; credentialism; exclusive approach to talent; and sustainability. It concludes that while previous conceptual and empirical work is fairly clear on any ladders, it is less clear on snakes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High-Performance and Simply-Synthesized Ladder-Like Structured Methacrylate Siloxane Hybrid Material for Flexible Hard Coating

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yun Hyeok Kim

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A high performance ladder-like structured methacrylate siloxane hybrid material (LMSH was fabricated via simple hydrolytic sol–gel reaction, followed by free-radical polymerization. A structurally ordered siloxane backbone, the ladder-like structure, which is an essential factor for high performance, could be achieved by a short period of sol–gel reaction in only 4 h. This results in superior optical (Transmittance > 90% at 550 nm, thermal (T5 wt % decomposition > 400 ℃ , mechanical properties(elastic recovery = 0.86, hardness = 0.6 GPa compared to the random- and even commercialized cage-structured silsesquioxane, which also has ordered structure. It was investigated that the fabricated ladder-like structured MSH showed the highest overall density of organic/inorganic co-networks that are originated from highly ordered siloxane network, along with high conversion rate of polymerizable methacrylate groups. Our findings suggest a potential of the ladder-like structured MSH as a powerful alternative for the methacrylate polysilsesquioxane, which can be applied to thermally stable and flexible optical coatings, even with an easier and simpler preparation process.

Chemodiversity of Ladder-Frame Prymnesin Polyethers in Prymnesium parvum

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Silas Anselm; Meier, Sebastian; Andersen, Nikolaj Gedsted

2016-01-01

Blooms of the microalga Prymnesium parvum cause devastating fish kills worldwide, which are suspected to be caused by the supersized ladder-frame polyether toxins prymnesin-1 and -2. These toxins have, however, only been detected from P. parvum in rare cases since they were originally described two...

The resonance self-shielding calculation with regularized random ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ribon, P.

1986-01-01

The straightforward method for calculation of resonance self-shielding is to generate one or several resonance ladders, and to process them as resolved resonances. The main drawback of Monte Carlo methods used to generate the ladders, is the difficulty of reducing the dispersion of data and results. Several methods are examined, and it is shown how one (a regularized sampling method) improves the accuracy. Analytical methods to compute the effective cross-section have recently appeared: they are basically exempt from dispersion, but are inevitably approximate. The accuracy of the most sophisticated one is checked. There is a neutron energy range which is improperly considered as statistical. An examination is presented of what happens when it is treated as statistical, and how it is possible to improve the accuracy of calculations in this range. To illustrate the results calculations have been performed in a simple case: nucleus 238 U, at 300 K, between 4250 and 4750 eV. (author)

Groundstate fidelity phase diagram of the fully anisotropic two-leg spin-½ XXZ ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sheng-Hao; Shi, Qian-Qian; Batchelor, Murray T.; Zhou, Huan-Qiang

2017-11-01

The fully anisotropic two-leg spin-\\tfrac{1}{2} XXZ ladder model is studied in terms of an algorithm based on the tensor network (TN) representation of quantum many-body states as an adaptation of projected entangled pair states to the geometry of translationally invariant infinite-size quantum spin ladders. The TN algorithm provides an effective method to generate the groundstate wave function, which allows computation of the groundstate fidelity per lattice site, a universal marker to detect phase transitions in quantum many-body systems. The groundstate fidelity is used in conjunction with local order and string order parameters to systematically map out the groundstate phase diagram of the ladder model. The phase diagram exhibits a rich diversity of quantum phases. These are the ferromagnetic, stripe ferromagnetic, rung singlet, rung triplet, Néel, stripe Néel and Haldane phases, along with the two XY phases XY1 and XY2.

Creating a Professional Ladder for Interpreters for Improvement of Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Lori; Fischer, Anna; Noyes Soeller, Allison; Cordova, Richard; Gutierrez, Yvonne R; Alford, Luis

2016-01-01

Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), a metropolitan academic medical center, recognized limitations in how the professional interpreters from the Diversity Services Department were used to support effective patient-provider communication across the organization. Given the importance of mitigating language and communication barriers, CHLA sought to minimize clinical and structural barriers to health care for limited English proficiency populations through a comprehensive restructuring of the Diversity Services Department. This approach entailed a new delivery model for hospital language assistance and cultural consultancy resources. The intervention focused on restructuring the Diversity Services Department, redefining priorities, reallocating resources, and redefining the roles of the language staff positions in the department. The language staff role was redesigned to fit a four-level professional career ladder modeled after the professional career ladders commonly used in hospitals for the RN role and other professional disciplines. The approach involved creating new levels of language specialist, each with progressive requirements for performance, leadership, and accountability for patient care outcomes. Language staff in the inpatient, clinic, and emergency department settings worked alongside nurses, physicians, and other disciplines to care for a specific set of patients. The result of this work was a positive culture change resulting in service efficiencies, care improvements, and improved access to language services. A professional career ladder for language staff contributed to improving the quality and access of language services and advancing the interpreting profession by incorporating care coordination support, vital document translation, and cultural consultancy.

Ground Radio Operator Career Ladder AFSC 293X3.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-07-01

formal resident training, OJT, and ,her Air Force management decisions . The structure of jobs within the Ground ! odio Operatoi career ladder was...33 ADJUST ANTENNA TUNING UNITS 33 TYPE RECORDS, REPORTS, OR FORMS :33 OPERATE AUXILLARY GENERATORS 33 A8 ’iT’ TASKS PERFORMED BY SUPERVISORS AND

High-energy, large-momentum-transfer processes: Ladder diagrams in φ3 theory. Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osland, P.; Wu, T.T.; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA

1987-01-01

Relativistic quantum field theories may give us useful guidance to understanding high-energy, large-momentum-transfer processes, where the center-of-mass energy is much larger than the transverse momentum transfers, which are in turn much larger than the masses of the participating particles. With this possibility in mind, we study the ladder diagrams in φ 3 theory. In this paper, some of the necessary techniques are developed and applied to the simplest cases of the fourth- and sixth-order ladder diagrams. (orig.)

Breathers in Josephson junction ladders: Resonances and electromagnetic wave spectroscopy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Miroshnichenko, A. E.; Flach, S.; Fistul, M.

2001-01-01

We present a theoretical study of the resonant interaction between dynamical localized states (discrete breathers) and linear electromagnetic excitations (EE's) in Josephson junction ladders. By making use of direct numerical simulations we find that such an interaction manifests itself by resonant...

29 CFR Appendix A to Subpart X of... - Ladders

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 8 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Ladders A Appendix A to Subpart X of Part 1926 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR... designed and built in accordance with the applicable national consensus standards, as set forth below, will...

46 CFR 116.438 - Stairtowers, stairways, ladders, and elevators.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Stairtowers, stairways, ladders, and elevators. 116.438 Section 116.438 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) SMALL PASSENGER VESSELS CARRYING MORE THAN 150 PASSENGERS OR WITH OVERNIGHT ACCOMMODATIONS FOR MORE THAN 49 PASSENGERS CONSTRUCTION AND ARRANGEMENT Fire Protection §...

Cutting and dismantling of the South West ladder of the Atucha I nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anasco, Roberto

2006-01-01

The metallic ladder built in stainless steel was used originally to check the welding of the reactor pressure vessel. It was located between the thermal insulation and reactor pressure vessel. Because of a failure in the mechanism, which let the ladder runs around the vessel, it had to be removed. A special tool remotely operated was designed to make different cuts in the bottom of the structure in a very high radioactive location [es

New insights into the origin of ladder dikes: Implications for punctuated growth and crystal accumulation in the Cathedral Peak granodiorite

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebe, R. A.; Jellinek, A. M.; Hodge, K. F.

2017-04-01

Ladder dikes are steep tabular bodies, typically a meter or less thick, composed of moderately dipping, concave upward, alternating dark (i.e. schlieren) and light bands oriented roughly perpendicular to the ladder dike margins. These structures occur widely but sparsely in granitic rocks and are found prominently in the Cathedral Peak granodiorite (CPG) of the Tuolumne Intrusive suite. Previous studies have interpreted that ladder dikes form as a result of processes including the downward flow of crystal mush in cracks within strong crystal mush or by upward flow in steep tubes that migrate within a strong crystal mush. Our new observations indicate that ladder dikes formed by downward flow of crystal mush in troughs or valleys, in a manner potentially comparable to trough bands in mafic layered intrusions. Extensions of the schlieren outward and upward away from the ladder dike margins into the host granite demonstrate that the host granite was deposited as mounds on both sides at the same time as the ladder dikes. Ladder dikes, therefore, record lateral flows of crystal mush on a magma chamber floor. Vertical exposures suggest these flows are on the order of ten meters thick. Some steep exposures on granite domes indicate multiple ladder dikes (and flows) over a stratigraphic height of 80-100 m. Later (stratigraphically higher) flows commonly deform and erode the top of an earlier flow, and granitic material rich in K-feldspar megacrysts has locally engulfed large blocks of ladder dikes, demonstrating that the megacrysts were also transported in flows. Flows in the CPG are directed away from the center of the pluton toward the western and eastern margins and apparently spread along a strong crystal mush floor and into a rheologically complex CPG magma. Whereas established dynamical models for spreading (single phase) gravity currents with simple and complex rheologies explain the elongate geometry, spacing and orientation of the tabular bodies, the origin and

Functional Median Polish

KAUST Repository

Sun, Ying

2012-08-03

This article proposes functional median polish, an extension of univariate median polish, for one-way and two-way functional analysis of variance (ANOVA). The functional median polish estimates the functional grand effect and functional main factor effects based on functional medians in an additive functional ANOVA model assuming no interaction among factors. A functional rank test is used to assess whether the functional main factor effects are significant. The robustness of the functional median polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science, including one-way and two-way ANOVA when functional data are either curves or images. Specifically, Canadian temperature data, U. S. precipitation observations and outputs of global and regional climate models are considered, which can facilitate the research on the close link between local climate and the occurrence or severity of some diseases and other threats to human health. © 2012 International Biometric Society.

“Why Caipirinha?”- The Online via Chat Laddering Technique CAN Answer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bruno Bordeaux-Rego

2011-04-01

Full Text Available As customers are becoming increasingly connected to the internet, this means that they are available for online interviews, thus opening up a space for investigating research methods, especially qualitative research, in an attempt to identify how to adapt data collecting instruments to the so-called “connected customer era”. In this context, the focus of this article is on the application viability analysis of the laddering technique used online and in real-time chat by asking the following question: “Why caipirinha?”. Conducting online in-depth interviews through the MSN Messenger and Skype (the most commonly used chat tools in Brazil, 23 attributes, 22 consequences and 13 values were identified, resulting in 133 ladders, 71 of which reached the value level. Along with friends/mates, Integration, Entertainment and Fun, in addition to Alcohol, Insouciance/ relaxation and Pleasure constitute the most frequent ladders. Concerning the application itself, the participants gave positive feedback, even though some of them did not feel satisfied because they became tired. Convenience, objectivity, disinhibition, easy scheduling and flexibility were identified. The viability of online in-depth interviewing via real-time chats was confirmed, raising the question of the possibility of it achieving other qualitative research techniques.

Akıllı telefon kullanımının median sinir üzerine etkisi

OpenAIRE

İlik, Faik; Büyükgöl, Huseyin; Eren, Fatma A.; İlik, Mustafa K.; Kayhan, Fatih; Köse, Hatice

2018-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of smartphone use on the median nerve. Materials and Methods: Participants were classified into three groups according to their smartphone use frequencies; high smartphone users (with Smartphone addiction scale (SAS) score of higher than 71), low smartphone users (SAS score less than 71) and classical type mobile phones users. The Visual analogue scale (VAS), quick-disabilities of arm, shoulder, hand (qDASH) and median nerve conduction...

Generalized ladder operators for the Dirac-Coulomb problem via SUSY QM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodrigues, R. de Lima; Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, PB

2003-12-01

The supersymmetry in quantum mechanics and shape invariance condition are applied as an algebraic method to solving the Dirac-Coulomb problem. The ground state and the excited states are investigated via new generalized ladder operators. (author)

Orbital currents and charge density waves in a generalized Hubbard ladder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fjaerestad, J.O.; Marston, J.B.; Schollwoeck, U.

2006-01-01

We study a generalized Hubbard model on the two-leg ladder at zero temperature, focusing on a parameter region with staggered flux (SF)/d-density wave (DDW) order. To guide our numerical calculations, we first investigate the location of a SF/DDW phase in the phase diagram of the half-filled weakly interacting ladder using a perturbative renormalization group (RG) and bosonization approach. For hole doping δ away from half-filling, finite-system density-matrix renormalization-group (DMRG) calculations are used to study ladders with up to 200 rungs for intermediate-strength interactions. In the doped SF/DDW phase, the staggered rung current and the rung electron density both show periodic spatial oscillations, with characteristic wavelengths 2/δ and 1/δ, respectively, corresponding to ordering wavevectors 2k F and 4k F for the currents and densities, where 2k F = π (1 - δ). The density minima are located at the anti-phase domain walls of the staggered current. For sufficiently large dopings, SF/DDW order is suppressed. The rung density modulation also exists in neighboring phases where currents decay exponentially. We show that most of the DMRG results can be qualitatively understood from weak-coupling RG/bosonization arguments. However, while these arguments seem to suggest a crossover from non-decaying correlations to power-law decay at a length scale of order 1/δ, the DMRG results are consistent with a true long-range order scenario for the currents and densities

SUSY’s Ladder: reframing sequestering at Large Volume

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reece, Matthew [Department of Physics, Harvard University,Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Xue, Wei [Center for Theoretical Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, MA 02139 (United States)

2016-04-07

Theories with approximate no-scale structure, such as the Large Volume Scenario, have a distinctive hierarchy of multiple mass scales in between TeV gaugino masses and the Planck scale, which we call SUSY’s Ladder. This is a particular realization of Split Supersymmetry in which the same small parameter suppresses gaugino masses relative to scalar soft masses, scalar soft masses relative to the gravitino mass, and the UV cutoff or string scale relative to the Planck scale. This scenario has many phenomenologically interesting properties, and can avoid dangers including the gravitino problem, flavor problems, and the moduli-induced LSP problem that plague other supersymmetric theories. We study SUSY’s Ladder using a superspace formalism that makes the mysterious cancelations in previous computations manifest. This opens the possibility of a consistent effective field theory understanding of the phenomenology of these scenarios, based on power-counting in the small ratio of string to Planck scales. We also show that four-dimensional theories with approximate no-scale structure enforced by a single volume modulus arise only from two special higher-dimensional theories: five-dimensional supergravity and ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. This gives a phenomenological argument in favor of ten dimensional ultraviolet physics which is different from standard arguments based on the consistency of superstring theory.

Median Robust Extended Local Binary Pattern for Texture Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Li; Lao, Songyang; Fieguth, Paul W; Guo, Yulan; Wang, Xiaogang; Pietikäinen, Matti

2016-03-01

Local binary patterns (LBP) are considered among the most computationally efficient high-performance texture features. However, the LBP method is very sensitive to image noise and is unable to capture macrostructure information. To best address these disadvantages, in this paper, we introduce a novel descriptor for texture classification, the median robust extended LBP (MRELBP). Different from the traditional LBP and many LBP variants, MRELBP compares regional image medians rather than raw image intensities. A multiscale LBP type descriptor is computed by efficiently comparing image medians over a novel sampling scheme, which can capture both microstructure and macrostructure texture information. A comprehensive evaluation on benchmark data sets reveals MRELBP's high performance-robust to gray scale variations, rotation changes and noise-but at a low computational cost. MRELBP produces the best classification scores of 99.82%, 99.38%, and 99.77% on three popular Outex test suites. More importantly, MRELBP is shown to be highly robust to image noise, including Gaussian noise, Gaussian blur, salt-and-pepper noise, and random pixel corruption.

End States, Ladder Compounds, and Domain-Wall Fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Creutz, M.

1999-01-01

A magnetic field applied to a cross-linked ladder compound can generate isolated electronic states bound to the ends of the chain. After exploring the interference phenomena responsible, I discuss a connection to the domain-wall approach to chiral fermions in lattice gauge theory. The robust nature of the states under small variations of the bond strengths is tied to chiral symmetry and the multiplicative renormalization of fermion masses. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Gluon ladders in pp (pp-bar) collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machado, Magno Valerio Trindade; Ducati, Maria Beatriz Gay

2000-01-01

Full text follows: We study the contribution of a finite sum of gluon ladders to the hadronic processes showing that a reliable description is obtained using two order on perturbation theory. The pp(pp-bar) total cross sections are described with good agreement, consistent with unitarity bound. We also calculate the elastic scattering amplitude at non zero momentum transfer t, introducing two distinct Ansatz for the proton impact factor. As a by product the elastic differential cross section is obtained at small t approximation and compared with the data. (author)

Interband optical absorption in the Wannier-Stark ladder under the electron-LO-phonon resonance condition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Govorov, A.O.

1993-08-01

Interband optical absorption in the Wannier-Stark ladder in the presence of the electron-LO-phonon resonance is investigated theoretically. The electron-LO-phonon resonance occurs when the energy spacing between adjacent Stark-ladder levels coincides with the LO-phonon energy. We propose a model describing the polaron effect in a superlattice. Calculations show that the absorption line shape is strongly modified due to the polaron effect under the electron-LO-phonon resonance condition. We consider optical phenomena in a normal magnetic field that leads to enhancement of polaron effects. (author). 17 refs, 5 figs

Low-Field Bi-Skyrmion Formation in a Noncentrosymmetric Chimney Ladder Ferromagnet

Science.gov (United States)

Takagi, R.; Yu, X. Z.; White, J. S.; Shibata, K.; Kaneko, Y.; Tatara, G.; Rønnow, H. M.; Tokura, Y.; Seki, S.

2018-01-01

The real-space spin texture and the relevant magnetic parameters were investigated for an easy-axis noncentrosymmetric ferromagnet Cr11 Ge19 with Nowotny chimney ladder structure. Using Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, we report the formation of bi-Skyrmions, i.e., pairs of spin vortices with opposite magnetic helicities. The quantitative evaluation of the magnetocrystalline anisotropy and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) proves that the magnetic dipolar interaction plays a more important role than the DMI on the observed bi-Skyrmion formation. Notably, the critical magnetic field value required for the formation of bi-Skyrmions turned out to be extremely small in this system, which is ascribed to strong easy-axis anisotropy associated with the characteristic helix crystal structure. The family of Nowotny chimney ladder compounds may offer a unique material platform where two distinctive Skyrmion formation mechanisms favoring different topological spin textures can become simultaneously active.

Two-leg ladder systems with dipole–dipole Fermion interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Mosadeq, Hamid; Asgari, Reza

2018-05-01

The ground-state phase diagram of a two-leg fermionic dipolar ladder with inter-site interactions is studied using density matrix renormalization group (DMRG) techniques. We use a state-of-the-art implementation of the DMRG algorithm and finite size scaling to simulate large system sizes with high accuracy. We also consider two different model systems and explore stable phases in half and quarter filling factors. We find that in the half filling, the charge and spin gaps emerge in a finite value of the dipole–dipole and on-site interactions. In the quarter filling case, s-wave superconducting state, charge density wave, homogenous insulating and phase separation phases occur depend on the interaction values. Moreover, in the dipole–dipole interaction, the D-Mott phase emerges when the hopping terms along the chain and rung are the same, whereas, this phase has been only proposed for the anisotropic Hubbard model. In the half filling case, on the other hand, there is either charge-density wave or charged Mott order phase depends on the orientation of the dipole moments of the particles with respect to the ladder geometry.

Recurrent variational approach to the two-leg Hubbard ladder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, E.H.; Sierra, G.; Duffy, D.

1999-01-01

We applied the recurrent variational approach to the two-leg Hubbard ladder. At half filling, our variational ansatz was a generalization of the resonating valence-bond state. At finite doping, hole pairs were allowed to move in the resonating valence-bond background. The results obtained by the recurrent variational approach were compared with results from density matrix renormalization group. copyright 1999 The American Physical Society

Resonant states and wavepacket super-diffusion in intra-chain correlated ladders with diluted disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Moura, F A B F; Leao, F F S; Lyra, M L

2011-01-01

In this work, we study a tight-binding Hamiltonian model system of a binary correlated ladder with diluted disorder. We introduce intra-chain correlations between the on-site potentials by imposing that ε i, s = - ε i,-s where s = ± 1 indexes the two ladder chains. Further, we consider each ladder chain as composed of inter-penetrating ordered and random sub-chains. We show that the presence of a random on-site distribution in one of the inter-penetrating chains leads to Anderson localization except at a specific symmetric pair of energy eigenmodes. Further, by integrating the time-dependent Schroedinger equation, we follow the time-evolution of an initially localized one-electron wavepacket. We report that the remaining delocalized resonant modes are responsible for a super-diffusive spread of the wavepacket dispersion while the wavepacket participation function remains finite. A scaling analysis of the wavepacket distribution shows that it obeys a universal scaling form with the development of a power-law tail followed by a super-diffusively evolving cutoff. We obtain three exponents characterizing this super-diffusive dynamics and show that they satisfy a simple scaling relation.

Multi-material size optimization of a ladder frame chassis

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Michael

The Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) is an American fuel standard that sets regulations on fuel economy in vehicles. This law ultimately shapes the development and design research for automakers. Reducing the weight of conventional cars offers a way to improve fuel efficiency. This research investigated the optimality of an automobile's ladder frame chassis (LFC) by conducting multi-objective optimization on the LFC in order to reduce the weight of the chassis. The focus of the design and optimization was a ladder frame chassis commonly used for mass production light motor vehicles with an open-top rear cargo area. This thesis is comprised of two major sections. The first looked to perform thickness optimization in the outer walls of the ladder frame. In the second section, many multi-material distributions, including steel and aluminium varieties, were investigated. A simplified model was used to do an initial hand calculation analysis of the problem. This was used to create a baseline validation to compare the theory with the modeling. A CAD model of the LFC was designed. From the CAD model, a finite element model was extracted and joined using weld and bolt connectors. Following this, a linear static analysis was performed to look at displacement and stresses when subjected to loading conditions that simulate harsh driving conditions. The analysis showed significant values of stress and displacement on the ends of the rails, suggesting improvements could be made elsewhere. An optimization scheme was used to find the values of an all steel frame an optimal thickness distribution was found. This provided a 13% weight reduction over the initial model. To advance the analysis a multi-material approach was used to push the weight savings even further. Several material distributions were analyzed and the lightest utilized aluminium in all but the most strenuous subjected components. This enabled a reduction in weight of 15% over the initial model, equivalent to

THE PAN-STARRS 1 PHOTOMETRIC REFERENCE LADDER, RELEASE 12.01

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnier, E. A.; Tonry, J. L.; Burgett, W. S.; Chambers, K. C.; Flewelling, H. A.; Kaiser, N.; Kudritzki, R.-P.; Morgan, J. S.; Sweeney, W. E.; Schlafly, E.; Finkbeiner, D.; Juric, M.; Stubbs, C. W.; Price, P. A.

2013-01-01

As of 2012 January 21, the Pan-STARRS 1 3π Survey has observed the 3/4 of the sky visible from Hawaii with a minimum of 2 and mean of 7.6 observations in five filters, g P1 , r P1 , i P1 , z P1 , y P1 . Now at the end of the second year of the mission, we are in a position to make an initial public release of a portion of this unprecedented data set. This article describes the PS1 Photometric Ladder, Release 12.01. This is the first of a series of data releases to be generated as the survey coverage increases and the data analysis improves. The Photometric Ladder has rungs every hour in right ascension and at four intervals in declination. We will release updates with increased area coverage (more rungs) from the latest data set until the PS1 survey and the final re-reduction are completed. The currently released catalog presents photometry of ∼1000 objects per square degree in the rungs of the ladder. Saturation occurs at g P1 , r P1 , i P1 ∼ 13.5; z P1 ∼ 13.0; and y P1 ∼ 12.0. Photometry is provided for stars down to g P1 , r P1 , i P1 ∼ 19.1 in the AB system. This data release depends on the rigid 'Ubercal' photometric calibration using only the photometric nights, with systematic uncertainties of (8.0, 7.0, 9.0, 10.7, 12.4) mmag in (g P1 , r P1 , i P1 , z P1 , y P1 ). Areas covered only with lower quality nights are also included, and have been tied to the Ubercal solution via relative photometry; photometric accuracy of the non-photometric regions is lower and should be used with caution.

Direct observation of magnon fractionalization in the quantum spin ladder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thielemann, B.; Rüegg, C.; Rønnow, H.M.; Läuchli, A.M.; Caux, J.S.; Normand, B.; Biner, D.; Krämer, K.W.; Güdel, H.U.; Stahn, J.; Habicht, K.; Kiefer, K.; Boehm, M.; McMorrow, D.F.; Mesot, J.

2009-01-01

We measure by inelastic neutron scattering the spin excitation spectra as a function of applied magnetic field in the quantum spin-ladder material (C5H12N)2CuBr4. Discrete magnon modes at low fields in the quantum disordered phase and at high fields in the saturated phase contrast sharply with a

Improving energy and carbon management in construction and civil engineering companies—evaluating the impacts of the CO2 Performance Ladder

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rietbergen, Martijn G.; Opstelten, Ivo J.; Blok, Kornelis

In the Netherlands, the CO2 Performance Ladder has been introduced as an energy management programme to facilitate continuous energy efficiency and carbon performance improvement in non-industrial sectors. This paper addresses the question: ‘What is the impact of the CO2 Performance Ladder on

Parents' Participation on School Councils Analysed through Arnstein's Ladder of Participation

Science.gov (United States)

Stelmach, Bonnie

2016-01-01

Although parent school councils are the archetypal arrangement for engaging parents in school improvement planning, their effectiveness is negligible when it comes to building parents' capacity for and confidence in educational decision-making. Using Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation, this qualitative case study investigated the nature…

Bethe-Salpeter equation for fermion-antifermion system in the ladder approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukui, Ichio; Seto, Noriaki; Yoshida, Toshihiro.

1977-01-01

The Bethe-Salpeter (B-S) equation is important for studying hadron physics. Especially intensive investigation on the fermion-antifermion B-S equation is indispensable for the phenomenological studies of hardrons. However, many components of the B-S amplitude and the Wick-rotated integral kernel of non-Fredholm type have prevented from knowing details the solutions even in the ladder approximation. Some particular solutions are known in case of the vanishing four-momenta of bound states. The B-S equation for the bound state of fermion-anti-fermion system interacting through vector (axial-vector) particle exchange was studied in the ladder approximation with Feynman gauge. The reduced equations were obtained for suitably decomposed amplitude, and it is shown that, in the S-wave case, the coupled equations separate into two parts. In the nonrelativistic limit, large components of the amplitude satisfy the Wick-Cutkosky equation, and small components are expressed in terms of the large ones. Equations are derived for the equal-time amplitudes. (Kobatake, H.)

Spin ordering in three-leg ladders in Ludwigite systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vallejo, E.; Avignon, M.

2007-01-01

We study the spin ordering in a three-leg ladder present in Ludwigite systems formed of localized spins interacting with an extra electron per rung. We also consider the competition with super exchange interactions resulting in a very rich phase diagram. Among the phases we find the possibility of ferromagnetic rungs ordered antiferromagnetically and a zigzag spin ordering linked to the formation of a charge ordering as observed

Measurement of the Rise-Time in a Single Sided Ladder Detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerber, C.E.

1997-01-01

In this note we report on the measurement of the preamplifier output rise time for a SVXII chip mounted on a D0 single sided ladder. The measurements were performed on the ladder 001-883-L, using the laser test stand of Lab D. The rise time was measured for different values of the response (or bandwidth) of the preamplifier. As a bigger bandwidth results in longer rise times and therefore in less noise, the largest possible bandwidth consistent with the time between bunch crossings should be chosen to operate the detectors. The rise time is defined as the time elapsed between 10% and 90% of the charge is collected. It is also interesting to measure the time for full charge collection and the percentage of charge collected in 132 ns and 396 ns. The results are shown in table 1, for bandwidths between 2 and 63 (binary numbers). The uncertainty on the time measurement is considered to be ∼ 10 ns. Figure 1 schematically defines the four quantities measured: rise time, time of full charge collection, and percentage of charge collected in 132 ns and 396 ns. Figures 2 to 8 are the actual measurements for bandwidths of 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 32 and 63. Figure 9 is a second measurement for BW=24, used as a consistency check of the system and the time measurement performed on the plots. The data indicate that the single sided ladders can be operated at BW=63 for 396 ns and BW=12 for 132 ns, achieving full charge collection. This will result in smaller noise than originally anticipated.

Surface Acoustic Analog of Bloch Oscillations, Wannier-Stark Ladders and Landau-Zener Tunneling

Science.gov (United States)

de Lima, M. M.; Kosevich, Yu. A.; Santos, P. V.; Cantarero, A.

2011-12-01

In this contribution, we discuss the recent experimental demonstration of Wannier-Stark ladders, Bloch Oscillations and Landau Zener tunneling in a solid by means of surface acoustic waves propagating through perturbed grating structures.

Electric field induced localization phenomena in a ladder network with superlattice configuration: Effect of backbone environment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutta, Paramita; Karmakar, S. N. [Condensed Matter Physics Division, Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Sector-I, Block-AF, Bidhannagar, Kolkata-700 064 (India); Maiti, Santanu K., E-mail: santanu.maiti@isical.ac.in [Physics and Applied Mathematics Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, 203 Barrackpore Trunk Road, Kolkata-700 108 (India)

2014-09-15

Electric field induced localization properties of a tight-binding ladder network in presence of backbone sites are investigated. Based on Green's function formalism we numerically calculate two-terminal transport together with density of states for different arrangements of atomic sites in the ladder and its backbone. Our results lead to a possibility of getting multiple mobility edges which essentially plays a switching action between a completely opaque to fully or partly conducting region upon the variation of system Fermi energy, and thus, support in fabricating mesoscopic or DNA-based switching devices.

The Sinonasal Outcome Test 22 score in persons without chronic rhinosinusitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lange, Bibi; Thilsing, T; Baelum, J

2016-01-01

-67 with a mean score of 10.5 (CI: 9.1 - 11.9) and the median score was 7. Persons with allergic rhinitis and blue collar workers had a significant higher score. CONCLUSION: The median value of 7 is taken as the normal SNOT 22 score in persons without CRS and can be used as a reference in clinical settings...... and research. Allergic rhinitis and occupation affects SNOT 22 in persons without CRS. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved....

Using a familiar risk comparison within a risk ladder to improve risk understanding by low numerates: a study of visual attention.

Science.gov (United States)

Keller, Carmen

2011-07-01

Previous experimental research provides evidence that a familiar risk comparison within a risk ladder is understood by low- and high-numerate individuals. It especially helps low numerates to better evaluate risk. In the present study, an eye tracker was used to capture individuals' visual attention to a familiar risk comparison, such as the risk associated with smoking. Two parameters of information processing-efficiency and level-were derived from visual attention. A random sample of participants from the general population (N= 68) interpreted a given risk level with the help of the risk ladder. Numeracy was negatively correlated with overall visual attention on the risk ladder (r(s) =-0.28, p= 0.01), indicating that the lower the numeracy, the more the time spent looking at the whole risk ladder. Numeracy was positively correlated with the efficiency of processing relevant frequency (r(s) = 0.34, p improving risk communication formats. © 2011 Society for Risk Analysis.

Implementability of two-qubit unitary operations over the butterfly network and the ladder network with free classical communication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akibue, Seiseki [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan); Murao, Mio [Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan and NanoQuine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)

2014-12-04

We investigate distributed implementation of two-qubit unitary operations over two primitive networks, the butterfly network and the ladder network, as a first step to apply network coding for quantum computation. By classifying two-qubit unitary operations in terms of the Kraus-Cirac number, the number of non-zero parameters describing the global part of two-qubit unitary operations, we analyze which class of two-qubit unitary operations is implementable over these networks with free classical communication. For the butterfly network, we show that two classes of two-qubit unitary operations, which contain all Clifford, controlled-unitary and matchgate operations, are implementable over the network. For the ladder network, we show that two-qubit unitary operations are implementable over the network if and only if their Kraus-Cirac number do not exceed the number of the bridges of the ladder.

Implementability of two-qubit unitary operations over the butterfly network and the ladder network with free classical communication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akibue, Seiseki; Murao, Mio

2014-01-01

We investigate distributed implementation of two-qubit unitary operations over two primitive networks, the butterfly network and the ladder network, as a first step to apply network coding for quantum computation. By classifying two-qubit unitary operations in terms of the Kraus-Cirac number, the number of non-zero parameters describing the global part of two-qubit unitary operations, we analyze which class of two-qubit unitary operations is implementable over these networks with free classical communication. For the butterfly network, we show that two classes of two-qubit unitary operations, which contain all Clifford, controlled-unitary and matchgate operations, are implementable over the network. For the ladder network, we show that two-qubit unitary operations are implementable over the network if and only if their Kraus-Cirac number do not exceed the number of the bridges of the ladder

Acute effects of Resistance exercise performed on ladder on energy metabolism, stress, and muscle damage in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Guilherme Oliveira Silvestre

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract AIMS To evaluate the acute effects of a resistance exercise session performed on ladder on energy metabolism, stress, and muscle damage in rats. METHODS Male Wistar rats were randomly distributed in Exercise (E (n=30 and Control (C (n = 20 groups. The E group performed a resistance exercise session on a vertical ladder with weights on their tails. Blood samples were collected at rest and after each climb to analyze lactate levels and ten minutes after the last climb to analyze lactate dehydrogenase (LDH, creatine kinase (CK, and corticosterone levels. RESULTS Blood lactate levels remained stable during exercise. Serum corticosterone, blood glucose, LDH and CK levels increased and glycogen content decreased in the E group, when compared to the C group. CONCLUSION These results suggest that resistance exercise performed on ladder is a model of high-intensity exercise. However, the stabilization of lactate during the session suggests that the aerobic metabolism is an important factor during the intervals between climbs.

Ground-state and spectral properties of an asymmetric Hubbard ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelwahab, Anas; Jeckelmann, Eric; Hohenadler, Martin

2015-04-01

We investigate a ladder system with two inequivalent legs, namely, a Hubbard chain and a one-dimensional electron gas. Analytical approximations, the density-matrix renormalization group method, and continuous-time quantum Monte Carlo simulations are used to determine ground-state properties, gaps, and spectral functions of this system at half-filling. Evidence for the existence of four different phases as a function of the Hubbard interaction and the rung hopping is presented. First, a Luttinger liquid exists at very weak interchain hopping. Second, a Kondo-Mott insulator with spin and charge gaps induced by an effective rung exchange coupling is found at moderate interchain hopping or strong Hubbard interaction. Third, a spin-gapped paramagnetic Mott insulator with incommensurate excitations and pairing of doped charges is observed at intermediate values of the rung hopping and the interaction. Fourth, the usual correlated band insulator is recovered for large rung hopping. We show that the wave numbers of the lowest single-particle excitations are different in each insulating phase. In particular, the three gapped phases exhibit markedly different spectral functions. We discuss the relevance of asymmetric two-leg ladder systems as models for atomic wires deposited on a substrate.

Effects of smartphone overuse on hand function, pinch strength, and the median nerve.

Science.gov (United States)

İnal, Esra Erkol; Demİrcİ, kadİr; Çetİntürk, Azİze; Akgönül, Mehmet; Savaş, Serpİl

2015-08-01

In this study we investigated the flexor pollicis longus (FPL) tendon and median nerve in smartphone users by ultrasonography to assess the effects of smartphone addiction on the clinical and functional status of the hands. One hundred two students were divided into 3 groups: non-users, and high or low smartphone users. Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) scores and grip and pinch strengths were recorded. Pain in thumb movement and rest and hand function were evaluated on the visual analog scale (VAS) and the Duruöz Hand Index (DHI), respectively. The cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the median nerve and the FPL tendon were calculated bilaterally using ultrasonography. Significantly higher median nerve CSAs were observed in the dominant hands of the high smartphone users than in the non-dominant hands (PSmartphone overuse enlarges the median nerve, causes pain in the thumb, and decreases pinch strength and hand functions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Selection of an experimental fish ladder located at the dam of the Itaipu Binacional, Paraná River, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingo Rodriguez Fernandez

2004-08-01

Full Text Available The specific selection of a weir and orifice type experimental fish ladder in the dam of the Itaipu Reservoir (Paraná River was evaluated by samplings in the river downstream and at two points along the ladder (at heights of 10 m and 27 m during 28 months. Among the 65 species recorded in the river (immediate downstream of the dam, 27 were captured on the ladder. The species that showed highest density on the ladder, the majority migratory, were moderately, or only slightly, abundant downstream. Among the most abundant species downstream, only one, non-migratory, was recorded in the ladder. The structure presented a negative selection in relation to large migratory pimelodids that might be overcome by enlarging the scale of its design. The sampling demonstrated a moderate selection of species along the ladder and its hydraulic model proved satisfactory regarding the attraction and efficient ascent of the fishes.A seleção específica de uma escada de peixes do tipo seqüência de tanques, com passagem de fundo (tipo weir and orifice, na barragem da hidrelétrica de Itaipu (rio Paraná, foi avaliada através de amostragens no rio a jusante (amostragem trimestral em 1997 e em dois pontos ao longo da escada (10 e 27m de altura; nov/94 a jan/97 e nov/94 a fev/97, respectivamente. Das 65 espécies registradas no rio imediatamente a jusante da barragem, 27 foram capturadas na escada. As espécies com maior densidade na escada, em sua maioria migradoras, tiveram abundância moderada ou baixa a jusante. Entre as mais abundantes a jusante, apenas uma, não migradora, foi registrada na escada. A escada apresentou seleção negativa aos grandes pimelodídeos migradores que pode ser superada com a ampliação na escala do projeto. As amostragens evidenciaram baixa seletividade específica ao longo da escada, sendo seu modelo hidráulico satisfatório na atração e eficiente na ascensão de peixes.

Patient-Reported Esthetic and Functional Outcomes of Primary Total Laparoscopic Intestinal Vaginoplasty in Transgender Women With Penoscrotal Hypoplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouman, Mark-Bram; van der Sluis, Wouter B; van Woudenberg Hamstra, Leonora E; Buncamper, Marlon E; Kreukels, Baudewijntje P C; Meijerink, Wilhelmus J H J; Mullender, Margriet G

2016-09-01

Puberty-suppressing hormonal treatment may result in penoscrotal hypoplasia in transgender women, making standard penile inversion vaginoplasty not feasible. For these patients, intestinal vaginoplasty is a surgical alternative, but knowledge on patient-reported postoperative outcomes and quality of life is lacking. To assess patient-reported functional and esthetic outcomes, quality of life, satisfaction, and sexual well-being after primary total laparoscopic intestinal vaginoplasty in transgender women. A survey study was performed on transgender women who underwent primary total laparoscopic intestinal vaginoplasty with at least 1 year of clinical follow-up. Thirty-one transgender women completed the questionnaires (median age at time of surgery = 19.1 years, range = 18.3-45.0) after a median clinical follow-up of 2.2 years (range = 0.8-7.5). Consenting women were asked to complete a combined questionnaire of the Subjective Happiness Scale, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, Cantril's Ladder of Life Scale, the Female Sexual Function Index, the Female Genital Self-Imaging Scale, the Amsterdam Hyperactive Pelvic Floor Scale-Women, and a questionnaire addressing postoperative satisfaction. Patient-reported functional and esthetic outcomes and postoperative quality of life. Patients graded their life satisfaction a median of 8.0 (range = 4.0-10.0) on Cantril's Ladder of Life Scale. Patients scored a mean total score of 27.7 ± 5.8 on the Satisfaction With Life Scale, which indicated high satisfaction with life, and a mean total score of 5.6 ± 1.4 on the Subjective Happiness Scale. Functionality was graded a median score of 8.0 of 10 (range = 1.0-10.0) and esthetics a score of 8.0 out of 10 (range = 3.0-10.0). The mean Female Sexual Function Index total score of sexually active transgender women was 26.0 ± 6.8. This group of relatively young transgender women reported satisfactory functional and esthetic results of the neovagina and a good quality of life

Frustrated quantum magnetism in the Kondo lattice on the zigzag ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Peschke, Matthias; Rausch, Roman; Potthoff, Michael

2018-03-01

The interplay between the Kondo effect, indirect magnetic interaction, and geometrical frustration is studied in the Kondo lattice on the one-dimensional zigzag ladder. Using the density-matrix renormalization group, the ground-state and various short- and long-range spin- and density-correlation functions are calculated for the model at half filling as a function of the antiferromagnetic Kondo interaction down to J =0.3 t , where t is the nearest-neighbor hopping on the zigzag ladder. Geometrical frustration is shown to lead to at least two critical points: Starting from the strong-J limit, where almost local Kondo screening dominates and where the system is a nonmagnetic Kondo insulator, antiferromagnetic correlations between nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor local spins become stronger and stronger, until at Jcdim≈0.89 t frustration is alleviated by a spontaneous breaking of translational symmetry and a corresponding transition to a dimerized state. This is characterized by antiferromagnetic correlations along the legs and by alternating antiferro- and ferromagnetic correlations on the rungs of the ladder. A mechanism of partial Kondo screening that has been suggested for the Kondo lattice on the two-dimensional triangular lattice is not realized in the one-dimensional case. Furthermore, within the symmetry-broken dimerized state, there is a magnetic transition to a 90∘ quantum spin spiral with quasi-long-range order at Jcmag≈0.84 t . The quantum-critical point is characterized by a closure of the spin gap (with decreasing J ) and a divergence of the spin-correlation length and of the spin-structure factor S (q ) at wave vector q =π /2 . This is opposed to the model on the one-dimensional bipartite chain, which is known to have a finite spin gap for all J >0 at half filling.

A Demonstration of Helping Adolescents with Mild Intellectual Disability Climb Ladders

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, Kok Hoe Anthony; Varahan, Jayashree Lakshmi; Loh, Peng Loong Daniel; Tan, Sey Ing

2011-01-01

A research team at a vocational school in Singapore, catering mainly to students between the ages of 17-21 with mild intellectual disability, studied how to best address the challenge of enabling students to learn how to climb ladders (a skill necessary at many job placements). They documented the approach used and suggested extrapolations and…

Topic Order in Introductory Physics and its Impact on the STEM Curricular Ladder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa L Larkin

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Introductory physics courses are an important rung on the curricular ladder in STEM. These courses help to strengthen students critical thinking and problem solving skills while simultaneously introducing them to many topics they will explore in more detail in later courses in physics and engineering. For these reasons, introductory physics is a required element on the curricular ladder. Most often, introductory physics is offered as a two-semester sequence with basic mechanics being taught in the first semester and electricity and magnetism in the second. In fact, this curricular sequence has not been altered in decades. Is there a reason for this? There are many other enduring questions that arise pertaining to these foundation courses in physics. These questions include: Does taking the introductory course sequence “out of order” have an impact on student learning in physics? What topics should be taught? When should these topics be taught? What topics could be left out? The list of questions is essentially endless. This paper will address some of these questions in part, through a brief discussion on student learning in a second-semester algebra-based physics course. Connections will also be made to the broader curricular ladder in STEM. To this end, an illustration that makes connections to an engineering statics course will be presented. This discussion will conclude by presenting some broader implications for the larger STEM communities.

29 CFR 1910.29 - Manually propelled mobile ladder stands and scaffolds (towers).

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH STANDARDS Walking-Working... edges, burrs or other safety hazards. (3) Work levels. (i) The maximum work level height shall not... rigid platforms at each work level. (iv) The steps of ladder stands shall be fabricated from slip...

Clarifying the Hubble constant tension with a Bayesian hierarchical model of the local distance ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Feeney, Stephen M.; Mortlock, Daniel J.; Dalmasso, Niccolò

2018-05-01

Estimates of the Hubble constant, H0, from the local distance ladder and from the cosmic microwave background (CMB) are discrepant at the ˜3σ level, indicating a potential issue with the standard Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology. A probabilistic (i.e. Bayesian) interpretation of this tension requires a model comparison calculation, which in turn depends strongly on the tails of the H0 likelihoods. Evaluating the tails of the local H0 likelihood requires the use of non-Gaussian distributions to faithfully represent anchor likelihoods and outliers, and simultaneous fitting of the complete distance-ladder data set to ensure correct uncertainty propagation. We have hence developed a Bayesian hierarchical model of the full distance ladder that does not rely on Gaussian distributions and allows outliers to be modelled without arbitrary data cuts. Marginalizing over the full ˜3000-parameter joint posterior distribution, we find H0 = (72.72 ± 1.67) km s-1 Mpc-1 when applied to the outlier-cleaned Riess et al. data, and (73.15 ± 1.78) km s-1 Mpc-1 with supernova outliers reintroduced (the pre-cut Cepheid data set is not available). Using our precise evaluation of the tails of the H0 likelihood, we apply Bayesian model comparison to assess the evidence for deviation from ΛCDM given the distance-ladder and CMB data. The odds against ΛCDM are at worst ˜10:1 when considering the Planck 2015 XIII data, regardless of outlier treatment, considerably less dramatic than naïvely implied by the 2.8σ discrepancy. These odds become ˜60:1 when an approximation to the more-discrepant Planck Intermediate XLVI likelihood is included.

Electron spin resonance modes in a strong-leg ladder in the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase

Science.gov (United States)

Ozerov, M.; Maksymenko, M.; Wosnitza, J.; Honecker, A.; Landee, C. P.; Turnbull, M. M.; Furuya, S. C.; Giamarchi, T.; Zvyagin, S. A.

2015-12-01

Magnetic excitations in the strong-leg quantum spin ladder compound (C7H10N) 2CuBr4 (known as DIMPY) in the field-induced Tomonaga-Luttinger spin-liquid phase are studied by means of high-field electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The presence of a gapped ESR mode with unusual nonlinear frequency-field dependence is revealed experimentally. Using a combination of analytic and exact-diagonalization methods, we compute the dynamical structure factor and identify this mode with longitudinal excitations in the antisymmetric channel. We argue that these excitations constitute a fingerprint of the spin dynamics in a strong-leg spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic ladder and owe their ESR observability to the uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction.

[Ladder step strategy for surgical repair of congenital concealed penis in children].

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Fu-Ran; Zhong, Hong-Ji; Chen, Yi; Zhao, Jun-Feng; Li, Yan

2016-11-01

To assess the feasibility of the ladder step strategy in surgical repair of congenital concealed penis in children. This study included 52 children with congenital concealed penis treated in the past two years by surgical repair using the ladder step strategy, which consists of five main steps: cutting the narrow ring of the foreskin, degloving the penile skin, fixing the penile skin at the base, covering the penile shaft, and reshaping the prepuce. The perioperative data of the patients were prospectively collected and statistically described. Of the 52 patients, 20 needed remodeling of the frenulum and 27 received longitudinal incision in the penoscrotal junction to expose and deglove the penile shaft. The advanced scrotal flap technique was applied in 8 children to cover the penile shaft without tension, the pedicled foreskin flap technique employed in 11 to repair the penile skin defect, and excision of the webbed skin of the ventral penis performed in another 44 to remodel the penoscrotal angle. The operation time, blood loss, and postoperative hospital stay were 40－100 minutes, 5－30 ml, and 3－6 days, respectively. Wound bleeding and infection occurred in 1 and 5 cases, respectively. Follow-up examinations at 3 and 6 months after surgery showed that all the children had a satisfactory penile appearance except for some minor complications (2 cases of penile retraction, 2 cases of redundant ventral skin, and 1 case of iatrogenic penile curvature). The ladder step strategy for surgical repair of congenital concealed penis in children is a simple procedure with minor injury and satisfactory appearance of the penis.

Hydroxyl-substituted ladder polyethers via selective tandem epoxidation/cyclization sequence.

Science.gov (United States)

Czabaniuk, Lara C; Jamison, Timothy F

2015-02-20

A new and highly selective method for the synthesis of hydroxyl-substituted tetrahydropyrans is described. This method utilizes titanium(IV) isopropoxide and diethyl tartrate to perform a diastereoselective epoxidation followed by in situ epoxide activation and highly selective endo-cyclization to form the desired tetrahydropyran ring. The HIJ ring fragment of the marine ladder polyether yessotoxin was synthesized using this two-stage tactic that proceeds with high efficiency and excellent regioselectivity.

Indirect effects of impoundment on migrating fish: temperature gradients in fish ladders slow dam passage by adult Chinook salmon and steelhead.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher C Caudill

Full Text Available Thermal layering in reservoirs upstream from hydroelectric dams can create temperature gradients in fishways used by upstream migrating adults. In the Snake River, Washington, federally-protected adult salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp. often encounter relatively cool water in dam tailraces and lower ladder sections and warmer water in the upstream portions of ladders. Using radiotelemetry, we examined relationships between fish passage behavior and the temperature difference between the top and bottom of ladders (∆T at four dams over four years. Some spring Chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha experienced ∆T ≥ 0.5 °C. Many summer and fall Chinook salmon and summer steelhead (O. mykiss experienced ∆T ≥ 1.0 °C, and some individuals encountered ΔT > 4.0°C. As ΔT increased, migrants were consistently more likely to move down fish ladders and exit into dam tailraces, resulting in upstream passage delays that ranged from hours to days. Fish body temperatures equilibrated to ladder temperatures and often exceeded 20°C, indicating potential negative physiological and fitness effects. Collectively, the results suggest that gradients in fishway water temperatures present a migration obstacle to many anadromous migrants. Unfavorable temperature gradients may be common at reservoir-fed fish passage facilities, especially those with seasonal thermal layering or stratification. Understanding and managing thermal heterogeneity at such sites may be important for ensuring efficient upstream passage and minimizing stress for migratory, temperature-sensitive species.

Measuring subjective meaning structures by the laddering method: Theoretical considerations and methodological problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G.; Grunert, Suzanne C.

1995-01-01

Starting from a general model of measuring cognitive structures for predicting consumer behaviour, we discuss laddering as a possible method to obtain estimates of consumption-relevant cognitive structures which will have predictive validity. Four criteria for valid measurement are derived and ap...

Bound states in weakly disordered spin ladders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arlego, M. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC 67 (1900) La Plata (Argentina)]. E-mail: arlego@venus.fisica.unlp.edu.ar; Brenig, W. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig (Germany); Cabra, D.C. [Laboratoire de Physique Theorique, Universite Louis Pasteur Strasbourg (France); Heidrich-Meisner, F. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig (Germany); Honecker, A. [Institut fuer Theoretische Physik, Technische Universitaet Braunschweig (Germany); Rossini, G. [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, CC 67 (1900) La Plata (Argentina)

2005-04-30

We study the appearance of bound states in the spin gap of spin-12 ladders induced by weak bond disorder. Starting from the strong-coupling limit, i.e., the limit of weakly coupled dimers, we perform a projection on the single-triplet subspace and derive the position of bound states for the single impurity problem of one modified coupling as well as for small impurity clusters. The case of a finite concentration of impurities is treated with the coherent-potential approximation (CPA) in the strong-coupling limit and compared with numerical results. Further, we analyze the details in the structure of the density of states and relate their origin to the influence of impurity clusters.

Magnetic phase diagram of a frustrated spin ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Sugimoto, Takanori; Mori, Michiyasu; Tohyama, Takami; Maekawa, Sadamichi

2018-04-01

Frustrated spin ladders show magnetization plateaux depending on the rung-exchange interaction and frustration defined by the ratio of first and second neighbor exchange interactions in each chain. This paper reports on its magnetic phase diagram. Using the variational matrix-product state method, we accurately determine phase boundaries. Several kinds of magnetization plateaux are induced by the frustration and the strong correlation among quasiparticles on a lattice. The appropriate description of quasiparticles and their relevant interactions are changed by a magnetic field. We find that the frustration differentiates the triplet quasiparticle from the singlet one in kinetic energy.

Sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskukselle

OpenAIRE

Vesterinen, Anu

2011-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli sosiaalisen median mahdollisuudet Tilastokeskuksen viestinnässä. Työn tavoitteena oli kartoittaa sosiaalisen median käyttöön liittyviä mahdollisuuksia ja haasteita sekä selvittää siihen liittyviä odotuksia Tilastokeskuksen henkilöstön keskuudessa. Työn teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa käsitteenä ja esiteltiin sosiaalisen median käyttöä organisaation ulkoisen viestinnän välineenä. Opinnäytetyössä selvitettiin teoriatietoon pohjautuen sekä ca...

Sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia

OpenAIRE

Tran, Jenny

2017-01-01

Insinöörityön tavoitteena oli suunnitella toimeksiantajayritykselle sopiva sosiaalisen median markkinointistrategia ja avustaa sen toteutuksessa sekä tuottaen sisältöä sovittuihin kanaviin. Pyrkimyksenä oli myös kouluttaa yrityksen henkilökuntaa käyttämään sosiaalista mediaa yleisellä tasolla ja markkinoinnissa tutustuttamalla heidät sosiaalisen median erilaisiin kanaviin ja mainostyökaluihin. Opinnäytetyössä keskityttiin tutkimaan Facebookissa toimivaa markkinointia ja siinä toimivia mai...

Quark-gluon vertex dressing and meson masses beyond ladder-rainbow truncation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matevosyan, Hrayr H.; Thomas, Anthony W.; Tandy, Peter C.

2007-01-01

We include a generalized infinite class of quark-gluon vertex dressing diagrams in a study of how dynamics beyond the ladder-rainbow truncation influences the Bethe-Salpeter description of light-quark pseudoscalar and vector mesons. The diagrammatic specification of the vertex is mapped into a corresponding specification of the Bethe-Salpeter kernel, which preserves chiral symmetry. This study adopts the algebraic format afforded by the simple interaction kernel used in previous work on this topic. The new feature of the present work is that in every diagram summed for the vertex and the corresponding Bethe-Salpeter kernel, each quark-gluon vertex is required to be the self-consistent vertex solution. We also adopt from previous work the effective accounting for the role of the explicitly non-Abelian three-gluon coupling in a global manner through one parameter determined from recent lattice-QCD data for the vertex. Within the current model, the more consistent dressed vertex limits the ladder-rainbow truncation error for vector mesons to be never more than 10% as the current quark mass is varied from the u/d region to the b region

Phase transitions and magnetization of the mixed-spin Ising–Heisenberg double sawtooth frustrated ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Arian Zad, Hamid; Ananikian, Nerses

2018-04-01

The mixed spin-(1,1/2) Ising–Heisenberg double sawtooth ladder containing a mixture of both spin-1 and spin-1/2 nodal atoms, and the spin-1/2 interstitial dimers are approximately solved by the transfer-matrix method. Here, we study in detail the ground-state phase diagrams, also influences of the bilinear exchange coupling on the rungs and cyclic four-spin exchange interaction in square plaquette of each block on the magnetization and magnetic susceptibility of the suggested ladder at low temperature. Such a double sawtooth ladder may be found in a Shastry-Sutherland lattice-type. In spite of the spin ordering of odd and even blocks being different from each other, due to the commutation relation between all different block Hamiltonians, phase diagrams, magnetization behavior and thermodynamic properties of the model are the same for odd and even blocks. We show that at low temperature, both exchange couplings can change the quality and quantity of the magnetization plateaus versus the magnetic field changes. Specially, we find a new magnetization plateau M/Ms= 5/6 for this model. Besides, we examine the magnetic susceptibility and specific heat of the model in detail. It is proven that behaviors of the magnetization and the magnetic susceptibility coincide at low temperature. The specific heat displays diverse temperature dependencies, which include a Schottky-type peak at a special temperature interval. We observe that with increase of the bilinear exchange coupling on the rungs, second peak temperature dependence grows.

Non-local electron transport through normal and topological ladder-like atomic systems

Science.gov (United States)

Kurzyna, Marcin; Kwapiński, Tomasz

2018-05-01

We propose a locally protected ladder-like atomic system (nanoconductor) on a substrate that is insensitive to external perturbations. The system corresponds to coupled atomic chains fabricated on different surfaces. Electron transport properties of such conductors are studied theoretically using the model tight-binding Su-Schriffer-Hegger (SSH) Hamiltonian and Green's function formalism. We have found that the conductance of the system is almost insensitive to single adatoms and oscillates as a function of the side chain length with very large periods. Non-local character of the electron transport was observed also for topological SSH chains where nontrivial end states survive in the presence of disturbances as well as for different substrates. We have found that the careful inspection of the density of states or charge waves can provide the information about the atom energy levels and hopping amplitudes. Moreover, the ladder-like geometry allows one to distinguish between normal and topological zero-energy states. It is important that topological chains do not reveal Friedel oscillations which are observed in non-topological chains.

Telecast of Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin by the Lunar Module ladder

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong (on left), commander; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot, are seen standing by the Lunar Module ladder in this black and white reproduction taken from a telecast by the Apollo 11 lunar surface television camera during the Apollo 11 extravehicular activity. This picture was made from a televised image received at the Deep Space Network tracking station at Goldstone, California.

ESR modes in a Strong-Leg Ladder in the Tomonaga-Luttinger Liquid Phase

Science.gov (United States)

Zvyagin, S.; Ozerov, M.; Maksymenko, M.; Wosnitza, J.; Honecker, A.; Landee, C. P.; Turnbull, M.; Furuya, S. C.; Giamarchi, T.

Magnetic excitations in the strong-leg quantum spin ladder compound (C7H10N)2CuBr4 (known as DIMPY) in the field-induced Tomonaga-Luttinger spin liquid phase are studied by means of high-field electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The presence of a gapped ESR mode with unusual non-linear frequency-field dependence is revealed experimentally. Using a combination of analytic and exact diagonalization methods, we compute the dynamical structure factor and identify this mode with longitudinal excitations in the antisymmetric channel. We argue that these excitations constitute a fingerprint of the spin dynamics in a strong-leg spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnetic ladder and owe its ESR observability to the uniform Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction. This work was partially supported by the DFG and Helmholtz Gemeinschaft (Germany), Swiss SNF under Division II, and ERC synergy UQUAM project. We acknowledge the support of the HLD at HZDR, member of the European Magnetic Field Laboratory (EMFL).

Two-loop ladder diagram contributions to Bhabha scattering. III

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bjoerkevoll, K.S.; Osland, P.; Faeldt, G.

1992-01-01

The authors evaluate, in the high-energy limit, the sum of the Feynman amplitudes corresponding the six two-loop ladder-like diagrams in Bhabha scattering. This is the limit where s→∞, while t, the electron mass m and the photon mass λ are all being held fixed. In this limit the sum of the six Feynman amplitudes does not depend on the electron mass. When specialized to the region s>>t>>m 2 >>λ 2 , this result complements the one previously obtained. The connection with Φ 3 theory is also investigated. 6 refs

Ising versus S U (2) 2 string-net ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal, Julien

2018-03-01

We consider the string-net model obtained from S U (2) 2 fusion rules. These fusion rules are shared by two different sets of anyon theories. In this paper, we study the competition between the two corresponding non-Abelian quantum phases in the ladder geometry. A detailed symmetry analysis shows that the nontrivial low-energy sector corresponds to the transverse-field cluster model that displays a critical point described by the s o (2) 1 conformal field theory. Other sectors are obtained by freezing spins in this model.

Star-shaped ladder-type ter(p-phenylene)s for efficient multiphoton absorption.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Lei; Li, King Fai; Wong, Man Shing; Cheah, Kok Wai

2013-05-04

Star-shaped ladder-type ter(p-phenylene)s exhibit remarkably efficient multiphoton absorption properties with 2PA cross-section up to 2579 GM at 700 nm and 3PA cross-section up to 3.35 × 10(-76) cm(6) s(2) in the femtosecond regime for a blue-emissive molecule despite having such a short π-conjugated framework.

Control of Porosity in Ladder Polymers by Solvent-induced Aggregation

Science.gov (United States)

Brady, Michael; Gamo, Eri; Wang, Cheng; Xia, Yan

Porous polymers hold promise as materials for gas absorption, membranes, and organic electronics. In all of these applications, attaining in-plane ordering of backbones and thus porous free volume impacts the ability to adsorb gas, selectively filter molecules, and conduct charges. In this work, hard and soft x-ray scattering and soft x-ray spectroscopy are of focus to study the pore structure, induced by the solution-driven aggregation of ladder polymer thin films made of LP-1 and LP-2. Using GISAXS and AFM it is shown that thermal annealing drives the growth of crystallites in thin films. Due to the completely sp2nature of the ladder polymer backbones, it is expected that backbones are extremely stiff and thus preventing them from packing once left in a metastable state following casting. Therefore, the combination of GIWAXS and GISAXS will be shown to be critical in correctly understanding how pores develop in this 700 m2/g sorbent (N2). Finally, application in CO2/N2 separation membranes towards carbon sequestration will be presented that show gas selectivity is achieved through heteroatom incorporation and polymer blending. In this talk, focus will be placed on state-of-the-art x-ray scattering and spectroscopy, highlighting the importance of chemically sensitive structural information enabled by the combination of spectroscopy and scattering at play with the use of resonant soft x-rays.

Magnetic properties of the two-leg zig-zag ladder in quantum spin system NH4CuCl3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raksa, Teguh Yoga; Kurniawan, Budhy

2002-01-01

Numerical analysis of the two-leg zig-zag ladder as a single chain with next-nearest neighbour interactions has been formulated by Cabra (1999) with the following Hamiltonian. Other formulation for two leg zig-zag ladder with dimerized chains and coupling between the chains. From these formulations, we study the closing of the gap at zero magnetization by means of the fine-tuning mechanism and disappearance of the 1/2 plateau (gap) at finite by alternating dimerization of the chains along the rungs. We also described NH 4 CuCI 3 under high magnetic fields in a two-leg system

THE EFFECT OF PLAYING SNAKE AND LADDER TOWARD THE RESULT STUDY OF ARITHMETIC ADDITION FOR STUDENT WITH MENTALLY RETARDED STUDENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arianti Iman Sari

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research were to describe: (1 the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth grade student with mentally retarded in SDLB before playing the Snake and Ladder activity (2 the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth grade student with mentally retarded in SDLB after playing the Snake and Ladder activity (3 the effect of Snake and Ladder playing toward the result study of arithmetic addition for fourth grade student with mentally retarded SDLB. This research used SSR (Single Subject Research with A-B-A design. Collecting the data was done by using assessment instrument, tests and observations. The result of this research showed that playing Snake and Ladder affected the study result of arithmetic addition operation for fourth-grade children with mentally retarded student in SDLB. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mendeskripsikan (1 Hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB sebelum melakukan kegiatan bermain Ular Tangga (2 Hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB sesudah melakukan kegiatan bermain Ular Tangga (3 Pengaruh bermain Ular Tangga terhadap hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa kelas 4 SDLB. Penelitian ini menggunakan rancangan penelitian SSR (Single Subject Research dengan desain A-B-A. Pengumpulan data menggunakan instrumen assesmen, tes dan observasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bermain ular tangga berpengaruh terhadap hasil belajar penjumlahan siswa tunagrahita kelas 4 SDLB.

Thrombosed persistent median artery causing carpal tunnel syndrome associated with bifurcated median nerve: A case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salter, M.; Sinha, N. R.; Szmigielski, W.

2011-01-01

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a sporadically occurring abnormality due to compression of median nerve. It is exceedingly rare for it to be caused by thrombosis of persistent median artery. Case Report: A forty two year old female was referred for ultrasound examination due to ongoing wrist pain, not relived by pain killers and mild paraesthesia on the radial side of the hand. High resolution ultrasound and Doppler revealed a thrombosed persistent median artery and associated bifurcated median nerve. The thrombus resolved on treatment with anticoagulants. Conclusions: Ultrasound examination of the wrist when done for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome should preferably include looking for persistent median artery and its patency. (authors)

Energy-efficient hydrogen separation by AB-type ladder-polymer molecular sieves

KAUST Repository

Ghanem, Bader

2014-07-19

The synthesis, microstructures, and exceptional gas transport properties of two new soluble ladder polymers, polymers of intrinsic microporosity (TPIM-1 and TPIM-2) containing triptycene moieties substituted with branched isopropyl and linear propyl chains at the 9,10-bridgeheads were reported. The precursor A-B monomers were modified with an o -difluoride functionality for enhanced activation for nucleophilic aromatic substitution. In a Schlenk tube, a mixture of the A-B monomer, 18-crown-6, anhydrous DMF and anhydrous potassium carbonate was stirred at 155 °C under nitrogen atmosphere for 20 min followed by the addition of toluene. The reaction was continued for another 45 min and more toluene was added. After another 45 min the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and poured into methanol. Slow evaporation of filtered, dilute 3-5 wt% chloroform solutions from a leveled glass plate yielded isotropic polymer films. Dry membranes were soaked in methanol for 24 h, air-dried, and then heated at 120°C for 24 h under high vacuum to remove any traces of residual solvent. TPIM-1 exhibits simultaneous boosts in permeability and selectivity, which highlights the significant potential of an isopropyl-substituted triptycene moiety as a contortion center for ladder PIMs.

Energy-efficient hydrogen separation by AB-type ladder-polymer molecular sieves

KAUST Repository

Ghanem, Bader; Swaidan, Raja; Ma, Xiaohua; Litwiller, Eric; Pinnau, Ingo

2014-01-01

The synthesis, microstructures, and exceptional gas transport properties of two new soluble ladder polymers, polymers of intrinsic microporosity (TPIM-1 and TPIM-2) containing triptycene moieties substituted with branched isopropyl and linear propyl chains at the 9,10-bridgeheads were reported. The precursor A-B monomers were modified with an o -difluoride functionality for enhanced activation for nucleophilic aromatic substitution. In a Schlenk tube, a mixture of the A-B monomer, 18-crown-6, anhydrous DMF and anhydrous potassium carbonate was stirred at 155 °C under nitrogen atmosphere for 20 min followed by the addition of toluene. The reaction was continued for another 45 min and more toluene was added. After another 45 min the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature and poured into methanol. Slow evaporation of filtered, dilute 3-5 wt% chloroform solutions from a leveled glass plate yielded isotropic polymer films. Dry membranes were soaked in methanol for 24 h, air-dried, and then heated at 120°C for 24 h under high vacuum to remove any traces of residual solvent. TPIM-1 exhibits simultaneous boosts in permeability and selectivity, which highlights the significant potential of an isopropyl-substituted triptycene moiety as a contortion center for ladder PIMs.

4-bit digital to analog converter using R-2R ladder and binary weighted resistors

Science.gov (United States)

Diosanto, J.; Batac, M. L.; Pereda, K. J.; Caldo, R.

2017-06-01

The use of a 4-bit digital-to-analog converter using two methods; Binary Weighted Resistors and R-2R Ladder is designed and presented in this paper. The main components that were used in constructing both circuits were different resistor values, operational amplifier (LM741) and single pole double throw switches. Both circuits were designed using MULTISIM software to be able to test the circuit for its ideal application and FRITZING software for the layout designing and fabrication to the printed circuit board. The implementation of both systems in an actual circuit benefits in determining and comparing the advantages and disadvantages of each. It was realized that the binary weighted circuit is more efficient DAC, having lower percentage error of 0.267% compared to R-2R ladder circuit which has a minimum of percentage error of 4.16%.

Thermoelectric Properties of Solution-Processed n-Doped Ladder-Type Conducting Polymers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wang, Suhao; Sun, Hengda; Ail, Ujwala

2016-01-01

Ladder-type "torsion-free" conducting polymers (e.g., polybenzimidazobenzophenanthroline (BBL)) can outperform "structurally distorted" donor-acceptor polymers (e.g., P(NDI2OD-T2)), in terms of conductivity and thermoelectric power factor. The polaron delocalization length is larger in BBL than...... in P(NDI2OD-T2), resulting in a higher measured polaron mobility. Structure-function relationships are drawn, setting material-design guidelines for the next generation of conducting thermoelectric polymers....

Development of a 325 MHz ladder-RFQ of the 4-rod-type

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schuett, Maximilian; Ratzinger, Ulrich [Institut fuer Angewandte Physik, Goethe-Universitaet, Frankfurt a. M. (Germany); Brodhage, Robert [GSI, Darmstadt (Germany)

2015-07-01

For the research program with cooled antiprotons at FAIR a dedicated 70 MeV, 70 mA proton injector is required. In the low energy section, between the Ion Source and the main linac an RFQ will be used. The 325 MHz RFQ will accelerate protons from 95 keV to 3.0 MeV. This particular high frequency for an RFQ creates difficulties, which are challenging in developing this cavity. In order to define a satisfactory geometrical configuration for this resonator, both from the RF and the mechanical point of view, different designs have been examined and compared. Very promising results have been reached with a ladder type RFQ, which has been investigated since 2013. We present recent 3D simulations of the general layout and of a complete cavity demonstrating the power of a ladder type RFQ as well as measurements of a 0.8 m prototype RFQ, which was manufactured in late 2014 and designed for RF power and vacuum tests. We outline a possible RF layout for the RFQ within the new FAIR proton injector and highlight the mechanical advantages.

Exact solutions and ladder operators for a new anharmonic oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Shihai; Sun Guohua; Lozada-Cassou, M.

2005-01-01

In this Letter, we propose a new anharmonic oscillator and present the exact solutions of the Schrodinger equation with this oscillator. The ladder operators are established directly from the normalized radial wave functions and used to evaluate the closed expressions of matrix elements for some related functions. Some comments are made on the general calculation formula and recurrence relation for off-diagonal matrix elements. Finally, we show that this anharmonic oscillator possesses a hidden symmetry between E(r) and E(ir) by substituting r->ir

Analysis of an "off-ladder" allele at the Penta D short tandem repeat locus.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Y L; Wang, J G; Wang, D X; Zhang, W Y; Liu, X J; Cao, J; Yang, S L

2015-11-25

Kinship testing of a father and his son from Guangxi, China, the location of the Zhuang minority people, was performed using the PowerPlex® 18D System with a short tandem repeat typing kit. The results indicated that both the father and his son had an off-ladder allele at the Penta D locus, with a genetic size larger than that of the maximal standard allelic ladder. To further identify this locus, monogenic amplification, gene cloning, and genetic sequencing were performed. Sequencing analysis demonstrated that the fragment size of the Penta D-OL locus was 469 bp and the core sequence was [AAAGA]21, also called Penta D-21. The rare Penta D-21 allele was found to be distributed among the Zhuang population from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China; therefore, this study improved the range of DNA data available for this locus and enhanced our ability for individual identification of gene loci.

Implantable bladder volume sensor based on resistor ladder network composed of conductive hydrogel composite.

Science.gov (United States)

Mi Kyung Kim; Hyojung Kim; Jung, Yeon Su; Adem, Kenana M A; Bawazir, Sarah S; Stefanini, Cesare; Lee, Hyunjoo J

2017-07-01

An accurate bladder volume monitoring system is a critical component in diagnosis and treatment of urological disorders. Here, we report an implantable bladder volume sensor with a multi-level resistor ladder which estimates the bladder volume through discrete resistance values. Discretization allows the sensor output to be resilient to the long-term drift, hysteresis, and degradation of the sensor materials. Our sensor is composed of biocompatible polypyrrole/agarose hydrogel composite. Because Young's modulus of this composite is comparable to that of the bladder wall, the effect of mechanical loading of the sensor on the bladder movement is minimized which allows more accurate volume monitoring. We also demonstrate the patterning and molding capability of this material by fabrication various structures. Lastly, we successfully demonstrate the functionality of the multi-level resistor ladder sensor as a bladder volume sensor by attaching the sensor on the pig's bladder and observing the impedance change of the sensor.

Short-distance behavior of the Bethe--Salpeter wave function in the ladder approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guth, A.H.; Soper, D.E.

1975-01-01

We investigate the short-distance behavior of the (Wick-rotated) Bethe--Salpeter wave function for the two spin-1/2 quarks bound by the exchange of a massive vector meson. We use the ladder-model kernel, which has the same p -4 scaling behavior as the true kernel in a theory with a fixed point of the renormalization group at g not equal to 0. For a bound state with the quantum numbers of the pion, the leading asymptotic behavior is chi (q/sup μ/) approx. cq/sup -4 + epsilon(g)/γ 5 , where epsilon (g) =1- (1-g 2 /π 2 ) 1 / 2 . Our method also provides the full asymptotic series, although it should be noted that the nonleading terms will depend on the nonleading behavior of the ladder-model kernel. A general term has the form cq - /sup a/(lnq)/sup n/phi (q/sup μ/), where c is an unknown constant, a may be integral or nonintegral, n is an integer, and phi (q/sup μ/) is a representation function of the rotation group in four dimensions

A comparison of freeway median crash frequency, severity, and barrier strike outcomes by median barrier type.

Science.gov (United States)

Russo, Brendan J; Savolainen, Peter T

2018-08-01

Median-crossover crashes are among the most hazardous events that can occur on freeways, often resulting in severe or fatal injuries. The primary countermeasure to reduce the occurrence of such crashes is the installation of a median barrier. When installation of a median barrier is warranted, transportation agencies are faced with the decision among various alternatives including concrete barriers, beam guardrail, or high-tension cable barriers. Each barrier type differs in terms of its deflection characteristics upon impact, the required installation and maintenance costs, and the roadway characteristics (e.g., median width) where installation would be feasible. This study involved an investigation of barrier performance through an in-depth analysis of crash frequency and severity data from freeway segments where high-tension cable, thrie-beam, and concrete median barriers were installed. A comprehensive manual review of crash reports was conducted to identify crashes in which a vehicle left the roadway and encroached into the median. This review also involved an examination of crash outcomes when a barrier strike occurred, which included vehicle containment, penetration, or re-direction onto the travel lanes. The manual review of crash reports provided critical supplementary information through narratives and diagrams not normally available through standard fields on police crash report forms. Statistical models were estimated to identify factors that affect the frequency, severity, and outcomes of median-related crashes, with particular emphases on differences between segments with varying median barrier types. Several roadway-, traffic-, and environmental-related characteristics were found to affect these metrics, with results varying across the different barrier types. The results of this study provide transportation agencies with important guidance as to the in-service performance of various types of median barrier. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights

Liver Surface Nodularity Score Allows Prediction of Cirrhosis Decompensation and Death.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Andrew D; Zand, Kevin A; Florez, Edward; Sirous, Reza; Shlapak, Darya; Souza, Frederico; Roda, Manohar; Bryan, Jason; Vasanji, Amit; Griswold, Michael; Lirette, Seth T

2017-06-01

Purpose To determine whether use of the liver surface nodularity (LSN) score, a quantitative biomarker derived from routine computed tomographic (CT) images, allows prediction of cirrhosis decompensation and death. Materials and Methods For this institutional review board-approved HIPAA-compliant retrospective study, adult patients with cirrhosis and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score within 3 months of initial liver CT imaging between January 3, 2006, and May 30, 2012, were identified from electronic medical records (n = 830). The LSN score was measured by using CT images and quantitative software. Competing risk regression was used to determine the association of the LSN score with hepatic decompensation and overall survival. A risk model combining LSN scores (<3 or ≥3) and MELD scores (<10 or ≥10) was created for predicting liver-related events. Results In patients with compensated cirrhosis, 40% (129 of 326) experienced decompensation during a median follow-up period of 4.22 years. After adjustment for competing risks including MELD score, LSN score (hazard ratio, 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.79) was found to be independently predictive of hepatic decompensation. Median times to decompensation of patients at high (1.76 years, n = 48), intermediate (3.79 years, n = 126), and low (6.14 years, n = 152) risk of hepatic decompensation were significantly different (P < .001). Among the full cohort with compensated or decompensated cirrhosis, 61% (504 of 830) died during the median follow-up period of 2.26 years. After adjustment for competing risks, LSN score (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% confidence interval: 1.11, 1.33) and MELD score (hazard ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval: 1.06, 1.11) were found to be independent predictors of death. Median times to death of patients at high (0.94 years, n = 315), intermediate (2.79 years, n = 312), and low (4.69 years, n = 203) risk were significantly different (P < .001). Conclusion The LSN score

Sosiaalisen median riskit yritysmaailmassa

OpenAIRE

Kilpinen, Joni

2015-01-01

Sosiaalisen median palveluista on kirjoitettu lukuisia kirjoja ja artikkeleita, joissa niitä ylistetään varsinkin yritysnäkökulmasta. Vaikka sosiaalinen media on muuttanut olennaisesti tapaa, jolla keskustella, mainostaa, etsiä ja jakaa tietoa, piilee sen palveluiden käytössä kuitenkin erilaisia uhkakuvia. Yritykset ja asiantuntijat pelkäävät sosiaalisen median avoimuuden aiheuttavan suuria tietoturvariskejä. Lisäksi asiantuntijat ovat varoitelleet sosiaalisessa mediassa olevista haittaohjelm...

GPU Accelerated Vector Median Filter

Science.gov (United States)

Aras, Rifat; Shen, Yuzhong

2011-01-01

Noise reduction is an important step for most image processing tasks. For three channel color images, a widely used technique is vector median filter in which color values of pixels are treated as 3-component vectors. Vector median filters are computationally expensive; for a window size of n x n, each of the n(sup 2) vectors has to be compared with other n(sup 2) - 1 vectors in distances. General purpose computation on graphics processing units (GPUs) is the paradigm of utilizing high-performance many-core GPU architectures for computation tasks that are normally handled by CPUs. In this work. NVIDIA's Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA) paradigm is used to accelerate vector median filtering. which has to the best of our knowledge never been done before. The performance of GPU accelerated vector median filter is compared to that of the CPU and MPI-based versions for different image and window sizes, Initial findings of the study showed 100x improvement of performance of vector median filter implementation on GPUs over CPU implementations and further speed-up is expected after more extensive optimizations of the GPU algorithm .

New phenazine-containing ladder polymer of intrinsic microporosity from a spirobisindane-based AB-type monomer

KAUST Repository

Ghanem, Bader; Alghunaimi, Fahd; Alaslai, Nasser Y.; Ma, Xiaohua; Pinnau, Ingo

2016-01-01

. This protocol can be used to prepare a variety of phenazine-containing ladder type PIMs from their aromatic tetramethoxy precursors. The obtained polymer had high average molecular mass, excellent thermal stability, a high BET surface area of 705 m(2) g(-1

Field-controlled magnetic order in the quantum spin-ladder system (Hpip)2CuBr4

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thielemann, B.; Rüegg, C.; Kiefer, K.

2009-01-01

Neutron diffraction is used to investigate the field-induced, antiferromagnetically ordered state in the two-leg spin-ladder material (Hpip)(2)CuBr4. This "classical" phase, a consequence of weak interladder coupling, is nevertheless highly unconventional: its properties are influenced strongly...

New phenazine-containing ladder polymer of intrinsic microporosity from a spirobisindane-based AB-type monomer

KAUST Repository

Ghanem, Bader

2016-08-15

A new solution-processable ladder polymer (PSBI-AB) of intrinsic microporosity with dibenzodioxane linkages and bis(phenazine) units was designed and synthesized by self-polymerization of an AB-type monomer containing both catechol and aromatic dichloride groups. Such polymerization is an effective way to synthesize high molecular weight polymers and has a significant advantage over AA-BB polycondensation due to the lack of the requirement for strict control over stoichiometric balance. This protocol can be used to prepare a variety of phenazine-containing ladder type PIMs from their aromatic tetramethoxy precursors. The obtained polymer had high average molecular mass, excellent thermal stability, a high BET surface area of 705 m(2) g(-1) and good solubility in some organic solvents such as chloroform, m-cresol and dichlorobenzene. Gas permeation measurements showed comparable results to the previously reported analogous PIM-7 for films made under the same formation protocol.

Switching non-local median filter

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2015-06-01

This paper describes a novel image filtering method for removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on grayscale images. Generally, it is well known that switching-type median filters are effective for impulse noise removal. In this paper, we propose a more sophisticated switching-type impulse noise removal method in terms of detail-preserving performance. Specifically, the noise detector of the proposed method finds out noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the difference between the value of a pixel of interest (POI) and the median of its neighboring pixel values, and on the POI's isolation tendency from the surrounding pixels. Furthermore, the removal of the detected noise is performed by the newly proposed median filter based on non-local processing, which has superior detail-preservation capability compared to the conventional median filter. The effectiveness and the validity of the proposed method are verified by some experiments using natural grayscale images.

Analysis of long-term (median 10.5 years) outcomes in children presenting with traumatic brain injury and an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3 or 4.

Science.gov (United States)

Fulkerson, Daniel H; White, Ian K; Rees, Jacqueline M; Baumanis, Maraya M; Smith, Jodi L; Ackerman, Laurie L; Boaz, Joel C; Luerssen, Thomas G

2015-10-01

Patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) with low presenting Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores have very high morbidity and mortality rates. Neurosurgeons may be faced with difficult decisions in managing the most severely injured (GCS scores of 3 or 4) patients. The situation may be considered hopeless, with little chance of a functional recovery. Long-term data are limited regarding the clinical outcome of children with severe head injury. The authors evaluate predictor variables and the clinical outcomes at discharge, 1 year, and long term (median 10.5 years) in a cohort of children with TBI presenting with postresuscitation GCS scores of 3 and 4. A review of a prospectively collected trauma database was performed. Patients treated at Riley Hospital for Children (Indianapolis, Indiana) from 1988 to 2004 were reviewed. All children with initial GCS (modified for pediatric patients) scores of 3 or 4 were identified. Patients with a GCS score of 3 were compared with those with a GCS score of 4. The outcomes of all patients at the time of death or discharge and at 1-year and long-term follow-up were measured with a modified Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) that included a "normal" outcome. Long-term outcomes were evaluated by contacting surviving patients. Statistical "classification trees" were formed for survival and outcome, based on predictor variables. Sixty-seven patients with a GCS score of 3 or 4 were identified in a database of 1636 patients (4.1%). Three of the presenting factors differed between the GCS 3 patients (n = 44) and the GCS 4 patients (n = 23): presence of hypoxia, single seizure, and open basilar cisterns on CT scan. The clinical outcomes were statistically similar between the 2 groups. In total, 48 (71.6%) of 67 patients died, remained vegetative, or were severely disabled by 1 year. Eight patients (11.9%) were normal at 1 year. Ten of the 22 patients with long-term follow-up were either normal or had a GOS score of 5. Multiple clinical

Third-order differential ladder operators and supersymmetric quantum mechanics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mateo, J; Negro, J

2008-01-01

Hierarchies of one-dimensional Hamiltonians in quantum mechanics admitting third-order differential ladder operators are studied. Each Hamiltonian has associated three-step Darboux (pseudo)-cycles and Painleve IV equations as a closure condition. The whole hierarchy is generated applying some operations on the cycles. These operations are investigated in the frame of supersymmetric quantum mechanics and mainly involve algebraic manipulations. A consistent geometric representation for the hierarchy and cycles is built that also helps in understanding the operations. Three kinds of hierarchies are distinguished and a realization based on the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian is supplied, giving an interpretation for the spectral properties of the Hamiltonians of each hierarchy

Simulation of TunneLadder traveling-wave tube cold-test characteristics: Implementation of the three-dimensional, electromagnetic circuit analysis code micro-SOS

Science.gov (United States)

Kory, Carol L.; Wilson, Jeffrey D.

1993-01-01

The three-dimensional, electromagnetic circuit analysis code, Micro-SOS, can be used to reduce expensive time-consuming experimental 'cold-testing' of traveling-wave tube (TWT) circuits. The frequency-phase dispersion characteristics and beam interaction impedance of a TunneLadder traveling-wave tube slow-wave structure were simulated using the code. When reasonable dimensional adjustments are made, computer results agree closely with experimental data. Modifications to the circuit geometry that would make the TunneLadder TWT easier to fabricate for higher frequency operation are explored.

The Earnings Ladder. Who's at the Bottom? Who's at the Top? Statistical Brief.

Science.gov (United States)

Bureau of the Census (DOC), Washington, DC. Economics and Statistics Administration.

Data collected by the March Current Population Survey were used to identify which groups of year-round, full-time civilian workers aged 16 and older were most likely to be at the top and bottom of the earnings ladder. Women, young workers, less-educated individuals, and Hispanics were most likely to earn less than $13,091 (1992 constant dollars),…

Median and Ulnar Neuropathy Assessment in Parkinson’s Disease regarding Symptom Severity and Asymmetry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nilgul Yardimci

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. While increasing evidence suggests comorbidity of peripheral neuropathy (PNP and Parkinson’s disease (PD, the pathogenesis of PNP in PD is still a debate. The aim of this article is to search the core PD symptoms such as rigidity and tremor as contributing factors to mononeuropathy development while emphasizing each individual patient’s asymmetric symptom severity. Methods. We studied 62 wrists and 62 elbows of 31 patients (mean age 66.48±10.67 and 64 wrists and 64 elbows of 32 age-gender matched healthy controls (mean age 62.03±10.40, p=0.145. The Hoehn and Yahr disability scale and Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rated Scale were used to determine the severity of the disease. Results. According to electrodiagnostic criteria, we confirmed median neuropathy in 16.12% (bilateral in two-thirds of the patients and ulnar neuropathy in 3.22% of the PD group. While mean age (p=0.003, age at PD onset (p=0.019, and H&Y scores (p=0.016 were significant, tremor and rigidity scores were not. The comparison of the mean indices of electrophysiologic parameters indicated subclinical median and ulnar nerve demyelination both at the wrist and at the elbow in the patient groups where a longer disease duration and mild tremor and rigidity scores are prominent, remarkably. Conclusion. A disease related peripheral neurodegeneration beyond symptom severity occurs in PD.

Academic Profile of Bachelor of Technical Teacher Education Ladder I Students as Ba sis for an Intervention Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arly B. Balingbing

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to determine: the academic profile of Bachelor of Technical Teacher Education ( BTTE Ladder 1 students in terms of entrance examination, GWM in GEC subjects and TESDA Competency Assessment; their strengths and weaknesses along TESDA Assessment; the significant relationship between Entrance Examination & GWA, GWA & TESDA Competency and Entrance Examination & TESDA Compe tency, the significant interrelationship among the three variables; and the program or intervention which could be proposed to improve their academic performance. Data were gathered from one hundred fifty eight ( 158 BTTE Ladder 1 graduates of SY 2014 - 2016 through a questionnaire and documentary analysis and were statistically treated using percentage, weighted mean, Spearman’s rho and multiple coefficients. The researcher concluded that BTTE Ladder 1 students are competent as assessed by TESDA despite bein g low in entrance examination. Their weaknesses lie along communication and comprehension but they prove to be capable also on the condition that Filipino language is used and questions are repeated or rephrased. They also lack exposure to the tools and eq uipment used their field. Their strength is evident in performing the task but not in explaining the process. Both the Entrance Examination & GWA, GWM & TESDA Competency and Entrance Exam & TESDA Competency are significantly interrelated.

Functional Median Polish

KAUST Repository

Sun, Ying; Genton, Marc G.

2012-01-01

polish is demonstrated by comparing its performance with the traditional functional ANOVA fitted by means under different outlier models in simulation studies. The functional median polish is illustrated on various applications in climate science

Five Roots Pattern of Median Nerve Formation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantinos Natsis

2016-04-01

Full Text Available An unusual combination of median nerve’s variations has been encountered in a male cadaver during routine educational dissection. In particular, the median nerve was formed by five roots; three roots originated from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus joined individually the median nerve’s medial root. The latter (fourth root was united with the lateral (fifth root of the median nerve forming the median nerve distally in the upper arm and not the axilla as usually. In addition, the median nerve was situated medial to the brachial artery. We review comprehensively the relevant variants, their embryologic development and their potential clinical applications.

Telecast of Astronaut Neil Armstrong descending ladder to surface of the moon

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, descends the ladder of the Apollo 11 Lunar Module prior to making the first step by man on the moon. This view is a black and white reproduction taken from a telecast by the Apollo 11 lunar surface camera during extravehicular activity. The black bar running through the center of the picture is an anamoly in the television ground data system at the Goldstone Tracking Station.

Fish passage post-construction issues: analysis of distribution, attraction and passage efficiency metrics at the Baguari Dam fish ladder to approach the problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luiz Gustavo Martins da Silva

Full Text Available Fish passages are considered the oldest management tool used to minimize the impact of blocking fish migratory routes by hydroelectric power plants. However, fish passages are being installed without specific criteria in Brazil, with severe consequences to the conservation of the local fish fauna. Therefore, basic data gathered for fish passages already constructed could contribute to define operational rules, in addition to offer subsidies to decision-making and design of future facilities. Thus, the fish ladder of Baguari Dam was evaluated regarding temporal distribution, attraction, and ascension of the local fish fauna. A total of 20 fish samples were conducted immediately downstream of the dam and inside the fish ladder, from January 2010 to June 2011. Seasonal variation in fish abundance and richness was registered below the dam and inside the passage, with higher number of migratory fish in the reproductive season (Kruskall-Wallis, p = 0.04 and p = 0.05. Furthermore, higher concentration of migratory allochthonous and non-migratory species was registered for the spill bay (Wilcoxon, p = 0.009 and p = 0.006 compared to the tailrace, where the fish ladder entrance is located. This result suggests low efficiency of the attraction system of the mechanism during the reproductive period. Once entering the fish ladder, migratory species apparently ascend the facility due to the similar distribution throughout different stretches. Generally, the results showed that an operational rule for the Baguari Dam fish ladder should consider running the facility only during the reproductive period, unless the objectives of the passage are well defined. The attraction system must be more precisely evaluated, using technologies such as radiotelemetry. Similarly, fish ascension also should be better analyzed to evaluate the time spent to ascend and its influence in the reproductive biology of the species using the ladder. Pit-tag system could be used to

SU(3)_C× SU(2)_L× U(1)_Y( × U(1)_X ) as a symmetry of division algebraic ladder operators

Science.gov (United States)

Furey, C.

2018-05-01

We demonstrate a model which captures certain attractive features of SU(5) theory, while providing a possible escape from proton decay. In this paper we show how ladder operators arise from the division algebras R, C, H, and O. From the SU( n) symmetry of these ladder operators, we then demonstrate a model which has much structural similarity to Georgi and Glashow's SU(5) grand unified theory. However, in this case, the transitions leading to proton decay are expected to be blocked, given that they coincide with presumably forbidden transformations which would incorrectly mix distinct algebraic actions. As a result, we find that we are left with G_{sm} = SU(3)_C× SU(2)_L× U(1)_Y / Z_6. Finally, we point out that if U( n) ladder symmetries are used in place of SU( n), it may then be possible to find this same G_{sm}=SU(3)_C× SU(2)_L× U(1)_Y / Z_6, together with an extra U(1)_X symmetry, related to B-L.

Online measurement of mental representations of complex spatial decision problems : comparison of CNET and hard laddering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Horeni, O.; Arentze, T.A.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2014-01-01

This paper introduces the online Causal Network Elicitation Technique (CNET), as a technique for measuring components of mental representations of choice tasks and compares it with the more common technique of online 'hard' laddering (HL). While CNET works in basically two phases, one in open

Influence of seasonal, diel, lunar, and other environmental factors on upstream fish passage in the igarapava fish ladder, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Bizzotto, P.M.; Godinho, Alexandre L.; Vono, V.; Kynard, B.; Godinho, Hugo P.

2009-01-01

Upstream fish passage was evaluated during 12 months in the vertical-slot Igarapava Fish Ladder constructed around Igarapava Dam, in the heavily dammed Grande River, Southeast Brazil. A video monitoring system was used to observe 61,621 fish that passed the ladder, of which 93.5% were identified to 15 taxa. Among the migratory species, the most abundant were Pimelodus maculatus (33.6% of all fish), Leporinus octofasciatus (31.4%), Leporinus friderici (4.5%), and Prochilodus lineatus (3.1%). Seven taxa were classified as nonmigratory, and of these taxa, the small Bryconamericus stramineus was the most abundant (12.7%) of all fishes. Passage of the 'nonmigratory' taxa upstream in the ladder shows they are migratory in this system and have a strong behavioural drive to move to upstream habitat. Passage of most taxa had a strong seasonal pattern. While some species passed primarily during the day, others showed a distinct nocturnal pattern. Lunar phase and water temperature also strongly affected passage of some taxa. Rainfall and dam discharge had a small or null influence on most taxa; perhaps due to the fairly small catchment area of the reservoir and the highly regulated discharge at Igarapava Dam. ?? 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Reliability and sensitivity to change of the OMERACT rheumatoid arthritis magnetic resonance imaging score in a multireader, longitudinal setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haavardsholm, ea; Østergaard, Mikkel; Kvan, NP

2005-01-01

, erosion, and bone marrow edema status and for change scores. RESULTS: Intrareader ICCs were generally very high, both for status scores (median baseline and followup 0.89 and 0.90 for synovitis, 0.91 and 0.90 for erosion, and 0.90 and 0.98 for edema) and for change scores (median 0.80 for synovitis, 0...

Permasalahan P-Hub Median Dengan Lintasan Terpendek

OpenAIRE

Pasaribu, Raja David

2013-01-01

Hub are facilities that serve as sorting, switching, and transhipment in a transportation network. P-hub median problem is a discrete case location allocation problem which all hub is fully connected. In this paper will be intoduced Mixed Integrer Linear Programming (MILP) formulation models of cost for p-hub median problem allocation for uncapacitaced single allocation p-hub median(USApHMP). In this paper also introduced Floyd-Warshall shortest path algorithm to solve p-hub median problems a...

Online measurement of mental representations of complex spatial decision problems : Comparison of CNET and hard laddering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

O. Horeni (Oliver); T.A. Arentze (Theo); B.G.C. Dellaert (Benedict); H.J.P. Timmermans (Harry)

2013-01-01

textabstractThis paper introduces the online Causal Network Elicitation Technique (CNET), as a technique for measuring components of mental representations of choice tasks and compares it with the more common technique of online ‘hard’ laddering (HL). While CNET works in basically two phases, one in

Derivation and validation of a universal vital assessment (UVA) score

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moore, Christopher C; Hazard, Riley; Saulters, Kacie J

2017-01-01

(MEWS) and the quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score. RESULTS: Of 5573 patients included in the analysis, 2829 (50.8%) were female, the median (IQR) age was 36 (27-49) years, 2122 (38.1%) were HIV-infected and 996 (17.3%) died in-hospital. The UVA score included points...

Objective measures of motor dysfunction after compression spinal cord injury in adult rats: correlations with locomotor rating scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Semler, Joerg; Wellmann, Katharina; Wirth, Felicitas; Stein, Gregor; Angelova, Srebrina; Ashrafi, Mahak; Schempf, Greta; Ankerne, Janina; Ozsoy, Ozlem; Ozsoy, Umut; Schönau, Eckhard; Angelov, Doychin N; Irintchev, Andrey

2011-07-01

Precise assessment of motor deficits after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) in rodents is crucial for understanding the mechanisms of functional recovery and testing therapeutic approaches. Here we analyzed the applicability to a rat SCI model of an objective approach, the single-frame motion analysis, created and used for functional analysis in mice. Adult female Wistar rats were subjected to graded compression of the spinal cord. Recovery of locomotion was analyzed using video recordings of beam walking and inclined ladder climbing. Three out of four parameters used in mice appeared suitable: the foot-stepping angle (FSA) and the rump-height index (RHI), measured during beam walking, and for estimating paw placement and body weight support, respectively, and the number of correct ladder steps (CLS), assessing skilled limb movements. These parameters, similar to the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) locomotor rating scores, correlated with lesion volume and showed significant differences between moderately and severely injured rats at 1-9 weeks after SCI. The beam parameters, but not CLS, correlated well with the BBB scores within ranges of poor and good locomotor abilities. FSA co-varied with RHI only in the severely impaired rats, while RHI and CLS were barely correlated. Our findings suggest that the numerical parameters estimate, as intended by design, predominantly different aspects of locomotion. The use of these objective measures combined with BBB rating provides a time- and cost-efficient opportunity for versatile and reliable functional evaluations in both severely and moderately impaired rats, combining clinical assessment with precise numerical measures.

Development and validation of a nursing professionalism evaluation model in a career ladder system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeon Hee; Jung, Young Sun; Min, Ja; Song, Eun Young; Ok, Jung Hui; Lim, Changwon; Kim, Kyunghee; Kim, Ji-Su

2017-01-01

The clinical ladder system categorizes the degree of nursing professionalism and rewards and is an important human resource tool for managing nursing. We developed a model to evaluate nursing professionalism, which determines the clinical ladder system levels, and verified its validity. Data were collected using a clinical competence tool developed in this study, and existing methods such as the nursing professionalism evaluation tool, peer reviews, and face-to-face interviews to evaluate promotions and verify the presented content in a medical institution. Reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the clinical competence evaluation tool were verified using SmartPLS software. The validity of the model for evaluating overall nursing professionalism was also analyzed. Clinical competence was determined by five dimensions of nursing practice: scientific, technical, ethical, aesthetic, and existential. The structural model explained 66% of the variance. Clinical competence scales, peer reviews, and face-to-face interviews directly determined nursing professionalism levels. The evaluation system can be used for evaluating nurses' professionalism in actual medical institutions from a nursing practice perspective. A conceptual framework for establishing a human resources management system for nurses and a tool for evaluating nursing professionalism at medical institutions is provided.

Symmetry-broken states in a system of interacting bosons on a two-leg ladder with a uniform Abelian gauge field

Science.gov (United States)

Greschner, S.; Piraud, M.; Heidrich-Meisner, F.; McCulloch, I. P.; Schollwöck, U.; Vekua, T.

2016-12-01

We study the quantum phases of bosons with repulsive contact interactions on a two-leg ladder in the presence of a uniform Abelian gauge field. The model realizes many interesting states, including Meissner phases, vortex fluids, vortex lattices, charge density waves, and the biased-ladder phase. Our work focuses on the subset of these states that breaks a discrete symmetry. We use density matrix renormalization group simulations to demonstrate the existence of three vortex-lattice states at different vortex densities and we characterize the phase transitions from these phases into neighboring states. Furthermore, we provide an intuitive explanation of the chiral-current reversal effect that is tied to some of these vortex lattices. We also study a charge-density-wave state that exists at 1/4 particle filling at large interaction strengths and flux values close to half a flux quantum. By changing the system parameters, this state can transition into a completely gapped vortex-lattice Mott-insulating state. We elucidate the stability of these phases against nearest-neighbor interactions on the rungs of the ladder relevant for experimental realizations with a synthetic lattice dimension. A charge-density-wave state at 1/3 particle filling can be stabilized for flux values close to half a flux quantum and for very strong on-site interactions in the presence of strong repulsion on the rungs. Finally, we analytically describe the emergence of these phases in the low-density regime, and, in particular, we obtain the boundaries of the biased-ladder phase, i.e., the phase that features a density imbalance between the legs. We make contact with recent quantum-gas experiments that realized related models and discuss signatures of these quantum states in experimentally accessible observables.

The Ultrasonographic Findings of Bifid Median Nerve

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Hee Jin; Park, Noh Hyuck; Joh, Joon Hee; Lee, Sung Moon

2009-01-01

We wanted to evaluate the ultrasonographic findings of bifid median nerve and its clinical significance. We retrospectively reviewed five cases (three men and two women, mean age: 54 years) of incidentally found bifid median nerve from 264 cases of clinically suspected carpal-tunnel syndrome that were seen at our hospital during last 6 years. Doppler sonography was performed in all five cases and MR angiography was done in one case for detecting a persistent median artery. The difference (ΔCSA) between the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the bifid median nerve at the pisiform level (CSA2) and the cross-sectional area proximal to the bifurcation(CSA1) was calculated. The incidence of a bifid median nerve was 1.9%. All the patients presented with a tingling sensation on a hand and two patients had nocturnal pain. All the cases showed bifurcation of the nerve bundle proximal to the carpal tunnel. The margins appeared relatively smooth and each bundle showed a characteristic fascicular pattern. A persistent median artery was noted between the bundles in four cases. ΔCSA was more than 2 mm 2 in four cases. Bifid median nerve with a persistent median artery is a relatively rare normal variance and these are very important findings before performing surgical intervention to avoid potential nerve injury and massive bleeding. We highly suggest that radiologists should understand the anatomical characteristics of this anomaly and make efforts to detect it

One-Particle vs. Two-Particle Crossover in Weakly Coupled Hubbard Chains and Ladders: Perturbative Renormalization Group Approach

OpenAIRE

Kishine, Jun-ichiro; Yonemitsu, Kenji

1997-01-01

Physical nature of dimensional crossovers in weakly coupled Hubbard chains and ladders has been discussed within the framework of the perturbative renormalization-group approach. The difference between these two cases originates from different universality classes which the corresponding isolated systems belong to.

Testing the gravity p-median model empirically

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth Carling

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Regarding the location of a facility, the presumption in the widely used p-median model is that the customer opts for the shortest route to the nearest facility. However, this assumption is problematic on free markets since the customer is presumed to gravitate to a facility by the distance to and the attractiveness of it. The recently introduced gravity p-median model offers an extension to the p-median model that account for this. The model is therefore potentially interesting, although it has not yet been implemented and tested empirically. In this paper, we have implemented the model in an empirical problem of locating vehicle inspections, locksmiths, and retail stores of vehicle spare-parts for the purpose of investigating its superiority to the p-median model. We found, however, the gravity p-median model to be of limited use for the problem of locating facilities as it either gives solutions similar to the p-median model, or it gives unstable solutions due to a non-concave objective function.

Switching non-local vector median filter

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2016-04-01

This paper describes a novel image filtering method that removes random-valued impulse noise superimposed on a natural color image. In impulse noise removal, it is essential to employ a switching-type filtering method, as used in the well-known switching median filter, to preserve the detail of an original image with good quality. In color image filtering, it is generally preferable to deal with the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) components of each pixel of a color image as elements of a vectorized signal, as in the well-known vector median filter, rather than as component-wise signals to prevent a color shift after filtering. By taking these fundamentals into consideration, we propose a switching-type vector median filter with non-local processing that mainly consists of a noise detector and a noise removal filter. Concretely, we propose a noise detector that proactively detects noise-corrupted pixels by focusing attention on the isolation tendencies of pixels of interest not in an input image but in difference images between RGB components. Furthermore, as the noise removal filter, we propose an extended version of the non-local median filter, we proposed previously for grayscale image processing, named the non-local vector median filter, which is designed for color image processing. The proposed method realizes a superior balance between the preservation of detail and impulse noise removal by proactive noise detection and non-local switching vector median filtering, respectively. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural color images.

Phase dynamics of a Josephson junction ladder driven by modulated currents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawaguchi, T.

2011-01-01

Phase dynamics of disordered Josephson junction ladders (JJLs) driven by external currents which are spatially and temporally modulated is studied using a numerical simulation based on a random field XY model. This model is considered theoretically as an effective model of JJLs with structural disorder in a magnetic field. The spatiotemporal modulation of external currents causes peculiar dynamical effects of phases in the system under certain conditions, such as the directed motion of phases and the mode-locking in the absence of dc currents. We clarify the details of effects of the spatiotemporal modulation on the phase dynamics.

Magnetic field effects of tow-leg Heisenberg antiferromagnetic ladders: Thermodynamic properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaoqun; Yu Lu

2000-05-01

Using the recently developed transfer-matrix renormalization group method, we have studied the thermodynamic properties of two-leg antiferromagnetic ladders in the magnetic field. Based on different behavior of magnetization, we found disordered spin liquid, Luttinger liquid, spin-polarized phases and a classical regime depending on magnetic field and temperature. Our calculations in Luttinger liquid regime suggest that both the divergence of the NMR relaxation rate and the anomalous specific heat behavior observed on Cu 2 (C 5 H 12 N 2 ) 2 Cl 4 are due to quasi-one-dimensional effect rather than three-dimensional ordering. (author)

The prevalence of median neuropathy at wrist in systemic sclerosis patients at Srinagarind Hospital

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thanaporn Nimitbancha

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factor related with median neuropathy at wrist (MNW in systemic sclerosis patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Participants: Systemic sclerosis patients who attended the Scleroderma Clinic, Srinagarind Hospital. Materials and Methods: Seventyfive systemic sclerosis patients were prospectively evaluated by questionnaire, physical examination, and electrodiagnostic study. The questionnaire consisted of the symptoms, duration, and type of systemic sclerosis. The physical examination revealed skin score of systemic sclerosis, pinprick sensation of median nerve distribution of both hands, and weakness of both abductor pollicis brevis muscles. The provocative test which were Tinel′s sign and Phalen′s maneuver were also examined. Moreover, electrodiagnostic study of the bilateral median and ulnar nerves was conducted. Results: The prevalence of MNW in systemic sclerosis patients was 44% - percentage of mild, moderate, and severe were 28%, 9.3%, and 6.7%, respectively. The prevalence of asymptomatic MNW was 88%. There were no association between the presence of MNW and related factors of systemic sclerosis. Conclusions: MNW is one of the most common entrapment neuropathies in systemic sclerosis patients. Systemic sclerosis patients should be screened for early signs of MNW.

Towers and ladders: Infinite parameter symmetries in Kaluza-Klein theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aulakh, C.S.

1984-05-01

We introduce a class of infinite dimensional algebras with a 'generalized loop structure' by considering the global symmetries of the four dimensional Lagrangian obtained by compactifying general relativity coupled to Yang-Mills in six dimensions down to M 4 xS 2 . The generalization to arbitrary dimensions is then obvious. We show by explicit construction that such algebras possess an infinite number of finite sub-algebras. Among which, for the six dimensional case, is so(1,3) realized on S 2 with vanishing Casimir invariants. This so(1,3) may be interpreted, in accord with a previous conjecture of Salam and Strathdee [Ann. Phys. 141, 316(1982)], as the 'ladder' symmetry for the Kaluza-Klein towers. (author)

Studies toward brevisulcenal F via convergent strategies for marine ladder polyether synthesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Katcher, Matthew; Jamison, Timothy F

2018-03-15

Shortly after the initial isolation of marine ladder polyether natural products, biomimetic epoxide-opening cascade reactions were proposed as an efficient strategy for the synthesis of these compounds. However, difficulties in assembling the cascade precursors have limited the realization of these cascades. In this report, we describe strategies that provide convergent access to cascade precursors via regioselective allylation and efficient fragment coupling. We then investigate epoxide-opening cascades promoted by strong bases for the formation of fused tetrahydropyrans. These strategies are evaluated in the context of the synthesis of rings CDEFG of brevisulcenal F.

Geometric Summary of the 9 Chip Ladder for the D0 Silicon Tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ratzmann, P.; Cooper, W.; Goloskie, D.; Kowalski, J.; Lipton, R.; Rapidis, P.; Serritella, C.

1997-01-01

Two hybrids types are required to accomodate the flipping of ladders within each bulkhead layer, in order to account for the pigtail routing. Left and right versions are shown below, following the definitions laid out by Mike Matulik. These drawings are not to proper scale in the sketches below. The dimensionally correct versions of the 9 chip hybrids are stored in DCS under drawing number 3823.112-MD-317803 for the lefthanded version, and 3823.112-MD-317804 for the right handed version. Handedness of the hybrids are designated as shown in the figures and table below. There are long and short versions of both the left and the right, for four total 9 chip hdi designs. The pigtail lengths of the long and short are shown in a table in the hybrid drawings which reside in DCS. The chamfer in the hybrid corners (N side) is placed in order to enable the hybrid to be glued to the beryllium substrate, whereas the rectangular cuttout on the same side is to allow direct gluing of a temperature sensor to the substrate metal. The oblong shape on the N side of both hybrids is a 'stay-clear' region (defined in the final drawings) where pressure will be applied to the hybrid during the second stage of ladder construction.

Median Nerve Conduction in Healthy Nigerians: Normative Data

African Journals Online (AJOL)

of median nerve disease using multiple studies, and rendering ... Aim: To develop normative values for motor and sensory median nerve ..... Table 5: Comparison of median motor nerve conduction study parameters to studies elsewhere. Study.

Magneto-optical polarization rotation in a ladder-type atomic system for tunable offset locking

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parniak, Michał, E-mail: michal.parniak@fuw.edu.pl; Leszczyński, Adam; Wasilewski, Wojciech [Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 5, 02-093 Warsaw (Poland)

2016-04-18

We demonstrate an easily tunable locking scheme for stabilizing frequency-sum of two lasers on a two-photon ladder transition based on polarization rotation in warm rubidium vapors induced by magnetic field and circularly polarized drive field. Unprecedented tunability of the two-photon offset frequency is due to strong splitting and shifting of magnetic states in external field. In our experimental setup, we achieve two-photon detuning of up to 700 MHz.

Relationships between the Brook Street Terrane and Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) : evidence from Jurassic conglomerates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tulloch, A.J.; Kimbrough, D.L.; Landis, C.A.; Mortimer, N.; Johnston, M.R.

1999-01-01

U-Pb zircon ages of 237-180 Ma and c. 280 Ma of seven granitoid clasts from the Rainy River Conglomerate which lies within the eastern Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith) in Nelson, and the Barretts Formation of the Brook Street Terrane in Southland, constrain the depositional ages of both units to be no older than c. 180-200 Ma (Early Jurassic). The minimum age of the Rainy River Conglomerate is constrained by the 147 +2 -1 Ma (Latest Jurassic) emplacement age of the One Mile Gabbronorite (new name: previously western Buller Diorite). The ages and chemistry of five of the granitoid clasts are broadly compatible with derivation from rocks that are now represented by Triassic plutons of the Median Tectonic Zone (Median Batholith), although ages as young as 180 Ma are slightly outside the range of the latter as currently exposed in New Zealand. The age (273-290 Ma, 237 +/- 3 Ma) and chemistry of the other two clasts (one each from Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation) suggest derivation from the Brook Street Terrane. Similarity in stratigraphic age, depositional characteristics, granitoid clast ages and composition between Rainy River Conglomerate and Barretts Formation suggests that they are broadly correlative and collectively overlapped a combined Brook Street Terrane - Median Batholith (MTZ) before the Late Jurassic (147 +2 -1 Ma). Sedimentary overlap may also have continued across to Middle Jurassic conglomeratic strata in the Murihiku Terrane to the east of the Brook Street Terrane. A U-Pb zircon age of 261 +/- 2 Ma is reported for Pourakino Trondhjemite of the Brook Street Terrane. (author). 56 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs

Median and ulnar neuropathies in university guitarists.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Rachel H; Hutcherson, Kimberly J; Kain, Jennifer B; Phillips, Alicia L; Halle, John S; Greathouse, David G

2006-02-01

Descriptive study. To determine the presence of median and ulnar neuropathies in both upper extremities of university guitarists. Peripheral nerve entrapment syndromes of the upper extremities are well documented in musicians. Guitarists and plucked-string musicians are at risk for entrapment neuropathies in the upper extremities and are prone to mild neurologic deficits. Twenty-four volunteer male and female guitarists (age range, 18-26 years) were recruited from the Belmont University School of Music and the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music. Individuals were excluded if they were pregnant or had a history of recent upper extremity or neck injury. Subjects completed a history form, were interviewed, and underwent a physical examination. Nerve conduction status of the median and ulnar nerves of both upper extremities was obtained by performing motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) nerve conduction studies. Descriptive statistics of the nerve conduction study variables were computed using Microsoft Excel. Six subjects had positive findings on provocative testing of the median and ulnar nerves. Otherwise, these guitarists had normal upper extremity neural and musculoskeletal function based on the history and physical examinations. When comparing the subjects' nerve conduction study values with a chart of normal nerve conduction studies values, 2 subjects had prolonged distal motor latencies (DMLs) of the left median nerve of 4.3 and 4.7 milliseconds (normal, DMLs are compatible with median neuropathy at or distal to the wrist. Otherwise, all electrophysiological variables were within normal limits for motor, sensory, and F-wave (central) values. However, comparison studies of median and ulnar motor latencies in the same hand demonstrated prolonged differences of greater than 1.0 milliseconds that affected the median nerve in 2 additional subjects, and identified contralateral limb involvement in a subject with a prolonged distal latency. The other 20

Epithelioid Sarcoma of the Forearm Arising from Perineural Sheath of Median Nerve Mimicking Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiromasa Fujii

2009-01-01

Full Text Available We report here a case of epithelioid sarcoma in the forearm of a 33-year-old male presenting with symptoms and signs of carpal tunnel syndrome originating from the direct involvement of the median nerve. Due to the slow growing of the tumor, the patient noticed the presence of tumor mass in his forearm after several months from the initial onset of the symptoms. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an 8×4 cm mass involving the median nerve in the middle part of the forearm, and histological analysis of the biopsy specimen revealed the diagnosis of epithelioid sarcoma. Radical surgical resection was performed in conjunction with adjuvant chemotherapy. The function of the flexors were restored by the multiple tendon transfers (EIP→FDS; ECRL→FDP; BrR→FPL; EDM→opponens with superficial cutaneous branch of radial nerve transfer to the resected median nerve. The function of the affected hand showed excellent with the DASH disability/symptom score of 22.5, and both the grasp power and sensory of the median nerve area has recovered up to 50% of the normal side. The patient returned to his original vocation and alive with continuous disease free at 3.5-year follow-up since initial treatment.

Superconducting states and depinning transitions of Josephson ladders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barahona, M.; Strogatz, S.H.; Orlando, T.P.

1998-01-01

We present analytical and numerical studies of pinned superconducting states of open-ended Josephson ladder arrays, neglecting inductances but taking edge effects into account. Treating the edge effects perturbatively, we find analytical approximations for three of these superconducting states emdash the no-vortex, fully frustrated, and single-vortex states emdash as functions of the dc bias current I and the frustration f. Bifurcation theory is used to derive formulas for the depinning currents and critical frustrations at which the superconducting states disappear or lose dynamical stability as I and f are varied. These results are combined to yield a zero-temperature stability diagram of the system with respect to I and f. To highlight the effects of the edges, we compare this dynamical stability diagram to the thermodynamic phase diagram for the infinite system where edges have been neglected. We briefly indicate how to extend our methods to include self-inductances. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

The power of engagement: implementation of a career ladder program.

Science.gov (United States)

Bourgeault, Robert; Newmark, Jason

2012-01-01

At Baystate Health in Massachusetts, the development and implementation of a career ladder program was implemented to reduce turnover and to improve employee satisfaction, morale, and recruitment efforts. There was significant initial expenditure in the program, as a result of promoting the large number of employees with significant experience and seniority. A smaller number of staff are expected to apply for advancement during successive cycles, allowing for decreased incremental expense going forward. Critical to the success of the program was understanding the time commitment, getting senior organizational support and staff buy-in, and justifying the associated expenses. The development and initiation of the program has done much to support a positive work environment with increased morale and higher performance among significant numbers of staff at all levels.

Chain and ladder models with two-body interactions and analytical ground states

Science.gov (United States)

Manna, Sourav; Nielsen, Anne E. B.

2018-05-01

We consider a family of spin-1 /2 models with few-body, SU(2)-invariant Hamiltonians and analytical ground states related to the one-dimensional (1D) Haldane-Shastry wave function. The spins are placed on the surface of a cylinder, and the standard 1D Haldane-Shastry model is obtained by placing the spins with equal spacing in a circle around the cylinder. Here, we show that another interesting family of models with two-body exchange interactions is obtained if we instead place the spins along one or two lines parallel to the cylinder axis, giving rise to chain and ladder models, respectively. We can change the scale along the cylinder axis without changing the radius of the cylinder. This gives us a parameter that controls the ratio between the circumference of the cylinder and all other length scales in the system. We use Monte Carlo simulations and analytical investigations to study how this ratio affects the properties of the models. If the ratio is large, we find that the two legs of the ladder decouple into two chains that are in a critical phase with Haldane-Shastry-like properties. If the ratio is small, the wave function reduces to a product of singlets. In between, we find that the behavior of the correlations and the Renyi entropy depends on the distance considered. For small distances the behavior is critical, and for long distances the correlations decay exponentially and the entropy shows an area law behavior. The distance up to which there is critical behavior gets larger as the ratio increases.

Climbing Up the Technology Ladder? High-Technology Exports in China and Latin America

OpenAIRE

Gallagher, Kevin P.; Porzecanski, Roberto

2008-01-01

In this paper we determine the “dynamic revealed competitiveness position” (DRCP) of nations for high technology exports between 1980 and 2005. We find that the developed world has lost significant market share in high technology and that China has climbed the high technology ladder during this period. In 1980 China was ranked 99th of all nations in terms of the percentage of global exports in high technology. By 2005 China climbed to second place in the world, first place if high technology ...

Calculation of cut-off values based on the Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) and Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI) pemphigus scoring systems for defining moderate, significant and extensive types of pemphigus.

Science.gov (United States)

Boulard, C; Duvert Lehembre, S; Picard-Dahan, C; Kern, J S; Zambruno, G; Feliciani, C; Marinovic, B; Vabres, P; Borradori, L; Prost-Squarcioni, C; Labeille, B; Richard, M A; Ingen-Housz-Oro, S; Houivet, E; Werth, V P; Murrell, D F; Hertl, M; Benichou, J; Joly, P

2016-07-01

Two pemphigus severity scores, Autoimmune Bullous Skin Disorder Intensity Score (ABSIS) and Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI), have been proposed to provide an objective measure of disease activity. However, the use of these scores in clinical practice is limited by the absence of cut-off values that allow differentiation between moderate, significant and extensive types of pemphigus. To calculate cut-off values defining moderate, significant and extensive pemphigus based on the ABSIS and PDAI scores. In 31 dermatology departments in six countries, consecutive patients with newly diagnosed pemphigus were assessed for pemphigus severity, using ABSIS, PDAI, Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores. Cut-off values defining moderate, significant and extensive subgroups were calculated based on the 25th and 75th percentiles of the ABSIS and PDAI scores. The median ABSIS, PDAI, PGA and DLQI scores of the three severity subgroups were compared in order to validate these subgroups. Ninety-six patients with pemphigus vulgaris (n = 77) or pemphigus foliaceus (n = 19) were included. The median PDAI activity and ABSIS total scores were 27·5 (range 3-84) and 34·8 points (range 0·5-90·5), respectively. The respective cut-off values corresponding to the first and third quartiles of the scores were 15 and 45 for the PDAI, and 17 and 53 for ABSIS. The moderate, significant and extensive subgroups were thus defined, and had distinguishing median ABSIS (P cut-off values of 15 and 45 for PDAI and 17 and 53 for ABSIS, to distinguish moderate, significant and extensive pemphigus forms. Identifying these pemphigus activity subgroups should help physicians to classify and manage patients with pemphigus. © 2016 British Association of Dermatologists.

Efficiency snakes and energy ladders: A (meta-)frontier demand analysis of electricity consumption efficiency in Chinese households

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broadstock, David C.; Li, Jiajia; Zhang, Dayong

2016-01-01

Policy makers presently lack access to quantified estimates – and hence an explicit understanding – of energy consumption efficiency within households, creating a potential gap between true efficiency levels and the necessarily assumed efficiency levels that policy makers adopt in designing and implementing energy policy. This paper attempts to fill this information gap by empirically quantifying electricity consumption efficiency for a sample of more than 7,000 households. Adopting the recently introduced ‘frontier demand function’ due to Filippini and Hunt (2011) but extending it into the metafrontier context – to control for structural heterogeneity arising from location type – it is shown that consumption efficiency is little more than 60% on average. This implies huge potential for energy reduction via the expansion of schemes to promote energy efficiency. City households, which are the wealthiest in the sample, are shown to define the metafrontier demand function (and hence have the potential to be the most efficient households), but at the same time exhibit the largest inefficiencies. These facts together allow for a potential refinement on the household energy ladder concept, suggesting that wealth affords access to the best technologies thereby increasing potential energy efficiency (the ‘traditional view of the household energy ladder), but complementary to this these same households are most inefficient. This has implications for numerous areas of policy, including for example the design of energy assistance schemes, identification of energy education needs/priorities as well more refined setting of subsidies/tax-credit policies. - Highlights: •Frontier demand functions are estimated for a sample of 7102 Chinese households. •Metafrontier methods capture heterogeneity arising from urban form (e.g. cities, towns and villages). •Wealthier houses have higher efficiency potential, but are in fact less efficient in their consumption of

Double-helical - ladder structural transition in the B-DNA is induced by a loss of dispersion energy

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Černý, Jiří; Kabeláč, Martin; Hobza, Pavel

2008-01-01

Roč. 130, č. 47 (2008), s. 16055-16059 ISSN 0002-7863 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LC512; GA AV ČR IAA400550808 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40550506 Keywords : B-DNA * double-helical structure * ladder-like structure Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 8.091, year: 2008

Modeling of radiation heat transport in complex ladder-like structures placed in rectangular enclosures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unal, C.; Bohl, W.R.; Pasamehmetoglu, K.O.

1999-01-01

Complex ladder-like structures recently have been considered as the target design for accelerator applications. The decay heat, during a postulated beyond design-basis loss-of-coolant accident in the target where all normal and emergency cooling fails, is removed mainly by radiation heat transfer. Modeling of the radiation transport in complex ladder-like structures has several challenges and limitations when the standard net-radiation model is used. This paper proposes a simplified lumped, or 'hot-rung' model, that considers the worst elements and utilizes the standard net-radiation method. The net-radiation model would under-predict structure temperatures if surfaces were subject to non-uniform radiosity. The proposed model was assessed to suggest corrections to account for the non-uniform radiosity. The non-uniform radiosity effect causes the proposed hot-rung model to under-predict the center-rung temperatures by ∼4-74 C when all parametrics, including temperatures up to 1500 C, were considered. These temperatures are small. The proposed model predicted that an important effect of decreasing the emissivity was smoothing of non-isothermal effects. The radiosity effects are more pronounced when there are strong temperature gradients. Uniform rung temperatures tend to decrease the radiosity effects. We concluded that a relatively simple model that is conservative with respect to radiosity effects could be developed. (orig.)

Ladder beam and camera video recording system for evaluating forelimb and hindlimb deficits after sensorimotor cortex injury in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Soblosky, J S; Colgin, L L; Chorney-Lane, D; Davidson, J F; Carey, M E

1997-12-30

Hindlimb and forelimb deficits in rats caused by sensorimotor cortex lesions are frequently tested by using the narrow flat beam (hindlimb), the narrow pegged beam (hindlimb and forelimb) or the grid-walking (forelimb) tests. Although these are excellent tests, the narrow flat beam generates non-parametric data so that using more powerful parametric statistical analyses are prohibited. All these tests can be difficult to score if the rat is moving rapidly. Foot misplacements, especially on the grid-walking test, are indicative of an ongoing deficit, but have not been reliably and accurately described and quantified previously. In this paper we present an easy to construct and use horizontal ladder-beam with a camera system on rails which can be used to evaluate both hindlimb and forelimb deficits in a single test. By slow motion videotape playback we were able to quantify and demonstrate foot misplacements which go beyond the recovery period usually seen using more conventional measures (i.e. footslips and footfaults). This convenient system provides a rapid and reliable method for recording and evaluating rat performance on any type of beam and may be useful for measuring sensorimotor recovery following brain injury.

Of towers and ladders: Infinite parameter symmetries in Kaluza-Klein theories

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aulakh, C.S.

1984-01-01

We introduce a class of infinite dimensional algebras with a 'generalized loop structure' by considering the global symmetries of the four-dimensional lagrangian obtained by compactifying general relativity coupled to Yang-Mills in six-dimensions down to M 4 x S 2 . The generalization to arbitrary dimensions is then obvious. We show by explicit construction that such algebras possess an infinite number of finite sub-algebras among which, for the six-dimensional case, is so (1, 3), realized on S 2 with vanishing Casimir invariants. This so (1, 3) may be interpreted, in accordance with a previous conjecture of Salam and Strathdee, as the 'ladder' symmetry for the Kaluza-Klein towers. (orig.)

Massive 3-loop ladder diagrams for quarkonic local operator matrix elements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ablinger, Jakob; Blümlein, Johannes; Hasselhuhn, Alexander; Klein, Sebastian; Schneider, Carsten; Wißbrock, Fabian

2012-01-01

3-loop diagrams of the ladder-type, which emerge for local quarkonic twist-2 operator matrix elements, are computed directly for general values of the Mellin variable N using Appell-function representations and applying modern summation technologies provided by the package Sigma and the method of hyperlogarithms. In some of the diagrams generalized harmonic sums with ξ∈{1,1/2,2} emerge beyond the usual nested harmonic sums. As the asymptotic representation of the corresponding integrals shows, the generalized sums conspire giving well behaved expressions for large values of N. These diagrams contribute to the 3-loop heavy flavor Wilson coefficients of the structure functions in deep-inelastic scattering in the region Q 2 ≫m 2 .

Interplay between spin frustration and magnetism in the exactly solved two-leg mixed spin ladder

Science.gov (United States)

Qi, Yan; Lv, Song-Wei; Du, An; Yu, Nai-sen

2016-11-01

We study a mixed spin-(3/2, 1) ladder system with antiferromagnetic rung coupling and next-nearest-neighbor interaction. The exactly solved Ising-chain model is employed to investigate the ground-state properties and thermodynamics of the low-dimensional ladder system. Our results show that the competition between different exchange couplings brings in a large variety of ground states characterized by various values of normalized magnetization equal to 0, 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 1. Moreover, an interesting double-peak structure is also detected in the thermal dependence of magnetic susceptibility and specific heat when the frustration comes into play. It is shown that the double-peak phenomenon at zero-field for the case of AF2 ground-state arises from the very strong antiferromagnetic rung coupling, while other cases are attributed to the excitations induced by temperature and external field around the phase boundary. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11547236), the General Project of the Education Department of Liaoning Province, China (Grant No. L2015130), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, China (Grant Nos. DC201501065 and DCPY2016014), and the Doctoral Starting-up Foundation of Dalian Nationalities University, China.

Development of Curriculum Content for a Unique Career Ladder Multi-Entry/Multi-Exit Nursing Program. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosbach, Ellen M.

A project was undertaken to develop the curriculum content for a unique career ladder multi-entry/multi-exit nursing program that would provide training for nurse aides, practical nurses, and registered nurses. The major objectives of the project were to conduct a review of the literature on curriculum materials presently in use, to develop 11…

Detection of apoptotic DNA ladder in pig leukocytes and its precision using LM - PCR (ligation mediated polymerase chain reaction)

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Matalová, Eva; Španová, A.

2002-01-01

Roč. 71, č. 3 (2002), s. 163-168 ISSN 0001-7213 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA304/01/0850; GA AV ČR KSK6005114 Keywords : apoptosis * phagocytosis * DNA ladder Subject RIV: EB - Genetics ; Molecular Biology Impact factor: 0.370, year: 2002

A Phenomenological Examination of Virtual Game Developers' Experiences Using Jacob's Ladder Pre-Production Design Tactic

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Turner, Jasmine

2017-01-01

Edutainment refers to curriculum and instruction designed with a clear educational purpose, including multi-faceted virtual learning game design. Tools such as the Jacob's Ladder pre-production design tactic have been developed to ensure that voices of both engineers and educators are heard. However, it is unclear how development team members…

MEDIAN: Wireless broadband LAN for multimedia applications

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vliet, P.J. van

1998-01-01

MEDIAN is one of the projects in the mobile domain of the Advanced Communications Technologies and Services (ACTS) programme of the European Commission. The main obiective of the MEDIAN project is to evaluate and implement a high speed Wireless Customer Premises / Local Area Network (WCPN/WLAN)

On Preliminary Test Estimator for Median

OpenAIRE

Okazaki, Takeo; 岡崎, 威生

1990-01-01

The purpose of the present paper is to discuss about estimation of median with a preliminary test. Two procedures are presented, one uses Median test and the other uses Wilcoxon two-sample test for the preliminary test. Sections 3 and 4 give mathematical formulations of such properties, including mean square errors with one specified case. Section 5 discusses their optimal significance levels of the preliminary test and proposes their numerical values by Monte Carlo method. In addition to mea...

Is there a relation between priapism occurring after penile doppler ultrasonography and international erectile function index score and erection hardness score levels?

Science.gov (United States)

Sönmez, Mehmet Giray; Öztürk, Ahmet

2017-12-01

The relation between Erection Hardness Score (EHS) and The International Erectile Function Index (IIEF) Questionnaire- Erectile Function Domain Score (IIEF-EF score) used in erectile dysfunction (ED) evaluation and the prevalence of priapism after penile Doppler ultrasonography (PDU) was examined in this study. A total of 62 patients who had PDU were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups; there were 33 patients in IIEF-EF score ≤10, EHS 10, EHS ≥2 group (Group 2). The two groups separated according to their scores were compared for age, body mass index (BMI), prevalence of priapism, vascular comorbidities and duration of erection. When compared to Group 2, median age, rate of vascular comorbidities rate and BMI were detected to be higher in Group 1 with IIEF-EF score ≤10 and EHS 10 and EHS ≥2 (p<0.001, p=0.027, p=0.049 respectively). High IIEF-EF and EHS scores, younger ages and lower rates of vascular comorbidities in patients from whom PDU was demanded increase the prevalence of priapism.

Massive 3-loop ladder diagrams for quarkonic local operator matrix elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ablinger, Jakob; Schneider, Carsten [Johannes Kepler Univ., Linz (Austria). Research Inst. for Symbolic Computation; Bluemlein, Johannes; Hasselhuhn, Alexander; Wissbrock, Fabian [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany); Klein, Sebastian [Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany). Inst. fuer Theoretische Physik

2012-06-15

3-loop diagrams of the ladder-type, which emerge for local quarkonic twist-2 operator matrix elements, are computed directly for general values of the Mellin variable N using Appell-function representations and applying modern summation technologies provided by the package Sigma and the method of hyperlogarithms. In some of the diagrams generalized harmonic sums with {xi} element of {l_brace}1,1/2,2{r_brace} emerge beyond the usual nested harmonic sums. As the asymptotic representation of the corresponding integrals shows, the generalized sums conspire giving well behaved expressions for large values of N. These diagrams contribute to the 3-loop heavy flavor Wilson coefficients of the structure functions in deep-inelastic scattering in the region Q{sup 2} >> m{sup 2}.

Massive 3-loop ladder diagrams for quarkonic local operator matrix elements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ablinger, Jakob [Research Institute for Symbolic Computation (RISC), Johannes Kepler University, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Bluemlein, Johannes, E-mail: johannes.bluemlein@desy.de [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Hasselhuhn, Alexander [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany); Klein, Sebastian [Research Institut fuer Theoretische Physik E, RWTH Aachen University, D-52056 Aachen (Germany); Schneider, Carsten [Research Institute for Symbolic Computation (RISC), Johannes Kepler University, Altenbergerstrasse 69, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Wissbrock, Fabian [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, DESY, Platanenallee 6, D-15738 Zeuthen (Germany)

2012-11-01

3-loop diagrams of the ladder-type, which emerge for local quarkonic twist-2 operator matrix elements, are computed directly for general values of the Mellin variable N using Appell-function representations and applying modern summation technologies provided by the package Sigma and the method of hyperlogarithms. In some of the diagrams generalized harmonic sums with {xi} Element-Of {l_brace}1,1/2,2{r_brace} emerge beyond the usual nested harmonic sums. As the asymptotic representation of the corresponding integrals shows, the generalized sums conspire giving well behaved expressions for large values of N. These diagrams contribute to the 3-loop heavy flavor Wilson coefficients of the structure functions in deep-inelastic scattering in the region Q{sup 2} Much-Greater-Than m{sup 2}.

Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, Siun M

2013-12-01

We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression.

Efficient Scalable Median Filtering Using Histogram-Based Operations.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Oded

2018-05-01

Median filtering is a smoothing technique for noise removal in images. While there are various implementations of median filtering for a single-core CPU, there are few implementations for accelerators and multi-core systems. Many parallel implementations of median filtering use a sorting algorithm for rearranging the values within a filtering window and taking the median of the sorted value. While using sorting algorithms allows for simple parallel implementations, the cost of the sorting becomes prohibitive as the filtering windows grow. This makes such algorithms, sequential and parallel alike, inefficient. In this work, we introduce the first software parallel median filtering that is non-sorting-based. The new algorithm uses efficient histogram-based operations. These reduce the computational requirements of the new algorithm while also accessing the image fewer times. We show an implementation of our algorithm for both the CPU and NVIDIA's CUDA supported graphics processing unit (GPU). The new algorithm is compared with several other leading CPU and GPU implementations. The CPU implementation has near perfect linear scaling with a speedup on a quad-core system. The GPU implementation is several orders of magnitude faster than the other GPU implementations for mid-size median filters. For small kernels, and , comparison-based approaches are preferable as fewer operations are required. Lastly, the new algorithm is open-source and can be found in the OpenCV library.

Portfolio optimization using median-variance approach

Science.gov (United States)

Wan Mohd, Wan Rosanisah; Mohamad, Daud; Mohamed, Zulkifli

2013-04-01

Optimization models have been applied in many decision-making problems particularly in portfolio selection. Since the introduction of Markowitz's theory of portfolio selection, various approaches based on mathematical programming have been introduced such as mean-variance, mean-absolute deviation, mean-variance-skewness and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) mainly to maximize return and minimize risk. However most of the approaches assume that the distribution of data is normal and this is not generally true. As an alternative, in this paper, we employ the median-variance approach to improve the portfolio optimization. This approach has successfully catered both types of normal and non-normal distribution of data. With this actual representation, we analyze and compare the rate of return and risk between the mean-variance and the median-variance based portfolio which consist of 30 stocks from Bursa Malaysia. The results in this study show that the median-variance approach is capable to produce a lower risk for each return earning as compared to the mean-variance approach.

Papillary carcinoma in median aberrant thyroid (ectopic) - case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Hebbar K, Ashwin; K, Shashidhar; Deshmane, Vijaya Laxmi; Kumar, Veerendra; Arjunan, Ravi

2014-06-01

Median ectopic thyroid may be encountered anywhere from the foramen caecum to the diaphragm. Non lingual median aberrant thyroid (incomplete descent) usually found in the infrahyoid region and malignant transformation in this ectopic thyroid tissue is very rare. We report an extremely rare case of papillary carcinoma in non lingual median aberrant thyroid in a 25-year-old female. The differentiation between a carcinoma arising in the median ectopic thyroid tissue and a metastatic papillary carcinoma from an occult primary in the main thyroid gland is also discussed.

Robust median estimator in logisitc regression

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Hobza, T.; Pardo, L.; Vajda, Igor

2008-01-01

Roč. 138, č. 12 (2008), s. 3822-3840 ISSN 0378-3758 R&D Projects: GA MŠk 1M0572 Grant - others:Instituto Nacional de Estadistica (ES) MPO FI - IM3/136; GA MŠk(CZ) MTM 2006-06872 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10750506 Keywords : Logistic regression * Median * Robustness * Consistency and asymptotic normality * Morgenthaler * Bianco and Yohai * Croux and Hasellbroeck Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research Impact factor: 0.679, year: 2008 http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2008/SI/vajda-robust%20median%20estimator%20in%20logistic%20regression.pdf

Dual pathology proximal median nerve compression of the forearm.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Siun M; Browne, Katherine; Tuite, David J; O'Shaughnessy, Michael

2013-12-01

We report an unusual case of synchronous pathology in the forearm- the coexistence of a large lipoma of the median nerve together with an osteochondroma of the proximal ulna, giving rise to a dual proximal median nerve compression. Proximal median nerve compression neuropathies in the forearm are uncommon compared to the prevalence of distal compression neuropathies (eg Carpal Tunnel Syndrome). Both neural fibrolipomas (Refs. 1,2) and osteochondromas of the proximal ulna (Ref. 3) in isolation are rare but well documented. Unlike that of a distal compression, a proximal compression of the median nerve will often have a definite cause. Neural fibrolipoma, also called fibrolipomatous hamartoma are rare, slow-growing, benign tumours of peripheral nerves, most often occurring in the median nerve of younger patients. To our knowledge, this is the first report of such dual pathology in the same forearm, giving rise to a severe proximal compression of the median nerve. In this case, the nerve was being pushed anteriorly by the osteochondroma, and was being compressed from within by the intraneural lipoma. This unusual case highlights the advantage of preoperative imaging as part of the workup of proximal median nerve compression. Copyright © 2013 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and test of the final ALICE SDD CARLOS end ladder board

CERN Document Server

Antinori, S; Falchieri, D; Gabrielli, A; Gandolfi, E; Masetti, M; Tosellob, F

2007-01-01

The paper presents the design and test of the final prototype of the CARLOS (Compression And Run Length Encoding Subsystem) end ladder board that is going to be used in the ALICE experiment at CERN. This board is able to compress data coming from one Silicon Drift Detector (SDD) front-end electronics and to send them towards the data concentrator card CARLOSrx in counting room via a 800 Mb/s optical link. The board design faces several constraints, mainly size (54x49 mm) and radiation tolerance: for this reason the board contains several CERN developed ASICs. A test setup has been realized for selecting the good devices among the 500 cards already produced.

Median nail dystrophy involving the thumb nail

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahulkrishna Kota

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Median canaliform dystrophy of Heller is a rare entity characterized by a midline or a paramedian ridge or split and canal formation in nail plate of one or both the thumb nails. It is an acquired condition resulting from a temporary defect in the matrix that interferes with nail formation. Habitual picking of the nail base may be responsible for some cases. Histopathology classically shows parakeratosis, accumulation of melanin within and between the nail bed keratinocytes. Treatment of median nail dystrophy includes injectable triamcinalone acetonide, topical 0.1% tacrolimus, and tazarotene 0.05%, which is many a times challenging for a dermatologist. Psychiatric opinion should be taken when associated with the depressive, obsessive-compulsive, or impulse-control disorder. We report a case of 19-year-old male diagnosed as median nail dystrophy.

Large window median filtering on Clip7

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mathews, K N

1983-07-01

Median filtering has been found to be a useful operation to perform on images in order to reduce random noise while preserving edges of objects. However, in some cases, as the resolution of the image increases, so too does the required window size of the filter. For parallel array processors, this leads to problems when dealing with the large amount of data involved. That is to say that there tend to be problems over slow access of data from pixels over a large neighbourhood, lack of available storage of this data during the operation and long computational times for finding the median. An algorithm for finding the median, designed for use on byte wide architecture parallel array processors is presented together with its implementation on Clip7, a scanning array of such processors. 6 references.

Estimation of Structure-Borne Noise Reduction Effect of Steel Railway Bridge Equipped with Floating Ladder Track and Floating Reinforced-Concrete Deck

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Tsutomu; Sogabe, Masamichi; Asanuma, Kiyoshi; Wakui, Hajime

A number of steel railway bridges have been constructed in Japan. Thin steel members used for the bridges easily tend to vibrate and generate structure-borne noise. Accordingly, the number of constructions of steel railway bridges tends to decrease in the urban areas from a viewpoint of environmental preservation. Then, as a countermeasure against structure-borne noise generated from steel railway bridges, we have developed a new type of the steel railway bridge equipped with a floating-ladder track and a floating reinforced-concrete (RC) deck. As a result of train-running experiment, it became apparent that the new steel railway bridge installed by double floating system has reduced a vibration velocity level by 10.5 dB(A) at main girder web as compared with a steel railway bridge installed by directly fastened track. This reduction effect was achieved by the ladder track and RC deck supported by resilient materials.

Do Scoring Systems Help in Predicting Survival Following Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Surgery?

Science.gov (United States)

Gatt, Marcel; Goldsmith, Paul; Martinez, Marcos; Barandiaran, Jesus; Grover, Kartikae; El-Barghouti, Naif; Perry, Eugene P

2009-01-01

INTRODUCTION The aim of this study was to assess the value of the Hardman Index and the Glasgow Aneurysm Score in predicting postoperative mortality in patients with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA), and to assess the correlation between the two. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients admitted with rAAA were identified from a hospital database. Hospital records were reviewed and a retrospective Hardman Index and Glasgow Aneurysm Score was calculated. Poor postoperative prognosis was considered at a Glasgow Aneurysm Score > 95 or a Hardman Index ≥ 3. RESULTS A total of 96 patients with a median age of 77.5 years (interquartile range, 71–83 years) and a male:female ratio of 2:1 were identified. Of these, 37 patients were not offered surgery and this was associated with 100% mortality. Of the 59 operated patients, 36 (61%) patients died postoperatively. Operated patients had a median Glasgow Aneurysm Score of 91 (interquartile range, 77–101) and a Hardman Index of 2 (interquartile range, 1–2). In this group, a Glasgow Aneurysm Score > 95 or a Hardman Index ≥ 3 was not associated with mortality (P = 0.10 and P = 0.79, respectively). Correlation between the scoring systems was poor (+0.42 τb). CONCLUSIONS The scoring systems assessed did not help predict the outcome of rAAA surgery, and correlated poorly with each other. They do not aid clinical judgement. PMID:19102824

The local-ladder effect: social status and subjective well-being.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Cameron; Kraus, Michael W; Galinsky, Adam D; Keltner, Dacher

2012-07-01

Dozens of studies in different nations have revealed that socioeconomic status only weakly predicts an individual's subjective well-being (SWB). These results imply that although the pursuit of social status is a fundamental human motivation, achieving high status has little impact on one's SWB. However, we propose that sociometric status-the respect and admiration one has in face-to-face groups (e.g., among friends or coworkers)-has a stronger effect on SWB than does socioeconomic status. Using correlational, experimental, and longitudinal methodologies, four studies found consistent evidence for a local-ladder effect: Sociometric status significantly predicted satisfaction with life and the experience of positive and negative emotions. Longitudinally, as sociometric status rose or fell, SWB rose or fell accordingly. Furthermore, these effects were driven by feelings of power and social acceptance. Overall, individuals' sociometric status matters more to their SWB than does their socioeconomic status.

Crystal structure and thin film morphology of BBL ladder polymer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, H H [Department of Macromolecular Science, Han Nam University, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Fratini, A V [Department of Chemistry, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH (United States); Chabinyc, M [Department of Chemistry, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH (United States); Price, G E [University of Dayton Research, Dayton, OH (United States); Agrawal, A K [Systran Corporation, Dayton, OH (United States); Wang, C S [University of Dayton Research, Dayton, OH (United States); Burkette, J [University of Dayton Research, Dayton, OH (United States); Dudis, D S [Materials Directorate, Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH (United States); Arnold, F E [Materials Directorate, Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH (United States)

1995-03-01

Crystal structure and morphology of poly[7-oxo-7H-benz(d,e)imidazo(4`,5`:5,6)-benzimidazo(2,1-a)isoquinoline-3,4:10,11-tetrayl-10-carbonyl] (BBL) ladder-like polymer were studied. The polymer forms a two-dimensional lattice of nematic liquid crystalline structure. An orthorhombic unit cell with cell parameters of a=7.87 b=3.37 c=11.97A was determined from the fiber diffraction pattern. In thin films, the rigid chains spontaneously form a layered structure across the film thickness, but in a very unusual manner, i.e. the very large molecular plane is standing perpendicularly to the film surface plane. The results are identical to our recent results of poly(p-phenylene benzobisthiazole) (PBT) film [7]. The polymer, however, lost its anisotropic order upon extrusion into a film and resulted in a fiber-like structure. (orig.)

Hospital triage system for adult patients using an influenza-like illness scoring system during the 2009 pandemic--Mexico.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eduardo Rodriguez-Noriega

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Pandemic influenza A (H1N1 virus emerged during 2009. To help clinicians triage adults with acute respiratory illness, a scoring system for influenza-like illness (ILI was implemented at Hospital Civil de Guadalajara, Mexico.A medical history, laboratory and radiology results were collected on emergency room (ER patients with acute respiratory illness to calculate an ILI-score. Patients were evaluated for admission by their ILI-score and clinicians' assessment of risk for developing complications. Nasal and throat swabs were collected from intermediate and high-risk patients for influenza testing by RT-PCR. The disposition and ILI-score of those oseltamivir-treated versus untreated, clinical characteristics of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1 patients versus test-negative patients were compared by Pearson's Chi(2, Fisher's Exact, and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests.Of 1840 ER patients, 230 were initially hospitalized (mean ILI-score = 15, and the rest were discharged, including 286 ambulatory patients given oseltamivir (median ILI-score = 11, and 1324 untreated (median ILI-score = 5. Fourteen (1% untreated patients returned, and 3 were hospitalized on oseltamivir (median ILI-score = 19. Of 371 patients tested by RT-PCR, 104 (28% had pandemic influenza and 42 (11% had seasonal influenza A detected. Twenty (91% of 22 imaged hospitalized pandemic influenza patients had bilateral infiltrates compared to 23 (38% of 61 imaged hospital test-negative patients (p<0.001. One patient with confirmed pandemic influenza presented 6 days after symptom onset, required mechanical ventilation, and died.The triaging system that used an ILI-score complimented clinicians' judgment of who needed oseltamivir and inpatient care and helped hospital staff manage a surge in demand for services.

Magnetic dimerization in the frustrated spin ladder Li2Cu2O (SO4)2

Science.gov (United States)

Vaccarelli, O.; Rousse, G.; Saúl, A.; Radtke, G.

2017-11-01

The magnetic properties of Li2Cu2O (SO4)2 are investigated in the framework of density functional theory. In its high-temperature tetragonal structure, this compound appears as a rare material realization of a frustrated spin-1/2 two-leg ladder, where magnetic frustration arises from competing nearest and next-nearest interactions along the legs. Through a large magnetoelastic coupling, the triclinic distortion occurring around 125 K is shown to induce the formation of a staggered dimer structure, lifting most of the magnetic frustration.

Sosiaalisen median markkinoinnin vuosikello Weecos Oy:lle

OpenAIRE

Heinämäki, Lotta; Huuskonen, Leena

2015-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tarkoitus oli luoda kokonaisvaltainen ja selkeä suunnitelma Weecos Oy:n markkinointitoimenpiteille valituissa sosiaalisen median kanavissa. Weecos on vuonna 2012 perustettu ekologisia yrityksiä yhteen keräävä verkkokauppa-alusta. Pienestä koostaan johtuen se ei ole pystynyt toteuttamaan sosiaalisen median markkinointia toivomallaan tavalla ja markkinoinnin suunnittelu ja toteutus on ollut epäsäännöllistä. Markkinointisuunnitelman tavoitteena oli helpottaa yrityksen markkinoi...

Use of the temporal median and trimmed mean mitigates effects of respiratory motion in multiple-acquisition abdominal diffusion imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jerome, N P; Orton, M R; D’Arcy, J A; Leach, M O; Collins, D J; Feiweier, T; Tunariu, N; Koh, D-M

2015-01-01

Respiratory motion commonly confounds abdominal diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, where averaging of successive samples at different parts of the respiratory cycle, performed in the scanner, manifests the motion as blurring of tissue boundaries and structural features and can introduce bias into calculated diffusion metrics. Storing multiple averages separately allows processing using metrics other than the mean; in this prospective volunteer study, median and trimmed mean values of signal intensity for each voxel over repeated averages and diffusion-weighting directions are shown to give images with sharper tissue boundaries and structural features for moving tissues, while not compromising non-moving structures. Expert visual scoring of derived diffusion maps is significantly higher for the median than for the mean, with modest improvement from the trimmed mean. Diffusion metrics derived from mono- and bi-exponential diffusion models are comparable for non-moving structures, demonstrating a lack of introduced bias from using the median. The use of the median is a simple and computationally inexpensive alternative to complex and expensive registration algorithms, requiring only additional data storage (and no additional scanning time) while returning visually superior images that will facilitate the appropriate placement of regions-of-interest when analysing abdominal diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance images, for assessment of disease characteristics and treatment response. (note)

Radiosurgery for brain metastases: a score index for predicting prognosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weltman, Eduardo; Salvajoli, Joao Victor; Brandt, Reynaldo Andre; Morais Hanriot, Rodrigo de; Prisco, Flavio Eduardo; Cruz, Jose Carlos; Oliveira Borges, Sandra Regina de; Wajsbrot, Dalia Ballas

2000-01-01

Purpose: To analyze a prognostic score index for patients with brain metastases submitted to stereotactic radiosurgery (the Score Index for Radiosurgery in Brain Metastases [SIR]). Methods and Materials: Actuarial survival of 65 brain metastases patients treated with radiosurgery between July 1993 and December 1997 was retrospectively analyzed. Prognostic factors included age, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), extracranial disease status, number of brain lesions, largest brain lesion volume, lesions site, and receiving or not whole brain irradiation. The SIR was obtained through summation of the previously noted first five prognostic factors. Kaplan-Meier actuarial survival curves for all prognostic factors, SIR, and recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) (RTOG prognostic score) were calculated. Survival curves of subsets were compared by log-rank test. Application of the Cox model was utilized to identify any correlation between prognostic factors, prognostic scores, and survival. Results: Median overall survival from radiosurgery was 6.8 months. Utilizing univariate analysis, extracranial disease status, KPS, number of brain lesions, largest brain lesion volume, RPA, and SIR were significantly correlated with prognosis. Median survival for the RPA classes 1, 2, and 3 was 20.19 months, 7.75 months, and 3.38 months respectively (p = 0.0131). Median survival for patients, grouped under SIR from 1 to 3, 4 to 7, and 8 to 10, was 2.91 months, 7.00 months, and 31.38 months respectively (p = 0.0001). Using the Cox model, extracranial disease status and KPS demonstrated significant correlation with prognosis (p 0.0001 and 0.0004 respectively). Multivariate analysis also demonstrated significance for SIR and RPA when tested individually (p = 0.0001 and 0.0040 respectively). Applying the Cox Model to both SIR and RPA, only SIR reached independent significance (p = 0.0004). Conclusions: Systemic disease status, KPS, SIR, and RPA are reliable prognostic factors for patients

Surface Acoustic Bloch Oscillations, the Wannier-Stark Ladder, and Landau-Zener Tunneling in a Solid

Science.gov (United States)

de Lima, M. M., Jr.; Kosevich, Yu. A.; Santos, P. V.; Cantarero, A.

2010-04-01

We present the experimental observation of Bloch oscillations, the Wannier-Stark ladder, and Landau-Zener tunneling of surface acoustic waves in perturbed grating structures on a solid substrate. A model providing a quantitative description of our experimental observations, including multiple Landau-Zener transitions of the anticrossed surface acoustic Wannier-Stark states, is developed. The use of a planar geometry for the realization of the Bloch oscillations and Landau-Zener tunneling allows a direct access to the elastic field distribution. The vertical surface displacement has been measured by interferometry.

Adaptation of a ladder beam walking task to assess locomotor recovery in mice following spinal cord injury

OpenAIRE

Cummings, Brian J.; Engesser-Cesar, Christie; Anderson, Aileen J.

2007-01-01

Locomotor impairments after spinal cord injury (SCI) are often assessed using open-field rating scales. These tasks have the advantage of spanning the range from complete paralysis to normal walking; however, they lack sensitivity at specific levels of recovery. Additionally, most supplemental assessments were developed in rats, not mice. For example, the horizontal ladder beam has been used to measure recovery in the rat after SCI. This parametric task results in a videotaped archival record...

Revisiting the utility of technical performance scores following tetralogy of Fallot repair.

Science.gov (United States)

Lodin, Daud; Mavrothalassitis, Orestes; Haberer, Kim; Sunderji, Sherzana; Quek, Ruben G W; Peyvandi, Shabnam; Moon-Grady, Anita; Karamlou, Tara

2017-08-01

Although an important quality metric, current technical performance scores may not be generalizable and may omit operative factors that influence outcomes. We examined factors not included in current technical performance scores that may contribute to increased postoperative length of stay, major complications, and cost after primary repair of tetralogy of Fallot. This is a retrospective single site study of patients younger than age 2 years with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing complete repair between 2007 and 2015. Medical record data and discharge echocardiograms were reviewed to ascertain component and composite technical performance scores. Primary outcomes included postoperative length of stay, major complications, and total hospital costs. Multivariable logistic and linear regression identified determinants of each outcome. Patient population (n = 115) had a median postoperative length of stay of 8 days (interquartile range, 6-10 days), and a median total cost of $71,147. Major complications occurred in 33 patients (29%) with 1 death. Technical performance scores assigned were optimum in 28 patients (25%), adequate in 59 patients (52%), and inadequate in 26 patients (23%). Neither technical performance score components nor composite scores were associated with increased postoperative length of stay. Optimum or adequate repairs versus inadequate had equal risk of a complication (P = .79), and equivalent mean total cost ($100,000 vs $187,000; P = .25). Longer cardiopulmonary bypass time per 1-minute increase (P technical performance scores were not associated with selected outcomes in our postoperative population. Although returning to bypass and bypass length are not included as components in the current score, these are important factors influencing complications and resource use in our population. Revisions anticipated from a prospective trial should consider including these variables. Copyright © 2017 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

On the cusp anomalous dimension in the ladder limit of N=4 SYM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beccaria, Matteo; Fachechi, Alberto; Macorini, Guido [Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica “Ennio De Giorgi”, Università del Salento,Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy); INFN,Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce (Italy)

2016-06-01

We analyze the cusp anomalous dimension in the (leading) ladder limit of N=4 SYM and present new results for its higher-order perturbative expansion. We study two different limits with respect to the cusp angle ϕ. The first is the light-like regime where x=e{sup i} {sup ϕ}→0. This limit is characterised by a non-trivial expansion of the cusp anomaly as a sum of powers of log x, where the maximum exponent increases with the loop order. The coefficients of this expansion have remarkable transcendentality features and can be expressed by products of single zeta values. We show that the whole logarithmic expansion is fully captured by a solvable Woods-Saxon like one-dimensional potential. From the exact solution, we extract generating functions for the cusp anomaly as well as for the various specific transcendental structures appearing therein. The second limit that we discuss is the regime of small cusp angle. In this somewhat simpler case, we show how to organise the quantum mechanical perturbation theory in a novel efficient way by means of a suitable all-order Ansatz for the ground state of the associated Schrödinger problem. Our perturbative setup allows to systematically derive higher-order perturbative corrections in powers of the cusp angle as explicit non-perturbative functions of the effective coupling. This series approximation is compared with the numerical solution of the Schrödinger equation to show that we can achieve very good accuracy over the whole range of coupling and cusp angle. Our results have been obtained by relatively simple techniques. Nevertheless, they provide several non-trivial tests useful to check the application of Quantum Spectral Curve methods to the ladder approximation at non zero ϕ, in the two limits we studied.

Red cell distribution width and neurological scoring systems in acute stroke patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kara H

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hasan Kara,1 Selim Degirmenci,1 Aysegul Bayir,1 Ahmet Ak,1 Murat Akinci,1 Ali Dogru,1 Fikret Akyurek,2 Seyit Ali Kayis3 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey; 2Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey; 3Department of Biostatistics, Faculty of Medicine, Karabuk University, Karabuk, Turkey Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association between the red blood cell distribution width (RDW and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS, Canadian Neurological Scale (CNS, and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS scores in patients who had acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This prospective observational cohort study included 88 patients who have had acute ischemic stroke and a control group of 40 patients who were evaluated in the Emergency Department for disorders other than acute ischemic stroke. All subjects had RDW determined, and stroke patients had scoring with the GCS, CNS, and NIHSS scores. The GCS, CNS, and NIHSS scores of the patients were rated as mild, moderate, or severe and compared with RDW. Results: Stroke patients had significantly higher median RDW than control subjects. The median RDW values were significantly elevated in patients who had more severe rather than milder strokes rated with all three scoring systems (GCS, CNS, and NIHSS. The median RDW values were significantly elevated for patients who had moderate rather than mild strokes rated by GCS and CNS and for patients who had severe rather than mild strokes rated by NIHSS. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.760 (95% confidence interval, 0.676–0.844. Separation of stroke patients and control groups was optimal with RDW 14% (sensitivity, 71.6%; specificity, 67.5%; accuracy, 70.3%. Conclusion: In stroke patients who have symptoms <24 hours, the RDW may be useful in predicting the severity and functional outcomes of the stroke

Spectral properties of an extended Hubbard ladder with long range anti-ferromagnetic order

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chun; Feiguin, Adrian

We study the spectral properties of a Hubbard ladder with anti-ferromagnetic long range order by introducing a staggered Heisenberg interaction that decays algebraically. Unlike an alternating field or the t -Jz model, our problem preserves both SU (2) and translational invariance. We solve the problem with the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group and analyze the binding between holons and spinons and the structure of the elementary excitations. We discuss the implications in the context of the 2D Hubbard model at, and away from half-filling by using cluster perturbation theory (CPT). AF acknowledges the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, for support under Grant DE-SC0014407.

The R.I.R.S. scoring system: An innovative scoring system for predicting stone-free rate following retrograde intrarenal surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yinglong; Li, Deng; Chen, Lei; Xu, Yaoting; Zhang, Dingguo; Shao, Yi; Lu, Jun

2017-11-21

To establish and internally validate an innovative R.I.R.S. scoring system that allows urologists to preoperatively estimate the stone-free rate (SFR) after retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS). This study included 382 eligible samples from a total 573 patients who underwent RIRS from January 2014 to December 2016. Four reproducible factors in the R.I.R.S. scoring system, including renal stone density, inferior pole stone, renal infundibular length and stone burden, were measured based on preoperative computed tomography of urography to evaluate the possibility of stone clearance after RIRS. The median cumulative diameter of the stones was 14 mm, and the interquartile range was 10 to 21. The SFR on postoperative day 1 in the present cohort was 61.5% (235 of 382), and the final SFR after 1 month was 73.6% (281 of 382). We established an innovative scoring system to evaluate SFR after RIRS using four preoperative characteristics. The range of the R.I.R.S. scoring system was 4 to 10. The overall score showed a great significance of stone-free status (p R.I.R.S. scoring system was 0.904. The R.I.R.S. scoring system is associated with SFR after RIRS. This innovative scoring system can preoperatively assess treatment success after intrarenal surgery and can be used for preoperative surgical arrangement and comparisons of outcomes among different centers and within a center over time.

Application of the ATLAS score for evaluating the severity of Clostridium difficile infection in teaching hospitals in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernández-García, Raúl; Garza-González, Elvira; Miller, Mark; Arteaga-Muller, Giovanna; Galván-de los Santos, Alejandra María; Camacho-Ortiz, Adrián

2015-01-01

For clinicians, a practical bedside tool for severity assessment and prognosis of patients with Clostridium difficile infection is a highly desirable unmet medical need. Two general teaching hospitals in northeast Mexico. Adult patients with C. difficile infection. Prospective observational study. Patients included had a median of 48 years of age, 54% of male gender and an average of 24.3 days length of hospital stay. Third generation cephalosporins were the antibiotics most commonly used prior to C. difficile infection diagnosis. Patients diagnosed with C. difficile infection had a median ATLAS score of 4 and 56.7% of the subjects had a score between 4 and 7 points. Patients with a score of 8 through 10 points had 100% mortality. The ATLAS score is a potentially useful tool for the routine evaluation of patients at the time of C. difficile infection diagnosis. At 30 days post-diagnosis, patients with a score of ≤3 points had 100% survival while all of those with scores ≥8 died. Patients with scores between 4 and 7 points had a greater probability of colectomy with an overall cure rate of 70.1%. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Outcome After Radiosurgery for Brain Metastases in Patients With Low Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) Scores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernov, Mikhail F.; Nakaya, Kotaro; Izawa, Masahiro; Hayashi, Motohiro; Usuba, Yuki; Kato, Koichi; Muragaki, Yoshihiro; Iseki, Hiroshi; Hori, Tomokatsu; Takakura, Kintomo

2007-01-01

Purpose: The objective of this retrospective study was evaluation of the outcome after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in patients with intracranial metastases and poor performance status. Methods and Materials: Forty consecutive patients with metastatic brain tumors and Karnofsky performance scale (KPS) scores ≤50 (mean, 43 ± 8; median, 40) treated with SRS were analyzed. Poor performance status was caused by presence of intracranial metastases in 28 cases (70%) and resulted from uncontrolled extracerebral disease in 12 (30%). Results: Survival after SRS varied from 3 days to 11.5 months (mean, 3.8 ± 2.9 months; median, 3.3 months). Survival probability constituted 0.50 ± 0.07 at 3 months and 0.20 ± 0.05 at 6 months posttreatment. Cause of low KPS score (p = 0.0173) and presence of distant metastases beside the brain (p = 0.0308) showed statistically significant associations with overall survival in multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Median survival was 6.0 months if low KPS score was caused by cerebral disease and distant metastases in regions beyond the brain were absent, 3.3 months if low KPS score was caused by cerebral disease and distant metastases in regions beyond the brain were present, and 1.0 month if poor performance status resulted from extracerebral disease. Conclusions: Identification of the cause of low KPS score (cerebral vs. extracerebral) in patients with metastatic brain tumor(s) may be important for prediction of the outcome after radiosurgical treatment. If poor patient performance status without surgical indications is caused by intracranial tumor(s), SRS may be a reasonable treatment option

Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil Armstrong Performs Ladder Practice

Science.gov (United States)

1969-01-01

In preparation of the nation's first Lunar landing mission, Apollo 11 crew members underwent training activities to practice activities they would be performing during the mission. In this photograph, Neil Armstrong, donned in his space suit, practices getting back to the first rung of the ladder on the Lunar Module (LM). The Apollo 11 mission launched from the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida via the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed Saturn V launch vehicle on July 16, 1969 and safely returned to Earth on July 24, 1969. Aboard the space craft were astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, Command Module (CM) pilot; and Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin Jr., Lunar Module (LM) pilot. The CM, 'Columbia', piloted by Collins, remained in a parking orbit around the Moon while the LM, 'Eagle'', carrying astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin, landed on the Moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong was the first human to ever stand on the lunar surface, followed by Aldrin. During 2½ hours of surface exploration, the crew collected 47 pounds of lunar surface material for analysis back on Earth. With the success of Apollo 11, the national objective to land men on the Moon and return them safely to Earth had been accomplished.

High-energy, large-momentum-transfer processes: Ladder diagrams in φ3 theory. Pt. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osland, P.; Wu, T.T.; Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA

1987-01-01

The scattering amplitude for the four-rung ladder diagram in φ 3 theory is evaluated at high energies and for large momentum transfers. The result takes the form of s -1 vertical stroketvertical stroke -3 multiplied by a homogeneous sixth-order polynomial in ln s and 1nvertical stroketvertical stroke. The novel and unexpected feature is that this polynomial is different depending on whether 1n vertical stroketvertical stroke is larger or less than 1/2 1n s. Thus the asymptotic formula is not analytic at 1n vertical stroketvertical stroke=1/2 1n s, although the first five derivatives are continuous. (orig.)

Regularization of DT-MRI Using 3D Median Filtering Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Soondong Kwon

2014-01-01

Full Text Available DT-MRI (diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging tractography is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of the principal eigenvectors obtained from tensor matrix, which is different from the conventional isotropic MRI. Tractography based on DT-MRI is known to need many computations and is highly sensitive to noise. Hence, adequate regularization methods, such as image processing techniques, are in demand. Among many regularization methods we are interested in the median filtering method. In this paper, we extended two-dimensional median filters already developed to three-dimensional median filters. We compared four median filtering methods which are two-dimensional simple median method (SM2D, two-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF2D, three-dimensional simple median method (SM3D, and three-dimensional successive Fermat method (SF3D. Three kinds of synthetic data with different altitude angles from axial slices and one kind of human data from MR scanner are considered for numerical implementation by the four filtering methods.

Safety performance evaluation of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Alluri, Priyanka; Haleem, Kirolos; Gan, Albert; Mauthner, John

2016-07-03

This article aims to evaluate the safety performance of cable median barriers on freeways in Florida. The safety performance evaluation was based on the percentages of barrier and median crossovers by vehicle type, crash severity, and cable median barrier type (Trinity Cable Safety System [CASS] and Gibraltar system). Twenty-three locations with cable median barriers totaling about 101 miles were identified. Police reports of 6,524 crashes from years 2005-2010 at these locations were reviewed to verify and obtain detailed crash information. A total of 549 crashes were determined to be barrier related (i.e., crashes involving vehicles hitting the cable median barrier) and were reviewed in further detail to identify crossover crashes and the manner in which the vehicles crossed the barriers; that is, by either overriding, underriding, or penetrating the barriers. Overall, 2.6% of vehicles that hit the cable median barrier crossed the median and traversed into the opposite travel lane. Overall, 98.1% of cars and 95.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier were prevented from crossing the median. In other words, 1.9% of cars and 4.5% of light trucks that hit the barrier had crossed the median and encroached on the opposite travel lanes. There is no significant difference in the performance of cable median barrier for cars versus light trucks in terms of crossover crashes. In terms of severity, overrides were more severe compared to underrides and penetrations. The statistics showed that the CASS and Gibraltar systems performed similarly in terms of crossover crashes. However, the Gibraltar system experienced a higher proportion of penetrations compared to the CASS system. The CASS system resulted in a slightly higher percentage of moderate and minor injury crashes compared to the Gibraltar system. Cable median barriers are successful in preventing median crossover crashes; 97.4% of the cable median barrier crashes were prevented from crossing over the median. Of all of

Performance evaluation of cable median barrier systems in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-08-01

Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

Algorithmic implementation of particle-particle ladder diagram approximation to study strongly-correlated metals and semiconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Prayogi, A.; Majidi, M. A.

2017-07-01

In condensed-matter physics, strongly-correlated systems refer to materials that exhibit variety of fascinating properties and ordered phases, depending on temperature, doping, and other factors. Such unique properties most notably arise due to strong electron-electron interactions, and in some cases due to interactions involving other quasiparticles as well. Electronic correlation effects are non-trivial that one may need a sufficiently accurate approximation technique with quite heavy computation, such as Quantum Monte-Carlo, in order to capture particular material properties arising from such effects. Meanwhile, less accurate techniques may come with lower numerical cost, but the ability to capture particular properties may highly depend on the choice of approximation. Among the many-body techniques derivable from Feynman diagrams, we aim to formulate algorithmic implementation of the Ladder Diagram approximation to capture the effects of electron-electron interactions. We wish to investigate how these correlation effects influence the temperature-dependent properties of strongly-correlated metals and semiconductors. As we are interested to study the temperature-dependent properties of the system, the Ladder diagram method needs to be applied in Matsubara frequency domain to obtain the self-consistent self-energy. However, at the end we would also need to compute the dynamical properties like density of states (DOS) and optical conductivity that are defined in the real frequency domain. For this purpose, we need to perform the analytic continuation procedure. At the end of this study, we will test the technique by observing the occurrence of metal-insulator transition in strongly-correlated metals, and renormalization of the band gap in strongly-correlated semiconductors.

Study of recurrent branch of median nerve (Thenar's muscular branch in relation to the flexor retinaculum and median in 64 hands (32 Men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amirsadri R

1998-07-01

Full Text Available Variation of recurred branch of median nerve in relation to the median and flexor retinaculum are significant for both hand surgeons and specialists always. In this study, 64 cadaver hands (32 men have been dissected. The median nerve was identified at the proximal edge of the flexor retinaculum, and in order to expose carpal tunnel the ligament was divided, and the above subjects were studied. The results are: 1 The relation of recurrent nerve to the flexor retinaculum was classified into 4 types: A In (53.1% of subjects, this branch arises from the median after the flexor retinaculum. B In (31.3% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and the moves around the lower edge of flexor retinaculum and enters the thenar region. C In (14.1% of subjects, it arises from the median in the carpal tunnel and pierces the flexor retinaculum. D In (1.56% of subjects it arises, in the carpal tunnel and it divides into two subbranches here. One follows pattern A and the other pattern C. 2 In this step, the relation of the recurrent branch to the median nerve was studied. The results show that inspite of this image even though most often the recurrent branch arises from the lateral side of median, in (68.75% of subjects it arises from it's anterior surface. The MC Nemar test reveals that there is no relation between manifestation of mentioned patterns with right or left hands.

Scoring system predictive of survival for patients undergoing stereotactic body radiation therapy for liver tumors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kress Marie-Adele S

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT is an emerging treatment option for liver tumors. This study evaluated outcomes after SBRT to identify prognostic variables and to develop a novel scoring system predictive of survival. Methods The medical records of 52 patients with a total of 85 liver lesions treated with SBRT from 2003 to 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Twenty-four patients had 1 lesion; 27 had 2 or more. Thirteen lesions were primary tumors; 72 were metastases. Fiducials were placed in all patients prior to SBRT. The median prescribed dose was 30 Gy (range, 16 – 50 Gy in a median of 3 fractions (range, 1–5. Results With median follow-up of 11.3 months, median overall survival (OS was 12.5 months, and 1 year OS was 50.8%. In 42 patients with radiographic follow up, 1 year local control was 74.8%. On univariate analysis, number of lesions (p = 0.0243 and active extralesional disease (p  Conclusions SBRT offers a safe and feasible treatment option for liver tumors. A prognostic scoring system based on the number of liver lesions, activity of extralesional disease, and KPS predicts survival following SBRT and can be used as a guide for prospective validation and ultimately for treatment decision-making.

Allegheny County Median Age at Death

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — The median age at death is calculated for each municipality in Allegheny County. Data is based on the decedent's residence at the time of death, not the location...

A theoretical analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bysted, Tommy Kristensen; Rusu, C.

1999-01-01

Higher order adaptive algorithms are sensitive to impulse interference. In the case of the LMF (Least Mean Fourth), an easy and effective way to reduce this is to median filter the instantaneous gradient of the LMF algorithm. Although previous published simulations have indicated that this reduces...... the speed of convergence, no analytical studies have yet been made to prove this. In order to enhance the usability, this paper presents a convergence and steady-state analysis of the median LMF adaptive algorithm. As expected this proves that the median LMF has a slower convergence and a lower steady...

The Use of the OMERACT Ultrasound Tenosynovitis Scoring System in Multicenter Clinical Trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Ammitzbøll-Danielsen, Mads; Østergaard, Mikkel; Naredo, Esperanza; Iagnocco, Annamaria; Möller, Ingrid; D'Agostino, Maria-Antonietta; Gandjbakhch, Frédérique; Terslev, Lene

2018-02-01

To test the sensitivity to change of the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology Clinical Trials (OMERACT) ultrasound (US) scoring system for tenosynovitis when applied in a multicenter design. RA patients with US-verified tenosynovitis were recruited when scheduled for treatment intensification. Tenosynovitis was assessed at baseline, and 3 and 6 months followup, using the semiquantitative OMERACT scoring system. Expressed in median (25th; 75th percentiles), the overall greyscale and Doppler score decreased significantly from baseline at 4 (2; 7) and 3 (2; 6), to 6 months at 2 (0; 3) and 0 (0; 1, p The OMERACT US scoring system for tenosynovitis showed high responsiveness, supporting its use for diagnosing and monitoring tenosynovitis in multicenter trials.

A comparison between two healthy diet scores, the modified Mediterranean diet score and the Healthy Nordic Food Index, in relation to all-cause and cause-specific mortality.

Science.gov (United States)

Warensjö Lemming, Eva; Byberg, Liisa; Wolk, Alicja; Michaëlsson, Karl

2018-04-01

High adherence to healthy diets has the potential to prevent disease and prolong life span, and healthy dietary pattern scores have each been associated with disease and mortality. We studied two commonly promoted healthy diet scores (modified Mediterranean diet score (mMED) and the Healthy Nordic Food Index (HNFI)) and the combined effect of the two scores in association with all-cause and cause-specific mortality (cancer, CVD and ischaemic heart disease). The study included 38 428 women (median age of 61 years) from the Swedish Mammography Cohort. Diet and covariate data were collected in a questionnaire. mMED and HNFI were generated and categorised into low-, medium- and high-adherence groups, and in nine combinations of these. Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of register-ascertained mortality and 95 % CI were calculated in Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. During follow-up (median: 17 years), 10 478 women died. In the high-adherence categories compared with low-adherence categories, the HR for all-cause mortality was 0·76 (95 % CI 0·70, 0·81) for mMED and 0·89 (95 % CI 0·83, 0·96) for HNFI. Higher adherence to mMED was associated with lower mortality in each stratum of HNFI in the combined analysis. In general, mMED, compared with HNFI, was more strongly associated with a lower cause-specific mortality. In Swedish women, both mMED and HNFI were inversely associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. The combined analysis, however, indicated an advantage to be adherent to the mMED. The present version of HNFI did not associate with mortality independent of mMED score.

The Investigation of Median Frequency Changes in Paraspinal Muscles Following Fatigue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saeed Talebian

2009-10-01

Conclusion: Median frequency shift toward low values following fatigue in global and local paraspinal muscles was seen. However, median frequency values for the local stabilizer muscle were higher than median frequency values for the global muscles.

Intraneural synovial sarcoma of the median nerve

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rahul Kasukurthi

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Synovial sarcomas are soft-tissue malignancies with a poor prognosis and propensity for distant metastases. Although originally believed to arise from the synovium, these tumors have been found to occur anywhere in the body. We report a rare case of synovial sarcoma arising from the median nerve. To our knowledge, this is the twelfth reported case of intraneural synovial sarcoma, and only the fourth arising from the median nerve. Because the diagnosis may not be apparent until after pathological examination of the surgical speci­men, synovial sarcoma should be kept in mind when dealing with what may seem like a benign nerve tumor.

Problem of summing up ladder diagrams in quantum electrodynamics. [Cross sections

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gadzhiev, S A; Livashvili, A I [Azerbajdzhanskij Gosudarstvennyj Univ., Baku (USSR)

1975-03-01

A class of ladder diagrams in an asymptotic mode is considered, and a series of the perturbation theory for the given class of diagrams reduces to an integral equation obtained without approximations whatsoever. As applications of the method proposed, two electrodynamic processes are considered: the two-photon annihilation of an e/sup +/e/sup -/-pair and scattering of electons in Coulomb field. Matrix elements are provided. To derive the equations, Dirac equations and commutation relations are used. A conclusion is drawn that for the process, the log-log asymptotics and polar approximation lead to the fact that as the energy grows the cross-section of the process drops and the solution obtained indicates that such a drop occurs up to an energy of 10/sup 5/ GeV. For the second process, the region of large pulses transmitted by an electron to the external field does not lead to an increase in amplitude and cross-section.

Phase diagram study of a dimerized spin-S zig–zag ladder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matera, J M; Lamas, C A

2014-01-01

The phase diagram of a frustrated spin-S zig–zag ladder is studied through different numerical and analytical methods. We show that for arbitrary S, there is a family of Hamiltonians for which a fully-dimerized state is an exact ground state, being the Majumdar–Ghosh point for a particular member of the family. We show that the system presents a transition between a dimerized phase to a Néel-like phase for S = 1/2, and spiral phases can appear for large S. The phase diagram is characterized by means of a generalization of the usual mean field approximation. The novelty in the present implementation is to consider the strongest coupled sites as the unit cell. The gap and the excitation spectrum is analyzed through the random phase approximation. Also, a perturbative treatment to obtain the critical points is discussed. Comparisons of the results with numerical methods like the Density Matrix Renormalization Group are also presented. (paper)

Nitration Study of Cyclic Ladder Polyphenylsilsesquioxane

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LIANG Jia-xiang

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Several nitration reagents including fuming nitric acid, HNO3-H2SO4, KNO3-H2SO4, HNO3-KNO3, CH3COOH-KNO3, (CH3CO2O-HNO3 were used to nitrate cyclic ladder polyphenylsilsesquioxane (CL-PPSQ in different conditions in order to enhance the compatibility of the CL-PPSQ in polymers, the NO2-PPSQ was obtained. FTIR, element analysis, GPC, TGA and 1H NMR were used to characterize the structures of the nitrated products. The results show that the nitrating abilities of the fuming nitric acid, HNO3-H2SO4 and KNO3-H2SO4 are very strong. Many nitro groups can be linked with phenyl groups in CL-PPSQ, but with low molecular mass, fracture occurs in siloxane segment. However, the Mn of the product NO2-PPSQ sharply drops by 50% compared with that of CL-PPSQ, so the nitration reagents can break the cyclic structure of CL-PPSQ. The nitrating reagents of HNO3-KNO3 and CH3COOH-KNO3 have no nitration effects on CL-PPSQ. At last, NO2-CL-PPSQ was prepared using (CH3CO2O-HNO3 because of the moderate nitration process and ability. The cyclic structure of PPSQ is remained, although the number of —NO2 group is not too much. At the same time, the nitration mechanism using different nitration reagents was analyzed. A certain amount of NO2+, which is a kind of activator owning strong nitration ability, can be found in the fuming nitric acid and H2SO4-HNO3(KNO3 systems. As to the (CH3CO2O-HNO3 system, the main activator is CH3COONO2.

The modified respiratory index score (RIS) guides resource allocation in acute bronchiolitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Shu-Ling; Teoh, Oon Hoe; Nadkarni, Nivedita; Yeo, Joo Guan; Lwin, Zaw; Ong, Yong-Kwang Gene; Lee, Jan Hau

2017-07-01

Bronchiolitis is a common disease in early childhood with increasing healthcare utilization. We aim to study how well a simple and improved respiratory score (the modified Respiratory Index Score [RIS]) would perform when predicting for a warranted admission. This is an observational prospective study, from June 2015 to December 2015 in a paediatric emergency department (ED) of a large tertiary hospital in Singapore. We included children aged less than 2 years old, presenting with typical symptoms and signs of bronchiolitis but excluded children with four or more previous wheezes, a gestation of hydration, and a hospital stay of 2 days or more. Among 1,818 patients, the median age was 10.8 months (IQR 7.2-15.9). The median modified RIS score was 4.0 (IQR 3.0-5.0). A total of 19 (1.0%) children required respiratory support, 101 (5.6%) received intravenous hydration, and 571 (31.4%) required a hospital stay of 2 days or more. After adjusting for age and duration of illness, a modified RIS score of >4 predicted significantly for a warranted admission (adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.28, 95% confidence interval: 2.62-4.12). The association remained significant among children presenting with their first wheeze. This simple respiratory tool predicts for the need for respiratory support, intravenous hydration, and a significant hospital stay of 2 days or more. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2017; 52:954-961. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijs, A.C.J; Jaquet, J-B.; van Riel, W. G.; Daanen, H. A M; Hovius, S.E.R.

This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

Cold intolerance following median and ulnar nerve injuries : prognosis and predictors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ruijs, A.C.J.; Jaquet, J.B.; Riel, W.G. van; Daanen, H.A.M.; Hovius, S.E.R.

2007-01-01

This study describes the predictors for cold intolerance and the relationship to sensory recovery after median and ulnar nerve injuries. The study population consisted of 107 patients 2 to 10 years after median, ulnar or combined median and ulnar nerve injuries. Patients were asked to fill out the

Robust non-local median filter

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuoka, Jyohei; Koga, Takanori; Suetake, Noriaki; Uchino, Eiji

2017-04-01

This paper describes a novel image filter with superior performance on detail-preserving removal of random-valued impulse noise superimposed on natural gray-scale images. The non-local means filter is in the limelight as a way of Gaussian noise removal with superior performance on detail preservation. By referring the fundamental concept of the non-local means, we had proposed a non-local median filter as a specialized way for random-valued impulse noise removal so far. In the non-local processing, the output of a filter is calculated from pixels in blocks which are similar to the block centered at a pixel of interest. As a result, aggressive noise removal is conducted without destroying the detailed structures in an original image. However, the performance of non-local processing decreases enormously in the case of high noise occurrence probability. A cause of this problem is that the superimposed noise disturbs accurate calculation of the similarity between the blocks. To cope with this problem, we propose an improved non-local median filter which is robust to the high level of corruption by introducing a new similarity measure considering possibility of being the original signal. The effectiveness and validity of the proposed method are verified in a series of experiments using natural gray-scale images.

Usefulness of ultrasound assessment of median nerve mobility in carpal tunnel syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Gi-Young; Kwon, Dong Rak; Seok, Jung Im; Park, Dong-Soon; Cho, Hee Kyung

2018-01-01

Background Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most common peripheral compression neuropathy of the upper extremity. Recently, dynamic ultrasound (US) imaging has shown differences in median nerve mobility between the affected and unaffected sides in CTS. Purpose The present study was performed to compare the median nerve mobility between patients with CTS and healthy individuals, and to correlate median nerve mobility with the severity of CTS. Material and Methods A total of 101 patients (128 wrists) with CTS and 43 healthy individuals (70 wrists) were evaluated. Electrodiagnostic studies were initially conducted to determine the neurophysiological grading scale (NGS). The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve and the grade of median nerve mobility were measured using US. Results The mean grade of median nerve mobility in the CTS group (1.9) was significantly lower than that in the control group (2.6; P mobility and distal motor latency of the median nerve (r = -0.218, P = 0.015), NGS (r = -0.207, P = 0.020) and CSA of the median nerve (r = -0.196, P = 0.028). Conclusion The grade of median nerve mobility was negatively correlated with the severity of CTS. US assessment of median nerve mobility may be useful in diagnosing and determining the severity of CTS.

Commutation-relation-preserving ladder operators for propagating optical fields in nonuniform lossy media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Partanen, Mikko; Häyrynen, Teppo; Tulkki, Jukka

2015-01-01

We have recently developed a quantized fluctuational electrodynamics (QFED) formalism to describe the quantum aspects of local thermal balance formation and to formulate the electromagnetic field ladder operators so that they no longer exhibit the anomalies reported for resonant structures. Here we...... show how the QFED can be used to resolve between the left and right propagating fields to bridge the QFED and the quantum optical input-output relations commonly used to describe selected quantum aspects of resonators. The generalized model introduces a density of states concept describing interference...... effects, which is instrumental in allowing an unambiguous separation of the fields and related quantum operators into left and right propagating parts. In addition to providing insight on the quantum treatment of interference, our results also provide the conclusive resolution of the long-standing enigma...

Study of CP(N-1) theta-vacua by cluster simulation of SU(N) quantum spin ladders.

Science.gov (United States)

Beard, B B; Pepe, M; Riederer, S; Wiese, U-J

2005-01-14

D-theory provides an alternative lattice regularization of the 2D CP(N-1) quantum field theory in which continuous classical fields emerge from the dimensional reduction of discrete SU(N) quantum spins. Spin ladders consisting of n transversely coupled spin chains lead to a CP(N-1) model with a vacuum angle theta=npi. In D-theory no sign problem arises and an efficient cluster algorithm is used to investigate theta-vacuum effects. At theta=pi there is a first order phase transition with spontaneous breaking of charge conjugation symmetry for CP(N-1) models with N>2.

Diffusion Tensor Fractional Anisotropy in the Superior Longitudinal Fasciculus Correlates with Functional Independence Measure Cognition Scores in Patients with Cerebral Infarction.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, Tetsuo; Domen, Kazuhisa

2017-08-01

This study aimed to determine the relationship between fiber tract degeneration measured by diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) and outcome of patients after cerebral infarction. Fractional anisotropy (FA) maps were generated by DTI in patients 14-21 days after the first infarction and were analyzed by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS). Mean FA values within the corticospinal tract (CST) and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) were extracted from individual TBSS data. Relationships between FA ratios (rFAs, lesioned to non-lesioned hemisphere) and outcomes assessed by Brunnstrom stage (BRS) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor and cognition scores were examined using Spearman's rank correlation test. Forty patients (21 left and 19 right hemisphere lesions) were entered into an analytical database. BRS ranged from 1 to 6 (median, 5) for shoulder, elbow, or forearm; from 2 to 6 (median, 4.5) for hand or finger; and from 3 to 6 (median, 5) for lower extremity. FIM motor ranged from 51 to 91 (median, 79.5), and FIM cognition ranged from 16 to 35 (median, 29). rFA values in the CST ranged from .692 to 1.053 (median, .933), and those in the SLF ranged from .778 to 1.076 (median, .965). Mann-Whitney U test (P cognition scores (r = .409, P cognitive function and extremity function, respectively. Copyright © 2017 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Thompson Encephalopathy Score and Short-Term Outcomes in Asphyxiated Newborns Treated With Therapeutic Hypothermia.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorsen, Patricia; Jansen-van der Weide, Martine C; Groenendaal, Floris; Onland, Wes; van Straaten, Henrika L M; Zonnenberg, Inge; Vermeulen, Jeroen R; Dijk, Peter H; Dudink, Jeroen; Rijken, Monique; van Heijst, Arno; Dijkman, Koen P; Cools, Filip; Zecic, Alexandra; van Kaam, Anton H; de Haan, Timo R

2016-07-01

The Thompson encephalopathy score is a clinical score to assess newborns suffering from perinatal asphyxia. Previous studies revealed a high sensitivity and specificity of the Thompson encephalopathy score for adverse outcomes (death or severe disability). Because the Thompson encephalopathy score was developed before the use of therapeutic hypothermia, its value was reassessed. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of the Thompson encephalopathy score with adverse short-term outcomes, defined as death before discharge, development of severe epilepsy, or the presence of multiple organ failure in asphyxiated newborns undergoing therapeutic hypothermia. The study period ranged from November 2010 to October 2014. A total of 12 tertiary neonatal intensive care units participated. Demographic and clinical data were collected from the "PharmaCool" multicenter study, an observational cohort study analyzing pharmacokinetics of medication during therapeutic hypothermia. With multiple logistic regression analyses the association of the Thompson encephalopathy scores with outcomes was studied. Data of 142 newborns were analyzed (male: 86; female: 56). Median Thompson score was 9 (interquartile range: 8 to 12). Median gestational age was 40 weeks (interquartile range 38 to 41), mean birth weight was 3362 grams (standard deviation: 605). All newborns manifested perinatal asphyxia and underwent therapeutic hypothermia. Death before discharge occurred in 23.9% and severe epilepsy in 21.1% of the cases. In total, 59.2% of the patients had multiple organ failure. The Thompson encephalopathy score was not associated with multiple organ failure, but a Thompson encephalopathy score ≥12 was associated with death before discharge (odds ratio: 3.9; confidence interval: 1.3 to 11.2) and with development of severe epilepsy (odds ratio: 8.4; confidence interval: 2.5 to 27.8). The Thompson encephalopathy score is a useful clinical tool, even in cooled asphyxiated

Sosiaalisen median rooli kunnan viestinnässä

OpenAIRE

Selkämaa, Kati

2016-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää sosiaalisen median roolia kunnan viestinnässä sekä tutkia, miten sosiaalista mediaa hyödynnetään kuntien viestinnässä. Teoriaosuudessa tarkasteltiin sosiaalista mediaa, tutustuttiin sen tunnetuimpiin sovelluksiin sekä perehdyttiin kuntien viestintään yleisesti. Työssä tarkasteltiin myös kuntien viestintään vaikuttavia ja sitä sääteleviä lakeja. Kuntien sosiaalisen median käyttöön tutustuttiin Kuntaliiton tekemän viestintätutkimuksen tulosten pohjalt...

Development of guidelines for cable median barrier systems in Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-12-01

Since 2003, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has embarked on an aggressive campaign to install : median barriers to prevent cross-median crashes on freeway facilities statewide. In the few years prior to 2003, : virtually all fatalities...

Evaluation of SAMe-TT2R2 Score on Predicting Success With Extended-Interval Warfarin Monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Andrew Y; Carris, Nicholas W; Dietrich, Eric A; Gums, John G; Smith, Steven M

2018-06-01

In patients with stable international normalized ratios, 12-week extended-interval warfarin monitoring can be considered; however, predictors of success with this strategy are unknown. The previously validated SAMe-TT 2 R 2 score (considering sex, age, medical history, treatment, tobacco, and race) predicts anticoagulation control during standard follow-up (every 4 weeks), with lower scores associated with greater time in therapeutic range. To evaluate the ability of the SAMe-TT 2 R 2 score in predicting success with extended-interval warfarin follow-up in patients with previously stable warfarin doses. In this post hoc analysis of a single-arm feasibility study, baseline SAMe-TT 2 R 2 scores were calculated for patients with ≥1 extended-interval follow-up visit. The primary analysis assessed achieved weeks of extended-interval follow-up according to baseline SAMe-TT 2 R 2 scores. A total of 47 patients receiving chronic anticoagulation completed a median of 36 weeks of extended-interval follow-up. The median baseline SAMe-TT 2 R 2 score was 1 (range 0-5). Lower SAMe-TT 2 R 2 scores appeared to be associated with greater duration of extended-interval follow-up achieved, though the differences between scores were not statistically significant. No individual variable of the SAMe-TT 2 R 2 score was associated with achieved weeks of extended-interval follow-up. Analysis of additional patient factors found that longer duration (≥24 weeks) of prior stable treatment was significantly associated with greater weeks of extended-interval follow-up completed ( P = 0.04). Conclusion and Relevance: This pilot study provides limited evidence that the SAMe-TT 2 R 2 score predicts success with extended-interval warfarin follow-up but requires confirmation in a larger study. Further research is also necessary to establish additional predictors of successful extended-interval warfarin follow-up.

Quantitative criterion for quantum interference within spontaneous emission modification of a driven ladder atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jiaren; Zhang Zhiyi; Xiao George; Grover, C P

2003-01-01

The spontaneous emission spectrum of a ladder three-level atom with an upper transition driven by a coherent field is calculated under a universal model where various decays, any incoherent pumping and coherent driving are taken into account. The analytical expression for the spectrum profile is given on the basis of the quantum regression theorem. To our knowledge, it is the first time that the quantitative criterion condition Ω ab - γ ac vertical bar, under which quantum destructive interference induced by the coherent driving field occurs, is deduced for the modification of spontaneous emission from the middle level to the ground level. The roles and limits of incoherent pumping, coherent driving and experimental configuration are discussed for realizing the quantum interference and reducing the Doppler effects

Application of the FOUR Score in Intracerebral Hemorrhage Risk Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Braksick, Sherri A; Hemphill, J Claude; Mandrekar, Jay; Wijdicks, Eelco F M; Fugate, Jennifer E

2018-06-01

The Full Outline of Unresponsiveness (FOUR) Score is a validated scale describing the essentials of a coma examination, including motor response, eye opening and eye movements, brainstem reflexes, and respiratory pattern. We incorporated the FOUR Score into the existing ICH Score and evaluated its accuracy of risk assessment in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Consecutive patients admitted to our institution from 2009 to 2012 with spontaneous ICH were reviewed. The ICH Score was calculated using patient age, hemorrhage location, hemorrhage volume, evidence of intraventricular extension, and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The FOUR Score was then incorporated into the ICH Score as a substitute for the GCS (ICH Score FS ). The ability of the 2 scores to predict mortality at 1 month was then compared. In total, 274 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median age was 73 years (interquartile range 60-82) and 138 (50.4%) were male. Overall mortality at 1 month was 28.8% (n = 79). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was .91 for the ICH Score and .89 for the ICH Score FS . For ICH Scores of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, 1-month mortality was 4.2%, 29.9%, 62.5%, 95.0%, and 100%. In the ICH Score FS model, mortality was 10.7%, 26.5%, 64.5%, 88.9%, and 100% for scores of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The ICH Score and the ICH Score FS predict 1-month mortality with comparable accuracy. As the FOUR Score provides additional clinical information regarding patient status, it may be a reasonable substitute for the GCS into the ICH Score. Copyright © 2018 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of the LOD score compared with APACHE II score in prediction of the hospital outcome in critically ill patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Khwannimit, Bodin

2008-01-01

The Logistic Organ Dysfunction score (LOD) is an organ dysfunction score that can predict hospital mortality. The aim of this study was to validate the performance of the LOD score compared with the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score in a mixed intensive care unit (ICU) at a tertiary referral university hospital in Thailand. The data were collected prospectively on consecutive ICU admissions over a 24 month period from July1, 2004 until June 30, 2006. Discrimination was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). The calibration was assessed by the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit H statistic. The overall fit of the model was evaluated by the Brier's score. Overall, 1,429 patients were enrolled during the study period. The mortality in the ICU was 20.9% and in the hospital was 27.9%. The median ICU and hospital lengths of stay were 3 and 18 days, respectively, for all patients. Both models showed excellent discrimination. The AUROC for the LOD and APACHE II were 0.860 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.838-0.882] and 0.898 (95% Cl = 0.879-0.917), respectively. The LOD score had perfect calibration with the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit H chi-2 = 10 (p = 0.44). However, the APACHE II had poor calibration with the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit H chi-2 = 75.69 (p < 0.001). Brier's score showed the overall fit for both models were 0.123 (95%Cl = 0.107-0.141) and 0.114 (0.098-0.132) for the LOD and APACHE II, respectively. Thus, the LOD score was found to be accurate for predicting hospital mortality for general critically ill patients in Thailand.

Recurrent Stroke: The Value of the CHA2DS2VASc Score and the Essen Stroke Risk Score in a Nationwide Stroke Cohort.

Science.gov (United States)

Andersen, Søren Due; Gorst-Rasmussen, Anders; Lip, Gregory Y H; Bach, Flemming W; Larsen, Torben Bjerregaard

2015-09-01

The CHA2DS2VASc score and the Essen Stroke Risk Score are respectively used for risk stratification in patients with atrial fibrillation and in patients with cerebrovascular incidents. We aimed to test the ability of the 2 scores to predict stroke recurrence, death, and cardiovascular events (stroke, transient ischemic attack, myocardial infarction, or arterial thromboembolism) in a nationwide Danish cohort study, among patients with incident ischemic stroke and no atrial fibrillation. We conducted a registry-based study in patients with incident ischemic stroke and no atrial fibrillation. Patients were stratified according to the CHA2DS2VASc score and the Essen Stroke Risk Score and were followed up until stroke recurrence or death. We estimated stratified incidence rates and hazard ratios and calculated the cumulative risks. 42 182 patients with incident ischemic stroke with median age 70.1 years were included. The overall 1-year incidence rates of recurrent stroke, death, and cardiovascular events were 3.6%, 10.5%, and 6.7%, respectively. The incidence rates, the hazard ratios, and the cumulative risk of all outcomes increased with increasing risk scores. C-statistics for both risk scores were around 0.55 for 1-year stroke recurrence and cardiovascular events and correspondingly for death around 0.67 for both scores. In this cohort of non-atrial fibrillation patients with incident ischemic stroke, increasing CHA2DS2VASc score and Essen Stroke Risk Score was associated with increasing risk of recurrent stroke, death, and cardiovascular events. Their discriminatory performance was modest and further refinements are required for clinical application. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Disorder effects in the S=1 antiferromagnetic spin ladder CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guitarra, S.R. [Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito (Ecuador); Caneiro, A. [Instituto Balseiro - Centro Atómico Bariloche, 8400 Bariloche (Argentina); Niebieskikwiat, D., E-mail: dniebieskikwiat@usfq.edu.ec [Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito (Ecuador)

2015-10-15

We study the physical properties of the antiferromagnetic spin ladder CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4} (CVO) and the Y-doped related compound Ca{sub 0.9}Y{sub 0.1}V{sub 2}O{sub 4}. In the latter, X-ray diffraction demonstrates the segregation of a small amount of a vanadium–perovskite impurity phase, leading to the formation of V vacancies within the main CVO-type structure. The 1D character of this calcium–vanadite enhances the influence of the vacancies on the electric and magnetic properties of Ca{sub 0.9}Y{sub 0.1}V{sub 2}O{sub 4}. Electrical transport is characterized by a variable-range hopping mechanism determined by the charging energy of nm-sized segments of V chains delimited by V vacancies, i.e. a Coulomb gap is formed at the Fermi level. These vacancies also locally affect the magnetic correlations, breaking the long-range AFM order observed in CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4} and producing exchange bias when the Y-doped sample is cooled with an applied magnetic field. - Highlights: • We study disorder effects in the quasi-1D antiferromagnetic spin ladder CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4}. • V vacancies in CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4} lead to variable-range hopping electrical transport. • The charging energy of nm-sized V chains determine the transport mechanism exponents. • V vacancies break the long-range AFM order of CaV{sub 2}O{sub 4}. • Local magnetic correlations in the vicinity of the defects produce exchange bias.

MEAN OF MEDIAN ABSOLUTE DERIVATION TECHNIQUE MEAN ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

development of mean of median absolute derivation technique based on the based on the based on .... of noise mean to estimate the speckle noise variance. Noise mean property ..... Foraging Optimization,” International Journal of. Advanced ...

Electroacupuncture and Acupuncture Promote the Rat’s Transected Median Nerve Regeneration

OpenAIRE

Ho, C. Y.; Yao, C. H.; Chen, W. C.; Shen, W. C.; Bau, D. T.

2013-01-01

Background. Acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments of damaged nerves may aid nerve regeneration related to hindlimb function, but the effects on the forelimb-related median nerve were not known. Methods. A gap was made in the median nerve of each rat by suturing the stumps into silicone rubber tubes. The influences of acupuncture and electroacupuncture treatments on transected median nerve regeneration were evaluated from morphological, electrophysiological, and functional angles. Resu...

High inter-tester reliability of the new mobility score in patients with hip fracture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, M.T.; Bandholm, T.; Foss, N.B.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the inter-tester reliability of the New Mobility Score in patients with acute hip fracture. DESIGN: An inter-tester reliability study. SUBJECTS: Forty-eight consecutive patients with acute hip fracture at a median age of 84 (interquartile range, 76-89) years; 40 admitted from...... their own home and 8 from nursing homes to an acute orthopaedic hip fracture unit at a university hospital. METHODS: The New Mobility Score, which evaluates the prefracture functional level with a score from 0 (not able to walk at all) to 9 (fully independent), was assessed by 2 independent physiotherapists...... the prefracture functional level in patients with acute hip fracture Udgivelsesdato: 2008/7...

Frustrated S = 1/2 Two-Leg Ladder with Different Leg Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Tonegawa, Takashi; Okamoto, Kiyomi; Hikihara, Toshiya; Sakai, Tôru

2017-04-01

We explore the ground-state phase diagram of the S = 1/2 two-leg ladder. The isotropic leg interactions J1,a and J1,b between nearest neighbor spins in the legs a and b, respectively, are different from each other. The xy and z components of the uniform rung interactions are denoted by Jr and ΔJr, respectively, where Δ is the XXZ anisotropy parameter. This system has a frustration when J1,aJ1,b employ the physical consideration, the level spectroscopy analysis of the results obtained by the exact diagonalization method and also the density-matrix renormalization-group method. It is found that the non-collinear ferrimagnetic (NCFR) state appears as the ground state in the frustrated region of the parameters. Furthermore, the direct-product triplet-dimer (TD) state in which all rungs form the TD pair is the exact ground state, when J1,a + J1,b = 0 and 0≤ Δ ≲ 0.83. The obtained phase diagrams consist of the TD, XY and Haldane phases as well as the NCFR phase.

High inter-tester reliability of the new mobility score in patients with hip fracture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, M.T.; Bandholm, T.; Foss, N.B.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To assess the inter-tester reliability of the New Mobility Score in patients with acute hip fracture. DESIGN: An inter-tester reliability study. SUBJECTS: Forty-eight consecutive patients with acute hip fracture at a median age of 84 (interquartile range, 76-89) years; 40 admitted from...

Predictive values of D-dimer assay, GRACE scores and TIMI scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Science.gov (United States)

Satilmisoglu, Muhammet Hulusi; Ozyilmaz, Sinem Ozbay; Gul, Mehmet; Ak Yildirim, Hayriye; Kayapinar, Osman; Gokturk, Kadir; Aksu, Huseyin; Erkanli, Korhan; Eksik, Abdurrahman

2017-01-01

Purpose To determine the predictive values of D-dimer assay, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) risk scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). Patients and methods A total of 234 patients (mean age: 57.2±11.7 years, 75.2% were males) hospitalized with NSTEMI were included. Data on D-dimer assay, GRACE and TIMI risk scores were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors predicting increased mortality. Results Median D-dimer levels were 349.5 (48.0–7,210.0) ng/mL, the average TIMI score was 3.2±1.2 and the GRACE score was 90.4±27.6 with high GRACE scores (>118) in 17.5% of patients. The GRACE score was correlated positively with both the D-dimer assay (r=0.215, P=0.01) and TIMI scores (r=0.504, P=0.000). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher creatinine levels (odds ratio =18.465, 95% confidence interval: 1.059–322.084, P=0.046) constituted the only significant predictor of increased mortality risk with no predictive values for age, D-dimer assay, ejection fraction, glucose, hemoglobin A1c, sodium, albumin or total cholesterol levels for mortality. Conclusion Serum creatinine levels constituted the sole independent determinant of mortality risk, with no significant values for D-dimer assay, GRACE or TIMI scores for predicting the risk of mortality in NSTEMI patients. PMID:28408834

Dynamics of blood flow and thrombus formation in a multi-bypass microfluidic ladder network.

Science.gov (United States)

Zilberman-Rudenko, Jevgenia; Sylman, Joanna L; Lakshmanan, Hari H S; McCarty, Owen J T; Maddala, Jeevan

2017-02-01

The reaction dynamics of a complex mixture of cells and proteins, such as blood, in branched circulatory networks within the human microvasculature or extravascular therapeutic devices such as extracorporeal oxygenation machine (ECMO) remains ill-defined. In this report we utilize a multi-bypass microfluidics ladder network design with dimensions mimicking venules to study patterns of blood platelet aggregation and fibrin formation under complex shear. Complex blood fluid dynamics within multi-bypass networks under flow were modeled using COMSOL. Red blood cells and platelets were assumed to be non-interacting spherical particles transported by the bulk fluid flow, and convection of the activated coagulation factor II, thrombin, was assumed to be governed by mass transfer. This model served as the basis for predicting formation of local shear rate gradients, stagnation points and recirculation zones as dictated by the bypass geometry. Based on the insights from these models, we were able to predict the patterns of blood clot formation at specific locations in the device. Our experimental data was then used to adjust the model to account for the dynamical presence of thrombus formation in the biorheology of blood flow. The model predictions were then compared to results from experiments using recalcified whole human blood. Microfluidic devices were coated with the extracellular matrix protein, fibrillar collagen, and the initiator of the extrinsic pathway of coagulation, tissue factor. Blood was perfused through the devices at a flow rate of 2 µL/min, translating to physiologically relevant initial shear rates of 300 and 700 s -1 for main channels and bypasses, respectively. Using fluorescent and light microscopy, we observed distinct flow and thrombus formation patterns near channel intersections at bypass points, within recirculation zones and at stagnation points. Findings from this proof-of-principle ladder network model suggest a specific correlation between

Median Filtering Methods for Non-volcanic Tremor Detection

Science.gov (United States)

Damiao, L. G.; Nadeau, R. M.; Dreger, D. S.; Luna, B.; Zhang, H.

2016-12-01

Various properties of median filtering over time and space are used to address challenges posed by the Non-volcanic tremor detection problem. As part of a "Big-Data" effort to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of ambient tremor throughout the Northern San Andreas Fault system, continuous seismic data from multiple seismic networks with contrasting operational characteristics and distributed over a variety of regions are being used. Automated median filtering methods that are flexible enough to work consistently with these data are required. Tremor is characterized by a low-amplitude, long-duration signal-train whose shape is coherent at multiple stations distributed over a large area. There are no consistent phase arrivals or mechanisms in a given tremor's signal and even the durations and shapes among different tremors vary considerably. A myriad of masquerading noise, anthropogenic and natural-event signals must also be discriminated in order to obtain accurate tremor detections. We present here results of the median methods applied to data from four regions of the San Andreas Fault system in northern California (Geysers Geothermal Field, Napa, Bitterwater and Parkfield) to illustrate the ability of the methods to detect tremor under diverse conditions.

Lapset median käyttäjinä

OpenAIRE

Jalonen, Taru; Suomela, Sonja

2010-01-01

Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulu Tiivistelmä Hyvinkää Sosiaali-, terveys- ja liikunta-ala Hoitotyön koulutusohjelma Terveydenhoitaja AMK Sairaanhoitaja AMK Taru Jalonen, Sonja Suomela Lapset median käyttäjinä Vuosi ‎2010‎ Sivumäärä ‎63‎ Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää lasten tottumuksia ja kokemuksia mediasta sekä ‎niiden herättämiä tunteita. Lisäksi selvitimme lasten käyttämiä mediaympäristöjä sekä median ‎näkymistä lasten leikeissä. Tämä työ on os...

Optimal design of work zone median crossovers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

The use of temporary median crossovers in work zones allows for the closure of one side of a multi-lane roadway while : maintaining two-way traffic on the opposite side. This process provides the ability for construction and maintenance crews : to co...

The su(1, 1) dynamical algebra from the Schroedinger ladder operators for N-dimensional systems: hydrogen atom, Mie-type potential, harmonic oscillator and pseudo-harmonic oscillator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, D; Flores-Urbina, J C; Mota, R D; Granados, V D

2010-01-01

We apply the Schroedinger factorization to construct the ladder operators for the hydrogen atom, Mie-type potential, harmonic oscillator and pseudo-harmonic oscillator in arbitrary dimensions. By generalizing these operators we show that the dynamical algebra for these problems is the su(1, 1) Lie algebra.

Calcium scoring with prospectively ECG-triggered CT: Using overlapping datasets generated with MPR decreases inter-scan variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutten, A.; Isgum, I.; Prokop, M.

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine the feasibility of reducing the inter-scan variability of prospectively ECG-triggered calcium-scoring scans by using overlapping 3-mm datasets generated from multiplanar reformation (MPR) instead of non-overlapping 3-mm or 1.5-mm datasets. Patients and methods: Seventy-five women (59-79 years old) underwent two sequential prospectively ECG-triggered calcium-scoring scans with 16 mm x 1.5 mm collimation in one session. Between the two scans patients got off and on the table. We performed calcium scoring (Agatston and mass scores) on the following datasets: contiguous 3-mm sections reconstructed from the raw data (A), contiguous 3-mm sections from MPR (B), overlapping 3-mm sections from MPR (C) and contiguous 1.5-mm sections from the raw data (D). To determine the feasibility of the MPR approach, we compared MPR (B) with direct raw data reconstruction (A). Inter-scan variability was calculated for each type of dataset (A-D). Results: Calcium scores ranged from 0 to 1455 (Agatston) and 0 to 279 mg (mass) for overlapping 3-mm sections (C). Calcium scores (both Agatston and mass) were nearly identical for MPR (B) and raw data approaches (A), with inter-quartile ranges of 0-1% for inter-scan variability. Median inter-scan variability with contiguous 3-mm sections (B) was 13% (Agatston) and 11% (mass). Median variability was reduced to 10% (Agatston and mass) with contiguous 1.5-mm sections (D) and to 8% (Agatston) and 7% (mass) with overlapping 3-mm MPR (A). Conclusion: Calcium scoring on MPR yields nearly identical results to calcium scoring on images directly reconstructed from raw data. Overlapping MPR from prospectively ECG-triggered scans improve inter-scan variability of calcium scoring without increasing patient radiation dose.

Sosiaalisen median markkinointisuunnitelma uudelle hoitoalan konseptoidulle työvaatemallistolle

OpenAIRE

Leppälä, Sanna

2017-01-01

Opinnäytetyössä pohdittiin keinoja saada uuden konseptoidun työvaatemalliston näkyvyyttä esille sosiaalisen median keinoin. Toimeksiantaja-yrityksenä toimi suomalainen Virtually Oy ja kohteena oli sen uusi hoitajille suunnattu työvaatemallisto. Malliston ympärille halutaan luoda kestävä brändi ja sosiaalisen median markkinointi on tukemassa brändin tunnettavuutta ja myyntiä. Sosiaalinen media ei yritysten välisessä liiketoiminnassa toimi ainoana markkinoinnin työkaluna, vaan se on tukemas...

Evaluation of alternative methods for coronary calcium scoring in multi-detector-row computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serafin, Z.; Lasek, W.; Laskowska, K.; Marzec, M.

2005-01-01

Determining coronary artery calcifications is one of the methods of coronary heart disease screening. However, the traditional Agatston Calcium Score (CS) shows low interexamination reproducibility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the interscan variability coefficients of calcium measures based on three modifications of the original Agatston equation. Fifty adults (37 men and 13 women; mean age 46.2 ± 9.2 years) were included in the study. Each patient was examined with two consecutive, prospectively electrocardiographically triggered, multi-detector-row CT acquisitions to detect and quantify coronary artery calcifications. CS was calculated according to the method by Agatston et al. Alternative scores were calculated using a continuous weighting factor (CS-CM), the average lesion attenuation value (CS-SA), or both (CS-CA). The mean and median interscan percent variabilities of the methods were evaluated using nonparametric analysis of variance. In the 50 patients, 1315 calcified lesions were found. The alternative scores correlated well with CS (for CS vs. CS-SA, CS-CM, and CS-CA, r = 0.990, 0.840, and 0.946, respectively, P < 0.0001). The mean and median percent variabilities did not differ significantly among the methods tested (P = 0.370). For CS, CS-SA, CS-CM, and CS-CA the mean variabilities were 13.24%, 13.36%, 16.00%, and 13.62%, respectively. Except for CS-CM, the methods showed similar distributions of variability vs. score on Bland and Altman plots. None of the tested modifications of the Agatston method brought improvement in the interscan reproducibility of coronary calcium scoring. In our opinion, a significant reduction in variability may be achieved by a standardization of image acquisition and reconstruction. (author)

Sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa

OpenAIRE

Martikainen, Inkeri

2014-01-01

Opinnäytetyön tavoite oli selvittää sosiaalisen median rooli mikroyrittäjän ostoprosessissa; miten mikroyrittäjä hakee tietoa sosiaalisesta mediasta ja millainen vaikutus sieltä löytyvillä käyttäjäarvioilla on ostopäätökseen. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin erään finanssialan yrityksen toimeksiantona. Opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli antaa digitaalisen markkinoinnin ammattilaisille tietoa siitä, miten mikroyrittäjiä voidaan tavoittaa sosiaalisen median kautta, ja saada näin uusia asiakkaita. Tutkimus...

Median forehead flap - beyond classic indication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cristian R. Jecan

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction. The paramedian forehead flap is one of the best options for reconstruction of the median upper two-thirds of the face due to its vascularity, color, texture match and ability to resurface all or part of the reconstructed area. The forehead flap is the gold standard for nasal soft tissue reconstruction and the flap of choice for larger cutaneous nasal defects having a robust pedicle and large amount of tissue. Materials and Methods. We are reporting a clinical series of cutaneous tumors involving the nose, medial canthus, upper and lower eyelid through a retrospective review of 6 patients who underwent surgical excision of the lesion and primary reconstruction using a paramedian forehead flap. Results. The forehead flap was used for total nose reconstruction, eyelids and medial canthal reconstruction. All flaps survived completely and no tumor recurrence was seen in any of the patients. Cosmetic and functional results were favorable. Conclusions. The forehead flap continues to be one of the best options for nose reconstruction and for closure of surgical defects of the nose larger than 2 cm. Even though is not a gold standard, median forehead flap can be an advantageous technique in periorbital defects reconstruction.

Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound of fascicles in the median nerve at the wrist.

Science.gov (United States)

Cartwright, Michael S; Baute, Vanessa; Caress, James B; Walker, Francis O

2017-10-01

An ultrahigh-frequency (70 MHZ) ultrasound device has recently been approved for human use. This study seeks to determine whether this device facilitates counting of fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist. Twenty healthy volunteers underwent imaging of the median nerve at the wrist bilaterally. The number of fascicles in each nerve was counted by two independent raters. The mean fascicle number was 22.68. Correlation was strong between the two raters (r = 0.68, P nerve area did not predict fascicle number. Those with bifid median nerves and persistent median arteries had lower fascicle density than those without anatomic anomalies (1.79 vs. 2.29; P = 0.01). Fascicles within the median nerve at the wrist can be readily imaged. Ultrahigh-frequency ultrasound technology may be informative in a variety of disorders affecting the peripheral nervous system. Muscle Nerve 56: 819-822, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Timing of Emergency Medicine Student Evaluation Does Not Affect Scoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Hiller, Katherine M; Waterbrook, Anna; Waters, Kristina

2016-02-01

Evaluation of medical students rotating through the emergency department (ED) is an important formative and summative assessment method. Intuitively, delaying evaluation should affect the reliability of this assessment method, however, the effect of evaluation timing on scoring is unknown. A quality-improvement project evaluating the timing of end-of-shift ED evaluations at the University of Arizona was performed to determine whether delay in evaluation affected the score. End-of-shift ED evaluations completed on behalf of fourth-year medical students from July 2012 to March 2013 were reviewed. Forty-seven students were evaluated 547 times by 46 residents and attendings. Evaluation scores were means of anchored Likert scales (1-5) for the domains of energy/interest, fund of knowledge, judgment/problem-solving ability, clinical skills, personal effectiveness, and systems-based practice. Date of shift, date of evaluation, and score were collected. Linear regression was performed to determine whether timing of the evaluation had an effect on evaluation score. Data were complete for 477 of 547 evaluations (87.2%). Mean evaluation score was 4.1 (range 2.3-5, standard deviation 0.62). Evaluations took a mean of 8.5 days (median 4 days, range 0-59 days, standard deviation 9.77 days) to complete. Delay in evaluation had no significant effect on score (p = 0.983). The evaluation score was not affected by timing of the evaluation. Variance in scores was similar for both immediate and delayed evaluations. Considerable amounts of time and energy are expended tracking down delayed evaluations. This activity does not impact a student's final grade. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Trichromatic π-Pulse for Ultrafast Total Inversion of a Four-Level Ladder System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carles Serrat

2015-11-01

Full Text Available We present a numerical solution for complete population inversion in a four-level ladder system obtained by using a full π-pulse illumination scheme with resonant ultrashort phase-locked Gaussian laser pulses. We find that a set of pulse areas such as √3π , √2π , and √3π completely inverts the four-level system considering identical effective dipole coupling coefficients. The solution is consistent provided the involved electric fields are not too strong and it is amply accurate also in the case of diverse transition dipole moments. We study the effect of detuning and chirp of the laser pulses on the complete population inversion using the level structure of atomic sodium interacting with ps and fs pulses as an example. Our result opens the door for multiple applications such as efficient ultrashort pulse lasing in the UV or the engineering of quantum states for quantum computing.

Prognostic Utility of Cell Cycle Progression Score in Men With Prostate Cancer After Primary External Beam Radiation Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Freedland, Stephen J., E-mail: steve.freedland@duke.edu [Department of Surgery, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Gerber, Leah [Department of Surgery, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Surgery (Urology), Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Pathology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Reid, Julia; Welbourn, William; Tikishvili, Eliso; Park, Jimmy; Younus, Adib; Gutin, Alexander; Sangale, Zaina; Lanchbury, Jerry S. [Myriad Genetics, Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah (United States); Salama, Joseph K. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina (United States); Stone, Steven [Myriad Genetics, Inc, Salt Lake City, Utah (United States)

2013-08-01

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic utility of the cell cycle progression (CCP) score, a RNA signature based on the average expression level of 31 CCP genes, for predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) in men with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) as their primary curative therapy. Methods and Materials: The CCP score was derived retrospectively from diagnostic biopsy specimens of men diagnosed with prostate cancer from 1991 to 2006 (n=141). All patients were treated with definitive EBRT; approximately half of the cohort was African American. Outcome was time from EBRT to BCR using the Phoenix definition. Median follow-up for patients without BCR was 4.8 years. Association with outcome was evaluated by Cox proportional hazards survival analysis and likelihood ratio tests. Results: Of 141 patients, 19 (13%) had BCR. The median CCP score for patient samples was 0.12. In univariable analysis, CCP score significantly predicted BCR (P=.0017). The hazard ratio for BCR was 2.55 for 1-unit increase in CCP score (equivalent to a doubling of gene expression). In a multivariable analysis that included Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen, percent positive cores, and androgen deprivation therapy, the hazard ratio for CCP changed only marginally and remained significant (P=.034), indicating that CCP provides prognostic information that is not provided by standard clinical parameters. With 10-year censoring, the CCP score was associated with prostate cancer-specific mortality (P=.013). There was no evidence for interaction between CCP and any clinical variable, including ethnicity. Conclusions: Among men treated with EBRT, the CCP score significantly predicted outcome and provided greater prognostic information than was available with clinical parameters. If validated in a larger cohort, CCP score could identify high-risk men undergoing EBRT who may need more aggressive therapy.

Prognostic Utility of Cell Cycle Progression Score in Men With Prostate Cancer After Primary External Beam Radiation Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freedland, Stephen J.; Gerber, Leah; Reid, Julia; Welbourn, William; Tikishvili, Eliso; Park, Jimmy; Younus, Adib; Gutin, Alexander; Sangale, Zaina; Lanchbury, Jerry S.; Salama, Joseph K.; Stone, Steven

2013-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic utility of the cell cycle progression (CCP) score, a RNA signature based on the average expression level of 31 CCP genes, for predicting biochemical recurrence (BCR) in men with prostate cancer treated with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) as their primary curative therapy. Methods and Materials: The CCP score was derived retrospectively from diagnostic biopsy specimens of men diagnosed with prostate cancer from 1991 to 2006 (n=141). All patients were treated with definitive EBRT; approximately half of the cohort was African American. Outcome was time from EBRT to BCR using the Phoenix definition. Median follow-up for patients without BCR was 4.8 years. Association with outcome was evaluated by Cox proportional hazards survival analysis and likelihood ratio tests. Results: Of 141 patients, 19 (13%) had BCR. The median CCP score for patient samples was 0.12. In univariable analysis, CCP score significantly predicted BCR (P=.0017). The hazard ratio for BCR was 2.55 for 1-unit increase in CCP score (equivalent to a doubling of gene expression). In a multivariable analysis that included Gleason score, prostate-specific antigen, percent positive cores, and androgen deprivation therapy, the hazard ratio for CCP changed only marginally and remained significant (P=.034), indicating that CCP provides prognostic information that is not provided by standard clinical parameters. With 10-year censoring, the CCP score was associated with prostate cancer-specific mortality (P=.013). There was no evidence for interaction between CCP and any clinical variable, including ethnicity. Conclusions: Among men treated with EBRT, the CCP score significantly predicted outcome and provided greater prognostic information than was available with clinical parameters. If validated in a larger cohort, CCP score could identify high-risk men undergoing EBRT who may need more aggressive therapy

Automated Translation of Safety Critical Application Software Specifications into PLC Ladder Logic

Science.gov (United States)

Leucht, Kurt W.; Semmel, Glenn S.

2008-01-01

The numerous benefits of automatic application code generation are widely accepted within the software engineering community. A few of these benefits include raising the abstraction level of application programming, shorter product development time, lower maintenance costs, and increased code quality and consistency. Surprisingly, code generation concepts have not yet found wide acceptance and use in the field of programmable logic controller (PLC) software development. Software engineers at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) recognized the need for PLC code generation while developing their new ground checkout and launch processing system. They developed a process and a prototype software tool that automatically translates a high-level representation or specification of safety critical application software into ladder logic that executes on a PLC. This process and tool are expected to increase the reliability of the PLC code over that which is written manually, and may even lower life-cycle costs and shorten the development schedule of the new control system at KSC. This paper examines the problem domain and discusses the process and software tool that were prototyped by the KSC software engineers.

Speckle Reduction and Structure Enhancement by Multichannel Median Boosted Anisotropic Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Zhi

2004-01-01

Full Text Available We propose a new approach to reduce speckle noise and enhance structures in speckle-corrupted images. It utilizes a median-anisotropic diffusion compound scheme. The median-filter-based reaction term acts as a guided energy source to boost the structures in the image being processed. In addition, it regularizes the diffusion equation to ensure the existence and uniqueness of a solution. We also introduce a decimation and back reconstruction scheme to further enhance the processing result. Before the iteration of the diffusion process, the image is decimated and a subpixel shifted image set is formed. This allows a multichannel parallel diffusion iteration, and more importantly, the speckle noise is broken into impulsive or salt-pepper noise, which is easy to remove by median filtering. The advantage of the proposed technique is clear when it is compared to other diffusion algorithms and the well-known adaptive weighted median filtering (AWMF scheme in both simulation and real medical ultrasound images.

[Can Glasgow-Blatchford Score and Pre-endoscopic Rockall Score Predict the Occurrence of Hypotension in Initially Normotensive Patients with Non-variceal Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding?].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, June Sung; Ko, Byuk Sung; Son, Chang Hwan; Ahn, Shin; Seo, Dong Woo; Lee, Yoon Seon; Lee, Jae Ho; Oh, Bum Jin; Lim, Kyoung Soo; Kim, Won Young

2016-01-25

The aim of this study was to identify the ability of Glasgow-Blatchford score (GBS) and pre-endoscopic Rockall score (pre-E RS) to predict the occurrence of hypotension in patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding who are initially normotensive at emergency department. Retrospective observational study was conducted at Asan Medical Center emergency department (ED) in patients who presented with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013. Study population was divided according to the development of hypotension, and demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory findings were compared. GBS and pre-E RS were estimated to predict the occurrence of hypotension. A total of 747 patients with non-variceal upper gastrointestinal bleeding were included during the study period, and 120 (16.1%) patients developed hypotension within 24 hours after ED admission. The median values GBS and pre-E RS were statistically different according to the occurrence of hypotension (8.0 vs. 10.0, 2.0 vs. 3.0, respectively; pupper gastrointestinal bleeding. Development of other scoring systems are needed.

Increased Prognostic Value of Query Amyloid Late Enhancement Score in Light-Chain Cardiac Amyloidosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Ke; Sun, Jiayu; Han, Yuchi; Liu, Hong; Yang, Dan; Li, Weihao; Wang, Jie; Cheng, Wei; Zhang, Qing; Zeng, Zhi; Chen, Yucheng

2018-02-23

Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) pattern is a powerful imaging biomarker for prognosis of cardiac amyloidosis. It is unknown if the query amyloid late enhancement (QALE) score in light-chain (AL) amyloidosis could provide increased prognostic value compared with LGE pattern.Methods and Results:Seventy-eight consecutive patients with AL amyloidosis underwent contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Patients with cardiac involvement were grouped by LGE pattern and analyzed using QALE score. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to identify the optimal cut-off for QALE score in predicting all-cause mortality. Survival of these patients was analyzed with the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox regression. During a median follow-up of 34 months, 53 of 78 patients died. The optimal cut-off for QALE score to predict mortality at 12-month follow-up was 9.0. On multivariate Cox analysis, QALE score ≥9 (HR, 5.997; 95% CI: 2.665-13.497; Pvalue in AL cardiac amyloidosis. QALE score ≥9 has added value to differentiate prognosis in AL amyloidosis patients with a subendocardial LGE pattern.

An investigation on the noise reduction performance of profiled rigid median barriers at highways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Reza Monazzam

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Median barriers as a portion of a divided highway are provided to minimize the cross-median crashes. Moreover, median barriers similar to roadside noise barriers could protect people from transportation noise. Thus, there is a need to investigate various median barrier models to identify changes of insertion loss over a simple rigid barrier. In order to estimate the acoustical influence of median barrier′s profile in the shadow zone, different median barrier models are presented and their insertion losses are calculated over a frequency range from 50 to 4000 Hz using a two-dimensional boundary element method. The present investigation has clearly revealed that among the profiled median barriers, T-shape, Y-shape, and L-shape provide better performance than that of the other shapes. It is also found that among inclined barriers, V-shape barrier significantly presents higher values of attenuation. Based on the calculation of different geometrics, it has been shown that a further 2 dB (A in efficiency could be obtained by a better design of the median barrier which is labeled model "L."

Role of Modular Polyketide Synthases in the Production of Polyether Ladder Compounds in Ciguatoxin-Producing Gambierdiscus polynesiensis and G. excentricus (Dinophyceae).

Science.gov (United States)

Kohli, Gurjeet S; Campbell, Katrina; John, Uwe; Smith, Kirsty F; Fraga, Santiago; Rhodes, Lesley L; Murray, Shauna A

2017-09-01

Gambierdiscus, a benthic dinoflagellate, produces ciguatoxins that cause the human illness Ciguatera. Ciguatoxins are polyether ladder compounds that have a polyketide origin, indicating that polyketide synthases (PKS) are involved in their production. We sequenced transcriptomes of Gambierdiscus excentricus and Gambierdiscus polynesiensis and found 264 contigs encoding single domain ketoacyl synthases (KS; G. excentricus: 106, G. polynesiensis: 143) and ketoreductases (KR; G. excentricus: 7, G. polynesiensis: 8) with sequence similarity to type I PKSs, as reported in other dinoflagellates. In addition, 24 contigs (G. excentricus: 3, G. polynesiensis: 21) encoding multiple PKS domains (forming typical type I PKSs modules) were found. The proposed structure produced by one of these megasynthases resembles a partial carbon backbone of a polyether ladder compound. Seventeen contigs encoding single domain KS, KR, s-malonyltransacylase, dehydratase and enoyl reductase with sequence similarity to type II fatty acid synthases (FAS) in plants were found. Type I PKS and type II FAS genes were distinguished based on the arrangement of domains on the contigs and their sequence similarity and phylogenetic clustering with known PKS/FAS genes in other organisms. This differentiation of PKS and FAS pathways in Gambierdiscus is important, as it will facilitate approaches to investigating toxin biosynthesis pathways in dinoflagellates. © 2017 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2017 International Society of Protistologists.

Phase transitions and thermal entanglement of the distorted Ising-Heisenberg spin chain: topology of multiple-spin exchange interactions in spin ladders

Science.gov (United States)

Arian Zad, Hamid; Ananikian, Nerses

2017-11-01

We consider a symmetric spin-1/2 Ising-XXZ double sawtooth spin ladder obtained from distorting a spin chain, with the XXZ interaction between the interstitial Heisenberg dimers (which are connected to the spins based on the legs via an Ising-type interaction), the Ising coupling between nearest-neighbor spins of the legs and rungs spins, respectively, and additional cyclic four-spin exchange (ring exchange) in the square plaquette of each block. The presented analysis supplemented by results of the exact solution of the model with infinite periodic boundary implies a rich ground state phase diagram. As well as the quantum phase transitions, the characteristics of some of the thermodynamic parameters such as heat capacity, magnetization and magnetic susceptibility are investigated. We prove here that among the considered thermodynamic and thermal parameters, solely heat capacity is sensitive versus the changes of the cyclic four-spin exchange interaction. By using the heat capacity function, we obtain a singularity relation between the cyclic four-spin exchange interaction and the exchange coupling between pair spins on each rung of the spin ladder. All thermal and thermodynamic quantities under consideration should be investigated by regarding those points which satisfy the singularity relation. The thermal entanglement within the Heisenberg spin dimers is investigated by using the concurrence, which is calculated from a relevant reduced density operator in the thermodynamic limit.

Generation and validation of a prognostic score to predict outcome after re-irradiation of recurrent glioma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Combs, Stephanie E.; Welzel, Thomas; Debus, Juergen; Edler, Lutz; Rausch, Renate; Wick, Wolfgang

2013-01-01

Re-irradiation using high-precision radiation techniques has been established within the clinical routine for patients with recurrent gliomas. In the present work, we developed a practical prognostic score to predict survival outcome after re-irradiation. Patients and methods. Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) was applied in 233 patients. Primary histology included glioblastoma (n = 89; 38%), WHO Grade III gliomas (n = 52; 22%) and low-grade glioma (n = 92; 40%). FSRT was applied with a median dose of 36 Gy in 2 Gy single fractions. We evaluated survival after re-irradiation as well as progression-free survival after re-irradiation; prognostic factors analyzed included age, tumor volume at re-irradiation, histology, time between initial radiotherapy and re-irradiation, age and Karnofsky Performance Score. Results. Median survival after FSRT was 8 months for glioblastoma, 20 months for anaplastic gliomas, and 24 months for recurrent low-grade patients. The strongest prognostic factors significantly impacting survival after re-irradiation were histology (p 12 months (p < 0.0001). We generated a four-class prognostic score to distinguish patients with excellent (0 points), good (1 point), moderate (2 points) and poor (3-4 points) survival after re-irradiation. The difference in outcome was highly significant (p < 0.0001). Conclusion. We generated a practical prognostic score index based on three clinically relevant factors to predict the benefit of patients from re-irradiation. This score index can be helpful in patient counseling, and for the design of further clinical trials. However, individual treatment decisions may include other patient-related factors not directly influencing outcome.

Accuracy of a composite score using daily SAPS II and LOD scores for predicting hospital mortality in ICU patients hospitalized for more than 72 h.

Science.gov (United States)

Timsit, J F; Fosse, J P; Troché, G; De Lassence, A; Alberti, C; Garrouste-Orgeas, M; Azoulay, E; Chevret, S; Moine, P; Cohen, Y

2001-06-01

In most databases used to build general severity scores the median duration of intensive care unit (ICU) stay is less than 3 days. Consequently, these scores are not the most appropriate tools for measuring prognosis in studies dealing with ICU patients hospitalized for more than 72 h. To develop a new prognostic model based on a general severity score (SAPS II), an organ dysfunction score (LOD) and evolution of both scores during the first 3 days of ICU stay. Prospective multicenter study. Twenty-eight intensive care units (ICUs) in France. A training data-set was created with four ICUs during an 18-month period (893 patients). Seventy percent of the patients were medical (628) aged 66 years. The median SAPS II was 38. The ICU and hospital mortality rates were 22.7% and 30%, respectively. Forty-seven percent (420 patients) were transferred from hospital wards. In this population, the calibration (Hosmer-Lemeshow chi-square: 37.4, P = 0.001) and the discrimination [area under the ROC curves: 0.744 (95 % CI: 0.714-0.773)] of the original SAPS II were relatively poor. A validation data set was created with a random panel of 24 French ICUs during March 1999 (312 patients). The LOD and SAPS II scores were calculated during the first (SAPS1, LOD1), second (SAPS2, LOD2), and third (SAPS3, LOD3) calendar days. The LOD and SAPS scores alterations were assigned the value "1" when scores increased with time and "0" otherwise. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to select variables measured during the first three calendar days, and independently associated with death. Selected variables were: SAPS II at admission [OR: 1.04 (95 % CI: 1.027-1.053) per point], LOD [OR: 1.16 (95 % CI: 1.085-1.253) per point], transfer from ward [OR: 1.74 (95 % CI: 1.25-2.42)], as well as SAPS3-SAPS2 alterations [OR: 1.516 (95 % CI: 1.04-2.22)], and LOD3-LOD2 alterations [OR: 2.00 (95 % CI: 1.29-3.11)]. The final model has good calibration and discrimination properties in the

COLOUR IMAGE STEGANOGRAPHY USING MEDIAN MAINTENANCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Arivazhagan

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Steganographic algorithms in the recent past have been producing stego images with perceptual invisibility, better secrecy and certain robustness against attacks like cropping, filtering etc. Recovering a good quality secret from a good quality stego image may not always be possible. The method proposed in this paper works in transform domain and attempts to extract the secret almost as same as the embedded one maintaining minimal changes to the cover image by using techniques like median maintenance, offset and quantization.

Electromyogram median power frequency in dynamic exercise at medium exercise intensities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ament, W; Bonga, GJJ; Hof, AL; Verkerke, GJ

The electromyogram (EMG) median power Frequency of the calf muscles was investigated during an exhausting treadmill exercise and a 20-min recovery period. The exercise was an uphill run at a speed of 5 km . h(-1) and a gradient of 20%. During exercise there was no decrease of EMG median power

A new diagnostic score to detect osteoporosis in patients undergoing lumbar spine MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bandirali, Michele; Messina, Carmelo [Universita degli Studi di Milano, Scuola di Specializzazione in Radiodiagnostica, Milano (Italy); Di Leo, Giovanni; Papini, Giacomo Davide Edoardo [IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Radiology Unit, San Donato Milanese (Italy); Sconfienza, Luca Maria; Sardanelli, Francesco [IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Radiology Unit, San Donato Milanese (Italy); Universita degli Studi di Milano, Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute, San Donato Milanese (Italy); Ulivieri, Fabio Massimo [IRCCS Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Mineralometria Ossea Computerizzata e Ambulatorio Malattie Metabolismo Minerale e Osseo, Servizio di Medicina Nucleare, Milano (Italy)

2015-10-15

Signal intensity of lumbar-spine at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates to bone mineral density (BMD). Our aim was to define a quantitative MRI-based score to detect osteoporosis on lumbar-spine MRI. After Ethics Committee approval, we selected female patients who underwent both lumbar-spine MRI and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and a reference group of 131 healthy females (20-29 years) who underwent lumbar-spine MRI. We measured the intra-vertebral signal-to-noise ratio in L1-L4. We introduced an MRI-based score (M-score), on the model of T-score. M-score diagnostic performance in diagnosing osteoporosis was estimated against DXA using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) analysis. We included 226 patients (median age 65 years), 70 (31 %) being osteoporotic at DXA. MRI signal-to-noise ratio correlated to BMD (r = -0.677, P < 0.001). M-score negatively correlated to T-score (r = -0.682, P < 0.001). Setting a 90 %-specificity, an M-score threshold of 5.5 was found, distinguishing osteoporosis from non-osteoporosis (sensitivity 54 %; ROC AUC 0.844). Thirty-one (14 %) patients had a fragility fracture, with osteoporosis detected in 15 (48 %) according to M-score and eight (26 %) according to T-score (P = 0.016). M-score obtained on lumbar spine MRI is a quantitative method correlating with osteoporosis. Its diagnostic value remains to be demonstrated on a large prospective cohort of patients. (orig.)

Dual Kidney Allocation Score: A Novel Algorithm Utilizing Expanded Donor Criteria for the Allocation of Dual Kidneys in Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Adam P; Price, Thea P; Lieby, Benjamin; Doria, Cataldo

2016-09-08

BACKGROUND Dual kidney transplantation (DKT) of expanded-criteria donors is a cost-intensive procedure that aims to increase the pool of available deceased organ donors and has demonstrated equivalent outcomes to expanded-criteria single kidney transplantation (eSKT). The objective of this study was to develop an allocation score based on predicted graft survival from historical dual and single kidney donors. MATERIAL AND METHODS We analyzed United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) data for 1547 DKT and 26 381 eSKT performed between January 1994 and September 2013. We utilized multivariable Cox regression to identify variables independently associated with graft survival in dual and single kidney transplantations. We then derived a weighted multivariable product score from calculated hazard ratios to model the benefit of transplantation as dual kidneys. RESULTS Of 36 donor variables known at the time of listing, 13 were significantly associated with graft survival. The derived dual allocation score demonstrated good internal validity with strong correlation to improved survival in dual kidney transplants. Donors with scores less than 2.1 transplanted as dual kidneys had a worsened median survival of 594 days (24%, p-value 0.031) and donors with scores greater than 3.9 had improved median survival of 1107 days (71%, p-value 0.002). There were 17 733 eSKT (67%) and 1051 DKT (67%) with scores in between these values and no differences in survival (p-values 0.676 and 0.185). CONCLUSIONS We have derived a dual kidney allocation score (DKAS) with good internal validity. Future prospective studies will be required to demonstrate external validity, but this score may help to standardize organ allocation for dual kidney transplantation.

Median mental sinus in twins.

Science.gov (United States)

Ong, S T; Ngeow, W C

1999-05-01

Sinus on the chin can be the result of a chronic apical abscess due to pulp necrosis of a mandibular anterior tooth. The tooth is usually asymptomatic, and a dental cause is therefore not apparent to the patient or the unsuspecting clinician. Not infrequently, the patient may seek treatment from a dermatologist or general surgeon instead of a dentist. Excision and repair of the fistula may be carried out with subsequent breakdown because the dental pathology is not removed. This paper reports the presence of median mental sinus of dental origin in twins. One case healed following root canal therapy while the other required both root canal therapy and surgery to eliminate the infection.

Range Selection and Median

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Allan Grønlund; Larsen, Kasper Green

2011-01-01

and several natural special cases thereof. The rst special case is known as range median, which arises when k is xed to b(j 􀀀 i + 1)=2c. The second case, denoted prex selection, arises when i is xed to 0. Finally, we also consider the bounded rank prex selection problem and the xed rank range......Range selection is the problem of preprocessing an input array A of n unique integers, such that given a query (i; j; k), one can report the k'th smallest integer in the subarray A[i];A[i+1]; : : : ;A[j]. In this paper we consider static data structures in the word-RAM for range selection...... selection problem. In the former, data structures must support prex selection queries under the assumption that k for some value n given at construction time, while in the latter, data structures must support range selection queries where k is xed beforehand for all queries. We prove cell probe lower bounds...

Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming; Fraser, Callum G; Sölétormos, György

2017-10-26

During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians of serum sodium for both male and female patients were calculated from results obtained on samples from the population >18 years on three analysers in the hospital laboratory. The half-range of medians was applied as an estimate of the maximum bias. Further, the ratios between the two medians were calculated. The medians of both genders demonstrated dispersions over time, but they were closely connected in like patterns, which were confirmed by the half-range of the ratios of medians for males and females that varied from 0.36% for daily, 0.14% for weekly and 0.036% for monthly ratios over all instruments. The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females.

Voimaa visuaalisuudesta : Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin

OpenAIRE

Viita, Shir

2017-01-01

Viita, Shir. Voimaa visuaalisuudesta – Narratiivinen kirjallisuuskatsaus visuaalisen sosiaalisen median vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Kevät 2016. 52 s., 1 liite. Diakonia ammattikorkeakoulu. Sosiaalialan koulutusohjelma, sosionomin suuntautumisvaihtoehto. Sosionomi (AMK). Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa sosiaalialan ammattilaisille visuaalisen sosiaalisen median sivustojen Instagramin ja Snapchatin vaikutuksista nuorten aikuisten hyvinvointiin. Opinnäyte...

Application of median-equation approach for outlier detection in geodetic networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Serif Hekimoglu

Full Text Available In geodetic measurements some outliers may occur sometimes in data sets, depending on different reasons. There are two main approaches to detect outliers as Tests for outliers (Baarda's and Pope's Tests and robust methods (Danish method, Huber method etc.. These methods use the Least Squares Estimation (LSE. The outliers affect the LSE results, especially it smears the effects of the outliers on the good observations and sometimes wrong results may be obtained. To avoid these effects, a method that does not use LSE should be preferred. The median is a high breakdown point estimator and if it is applied for the outlier detection, reliable results can be obtained. In this study, a robust method which uses median with or as a treshould value on median residuals that are obtained from median equations is proposed. If the a priori variance of the observations is known, the reliability of the new approch is greater than the one in the case where the a priori variance is unknown.

Impact of the Occlusion Duration on the Performance of J-CTO Score in Predicting Failure of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Chronic Total Occlusion.

Science.gov (United States)

de Castro-Filho, Antonio; Lamas, Edgar Stroppa; Meneguz-Moreno, Rafael A; Staico, Rodolfo; Siqueira, Dimytri; Costa, Ricardo A; Braga, Sergio N; Costa, J Ribamar; Chamié, Daniel; Abizaid, Alexandre

2017-06-01

The present study examined the association between Multicenter CTO Registry in Japan (J-CTO) score in predicting failure of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) correlating with the estimated duration of chronic total occlusion (CTO). The J-CTO score does not incorporate estimated duration of the occlusion. This was an observational retrospective study that involved all consecutive procedures performed at a single tertiary-care cardiology center between January 2009 and December 2014. A total of 174 patients, median age 59.5 years (interquartile range [IQR], 53-65 years), undergoing CTO-PCI were included. The median estimated occlusion duration was 7.5 months (IQR, 4.0-12.0 months). The lesions were classified as easy (score = 0), intermediate (score = 1), difficult (score = 2), and very difficult (score ≥3) in 51.1%, 33.9%, 9.2%, and 5.7% of the patients, respectively. Failure rate significantly increased with higher J-CTO score (7.9%, 20.3%, 50.0%, and 70.0% in groups with J-CTO scores of 0, 1, 2, and ≥3, respectively; PJ-CTO score predicted failure of CTO-PCI independently of the estimated occlusion duration (P=.24). Areas under receiver-operating characteristic curves were computed and it was observed that for each occlusion time period, the discriminatory capacity of the J-CTO score in predicting CTO-PCI failure was good, with a C-statistic >0.70. The estimated duration of occlusion had no influence on the J-CTO score performance in predicting failure of PCI in CTO lesions. The probability of failure was mainly determined by grade of lesion complexity.

Effect of relevant umklapp process on the two-leg Hubbard ladder with a half-filled band under pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haddad, S.; Bennaceur, R.

1999-01-01

By means of perturbative renormalization approach we study the effect of relevant umklapp process on dimensional crossover caused by interladder one particle hopping t bot in weakly coupled two-leg Hubbard ladders with a half filled-band. We found that a crossover takes place at a finite value t botc which increases as the amplitude of umklapp process increases. For t bot botc the system undergoes a phase transition to the spin density wave phase (SDW) via the two particle hopping process, while for t bot >t botc the system undergoes a crossover to the two dimensional Fermi liquid phase via one particle hopping process. (orig.)

Separate patient serum sodium medians from males and females provide independent information on analytical bias

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Steen Ingemann; Petersen, Per Hyltoft; Lund, Flemming

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: During monitoring of monthly medians of results from patients undertaken to assess analytical stability in routine laboratory performance, the medians for serum sodium for male and female patients were found to be significantly related. METHODS: Daily, weekly and monthly patient medians...... all instruments. CONCLUSIONS: The tight relationship between the gender medians for serum sodium is only possible when raw laboratory data are used for calculation. The two patient medians can be used to confirm both and are useful as independent estimates of analytical bias during constant...... calibration periods. In contrast to the gender combined median, the estimate of analytical bias can be confirmed further by calculation of the ratios of medians for males and females....

A GPU-Based Genetic Algorithm for the P-Median Problem

OpenAIRE

AlBdaiwi, Bader F.; AboElFotoh, Hosam M. F.

2016-01-01

The p-median problem is a well-known NP-hard problem. Many heuristics have been proposed in the literature for this problem. In this paper, we exploit a GPGPU parallel computing platform to present a new genetic algorithm implemented in Cuda and based on a Pseudo Boolean formulation of the p-median problem. We have tested the effectiveness of our algorithm using a Tesla K40 (2880 Cuda cores) on 290 different benchmark instances obtained from OR-Library, discrete location problems benchmark li...

Quantification of Bone Marrow Involvement in Treated Gaucher Disease With Proton MR Spectroscopy: Correlation With Bone Marrow MRI Scores and Clinical Status.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaramillo, Diego; Bedoya, Maria A; Wang, Dah-Jyuu; Pena, Andres H; Delgado, Jorge; Jaimes, Camilo; Ho-Fung, Victor; Kaplan, Paige

2015-06-01

The objective of our study was to use proton MR spectroscopy (MRS) to quantitatively evaluate bone marrow infiltration by measuring the fat fraction (FF) and to compare the FF with semiquantitative bone marrow MRI scores and clinical status in children treated for type 1 Gaucher disease (GD). Over a 2-year period, we prospectively evaluated 10 treated GD patients (six males, four females; median age, 15.1 years) and 10 healthy age-matched control subjects (five males, five females; median age, 15.3 years) using 3-T proton MRS of L5 and the femoral neck. Water and lipid AUCs were measured to calculate the FF. Two blinded pediatric musculoskeletal radiologists performed a semiquantitative analysis of the conventional MR images using the bone marrow burden score and modified Spanish MRI score. We evaluated symptoms, spleen and liver volumes, platelet levels, hemoglobin levels, and bone complications. In the femur, the FF was higher in the control subjects (median, 0.71) than the GD patients (0.54) (p = 0.02). In L5, the difference in FF--higher FF in control subjects (0.37) than in GD patients (0.26)--was not significant (p = 0.16). In both groups and both regions, the FF increased with patient age (p 0.11). Eight of 10 GD patients were asymptomatic and two had chronic bone pain. The median age of patients at symptom onset was 4.0 years, the median age of patients at the initiation of enzyme replacement therapy was 4.3 years, and the median treatment duration was 10.2 years. Hemoglobin level, platelet count, and liver volume at MRI were normal. Mean pretreatment spleen volume (15.4-fold above normal) decreased to 2.8-fold above normal at the time of MRI (p = 0.01). Proton MRS detected FF differences that were undetectable using conventional MRI; for that reason, proton MRS can be used to optimize treatment of GD patients.

MR score system on spatium perilymphaticum gadolinium opacification and its application for diagnosis of Meniere's disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fang Zheming; Liu Ying; Cao Dairong; Chen Xi

2012-01-01

Objective: To propose a MR scoring methods for spatium perilymphaticum gadolinium opacification and explore the value of their diagnosis of Meniere's disease. Methods: Fifty-one asymptomatic and 65 symptomatic patients with Meniere's disease were enrolled in this study. MR imaging of spatium perilymphaticum after intratypanic gadolinium injection were analyzed with following scoring method. (1) Semicircular canal not visualized equal to score 0; some visualized equal score 1; full visualized equal score 2.(2)There were high-signal and low-signal in the vestibule, low-signal areas above the lateral semicircular canal plane equal score 6; low signal areas down to lateral semicircular canal plane equal score 3; no higher signal in the vestibule area equal score 0. (3) Basal turn of cochlea: full visualized equal score 3; part visualized equal score 2; scala vestibule of basal turn smaller than scala tympani equal score 1 regardless of full or visualized in basal turn; no visualized equal score 0. Medial turn of cochlea: full visualized equal score 2; part visualized equal score 1; no visualized equal score 0. Apical turn of cochlea: visualized equal score 1; no visualized equal score 0. One radiologist scored all cases with double blind. SPSS 17.0 software was used to conduct multiple independent-samples nonparametric tests, multivariate Logistic regression, and ROC curve analysis. Evaluate the sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of Meniere's disease with the scoring system. Results: (1) Meniere's disease summation score 0 to 12, median 9 (quarter spacing 4.5); no symptoms group summation score 15 to 18,median 17 (quarter spacing 3), two group differences has statistics significance (Wilcoxon rank and inspection U=-9.118, P=0.00). (2) Based on summation score for the diagnosis of Meniere's disease, tangent point was 14.5, Youden index 0.969, specificity 100.0%, sensitivity 96.9%.(3) Let cochlear, vestibular, semicircular canal scoring

Median nerve fascicular anatomy as a basis for distal neural prostheses.

Science.gov (United States)

Planitzer, Uwe; Steinke, Hanno; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Bechmann, Ingo; Hammer, Niels; Winkler, Dirk

2014-05-01

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) serves as a possible therapy to restore missing motor functions of peripheral nerves by means of cuff electrodes. FES is established for improving lower limb function. Transferring this method to the upper extremity is complex, due to a lack of anatomical data on the physiological configuration of nerve fascicles. Our study's aim was to provide an anatomical basis for FES of the median nerve in the distal forearm and hand. We investigated 21 distal median nerves from 12 body donors. The peripheral fascicles were traced back by removing the external and interfascicular epineurium and then assigned to 4 quadrants. A distinct motor and sensory distribution was observed. The fascicles innervating the thenar eminence and the first lumbrical muscle originated from the nerves' radial parts in 82%. The fascicle supplying the second lumbrical muscle originated from the ulnar side in 78%. No macroscopically visible plexus formation was observed for the distal median nerve in the forearm. The findings on the distribution of the motor branches of the median nerve and the missing plexus formation may likely serve as an anatomical basis for FES of the distal forearm. However, due to the considerable variability of the motor branches, cuff electrodes will need to be adapted individually in FES. Taking into account the sensory distribution of the median nerve, FES may also possibly be applied in the treatment of regional pain syndromes. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Variant palmaris profundus enclosed by an unusual loop of the median nerve

Science.gov (United States)

CHOU, HSIU-CHU; JENG, HELLEN; KO, TSUI-LING; PAI, MAN-HUI; CHANG, CHIU-YUN; WU, CHING-HSIANG

2001-01-01

According to the usual description in most anatomy texts, the median nerve in the forearm passes between the 2 heads of pronator teres. It continues distally between flexor digitorum superficialis and profundus almost to the retinaculum. Muscular branches leave the nerve near the elbow and supply all superficial muscles of the anterior part of the forearm except flexor carpi ulnaris. Many variations of the median nerve in the forearm have been reported (Urban & Krosman, 1992). The palmaris profundus is also a rare anomaly of the forearm (Dyreby & Engber, 1982). It originates from the radial side of the common flexor tendon in the proximal forearm and inserts into the undersurface of the palmar aponeurosis. The origin of palmaris profundus may be close to the median nerve and its branches, and may be involved in compressive neuropathy of the anterior interosseous nerve. Its tendon crossing through the carpal canal has been implicated in the carpal tunnel syndrome (reviewed by Lahey & Aulicino, 1986). In some cases, palmaris profundus was found enclosed in a common fascial sheath with the median nerve (Stark, 1992; Sahinoglu et al. 1994). To indicate its close association with the median nerve, the palmaris profundus was also named ‘musculus comitans nervi mediani’ (Sahinoglu et al. 1994). This article reports an unusual loop of the median nerve encircling an anomalous palmaris profundus in the forearm, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been previously described. PMID:11693311

Social Security: a financial appraisal for the median voter.

Science.gov (United States)

Galasso, V

Several explanations have been proposed for why voters continue to support unfunded social security systems. Browning (1975) suggests that the extremely large unfunded pension systems of most democracies depend on the existence of a voting majority composed of middle-aged and older people who fail to fully internalize the cost of financing the system. In fact, when voting, economically rational workers consider only their current and future contributions to the system and their expected pension benefits--not their past contributions, which they regard as sunk costs. If, for a majority of voters, the expected continuation return from social security exceeds the return from alternative assets, an unfunded social security system is politically sustainable. This article explores the validity of Browning's proposition by quantifying the returns that U.S. voters in presidential elections from 1964 to 1996 have obtained, or expect to obtain, from Social Security. Did "investments" in Social Security outperform alternative forms of investment, such as mutual funds or pension funds, for a majority of the voters? What can be expected for the future? The U.S. Social Security system redistributes income within age cohorts on the basis of sex, income, and marital status. To account for some of these features, the median voter is represented by a family unit whose members--a husband who accounts for 70 percent of household earnings and a wife who accounts for 30 percent--make joint economic and voting decisions. Thus, retirement and survival benefits paid out to the spouse of an insured worker can be included in the calculation of Social Security returns. Interval estimates of voters' family incomes from the U.S. Census Bureau were used to obtain the median voter's household earnings. The median voter's age is derived from the ages of those who voted in presidential elections, not from the ages of the entire electorate. The median voter's contributions to Social Security are the

Prognostic score in patients with recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the head and neck treated with cetuximab and chemotherapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teresa Magnes

Full Text Available Despite modern treatment approaches, survival of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN remains low and it is difficult to identify patients who derive optimal benefit from treatment. We therefore analyzed which commonly available laboratory and clinical parameters may help improve the prognostication in this patient group. This retrospective monocenter analysis includes 128 patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN treated with cetuximab alone or in combination with polychemotherapy as first line therapy. Factors with independent prognostic power in the multivariate analysis were used to build up a score separating patient groups with different survival. Patients had a median age of 61 years and 103 patients were treated with polychemotherapy plus cetuximab. An ECOG score above 1, high CRP and leukocyte levels, less intensive treatment and a time below 12 months from primary diagnosis to relapse remained as independent negative prognostic factors in multivariate analysis. Patients with 0 to 1 risk factors had a median OS of 13.6 months compared to a median OS of less than one month for patients 4 to 5 risk factors (p<0.001. This study identifies 5 clinical and serum values that influence survival of patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN treated with cetuximab. By combining these factors to create a score for OS, it is possible to distinguish a group of patients with significantly improved survival and define those most likely to have no benefit from cetuximab treatment.

Reference Values for the Marx Activity Rating Scale in a Young Athletic Population: History of Knee Ligament Injury Is Associated With Higher Scores.

Science.gov (United States)

Cameron, Kenneth L; Peck, Karen Y; Thompson, Brandon S; Svoboda, Steven J; Owens, Brett D; Marshall, Stephen W

2015-01-01

Activity-related patient-reported outcome measures are an important component of assessment after knee ligament injury in young and physically active patients; however, normative data for most activity scales are limited. To present reference values by sex for the Marx Activity Rating Scale (MARS) within a young and physically active population while accounting for knee ligament injury history and sex. Cross-sectional study. Level 2. All incoming freshman entering a US Service Academy in June of 2011 were recruited to participate in this study. MARS was administered to 1169 incoming freshmen (203 women) who consented to participate within the first week of matriculation. All subjects were deemed healthy and medically fit for military service on admission. Subjects also completed a baseline questionnaire that asked for basic demographic information and injury history. We calculated means with standard deviations, medians with interquartile ranges, and percentiles for ordinal and continuous variables, and frequencies and proportions for dichotomous variables. We also compared median scores by sex and history of knee ligament injury using the Kruskal-Wallis test. MARS was the primary outcome of interest. The median MARS score was significantly higher for men when compared with women (χ(2) = 13.22, df = 1, P MARS scores between men and women (χ(2) = 0.47, df = 1, P = 0.493) who reported a history of injury. Overall, median MARS scores were significantly higher among those who reported a history of knee ligament injury when compared with those who did not (χ(2) = 9.06, df = 1, P = 0.003). Assessing activity as a patient-reported outcome after knee ligament injury is important, and reference values for these instruments need to account for the influence of prior injury and sex. © 2015 The Author(s).

The Median Solution of the Newsvendor Problem and Some Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinha Pritibhushan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We consider the median solution of the Newsvendor Problem. Some properties of such a solution are shown through a theoretical analysis and a numerical experiment. Sometimes, though not often, median solution may be better than solutions maximizing expected profit, or maximizing minimum possible, over distribution with the same average and standard deviation, expected profit, according to some criteria. We discuss the practical suitability of the objective function set and the solution derived, for the Newsvendor Problem, and other such random optimization problems.

Assessment of lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis using hyperpolarized 3-Helium MRI: comparison with Shwachman score, Chrispin-Norman score and spirometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beek, Edwin J.R. van; Hill, Catherine; Woodhouse, Neil; Fichele, Stanislao; Fleming, Sally; Wild, Jim M.; Howe, Bridget; Bott, Sandra; Taylor, Christopher J.

2007-01-01

This study assesses the feasibility of hyperpolarized 3-Helium MRI in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and correlates the findings with standard clinical parameters based on chest radiograph (CXR) and pulmonary function tests (PFT). An uncontrolled, observational study in eighteen children with cystic fibrosis aged 5 - 17 years (median 12.1 years), with different severity of disease was carried out. All subjects underwent routine clinical assessment including PFT and standard auxology; CXR was obtained and Shwachman and Chrispin-Norman scores calculated. Hyperpolarized 3-He magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was carried out using a spin-exchange polarizer and a whole body 1.5 T scanner. Ventilation distribution images were obtained during a 21-second breath-hold and scored according to previously defined criteria. Spearman's non-parametric correlations test was performed to assess for statistical significance at the p<0.05 level. The children tolerated the procedure well. No desaturation events were observed during 3-He MRI. A significant, albeit moderate, correlation was found between MRI score and FEV1% predicted (r=-0.41; p=0.047) and FVC% predicted (r=-0.42; p=0.04), while there were trends of correlations between Shwachman score and MRI score (r=-0.38; p=0.06) and Shwachman score and FEV1% predicted (r=0.39; p=0.055). The feasibility of hyperpolarized 3-He MRI in children with CF was demonstrated. MRI appears to be able to demonstrate functional lung changes, although correlations with routine clinical tests are only moderate to poor. This non-ionising radiation technique could be useful for monitoring lung disease and assessing therapy in this patient population. (orig.)

Assessment of lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis using hyperpolarized 3-Helium MRI: comparison with Shwachman score, Chrispin-Norman score and spirometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beek, Edwin J.R. van [University of Sheffield, Unit of Academic Radiology, Sheffield (United Kingdom); University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City (United States); University of Iowa, Department of Radiology, Iowa City, IA (United States); Hill, Catherine; Woodhouse, Neil; Fichele, Stanislao; Fleming, Sally; Wild, Jim M. [University of Sheffield, Unit of Academic Radiology, Sheffield (United Kingdom); Howe, Bridget; Bott, Sandra; Taylor, Christopher J. [University of Sheffield, Academic Unit of Child Health, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

2007-04-15

This study assesses the feasibility of hyperpolarized 3-Helium MRI in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and correlates the findings with standard clinical parameters based on chest radiograph (CXR) and pulmonary function tests (PFT). An uncontrolled, observational study in eighteen children with cystic fibrosis aged 5 - 17 years (median 12.1 years), with different severity of disease was carried out. All subjects underwent routine clinical assessment including PFT and standard auxology; CXR was obtained and Shwachman and Chrispin-Norman scores calculated. Hyperpolarized 3-He magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was carried out using a spin-exchange polarizer and a whole body 1.5 T scanner. Ventilation distribution images were obtained during a 21-second breath-hold and scored according to previously defined criteria. Spearman's non-parametric correlations test was performed to assess for statistical significance at the p<0.05 level. The children tolerated the procedure well. No desaturation events were observed during 3-He MRI. A significant, albeit moderate, correlation was found between MRI score and FEV1% predicted (r=-0.41; p=0.047) and FVC% predicted (r=-0.42; p=0.04), while there were trends of correlations between Shwachman score and MRI score (r=-0.38; p=0.06) and Shwachman score and FEV1% predicted (r=0.39; p=0.055). The feasibility of hyperpolarized 3-He MRI in children with CF was demonstrated. MRI appears to be able to demonstrate functional lung changes, although correlations with routine clinical tests are only moderate to poor. This non-ionising radiation technique could be useful for monitoring lung disease and assessing therapy in this patient population. (orig.)

Generation and validation of a prognostic score to predict outcome after re-irradiation of recurrent glioma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Combs, Stephanie E.; Welzel, Thomas; Debus, Juergen [Univ. Hospital of Heidelberg, Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg (Germany)], E-mail: Stephanie.combs@med.uni-heidelberg.de; Edler, Lutz; Rausch, Renate [German Cancer Research Center (dkfz), Dept. of Biostatistics, Heidelberg (Germany); Wick, Wolfgang [Univ. Hospital of Heidelberg, Dept. of Neurooncology, Heidelberg (Germany)

2013-01-15

Re-irradiation using high-precision radiation techniques has been established within the clinical routine for patients with recurrent gliomas. In the present work, we developed a practical prognostic score to predict survival outcome after re-irradiation. Patients and methods. Fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) was applied in 233 patients. Primary histology included glioblastoma (n = 89; 38%), WHO Grade III gliomas (n = 52; 22%) and low-grade glioma (n = 92; 40%). FSRT was applied with a median dose of 36 Gy in 2 Gy single fractions. We evaluated survival after re-irradiation as well as progression-free survival after re-irradiation; prognostic factors analyzed included age, tumor volume at re-irradiation, histology, time between initial radiotherapy and re-irradiation, age and Karnofsky Performance Score. Results. Median survival after FSRT was 8 months for glioblastoma, 20 months for anaplastic gliomas, and 24 months for recurrent low-grade patients. The strongest prognostic factors significantly impacting survival after re-irradiation were histology (p <0.0001) and age (<50 vs. ={>=}50, p < 0.0001) at diagnosis and the time between initial radiotherapy and re-irradiation {<=}12 vs. >12 months (p < 0.0001). We generated a four-class prognostic score to distinguish patients with excellent (0 points), good (1 point), moderate (2 points) and poor (3-4 points) survival after re-irradiation. The difference in outcome was highly significant (p < 0.0001). Conclusion. We generated a practical prognostic score index based on three clinically relevant factors to predict the benefit of patients from re-irradiation. This score index can be helpful in patient counseling, and for the design of further clinical trials. However, individual treatment decisions may include other patient-related factors not directly influencing outcome.

Myofibroma in the Palm Presenting with Median Nerve Compression Symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heidi Sarkozy, PA-C, BS

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Summary: A myofibroma is a benign proliferation of myofibroblasts in the connective tissue. Solitary myofibromas are a rare finding especially in an adult. We report a case of a 23-year-old man presenting with an enlarging mass over his right palm. The patient is an active weight lifter. He reported numbness and tingling in the median nerve distribution. Nerve conduction studies and magnetic resonance imaging scans suggested a tumor involving or compressing the median nerve. The final diagnosis of myofibroma was made only after the histopathological diagnosis.

Resonant two-photon absorption and electromagnetically induced transparency in open ladder-type atomic system.

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Han Seb; Noh, Heung-Ryoul

2013-03-25

We have experimentally and theoretically studied resonant two-photon absorption (TPA) and electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in the open ladder-type atomic system of the 5S(1/2) (F = 1)-5P(3/2) (F' = 0, 1, 2)-5D(5/2) (F″ = 1, 2, 3) transitions in (87)Rb atoms. As the coupling laser intensity was increased, the resonant TPA was transformed to EIT for the 5S(1/2) (F = 1)-5P(3/2) (F' = 2)-5D(5/2) (F″ = 3) transition. The transformation of resonant TPA into EIT was numerically calculated for various coupling laser intensities, considering all the degenerate magnetic sublevels of the 5S(1/2)-5P(3/2)-5D(5/2) transition. From the numerical results, the crossover from TPA to EIT could be understood by the decomposition of the spectrum into an EIT component owing to the pure two-photon coherence and a TPA component caused by the mixed term.

Ranking Exponential Trapezoidal Fuzzy Numbers by Median Value

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Rezvani

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we want represented a method for ranking of two exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. A median value is proposed for the ranking of exponential trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. For the validation the results of the proposed approach are compared with different existing approaches.

A prospective observational study comparing a physiological scoring system with time-based discharge criteria in pediatric ambulatory surgical patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, James; Forrest, Helen; Crawford, Mark W

2015-10-01

Discharge criteria based on physiological scoring systems can be used in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU) to fast-track patients after ambulatory surgery; however, studies comparing physiological scoring systems with traditional time-based discharge criteria are lacking. The purpose of this study was to compare PACU discharge readiness times using physiological vs time-based discharge criteria in pediatric ambulatory surgical patients. We recorded physiological observations from consecutive American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-III patients aged 1-18 yr who were admitted to the PACU after undergoing ambulatory surgery in a tertiary academic pediatric hospital. The physiological score was a combination of the Aldrete and Chung systems. Scores were recorded every 15 min starting upon arrival in the PACU. Patients were considered fit for discharge once they attained a score ≥12 (maximum score, 14), provided no score was zero, with the time to achieve a score ≥12 defining the criteria-based discharge (CBD) time. Patients were discharged from the PACU when both the CBD and the existing time-based discharge (TBD) criteria were met. The CBD and TBD data were compared using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analysis. Observations from 506 children are presented. Median (interquartile range [IQR]) age was 5.5 [2.8-9.9] yr. Median [IQR] CBD and TBD PACU discharge readiness times were 30 [15-45] min and 60 [45-60] min, respectively. Analysis of Kaplan-Meier curves indicated a significant difference in discharge times using the different criteria (hazard ratio, 5.43; 95% confidence interval, 4.51 to 6.53; P < 0.001). All patients were discharged home without incident. This prospective study suggests that discharge decisions based on physiological criteria have the potential for significantly speeding the transit of children through the PACU, thereby enhancing PACU efficiency and resource utilization.

Diffusion-weighted MR neurography of median and ulnar nerves in the wrist and palm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bao, Hongjing; Wang, Shanshan; Wang, Guangbin; Hasan, Mansoor-ul; Yao, Bin; Wu, Chao; Wu, Lebin [Shandong University, Department of MR, Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute Affiliated to Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong (China); Yang, Li [Fudan University, Department of Radiology, Shanghai Institute of Medical Imaging, Zhongshan Hospital, Shanghai (China); Zhang, Xu [Shandong Chest Hospital, Department of Radiology, Jinan, Shandong (China); Chen, Weibo; Chan, Queenie [Philips Healthcare, Shanghai (China); Chhabra, Avneesh [UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States)

2017-06-15

To investigate the feasibility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance neurography (DW-MRN) in the visualisation of extremity nerves in the wrist and palm. Thirty-two volunteers and 21 patients underwent imaging of the wrist and palm on a 3-T MR scanner. In all subjects, two radiologists evaluated the image quality on DW-MRN using a four-point grading scale. Kappa statistics were obtained for inter-observer performance. In volunteers, the chi-squared test was used to assess the differences in nerve visualisation on DW-MRN and axial fat-suppressed proton density weighted imaging (FS-PDWI). In volunteers, the mean image quality scores for the median nerve (MN) and ulnar nerve (UN) were 3.71 ± 0.46 and 3.23 ± 0.67 for observer 1, and 3.70 ± 0.46 and 3.22 ± 0.71 for observer 2, respectively. The inter-observer agreement was excellent (k = 0.843) and good (k = 0.788), respectively. DW-MRN provided significantly improved visualisations of the second and the third common palmar digital nerves and three branches of UN compared with FS-PDWI (P < 0.05). In patients, the mean image quality scores for the two observers were 3.24 ± 0.62 and 3.10 ± 0.83, inter-observer performance was excellent (k = 0.842). DW-MRN is feasible for improved visualisation of extremity nerves and their lesions in the wrist and palm with adequate image quality, thereby providing a supplementary method to conventional MR imaging. (orig.)

Diffusion-weighted MR neurography of median and ulnar nerves in the wrist and palm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bao, Hongjing; Wang, Shanshan; Wang, Guangbin; Hasan, Mansoor-ul; Yao, Bin; Wu, Chao; Wu, Lebin; Yang, Li; Zhang, Xu; Chen, Weibo; Chan, Queenie; Chhabra, Avneesh

2017-01-01

To investigate the feasibility of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance neurography (DW-MRN) in the visualisation of extremity nerves in the wrist and palm. Thirty-two volunteers and 21 patients underwent imaging of the wrist and palm on a 3-T MR scanner. In all subjects, two radiologists evaluated the image quality on DW-MRN using a four-point grading scale. Kappa statistics were obtained for inter-observer performance. In volunteers, the chi-squared test was used to assess the differences in nerve visualisation on DW-MRN and axial fat-suppressed proton density weighted imaging (FS-PDWI). In volunteers, the mean image quality scores for the median nerve (MN) and ulnar nerve (UN) were 3.71 ± 0.46 and 3.23 ± 0.67 for observer 1, and 3.70 ± 0.46 and 3.22 ± 0.71 for observer 2, respectively. The inter-observer agreement was excellent (k = 0.843) and good (k = 0.788), respectively. DW-MRN provided significantly improved visualisations of the second and the third common palmar digital nerves and three branches of UN compared with FS-PDWI (P < 0.05). In patients, the mean image quality scores for the two observers were 3.24 ± 0.62 and 3.10 ± 0.83, inter-observer performance was excellent (k = 0.842). DW-MRN is feasible for improved visualisation of extremity nerves and their lesions in the wrist and palm with adequate image quality, thereby providing a supplementary method to conventional MR imaging. (orig.)

Risk prediction is improved by adding markers of subclinical organ damage to SCORE

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sehestedt, Thomas; Jeppesen, Jørgen; Hansen, Tine W

2010-01-01

cardiovascular, anti-diabetic, or lipid-lowering treatment, aged 41, 51, 61, or 71 years, we measured traditional cardiovascular risk factors, left ventricular (LV) mass index, atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid arteries, carotid/femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV), and urine albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR......) and followed them for a median of 12.8 years. Eighty-one subjects died because of cardiovascular causes. Risk of cardiovascular death was independently of SCORE associated with LV hypertrophy [hazard ratio (HR) 2.2 (95% CI 1.2-4.0)], plaques [HR 2.5 (1.6-4.0)], UACR > or = 90th percentile [HR 3.3 (1.......07). CONCLUSION: Subclinical organ damage predicted cardiovascular death independently of SCORE and the combination may improve risk prediction....

Quantum phase transitions in effective spin-ladder models for graphene zigzag nanoribbons

Science.gov (United States)

Koop, Cornelie; Wessel, Stefan

2017-10-01

We examine the magnetic correlations in quantum spin models that were derived recently as effective low-energy theories for electronic correlation effects on the edge states of graphene nanoribbons. For this purpose, we employ quantum Monte Carlo simulations to access the large-distance properties, accounting for quantum fluctuations beyond mean-field-theory approaches to edge magnetism. For certain chiral nanoribbons, antiferromagnetic interedge couplings were previously found to induce a gapped quantum disordered ground state of the effective spin model. We find that the extended nature of the intraedge couplings in the effective spin model for zigzag nanoribbons leads to a quantum phase transition at a large, finite value of the interedge coupling. This quantum critical point separates the quantum disordered region from a gapless phase of stable edge magnetism at weak intraedge coupling, which includes the ground states of spin-ladder models for wide zigzag nanoribbons. To study the quantum critical behavior, the effective spin model can be related to a model of two antiferromagnetically coupled Haldane-Shastry spin-half chains with long-ranged ferromagnetic intrachain couplings. The results for the critical exponents are compared also to several recent renormalization-group calculations for related long-ranged interacting quantum systems.

A one-dimensional ladder-like coordination polymer: poly[[hexa-aqua-bis(μ-5-nitro-benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl-ato-κO,O',O'')(μ-oxalato-κO,O':O'',O''')diyttrium(III)] trihydrate].

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Zhong; Lin, Ying; Zhou, Yun-You; Zhang, Hong-Tao

2007-12-06

In the crystal structure of the title one-dimensional coordination polymer, [Y(2)(C(8)H(3)NO(6))(2)(C(2)O(4))(H(2)O)(6)]·3H(2)O, each Y(III) ion is bridged to its neighbours by two 5-nitro-benzene-1,3-dicarboxyl-ate (nbdc) dianions and one oxalate dianion (located on an inversion centre) to form a ladder-like polymeric structure. The two carboxylate groups of nbdc assume different modes of coordination, one is chelating whereas the other is monodentate. Three water mol-ecules coordinate to the Y(III) ion to complete an eight-coordinate distorted dodecahedral geometry. The ladder-like polymers are assembled together by hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking [centrio-centriod distance = 3.819 (9) Å] in the crystal structure.

Bayesian median regression for temporal gene expression data

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Keming; Vinciotti, Veronica; Liu, Xiaohui; 't Hoen, Peter A. C.

2007-09-01

Most of the existing methods for the identification of biologically interesting genes in a temporal expression profiling dataset do not fully exploit the temporal ordering in the dataset and are based on normality assumptions for the gene expression. In this paper, we introduce a Bayesian median regression model to detect genes whose temporal profile is significantly different across a number of biological conditions. The regression model is defined by a polynomial function where both time and condition effects as well as interactions between the two are included. MCMC-based inference returns the posterior distribution of the polynomial coefficients. From this a simple Bayes factor test is proposed to test for significance. The estimation of the median rather than the mean, and within a Bayesian framework, increases the robustness of the method compared to a Hotelling T2-test previously suggested. This is shown on simulated data and on muscular dystrophy gene expression data.

Fully frustrated Josephson junction ladders with Mobius boundary conditions as topologically protected qubits

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cristofano, Gerardo; Marotta, Vincenzo [Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, Universita di Napoli ' Federico II' and INFN, Sezione di Napoli, Via Cintia, Complesso Universitario M. Sant' Angelo, 80126 Napoli (Italy); Naddeo, Adele [Dipartimento di Fisica ' E.R. Caianiello' , Universita degli Studi di Salerno and CNISM, Unita di Ricerca di Salerno, Via Salvador Allende, 84081 Baronissi (Saudi Arabia) (Italy)], E-mail: naddeo@sa.infn.it; Niccoli, Giuliano [LPTM, Universite de Cergy-Pontoise, 2 avenue Adolphe Chauvin, 95302 Cergy-Pontoise (France)

2008-03-31

We show how to realize a 'protected' qubit by using a fully frustrated Josephson junction ladder (JJL) with Mobius boundary conditions. Such a system has been recently studied within a twisted conformal field theory (CFT) approach [G. Cristofano, G. Maiella, V. Marotta, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 15 (2000) 1679; G. Cristofano, G. Maiella, V. Marotta, G. Niccoli, Nucl. Phys. B 641 (2002) 547] and shown to develop the phenomenon of flux fractionalization [G. Cristofano, V. Marotta, A. Naddeo, G. Niccoli, Eur. Phys. J. B 49 (2006) 83]. The relevance of a 'closed' geometry has been fully exploited in relating the topological properties of the ground state of the system to the presence of half flux quanta and the emergence of a topological order has been predicted [G. Cristofano, V. Marotta, A. Naddeo, J. Stat. Mech.: Theory Exp. (2005) P03006]. In this Letter the stability and transformation properties of the ground states under adiabatic magnetic flux change are analyzed and the deep consequences on the realization of a solid state qubit, protected from decoherence, are presented.

Biological markers in Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis and carcinoma: the value of a scoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mourad, Walid A.; El-Husseiny, Gamal; Shoukri, Mohamed; Rezeig, Mohamed; Chianzentonieu, N.; Amin, Tarek

2004-01-01

Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis has been linked to the pathogenesis of gastric adenocarcinoma (GA), especially when assciated with intestinal metaplasia (IM) and atypia/dysplasia (A/D). We examined p53 expression, ploidy and proliferative activity and assessed H.pylori infection in relationship to IM and A/Din case of gastritis not associated with GA and in cases of GA. We examined 53 gastric biopsies from patients with gastritis not associated with GA, including patients with IM and/or A/D (n=35) and with gastritis associated with IM and/or A/D (n=21). Thirty-six distal gastrectomy specimens from patients with GA constituted a third group of patients. A scoring system that encompassed the presence or absence of H.Pylori, degree of gastritis, IM and/or A/D, p53, MIB-1prolefarative index (MPI) and ploidy was estimated in the cases of gastritis and in cancer associated mucosa (CAM) and the adenocarcinoma from patients withGA. Patients with GA had a higher median age than those with gastritis without IM and more were males (ratio 2.2:1). H.pylori was detected in 75% (40/53) of gastritis specimen and in 55% (20/36) of GA cases. There was a statistically significant difference between the incidence of gastritis without IM and/or A/D and CAM (p=0.01). p53 expression was seen in 67% of the cases (14/21) of gastritis with IM and/or A/D and only in 5% (2 cases ) of gastritis without IM (p=0.0005). A statistically significant difference in MPI was seen between CAM and GA (p=0.01) and gastritis without IM and/or A/D and gastritis with IM(p=0.004). Cases of gastritis without IM and/or or A/D has a median score of 8 while cases of gastritis with IM and/or A/D had a median score of 12 (p=0.0003). CAM had a median score of 13, which was significantly different than gastritis without IM and/or A/D(p=0.0003) The presence of IM and/or A/D can be used in H.pylori -associated gastritis as as starting point to further investigate high risk lesions. Those showing p53 expression

Intraneural hemangioma of the median nerve: A case report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sevinç Teoman

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Hemangiomas of the median nerve are very rare and, so far, only ten cases of intraneural hemangioma of this nerve have been reported in the literature. We present a case of 14-year-old girl who had a soft tissue mass in the region of the left wrist with signs and symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. Total removal of the mass was achieved using microsurgical epineural and interfasicular dissection. The symptoms were relieved completely, after this procedure, without any neurologic deficit. On follow-up two years later, no recurrence was observed. Whenever a child or young adult patient presents with CTS the possibility of a hemangioma involving the median nerve should be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis.

First functionality tests of a 64 × 64 pixel DSSC sensor module connected to the complete ladder readout

Science.gov (United States)

Donato, M.; Hansen, K.; Kalavakuru, P.; Kirchgessner, M.; Kuster, M.; Porro, M.; Reckleben, C.; Turcato, M.

2017-03-01

The European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL.EU) will provide every 0.1 s a train of 2700 spatially coherent ultrashort X-ray pulses at 4.5 MHz repetition rate. The Small Quantum Systems (SQS) instrument and the Spectroscopy and Coherent Scattering instrument (SCS) operate with soft X-rays between 0.5 keV-6 keV. The DEPFET Sensor with Signal Compression (DSSC) detector is being developed to meet the requirements set by these two XFEL.EU instruments. The DSSC imager is a 1 mega-pixel camera able to store up to 800 single-pulse images per train. The so-called ladder is the basic unit of the DSSC detector. It is the single unit out of sixteen identical-units composing the DSSC-megapixel camera, containing all representative electronic components of the full-size system and allows testing the full electronic chain. Each DSSC ladder has a focal plane sensor with 128× 512 pixels. The read-out ASIC provides full-parallel readout of the sensor pixels. Every read-out channel contains an amplifier and an analog filter, an up-to 9 bit ADC and the digital memory. The ASIC amplifier have a double front-end to allow one to use either DEPFET sensors or Mini-SDD sensors. In the first case, the signal compression is a characteristic intrinsic of the sensor; in the second case, the compression is implemented at the first amplification stage. The goal of signal compression is to meet the requirement of single-photon detection capability and wide dynamic range. We present the first results of measurements obtained using a 64× 64 pixel DEPFET sensor attached to the full final electronic and data-acquisition chain.

Relationship between visual prostate score (VPSS and maximum flow rate (Qmax in men with urinary tract symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mazhar A. Memon

2016-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate correlation between visual prostate score (VPSS and maximum flow rate (Qmax in men with lower urinary tract symptoms. Material and Methods: This is a cross sectional study conducted at a university Hospital. Sixty-seven adult male patients>50 years of age were enrolled in the study after signing an informed consent. Qmax and voided volume recorded at uroflowmetry graph and at the same time VPSS were assessed. The education level was assessed in various defined groups. Pearson correlation coefficient was computed for VPSS and Qmax. Results: Mean age was 66.1±10.1 years (median 68. The mean voided volume on uroflowmetry was 268±160mL (median 208 and the mean Qmax was 9.6±4.96mLs/sec (median 9.0. The mean VPSS score was 11.4±2.72 (11.0. In the univariate linear regression analysis there was strong negative (Pearson's correlation between VPSS and Qmax (r=848, p<0.001. In the multiple linear regression analyses there was a significant correlation between VPSS and Qmax (β-http://www.blogapaixonadosporviagens.com.br/p/caribe.html after adjusting the effect of age, voided volume (V.V and level of education. Multiple linear regression analysis done for independent variables and results showed that there was no significant correlation between the VPSS and independent factors including age (p=0.27, LOE (p=0.941 and V.V (p=0.082. Conclusion: There is a significant negative correlation between VPSS and Qmax. The VPSS can be used in lieu of IPSS score. Men even with limited educational background can complete VPSS without assistance.

Ocular Motor Score (OMS): a clinical tool to evaluating ocular motor functions in children. Intrarater and inter-rater agreement.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsson, Monica; Teär Fahnehjelm, Kristina; Rydberg, Agneta; Ygge, Jan

2015-08-01

Ocular motor score (OMS) is a new clinical test protocol for evaluating ocular motor functions in children and young adults. OMS is a set of 15 important and relevant non-invasive ocular motor function parameters derived from clinical practice. The aim of the study was to evaluate OMS according to intrarater and inter-rater agreement. Forty children aged 4-10 years, 23 girls median age 6.5 (range 4.3-9.3) and 17 boys median age 5.8 (range 4.1-9.8) were included. The ocular motor functions were assessed and scored according to the OMS protocol. The examinations were videotaped. To obtain the intrarater agreement, the first author examined and scored the children twice, first in the clinic and 2 weeks later by watching the videotape. To obtain the inter-rater agreement, three other raters independently scored the ocular motor function of the children by watching the videotapes. The overall observed intrarater agreement was 88%, and the observed inter-rater agreement between the three raters was 80%. For none of the subtests was there an observed intrarater agreement lower than 65%. Three of the subtests had an observed inter-rater agreement of 65% or below. Overall there was high observed intra- and inter-rater agreement for the OMS test protocol. Subtests such as saccades and smooth pursuit were more difficult for raters to score similarly according the clinical OMS test protocol. © 2015 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Brain malformation in single median maxillary central incisor

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjaer, I; Wagner, Aa; Thomsen, L L

2009-01-01

Clinical and radiographic examinations and MR scan of a 12-year-old girl with SMMCI (single median maxillary central incisor) showed impaired growth and a midline defect involving the central incisor, cranium and the midline structures in the brain, falx cerebri and pituitary gland. She had a sev...

Predictive values of D-dimer assay, GRACE scores and TIMI scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Satilmisoglu MH

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Muhammet Hulusi Satilmisoglu,1 Sinem Ozbay Ozyilmaz,1 Mehmet Gul,1 Hayriye Ak Yildirim,2 Osman Kayapinar,3 Kadir Gokturk,4 Huseyin Aksu,1 Korhan Erkanli,5 Abdurrahman Eksik1 1Department of Cardiology, 2Department of Biochemistry, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, 3Department of Cardiology, Duzce University Faculty of Medicine, Duzce, 4Department of Infectious Diseases, 5Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Mehmet Akif Ersoy Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Training and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Purpose: To determine the predictive values of D-dimer assay, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI risk scores for adverse outcome in patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI.Patients and methods: A total of 234 patients (mean age: 57.2±11.7 years, 75.2% were males hospitalized with NSTEMI were included. Data on D-dimer assay, GRACE and TIMI risk scores were recorded. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the risk factors predicting increased mortality.Results: Median D-dimer levels were 349.5 (48.0–7,210.0 ng/mL, the average TIMI score was 3.2±1.2 and the GRACE score was 90.4±27.6 with high GRACE scores (>118 in 17.5% of patients. The GRACE score was correlated positively with both the D-dimer assay (r=0.215, P=0.01 and TIMI scores (r=0.504, P=0.000. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that higher creatinine levels (odds ratio =18.465, 95% confidence interval: 1.059–322.084, P=0.046 constituted the only significant predictor of increased mortality risk with no predictive values for age, D-dimer assay, ejection fraction, glucose, hemoglobin A1c, sodium, albumin or total cholesterol levels for mortality.Conclusion: Serum creatinine levels constituted the sole independent determinant of mortality risk, with no significant values for D

Ladder Structures and Magnetic Surveys: New Insights into the Near Surface, Three-Dimensional Shape and Orientation of Plutonic Structures in the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite, Yosemite National Park, California

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, J. D.

2017-12-01

The study of pluton emplacement and growth history offers a window into the evolution of the continental crust. Plutons, however, are often largely homogeneous in outcrop, lacking reliable structural markers for tracking their emplacement and growth through time. The ladder structures exposed on the glacially polished surfaces of the Tuolumne Intrusive Suite (TIS) in Yosemite National Park, California are an exception. Ladder structures (LS) are eye-catching concentrations of alternating mafic and felsic mineral assemblages in dominantly cresent-shaped, meter to sub-meter scale bands in outcrop that locally terminate into a mafic band forming a circular-shaped enclosure. Their geochemistry and modal mineralogy diverge sharply from host rock trends with large quantities of magnetite, titanite, and zircon in the mafic assemblages. The limited exposure of LS in outcrops has led to much debate as to their true geometries and orientations. The high concentration of magnetite in the LS is fortuitous in that it allows these features to be investigated by magnetic techniques. The preliminary results of new high resolution magnetic surveys of these LS are presented here. A grid of total magnetic intensity (TMI) was collected across the ladder structures. The TMI's were then inverted and modeled to determine the orientation of the magnetic bodies with depth using PyGMI freeware. With sufficient contrast in the magnetic susceptibility (Km) between the feature being imaged and the host rock, meter to sub-meter scale features can be resolved. The average Km of the LS mafic bands and the host rock is approximately 200-850 x10-3 and 15-20×10-3 SI units respectively. These measurements along with oriented samples were collected to determine input parameters (e.g. anisotropy and remanence) for the geocellular model used in this study.

New scoring system identifies kidney outcome with radiation therapy in acute renal allograft rejection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Luci M.; Godinez, Juan; Thisted, Ronald A.; Woodle, E. Steve; Thistlewaite, J. Richard; Powers, Claire; Haraf, Daniel

2000-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the role of radiation therapy for acute refractory renal rejection after failure of medical intervention, and to identify risk factors that influence graft survival following radiation therapy. Methods: Between June 1989 and December 1995, 53 renal transplant recipients (34 men and 19 women) were treated with localized radiation therapy for acute renal allograft rejection. Graft rejection was defined as an increase in serum creatinine with histologic evidence of rejection on renal biopsy. Ninety-one percent were cadaveric transplant recipients. The majority of patients who experienced acute graft rejection initially received corticosteroid therapy, except for 25% who were referred for radiation therapy and steroids for the first rejection. In more recent years, patients with moderate or severe steroid-resistant or recurrent rejection received OKT3, a polyclonal antilymphocyte antibody (ATGAM), tacrolimus (FK506), or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Patients who failed to respond to medical treatment were then referred for radiation therapy. Ultrasound was performed for kidney localization. Treatment consisted of a dose of 600 cGy given in 3 or 4 fractions using 6 MV photons, delivered AP or AP/PA. Results: The overall actuarial graft survival from the initiation of RT was 83% at 1 month, 60% at 1 year, and 36% at 5 years. The median follow-up from the date of transplant to the last follow-up was 22 months. The median time from the date of transplant to the initiation of radiotherapy was 3 months, and the median time from the initiation of radiotherapy to the last follow-up was 10 months. Variables evaluated were as follows: human leukocyte antigen matching on HLA-A, HLA-B, and HLA-DR, the transplant panel-reactive antibodies (PRA) at transplantation, number of acute rejection episodes, interval from the date of the transplant to the first rejection, serum creatinine levels at the time of the first radiation treatment, number of transplants, and

PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

PERBANDINGAN TRANSFORMASI BOX-COX DAN REGRESI KUANTIL MEDIAN DALAM MENGATASI HETEROSKEDASTISITAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NI WAYAN YUNI CAHYANI

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ordinary least square (OLS is a method that can be used to estimate the parameter in linear regression analysis. There are some assumption which should be satisfied on OLS, one of this assumption is homoscedasticity, that is the variance of error is constant. If variance of the error is unequal that so-called heteroscedasticity. The presence heteroscedasticity can cause estimation with OLS becomes inefficient. Therefore, heteroscedasticity shall be overcome. There are some method that can used to overcome heteroscedasticity, two among those are Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression. This research compared Box-Cox power transformation and median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity. Applied Box-Cox power transformation on OLS result ????2point are greater, smaller RMSE point and confidencen interval more narrow, therefore can be concluded that applied of Box-Cox power transformation on OLS better of median quantile regression to overcome heteroscedasticity.

Detecting phase boundaries of quantum spin-1/2 XXZ ladder via bipartite and multipartite entanglement transitions

Science.gov (United States)

Singha Roy, Sudipto; Dhar, Himadri Shekhar; Rakshit, Debraj; Sen(De), Aditi; Sen, Ujjwal

2017-12-01

Phase transition in quantum many-body systems inevitably causes changes in certain physical properties which then serve as potential indicators of critical phenomena. Besides the traditional order parameters, characterization of quantum entanglement has proven to be a computationally efficient and successful method for detection of phase boundaries, especially in one-dimensional models. Here we determine the rich phase diagram of the ground states of a quantum spin-1/2 XXZ ladder by analyzing the variation of bipartite and multipartite entanglements. Our study characterizes the different ground state phases and notes the correspondence with known results, while highlighting the finer details that emerge from the behavior of ground state entanglement. Analysis of entanglement in the ground state provides a clearer picture of the complex ground state phase diagram of the system using only a moderate-size model.

A Chinese medicine warm compress (Wen Jing Zhi Tong Fang), combined with WHO 3-step analgesic ladder treatment for cancer pain relief: A comparative randomized trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Peiling; Li, Liuning; Hong, Hongxi; Zhang, Liwen; He, Chunxia; Chai, Xiaoshu; Liu, Bai; Chen, Zhijian

2018-03-01

This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of Chinese medicine warm compress (CMWC) on back meridians in relieving cancer pain, reducing adjuvant analgesic doses and adverse reactions, and improving the quality of life (QOL). A total of 62 patients (age range 39-82 years) diagnosed with a malignant tumor and suffering from cancer-related pain were randomly divided into a treatment group (group A) and a control group (group B) (n = 31 for each). The patients in both groups were administered appropriate drugs for 2 cycles of 7-day treatments according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 3-step ladder for cancer pain relief in adults. In addition, a CMWC was given to patients in group A. Pain relief was assessed using the visual analogue scale (VAS) at various time points before and after interventions in each group. Alteration of analgesic doses, adverse reactions, performance status (PS), and QOL were evaluated and any differences between groups A and B evaluated. VAS scores at various time points after treatment were significantly decreased compared with the baseline level in group A. Overall response rate was significantly improved in group A compared with group B (70.97% vs 29.03%, P pain relief efficacy in various locations were found in group A after treatment vs before treatment (P pain with reduced doses, less adverse reactions, and improved QOL.

Ultra-wideband ladder filters using zero-th shear mode plate wave in ultrathin LiNbO3 plate with apodized interdigital transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Kadota, Michio; Tanaka, Shuji

2016-07-01

There are two kinds of plate waves propagating in a thin plate, Lamb and shear horizontal (SH) waves. The former has a velocity higher than 15,000 m/s when the plate is very thin. On the contrary, 0th SH (SH0) mode plate wave in an ultrathin LiNbO3 plate has an electro-mechanical coupling factor larger than 50%. Authors fabricated an ultra-wideband T-type ladder filter with a relative bandwidth (BW) of 41% using the SH0 mode plate wave. Although the BW of the filter fully covers the digital TV band in Japan, it does not have sufficient margin at the lower and higher end of BW. Besides, periodic small ripples due to transverse mode in pass-band of the filter were observed. In this study π-type ladder filters were fabricated by changing the pitch ratio of interdigital transducer (IDT) of parallel and series arm resonators (PR(IDT)) to control the BW, and by apodizing IDTs to improve the periodic small ripples due to transverse mode. Ultra-wideband filters without periodic small transverse mode with ultrawide bandwidth from 41 to 49% were fabricated. The BWs fully cover ultrawide digital television bands in Japan and U.S.A. These filters with an ultrawide BW and a steep characteristic show the possibility to be applied to a reported cognitive radio system and other communication systems requiring an ultrawide BW.

THE HERSCHEL COMPREHENSIVE (U)LIRG EMISSION SURVEY (HERCULES): CO LADDERS, FINE STRUCTURE LINES, AND NEUTRAL GAS COOLING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rosenberg, M. J. F.; Van der Werf, P. P.; Israel, F. P.; Meijerink, R. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Aalto, S. [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Observatory, SE-43994 Onsala (Sweden); Armus, L.; Díaz-Santos, T. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, MS 220-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Charmandaris, V. [Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, P. Penteli, 15236 Athens (Greece); Evans, A. S. [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States); Fischer, J. [Naval Research Laboratory, Remote Sensing Division, 4555 Overlook Ave SW, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Gao, Y. [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 2 West Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); González-Alfonso, E. [Departamento de Fsica y Matemáticas, Universidad de Alcalá, Campus Universitario, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Greve, T. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Harris, A. I. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Henkel, C. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 16, Bonn, D-53121 (Germany); Isaak, K. G. [Scientific Support Office, ESTEC/SRE-S, Keplerlaan 1, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk (Netherlands); Kramer, C., E-mail: rosenberg@strw.leidenuniv.nl [Instituto Radioastronomía Milimétrica (IRAM), Av. Divina Pastora 7, Nucleo Central, E-18012 Granada (Spain); and others

2015-03-10

(Ultra) luminous infrared galaxies ((U)LIRGs) are objects characterized by their extreme infrared (8-1000 μm) luminosities (L {sub LIRG} > 10{sup 11} L {sub ☉} and L {sub ULIRG} > 10{sup 12} L {sub ☉}). The Herschel Comprehensive ULIRG Emission Survey (PI: van der Werf) presents a representative flux-limited sample of 29 (U)LIRGs that spans the full luminosity range of these objects (10{sup 11} L {sub ☉} ≤ L {sub IR} ≤ 10{sup 13} L {sub ☉}). With the Herschel Space Observatory, we observe [C II] 157 μm, [O I] 63 μm, and [O I] 145 μm line emission with Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer, CO J = 4-3 through J = 13-12, [C I] 370 μm, and [C I] 609 μm with SPIRE, and low-J CO transitions with ground-based telescopes. The CO ladders of the sample are separated into three classes based on their excitation level. In 13 of the galaxies, the [O I] 63 μm emission line is self absorbed. Comparing the CO excitation to the InfraRed Astronomical Satellite 60/100 μm ratio and to far infrared luminosity, we find that the CO excitation is more correlated to the far infrared colors. We present cooling budgets for the galaxies and find fine-structure line flux deficits in the [C II], [Si II], [O I], and [C I] lines in the objects with the highest far IR fluxes, but do not observe this for CO 4 ≤ J {sub upp} ≤ 13. In order to study the heating of the molecular gas, we present a combination of three diagnostic quantities to help determine the dominant heating source. Using the CO excitation, the CO J = 1-0 linewidth, and the active galactic nucleus (AGN) contribution, we conclude that galaxies with large CO linewidths always have high-excitation CO ladders, and often low AGN contributions, suggesting that mechanical heating is important.

Impact of keyboard typing on the morphological changes of the median nerve.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeap Loh, Ping; Liang Yeoh, Wen; Nakashima, Hiroki; Muraki, Satoshi

2017-09-28

The primary objective was to investigate the effects of continuous typing on median nerve changes at the carpal tunnel region at two different keyboard slopes (0° and 20°). The secondary objective was to investigate the differences in wrist kinematics and the changes in wrist anthropometric measurements when typing at the two different keyboard slopes. Fifteen healthy right-handed young men were recruited. A randomized sequence of the conditions (control, typing I, and typing II) was assigned to each participant. Wrist anthropometric measurements, wrist kinematics data collection and ultrasound examination to the median nerve was performed at designated time block. Typing activity and time block do not cause significant changes to the wrist anthropometric measurements. The wrist measurements remained similar across all the time blocks in the three conditions. Subsequently, the wrist extensions and ulnar deviations were significantly higher in both the typing I and typing II conditions than in the control condition for both wrists (ptyping I and typing II conditions after the typing task than before the typing task. The MNCSA significantly decreased in the recovery phase after the typing task. This study demonstrated the immediate changes in the median nerve after continuous keyboard typing. Changes in the median nerve were greater during typing using a keyboard tilted at 20° than during typing using a keyboard tilted at 0°. The main findings suggest wrist posture near to neutral position caused lower changes of the median nerve.

Nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttö seurustelusuhteissa : "Onksiul snappii, kikkii tai whatsappii?"

OpenAIRE

Pöllänen, Kati

2016-01-01

Tässä opinnäytetyössä tutkittiin nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttöä seurustelusuhteissa. Seurustelusuhteella tarkoitetaan kahden toisistaan pitävän ihmisen romanttista suhdetta. Työssä tarkasteltiin keskinuorten ja myöhäisnuorten käyttämiä sosiaalisen median sovelluksia, käyttömääriä ja –tapoja. Lisäksi selvitettiin, millainen rooli sosiaalisella medialla on seurustelusuhteen eri vaiheissa. Työssä tutustuttiin nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttöön kenttätutkimuksella, jossa nu...

The Baltic Sea Diet Score: a tool for assessing healthy eating in Nordic countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanerva, Noora; Kaartinen, Niina E; Schwab, Ursula; Lahti-Koski, Marjaana; Männistö, Satu

2014-08-01

The health-related effects of the Nordic diet remain mostly unidentified. We created a Baltic Sea Diet Score (BSDS) for epidemiological research to indicate adherence to a healthy Nordic diet. We examined associations between the score and nutrient intakes that are considered important in promoting public health. We also examined the performance of the BSDS under two different cut-off strategies. The cross-sectional study included two phases of the National FINRISK 2007 Study. Diet was assessed using a validated FFQ. Food and nutrient intakes were calculated using in-house software. Nine components were selected for the score. Each component was scored according to both sex-specific consumption quartiles (BSDS-Q) and medians (BSDS-M), and summed to give the final score values. A large representative sample of the Finnish population. Men (n 2217) and women (n 2493) aged 25 to 74 years. In the age- and energy-adjusted model, adherence to the diet was associated with a higher intake of carbohydrates (E%), and lower intakes of SFA (E%) and alcohol (E%, where E% is percentage of total energy intake; P diet (P healthy Nordic diet to assess diet-health relationships in public health surveys in Nordic countries.

Age-independent anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) standard deviation scores to estimate ovarian function.

Science.gov (United States)

Helden, Josef van; Weiskirchen, Ralf

2017-06-01

To determine single year age-specific anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) standard deviation scores (SDS) for women associated to normal ovarian function and different ovarian disorders resulting in sub- or infertility. Determination of particular year median and mean AMH values with standard deviations (SD), calculation of age-independent cut off SDS for the discrimination between normal ovarian function and ovarian disorders. Single-year-specific median, mean, and SD values have been evaluated for the Beckman Access AMH immunoassay. While the decrease of both median and mean AMH values is strongly correlated with increasing age, calculated SDS values have been shown to be age independent with the differentiation between normal ovarian function measured as occurred ovulation with sufficient luteal activity compared with hyperandrogenemic cycle disorders or anovulation associated with high AMH values and reduced ovarian activity or insufficiency associated with low AMH, respectively. These results will be helpful for the treatment of patients and the ventilation of the different reproductive options. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A one-dimensional ladder-like coordination polymer: poly[[hexaaquabis(μ-5-nitrobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylato-κ3O,O′,O′′(μ-oxalato-κ4O,O′:O′′,O′′′diyttrium(III] trihydrate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong Fu

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In the crystal structure of the title one-dimensional coordination polymer, [Y2(C8H3NO62(C2O4(H2O6]·3H2O, each YIII ion is bridged to its neighbours by two 5-nitrobenzene-1,3-dicarboxylate (nbdc dianions and one oxalate dianion (located on an inversion centre to form a ladder-like polymeric structure. The two carboxylate groups of nbdc assume different modes of coordination, one is chelating whereas the other is monodentate. Three water molecules coordinate to the YIII ion to complete an eight-coordinate distorted dodecahedral geometry. The ladder-like polymers are assembled together by hydrogen bonding and π–π stacking [centrio–centriod distance = 3.819 (9 Å] in the crystal structure.

Median sternotomy for double lung transplantation with cardiopulmonary bypass in seven consecutive patients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kohno, Mitsutomo; Steinbrüchel, Daniel A

2012-01-01

We describe our technique of using median sternotomy to perform double lung transplantations with cardiopulmonary bypass. By sparing the respiratory muscles, median sternotomy is probably less invasive and preserves lung function. Furthermore, it causes less long-term discomfort than intercostal...

External validation of the NUn score for predicting anastomotic leakage after oesophageal resection.

Science.gov (United States)

Paireder, Matthias; Jomrich, Gerd; Asari, Reza; Kristo, Ivan; Gleiss, Andreas; Preusser, Matthias; Schoppmann, Sebastian F

2017-08-29

Early detection of anastomotic leakage (AL) after oesophageal resection for malignancy is crucial. This retrospective study validates a risk score, predicting AL, which includes C-reactive protein, albumin and white cell count in patients undergoing oesophageal resection between 2003 and 2014. For validation of the NUn score a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve is estimated. Area under the ROC curve (AUC) is reported with 95% confidence interval (CI). Among 258 patients (79.5% male) 32 patients showed signs of anastomotic leakage (12.4%). NUn score in our data has a median of 9.3 (range 6.2-17.6). The odds ratio for AL was 1.31 (CI 1.03-1.67; p = 0.028). AUC for AL was 0.59 (CI 0.47-0.72). Using the original cutoff value of 10, the sensitivity was 45.2% an the specificity was 73.8%. This results in a positive predictive value of 19.4% and a negative predictive value of 90.6%. The proportion of variation in AL occurrence, which is explained by the NUn score, was 2.5% (PEV = 0.025). This study provides evidence for an external validation of a simple risk score for AL after oesophageal resection. In this cohort, the NUn score is not useful due to its poor discrimination.

Differences of wells scores accuracy, caprini scores and padua scores in deep vein thrombosis diagnosis

Science.gov (United States)

Gatot, D.; Mardia, A. I.

2018-03-01

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) is the venous thrombus in lower limbs. Diagnosis is by using venography or ultrasound compression. However, these examinations are not available yet in some health facilities. Therefore many scoring systems are developed for the diagnosis of DVT. The scoring method is practical and safe to use in addition to efficacy, and effectiveness in terms of treatment and costs. The existing scoring systems are wells, caprini and padua score. There have been many studies comparing the accuracy of this score but not in Medan. Therefore, we are interested in comparative research of wells, capriniand padua score in Medan.An observational, analytical, case-control study was conducted to perform diagnostic tests on the wells, caprini and padua score to predict the risk of DVT. The study was at H. Adam Malik Hospital in Medan.From a total of 72 subjects, 39 people (54.2%) are men and the mean age are 53.14 years. Wells score, caprini score and padua score has a sensitivity of 80.6%; 61.1%, 50% respectively; specificity of 80.65; 66.7%; 75% respectively, and accuracy of 87.5%; 64.3%; 65.7% respectively.Wells score has better sensitivity, specificity and accuracy than caprini and padua score in diagnosing DVT.

A case of fibrolipomatous hamartoma of the median nerve with macrodactyly

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sathish Arakeri

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of nerve is a tumor-like lipomatous process principally involving affecting young persons. The median nerve is most commonly affectedinvolved. The lesion is characterized by a soft slowly growing mass, surrounding and infiltrating major nerves and their branches. It may cause symptoms of compression neuropathy and is associated with macrodactyly in one third of cases. Here, we present a case of Fibrolipomatous hamartoma of nerve in the wrist of a young man arising from median nerve. Debulking of the tumour was performed.

Educational system, income inequality and growth: the median voter's decision

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joilson Dias

2005-03-01

Full Text Available I analyze a long run educational policy as a mechanism to close the income gap among low, median and high-income families. If the choice is made endogenous by the use of the median voter theorem, the results are as follow: i public education system guarantees income convergence, however the income growth rate of the median voter is smaller; ii the combination public and private (hybrid educational system allows faster income growth rate, but income inequality is almost the natural outcome. The ending result is that the combination public and private system will prevail, since the income growth rate of the median voter is higher in this system. This might explain the persistence and differences of income inequality among the economies.O objetivo deste artigo é analisar a utilização da política educacional no longo prazo como mecanismo para a redução da desigualdade de renda entre famílias de renda baixa, mediana e alta. Se a decisão sobre a política for endogeneizada, de acordo com o teorema do eleitor mediano, os resultados são os seguintes: i o sistema educacional público para todos, apesar de garantir convergência de renda, produz uma menor taxa de crescimento da renda do eleitor mediano; ii a combinação público-privado (sistema educacional híbrido permite uma maior taxa de crescimento da renda do eleitor mediano, no entanto a desigualdade de renda é inerente a este sistema. Como resultado final, o eleitor mediano irá escolher o sistema público-privado, pois o crescimento da sua renda é maior, o que pode explicar a persistência e as diferenças na desigualdade de renda das economias.

A new Leukemia Prognostic Scoring System for refractory/relapsed adult acute myelogeneous leukaemia patients: a GOELAMS study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chevallier, P; Labopin, M; Turlure, P; Prebet, T; Pigneux, A; Hunault, M; Filanovsky, K; Cornillet-Lefebvre, P; Luquet, I; Lode, L; Richebourg, S; Blanchet, O; Gachard, N; Vey, N; Ifrah, N; Milpied, N; Harousseau, J-L; Bene, M-C; Mohty, M; Delaunay, J

2011-06-01

A simplified prognostic score is presented based on the multivariate analysis of 138 refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients (median age 55 years, range: 19-70) receiving a combination of intensive chemotherapy+Gemtuzumab as salvage regimen. Overall, 2-year event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were 29±4% and 36±4%, respectively. Disease status (relapse Leukemia Prognostic Scoring System was then validated on an independent cohort of 111 refractory/relapsed AML patients. This new simplified prognostic score, using three clinical and biological parameters routinely applied, allow to discriminate around two third of the patients who should benefit from a salvage intensive regimen in the setting of refractory/relapsed AML patients. The other one third of the patients should receive investigational therapy.

The association between creatinine versus cystatin C-based eGFR and cardiovascular risk in children with chronic kidney disease using a modified PDAY risk score.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Sheena; Denburg, Michelle R; Furth, Susan L

2017-08-01

Children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have a high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors which may contribute to the development of cardiovascular events in adulthood. Among adults with CKD, cystatin C-based estimates of glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) demonstrate a stronger predictive value for cardiovascular events than creatinine-based eGFR. The PDAY (Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth) risk score is a validated tool used to estimate the probability of advanced coronary atherosclerotic lesions in young adults. To assess the association between cystatin C-based versus creatinine-based eGFR (eGFR cystatin C and eGFR creatinine, respectively) and cardiovascular risk using a modified PDAY risk score as a proxy for CVD in children and young adults. We performed a cross-sectional study of 71 participants with CKD [median age 15.5 years; inter-quartile range (IQR) 13, 17], and 33 healthy controls (median age 15.1 years; IQR 13, 17). eGFR was calculated using age-appropriate creatinine- and cystatin C-based formulas. Median eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin C for CKD participants were 50 (IQR 30, 75) and 53 (32, 74) mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. For the healthy controls, median eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin were 112 (IQR 85, 128) and 106 mL/min/1.73m 2 (95, 123) mL/min/1.73 m 2 , respectively. A modified PDAY risk score was calculated based on sex, age, serum lipoprotein concentrations, obesity, smoking status, hypertension, and hyperglycemia. Modified PDAY scores ranged from -2 to 20. The Spearman's correlations of eGFR creatinine and eGFR cystatin C with coronary artery PDAY scores were -0.23 (p = 0.02) and -0.28 (p = 0.004), respectively. Ordinal logistic regression also showed a similar association of higher eGFR creatinine and higher eGFR cystatin C with lower PDAY scores. When stratified by age creatinine and eGFR cystatin C with PDAY score were modest and similar in children [-0.29 (p = 0.008) vs. -0.32 (p = 0

Prognostic impact of nutritional status assessed by the Controlling Nutritional Status score in patients with stable coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Wada, Hideki; Dohi, Tomotaka; Miyauchi, Katsumi; Doi, Shinichiro; Konishi, Hirokazu; Naito, Ryo; Tsuboi, Shuta; Ogita, Manabu; Kasai, Takatoshi; Okazaki, Shinya; Isoda, Kikuo; Suwa, Satoru; Daida, Hiroyuki

2017-11-01

Recently, malnutrition has been shown to be related to worse clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure. However, the association between nutritional status and clinical outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) remains unclear. We investigated the prognostic value of malnutrition assessed by the Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT; range 0-12, higher = worse, consisting of serum albumin, cholesterol and lymphocytes) score in patients with CAD. The CONUT score was measured on admission in a total of 1987 patients with stable CAD who underwent elective percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between 2000 and 2011. Patients were divided into two groups according to their CONUT score (0-1 vs. ≥2). The incidence of major adverse cardiac events (MACE), including all-cause death and non-fatal myocardial infarction, was evaluated. The median CONUT score was 1 (interquartile range 0-2). During the median follow-up of 7.4 years, 342 MACE occurred (17.2%). Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that patients with high CONUT scores had higher rates of MACE (log-rank p < 0.0001). High CONUT scores showed a significant increase in the incidence of MACE compared with low CONUT scores, even after adjusting for confounding factors (hazard ratio: 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.30-2.07, p < 0.0001). Adding CONUT scores to a baseline model with established risk factors improved the C-index (p = 0.02), net reclassification improvement (p = 0.004) and integrated discrimination improvement (p = 0.0003). Nutritional status assessed by the CONUT score was significantly associated with long-term clinical outcomes in patients with CAD. Pre-PCI assessment of the CONUT score may provide useful prognostic information.

Differences in BMI z-Scores between Offspring of Smoking and Nonsmoking Mothers: A Longitudinal Study of German Children from Birth through 14 Years of Age

Science.gov (United States)

Fenske, Nora; Müller, Manfred J.; Plachta-Danielzik, Sandra; Keil, Thomas; Grabenhenrich, Linus; von Kries, Rüdiger

2014-01-01

Background: Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy have a lower birth weight but have a higher chance to become overweight during childhood. Objectives: We followed children longitudinally to assess the age when higher body mass index (BMI) z-scores became evident in the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy, and to evaluate the trajectory of changes until adolescence. Methods: We pooled data from two German cohort studies that included repeated anthropometric measurements until 14 years of age and information on smoking during pregnancy and other risk factors for overweight. We used longitudinal quantile regression to estimate age- and sex-specific associations between maternal smoking and the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th quantiles of the BMI z-score distribution in study participants from birth through 14 years of age, adjusted for potential confounders. We used additive mixed models to estimate associations with mean BMI z-scores. Results: Mean and median (50th quantile) BMI z-scores at birth were smaller in the children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy compared with children of nonsmoking mothers, but BMI z-scores were significantly associated with maternal smoking beginning at the age of 4–5 years, and differences increased over time. For example, the difference in the median BMI z-score between the daughters of smokers versus nonsmokers was 0.12 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.21) at 5 years, and 0.30 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.39) at 14 years of age. For lower BMI z-score quantiles, the association with smoking was more pronounced in girls, whereas in boys the association was more pronounced for higher BMI z-score quantiles. Conclusions: A clear difference in BMI z-score (mean and median) between children of smoking and nonsmoking mothers emerged at 4–5 years of age. The shape and size of age-specific effect estimates for maternal smoking during pregnancy varied by age and sex across the BMI z-score distribution. Citation: Riedel C, Fenske N, M�

Median Sternotomy or Right Thoracotomy Techniques for Total Artificial Heart Implantation in Calves.

Science.gov (United States)

Karimov, Jamshid H; Moazami, Nader; Sunagawa, Gengo; Kobayashi, Mariko; Byram, Nicole; Sale, Shiva; Such, Kimberly A; Horvath, David J; Golding, Leonard A R; Fukamachi, Kiyotaka

2016-10-01

The choice of optimal operative access technique for mechanical circulatory support device implantation ensures successful postoperative outcomes. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the median sternotomy and lateral thoracotomy incisions for placement of the Cleveland Clinic continuous-flow total artificial heart (CFTAH) in a bovine model. The CFTAH was implanted in 17 calves (Jersey calves; weight range, 77.0-93.9 kg) through a median sternotomy (n = 9) or right thoracotomy (n = 8) for elective chronic implantation periods of 14, 30, or 90 days. Similar preoperative preparation, surgical techniques, and postoperative care were employed. Implantation of the CFTAH was successfully performed in all cases. Both methods provided excellent surgical field visualization. After device connection, however, the median sternotomy approach provided better visualization of the anastomoses and surgical lines for hemostasis confirmation and repair due to easier device displacement, which is severely limited following right thoracotomy. All four animals sacrificed after completion of the planned durations (up to 90 days) were operated through full median sternotomy. Our data demonstrate that both approaches provide excellent initial field visualization. Full median sternotomy provides larger viewing angles at the anastomotic suture line after device connection to inflow and outflow ports. Copyright © 2015 International Center for Artificial Organs and Transplantation and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Combination of Intra-Hematomal Hypodensity on CT and BRAIN Scoring Improves Prediction of Hemorrhage Expansion in ICH.

Science.gov (United States)

VanDerWerf, Joshua; Kurowski, Donna; Siegler, James; Ganguly, Taneeta; Cucchiara, Brett

2018-02-06

Hematoma expansion (HE) occurs in 1/3 of ICH patients and is associated with poor outcome. Intra-hematomal hypodensity (IHH) on CT has been reported to predict HE, as has the "BRAIN" score. We sought to assess the predictive value of these markers alone and in combination. We performed a retrospective single-center study of ICH patients with CT IHH on initial CT. Two HE definitions were examined: > 6 ml and > 6 ml or > 33%. Multivariable logistic regression was used to determine the relationship between IHH and HE. Predictive value of the BRAIN score alone and integrated with IHH was assessed. In 122 included patients, median ICH volume was 13 ml, median time to CT 2.0 h; HE > 6 ml occurred in 31% and > 6 ml/> 33% in 43% of subjects. IHH were identified in 61% of patients with moderate inter-rater agreement (κ = 0.59). In multivariable analysis, IHH was associated with HE using > 6 ml definition (OR 8.3, 95% CI, 2.6-32.8, P  6 ml/> 33% definition (OR 1.9, 95% CI 0.84-4.3, P = 0.12). Rate of HE (> 6 ml) increased across increasing BRAIN score quartiles (Q1:11%, Q2:23%, Q3:43%, Q4:57%, P for trend  6 ml in patients with BRAIN score ≥ 10 and IHH was 55%, with either alone was 33%, and with neither was 3%. Combining IHH on non-contrast CT and a simple clinical BRAIN score is a potentially powerful way to predict those patients at very high and very low risk of HE.

A study of retrograde degeneration of median nerve forearm ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Mona Mokhtar El Bardawil

2013-10-22

Oct 22, 2013 ... tient clinic of the Physical Medicine Rheumatology and Reha- bilitation ... F-wave to calculate axillary F central loop (AFCL) latency of median and ..... amplitude which substantially results from the block of faster ... Postoperative electrophysiological follow up for ... Regional rheumatic pain syndromes. In:.

A novel image inpainting technique based on median diffusion

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

numerical methods such as anisotropic diffusion and multiresolution schemes. Some steps ... Roth & Black (2005) have developed a framework for learning a generic and expressive image priors that ..... This paper presents a new approach for image inpainting by propagating median information .... J. Graphics Tools 9(1):.

GRACE score predicts heart failure admission following acute coronary syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

McAllister, David A; Halbesma, Nynke; Carruthers, Kathryn; Denvir, Martin; Fox, Keith A

2015-04-01

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a common and preventable complication of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Nevertheless, ACS risk scores have not been shown to predict CHF risk. We investigated whether the at-discharge Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) score predicts heart failure admission following ACS. Five-year mortality and hospitalization data were obtained for patients admitted with ACS from June 1999 to September 2009 to a single centre of the GRACE registry. CHF was defined as any admission assigned WHO International Classification of Diseases 10 diagnostic code I50. The hazard ratio (HR) for CHF according to GRACE score was estimated in Cox models adjusting for age, gender and the presence of CHF on index admission. Among 1,956 patients, CHF was recorded on index admission in 141 patients (7%), and 243 (12%) were admitted with CHF over 3.8 median years of follow-up. Compared to the lowest quintile, patients in the highest GRACE score quintile had more CHF admissions (116 vs 17) and a shorter time to first admission (1.2 vs 2.0 years, HR 9.87, 95% CI 5.93-16.43). Per standard deviation increment in GRACE score, the instantaneous risk was more than two-fold higher (HR 2.28; 95% CI 2.02-2.57), including after adjustment for CHF on index admission, age and gender (HR 2.49; 95% CI 2.06-3.02). The C-statistic for CHF admission at 1-year was 0.74 (95% CI 0.70-0.79). The GRACE score predicts CHF admission, and may therefore be used to target ACS patients at high risk of CHF with clinical monitoring and therapies. © The European Society of Cardiology 2014.

Interplay of magnetism and superconductivity in the compressed Fe-ladder compound ${\mathrm{BaFe}}_2{\mathrm{Se}}_3$

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ying, Jianjun; Lei, Hechang; Petrovic, Cedomir; Xiao, Yuming; Struzhkin, Viktor V. (BNL); (CIW)

2017-06-01

High pressure resistance, susceptibility, and Fe K β x-ray emission spectroscopy measurements were performed on Fe-ladder compound BaFe 2 Se 3 . Pressure-induced superconductivity was observed which is similar to the previously reported superconductivity in the BaFe 2 S 3 samples. The slope of local magnetic moment versus pressure shows an anomaly across the insulator-metal transition pressure in the BaFe 2 Se 3 samples. The local magnetic moment is continuously decreasing with increasing pressure, and the superconductivity appears only when the local magnetic moment value is comparable to the one in the iron-pnictide superconductors. Our results indicate that the compressed BaFe 2 C h 3 ( C h = S , Se) is a new family of iron-based superconductors. Despite the crystal structures completely different from the known iron-based superconducting materials, the magnetism in this Fe-ladder material plays a critical role in superconductivity. This behavior is similar to the other members of iron-based superconducting materials.

Clinical Outcomes following median to radial nerve transfers

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Wilson Z.; Mackinnon, Susan E.

2010-01-01

Purpose In this study the authors evaluate the clinical outcomes in patients with radial nerve palsy who underwent nerve transfers utilizing redundant fascicles of median nerve (innervating the flexor digitorum superficialis and flexor carpi radialis muscles) to the posterior interosseous nerve and the nerve to the extensor carpi radialis brevis. Methods A retrospective review of the clinical records of 19 patients with radial nerve injuries who underwent nerve transfer procedures using the median nerve as a donor nerve were included. All patients were evaluated using the Medical Research Council (MRC) grading system. Results The mean age of patients was 41 years (range 17 – 78 years). All patients received at least 12 months of follow-up (20.3 ± 5.8 months). Surgery was performed at a mean of 5.7 ± 1.9 months post-injury. Post-operative functional evaluation was graded according to the following scale: grades MRC 0/5 - MRC 2/5 were considered poor outcomes, while MRC of 3/5 was a fair result, MRC grade 4/5 was a good result, and grade 4+/5 was considered an excellent outcome. Seventeen patients (89%) had a complete radial nerve palsy while two patients (11%) had intact wrist extension but no finger or thumb extension. Post-operatively all patients except one had good to excellent recovery of wrist extension. Twelve patients recovered good to excellent finger and thumb extension, two patients had fair recovery, five patients had a poor recovery. Conclusions The radial nerve is a commonly injured nerve, causing significant morbidity in affected patients. The median nerve provides a reliable source of donor nerve fascicles for radial nerve reinnervation. This transfer was first performed in 1999 and evolved over the subsequent decade. The important nuances of both surgical technique and motor re-education critical for to the success of this transfer have been identified and are discussed. PMID:21168979

CT morphology of benign median nerve tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feyerabend, T.; Schmitt, R.; Lanz, U.; Warmuth-Metz, M.; Wuerzburg Univ.

1990-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) was performed in 3 patients with benign tumors of the median nerve, histologically confirmed as neurilemmoma, fibrolipoma and hemangioma. The neurilemmoma showed a ring-shaped contrast enhancement. The fibrolipoma presented with areas of solid soft tissue and areas of fat. The hemangioma was a solid tumor with a lacunar, vascular contrast enhancement. According to our experience and to the previous literature CT gives useful information regarding the anatomic location, size, and relationship of peripheral nerve sheath tumors to surrounding structures, and may help to differentiate between various tumor types. (orig.)

Prevalence and anatomical pattern of the median artery among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Knowledge of the anatomy of median arteries is important in the diagnosis and management of carpal tunnel and pronator teres syndromes, reconstructive surgery in the forearm, minimizing inadvertent vascular injury as well as in limiting operative complications due to unexpected bleeding. The anatomical pattern displays ...

Star formation relations and CO spectral line energy distributions across the J-ladder and redshift

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greve, T. R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Leonidaki, I.; Xilouris, E. M. [Institute for Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing, National Observatory of Athens, GR-15236 Penteli (Greece); Weiß, A.; Henkel, C. [Max-Planck-Institut fur Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Zhang, Z.-Y. [UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ (United Kingdom); Van der Werf, P.; Meijerink, R. [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Aalto, S. [Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Chalmers University of Technology, Onsala Observatory, 43994 Onsala (Sweden); Armus, L.; Díaz-Santos, T. [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, MS 220-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Evans, A. S. [Astronomy Department, University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States); Fischer, J. [Naval Research Laboratory, Remote Sensing Division, 4555 Overlook Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Gao, Y. [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2 West Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008 (China); González-Alfonso, E. [Universidad de Alcala de Henares, Departamento de Fśica, Campus Universitario, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Harris, A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Naylor, D. A. [Institute for Space Imaging Science, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB T1K 3M4 (Canada); Smith, H. A. [Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Spaans, M., E-mail: t.greve@ucl.ac.uk [Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen (Netherlands); and others

2014-10-20

We present FIR [50-300 μm]–CO luminosity relations (i.e., log L{sub FIR}=αlog L{sub CO}{sup ′}+β) for the full CO rotational ladder from J = 1-0 up to J = 13-12 for a sample of 62 local (z ≤ 0.1) (Ultra) Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs; L {sub IR[8-1000} {sub μm]} > 10{sup 11} L {sub ☉}) using data from Herschel SPIRE-FTS and ground-based telescopes. We extend our sample to high redshifts (z > 1) by including 35 submillimeter selected dusty star forming galaxies from the literature with robust CO observations, and sufficiently well-sampled FIR/submillimeter spectral energy distributions (SEDs), so that accurate FIR luminosities can be determined. The addition of luminous starbursts at high redshifts enlarge the range of the FIR–CO luminosity relations toward the high-IR-luminosity end, while also significantly increasing the small amount of mid-J/high-J CO line data (J = 5-4 and higher) that was available prior to Herschel. This new data set (both in terms of IR luminosity and J-ladder) reveals linear FIR–CO luminosity relations (i.e., α ≅ 1) for J = 1-0 up to J = 5-4, with a nearly constant normalization (β ∼ 2). In the simplest physical scenario, this is expected from the (also) linear FIR–(molecular line) relations recently found for the dense gas tracer lines (HCN and CS), as long as the dense gas mass fraction does not vary strongly within our (merger/starburst)-dominated sample. However, from J = 6-5 and up to the J = 13-12 transition, we find an increasingly sublinear slope and higher normalization constant with increasing J. We argue that these are caused by a warm (∼100 K) and dense (>10{sup 4} cm{sup –3}) gas component whose thermal state is unlikely to be maintained by star-formation-powered far-UV radiation fields (and thus is no longer directly tied to the star formation rate). We suggest that mechanical heating (e.g., supernova-driven turbulence and shocks), and not cosmic rays, is the more likely source of energy for

Median nerve cross-sectional area and MRI diffusion characteristics: normative values at the carpal tunnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, Lawrence; Gai, Neville

2009-01-01

Enlargement of the median nerve is an objective potential imaging sign of carpal tunnel syndrome. Diffusion tensor MRI (DTI) may provide additional structural information that may prove useful in characterizing median neuropathy. This study further examines normal values for median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and fractional anisotropy (FA). Twenty-three wrists in 17 healthy volunteers underwent MRI of the wrist at 3 T. In 13 subjects, DTI was performed at a B value of 600 mm 2 /s. Median nerve CSA, ADC, and FA were analyzed at standardized anatomic levels. Mean (SD) median nerve CSA within the proximal carpal tunnel was 10.0 (3.4) mm 2 . The mean (SD) FA of the median nerve was 0.71 (0.06) and 0.70 (0.13) proximal to and within the carpal tunnel, respectively. There was a significant difference between nerve CSA and ADC, but not FA, at the distal forearm and proximal carpal tunnel. Nerve CSA, ADC, and FA did not differ between men and women or between dominant and non-dominant wrists. Nerve CSA at the proximal carpal tunnel was positively correlated with subject age and body mass index. Our results suggest a 90% upper confidence limit for normal median nerve CSA of 14.4 mm 2 at the proximal carpal tunnel, higher than normal limits reported by many ultrasound studies. We observed a difference between the CSA and ADC, but not the FA, of the median nerve at the distal forearm and proximal carpal tunnel levels. (orig.)

Median Hetero-Associative Memories Applied to the Categorization of True-Color Patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Vázquez, Roberto A.; Sossa, Humberto

Median associative memories (MED-AMs) are a special type of associative memory based on the median operator. This type of associative model has been applied to the restoration of gray scale images and provides better performance than other models, such as morphological associative memories, when the patterns are altered with mixed noise. Despite of his power, MED-AMs have not been applied in problems involving true-color patterns. In this paper we describe how a median hetero-associative memory (MED-HAM) could be applied in problems that involve true-color patterns. A complete study of the behavior of this associative model in the restoration of true-color images is performed using a benchmark of 14400 images altered by different type of noises. Furthermore, we describe how this model can be applied to an image categorization problem.

Alkylated selenophene-based ladder-type monomers via a facile route for high performance thin-film transistor applications

KAUST Repository

Fei, Zhuping; Han, Yang; Gann, Eliot; Hodsden, Thomas; Chesman, Anthony; McNeill, Christopher R.; Anthopoulos, Thomas D.; Heeney, Martin

2017-01-01

We report the synthesis of two new selenophene containing ladder-type monomers, cyclopentadiselenophene (CDS) and indacenodiselenophene (IDSe), via a twofold and fourfold Pd catalyzed coupling with a 1,1-diborylmethane derivative. Co-polymers with benzothiadiazole (BT) were prepared in high yield by Suzuki polymerization to afford co-polymers which exhibited excellent solubility in a range of non-chlorinated solvents. The CDS co-polymer exhibited a band gap of just 1.18 eV, which is amongst the lowest reported for donor-acceptor polymers. Thin-film transistors were fabricated using environmentally benign, non-chlorinated solvents with the CDS and IDSe co-polymers exhibiting hole mobility up to 0.15 and 6.4 cm2 /Vs, respectively. This high performance was achieved without the undesirable peak in mobility often observed at low gate voltages due to parasitic contact resistance.

Alkylated selenophene-based ladder-type monomers via a facile route for high performance thin-film transistor applications

KAUST Repository

Fei, Zhuping

2017-05-26

We report the synthesis of two new selenophene containing ladder-type monomers, cyclopentadiselenophene (CDS) and indacenodiselenophene (IDSe), via a twofold and fourfold Pd catalyzed coupling with a 1,1-diborylmethane derivative. Co-polymers with benzothiadiazole (BT) were prepared in high yield by Suzuki polymerization to afford co-polymers which exhibited excellent solubility in a range of non-chlorinated solvents. The CDS co-polymer exhibited a band gap of just 1.18 eV, which is amongst the lowest reported for donor-acceptor polymers. Thin-film transistors were fabricated using environmentally benign, non-chlorinated solvents with the CDS and IDSe co-polymers exhibiting hole mobility up to 0.15 and 6.4 cm2 /Vs, respectively. This high performance was achieved without the undesirable peak in mobility often observed at low gate voltages due to parasitic contact resistance.

A study of retrograde degeneration of median nerve forearm ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a disorder of the hand which results from compression of the median nerve within its fibro-osseous tunnel at the wrist. The slowing in the forearm motor conduction velocity suggests the presence of retrograde degeneration. Existing studies conflict regarding a correlation ...

Validation of the Framingham general cardiovascular risk score in a multiethnic Asian population: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chia, Yook Chin; Gray, Sarah Yu Weng; Ching, Siew Mooi; Lim, Hooi Min; Chinna, Karuthan

2015-05-19

This study aims to examine the validity of the Framingham general cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk chart in a primary care setting. This is a 10-year retrospective cohort study. A primary care clinic in a teaching hospital in Malaysia. 967 patients' records were randomly selected from patients who were attending follow-up in the clinic. Baseline demographic data, history of diabetes and smoking, blood pressure (BP), and serum lipids were captured from patient records in 1998. Each patient's Framingham CVD score was computed from these parameters. All atherosclerotic CVD events occurring between 1998 and 2007 were counted. In 1998, mean age was 57 years with 33.8% men, 6.1% smokers, 43.3% diabetics and 59.7% hypertensive. Median BP was 140/80 mm Hg and total cholesterol 6.0 mmol/L (1.3). The predicted median Framingham general CVD risk score for the study population was 21.5% (IQR 1.2-30.0) while the actual CVD events that occurred in the 10 years was 13.1% (127/967). The median CVD points for men was 30.0, giving them a CVD risk of more than 30%; for women it is 18.5, a CVD risk of 21.5%. Our study found that the Framingham general CVD risk score to have moderate discrimination with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.63. It also discriminates well for Malay (AUC 0.65, p=0.01), Chinese (AUC 0.60, p=0.03), and Indians (AUC 0.65, p=0.001). There was good calibration with Hosmer-Lemeshow test χ(2)=3.25, p=0.78. Taking into account that this cohort of patients were already on treatment, the Framingham General CVD Risk Prediction Score predicts fairly accurately for men and overestimates somewhat for women. In the absence of local risk prediction charts, the Framingham general CVD risk prediction chart is a reasonable alternative for use in a multiethnic group in a primary care setting. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Development of Kinematic Graphs of Median Nerve during Active Finger Motion: Implications of Smartphone Use.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoi-Chi Woo

Full Text Available Certain hand activities cause deformation and displacement of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel due to the gliding motion of tendons surrounding it. As smartphone usage escalates, this raises the public's concern whether hand activities while using smartphones can lead to median nerve problems.The aims of this study were to 1 develop kinematic graphs and 2 investigate the associated deformation and rotational information of median nerve in the carpal tunnel during hand activities.Dominant wrists of 30 young adults were examined with ultrasonography by placing a transducer transversely on their wrist crease. Ultrasound video clips were recorded when the subject performing 1 thumb opposition with the wrist in neutral position, 2 thumb opposition with the wrist in ulnar deviation and 3 pinch grip with the wrist in neutral position. Six still images that were separated by 0.2-second intervals were then captured from the ultrasound video for the determination of 1 cross-sectional area (CSA, 2 flattening ratio (FR, 3 rotational displacement (RD and 4 translational displacement (TD of median nerve in the carpal tunnel, and these collected information of deformation, rotational and displacement of median nerve were compared between 1 two successive time points during a single hand activity and 2 different hand motions at the same time point. Finally, kinematic graphs were constructed to demonstrate the mobility of median nerve during different hand activities.Performing different hand activities during this study led to a gradual reduction in CSA of the median nerve, with thumb opposition together with the wrist in ulnar deviation causing the greatest extent of deformation of the median nerve. Thumb opposition with the wrist in ulnar deviation also led to the largest extent of TD when compared to the other two hand activities of this study. Kinematic graphs showed that the motion pathways of median nerve during different hand activities were complex

An approach to global rovibrational analysis based on anharmonic ladder operators: Application to Hydrogen Selenide (H{sub 2}{sup 80}Se)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez-Bajo, O. [Dpto. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva (Spain); Carvajal, M., E-mail: miguel.carvajal@dfa.uhu.es [Dpto. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva (Spain); Perez-Bernal, F. [Dpto. Fisica Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad de Huelva, 21071 Huelva (Spain)

2012-01-02

Graphical abstract: Schematic diagram of a bent triatomic molecule, depicting the atom numbering, and molecular axis system. An algebraic approach to perform global rovibrational analysis is presented. Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Novel approach for a global rovibrational analysis of polyatomic molecules spectra. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer One-dimensional vibron model limit combined with rotational degrees of freedom. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Phase space Hamiltonian written in terms of anharmonic ladder operators. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Algebraic calculations performed with a symmetry-adapted rovibrational basis. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Description of the rovibrational spectrum of H{sub 2}Se in the ground electronic state. - Abstract: An algebraic approach to perform global rovibrational analysis of molecular spectra is presented. The approach combines the one-dimensional limit of the vibron model with rotational degrees of freedom. The model is based on the expression of the phase space Hamiltonian in terms of anharmonic ladder operators and the use of a symmetry-adapted basis set given by the linear combination of products of local vibrational and rotational wavefunctions. As an example we model the rovibrational spectra of a bent triatomic molecule, providing a global analysis for vibrational bands up to polyad 12 and J{sub max} = 5 of Hydrogen Selenide (H{sub 2}Se). Satisfactory fits of vibrational and rovibrational energies are obtained. A prediction of 2579 rovibrational energies up to J Less-Than-Or-Slanted-Equal-To 5 and polyad 12 for the 140 lowest vibrational bands is also obtained. A possible extension of the model to reach spectroscopic quality results in larger molecular systems is also given.

Twitter Activity Associated With U.S. News and World Report Reputation Scores for Urology Departments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ciprut, Shannon; Curnyn, Caitlin; Davuluri, Meena; Sternberg, Kevan; Loeb, Stacy

2017-10-01

To analyze the association between US urology department Twitter presence and U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) reputation scores, to examine the content, informational value, and intended audience of these platforms, and to identify objectives for Twitter use. We identified Twitter accounts for urology departments scored in the 2016-2017 USNWR. Correlation coefficients were calculated between Twitter metrics (number of followers, following, tweets, and Klout influence scores) with USNWR reputation scores. We also performed a detailed content analysis of urology department tweets during a 6-month period to characterize the content. Finally, we distributed a survey to the urology department accounts via Twitter, inquiring who administers the content, and their objectives for Twitter use. Among 42 scored urology departments with Twitter accounts, the median number of followers, following, and tweets were 337, 193, and 115, respectively. All of these Twitter metrics had a statistically significant positive correlation with reputation scores (P twitter use among urology departments was visibility and reputation, and urologists are considered the most important target audience. There is statistically significant correlation between Twitter activity and USNWR reputation scores for urology departments. Our results suggest that Twitter provides a novel mechanism for urology departments to communicate about academic and educational topics, and social media engagement can enhance reputation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quadratic Assignment of Hubs in p-Hub Median Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gelareh, Shahin

We introduce Generalized p-Hub Median Problem (GpHMP) that seeks to locate p hub nodes and install p distinct hub facilities/operators on the hubs while discount factor resulted by consolidation of flow on the hub links depends on the facilities/operators that are installed/operating on both hub...

Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan; Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo

2008-05-21

Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods.

Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan; Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo

2008-01-01

Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods

Regularization of DT-MR images using a successive Fermat median filtering method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kwon, Kiwoon; Kim, Dongyoun; Kim, Sunghee; Park, Insung; Jeong, Jaewon; Kim, Taehwan [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yonsei University, Wonju, 220-710 (Korea, Republic of); Hong, Cheolpyo; Han, Bongsoo [Department of Radiological Science, Yonsei University, Wonju, 220-710 (Korea, Republic of)], E-mail: bshan@yonsei.ac.kr

2008-05-21

Tractography using diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DT-MRI) is a method to determine the architecture of axonal fibers in the central nervous system by computing the direction of greatest diffusion in the white matter of the brain. To reduce the noise in DT-MRI measurements, a tensor-valued median filter, which is reported to be denoising and structure preserving in the tractography, is applied. In this paper, we proposed the successive Fermat (SF) method, successively using Fermat point theory for a triangle contained in the two-dimensional plane, as a median filtering method. We discussed the error analysis and numerical study about the SF method for phantom and experimental data. By considering the computing time and the image quality aspects of the numerical study simultaneously, we showed that the SF method is much more efficient than the simple median (SM) and gradient descents (GD) methods.

Influence of median surgeon operative duration on adverse outcomes in bariatric surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Reames, Bradley N; Bacal, Daniel; Krell, Robert W; Birkmeyer, John D; Birkmeyer, Nancy J O; Finks, Jonathan F

2015-01-01

Evidence suggests that prolonged operative time adversely affects surgical outcomes. However, whether faster surgeons have better outcomes is unclear, as a surgeon׳s speed could reflect skill and efficiency, but may alternatively reflect haste. This study evaluates whether median surgeon operative time is associated with adverse surgical outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. We performed a retrospective cohort study using statewide clinical registry data from the years 2006 to 2012. Surgeons were ranked by their median operative time and grouped into terciles. Multivariable logistic regression with robust standard errors was used to evaluate the influence of median surgeon operative time on 30-day surgical outcomes, adjusting for patient and surgeon characteristics, trainee involvement, concurrent procedures, and the complex interaction between these variables. A total of 16,344 patients underwent surgery during the study period. Compared to surgeons in the fastest tercile, slow surgeons required 53 additional minutes to complete a gastric bypass procedure (median [interquartile range] 139 [133-150] versus 86 [69-91], Ppatient characteristic only, slow surgeons had significantly higher adjusted rates of any complication, prolonged length of stay, emergency department visits or readmissions, and venous thromboembolism (VTE). After further adjustment for surgeon characteristics, resident involvement, and the interaction between these variables, slow surgeons had higher rates of any complication (10.5% versus 7.1%, P=.039), prolonged length of stay (14.0% versus 4.4%, P=.002), and VTE (0.39% versus .22%, P<.001). Median surgeon operative duration is independently associated with adjusted rates of certain adverse outcomes after laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Improving surgeon efficiency while operating may reduce operative time and improve the safety of bariatric surgery. Copyright © 2015 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by

External validation of the DRAGON score in an elderly Spanish population: prediction of stroke prognosis after IV thrombolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Giralt-Steinhauer, Eva; Rodríguez-Campello, Ana; Cuadrado-Godia, Elisa; Ois, Ángel; Jiménez-Conde, Jordi; Soriano-Tárraga, Carolina; Roquer, Jaume

2013-01-01

Intravenous (i.v.) thrombolysis within 4.5 h of symptom onset has proven efficacy in acute ischemic stroke treatment, although half of all outcomes are unfavorable. The recently published DRAGON score aims to predict the 3-month outcome in stroke patients who have received i.v. alteplase. The purpose of this study was an external validation of the results of the DRAGON score in a Spanish cohort. Patients with acute stroke treated with alteplase were prospectively registered in our BasicMar database. We collected demographic characteristics, vascular risk factors, the time from stroke onset to treatment, baseline serum glucose levels and stroke severity for this population. We then reviewed hyperdense cerebral artery signs and signs of early infarct on the admission CT scan. We calculated the DRAGON score and used the developers' 3-month prognosis categories: good [modified Rankin Scale score (mRS) 0-2], poor (mRS 3-6) and miserable (mRS 5-6) outcome. Discrimination was tested using the area under the receiver operator curve (AUC-ROC). Calibration was assessed by the Hosmer-Lemeshow test. Our final cohort of 297 patients was older (median age 74 years, IQR 65-80) and had more risk factors and severe strokes [median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) points 13, IQR 7-19] than the original study population. Poor prognosis was observed in 143 (48.1%) patients. Higher DRAGON scores were associated with a higher risk of poor prognosis. None of our treated stroke patients with a DRAGON score ≥8 at admission experienced a favorable outcome after 3 months. All DRAGON variables were significantly associated with a worse outcome in the multivariate analysis except for onset-to-treatment time (p = 0.334). Discrimination to predict poor prognosis was very good (AUC-ROC 0.84) and the score had good Hosmer-Lemeshow calibration (p = 0.84). The DRAGON score is easy to perform and offers a rapid, reliable prediction of poor prognosis in acute-stroke patients

Variability of pudendal and median nerve sensory perception thresholds in healthy persons.

Science.gov (United States)

Quaghebeur, Jörgen; Wyndaele, Jean-Jacques

2015-04-01

Normative current perception thresholds (CPTs) are used for the evaluation of sensory function in a variety of diseases. To evaluate the reproducibility of CPT measurements with sinusoidal current in healthy volunteers. Neuroselective CPT evaluations of the median and pudendal nerve in healthy volunteers were repeated with 1 week interval (T1 and T2). In the study group (N = 41) no difference between genders for age (MW-U: P = 0.91) and BMI (t-test: P = 0.18) were found. No significant difference between T1 and T2 was found (Paired t-test: all P-values > 0.05), although the intraclass correlation for each person was low. The variability of measures for the pudendal nerve was: ICC 2 kHz: 0.41; 250 Hz: 0.30; 5 Hz: 0.38, and for the median nerve respectively: 0.58; 0.46; 0.40. Normal CPTs were shown for the pudendal nerve: 2 kHz: 51%; 250 Hz: 76%; 5 Hz: 71%, and median nerve respectively: 78%; 98%; 80%. The pudendal nerve showed more deviating values compared to the median nerve. Both nerves showed deviating values. CPT values with sinusoidal current assessed with 1 week interval, showed a weak intraclass correlation. This finding limits the use of CPT values with this current for longitudinal studies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Unique Reversible Crystal-to-Crystal Phase Transition – Structural and Functional Properties of Fused Ladder Thienoarenes

KAUST Repository

Abe, Yuichiro

2017-08-15

Donor-acceptor type molecules based on fused ladder thienoarenes, indacenodithiophene (IDT) and dithienocyclopenta-thienothiophene (DTCTT), coupled with benzothiadiazole, are prepared and their solid-state structures are investigated. They display a rich variety of solid phases ranging from amorphous glass states to crystalline states, upon changes in the central aromatic core and side group structures. Most notably, the DTCTT-based derivatives showed reversible crystal-to-crystal phase transitions in heating and cooling cycles. Unlike what has been seen in π−conjugated molecules variable temperature XRD revealed that structural change occurs continuously during the transition. A columnar self-assembled structure with slip-stacked π−π interaction is proposed to be involved in the solid-state. This research provides the evidence of unique structural behavior of the DTCTT-based molecules through the detailed structural analysis. This unique structural transition paves the way for these materials to have self-healing of crystal defects, leading to improved optoelectronic properties.

Unique Reversible Crystal-to-Crystal Phase Transition – Structural and Functional Properties of Fused Ladder Thienoarenes

KAUST Repository

Abe, Yuichiro; Savikhin, Victoria; Yin, Jun; Grimsdale, Andrew C.; Soci, Cesare; Toney, Michael F.; Lam, Yeng Ming

2017-01-01

Donor-acceptor type molecules based on fused ladder thienoarenes, indacenodithiophene (IDT) and dithienocyclopenta-thienothiophene (DTCTT), coupled with benzothiadiazole, are prepared and their solid-state structures are investigated. They display a rich variety of solid phases ranging from amorphous glass states to crystalline states, upon changes in the central aromatic core and side group structures. Most notably, the DTCTT-based derivatives showed reversible crystal-to-crystal phase transitions in heating and cooling cycles. Unlike what has been seen in π−conjugated molecules variable temperature XRD revealed that structural change occurs continuously during the transition. A columnar self-assembled structure with slip-stacked π−π interaction is proposed to be involved in the solid-state. This research provides the evidence of unique structural behavior of the DTCTT-based molecules through the detailed structural analysis. This unique structural transition paves the way for these materials to have self-healing of crystal defects, leading to improved optoelectronic properties.

The C Terminus of the Core β-Ladder Domain in Japanese Encephalitis Virus Nonstructural Protein 1 Is Flexible for Accommodation of Heterologous Epitope Fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Li-Chen; Liao, Jia-Teh; Lee, Hwei-Jen; Chou, Wei-Yuan; Chen, Chun-Wei; Lin, Yi-Ling; Liao, Ching-Len

2016-02-01

NS1 is the only nonstructural protein that enters the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where NS1 is glycosylated, forms a dimer, and is subsequently secreted during flavivirus replication as dimers or hexamers, which appear to be highly immunogenic to the infected host, as protective immunity can be elicited against homologous flavivirus infections. Here, by using a trans-complementation assay, we identified the C-terminal end of NS1 derived from Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which was more flexible than other regions in terms of housing foreign epitopes without a significant impact on virus replication. This mapped flexible region is located in the conserved tip of the core β-ladder domain of the multimeric NS1 structure and is also known to contain certain linear epitopes, readily triggering specific antibody responses from the host. Despite becoming attenuated, recombinant JEV with insertion of a neutralizing epitope derived from enterovirus 71 (EV71) into the C-terminal end of NS1 not only could be normally released from infected cells, but also induced dual protective immunity for the host to counteract lethal challenge with either JEV or EV71 in neonatal mice. These results indicated that the secreted multimeric NS1 of flaviviruses may serve as a natural protein carrier to render epitopes of interest more immunogenic in the C terminus of the core β-ladder domain. The positive-sense RNA genomes of mosquito-borne flaviviruses appear to be flexible in terms of accommodating extra insertions of short heterologous antigens into their virus genes. Here, we illustrate that the newly identified C terminus of the core β-ladder domain in NS1 could be readily inserted into entities such as EV71 epitopes, and the resulting NS1-epitope fusion proteins appeared to maintain normal virus replication, secretion ability, and multimeric formation from infected cells. Nonetheless, such an insertion attenuated the recombinant JEV in mice, despite having retained

Higher blood harmane (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole) concentrations correlate with lower olfactory scores in essential tremor.

Science.gov (United States)

Louis, Elan D; Rios, Eileen; Pellegrino, Kathryn M; Jiang, Wendy; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Zheng, Wei

2008-05-01

Harmane (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole), a neurotoxin, may be an environmental risk factor for essential tremor (ET). Harmane and related chemicals are toxic to the cerebellum. Whether it is through this mechanism (cerebellar toxicity) that harmane leads to ET is unknown. Impaired olfaction may be a feature of cerebellar disease. To determine whether blood harmane concentrations correlate with olfactory test scores in patients with ET. Blood harmane concentrations were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography. Odor identification testing was performed with the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). In 83 ET cases, higher log blood harmane concentration was correlated with lower UPSIT score (rho=-0.46, p<0.001). 25/40 (62.5%) cases with high log blood harmane concentration (based on a median split) had low UPSIT scores (based on a median split) vs. 12/43 (27.9%) ET cases with low log blood harmane concentration (adjusted odd ratios (OR) 4.04, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.42-11.50, p=0.009). When compared with the low log blood harmane tertile, the odds of olfactory dysfunction were 2.64 times higher in cases in the middle tertile and 10.95 times higher in cases in the high tertile. In 69 control subjects, higher log blood harmane concentration was not correlated with lower UPSIT score (rho=0.12, p=0.32). Blood harmane concentrations were correlated with UPSIT scores in ET cases but not controls. These analyses set the stage for postmortem studies to further explore the role of harmane as a cerebellar toxin in ET.

16 CFR Figure 2 to Part 1203 - ISO Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false ISO Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes 2 Figure 2 to Part 1203 Commercial Practices CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION CONSUMER PRODUCT... Headform-Basic, Reference, and Median Planes ER10MR98.002 ...

A Rare Variation of the Human Median Nerve Direction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barfi

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Introduction The brachial plexus, a complex network of nerves, innervates to the upper limbs. Variation in the course of the nerves in the upper limb is common. Case Presentation This paper describes two cases of upper limb variations in a cadaver dissected at Lorestan University of Medical Sciences. In the first variation, the median nerve in the arm has a different route, so that the median moves deep into the brachialis muscle. In the latter case, after piercing the coracobrachialis muscle a musculocutaneous nerve exists between the brachialis and biceps and goes to the lateral region of the forearm. This is known as the lateral cutaneous nerve of the forearm nerve, and innervates the skin of the lateral part of the forearm and the dorsal part of the hand. Conclusions Because of the possibility of damage to the brachial plexus branches is high in upper limb injuries and surgeries, full knowledge of normal anatomy and variations of these branches is essential for orthopedic specialists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, and anatomists.

Martial arts intervention decreases pain scores in children with malignancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bluth, Martin H; Thomas, Ronald; Cohen, Cindy; Bluth, Amanda C; Goldberg, Elimelech

2016-01-01

Martial arts intervention in disease has been mostly limited to adult inflammatory, musculoskeletal, or motor diseases, where a mechanical intervention effects positive change. However, the application and benefit to pain management in childhood malignancy are not well described. Here, we assess the effects of defined martial arts intervention in children with cancer with respect to their pain perception and management. Sixty-four children with childhood malignancies were enrolled in a martial arts program, which encompassed both meditation and movement modalities. Pain scores (0-10) were recorded pre- and post- 1-hour session intervention. Pain scores were crossed by total visits and tabulated by whether participant pain reduced at least 1 unit, stayed the same, or increased in intensity immediately after (post) participation session. Differences in pain scores were further compared by age and sex. Prepain and postpain scale data were measured for 64 participants, 43 males (67.2%) and 21 females (32.8%), ranging from 3 years to 19 years. Preintervention and postintervention data were obtained for 223 individual session visits. Mean number of patient participation visits was 1.8±1.6 (range one to nine visits). Of 116 individual measured sessions where the participants began with a pain score of at least 1, pain intensity reduced ≥1 unit in 85.3% (99/116) of visits, remained the same in 7.8% (9/116), and increased in 6.9% (8/116). For the majority (96.3%; 77/80) of sessions, participants began with a prepain intensity score of at least 5-10 with reduction in pain intensity following the session. The overall mean pain score presession visit was reduced bŷ40% (pre: 5.95±2.64 and post: 3.03±2.45 [95% CI: 2.34-3.50]; P ≤0.001). Median pain intensity scores had greater reductions with increased age of participants (3-6 years [-1], 7-10 years [-2], 11-14 years [-3], and 15-19 years [-4]). Martial arts intervention can provide a useful modality to decrease pain in

Statin use and kidney cancer outcomes: A propensity score analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Nayan, Madhur; Finelli, Antonio; Jewett, Michael A S; Juurlink, David N; Austin, Peter C; Kulkarni, Girish S; Hamilton, Robert J

2016-11-01

Studies evaluating the association between statin use and survival outcomes in renal cell carcinoma have demonstrated conflicting results. Our objective was to evaluate this association in a large clinical cohort by using propensity score methods to reduce confounding from measured covariates. We performed a retrospective review of 893 patients undergoing nephrectomy for unilateral, M0 renal cell carcinoma between 2000 and 2014 at a tertiary academic center. Inverse probability of treatment weights were derived from a propensity score model based on clinical, surgical, and pathological characteristics. We used Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate the association between statin use and disease-free survival, cancer-specific survival, and overall survival in the sample weighted by the inverse probability of treatment weights. A secondary analysis was performed matching statin users 1:1 to statin nonusers on the propensity score. Of the 893 patients, 259 (29%) were on statins at the time of surgery. Median follow-up was 47 months (interquartile range: 20-80). Statin use was not significantly associated with disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09, 95% CI: 0.65-1.81), cancer-specific survival (HR = 0.90, 95% CI: 0.40-2.01), or overall survival (HR = 0.89, 95% CI: 0.55-1.44). Similar results were observed when using propensity score matching. The present study found no significant association between statin use and kidney cancer outcomes. Population-based studies are needed to further evaluate the role of statins in kidney cancer therapy. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New prognostic factors and scoring system for patients with skeletal metastasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Katagiri, Hirohisa; Okada, Rieko; Takagi, Tatsuya; Takahashi, Mitsuru; Murata, Hideki; Harada, Hideyuki; Nishimura, Tetsuo; Asakura, Hirofumi; Ogawa, Hirofumi

2014-10-01

The aim of this study was to update a previous scoring system for patients with skeletal metastases, that was proposed by Katagiri et al. in 2005, by introducing a new factor (laboratory data) and analyzing a new patient cohort. Between January 2005 and January 2008, we treated 808 patients with symptomatic skeletal metastases. They were prospectively registered regardless of their treatments, and the last follow-up evaluation was performed in 2012. There were 441 male and 367 female patients with a median age of 64 years. Of these patients, 749 were treated nonsurgically while the remaining 59 underwent surgery for skeletal metastasis. A multivariate analysis was conducted using the Cox proportional hazards model. We identified six significant prognostic factors for survival, namely, the primary lesion, visceral or cerebral metastases, abnormal laboratory data, poor performance status, previous chemotherapy, and multiple skeletal metastases. The first three factors had a larger impact than the remaining three. The prognostic score was calculated by adding together all the scores for individual factors. With a prognostic score of ≥7, the survival rate was 27% at 6 months, and only 6% at 1 year. In contrast, patients with a prognostic score of ≤3 had a survival rate of 91% at 1 year, and 78% at 2 years. Comparing the revised system with the previous one, there was a significantly lower number of wrongly predicted patients using the revised system. This revised scoring system was able to predict the survival rates of patients with skeletal metastases more accurately than the previous system and may be useful for selecting an optimal treatment. © 2014 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Pudendal and median nerve sensory perception threshold: a comparison between normative studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Quaghebeur, Jörgen; Wyndaele, Jean Jacques

2014-12-01

For the evaluation of sensory innervation, normative data are necessary as a comparison. To compare our current perception thresholds (CPTs) with normative data from other research. Healthy volunteers were assessed for 2000, 250, and 5 Hz CPTs of the median and pudendal nerve and data were compared with other studies. Normative data in the studied group n = 41 (male: 21; female: 20) for the median nerve, 2 kHz, 250 Hz, and 5 Hz were respectively: 241.85 ± 67.72 (140-444); 106.27 ± 39.12 (45-229); 82.05 ± 43.40 (13-271). Pudendal nerve CPTs 250 Hz were: 126.44 ± 69.46 (6-333). For men 2 kHz: 349.95 ± 125.76 (100-588); 5 Hz: 132.67 ± 51.81 (59-249) and women 2 kHz:226.20 ± 119.65 (64-528); 5 Hz: 92.45 ± 44.66 (35-215). For the median nerve no statistical differences for gender were shown. For the pudendal nerve, only 250 Hz showed no difference for gender (t-test: 0.516). Comparison of our data with CPTs of other normative data showed no agreement for the pudendal nerve. For the median nerve only 2 kHz showed agreement in three studies and for 5 Hz with one study. Comparing normative data of multiple studies shows a variety of results and poor agreement. Therefore, referring to normative data of other studies should be handled with caution.

In uncertainty we trust: a median voter model with risk aversion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel A. Yakovlev

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The principal-agent problem and uncertainty are some of the key factors affecting financial and political markets. Fear of the unknown plays an important role in human decision making, including voting. This article describes a theoretical model where voter risk aversion towards uncertainty gives political incumbents a significant advantage over their challengers, exacerbating the principal-agent problem between voters and legislators. The model presented predicts that a rise in voter uncertainty concerning the challenger allows the incumbent to deviate from the median voter’s policy preference without losing the election. This model reconciles the paradoxical coexistence of ideological shirking and high incumbent reelection rates without abandoning the elegant median voter framework.

Sosiaalisen median kehittäminen pk-yrityksissä Töpseli-verkoston avulla

OpenAIRE

Palander, Laura

2010-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli selvittää, minkälaisena mahdollisuutena pk-yrittäjät kokevat sosiaalisen median ja miten he ymmärtävät sen. Läntisellä Uudellamaalla toimivia yrityksiä on osallistunut Laurea-ammattikorkeakoulun Lohjan toimipisteen Töpseli-verkostoon. Verkoston tarkoituksena on vahvistaa länsi Uudellamaalla toimivien pk-yritysten kilpailukykyä, parantamalla yrittäjien ymmärrystä sosiaalisen median tarjoamista mahdollisuuksista. Työtä varten selvitettiin myös ammattikorkea...

D-score: a search engine independent MD-score.

Science.gov (United States)

Vaudel, Marc; Breiter, Daniela; Beck, Florian; Rahnenführer, Jörg; Martens, Lennart; Zahedi, René P

2013-03-01

While peptides carrying PTMs are routinely identified in gel-free MS, the localization of the PTMs onto the peptide sequences remains challenging. Search engine scores of secondary peptide matches have been used in different approaches in order to infer the quality of site inference, by penalizing the localization whenever the search engine similarly scored two candidate peptides with different site assignments. In the present work, we show how the estimation of posterior error probabilities for peptide candidates allows the estimation of a PTM score called the D-score, for multiple search engine studies. We demonstrate the applicability of this score to three popular search engines: Mascot, OMSSA, and X!Tandem, and evaluate its performance using an already published high resolution data set of synthetic phosphopeptides. For those peptides with phosphorylation site inference uncertainty, the number of spectrum matches with correctly localized phosphorylation increased by up to 25.7% when compared to using Mascot alone, although the actual increase depended on the fragmentation method used. Since this method relies only on search engine scores, it can be readily applied to the scoring of the localization of virtually any modification at no additional experimental or in silico cost. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Cognitive Deficits in Healthy Elderly Population With "Normal" Scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Science.gov (United States)

Votruba, Kristen L; Persad, Carol; Giordani, Bruno

2016-05-01

This study investigated whether healthy older adults with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores above 23 exhibit cognitive impairment on neuropsychological tests. Participants completed the MMSE and a neuropsychological battery including tests of 10 domains. Results were compared to published normative data. On neuropsychological testing, participants performed well on measures of naming and recall but showed mild to moderate impairment in working memory and processing speed and marked impairment in inhibition, sustained attention, and executive functioning. Almost everyone (91%) scored at least 1 standard deviation (SD) below the mean in at least 1 domain. The median number of domains in which individuals scored below 1 SD was 3.0 of 10.0, whereas over 21% scored below 1 SD in 5 domains or more. With the strictest of definitions for impairment, 20% of this population scored below 2.0 SDs below the norm in at least 2 domains, a necessary condition for a diagnosis of dementia. The finding that cognitive impairment, particularly in attention and executive functioning, is found in healthy older persons who perform well on the MMSE has clinical and research implications in terms of emphasizing normal variability in performance and early identification of possible impairment. © The Author(s) 2016.

[Safety of repeat median sternotomy in the palliative treatment of patients with a univentricular heart].

Science.gov (United States)

Díliz-Nava, Héctor; Meléndez-Sagaón, Isis; Tamaríz-Cruz, Orlando; García-Benítez, Luis; Araujo-Martínez, Aric; Palacios-Macedo, Alexis

To establish the morbidity and mortality of patients with univentricular hearts who underwent a repeat median sternotomy at the Instituto Nacional de Pediatría. A retrospective review was performed on the clinical charts of all patients who underwent a repeat median sternotomy from 2001 to 2016. Sixty-five patients underwent 76 surgeries by repeat median sternotomy. Fifty-nine patients had a first repeat median sternotomy, with a mean age of 36 months (range: 4-176 months) and a mean weight of 12.2 kg (range: 3.2-21.5 kg). Forty patients had a Glenn procedure, and 19 patients had a Fontan procedure. There were 17 patients with a second repeat median sternotomy, with a mean age of 89 months (range 48-156 months), and a mean weight of 22.7 kg (14.4-41 kg). A Fontan procedure was performed on all these 17 patients. A section of the right coronary artery with electrocardiographic changes and a right atrium tear that caused hypotension occurred during first repeat sternotomy. An aortic tear occurred during a second repeat sternotomy with massive bleeding and subsequent death. This represents 3.9% of re-entry injuries. It is concluded that repeat median sternotomy is a safe procedure. Copyright © 2016 Instituto Nacional de Cardiología Ignacio Chávez. Publicado por Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.

A Rank Test on Equality of Population Medians

OpenAIRE

Pooi Ah Hin

2012-01-01

The Kruskal-Wallis test is a non-parametric test for the equality of K population medians. The test statistic involved is a measure of the overall closeness of the K average ranks in the individual samples to the average rank in the combined sample. The resulting acceptance region of the test however may not be the smallest region with the required acceptance probability under the null hypothesis. Presently an alternative acceptance region is constructed such that it has the smallest size, ap...

Tessier Number 30 Median Mandibular Cleft With Congenital Heart Anomalies in Qena, Egypt.

Science.gov (United States)

Ali, Ahmed Ali Abdelrahim

2018-01-01

Median cleft deformities of the lower lip and mandible are very rare congenital anomalies. Our patient had median cleft of the lower lip, mandible, and the chin with tongue duplication, ankyloglossia, and cleft strap muscles with 2 neck contracture bands. This anomaly was associated with congenital heart disease transposition of great vessels, large ventricular septal defect, and severe pulmonary stenosis. Early repair was done at 6 months to improve feeding.

Hypofractionated stereotactic radiotherapy of acoustic neuroma. Volume changes and hearing results after 89-month median follow-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kranzinger, Manfred; Fastner, Gerd; Zehentmayr, Franz; Sedlmayer, Felix; Oberascher, Gerhard; Merz, Florian; Rahim, Hassan; Nairz, Olaf

2014-01-01

The goal of this work was to evaluate toxicity and local control following hypofractionated stereotactic radiation treatment with special focus on changes in tumor volume and hearing capacity. In all, 29 patients with unilateral acoustic neuroma were treated between 2001 and 2007 within a prospective radiation protocol (7 x 4 Gy ICRU dose). Median tumor volume was 0.9 ml. Follow-up started at 6 months and was repeated annually with MRI volumetry and audiometry. Hearing preservation was defined as preservation of Class A/B hearing according to the guidelines of the American Academy of Otolaryngology (1995). No patient had any intervention after a median imaging follow-up of 89.5 months, one patient showed radiological progression. Transient increase of tumor volume developed in 17/29 patients, whereas 22/29 patients (75.9 %) presented with a volume reduction at last follow-up. A total of 21 patients were eligible for hearing evaluation. Mean pure tone average (PTA) deteriorated from 39.3 to 65.9 dB and mean speech discrimination score (SDS) dropped from 74.3 to 38.1 %. The 5-year actuarial Class A/B hearing preservation rate was 50.0 ± 14.4 %. Radiation increases only minimally, if at all, the hearing deterioration which emerges by observation alone. Presbyacusis is not responsible for this deterioration. Transient tumor enlargement is common. Today radiation of small- and medium-sized acoustic neuroma can be performed with different highly conformal techniques as fractionated treatment or single low-dose radiosurgery with equal results regarding tumor control, hearing preservation, and side effects. Hypofractionation is more comfortable for the patient than conventional regimens and represents a serious alternative to frameless radiosurgery. (orig.) [de

Evaluation of a non-proprietary, high-tension, four-cable median barrier on level terrain.

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-01

During the last decade, the use of cable median barriers has risen dramatically. Cable barriers are often utilized in depressed medians : with widths ranging from 30 to 50 ft (9.1 to 15.2 m) and with fill slopes as steep as 4H:1V. A careful review of...

New England observed and predicted median July stream/river temperature points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted median July stream/river temperatures in New England based on a spatial statistical network...

New England observed and predicted median August stream/river temperature points

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The shapefile contains points with associated observed and predicted median August stream/river temperatures in New England based on a spatial statistical network...

Correlation between PSA, bone scan and Gleason score in patients with prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoza, G.; Cano, R.; Morales, R.; Munoz, L.; Saavedra, P.; Aguilar, C.

2004-01-01

Full text: Prostate cancer is the third most common cancer among Peruvian males. Although radionuclide bone scans (BS) are frequently recommended as part of the staging evaluation for newly diagnosed prostate cancer, most scans are negative for metastases. It has been suggested that a routine bone scan is unnecessary in recently diagnosed prostate cancer if serum PSA is under 10 ng/mL. We hypothesized that Gleason score plus prostate-specific antigen (PSA), could predict for a positive bone scan (better that PSA alone), and that a low - risk group of patients could be identified in whom BS might be omitted. All patients who had both pathologic review of their prostate cancer biopsies and radionuclide BS at our institution from 1/93 to 12/95 were studied. Gleason score, PSA, and bone scan (Soloway Index) were determined in 165 patients. Bivariate analysis using chi (x2) was performed. The mean age of the 165 patients was 71.3 years, 109/165 (66.1%) had a 7-9 Gleason score and only 9/165 (5.5%) were well differentiated prostrate cancer. 82/165 (49.7%) had negative BS. When classifying patients according to their histological grade, the PSA median values were 11.8 ng/mL, 74.8 ng/mL and 116.4 ng/mL in well, median and poorly differentiated prostate cancer respectively. Using a cut off point of 10 ng/mL of PSA, the probability of having a positive BS in Gleason 7, 8 and 9 tumors were 0.109, 0.121 and 0.133 respectively. By using a cut off point of 20 ng/mL of PSA the possibility to have a positive BS in Gleason 7, 8 and 9 tumours were 0.182, 0.206 and 0.224 respectively. Gleason score plus PSA were independent predictors for a positive radionuclide BS in newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients. Considering that most of our patients have Gleason 7-9, the risk of bone metastases despite PSA levels between 10 - 20 ng/mL is not negligible. In our opinion, it is important to continue including bone scan in the staging assessment of prostate cancer. (author)

The mean, the median, and the St. Petersburg paradox.

Science.gov (United States)

Hayden, Benjamin Y; Platt, Michael L

2009-06-01

The St. Petersburg Paradox is a famous economic and philosophical puzzle that has generated numerous conflicting explanations. To shed empirical light on this phenomenon, we examined subjects' bids for one St. Petersburg gamble with a real monetary payment. We found that bids were typically lower than twice the smallest payoff, and thus much lower than is generally supposed. We also examined bids offered for several hypothetical variants of the St. Petersburg Paradox. We found that bids were weakly affected by truncating the gamble, were strongly affected by repeats of the gamble, and depended linearly on the initial "seed" value of the gamble. One explanation, which we call the median heuristic , strongly predicts these data. Subjects following this strategy evaluate a gamble as if they were taking the median rather than the mean of the payoff distribution. Finally, we argue that the distribution of outcomes embodied in the St. Petersburg paradox is so divergent from the Gaussian form that the statistical mean is a poor estimator of expected value, so that the expected value of the St. Petersburg gamble is undefined. These results suggest that this classic paradox has a straightforward explanation rooted in the use of a statistical heuristic.

Extension of the lod score: the mod score.

Science.gov (United States)

Clerget-Darpoux, F

2001-01-01

In 1955 Morton proposed the lod score method both for testing linkage between loci and for estimating the recombination fraction between them. If a disease is controlled by a gene at one of these loci, the lod score computation requires the prior specification of an underlying model that assigns the probabilities of genotypes from the observed phenotypes. To address the case of linkage studies for diseases with unknown mode of inheritance, we suggested (Clerget-Darpoux et al., 1986) extending the lod score function to a so-called mod score function. In this function, the variables are both the recombination fraction and the disease model parameters. Maximizing the mod score function over all these parameters amounts to maximizing the probability of marker data conditional on the disease status. Under the absence of linkage, the mod score conforms to a chi-square distribution, with extra degrees of freedom in comparison to the lod score function (MacLean et al., 1993). The mod score is asymptotically maximum for the true disease model (Clerget-Darpoux and Bonaïti-Pellié, 1992; Hodge and Elston, 1994). Consequently, the power to detect linkage through mod score will be highest when the space of models where the maximization is performed includes the true model. On the other hand, one must avoid overparametrization of the model space. For example, when the approach is applied to affected sibpairs, only two constrained disease model parameters should be used (Knapp et al., 1994) for the mod score maximization. It is also important to emphasize the existence of a strong correlation between the disease gene location and the disease model. Consequently, there is poor resolution of the location of the susceptibility locus when the disease model at this locus is unknown. Of course, this is true regardless of the statistics used. The mod score may also be applied in a candidate gene strategy to model the potential effect of this gene in the disease. Since, however, it

Median and ulnar neuropathies in U.S. Army Medical Command Band members.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaffer, Scott W; Koreerat, Nicholas R; Gordon, Lindsay B; Santillo, Douglas R; Moore, Josef H; Greathouse, David G

2013-12-01

Musicians have been reported as having a high prevalence of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders, including carpal tunnel syndrome. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of median and ulnar neuropathies in U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) Band members at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Thirty-five MEDCOM Band members (30 males, 5 females) volunteered to participate. There were 33 right-handed musicians, and the mean length of time in the MEDCOM Band was 12.2 yrs (range, 1-30 yrs). Subjects completed a history form, were interviewed, and underwent a physical examination of the cervical spine and bilateral upper extremities. Nerve conduction studies of the bilateral median and ulnar nerves were performed. Electrophysiological variables served as the reference standard for median and ulnar neuropathy and included distal sensory latencies, distal motor latencies, amplitudes, conduction velocities, and comparison study latencies. Ten of the 35 subjects (29%) presented with abnormal electrophysiologic values suggestive of an upper extremity mononeuropathy. Nine of the subjects had abnormal median nerve electrophysiologic values at or distal to the wrist; 2 had bilateral abnormal values. One had an abnormal ulnar nerve electrophysiologic assessment at the elbow. Nine of these 10 subjects had clinical examination findings consistent with the electrophysiological findings. The prevalence of mononeuropathies in this sample of band members is similar to that found in previous research involving civilian musicians (20-36%) and far exceeds that reported in the general population. Prospective research investigating screening, examination items, and injury prevention measures in musicians appears to be warranted.

PROJECTIONS OF DORSAL AND MEDIAN RAPHE NUCLEI TO DORSAL AND VENTRAL STRIATUM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. R. Hassanzadeh G. Behzadi

2007-08-01

Full Text Available The ascending serotonergic projections are derived mainly from mesencephalic raphe nuclei. Topographical projections from mesencephalic raphe nuclei to the striatum were examined in the rat by the retrograde transport technique of HRP (horseradish peroxidase. In 29 rats stereotaxically injection of HRP enzyme were performed in dorsal and ventral parts of striatum separately. The extent of the injection sites and distribution of retrogradely labeled neuronal cell bodies were drawed on representative sections using a projection microscope. Following ipsilateral injection of HRP into the dorsal striatum, numerous labeled neurons were seen in rostral portion of dorsal raphe (DR nucleus. In the same level the cluster of labeled neurons were hevier through caudal parts of DR. A few neurons were also located in lateral wing of DR. More caudally some labeled neurons were found in lateral, medial line of DR. In median raphe nucleus (MnR the labeled neurons were scattered only in median portion of this nucleus. The ipsilateral injection of HRP into the ventral region of striatum resulted on labeling of numerous neurons in rostral, caudal and lateral portions of DR. Through the caudal extension of DR on 4th ventricle level, a large number of labeled neurons were distributed along the ventrocaudal parts of DR. In MnR, labeled neurons were observed only in median part of this nucleus. These findings suggest the mesencephalic raphe nuclei projections to caudo-putamen are topographically organized. In addition dorsal and median raphe nuclei have a stronger projection to the ventral striatum.

Prognostic discrimination based on the EUTOS long-term survival score within the International Registry for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in children and adolescents

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Millot, Frédéric; Guilhot, Joëlle; Suttorp, Meinolf

2017-01-01

The EUTOS Long-Term Survival score was tested in 350 children with chronic myeloid leukemia in first chronic phase treated with imatinib and registered in the International Registry for Childhood Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. With a median follow up of 3 years (range, 1 month to 6 years) progression ...

Prognostic discrimination based on the EUTOS long-term survival score within the International Registry for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in children and adolescents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Millot, Frederic; Guilhot, Joelle; Suttorp, Meinolf; Gunes, Adalet Meral; Sedlacek, Petr; De Bont, Eveline; Li, Chi Kong; Kalwak, Krzysztof; Lausen, Birgitte; Culic, Srdjana; Dworzak, Michael; Kaiserova, Emilia; De Moerloose, Barbara; Roula, Farah; Biondi, Andrea; Baruchel, Andre

2017-01-01

The EUTOS Long-Term Survival score was tested in 350 children with chronic myeloid leukemia in first chronic phase treated with imatinib and registered in the International Registry for Childhood Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. With a median follow up of 3 years (range, 1 month to 6 years) progression

Role of MELD score and serum creatinine as prognostic tools for the development of acute kidney injury after liver transplantation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thiago Gomes Romano

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The role of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD score in predicting complications, such as Acute Kidney Injury (AKI, after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT has yet to be evaluated and serum creatinine may be too heavily weighted in the existing MELD formula, since it has many pitfalls in cirrhotic patients. METHODS: Retrospective data of the perioperative period from consecutive adult OLTs performed from January to December 2009 were recorded. Univariate and multivariate analysis were performed to analyze the risk factors for AKI and mortality after OLT. RESULTS: There were 114 OLTs performed in the study period, 22 (19,2% were submitted to dialysis prior OLT and were excluded from the analysis for AKI. The median age was 52 years and 66% were male. Median creatinine value was 0.85mg/dL and MELD was 19. Fifty-two of the 92 patients (56,5% developed AKI in the first 72 hours after OLT. The only independent risk factor for AKI was calculated MELD and when the components of the MELD score were analyzed, INR had a much stronger impact in predicting AKI then serum creatinine. Overall mortality rate was 32,5% and anesthesia duration was the only variable associated with higher mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Although MELD score seems to have a good performance in predicting AKI after OLT, serum creatinine had no impact on its prediction despite its importance on MELD calculation. Modifying the MELD score, which could include novel AKI biomarkers, may improve its prognostic accuracy and provide a better tool for public health planning.

Digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen kampaamoalalla : Pienyritykset

OpenAIRE

Myllymäki, Hanna

2016-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena oli digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median hyödyntäminen kampaamoalalla, erityisesti pienissä yrityksissä. Tavoitteena oli opastaa lukijaa ymmärtämään digitaalisen markkinoinnin ja sosiaalisen median keskeisimmät perusteet ja antaa neuvoja parturi-kampaamoalan yrittäjälle, joka ei ole vielä huomioinut tai osannut hyödyntää niiden työkaluja. Työn teoriaosuudessa käsiteltiin mitä markkinointiviestintä on ja mitä sosiaalisen media on. Tämän lisäksi käsit...

Mobile Phone-Based Questionnaire for Assessing 3 Months Modified Rankin Score After Acute Stroke: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooray, Charith; Matusevicius, Marius; Wahlgren, Nils; Ahmed, Niaz

2015-10-01

In many countries, a majority of stroke patients are not assessed for long-term functional outcome owing to limited resources and time. We investigated whether automatic assessment of the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) based on a mobile phone questionnaire may serve as an alternative to mRS assessments at clinical visits after stroke. We enrolled 62 acute stroke patients admitted to our stroke unit during March to May 2014. Forty-eight patients completed the study. During the stay, patients and/or caregivers were equipped with a mobile phone application in their personal mobile phones. The mobile phone application contained a set of 20 questions, based on the Rankin Focused Assessment, which we previously tested in a pilot study. Three months after inclusion, the mobile phone application automatically prompted the study participants to answer the mRS questionnaire in the mobile phones. Each question or a group of questions in the questionnaire corresponded to a certain mRS score. Using a predefined protocol, the highest mRS score question where the study participant had answered yes was deemed the final mobile mRS score. A few days later, a study personnel performed a clinical visit mRS assessment. The 2 assessments were compared using quadratic weighing κ-statistics. Mean age was 67 years (38% females), and median baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 5 (interquartile range 2-10.5, range 0-23). Median and mean clinical visit mRS at 3 months was 2 and 2.3, respectively. We found a 62.5% agreement between clinical visit and mobile mRS assessment, weighted kappa 0.89 (95% confidence interval 0.82-0.96), and unweighted kappa 0.53 (95% confidence interval 0.36-0.70). Dichotomized mRS outcome separating functionally independent (mRS score 0-2) from dependent (mRS score 3-5) showed 83% agreement and unweighted kappa of 0.66 (95% confidence interval 0.45-0.87). Mobile phone-based automatic assessments of mRS performed well in comparison with

Outcome of older persons admitted to intensive care unit, mortality, prognosis factors, dependency scores and ability trajectory within 1 year: a prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Level, Claude; Tellier, Eric; Dezou, Patrick; Chaoui, Karim; Kherchache, Aissa; Sejourné, Philippe; Rullion-Pac Soo, Anne Marie

2017-12-06

The outcome and functional trajectory of older persons admitted to intensive care (ICU) unit remain a true question for critical care physicians and geriatricians, due to the heterogeneity of geriatric population, heterogeneity of practices and absence of guidelines. To describe the 1-year outcome, prognosis factors and functional trajectory for older people admitted to ICU. In a prospective 1-year cohort study, all patients aged 75 years and over admitted to our ICU were included according to a global comprehensive geriatric assessment. Follow-up was conducted for 1 year survivors, in particular, ability scores and living conditions. Of 188 patients included [aged 82.3 ± 4.7 years, 46% of admissions, median SAPS II 53.5 (43-74), ADL of Katz's score 4.2 ± 1.6, median Barthel's index 71 (55-90), AGGIR scale 4.5 ± 1.5], the ICU, hospital and 1-year mortality were, respectively, 34, 42.5 and 65.5%. Prognosis factors were: SAPS 2, mechanical ventilation, comorbidity (Lee's and Mc Cabe's scores), disability scores (ADL of Katz's score, Barthel's index and AGGIR scale), admission creatinin, hypoalbuminemia, malignant haemopathy, cognitive impairment. One-year survivors lived in their own home for 83%, with a preserved physical ability, without significant variation of the three ability assessed scores compared to prior ICU admission. The mortality of older people admitted to ICU is high, with a significant impact of disabilty scores, and preserved 1-year survivor independency. Other studies, including a better comprehensive geriatric assessment, seem necessary to determine a predictive "phenotype" of survival with a "satisfactory" level of autonomy.

Median sep and blink reflex in thyroid diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Oflazoğlu, B; Somay, G; Us, O; Surardamar, A; Tanridağ, T

2006-11-01

Pathological disturbances of thyroid hormones is associated with central and peripheral nervous system disturbances. The aim of this study is to evaluate median nerve stimulated somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) and blink reflex of thyroid patients (hypo and hyperthyroidism). Median SEP was performed in 40 patients (21 with hyperthyroidism and 19 with hypothyroidism). We evaluated the latencies of N9, N11, N13, P9, P11, P14, N20 and P25 waves and the N9-N20, N9-N13, N13-N20 and P14-N20 interpeak latencies. We compared the results of patients with the control group (26 persons). We found that the N20 latency was longer in patients with hyperthyroidism than in the control group and the difference was statistically significant. There was not any statistically significant difference regarding the N9, N11, N13, P9, P11, P14, N20 and P25 latencies and the N9-N20, N9-N13, N13-N20 and P14-N20 interpeak latencies between hypothyroid patients and controls. We performed the blink reflex study in 28 of 40 patients (14 patients with hyperthyroidism and 14 patients with hypothyroidism). Comparing the R1, R2, CR2 (contralateral R2) latencies and durations of the patients and controls, we found that R2 and CR2 duration was shorter in patients with hyperthyroidism. This difference was statistically significant.

Effect of finger motion on transverse median nerve movement in the carpal tunnel.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Hyo Jung; Yoon, Joon Shik

2016-10-01

We used ultrasonography (US) to investigate the effects of finger motion on movement of the median nerve in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and the correlation between these US parameters and CTS severity. Ultrasonographic measures were performed in 23 control wrists and 22 CTS wrists in women. During first through third finger flexion and grip motion, median nerve movements were obtained using US and a tracing program. Nerve movements during third finger flexion in the dorsopalmar axis and grip motion in both axes, and during second finger flexion in the radioulnar axis, differed significantly between the control and CTS groups. US parameters correlated negatively with cross-sectional area. This study shows that transverse median nerve movements decreased during grip using US and correlated negatively with CTS severity. Muscle Nerve, 2016 Muscle Nerve 54: -, 2016 Muscle Nerve 54: 738-742, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Median Arcuate Ligament Syndrome: A Single-Center Experience with 23 Patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nasr, Layla A. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon); Faraj, Walid G. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Department of Surgery (Lebanon); Al-Kutoubi, Aghiad [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon); Hamady, Mohamad [Imperial College-London Faculty of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (United Kingdom); Khalifeh, Mohamad; Hallal, Ali; Halawani, Hamzeh M. [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Department of Surgery (Lebanon); Wazen, Joelle; Haydar, Ali A., E-mail: ah24@aub.edu.lb [American University of Beirut Medical Center, Division of Interventional Radiology, Department of Radiology (Lebanon)

2017-05-15

BackgroundMedian arcuate ligament syndrome (MALS) is a rare entity that occurs when the median arcuate ligament of the diaphragm is low-lying, causing a compression to the underlying celiac trunk. We reviewed the vascular changes associated with MALS in an effort to emphasize the seriousness of this disease and the complications that may result.MethodsThis is a retrospective descriptive analysis of 23 consecutive patients diagnosed with MALS between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015 at a tertiary medical center. Computed tomographic (CT) scans, medical records, and patient follow-up were reviewed.ResultsThe number of patients included herein was 23. The median age was 56 years (17–83). Sixteen patients (69.6%) had a significant arterial collateral circulation. Eleven patients (47.8%) were found to have visceral artery aneurysms; 4 patients (36.4%) bled secondary to aneurysm rupture. All ruptured aneurysms were treated with endovascular approach. The severity of the hemodynamic changes appears to be greater with complete occlusion,ConclusionsMALS causes pathological hemodynamic changes within the abdominal vasculature. Follow-up is advised for patients who develop a collateral circulation. Resulting aneurysms should preferably be treated when the size ratio approaches three. Treatment of these aneurysms can be done via an endovascular approach coupled with possible celiac artery decompression to restore physiologic blood flow.

Assessing pediatric ileocolonic Crohn's disease activity based on global MR enterography scores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pomerri, Fabio; Zuliani, Monica; Giorgi, Benedetta; Muzzio, Pier Carlo [University of Padova, Department of Medicine-DIMED, Padova (Italy); Al Bunni, Faise [Rovigo Hospital, Radiology Unit, S. Maria della Misericordia, Rovigo (Italy); Guariso, Graziella; Gasparetto, Marco; Cananzi, Mara [University of Padova, Department of Women and Child Health, Padova (Italy)

2017-03-15

This study was aimed at correlating a magnetic resonance index of activity (MaRIA) and a magnetic resonance enterography global score (MEGS) with activity indexes in a paediatric population with Crohn's disease (CD). This retrospective study included 32 paediatric patients (median age 14.5 years, 18 male) with proven CD who underwent magnetic resonance enterography (MRE). A correlation analysis was performed on the MRE-based scores, the simplified endoscopic score for CD (SES-CD), the paediatric Crohn's disease activity index (PCDAI), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels. Based on PCDAI, comparison of both global MaRIA and MEGS was made between patients with mild and moderate/severe disease activity. Global MaRIA correlated with SES-CD (r = 0.70, p = 0.001) and PCDAI (r = 0.42, p = 0.016). MEGS correlated with PCDAI (r = 0.46, p = 0.007) and CRP levels (r = 0.35, p = 0.046). MEGS differed significantly (p = 0.027) between patients grouped by clinical disease severity. MRE-based global scores correlated with clinical indexes of CD activity. Therefore, they represent a potential useful tool to predict CD activity and severity, as well as a possible promising alternative to endoscopy, to monitor paediatric patients with CD during their follow-up. (orig.)

A Practical Standardized Composite Nutrition Score Based on Lean Tissue Index: Application in Nutrition Screening and Prediction of Outcome in Hemodialysis Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Huan-Sheng; Cheng, Chun-Ting; Hou, Chun-Cheng; Liou, Hung-Hsiang; Chang, Cheng-Tsung; Lin, Chun-Ju; Wu, Tsai-Kun; Chen, Chang-Hsu; Lim, Paik-Seong

2017-07-01

Rapid screening and monitoring of nutritional status is mandatory in hemodialysis population because of the increasingly encountered nutritional problems. Considering the limitations of previous composite nutrition scores applied in this population, we tried to develop a standardized composite nutrition score (SCNS) using low lean tissue index as a marker of protein wasting to facilitate clinical screening and monitoring and to predict outcome. This retrospective cohort used 2 databases of dialysis populations from Taiwan between 2011 and 2014. First database consisting of data from 629 maintenance hemodialysis patients was used to develop the SCNS and the second database containing data from 297 maintenance hemodialysis patients was used to validate this developed score. SCNS containing albumin, creatinine, potassium, and body mass index was developed from the first database using low lean tissue index as a marker of protein wasting. When applying this score in the original database, significantly higher risk of developing protein wasting was found for patients with lower SCNS (odds ratio 1.38 [middle tertile vs highest tertile, P < .0001] and 2.40 [lowest tertile vs middle tertile, P < .0001]). The risk of death was also shown to be higher for patients with lower SCNS (hazard ratio 4.45 [below median level vs above median level, P < .0001]). These results were validated in the second database. We developed an SCNS consisting of 4 easily available biochemical parameters. This kind of scoring system can be easily applied in different dialysis facilities for screening and monitoring of protein wasting. The wide application of body composition monitor in dialysis population will also facilitate the development of specific nutrition scoring model for individual facility. Copyright © 2017 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Does quantifying epicardial and intrathoracic fat with noncontrast computed tomography improve risk stratification beyond calcium scoring alone?

Science.gov (United States)

Forouzandeh, Farshad; Chang, Su Min; Muhyieddeen, Kamil; Zaid, Rashid R; Trevino, Alejandro R; Xu, Jiaqiong; Nabi, Faisal; Mahmarian, John J

2013-01-01

Noncontrast cardiac computed tomography allows calculation of coronary artery calcium score (CACS) and measurement of epicardial adipose tissue (EATv) and intrathoracic fat (ITFv) volumes. It is unclear whether fat volume information contributes to risk stratification. Cardiac computed tomography was performed in 760 consecutive patients with acute chest pain admitted thorough the emergency department. None had prior coronary artery disease. CACS was calculated using the Agatston method. EATv and ITFv were semiautomatically calculated. Median patient follow-up was 3.3 years. Mean patient age was 54.4±13.7 years and Framingham risk score 8.2±8.2. The 45 patients (5.9%) with major acute cardiac events (MACE) were older (64.8±13.9 versus 53.7±13.4 years), more frequently male (60% versus 40%), and had a higher median Framingham risk score (16 versus 4) and CACS (268 versus 0) versus those without events (all PEATv (154 versus 116 mL) and ITFv (330 versus 223 mL), and a higher prevalence of EATv >125 mL (67% versus 44%) and ITFv >250 mL (64% versus 42%) (all PEATv, and ITFv were all independently associated with MACE. CACS was associated with MACE after adjustment for fat volumes (PEATv and ITFv improved the risk model only in patients with CACS >400. CACS and fat volumes are independently associated with MACE in acute chest pain patients and beyond that provided by clinical information alone. Although fat volumes may add prognostic value in patients with CACS >400, CACS is most strongly correlated with outcome.

Case Report: A true median facial cleft (crano-facial dysraphia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Case Report: A true median facial cleft (crano-facial dysraphia, atessier type O) in Bingham University Teaching Hospital, Jos. ... Patient had a multidisciplinary care by the obstetrician, Neonatologist, anesthesiologist and the plastic surgery team who scheduled a soft tissue repair of the upper lip defect, columella and ...

Coronary atherosclerosis burden is not advanced in patients with β-thalassemia despite premature extracardiac atherosclerosis: a coronary artery calcium score and carotid intima-media thickness study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahalis, George; Zacharioglou, Evangelia; Xanthopoulou, Ioanna; Koniari, Ioanna; Kalogeropoulou, Chistina; Tsota, Irene; Rigopoulou, Aspasia; Diamantopoulos, Athanasios; Gkizas, Vasilios; Davlouros, Periklis; Akinosoglou, Karolina; Leopoulou, Marianna; Gogos, Charalampos; Alexopoulos, Dimitrios

2016-02-01

Thalassemic patients demonstrate an increased rate of extracardiac vascular complications and increased carotid wall intima-media thickness (cIMT), but very low prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the atheroma burden by assessing the coronary artery calcium (CAC) and cIMT in these patients. We examined 37 patients with β-thalassemia and 150 healthy control volunteers with multi-detector computer tomography (CT) and ultrasonography to determine CAC score and cIMT, respectively. Propensity score matching (C-statistic: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.83-0.93) resulted in 27 pairs of patients; severe CAC was observed in 2 (7.4%) and 0 of β-thalassemia patients and healthy volunteers respectively (P = 0.5). Median calcium score was 0 (0-0) in β-thalassemia patients and 0 (0-4) in healthy volunteers (P = 0.8). Median intima-media thickness was higher in β-thalassemia patients compared to control group [0.45 (0.06-0.65) vs. 0.062 (0.054-0.086); P = 0.04]. Patients with β-thalassemia in comparison with healthy control subjects exhibit similar CAC score and increased cIMT. Our findings indicate a disparate rate of progression of atherosclerosis between coronary and extracardiac arteries in these patients lending support to the epidemiological evidence.

SOSIAALISEN MEDIAN HYÖDYNTÄMINEN KUNTOKESKUS BALANCEN MARKKINOINNISSA

OpenAIRE

Arvola, Timo

2011-01-01

Tässä opinnäytetyössä oli kyse kehittämistehtävästä. Kehittämistehtävän tarkoitus oli tarkastella voiko Kuntokes-kus Balance hyödyntää sosiaalista mediaa markkinoinnissaan. Empiirisessä osassa on ohje Facebook-sivun luomi-seen. Teorian alussa tarkastellaan sosiaalista mediaa käsitteenä. Sosiaalisesta mediasta käsitteenä siirrytään sosiaalisen median sovelluksiin ja niiden ominaisuuksiin. Sovelluksista käsitellään Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Wikipedia, blogit, Movescount ja HeiaHeia. ...

Nuorten sosiaalisen median käyttö tiedonhankinnassa

OpenAIRE

Simolin, Annina

2017-01-01

Opinnäytetyön toimeksiantajana on Hämeen ammattikorkeakoulun strateginen viestintä, joka vastaa muun muassa opiskelijahankinnasta. HAMKilla on tällä hetkellä käytössään useita sosiaalisen median kanavia, ja työllä haluttiin selvittää mistä kanavista ja mitä tietoa nuoret erityisesti hakevat jatko-opintoja suunnitellessaan. Lisäksi haluttiin selvittää miten nuoret haluavat itse olla yhteydessä oppilaitoksiin hakuaikana. Teoriaosiossa on käsitelty nuorten mediakäyttäytymistä sekä useita sosiaal...

Reirradiation in progressive high-grade gliomas: outcome, role of concurrent chemotherapy, prognostic factors and validation of a new prognostic score with an independent patient cohort

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scholtyssek, Felix; Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter; Müller, Klaus; Zwiener, Isabella; Schlamann, Annika; Seidel, Clemens; Meixensberger, Jürgen; Bauer, Manfred; Hoffmann, Karl-Titus; Combs, Stephanie E; Bueren, André O von

2013-01-01

First, to evaluate outcome, the benefit of concurrent chemotherapy and prognostic factors in a cohort of sixty-four high-grade glioma patients who underwent a second course of radiation therapy at progression. Second, to validate a new prognostic score for overall survival after reirradiation of progressive gliomas with an independent patient cohort. All patients underwent fractionated reirradiation with a median physical dose of 36 Gy. Median planned target volume was 110.4 ml. Thirty-six patients received concurrent chemotherapy consisting in 24/36 cases (67%) of carboplatin and etoposide and in 12/36 cases (33%) of temozolomide. We used the Kaplan Meier method, log rank test and proportional hazards regression analysis for statistical assessment. Median overall survival from the start of reirradiation was 7.7 ± 0.7 months. Overall survival rates at 6 and 12 months were 60 ± 6% and 24 ± 6%, respectively. Despite relatively large target volumes we did not observe any major acute toxicity. Concurrent chemotherapy did not appear to improve outcome. In contrast, female gender, young age, WHO grade III histology, favorable Karnofsky performance score and complete resection of the tumor prior to reirradiation were identified as positive prognostic factors for overall survival. We finally validated a recent suggestion for a prognostic score with our independent but small patient cohort. Our preliminary findings suggest that its ability to discriminate between different prognostic groups is limited. Outcome of our patients was comparable to previous studies. Even in case of large target volumes reirradiation seems to be feasible without observing major toxicity. The benefit of concurrent chemotherapy is still elusive. A reassessment of the prognostic score, tested in this study, using a larger patient cohort is needed

Cardiovascular risk prediction in HIV-infected patients: comparing the Framingham, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score (ASCVD), Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation for the Netherlands (SCORE-NL) and Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) risk prediction models.

Science.gov (United States)

Krikke, M; Hoogeveen, R C; Hoepelman, A I M; Visseren, F L J; Arends, J E

2016-04-01

The aim of the study was to compare the predictions of five popular cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk prediction models, namely the Data Collection on Adverse Events of Anti-HIV Drugs (D:A:D) model, the Framingham Heart Study (FHS) coronary heart disease (FHS-CHD) and general CVD (FHS-CVD) models, the American Heart Association (AHA) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score (ASCVD) model and the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation for the Netherlands (SCORE-NL) model. A cross-sectional design was used to compare the cumulative CVD risk predictions of the models. Furthermore, the predictions of the general CVD models were compared with those of the HIV-specific D:A:D model using three categories ( 20%) to categorize the risk and to determine the degree to which patients were categorized similarly or in a higher/lower category. A total of 997 HIV-infected patients were included in the study: 81% were male and they had a median age of 46 [interquartile range (IQR) 40-52] years, a known duration of HIV infection of 6.8 (IQR 3.7-10.9) years, and a median time on ART of 6.4 (IQR 3.0-11.5) years. The D:A:D, ASCVD and SCORE-NL models gave a lower cumulative CVD risk, compared with that of the FHS-CVD and FHS-CHD models. Comparing the general CVD models with the D:A:D model, the FHS-CVD and FHS-CHD models only classified 65% and 79% of patients, respectively, in the same category as did the D:A:D model. However, for the ASCVD and SCORE-NL models, this percentage was 89% and 87%, respectively. Furthermore, FHS-CVD and FHS-CHD attributed a higher CVD risk to 33% and 16% of patients, respectively, while this percentage was D:A:D, ASCVD and SCORE-NL models. This could have consequences regarding overtreatment, drug-related adverse events and drug-drug interactions. © 2015 British HIV Association.

The Zhongshan Score

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Lin; Guo, Jianming; Wang, Hang; Wang, Guomin

2015-01-01

Abstract In the zero ischemia era of nephron-sparing surgery (NSS), a new anatomic classification system (ACS) is needed to adjust to these new surgical techniques. We devised a novel and simple ACS, and compared it with the RENAL and PADUA scores to predict the risk of NSS outcomes. We retrospectively evaluated 789 patients who underwent NSS with available imaging between January 2007 and July 2014. Demographic and clinical data were assessed. The Zhongshan (ZS) score consisted of three parameters. RENAL, PADUA, and ZS scores are divided into three groups, that is, high, moderate, and low scores. For operative time (OT), significant differences were seen between any two groups of ZS score and PADUA score (all P RENAL showed no significant difference between moderate and high complexity in OT, WIT, estimated blood loss, and increase in SCr. Compared with patients with a low score of ZS, those with a high or moderate score had 8.1-fold or 3.3-fold higher risk of surgical complications, respectively (all P RENAL score, patients with a high or moderate score had 5.7-fold or 1.9-fold higher risk of surgical complications, respectively (all P RENAL and PADUA scores. ZS score could be used to reflect the surgical complexity and predict the risk of surgical complications in patients undergoing NSS. PMID:25654399

Value of the CHA2DS2-VASc score and Fabry-specific score for predicting new-onset or recurrent stroke/TIA in Fabry disease patients without atrial fibrillation.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dan; Hu, Kai; Schmidt, Marie; Müntze, Jonas; Maniuc, Octavian; Gensler, Daniel; Oder, Daniel; Salinger, Tim; Weidemann, Frank; Ertl, Georg; Frantz, Stefan; Wanner, Christoph; Nordbeck, Peter

2018-05-24

To evaluate potential risk factors for stroke or transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and to test the feasibility and efficacy of a Fabry-specific stroke risk score in Fabry disease (FD) patients without atrial fibrillation (AF). FD patients often experience cerebrovascular events (stroke/TIA) at young age. 159 genetically confirmed FD patients without AF (aged 40 ± 14 years, 42.1% male) were included, and risk factors for stroke/TIA events were determined. All patients were followed up over a median period of 60 (quartiles 35-90) months. The pre-defined primary outcomes included new-onset or recurrent stroke/TIA and all-cause death. Prior stroke/TIA (HR 19.97, P TIA in FD patients without AF. A Fabry-specific score was established based on above defined risk factors, proving somehow superior to the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score in predicting new-onset or recurrent stroke/TIA in this cohort (AUC 0.87 vs. 0.75, P = .199). Prior stroke/TIA, angiokeratoma, renal dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and global systolic dysfunction are independent risk factors for new-onset or recurrent stroke/TIA in FD patients without AF. It is feasible to predict new or recurrent cerebral events with the Fabry-specific score based on the above defined risk factors. Future studies are warranted to test if FD patients with high risk for new-onset or recurrent stroke/TIA, as defined by the Fabry-specific score (≥ 2 points), might benefit from antithrombotic therapy. Clinical trial registration HEAL-FABRY (evaluation of HEArt invoLvement in patients with FABRY disease, NCT03362164).

The Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score as a Measure of Disease Activity in Patients with Giant Cell Arteritis

Science.gov (United States)

Kermani, TA; Cuthbertson, D; Carette, S; Hoffman, GS; Khalidi, NA; Koening, CL; Langford, CA; McKinnon-Maksimowicz, K; McAlear, CA; Monach, PA; Seo, P; Warrington, KJ; Ytterberg, SR; Merkel, PA; Matteson, EL

2016-01-01

Objective To evaluate the performance of the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) in the assessment of disease activity in giant cell arteritis (GCA). Methods Patients with GCA enrolled in a prospective, multicenter, longitudinal study with symptoms of active vasculitis during any visit were included. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to explore the association of the BVAS with other measures of disease activity. Results During a mean (SD) follow-up of 2.3 (1.6) years, symptoms of active GCA were present in 236 visits in 136 subjects (100 female, 74%). Median (range) BVAS1 (new/worse symptoms) was 1 (0–10) and median (range) BVAS2 (persistent symptoms) was 0 (0–5). Median (range) physician global assessment (PGA) was 4 (0–9) for disease activity in the past 28 days and 2 (0–9) for activity on the day of the visit. Important ischemic manifestations of active vasculitis not captured by the BVAS included tongue/jaw claudication (27%), upper extremity claudication (15%), lower extremity claudication (5%), carotidynia (7%), ischemic retinopathy (5%). During 25 visits (11%) with active disease, all symptoms of active vasculitis were captured in the “Other” category yet still resulted in a BVAS 1 and BVAS 2 of 0. BVAS1 moderately correlated with PGA for the past 28 days (Spearman’s correlation 0.50) and physician-rated disease activity for the past 28 days (Spearman’s correlation 0.46). Conclusions The BVAS has limited utility in GCA. Patients with active GCA can have a BVAS of 0. Many important ischemic symptoms attributable to active vasculitis are not captured in the composite score. PMID:27036388

Re-Scoring the Game’s Score

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gasselseder, Hans-Peter

2014-01-01

This study explores immersive presence as well as emotional valence and arousal in the context of dynamic and non-dynamic music scores in the 3rd person action-adventure video game genre while also considering relevant personality traits of the player. 60 subjects answered self-report questionnai......This study explores immersive presence as well as emotional valence and arousal in the context of dynamic and non-dynamic music scores in the 3rd person action-adventure video game genre while also considering relevant personality traits of the player. 60 subjects answered self......-temporal alignment in the resulting emotional congruency of nondiegetic music. Whereas imaginary aspects of immersive presence are systemically affected by the presentation of dynamic music, sensory spatial aspects show higher sensitivity towards the arousal potential of the music score. It is argued...

Median survival time of patients after transcatheter chemo-embolization for hepatocellular carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haider, Z.; Haq, T.; Munir, K.; Usman, M.U.; Azeemuddin, M.

2006-01-01

Objective: To determine the effect on survival after trans arterial chemo embolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Place and Duration of Study: Radiology Department, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Stadium Road, Karachi, from December 1997 to September 2005. Patients and Methods: Patients undergoing TACE procedure for HCC were prospectively followed. Forty three patients were enrolled from December 1997 to March 2003 in the study and subjected to chemo embolization therapy. Eight out of 43 patients were excluded from the study, who lost to follow-up. All the patients were followed till their death. Median and mean survival were calculated. Results: The median survival of these 35 patients was 410 days (13.6 months), with 95% confidence interval (236 days lower bound and 536 days upper bound). Mean survival time was 603 days (20.1 months) with 95% confidence interval (394 days lower bound and 812 days upper bound). There was significant difference in mean survival time (in days) by Child's Pugh class (X2 = 12.384; df=2, p-value=0.002). Conclusion: The study showed that TACE is an effective palliative treatment. TACE increases the median survival time. (author)

An audit of the impact of a consultation with a paediatric dermatology team on quality of life in infants with atopic eczema and their families: further validation of the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index and Dermatitis Family Impact score.

Science.gov (United States)

Beattie, P E; Lewis-Jones, M S

2006-12-01

Atopic dermatitis (AD) accounts for 10-20% of referrals to secondary care dermatology, often requiring multiple visits and occupying much valuable time and resources. We audited the usefulness (ease of use, reliability and sensitivity to change) of two simple and easy to use quality of life (QoL) measures, the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL) and Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI), for assessing the impact on QoL of AD in infants and their families in a routine clinical setting. We also examined the impact of an initial consultation with a dermatology team on AD severity and QoL impairment from the parent's perspective. The parents of 203 infants (mean age 19.8 months) with AD attending paediatric dermatology clinics completed the DFI and IDQOL. The parents of 50 of these infants completed both questionnaires before first and second consultations. In the 203 children the mean of both the IDQOL and DFI scores was 8.47 (median 8 and 7 and SD 5.8 and 6.5, respectively). The IDQOL and DFI correlated well (r(s) = 0.776, P emotional distress. In both measures these domains also correlated most strongly with eczema severity. After dermatology consultation the median global severity score, rated by 50 parents, fell from 2 (SD 0.83) to 1 (SD 0.8; 95% confidence interval, CI 0.5-1), the median IDQOL score fell from 8 (SD 5.92) to 5.5 (SD 5.92; 95% CI 2-5.5) and the median DFI score fell from 9 (SD 6.45) to 3 (SD 6.56; 95% CI 2-5.5). In 50 infants the median IDQOL scores for those infants with global AD severity scores of 1, 2 and 3 were 5 (SD 5.65), 8 (SD 4.27) and 14 (SD 5.67), respectively and improved by 10%, 38% and 64%, respectively while the median DFI scores improved by 54%, 56% and 79%, respectively. The most improved IDQOL items were the time taken to get to sleep and difficulty at mealtimes and the most improved DFI domains were tiredness/exhaustion and emotional distress in the parents. We have provided further important information on the effects of

College Math Assessment: SAT Scores vs. College Math Placement Scores

Science.gov (United States)

Foley-Peres, Kathleen; Poirier, Dawn

2008-01-01

Many colleges and university's use SAT math scores or math placement tests to place students in the appropriate math course. This study compares the use of math placement scores and SAT scores for 188 freshman students. The student's grades and faculty observations were analyzed to determine if the SAT scores and/or college math assessment scores…

Applying ethnic-specific bone mineral density T-scores to Chinese women in the USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, J C; Kim, S; Chandra, M; Ettinger, B

2016-12-01

Caucasian reference data are used to classify bone mineral density in US women of all races. However, use of Chinese American reference data yields lower osteoporosis prevalence in Chinese women. The reduction in osteoporosis labeling may be relevant for younger Chinese women at low fracture risk. Caucasian reference data are used for osteoporosis classification in US postmenopausal women regardless of race, including Asians who tend to have lower bone mineral density (BMD) than women of white race. This study examines BMD classification by ethnic T-scores for Chinese women. Using BMD data in a Northern California healthcare population, Chinese women aged 50-79 years were compared to age-matched white women (1:5 ratio), with femoral neck (FN), total hip (TH), and lumbar spine (LS) T-scores calculated using Caucasian versus Chinese American reference data. Comparing 4039 Chinese and 20,195 white women (44.8 % age 50-59 years, 37.5 % age 60-69 years, 17.7 % age 70-79 years), Chinese women had lower BMD T-scores at the FN, TH, and LS (median T-score 0.29-0.72 units lower across age groups, p age 50-64 years and 43.2 to 21.0 % for age 65-79 years). Use of Chinese American BMD reference data yields higher (ethnic) T-scores by 0.4-0.5 units, with a large proportion of Chinese women reclassified from osteoporosis to osteopenia. The reduction in osteoporosis labeling with ethnic T-scores may be relevant for younger Chinese women at low fracture risk.

Long-term bleeding risk prediction in 'real world' patients with atrial fibrillation: Comparison of the HAS-BLED and ABC-Bleeding risk scores. The Murcia Atrial Fibrillation Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Esteve-Pastor, María Asunción; Rivera-Caravaca, José Miguel; Roldan, Vanessa; Vicente, Vicente; Valdés, Mariano; Marín, Francisco; Lip, Gregory Y H

2017-10-05

Risk scores in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) based on clinical factors alone generally have only modest predictive value for predicting high risk patients that sustain events. Biomarkers might be an attractive prognostic tool to improve bleeding risk prediction. The new ABC-Bleeding score performed better than HAS-BLED score in a clinical trial cohort but has not been externally validated. The aim of this study was to analyze the predictive performance of the ABC-Bleeding score compared to HAS-BLED score in an independent "real-world" anticoagulated AF patients with long-term follow-up. We enrolled 1,120 patients stable on vitamin K antagonist treatment. The HAS-BLED and ABC-Bleeding scores were quantified. Predictive values were compared by c-indexes, IDI, NRI, as well as decision curve analysis (DCA). Median HAS-BLED score was 2 (IQR 2-3) and median ABC-Bleeding was 16.5 (IQR 14.3-18.6). After 6.5 years of follow-up, 207 (2.84 %/year) patients had major bleeding events, of which 65 (0.89 %/year) had intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) and 85 (1.17 %/year) had gastrointestinal bleeding events (GIB). The c-index of HAS-BLED was significantly higher than ABC-Bleeding for major bleeding (0.583 vs 0.518; p=0.025), GIB (0.596 vs 0.519; p=0.017) and for the composite of ICH-GIB (0.593 vs 0.527; p=0.030). NRI showed a significant negative reclassification for major bleeding and for the composite of ICH-GIB with the ABC-Bleeding score compared to HAS-BLED. Using DCAs, the use of HAS-BLED score gave an approximate net benefit of 4 % over the ABC-Bleeding score. In conclusion, in the first "real-world" validation of the ABC-Bleeding score, HAS-BLED performed significantly better than the ABC-Bleeding score in predicting major bleeding, GIB and the composite of GIB and ICH.

The mean, the median, and the St. Petersburg paradox

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin Y. Hayden

2009-06-01

Full Text Available The St.~Petersburg Paradox is a famous economic and philosophical puzzle that has generated numerous conflicting explanations. To shed empirical light on this phenomenon, we examined subjects' bids for one St.~Petersburg gamble with a real monetary payment. We found that bids were typically lower than twice the smallest payoff, and thus much lower than is generally supposed. We also examined bids offered for several hypothetical variants of the St.~Petersburg Paradox. We found that bids were weakly affected by truncating the gamble, were strongly affected by repeats of the gamble, and depended linearly on the initial ``seed'' value of the gamble. One explanation, which we call the extit{median} extit{heuristic}, strongly predicts these data. Subjects following this strategy evaluate a gamble as if they were taking the median rather than the mean of the payoff distribution. Finally, we argue that the distribution of outcomes embodied in the St.~Petersburg paradox is so divergent from the Gaussian form that the statistical mean is a poor estimator of expected value, so that the expected value of the St.~Petersburg gamble is undefined. These results suggest that this classic paradox has a straightforward explanation rooted in the use of a statistical heuristic.

Prognostic Value of High-Sensitivity Cardiac Troponin T Compared with Risk Scores in Stable Cardiovascular Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Biener, Moritz; Giannitsis, Evangelos; Kuhner, Manuel; Zelniker, Thomas; Mueller-Hennessen, Matthias; Vafaie, Mehrshad; Trenk, Dietmar; Neumann, Franz-Josef; Hochholzer, Willibald; Katus, Hugo A

2017-05-01

Risk stratification of patients with cardiovascular disease remains challenging despite consideration of risk scores. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic performance of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T in a low-risk outpatient population presenting for nonsecondary and secondary prevention. All-cause mortality, a composite of all-cause mortality, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke (end point 2), and a composite of all-cause mortality, acute myocardial infarction, stroke and rehospitalization for acute coronary syndrome, and decompensated heart failure (end point 3) were defined. The prognostic performance of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T on index visit was compared with the PROCAM score and 3 FRAMINGHAM subscores. In 693 patients with a median follow-up of 796 days, we observed 16 deaths, 32 patients with end point 2, and 83 patients with end point 3. All risk scores performed better in the prediction of all-cause mortality in nonsecondary prevention (area under the curve [AUC]: PROCAM: 0.922 vs 0.523, P = .001, consistent for all other scores). In secondary prevention, high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T outperformed all risk scores in the prediction of all-cause mortality (ΔAUC: PROCAM: 0.319, P risk scores. Our findings on the prediction of all-cause mortality compared with the FRAMINGHAM-Hard Coronary Heart Disease score were confirmed in an independent validation cohort on 2046 patients. High-sensitivity troponin T provides excellent risk stratification regarding all-cause mortality and all-cause mortality, acute myocardial infarction, and stroke in a secondary prevention cohort in whom risk scores perform poorly. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

External validation of the MRI-DRAGON score: early prediction of stroke outcome after intravenous thrombolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Turc, Guillaume; Aguettaz, Pierre; Ponchelle-Dequatre, Nelly; Hénon, Hilde; Naggara, Olivier; Leclerc, Xavier; Cordonnier, Charlotte; Leys, Didier; Mas, Jean-Louis; Oppenheim, Catherine

2014-01-01

The aim of our study was to validate in an independent cohort the MRI-DRAGON score, an adaptation of the (CT-) DRAGON score to predict 3-month outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing MRI before intravenous thrombolysis (IV-tPA). We reviewed consecutive (2009-2013) anterior circulation stroke patients treated within 4.5 hours by IV-tPA in the Lille stroke unit (France), where MRI is the first-line pretherapeutic work-up. We assessed the discrimination and calibration of the MRI-DRAGON score to predict poor 3-month outcome, defined as modified Rankin Score >2, using c-statistic and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, respectively. We included 230 patients (mean ±SD age 70.4±16.0 years, median [IQR] baseline NIHSS 8 [5]-[14]; poor outcome in 78(34%) patients). The c-statistic was 0.81 (95%CI 0.75-0.87), and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was not significant (p = 0.54). The MRI-DRAGON score showed good prognostic performance in the external validation cohort. It could therefore be used to inform the patient's relatives about long-term prognosis and help to identify poor responders to IV-tPA alone, who may be candidates for additional therapeutic strategies, if they are otherwise eligible for such procedures based on the institutional criteria.

External validation of the MRI-DRAGON score: early prediction of stroke outcome after intravenous thrombolysis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guillaume Turc

Full Text Available The aim of our study was to validate in an independent cohort the MRI-DRAGON score, an adaptation of the (CT- DRAGON score to predict 3-month outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients undergoing MRI before intravenous thrombolysis (IV-tPA.We reviewed consecutive (2009-2013 anterior circulation stroke patients treated within 4.5 hours by IV-tPA in the Lille stroke unit (France, where MRI is the first-line pretherapeutic work-up. We assessed the discrimination and calibration of the MRI-DRAGON score to predict poor 3-month outcome, defined as modified Rankin Score >2, using c-statistic and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test, respectively.We included 230 patients (mean ±SD age 70.4±16.0 years, median [IQR] baseline NIHSS 8 [5]-[14]; poor outcome in 78(34% patients. The c-statistic was 0.81 (95%CI 0.75-0.87, and the Hosmer-Lemeshow test was not significant (p = 0.54.The MRI-DRAGON score showed good prognostic performance in the external validation cohort. It could therefore be used to inform the patient's relatives about long-term prognosis and help to identify poor responders to IV-tPA alone, who may be candidates for additional therapeutic strategies, if they are otherwise eligible for such procedures based on the institutional criteria.

Weight-for-age standard score - distribution and effect on in-hospital mortality: A retrospective analysis in pediatric cardiac surgery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antony George

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To study the distribution of weight for age standard score (Z score in pediatric cardiac surgery and its effect on in-hospital mortality. Introduction: WHO recommends Standard Score (Z score to quantify and describe anthropometric data. The distribution of weight for age Z score and its effect on mortality in congenital heart surgery has not been studied. Methods: All patients of younger than 5 years who underwent cardiac surgery from July 2007 to June 2013, under single surgical unit at our institute were enrolled. Z score for weight for age was calculated. Patients were classified according to Z score and mortality across the classes was compared. Discrimination and calibration of the for Z score model was assessed. Improvement in predictability of mortality after addition of Z score to Aristotle Comprehensive Complexity (ACC score was analyzed. Results: The median Z score was -3.2 (Interquartile range -4.24 to -1.91] with weight (mean±SD of 8.4 ± 3.38 kg. Overall mortality was 11.5%. 71% and 52.59% of patients had Z score < -2 and < -3 respectively. Lower Z score classes were associated with progressively increasing mortality. Z score as continuous variable was associated with O.R. of 0.622 (95% CI- 0.527 to 0.733, P < 0.0001 for in-hospital mortality and remained significant predictor even after adjusting for age, gender, bypass duration and ACC score. Addition of Z score to ACC score improved its predictability for in-hosptial mortality (δC - 0.0661 [95% CI - 0.017 to 0.0595, P = 0.0169], IDI- 3.83% [95% CI - 0.017 to 0.0595, P = 0.00042]. Conclusion: Z scores were lower in our cohort and were associated with in-hospital mortality. Addition of Z score to ACC score significantly improves predictive ability for in-hospital mortality.

Sosiaalisen median merkitys mikroyrityksille - Case: TallFits Oy

OpenAIRE

Nousiainen, Ari; Koskivuori, Timo

2011-01-01

Tämän opinnäytetyön aiheena on sosiaalinen media mikroyritysten näkökulmasta. Työssä käsi-tellään sosiaalista mediaa ja markkinoinnissa tapahtunutta muutosta sekä niitä toimintatapoja, joita interaktiivinen mediaympäristö yrityksille ja sen asiakkaille tarjoaa. Työn tavoitteena on tuottaa tietoa sosiaalisen median hyödyistä ja haasteista mikroyrityksille ja lisätä koh-deyrityksemme TallFits Oy:n myyntiä ja löydettävyyttä. Tavoitteiden saavuttamiseksi opinnäytetyömme tarkoituksena oli tehd...

Assessment of coronary calcification using calibrated mass score with two different multidetector computed tomography scanners in the Copenhagen General Population Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fuchs, Andreas [Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Groen, Jaap M. [Department of Radiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Department of Medical Physics, OLVG, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Arnold, Ben A. [Image Analysis, 1380 Burkesville Road, Columbia, KY (United States); Nikolovski, Sasho [Department of Radiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Knudsen, Andreas D., E-mail: dehlbaek@gmail.com [Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Kühl, J. Tobias [Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Nordestgaard, Børge G. [Department of Clinical Biochemistry and the Copenhagen General Population Study, Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen (Denmark); Greuter, Marcel J.W. [Department of Radiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen (Netherlands); Kofoed, Klaus F. [Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark); Department of Radiology, The Diagnostic Centre, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen (Denmark)

2017-03-15

Objective: Population studies have shown coronary calcium score to improve risk stratification in subjects suspected for cardiovascular disease. The aim of this work was to assess the validity of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for measurement of calibrated mass scores (MS) in a phantom study, and to investigate inter-scanner variability for MS and Agaston score (AS) recorded in a population study on two different high-end MDCT scanners. Materials and methods: A calcium phantom was scanned by a first (A) and second (B) generation 320-MDCT. MS was measured for each calcium deposit from repeated measurements in each scanner and compared to known physical phantom mass. Random samples of human subjects from the Copenhagen General Population Study were scanned with scanner A (N = 254) and scanner B (N = 253) where MS and AS distributions of these two groups were compared. Results: The mean total MS of the phantom was 32.9 ± 0.8 mg and 33.1 ± 0.9 mg (p = 0.43) assessed by scanner A and B respectively – the physical calcium mass was 34.0 mg. Correlation between measured MS and physical calcium mass was R{sup 2} = 0.99 in both scanners. In the population study the median total MS was 16.8 mg (interquartile range (IQR): 3.5–81.1) and 15.8 mg (IQR: 3.8–63.4) in scanner A and B (p = 0.88). The corresponding median total AS were 92 (IQR: 23–471) and 89 (IQR: 40–384) (p = 0.64). Conclusion: Calibrated calcium mass score may be assessed with very high accuracy in a calcium phantom by different generations of 320-MDCT scanners. In population studies, it appears acceptable to pool calcium scores acquired on different 320-MDCT scanners.

Median Filter Noise Reduction of Image and Backpropagation Neural Network Model for Cervical Cancer Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Wutsqa, D. U.; Marwah, M.

2017-06-01

In this paper, we consider spatial operation median filter to reduce the noise in the cervical images yielded by colposcopy tool. The backpropagation neural network (BPNN) model is applied to the colposcopy images to classify cervical cancer. The classification process requires an image extraction by using a gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) method to obtain image features that are used as inputs of BPNN model. The advantage of noise reduction is evaluated by comparing the performances of BPNN models with and without spatial operation median filter. The experimental result shows that the spatial operation median filter can improve the accuracy of the BPNN model for cervical cancer classification.

Exploring a Source of Uneven Score Equity across the Test Score Range

Science.gov (United States)

Huggins-Manley, Anne Corinne; Qiu, Yuxi; Penfield, Randall D.

2018-01-01

Score equity assessment (SEA) refers to an examination of population invariance of equating across two or more subpopulations of test examinees. Previous SEA studies have shown that score equity may be present for examinees scoring at particular test score ranges but absent for examinees scoring at other score ranges. No studies to date have…

Median and Morphological Specialized Processors for a Real-Time Image Data Processing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazimierz Wiatr

2002-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the considerations on selecting a multiprocessor MISD architecture for fast implementation of the vision image processing. Using the author′s earlier experience with real-time systems, implementing of specialized hardware processors based on the programmable FPGA systems has been proposed in the pipeline architecture. In particular, the following processors are presented: median filter and morphological processor. The structure of a universal reconfigurable processor developed has been proposed as well. Experimental results are presented as delays on LCA level implementation for median filter, morphological processor, convolution processor, look-up-table processor, logic processor and histogram processor. These times compare with delays in general purpose processor and DSP processor.

Parents' global rating of mental health correlates with SF-36 scores and health services satisfaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Mah, Jean K; Tough, Suzanne; Fung, Thomas; Douglas-England, Kathleen; Verhoef, Marja

2006-10-01

Patient satisfaction surveys are often used to measure quality of care. However, patient satisfaction may not be a reliable indicator of service quality because satisfaction can be influenced by clients' characteristics such as their health status. Parents of children attending a pediatric neurology clinic completed the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and global ratings of their physical and mental health. They also completed the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), the Measure of Processes of Care (MPOC), and the Family-Centered Care Survey (FCCS). 104 parents completed the survey. The correlation between the global rating of physical or mental health and their corresponding SF-36 scores was high. The majority (88%) of parents were satisfied, with a median CSQ score of 28 (IQR, 24 to 31) and a FCCS score of 4.7 (IQR, 4.2 to 4.9). Logistic regression identified parents' mental health as a significant predictor of client satisfaction (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.14). Given the positive association between parents' mental health and satisfaction with care, it is important to consider mental status as a covariate in interpreting satisfaction surveys. Parents' global rating of mental health appears to be a reasonable indicator of their SF-36 mental scores.

Internal validation of the renal pelvic score: a novel marker of renal pelvic anatomy that predicts urine leak after partial nephrectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomaszewski, Jeffrey J; Smaldone, Marc C; Cung, Bic; Li, Tianyu; Mehrazin, Reza; Kutikov, Alexander; Canter, Daniel J; Viterbo, Rosalia; Chen, David Y T; Greenberg, Richard E; Uzzo, Robert G

2014-08-01

To internally validate the renal pelvic score (RPS) in an expanded cohort of patients undergoing partial nephrectomy (PN). Our prospective institutional renal cell carcinoma database was used to identify all patients undergoing PN for localized renal cell carcinoma from 2007 to 2013. Patients were classified by RPS as having an intraparenchymal or extraparenchymal renal pelvis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship between RPS and urine leak. Eight hundred thirty-one patients (median age, 60 ± 11.6 years; 65.1% male) undergoing PN (57.3% robotic) for low (28.9%), intermediate (56.5%), and high complexity (14.5%) localized renal tumors (median size, 3.0 ± 2.3 cm; median nephrometry score, 7.0 ± 2.6) were included. Fifty-four patients (6.5%) developed a clinically significant or radiographically identified urine leak. Seventy-two of 831 renal pelvises (8.7%) were classified as intraparenchymal. Intrarenal pelvic anatomy was associated with a markedly increased risk of urine leak (43.1% vs 3.0%; P renal pelvis; odds ratio [OR], 24.8; confidence interval [CI], 11.5-53.4; P Renal pelvic anatomy as measured by the RPS best predicts urine leak after open and robotic partial nephrectomy. Although external validation of the RPS is required, preoperative identification of patients at increased risk for urine leak should be considered in perioperative management and counseling algorithms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.