Comparability and repeatability of three commonly used methods for measuring endurance capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter-Gilbert, James; Mühlenhaupt, Max; Whiting, Martin J

2017-12-01

Measures of endurance (time to exhaustion) have been used to address a wide range of questions in ecomorphological and physiological research, as well as being used as a proxy for survival and fitness. Swimming, stationary (circular) track running, and treadmill running are all commonly used methods for measuring endurance. Despite the use of these methods across a broad range of taxa, how comparable these methods are to one another, and whether they are biologically relevant, is rarely examined. We used Australian water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii), a species that is morphologically adept at climbing, swimming, and running, to compare these three methods of endurance and examined if there is repeatability within and between trial methods. We found that time to exhaustion was not highly repeatable within a method, suggesting that single measures or a mean time to exhaustion across trials are not appropriate. Furthermore, we compared mean maximal endurance times among the three methods, and found that the two running methods (i.e., stationary track and treadmill) were similar, but swimming was distinctly different, resulting in lower mean maximal endurance times. Finally, an individual's endurance rank was not repeatable across methods, suggesting that the three endurance trial methods are not providing similar information about an individual's performance capacity. Overall, these results highlight the need to carefully match a measure of performance capacity with the study species and the research questions being asked so that the methods being used are behaviorally, ecologically, and physiologically relevant. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding common statistical methods, Part I: descriptive methods, probability, and continuous data.

Science.gov (United States)

Skinner, Carl G; Patel, Manish M; Thomas, Jerry D; Miller, Michael A

2011-01-01

Statistical methods are pervasive in medical research and general medical literature. Understanding general statistical concepts will enhance our ability to critically appraise the current literature and ultimately improve the delivery of patient care. This article intends to provide an overview of the common statistical methods relevant to medicine.

Computer aided approach to qualitative and quantitative common cause failure analysis for complex systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cate, C.L.; Wagner, D.P.; Fussell, J.B.

1977-01-01

Common cause failure analysis, also called common mode failure analysis, is an integral part of a complete system reliability analysis. Existing methods of computer aided common cause failure analysis are extended by allowing analysis of the complex systems often encountered in practice. The methods aid in identifying potential common cause failures and also address quantitative common cause failure analysis

Research Article Comparing covariance matrices: random skewers method compared to the common principal components model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James M. Cheverud

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Comparisons of covariance patterns are becoming more common as interest in the evolution of relationships between traits and in the evolutionary phenotypic diversification of clades have grown. We present parallel analyses of covariance matrix similarity for cranial traits in 14 New World Monkey genera using the Random Skewers (RS, T-statistics, and Common Principal Components (CPC approaches. We find that the CPC approach is very powerful in that with adequate sample sizes, it can be used to detect significant differences in matrix structure, even between matrices that are virtually identical in their evolutionary properties, as indicated by the RS results. We suggest that in many instances the assumption that population covariance matrices are identical be rejected out of hand. The more interesting and relevant question is, How similar are two covariance matrices with respect to their predicted evolutionary responses? This issue is addressed by the random skewers method described here.

An assessment of existing common traditional methods of water ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Classical water purification methods include boiling, filtration, irradiation and the use of chemicals while traditional water purification methods in use are boiling, filtration, sedimentation, long storage and solar radiation. Waterborne diseases are m ore common in the rural communities where potable water supply coverage ...

Cat's claw oxindole alkaloid isomerization induced by common extraction methods

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Samuel Kaiser

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Cat's claw oxindole alkaloids are prone to isomerization in aqueous solution. However, studies on their behavior in extraction processes are scarce. This paper addressed the issue by considering five commonly used extraction processes. Unlike dynamic maceration (DM and ultrasound-assisted extraction, substantial isomerization was induced by static maceration, turbo-extraction and reflux extraction. After heating under reflux in DM, the kinetic order of isomerization was established and equations were fitted successfully using a four-parameter Weibull model (R² > 0.999. Different isomerization rates and equilibrium constants were verified, revealing a possible matrix effect on alkaloid isomerization.

Common sense and the common morality in theory and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Daly, Patrick

2014-06-01

The unfinished nature of Beauchamp and Childress's account of the common morality after 34 years and seven editions raises questions about what is lacking, specifically in the way they carry out their project, more generally in the presuppositions of the classical liberal tradition on which they rely. Their wide-ranging review of ethical theories has not provided a method by which to move beyond a hypothetical approach to justification or, on a practical level regarding values conflict, beyond a questionable appeal to consensus. My major purpose in this paper is to introduce the thought of Bernard Lonergan as offering a way toward such a methodological breakthrough. In the first section, I consider Beauchamp and Childress's defense of their theory of the common morality. In the second, I relate a persisting vacillation in their argument regarding the relative importance of reason and experience to a similar tension in classical liberal theory. In the third, I consider aspects of Lonergan's generalized empirical method as a way to address problems that surface in the first two sections of the paper: (1) the structural relation of reason and experience in human action; and (2) the importance of theory for practice in terms of what Lonergan calls "common sense" and "general bias."

Global/local methods research using a common structural analysis framework

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, Norman F., Jr.; Ransom, Jonathan B.; Griffin, O. H., Jr.; Thompson, Danniella M.

1991-01-01

Methodologies for global/local stress analysis are described including both two- and three-dimensional analysis methods. These methods are being developed within a common structural analysis framework. Representative structural analysis problems are presented to demonstrate the global/local methodologies being developed.

Strategies Reported Used by Instructors to Address Student Alternate Conceptions in Chemical Equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Piquette, Jeff S.; Heikkinen, Henry W.

2005-01-01

This study explores general-chemistry instructors' awareness of and ability to identify and address common student learning obstacles in chemical equilibrium. Reported instructor strategies directed at remediating student alternate conceptions were investigated and compared with successful, literature-based conceptual change methods. Fifty-two…

MDEP Design-Specific Common Position CP-ABWRWG-01. Common position addressing issues related to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

20 km from the site. Today, there is still a large exclusion zone around the site. Numerous studies have been performed to better understand the accident progression and detailed technical studies are still in progress in Japan and elsewhere. On-going studies on the behaviour of NPPs in severe situations, similar to the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident, seek to identify potential vulnerabilities in plant design and operation, to suggest reasonably practicable upgrades, or to recommend enhanced regulatory requirements and guidance to address such situations. Likewise, agencies around the world that are responsible for regulating the design, construction and operation of ABWR plants are engaged in similar activities. The ABWRWG members have made efforts to ensure that the descriptions of the March 2011 events at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP presented in this paper reflect current knowledge and understanding of the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. In addition this paper has undergone factual accuracy checks by ABWR industry stakeholders. The MDEP Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR) Working Group (ABWRWG) members, referred to herein as 'regulators', consist of members of the nuclear regulatory organisations from Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States. Because not all of these countries have completed regulatory reviews of ABWR applications yet, this paper identifies common preliminary approaches to address potential safety improvements for ABWR plants, as well as common general expectations for new Nuclear Power Plants (NPP), as related to lessons learnt from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident or Fukushima-related issues. As the safety reviews of the ABWR design applications that are currently on-going are progressed, the regulators will consider what additional work is required and may consider the need to update this paper. Otherwise, as additional information becomes available it will be added as further appendices to the paper. The common

Structures for common-cause failure analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vaurio, J.K.

1981-01-01

Common-cause failure methodology and terminology have been reviewed and structured to provide a systematical basis for addressing and developing models and methods for quantification. The structure is based on (1) a specific set of definitions, (2) categories based on the way faults are attributable to a common cause, and (3) classes based on the time of entry and the time of elimination of the faults. The failure events are then characterized by their likelihood or frequency and the average residence time. The structure provides a basis for selecting computational models, collecting and evaluating data and assessing the importance of various failure types, and for developing effective defences against common-cause failure. The relationships of this and several other structures are described

Analysis Method of Common Cause Failure on Non-safety Digital Control System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yun Goo; Oh, Eun Gse [KHNP, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-15

The effects of common cause failure on safety digital instrumentation and control system had been considered in defense in depth analysis with safety analysis method. However, the effects of common cause failure on non-safety digital instrumentation and control system also should be evaluated. The common cause failure can be included in credible failure on the non-safety system. In the I and C architecture of nuclear power plant, many design feature has been applied for the functional integrity of control system. One of that is segmentation. Segmentation defenses the propagation of faults in the I and C architecture. Some of effects from common cause failure also can be limited by segmentation. Therefore, in this paper there are two type of failure mode, one is failures in one control group which is segmented, and the other is failures in multiple control group because that the segmentation cannot defense all effects from common cause failure. For each type, the worst failure scenario is needed to be determined, so the analysis method has been proposed in this paper. The evaluation can be qualitative when there is sufficient justification that the effects are bounded in previous safety analysis. When it is not bounded in previous safety analysis, additional analysis should be done with conservative assumptions method of previous safety analysis or best estimation method with realistic assumptions.

Using Dynamic Software to Address Common College Calculus Stumbling Blocks

Science.gov (United States)

Seneres, Alice W.; Kerrigan, John A.

2014-01-01

There are specific topics in college calculus that can be major stumbling blocks for students. Having taught college calculus for four years to over a thousand students, we observed that even the students who have already taken pre-calculus or calculus during their high school careers had common misunderstandings. Students may remember a technique…

The Threat of Common Method Variance Bias to Theory Building

Science.gov (United States)

Reio, Thomas G., Jr.

2010-01-01

The need for more theory building scholarship remains one of the pressing issues in the field of HRD. Researchers can employ quantitative, qualitative, and/or mixed methods to support vital theory-building efforts, understanding however that each approach has its limitations. The purpose of this article is to explore common method variance bias as…

Common Core State Standards for Mathematics: How Well Do the Textbook and Instructional Methods Align?

Science.gov (United States)

Rawding, Denise M.

2016-01-01

The Common Core Math Standards were written to address concerns that the math curriculum in the United States was not focused and coherent. Based on national and international assessments, the United States math scores have remained stagnant, while other countries have seen significant growth in their scores. This study, designed as an action…

WEATHER DERIVATIVES: THE MOST COMMON PRICING AND VALUATION METHODS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Botos Horia Mircea

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In recent years , weather derivatives have become a common tool in risk management for many sectors. This has its roots in that there is no unique way to determine de value and price solutions that would be generally approved by market-participants, like in the case of the Black-Scholes formula for options on non-dividend-paying stocks is the source for a constant debate between academics and practitioners. One look for fair and truly correct prices, while the others search every-day applicable solutions. To be honest... this is somehow like alchemy. This paper has as purpose the examination of statistical characteristics of weather data, data clearing and filling techniques. The study will be referring to temperatures because that is the best analyzed phenomenon, being the most common. This was also heavily influenced by energy companies and energetic interests, because the degree days were of interest ever before weather derivatives were put for sale. Main ideas are explaining what ways of pricing and valuation are, put into perspective for this financial instrument, taking into consideration that the Black-Scholes Model is not suitable. Also here, we will present the pros and cons that we found for each method. The methods are: the Burn analysis, the index value simulation method (IVSM, the daily simulation method (DSM.On the hole, this paper wants to shed light the weather derivatives pricing methods a mix of insurance pricing and standard financial models. At the end we will prospect the discounting problem, by means of the Consumption based Capital Asset Pricing Model (CCAPM.

Surgical Management of Common Disorders of Feedlot Calves.

Science.gov (United States)

Miesner, Matt D; Anderson, David E

2015-11-01

Procedures to improve animal and handler safety, shape production parameters, and directly address the prosperity of individuals in need of assistance are performed routinely. Techniques to accomplish these tasks have been described in many venues. Painful procedures are expected in feedlot practice. Assessing and managing pain and welfare for these procedures has strengthened significantly over the past decade to address increased public concerns and also to support the desires of the operators/managers to progress. Methods to perform common procedures are described, including evidence and techniques for managing the pain and distress while performing them. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Coordinate alignment of combined measurement systems using a modified common points method

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, G.; Zhang, P.; Xiao, W.

2018-03-01

The co-ordinate metrology has been extensively researched for its outstanding advantages in measurement range and accuracy. The alignment of different measurement systems is usually achieved by integrating local coordinates via common points before measurement. The alignment errors would accumulate and significantly reduce the global accuracy, thus need to be minimized. In this thesis, a modified common points method (MCPM) is proposed to combine different traceable system errors of the cooperating machines, and optimize the global accuracy by introducing mutual geometric constraints. The geometric constraints, obtained by measuring the common points in individual local coordinate systems, provide the possibility to reduce the local measuring uncertainty whereby enhance the global measuring certainty. A simulation system is developed in Matlab to analyze the feature of MCPM using the Monto-Carlo method. An exemplary setup is constructed to verify the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method associated with laser tracker and indoor iGPS systems. Experimental results show that MCPM could significantly improve the alignment accuracy.

Using an Optimized Chinese Address Matching Method to Develop a Geocoding Service: A Case Study of Shenzhen, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qin Tian

2016-05-01

Full Text Available With the coming era of big data and the rapid development and widespread applications of Geographical Information Systems (GISs, geocoding technology is playing an increasingly important role in bridging the gap between non-spatial data resources and spatial data in various fields. However, Chinese geocoding faces great challenges because of the complexity of the address string format in Chinese, which contains no delimiters between Chinese words, and the poor address management resulting from the existence of multiple address authorities spread among different governmental agencies. This paper presents a geocoding service based on an optimized Chinese address matching method, including address modeling, address standardization and address matching. The address model focuses on the spatial semantics of each address element, and the address standardization process is based on an address tree model. A geocoding service application is implemented in practice using a large quantity of data from Shenzhen Municipality. More than 1,460,000 data records were used to test the geocoding service, and good matching rates were achieved with good adaptability and intelligence.

Applying Critical Race Theory to Group Model Building Methods to Address Community Violence.

Science.gov (United States)

Frerichs, Leah; Lich, Kristen Hassmiller; Funchess, Melanie; Burrell, Marcus; Cerulli, Catherine; Bedell, Precious; White, Ann Marie

2016-01-01

Group model building (GMB) is an approach to building qualitative and quantitative models with stakeholders to learn about the interrelationships among multilevel factors causing complex public health problems over time. Scant literature exists on adapting this method to address public health issues that involve racial dynamics. This study's objectives are to (1) introduce GMB methods, (2) present a framework for adapting GMB to enhance cultural responsiveness, and (3) describe outcomes of adapting GMB to incorporate differences in racial socialization during a community project seeking to understand key determinants of community violence transmission. An academic-community partnership planned a 1-day session with diverse stakeholders to explore the issue of violence using GMB. We documented key questions inspired by critical race theory (CRT) and adaptations to established GMB "scripts" (i.e., published facilitation instructions). The theory's emphasis on experiential knowledge led to a narrative-based facilitation guide from which participants created causal loop diagrams. These early diagrams depict how violence is transmitted and how communities respond, based on participants' lived experiences and mental models of causation that grew to include factors associated with race. Participants found these methods useful for advancing difficult discussion. The resulting diagrams can be tested and expanded in future research, and will form the foundation for collaborative identification of solutions to build community resilience. GMB is a promising strategy that community partnerships should consider when addressing complex health issues; our experience adapting methods based on CRT is promising in its acceptability and early system insights.

Using a Linear Regression Method to Detect Outliers in IRT Common Item Equating

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yong; Cui, Zhongmin; Fang, Yu; Chen, Hanwei

2013-01-01

Common test items play an important role in equating alternate test forms under the common item nonequivalent groups design. When the item response theory (IRT) method is applied in equating, inconsistent item parameter estimates among common items can lead to large bias in equated scores. It is prudent to evaluate inconsistency in parameter…

Common approach to common interests

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-06-01

In referring to issues confronting the energy field in this region and options to be exercised in the future, I would like to mention the fundamental condition of the utmost importance. That can be summed up as follows: any subject in energy area can never be solved by one country alone, given the geographical and geopolitical characteristics intrinsically possessed by energy. So, a regional approach is needed and it is especially necessary for the main players in the region to jointly address problems common to them. Though it may be a matter to be pursued in the distant future, I am personally dreaming a 'Common Energy Market for Northeast Asia,' in which member countries' interests are adjusted so that the market can be integrated and the region can become a most economically efficient market, thus formulating an effective power to encounter the outside. It should be noted that Europe needed forty years to integrate its market as the unified common market. It is necessary for us to follow a number of steps over the period to eventually materialize our common market concept, too. Now is the time for us to take a first step to lay the foundation for our descendants to enjoy prosperity from such a common market.

Illuminating Common Ground: Script Writing, Fiction and the 7Ws.

Science.gov (United States)

Rike, Elizabeth K.

1996-01-01

Describes the ongoing work of a teacher whose Summer Institute for Drama/Teacher Education at the University of Tennessee provides training for both theater and classroom teachers. Focuses on her teaching method--improvisational drama--which simultaneously addresses elements common to fiction and script writing, and now contained in the language…

"Tension" in South Asian women: developing a measure of common mental disorder using participatory methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Karasz, Alison; Patel, Viraj; Kabita, Mahbhooba; Shimu, Parvin

2013-01-01

Although common mental disorder (CMD) is highly prevalent among South Asian immigrant women, they rarely seek mental treatment. This may be owing in part to the lack of conceptual synchrony between medical models of mental disorder and the social models of distress common in South Asian communities. Furthermore, common mental health screening and diagnostic measures may not adequately capture distress in this group. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is ideally suited to help address measurement issues in CMD as well as to develop culturally appropriate treatment models. To use participatory methods to identify an appropriate, culturally specific mental health syndrome and develop an instrument to measure this syndrome. We formed a partnership between researchers, clinicians, and community members. The partnership selected a culturally specific model of emotional distress/illness, "tension," as a focus for further study. Partners developed a scale to measure Tension and tested the new scale on 162 Bangladeshi immigrant women living in the Bronx. The 24-item "Tension Scale" had high internal consistency (α = 0.83). On bivariate analysis, the scale significantly correlated in the expected direction with depressed as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-2), age, education, self-rated health, having seen a physician in the past year, and other variables. Using participatory techniques, we created a new measure designed to assess CMD in an isolated immigrant group. The new measure shows excellent psychometric properties and will be helpful in the implementation of a community-based, culturally synchronous intervention for depression. We describe a useful strategy for the rapid development and field testing of culturally appropriate measures of mental distress and disorder.

Opportunities within the Revised EU Common Agricultural Policy to Address the Decline of Farmland Birds: An Irish Perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daire Ó hUallacháin

2015-08-01

Full Text Available The loss of global biological diversity continues despite on-going conservation efforts. Agriculture is the major terrestrial land use in Europe and any conservation efforts to protect biological diversity must address sustainable use of these food production systems. Using Ireland, within the European Union policy framework, as an example, the declines in farmland birds are discussed. The opportunities afforded to farmland bird conservation as a result of the recent reform to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP are outlined. The potential for revised and refined CAP, specifically agri-environment schemes, to deliver benefits for biodiversity and for farmland bird species within Irish agricultural ecosystems is explored. Despite all the efforts to date and the significant resources invested in implementing agri-environment measures and schemes, few attempts have been made to collect monitoring and surveillance data with which to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of schemes, and measures that are designed to assist in the recovery of farmland biodiversity, including bird species, in Ireland.

Investigations of inter-system common cause failures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nonclerca, P.; Gallois, M.; Vasseur, D.

2012-01-01

Intra-system common-cause failures (CCF) are widely studied and addressed in existing PSA models, but the information and studies that incorporate the potential for inter-system CCF is limited. However, the French Safety Authority has requested that EDF investigate the possibility of common-cause failure across system boundaries for Flamanville 3 (an EPR design). Also, the modeling of inter-system CCF, or the proof that their impact is negligible, would satisfy Capability Category III for one of the requirements in the ASME/ANS PRA standard in the U.S. EDF and EPRI have been working on a method to assess when it is necessary to take into account inter-system CCF in a PSA model between 2008 and 2010. This method is based both on the likelihood of inter-system CCF and on its demonstrated potential impact on CDF (core damage frequency). This method was first applied on pumps in different systems of the 900 MWe series plants. The second application concerned the motor-operated valves across different systems, using the same PSA model. This second application helped us refine the method, which was not optimal when the number of concerned components is very large. Since then, the method has been successfully applied on the pumps and 10 kV breakers of the EPR power plant in Flamanville. This paper describes the method and the results obtained in some of these studies. All studies have shown either that components in different systems, when they were not already part of a common cause failure group in the model, are not susceptible to common causes of failure, or that the potential for inter-system common-cause failure is negligible regarding the overall risk. (authors)

An electron moiré method for a common SEM

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Y.M.Xing; S.Kishimoto; Y.R.Zhao

2006-01-01

In the electron moiré method,a high-frequency grating is used to measure microscopic deformation,which promises significant potential applications for the method in the microscopic analysis of materials.However,a special beam scanning control device is required to produce a grating and generate a moiré fringe pattern for the scanning electron microscope (SEM).Because only a few SEMs used in the material science studies are equipped with this device,the use of the electron moiré method is limited.In this study,an electron moiré method for a common SEM without the beam control device is presented.A grating based on a multi-scanning concept is fabricated in any observing mode.A real-time moiré pattern can also be generated in the SEM or an optical filtering system.Without the beam control device being a prerequisite,the electron moiré method can be more widely used.The experimental results from three different types of SEMS show that high quality gratings with uniform lines and less pitch error can be fabricated by this method,and moiré patterns can also be correctly generated.

Defense against common-mode failures in protection system design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wyman, R.H.; Johnson, G.L.

1998-01-01

The introduction of digital instrumentation and control into reactor safety systems creates a heightened concern about common-mode failure. This paper discusses the concern and methods of cope with the concern. Common-mode failures have been a 'fact-of-life' in existing systems. The informal introduction of defense-in-depth and diversity (D-in-D and D) - coupled with the fact that hardware common-mode failures are often distributed in time - has allowed systems to deal with past common-mode failures. However, identical software operating in identical redundant systems presents the potential for simultaneous failure. Consequently, the use of digital systems raises the concern about common-mode failure to a new level. A more methodical approach to mitigating common-mode failure is needed to address these concerns. Purposeful introduction of D-in-D and D has been used as a defense against common-mode failure in reactor protection systems. At least two diverse systems are provided to mitigate any potential initiating event. Additionally, diverse displays and controls are provided to allow the operator to monitor plant status and manually initiate engineered safety features. A special form of common-mode failure analysis called 'defense-in-depth and diversity analysis' has been developed to identify possible common-mode failure vulnerabilities in digital systems. An overview of this analysis technique is provided. (author)

Best methods for evaluating educational impact: a comparison of the efficacy of commonly used measures of library instruction.

Science.gov (United States)

Schilling, Katherine; Applegate, Rachel

2012-10-01

Libraries are increasingly called upon to demonstrate student learning outcomes and the tangible benefits of library educational programs. This study reviewed and compared the efficacy of traditionally used measures for assessing library instruction, examining the benefits and drawbacks of assessment measures and exploring the extent to which knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors actually paralleled demonstrated skill levels. An overview of recent literature on the evaluation of information literacy education addressed these questions: (1) What evaluation measures are commonly used for evaluating library instruction? (2) What are the pros and cons of popular evaluation measures? (3) What are the relationships between measures of skills versus measures of attitudes and behavior? Research outcomes were used to identify relationships between measures of attitudes, behaviors, and skills, which are typically gathered via attitudinal surveys, written skills tests, or graded exercises. Results provide useful information about the efficacy of instructional evaluation methods, including showing significant disparities between attitudes, skills, and information usage behaviors. This information can be used by librarians to implement the most appropriate evaluation methods for measuring important variables that accurately demonstrate students' attitudes, behaviors, or skills.

An intuitive method to automatically detect the common and not common frequencies for two or more time-varying signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doca, C.; Paunoiu, C.; Doca, L.

2013-01-01

Sampling a time-varying signal and his spectral analysis are, both, subjected to theoretically compelling, such as Shannon's theorem and the objectively limiting of the frequencys resolution. After obtaining the signals (Fourier) spectrum, this is processed and interpreted usually by a scientist who, presumably, has sufficient prior information about the monitored signal to conclude, for example, on the significant frequencies. Obviously, processing and interpretation of individual spectra are routine tasks that can be automated by suitable software (PC application). The problems complicate if we need to compare two or more spectra corresponding to different signals and/or phenomena. In the above context, this paper presents an intuitive method for automatic identification of the common and not common frequencies for two or more congruent spectra. The method is illustrated by numerical simulations, and by the results obtained in the analysis of the noise from some experimental measured signals. (authors)

Robust Scale Transformation Methods in IRT True Score Equating under Common-Item Nonequivalent Groups Design

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yong

2013-01-01

Common test items play an important role in equating multiple test forms under the common-item nonequivalent groups design. Inconsistent item parameter estimates among common items can lead to large bias in equated scores for IRT true score equating. Current methods extensively focus on detection and elimination of outlying common items, which…

Two-step nuclear reactions: The Surrogate Method, the Trojan Horse Method and their common foundations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hussein, Mahir S. [DCTA, Instituto Tecnologico de Aeronautica, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Estudos Avancados, C. P. 72012, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica, C. P. 66318, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2017-05-15

In this Letter I argue that the Surrogate Method, used to extract the fast neutron capture cross section on actinide target nuclei, which has important practical application for the next generation of breeder reactors, and the Trojan Horse Method employed to extract reactions of importance to nuclear astrophysics, have a common foundation, the Inclusive Non-Elastic Breakup (INEB) Theory. Whereas the Surrogate Method relies on the premise that the extracted neutron cross section in a (d, p) reaction is predominantly a compound-nucleus one, the Trojan Horse Method assumes a predominantly direct process for the secondary reaction induced by the surrogate fragment. In general, both methods contain both direct and compound contributions, and I show how these seemingly distinct methods are in fact the same but at different energies and different kinematic regions. The unifying theory is the rather well developed INEB theory. (orig.)

Two-step nuclear reactions: The Surrogate Method, the Trojan Horse Method and their common foundations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussein, Mahir S.

2017-01-01

In this Letter I argue that the Surrogate Method, used to extract the fast neutron capture cross section on actinide target nuclei, which has important practical application for the next generation of breeder reactors, and the Trojan Horse Method employed to extract reactions of importance to nuclear astrophysics, have a common foundation, the Inclusive Non-Elastic Breakup (INEB) Theory. Whereas the Surrogate Method relies on the premise that the extracted neutron cross section in a (d, p) reaction is predominantly a compound-nucleus one, the Trojan Horse Method assumes a predominantly direct process for the secondary reaction induced by the surrogate fragment. In general, both methods contain both direct and compound contributions, and I show how these seemingly distinct methods are in fact the same but at different energies and different kinematic regions. The unifying theory is the rather well developed INEB theory. (orig.)

Could Neurolecturing Address the Limitations of Live and Recorded Lectures?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Gamez

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Lectures are a common teaching method in higher education. However, they have many serious limitations, including boredom, attendance, short attention span, low knowledge transmission and the passivity of students. This paper suggests how a combination of electroencephalography (EEG and eye-tracking technology could address some of these limitations – an approach that I have called neurolecturing. Neurolecturing could measure students’ attention, learning and cognitive load and provide real time feedback to students and lecturers. It could also play a role in the flipped classroom and artificial intelligence tutoring.

The Implementation of APIQ Creative Mathematics Game Method in the Subject Matter of Greatest Common Factor and Least Common Multiple in Elementary School

Science.gov (United States)

Rahman, Abdul; Saleh Ahmar, Ansari; Arifin, A. Nurani M.; Upu, Hamzah; Mulbar, Usman; Alimuddin; Arsyad, Nurdin; Ruslan; Rusli; Djadir; Sutamrin; Hamda; Minggi, Ilham; Awi; Zaki, Ahmad; Ahmad, Asdar; Ihsan, Hisyam

2018-01-01

One of causal factors for uninterested feeling of the students in learning mathematics is a monotonous learning method, like in traditional learning method. One of the ways for motivating students to learn mathematics is by implementing APIQ (Aritmetika Plus Intelegensi Quantum) creative mathematics game method. The purposes of this research are (1) to describe students’ responses toward the implementation of APIQ creative mathematics game method on the subject matter of Greatest Common Factor (GCF) and Least Common Multiple (LCM) and (2) to find out whether by implementing this method, the student’s learning completeness will improve or not. Based on the results of this research, it is shown that the responses of the students toward the implementation of APIQ creative mathematics game method in the subject matters of GCF and LCM were good. It is seen in the percentage of the responses were between 76-100%. (2) The implementation of APIQ creative mathematics game method on the subject matters of GCF and LCM improved the students’ learning.

Shoulder Ultrasonography: Performance and Common Findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diana Gaitini

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Ultrasound (US of the shoulder is the most commonly requested examination in musculoskeletal US diagnosis. Sports injuries and degenerative and inflammatory processes are the main sources of shoulder pain and functional limitations. Because of its availability, low cost, dynamic examination process, absence of radiation exposure, and ease of patient compliance, US is the preferred mode for shoulder imaging over other, more sophisticated, and expensive methods. Operator dependence is the main disadvantage of US examinations. Use of high range equipment with high resolution transducers, adhering to a strict examination protocol, good knowledge of normal anatomy and pathological processes and an awareness of common pitfalls are essential for the optimal performance and interpretation of shoulder US. This article addresses examination techniques, the normal sonographic appearance of tendons, bursae and joints, and the main pathological conditions found in shoulder ultrasonography.

Defense against common-mode failures in protection system design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wyman, R.H.; Johnson, G.L.

1997-01-01

The introduction of digital instrumentation and control into reactor safety systems creates a heightened concern about common-mode failure. This paper discusses the concern and methods to cope with the concern. Common-mode failures have been a ''fact-of-life'' in existing systems. The informal introduction of defense-in-depth and diversity (D-in-D ampersand D)-coupled with the fact that hardware common-mode failures are often distributed in time-has allowed systems to deal with past common-mode failures. However, identical software operating in identical redundant systems presents the potential for simultaneous failure. Consequently, the use of digital systems raises the concern about common-mode failure to a new level. A more methodical approach to mitigating common-mode failure is needed to address these concerns. Purposeful introduction of D-in-D ampersand D has been used as a defense against common-mode failure in reactor protection systems. At least two diverse systems are provided to mitigate any potential initiating event. Additionally, diverse displays and controls are provided to allow the operator to monitor plant status and manually initiate engineered safety features. A special form of conimon-mode failure analysis called ''defense-in-depth and diversity analysis'' has been developed to identify possible conimon-mode failure vulnerabilities in digital systems. An overview of this analysis technique is provided

EEASA 2003 Keynote Address - The Earth Charter: Possibilities for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

EEASA 2003 Keynote Address - The Earth Charter: Possibilities for Ethical Policy in Practice. PB Corcoran. Abstract. No Abstract. Full Text: EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT EMAIL FREE FULL TEXT · DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT · Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons ...

Reprogrammable read only variable threshold transistor memory with isolated addressing buffer

Science.gov (United States)

Lodi, Robert J.

1976-01-01

A monolithic integrated circuit, fully decoded memory comprises a rectangular array of variable threshold field effect transistors organized into a plurality of multi-bit words. Binary address inputs to the memory are decoded by a field effect transistor decoder into a plurality of word selection lines each of which activates an address buffer circuit. Each address buffer circuit, in turn, drives a word line of the memory array. In accordance with the word line selected by the decoder the activated buffer circuit directs reading or writing voltages to the transistors comprising the memory words. All of the buffer circuits additionally are connected to a common terminal for clearing all of the memory transistors to a predetermined state by the application to the common terminal of a large magnitude voltage of a predetermined polarity. The address decoder, the buffer and the memory array, as well as control and input/output control and buffer field effect transistor circuits, are fabricated on a common substrate with means provided to isolate the substrate of the address buffer transistors from the remainder of the substrate so that the bulk clearing function of simultaneously placing all of the memory transistors into a predetermined state can be performed.

Outsourcing ethical obligations: should the revised common rule address the responsibilities of investigators and sponsors?

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Seema K

2013-01-01

The Common Rule creates a division of moral labor in research. It implies that investigators and sponsors can outsource their ethical obligations to IRBs and participants, thereby fostering a culture of compliance, rather than one of responsibility. The proposed revisions to the Common Rule are likely to exacerbate this problem. To harness the expressive power of the law, I propose the Common Rule be revised to include the ethical responsibilities of investigators and sponsors. © 2013 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Inc.

GUIdock: Using Docker Containers with a Common Graphics User Interface to Address the Reproducibility of Research.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ling-Hong Hung

Full Text Available Reproducibility is vital in science. For complex computational methods, it is often necessary, not just to recreate the code, but also the software and hardware environment to reproduce results. Virtual machines, and container software such as Docker, make it possible to reproduce the exact environment regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system. However, workflows that use Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs remain difficult to replicate on different host systems as there is no high level graphical software layer common to all platforms. GUIdock allows for the facile distribution of a systems biology application along with its graphics environment. Complex graphics based workflows, ubiquitous in systems biology, can now be easily exported and reproduced on many different platforms. GUIdock uses Docker, an open source project that provides a container with only the absolutely necessary software dependencies and configures a common X Windows (X11 graphic interface on Linux, Macintosh and Windows platforms. As proof of concept, we present a Docker package that contains a Bioconductor application written in R and C++ called networkBMA for gene network inference. Our package also includes Cytoscape, a java-based platform with a graphical user interface for visualizing and analyzing gene networks, and the CyNetworkBMA app, a Cytoscape app that allows the use of networkBMA via the user-friendly Cytoscape interface.

GUIdock: Using Docker Containers with a Common Graphics User Interface to Address the Reproducibility of Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Ling-Hong; Kristiyanto, Daniel; Lee, Sung Bong; Yeung, Ka Yee

2016-01-01

Reproducibility is vital in science. For complex computational methods, it is often necessary, not just to recreate the code, but also the software and hardware environment to reproduce results. Virtual machines, and container software such as Docker, make it possible to reproduce the exact environment regardless of the underlying hardware and operating system. However, workflows that use Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) remain difficult to replicate on different host systems as there is no high level graphical software layer common to all platforms. GUIdock allows for the facile distribution of a systems biology application along with its graphics environment. Complex graphics based workflows, ubiquitous in systems biology, can now be easily exported and reproduced on many different platforms. GUIdock uses Docker, an open source project that provides a container with only the absolutely necessary software dependencies and configures a common X Windows (X11) graphic interface on Linux, Macintosh and Windows platforms. As proof of concept, we present a Docker package that contains a Bioconductor application written in R and C++ called networkBMA for gene network inference. Our package also includes Cytoscape, a java-based platform with a graphical user interface for visualizing and analyzing gene networks, and the CyNetworkBMA app, a Cytoscape app that allows the use of networkBMA via the user-friendly Cytoscape interface.

Independent random sampling methods

CERN Document Server

Martino, Luca; Míguez, Joaquín

2018-01-01

This book systematically addresses the design and analysis of efficient techniques for independent random sampling. Both general-purpose approaches, which can be used to generate samples from arbitrary probability distributions, and tailored techniques, designed to efficiently address common real-world practical problems, are introduced and discussed in detail. In turn, the monograph presents fundamental results and methodologies in the field, elaborating and developing them into the latest techniques. The theory and methods are illustrated with a varied collection of examples, which are discussed in detail in the text and supplemented with ready-to-run computer code. The main problem addressed in the book is how to generate independent random samples from an arbitrary probability distribution with the weakest possible constraints or assumptions in a form suitable for practical implementation. The authors review the fundamental results and methods in the field, address the latest methods, and emphasize the li...

Analysis of protein carbonylation - pitfalls and promise in commonly used methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rogowska-Wrzesinska, A.; Wojdyla, K.; Nedic, O.

2014-01-01

that research scientists are becoming more eager to be able to measure accurately the level of oxidized protein in biological materials, and to determine the precise site of the oxidative attack on the protein, in order to get insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the progression of diseases....... Several methods for measuring protein carbonylation have been implemented in different laboratories around the world. However, to date no methods prevail as the most accurate, reliable, and robust. The present paper aims at giving an overview of the common methods used to determine protein carbonylation...... in biological material as well as to highlight the limitations and the potential. The ultimate goal is to give quick tips for a rapid decision making when a method has to be selected and taking into consideration the advantage and drawback of the methods....

Analysis of protein carbonylation-pitfalls and promise in commonly used methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rogowska-Wrzesinska, Adelina; Wojdyla, K; Nedić, O

2014-01-01

that research scientists are becoming more eager to be able to measure accurately the level of oxidized protein in biological materials, and to determine the precise site of the oxidative attack on the protein, in order to get insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in the progression of diseases....... Several methods for measuring protein carbonylation have been implemented in different laboratories around the world. However, to date no methods prevail as the most accurate, reliable, and robust. The present paper aims at giving an overview of the common methods used to determine protein carbonylation...... in biological material as well as to highlight the limitations and the potential. The ultimate goal is to give quick tips for a rapid decision making when a method has to be selected and taking into consideration the advantage and drawback of the methods....

Global Governance Mechanisms to Address Antimicrobial Resistance.

Science.gov (United States)

Padiyara, Ponnu; Inoue, Hajime; Sprenger, Marc

2018-01-01

Since their discovery, antibiotics, and more broadly, antimicrobials, have been a cornerstone of modern medicine. But the overuse and misuse of these drugs have led to rising rates of antimicrobial resistance, which occurs when bacteria adapt in ways that render antibiotics ineffective. A world without effective antibiotics can have drastic impacts on population health, global development, and the global economy. As a global common good, antibiotic effectiveness is vulnerable to the tragedy of the commons, where a shared limited resource is overused by a community when each individual exploits the finite resource for their own benefit. A borderless threat like antimicrobial resistance requires global governance mechanisms to mitigate its emergence and spread, and it is the responsibility of all countries and relevant multilateral organizations. These mechanisms can be in the form of legally binding global governance mechanisms such as treaties and regulatory standards or nonbinding mechanisms such as political declarations, resolutions, or guidelines. In this article, we argue that while both are effective methods, the strong, swift, and coordinated action needed to address rising rates of antimicrobial resistance will be better served through legally binding governance mechanisms.

Using blackmail, bribery, and guilt to address the tragedy of the virtual intellectual commons

Science.gov (United States)

Griffith, P. C.; Cook, R. B.; Wilson, B. E.; Gentry, M. J.; Horta, L. M.; McGroddy, M.; Morrell, A. L.; Wilcox, L. E.

2008-12-01

One goal of the NSF's vision for 21st Century Cyberinfrastructure is to create a virtual intellectual commons for the scientific community where advanced technologies perpetuate transformation of this community's productivity and capabilities. The metadata describing scientific observations, like the first paragraph of a news story, should answer the questions who? what? why? where? when? and how?, making them discoverable, comprehensible, contextualized, exchangeable, and machine-readable. Investigators who create good scientific metadata increase the scientific value of their observations within such a virtual intellectual commons. But the tragedy of this commons arises when investigators wish to receive without giving in return. The authors of this talk will describe how they have used combinations of blackmail, bribery, and guilt to motivate good behavior by investigators participating in two major scientific programs (NASA's component of the Large-scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia; and the US Climate Change Science Program's North American Carbon Program).

A Quantitative Method to Screen Common Bean Plants for Resistance to Bean common mosaic necrosis virus.

Science.gov (United States)

Strausbaugh, C A; Myers, J R; Forster, R L; McClean, P E

2003-11-01

ABSTRACT A quantitative method to screen common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) plants for resistance to Bean common mosaic necrosis virus (BCMNV) is described. Four parameters were assessed in developing the quantitative method: symptoms associated with systemic virus movement, plant vigor, virus titer, and plant dry weight. Based on these parameters, two rating systems (V and VV rating) were established. Plants from 21 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a Sierra (susceptible) x Olathe (partially resistant) cross inoculated with the BCMNV-NL-3 K strain were used to evaluate this quantitative approach. In all, 11 RILs exhibited very susceptible reactions and 10 RILs expressed partially resistant reactions, thus fitting a 1:1 susceptible/partially resistant ratio (chi(2) = 0.048, P = 0.827) and suggesting that the response is mediated by a single gene. Using the classical qualitative approach based only on symptom expression, the RILs were difficult to separate into phenotypic groups because of a continuum of responses. By plotting mean percent reduction in either V (based on visual symptoms) or VV (based on visual symptoms and vigor) rating versus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) absorbance values, RILs could be separated clearly into different phenotypic groups. The utility of this quantitative approach also was evaluated on plants from 12 cultivars or pure lines inoculated with one of three strains of BCMNV. Using the mean VV rating and ELISA absorbance values, significant differences were established not only in cultivar and pure line comparisons but also in virus strain comparisons. This quantitative system should be particularly useful for the evaluation of the independent action of bc genes, the discovery of new genes associated with partial resistance, and assessing virulence of virus strains.

An architecture for consolidating multidimensional time-series data onto a common coordinate grid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shippert, Tim; Gaustad, Krista

2016-12-16

Consolidating measurement data for use by data models or in inter-comparison studies frequently requires transforming the data onto a common grid. Standard methods for interpolating multidimensional data are often not appropriate for data with non-homogenous dimensionality, and are hard to implement in a consistent manner for different datastreams. These challenges are increased when dealing with the automated procedures necessary for use with continuous, operational datastreams. In this paper we introduce a method of applying a series of one-dimensional transformations to merge data onto a common grid, examine the challenges of ensuring consistent application of data consolidation methods, present a framework for addressing those challenges, and describe the implementation of such a framework for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program.

Coordinated Multi-layer Multi-domain Optical Network (COMMON) for Large-Scale Science Applications (COMMON)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vokkarane, Vinod [University of Massachusetts

2013-09-01

We intend to implement a Coordinated Multi-layer Multi-domain Optical Network (COMMON) Framework for Large-scale Science Applications. In the COMMON project, specific problems to be addressed include 1) anycast/multicast/manycast request provisioning, 2) deployable OSCARS enhancements, 3) multi-layer, multi-domain quality of service (QoS), and 4) multi-layer, multidomain path survivability. In what follows, we outline the progress in the above categories (Year 1, 2, and 3 deliverables).

MDEP Common Position CP-DICWG-13. Common position on spurious actuation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

would be those which are plausible and that have not been previously addressed. For example, a potential spurious actuation may not be of concern if the cause was the failure of multiple independent systems. As such, the potential for this spurious actuation may be considered implausible. However, a potential spurious actuation due to a single system failing may be considered plausible, particularly if it relies on the failed system to prevent itself from causing the spurious actuation. Spurious actuations are a cross-cutting safety issue that can affect multiple disciplines. Adequate resolution to this issue may necessarily involve personnel with expertise in safety analysis, human factors, I and C, electrical, probabilistic analysis, etc. Therefore, evaluating spurious actuations necessitates a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure that the consequences of spurious actuations on plant safety are fully understood and accounted for. This common position addresses the I and C review role. Other technical disciplines will need to establish their roles in addressing this issue. The Digital Instrumentation and Controls Working Group (DICWG) has agreed that a common position on this topic is warranted given the increase of use of Digital I and C in new reactor designs, its safety implications, and the need to develop a common understanding from the perspectives of regulatory authorities. This action follows the DICWG examination of the regulatory requirements of the participating members and of relevant industry standards and IAEA documents. The DICWG proposes a common position based on its recent experience with the new reactor application reviews and operating plant issues

Simultaneously Discovering and Localizing Common Objects in Wild Images.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhenzhen; Yuan, Junsong

2018-09-01

Motivated by the recent success of supervised and weakly supervised common object discovery, in this paper, we move forward one step further to tackle common object discovery in a fully unsupervised way. Generally, object co-localization aims at simultaneously localizing objects of the same class across a group of images. Traditional object localization/detection usually trains specific object detectors which require bounding box annotations of object instances, or at least image-level labels to indicate the presence/absence of objects in an image. Given a collection of images without any annotations, our proposed fully unsupervised method is to simultaneously discover images that contain common objects and also localize common objects in corresponding images. Without requiring to know the total number of common objects, we formulate this unsupervised object discovery as a sub-graph mining problem from a weighted graph of object proposals, where nodes correspond to object proposals, and edges represent the similarities between neighbouring proposals. The positive images and common objects are jointly discovered by finding sub-graphs of strongly connected nodes, with each sub-graph capturing one object pattern. The optimization problem can be efficiently solved by our proposed maximal-flow-based algorithm. Instead of assuming that each image contains only one common object, our proposed solution can better address wild images where each image may contain multiple common objects or even no common object. Moreover, our proposed method can be easily tailored to the task of image retrieval in which the nodes correspond to the similarity between query and reference images. Extensive experiments on PASCAL VOC 2007 and Object Discovery data sets demonstrate that even without any supervision, our approach can discover/localize common objects of various classes in the presence of scale, view point, appearance variation, and partial occlusions. We also conduct broad

Methods Used and Topics Addressed in Quantitative Health Research on Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, David J; Bauer, Greta R; Bradley, Kaitlin; Tran, Oth Vilaythong

2017-01-01

Research on sexual minority men (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) was examined with regard to the measures of sexual orientation used, the methods of research, and the main health outcomes under study. A systematic review of English-language quantitative studies was conducted focused on the health of sexual minority men published in 2010 (n = 250). The results provide a snapshot of the literature and revealed that research on sexual minority men overwhelmingly focused on HIV, STIs, and sexual health for which sexual orientation was most commonly defined behaviorally. For topics of mental health or body/fitness outcomes, sexual orientation was most commonly defined by identity. Most study samples were venue-based, and only 8.8% of published papers drew data from population-based samples. The findings suggest that there exists a need for research on sexual minority men's health beyond STIs and HIV that will examine mental and physical health outcomes beyond sexual risk, uses probability-based samples, and addresses intersectional concerns related to race/ethnicity and age.

41 CFR 301-72.1 - Why is common carrier presumed to be the most advantageous method of transportation?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... presumed to be the most advantageous method of transportation? 301-72.1 Section 301-72.1 Public Contracts... Transportation § 301-72.1 Why is common carrier presumed to be the most advantageous method of transportation? Travel by common carrier is presumed to be the most advantageous method of transportation because it...

Positional error in automated geocoding of residential addresses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Talbot Thomas O

2003-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Public health applications using geographic information system (GIS technology are steadily increasing. Many of these rely on the ability to locate where people live with respect to areas of exposure from environmental contaminants. Automated geocoding is a method used to assign geographic coordinates to an individual based on their street address. This method often relies on street centerline files as a geographic reference. Such a process introduces positional error in the geocoded point. Our study evaluated the positional error caused during automated geocoding of residential addresses and how this error varies between population densities. We also evaluated an alternative method of geocoding using residential property parcel data. Results Positional error was determined for 3,000 residential addresses using the distance between each geocoded point and its true location as determined with aerial imagery. Error was found to increase as population density decreased. In rural areas of an upstate New York study area, 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 2,872 m of their true location. Suburban areas revealed less error where 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 421 m. Urban areas demonstrated the least error where 95 percent of the addresses geocoded to within 152 m of their true location. As an alternative to using street centerline files for geocoding, we used residential property parcel points to locate the addresses. In the rural areas, 95 percent of the parcel points were within 195 m of the true location. In suburban areas, this distance was 39 m while in urban areas 95 percent of the parcel points were within 21 m of the true location. Conclusion Researchers need to determine if the level of error caused by a chosen method of geocoding may affect the results of their project. As an alternative method, property data can be used for geocoding addresses if the error caused by traditional methods is

A Novel Transfer Learning Method Based on Common Space Mapping and Weighted Domain Matching

KAUST Repository

Liang, Ru-Ze; Xie, Wei; Li, Weizhi; Wang, Hongqi; Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Taylor, Lisa

2017-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel learning framework for the problem of domain transfer learning. We map the data of two domains to one single common space, and learn a classifier in this common space. Then we adapt the common classifier to the two domains by adding two adaptive functions to it respectively. In the common space, the target domain data points are weighted and matched to the target domain in term of distributions. The weighting terms of source domain data points and the target domain classification responses are also regularized by the local reconstruction coefficients. The novel transfer learning framework is evaluated over some benchmark cross-domain data sets, and it outperforms the existing state-of-the-art transfer learning methods.

A Novel Transfer Learning Method Based on Common Space Mapping and Weighted Domain Matching

KAUST Repository

Liang, Ru-Ze

2017-01-17

In this paper, we propose a novel learning framework for the problem of domain transfer learning. We map the data of two domains to one single common space, and learn a classifier in this common space. Then we adapt the common classifier to the two domains by adding two adaptive functions to it respectively. In the common space, the target domain data points are weighted and matched to the target domain in term of distributions. The weighting terms of source domain data points and the target domain classification responses are also regularized by the local reconstruction coefficients. The novel transfer learning framework is evaluated over some benchmark cross-domain data sets, and it outperforms the existing state-of-the-art transfer learning methods.

A new method for explicit modelling of single failure event within different common cause failure groups

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kančev, Duško; Čepin, Marko

2012-01-01

Redundancy and diversity are the main principles of the safety systems in the nuclear industry. Implementation of safety components redundancy has been acknowledged as an effective approach for assuring high levels of system reliability. The existence of redundant components, identical in most of the cases, implicates a probability of their simultaneous failure due to a shared cause—a common cause failure. This paper presents a new method for explicit modelling of single component failure event within multiple common cause failure groups simultaneously. The method is based on a modification of the frequently utilised Beta Factor parametric model. The motivation for development of this method lays in the fact that one of the most widespread softwares for fault tree and event tree modelling as part of the probabilistic safety assessment does not comprise the option for simultaneous assignment of single failure event to multiple common cause failure groups. In that sense, the proposed method can be seen as an advantage of the explicit modelling of common cause failures. A standard standby safety system is selected as a case study for application and study of the proposed methodology. The results and insights implicate improved, more transparent and more comprehensive models within probabilistic safety assessment.

Early Parental Positive Behavior Support and Childhood Adjustment: Addressing Enduring Questions with New Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Waller, Rebecca; Gardner, Frances; Dishion, Thomas; Sitnick, Stephanie L; Shaw, Daniel S; Winter, Charlotte E; Wilson, Melvin

2015-05-01

A large literature provides strong empirical support for the influence of parenting on child outcomes. The current study addresses enduring research questions testing the importance of early parenting behavior to children's adjustment. Specifically, we developed and tested a novel multi-method observational measure of parental positive behavior support at age 2. Next, we tested whether early parental positive behavior support was related to child adjustment at school age, within a multi-agent and multi-method measurement approach and design. Observational and parent-reported data from mother-child dyads (N = 731; 49 percent female) were collected from a high-risk sample at age 2. Follow-up data were collected via teacher report and child assessment at age 7.5. The results supported combining three different observational methods to assess positive behavior support at age 2 within a latent factor. Further, parents' observed positive behavior support at age 2 predicted multiple types of teacher-reported and child-assessed problem behavior and competencies at 7.5 years old. Results supported the validity and predictive capability of a multi-method observational measure of parenting and the importance of a continued focus on the early years within preventive interventions.

Cost Cutting in Hospitals. Innovative Methods & Techniques

OpenAIRE

Pandit, Abhijit

2016-01-01

There is emerging need of hospitals to address efficiency issues confronting health care reforms in the present environment. The main objective is to investigate the cost efficiency of hospitals using various methods and variables, and compare the results estimated by the different methods and variables. Reinforcing a common agenda between medical, paramedical and administrative staff, and sharing a common vision among professionals and decision makers in the planning of care, may be the grea...

The Empirical Verification of an Assignment of Items to Subtests : The Oblique Multiple Group Method Versus the Confirmatory Common Factor Method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stuive, Ilse; Kiers, Henk A.L.; Timmerman, Marieke E.; ten Berge, Jos M.F.

2008-01-01

This study compares two confirmatory factor analysis methods on their ability to verify whether correct assignments of items to subtests are supported by the data. The confirmatory common factor (CCF) method is used most often and defines nonzero loadings so that they correspond to the assignment of

Comparison of eight methods for the extraction of Bacillus atrophaeus spore DNA from eleven common interferents and a common swab.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helen L Rose

Full Text Available Eight DNA extraction products or methods (Applied Biosystems PrepFiler Forensic DNA Extraction Kit; Bio-Rad Instagene Only, Bio-Rad Instagene & Spin Column Purification; EpiCentre MasterPure DNA & RNA Kit; FujiFilm QuickGene Mini80; Idaho Technologies 1-2-3 Q-Flow Kit; MoBio UltraClean Microbial DNA Isolation Kit; Sigma Extract-N-Amp Plant and Seed Kit were adapted to facilitate extraction of DNA under BSL3 containment conditions. DNA was extracted from 12 common interferents or sample types, spiked with spores of Bacillus atropheaus. Resulting extracts were tested by real-time PCR. No one method was the best, in terms of DNA extraction, across all sample types. Statistical analysis indicated that the PrepFiler method was the best method from six dry powders (baking, biological washing, milk, plain flour, filler and talcum and one solid (Underarm deodorant, the UltraClean method was the best from four liquids (aftershave, cola, nutrient broth, vinegar, and the MasterPure method was the best from the swab sample type. The best overall method, in terms of DNA extraction, across all sample types evaluated was the UltraClean method.

Common genetic variants associated with cognitive performance identified using the proxy-phenotype method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C.A. Rietveld (Niels); T. Esko (Tõnu); G. Davies (Gail); T.H. Pers (Tune); P. Turley (Patrick); B. Benyamin (Beben); C.F. Chabris (Christopher F.); V. Emilsson (Valur); A.D. Johnson (Andrew); J.J. Lee (James J.); C. de Leeuw (Christiaan); R.E. Marioni (Riccardo); S.E. Medland (Sarah Elizabeth); M. Miller (Mike); O. Rostapshova (Olga); S.J. van der Lee (Sven); A.A.E. Vinkhuyzen (Anna A.); N. Amin (Najaf); D. Conley (Dalton); J. Derringer; C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); R.S.N. Fehrmann (Rudolf); L. Franke (Lude); E.L. Glaeser (Edward L.); N.K. Hansell (Narelle); C. Hayward (Caroline); W.G. Iacono (William); C.A. Ibrahim-Verbaas (Carla); V.W.V. Jaddoe (Vincent); J. Karjalainen (Juha); D. Laibson (David); P. Lichtenstein (Paul); D.C. Liewald (David C.); P.K. Magnusson (Patrik); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); M. McGue (Matt); G. Mcmahon (George); N.L. Pedersen (Nancy); S. Pinker (Steven); D.J. Porteous (David J.); D. Posthuma (Danielle); F. Rivadeneira Ramirez (Fernando); B.H. Smithk (Blair H.); J.M. Starr (John); H.W. Tiemeier (Henning); N.J. Timpsonm (Nicholas J.); M. Trzaskowskin (Maciej); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); F.C. Verhulst (Frank); M.E. Ward (Mary); M.J. Wright (Margaret); G.D. Smith; I.J. Deary (Ian J.); M. Johannesson (Magnus); R. Plomin (Robert); P.M. Visscher (Peter); D.J. Benjamin (Daniel J.); D. Cesarini (David); Ph.D. Koellinger (Philipp)

2014-01-01

textabstractWe identify common genetic variants associated with cognitive performance using a two-stage approach, which we call the proxyphenotype method. First, we conduct a genome-wide association study of educational attainment in a large sample (n = 106,736), which produces a set of 69

Common Running Overuse Injuries and Prevention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Žiga Kozinc

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Runners are particularly prone to developing overuse injuries. The most common running-related injuries include medial tibial stress syndrome, Achilles tendinopathy, plantar fasciitis, patellar tendinopathy, iliotibial band syndrome, tibial stress fractures, and patellofemoral pain syndrome. Two of the most significant risk factors appear to be injury history and weekly distance. Several trials have successfully identified biomechanical risk factors for specific injuries, with increased ground reaction forces, excessive foot pronation, hip internal rotation and hip adduction during stance phase being mentioned most often. However, evidence on interventions for lowering injury risk is limited, especially regarding exercise-based interventions. Biofeedback training for lowering ground reaction forces is one of the few methods proven to be effective. It seems that the best way to approach running injury prevention is through individualized treatment. Each athlete should be assessed separately and scanned for risk factors, which should be then addressed with specific exercises. This review provides an overview of most common running-related injuries, with a particular focus on risk factors, and emphasizes the problems encountered in preventing running-related injuries.

A Simple Method for Assessing Severity of Common Root Rot on Barley

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Imad Eddin Arabi

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Common root rot caused by Cochliobolus sativus is a serious disease of barley. A simple and reliable method for assessing this disease would enhance our capacity in identifying resistance sources and developing resistant barley cultivars. In searching for such a method, a conidial suspension of C. sativus was dropped onto sterilized elongated subcrown internodes and incubated in sandwich filter paper using polyethylene transparent envelopes. Initial disease symptoms were easily detected after 48h of inoculation. Highly significant correlation coefficients were found in each experiment (A, B and C between sandwich filter paper and seedling assays, indicating that this testing procedure was reliable. The method presented facilitates a rapid pre-selection under uniform conditions which is of importance from a breeder’s point of view.

IPv6 addressing proxy: mapping native addressing from legacy technologies and devices to the Internet of Things (IPv6).

Science.gov (United States)

Jara, Antonio J; Moreno-Sanchez, Pedro; Skarmeta, Antonio F; Varakliotis, Socrates; Kirstein, Peter

2013-05-17

Sensors utilize a large number of heterogeneous technologies for a varied set of application environments. The sheer number of devices involved requires that this Internet be the Future Internet, with a core network based on IPv6 and a higher scalability in order to be able to address all the devices, sensors and things located around us. This capability to connect through IPv6 devices, sensors and things is what is defining the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). IPv6 provides addressing space to reach this ubiquitous set of sensors, but legacy technologies, such as X10, European Installation Bus (EIB), Controller Area Network (CAN) and radio frequency ID (RFID) from the industrial, home automation and logistic application areas, do not support the IPv6 protocol. For that reason, a technique must be devised to map the sensor and identification technologies to IPv6, thus allowing homogeneous access via IPv6 features in the context of the IoT. This paper proposes a mapping between the native addressing of each technology and an IPv6 address following a set of rules that are discussed and proposed in this work. Specifically, the paper presents a technology-dependent IPv6 addressing proxy, which maps each device to the different subnetworks built under the IPv6 prefix addresses provided by the internet service provider for each home, building or user. The IPv6 addressing proxy offers a common addressing environment based on IPv6 for all the devices, regardless of the device technology. Thereby, this offers a scalable and homogeneous solution to interact with devices that do not support IPv6 addressing. The IPv6 addressing proxy has been implemented in a multi-protocol Sensors 2013, 13 6688 card and evaluated successfully its performance, scalability and interoperability through a protocol built over IPv6.

IPv6 Addressing Proxy: Mapping Native Addressing from Legacy Technologies and Devices to the Internet of Things (IPv6

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Kirstein

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Sensors utilize a large number of heterogeneous technologies for a varied set of application environments. The sheer number of devices involved requires that this Internet be the Future Internet, with a core network based on IPv6 and a higher scalability in order to be able to address all the devices, sensors and things located around us. This capability to connect through IPv6 devices, sensors and things is what is defining the so-called Internet of Things (IoT. IPv6 provides addressing space to reach this ubiquitous set of sensors, but legacy technologies, such as X10, European Installation Bus (EIB, Controller Area Network (CAN and radio frequency ID (RFID from the industrial, home automation and logistic application areas, do not support the IPv6 protocol. For that reason, a technique must be devised to map the sensor and identification technologies to IPv6, thus allowing homogeneous access via IPv6 features in the context of the IoT. This paper proposes a mapping between the native addressing of each technology and an IPv6 address following a set of rules that are discussed and proposed in this work. Specifically, the paper presents a technology-dependent IPv6 addressing proxy, which maps each device to the different subnetworks built under the IPv6 prefix addresses provided by the internet service provider for each home, building or user. The IPv6 addressing proxy offers a common addressing environment based on IPv6 for all the devices, regardless of the device technology. Thereby, this offers a scalable and homogeneous solution to interact with devices that do not support IPv6 addressing. The IPv6 addressing proxy has been implemented in a multi-protocol Sensors 2013, 13 6688 card and evaluated successfully its performance, scalability and interoperability through a protocol built over IPv6.

IPv6 Addressing Proxy: Mapping Native Addressing from Legacy Technologies and Devices to the Internet of Things (IPv6)

Science.gov (United States)

Jara, Antonio J.; Moreno-Sanchez, Pedro; Skarmeta, Antonio F.; Varakliotis, Socrates; Kirstein, Peter

2013-01-01

Sensors utilize a large number of heterogeneous technologies for a varied set of application environments. The sheer number of devices involved requires that this Internet be the Future Internet, with a core network based on IPv6 and a higher scalability in order to be able to address all the devices, sensors and things located around us. This capability to connect through IPv6 devices, sensors and things is what is defining the so-called Internet of Things (IoT). IPv6 provides addressing space to reach this ubiquitous set of sensors, but legacy technologies, such as X10, European Installation Bus (EIB), Controller Area Network (CAN) and radio frequency ID (RFID) from the industrial, home automation and logistic application areas, do not support the IPv6 protocol. For that reason, a technique must be devised to map the sensor and identification technologies to IPv6, thus allowing homogeneous access via IPv6 features in the context of the IoT. This paper proposes a mapping between the native addressing of each technology and an IPv6 address following a set of rules that are discussed and proposed in this work. Specifically, the paper presents a technology-dependent IPv6 addressing proxy, which maps each device to the different subnetworks built under the IPv6 prefix addresses provided by the internet service provider for each home, building or user. The IPv6 addressing proxy offers a common addressing environment based on IPv6 for all the devices, regardless of the device technology. Thereby, this offers a scalable and homogeneous solution to interact with devices that do not support IPv6 addressing. The IPv6 addressing proxy has been implemented in a multi-protocol card and evaluated successfully its performance, scalability and interoperability through a protocol built over IPv6. PMID:23686145

APME launches common method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1993-01-01

A common approach for carrying out ecological balances for commodity thermoplastics is due to be launched by the Association of Plastics Manufacturers in Europe (APME; Brussels) and its affiliate, The European Centre for Plastics in the Environment (PWMI) this week. The methodology report is the latest stage of a program started in 1990 that aims to describe all operations up to the production of polymer powder or granules at the plant gate. Information gathered will be made freely available to companies considering the use of polymers. An industry task force, headed by PWMI executive director Vince Matthews, has gathered information on the plastics production processes from oil to granule, and an independent panel of specialists, chaired by Ian Boustead of the U.K.'s Open University, devised the methodology and analysis. The methodology report stresses the need to define the system being analyzed and discusses how complex chemical processes can be analyzed in terms of consumption of fuels, energy, and raw materials, as well as solid, liquid, and gaseous emissions

Barriers to addressing substance abuse in domestic violence court.

Science.gov (United States)

Riger, Stephanie; Bennett, Larry W; Sigurvinsdottir, Rannveig

2014-03-01

Substance abuse commonly co-occurs with intimate partner violence among both perpetrators and survivors. Specialized courts that focus on intimate partner violence provide a unique opportunity to address both problems simultaneously, but research has yet to identify whether this happens. In this qualitative study of a domestic violence court in a large midwestern metropolitan area, key informants were interviewed to understand how the Court treats substance abuse. Results indicate that substance abuse typically is not identified among perpetrators or survivors going through the Court unless it is mentioned in a police report. Barriers to such identification are the organization of the Court, bounded definition of actors' roles in the Court, limited resources, and negative attitudes towards survivors. These results suggest that specialized courts that attend to only one problem may overlook the possibility of addressing issues that commonly co-occur.

A Comparison of Four Linear Equating Methods for the Common-Item Nonequivalent Groups Design Using Simulation Methods. ACT Research Report Series, 2013 (2)

Science.gov (United States)

Topczewski, Anna; Cui, Zhongmin; Woodruff, David; Chen, Hanwei; Fang, Yu

2013-01-01

This paper investigates four methods of linear equating under the common item nonequivalent groups design. Three of the methods are well known: Tucker, Angoff-Levine, and Congeneric-Levine. A fourth method is presented as a variant of the Congeneric-Levine method. Using simulation data generated from the three-parameter logistic IRT model we…

Comparison of Suitability of the Most Common Ancient DNA Quantification Methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Brzobohatá, Kristýna; Drozdová, Eva; Smutný, Jiří; Zeman, Tomáš; Beňuš, Radoslav

2017-04-01

Ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from historical bones is damaged and fragmented into short segments, present in low quantity, and usually copurified with microbial DNA. A wide range of DNA quantification methods are available. The aim of this study was to compare the five most common DNA quantification methods for aDNA. Quantification methods were tested on DNA extracted from skeletal material originating from an early medieval burial site. The tested methods included ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) based on SYBR ® green detection, real-time qPCR based on a forensic kit, quantification via fluorescent dyes bonded to DNA, and fragmentary analysis. Differences between groups were tested using a paired t-test. Methods that measure total DNA present in the sample (NanoDrop ™ UV spectrophotometer and Qubit ® fluorometer) showed the highest concentrations. Methods based on real-time qPCR underestimated the quantity of aDNA. The most accurate method of aDNA quantification was fragmentary analysis, which also allows DNA quantification of the desired length and is not affected by PCR inhibitors. Methods based on the quantification of the total amount of DNA in samples are unsuitable for ancient samples as they overestimate the amount of DNA presumably due to the presence of microbial DNA. Real-time qPCR methods give undervalued results due to DNA damage and the presence of PCR inhibitors. DNA quantification methods based on fragment analysis show not only the quantity of DNA but also fragment length.

Comparison of performance of some common Hartmann-Shack centroid estimation methods

Science.gov (United States)

Thatiparthi, C.; Ommani, A.; Burman, R.; Thapa, D.; Hutchings, N.; Lakshminarayanan, V.

2016-03-01

The accuracy of the estimation of optical aberrations by measuring the distorted wave front using a Hartmann-Shack wave front sensor (HSWS) is mainly dependent upon the measurement accuracy of the centroid of the focal spot. The most commonly used methods for centroid estimation such as the brightest spot centroid; first moment centroid; weighted center of gravity and intensity weighted center of gravity, are generally applied on the entire individual sub-apertures of the lens let array. However, these processes of centroid estimation are sensitive to the influence of reflections, scattered light, and noise; especially in the case where the signal spot area is smaller compared to the whole sub-aperture area. In this paper, we give a comparison of performance of the commonly used centroiding methods on estimation of optical aberrations, with and without the use of some pre-processing steps (thresholding, Gaussian smoothing and adaptive windowing). As an example we use the aberrations of the human eye model. This is done using the raw data collected from a custom made ophthalmic aberrometer and a model eye to emulate myopic and hyper-metropic defocus values up to 2 Diopters. We show that the use of any simple centroiding algorithm is sufficient in the case of ophthalmic applications for estimating aberrations within the typical clinically acceptable limits of a quarter Diopter margins, when certain pre-processing steps to reduce the impact of external factors are used.

Burden of common mental disorders in patients with Functional Dyspepsia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sattar, A.; Salih, M.; Jafri, W.

2010-01-01

Objective: To assess the frequency of common mental disorders among diagnosed functional dyspepsia patients. Methods: A case-control study with 150 cases of functional dyspepsia (FD) and 150 healthy controls were recruited from Gastroenterology Clinic at the Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi from 1, March 2009 through 31, August 2009. Urdu version of WHO-developed Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) was administered to diagnose patients of FD and healthy controls. A cut off score of 8 on SRQ was used to confirm cases of Common mental disorders (CMD). Data was entered and analyzed by SPSS version 16.0. Result: There was significant difference in CMD i.e. 107 (71.33%) versus 23 (15.33%) in cases and controls respectively (p- <0.001). Among cases CMD was more common in females i.e. in 57 (80.3%) as compared 50 (63.3%) in males (p- 0.022). Conclusion: There is high prevalence of Common mental disorders among patients with functional dyspepsia and this needs to be addressed while treating patients. (author)

ξ common cause failure model and method for defense effectiveness estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhaohuan

1991-08-01

Two issues have been dealt. One is to develop an event based parametric model called ξ-CCF model. Its parameters are expressed in the fraction of the progressive multiplicities of failure events. By these expressions, the contribution of each multiple failure can be presented more clearly. It can help to select defense tactics against common cause failures. The other is to provide a method which is based on the operational experience and engineering judgement to estimate the effectiveness of defense tactics. It is expressed in terms of reduction matrix for a given tactics on a specific plant in the event by event form. The application of practical example shows that the model in cooperation with the method can simply estimate the effectiveness of defense tactics. It can be easily used by the operators and its application may be extended

Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms of Perceived Pleasantness

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-01

NUMBER OF PAGES 24 19a. NAME OF RESPONSIBLE PERSON Kelly Dickerson a. REPORT Unclassified b. ABSTRACT Unclassified c . THIS...ARL-TR-7960 ● FEB 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Two Classification Methods for Grouping Common Environmental Sounds in Terms...of Perceived Pleasantness by Kelly Dickerson, Brandon S Perelman, Laura Sherry, and Jeremy R Gaston Approved for public

Alternative method for intramuscular fat analysis using common laboratory equipment.

Science.gov (United States)

Segura, J; Calvo, L; Óvilo, C; González-Bulnes, A; Olivares, A; Cambero, M I; López-Bote, C J

2015-05-01

A procedure to quantify intramuscular fat was developed using common inexpensive laboratory equipment. Three homogenization methods of lyophilized muscle samples (Ball-mill, Grinder and Mortar) and two extraction methods (Ball-mill or Vortex) were used in turkey meat and pork. Two-hundred mg of lyophilized and homogenized samples were accurately weighed and mixed with 1.5 mL of dichloromethane-methanol (8:2) and shaken either in a Mixer Mill (MM400, Retsch Technology) or in a Vortex. The final mixture was separated by centrifugation. Solvent was evaporated under a nitrogen stream and lipid content was gravimetrically determined. Besides, it was checked that the fatty acid profile was not altered by the protocol used. Moreover, the analysis of 4 replicas from the same sample showed different variation coefficients (16-29%) for the new procedures proposed over a wide range of IMF content. The combination of Grinder and Vortex methodologies can be proposed as a simple and inexpensive alternative to previous ones. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Addressing Research Design Problem in Mixed Methods Research

Science.gov (United States)

Alavi, Hamed; Hąbek, Patrycja

2016-03-01

Alongside other disciplines in social sciences, management researchers use mixed methods research more and more in conduct of their scientific investigations. Mixed methods approach can also be used in the field of production engineering. In comparison with traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods, reasons behind increasing popularity of mixed research method in management science can be traced in different factors. First of all, any particular discipline in management can be theoretically related to it. Second is that concurrent approach of mixed research method to inductive and deductive research logic provides researchers with opportunity to generate theory and test hypothesis in one study simultaneously. In addition, it provides a better justification for chosen method of investigation and higher validity for obtained answers to research questions. Despite increasing popularity of mixed research methods among management scholars, there is still need for a comprehensive approach to research design typology and process in mixed research method from the perspective of management science. The authors in this paper try to explain fundamental principles of mixed research method, its typology and different steps in its design process.

Community Changes Address Common Health Threat

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

This podcast helps residents living in multiunit housing, like apartments and condos, understand the threat of secondhand smoke. It also helps residents understand what steps they can take to breathe a little easier if involuntarily exposed to secondhand smoke

Community Changes Address Common Health Threat

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2013-09-30

This podcast helps residents living in multiunit housing, like apartments and condos, understand the threat of secondhand smoke. It also helps residents understand what steps they can take to breathe a little easier if involuntarily exposed to secondhand smoke.  Created: 9/30/2013 by Division of Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.   Date Released: 9/30/2013.

Addressable-Matrix Integrated-Circuit Test Structure

Science.gov (United States)

Sayah, Hoshyar R.; Buehler, Martin G.

1991-01-01

Method of quality control based on use of row- and column-addressable test structure speeds collection of data on widths of resistor lines and coverage of steps in integrated circuits. By use of straightforward mathematical model, line widths and step coverages deduced from measurements of electrical resistances in each of various combinations of lines, steps, and bridges addressable in test structure. Intended for use in evaluating processes and equipment used in manufacture of application-specific integrated circuits.

Approaches to Mixed Methods Dissemination and Implementation Research: Methods, Strengths, Caveats, and Opportunities.

Science.gov (United States)

Green, Carla A; Duan, Naihua; Gibbons, Robert D; Hoagwood, Kimberly E; Palinkas, Lawrence A; Wisdom, Jennifer P

2015-09-01

Limited translation of research into practice has prompted study of diffusion and implementation, and development of effective methods of encouraging adoption, dissemination and implementation. Mixed methods techniques offer approaches for assessing and addressing processes affecting implementation of evidence-based interventions. We describe common mixed methods approaches used in dissemination and implementation research, discuss strengths and limitations of mixed methods approaches to data collection, and suggest promising methods not yet widely used in implementation research. We review qualitative, quantitative, and hybrid approaches to mixed methods dissemination and implementation studies, and describe methods for integrating multiple methods to increase depth of understanding while improving reliability and validity of findings.

Common angle plots as perception-true visualizations of categorical associations.

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Heike; Vendettuoli, Marie

2013-12-01

Visualizations are great tools of communications-they summarize findings and quickly convey main messages to our audience. As designers of charts we have to make sure that information is shown with a minimum of distortion. We have to also consider illusions and other perceptual limitations of our audience. In this paper we discuss the effect and strength of the line width illusion, a Muller-Lyer type illusion, on designs related to displaying associations between categorical variables. Parallel sets and hammock plots are both affected by line width illusions. We introduce the common-angle plot as an alternative method for displaying categorical data in a manner that minimizes the effect from perceptual illusions. Results from user studies both highlight the need for addressing line-width illusions in displays and provide evidence that common angle charts successfully resolve this issue.

ADDRESSING RESEARCH DESIGN PROBLEM IN MIXED METHODS RESEARCH

OpenAIRE

Hamed ALAVI; Patrycja HĄBEK

2016-01-01

Alongside other disciplines in social sciences, management researchers use mixed methods research more and more in conduct of their scientific investigations. Mixed methods approach can also be used in the field of production engineering. In comparison with traditional quantitative and qualitative research methods, reasons behind increasing popularity of mixed research method in management science can be traced in different factors. First of all, any particular discipline in management can be...

Do Elementary Science Methods Textbooks Promote Understanding of Shadows?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lloyd H. Barrow

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Elementary science methods textbooks can be an important resource for future elementary teachers of science. Since shadows are a common topic in elementary school and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013. A series of ten shadows concepts were formed into a learning progression by Wizman and Fortus (2007. For this research, ten science methods textbook were read and analyzed about how each of the shadow concepts were addressed. These methods textbooks focused on a limited number of shadow concepts. Consequently, as a future reference, they are very limited in addressing all ten shadow concepts.

Methods of sperm vitality assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Moskovtsev, Sergey I; Librach, Clifford L

2013-01-01

Sperm vitality is a reflection of the proportion of live, membrane-intact spermatozoa determined by either dye exclusion or osmoregulatory capacity under hypo-osmotic conditions. In this chapter we address the two most common methods of sperm vitality assessment: eosin-nigrosin staining and the hypo-osmotic swelling test, both utilized in clinical Andrology laboratories.

Variation and Commonality in Phenomenographic Research Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Akerlind, Gerlese S.

2012-01-01

This paper focuses on the data analysis stage of phenomenographic research, elucidating what is involved in terms of both commonality and variation in accepted practice. The analysis stage of phenomenographic research is often not well understood. This paper helps to clarify the process, initially by collecting together in one location the more…

Trends in public health policies addressing violence against women

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kattia Rojas Loría

2014-08-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE To analyze the content of policies and action plans within the public healthcare system that addresses the issue of violence against women. METHODS A descriptive and comparative study was conducted on the health policies and plans in Catalonia and Costa Rica from 2005 to 2011. It uses a qualitative methodology with documentary analysis. It is classified by topics that describe and interpret the contents. We considered dimensions, such as principles, strategies, concepts concerning violence against women, health trends, and evaluations. RESULTS Thirteen public policy documents were analyzed. In both countries’ contexts, we have provided an overview of violence against women as a problem whose roots are in gender inequality. The strategies of gender policies that address violence against women are cultural exchange and institutional action within the public healthcare system. The actions of the healthcare sector are expanded into specific plans. The priorities and specificity of actions in healthcare plans were the distinguishing features between the two countries. CONCLUSIONS The common features of the healthcare plans in both the counties include violence against women, use of protocols, detection tasks, care and recovery for women, and professional self-care. Catalonia does not consider healthcare actions with aggressors. Costa Rica has a lower specificity in conceptualization and protocol patterns, as well as a lack of updates concerning health standards in Catalonia.

Trends in public health policies addressing violence against women

Science.gov (United States)

Loría, Kattia Rojas; Rosado, Teresa Gutiérrez; Espinosa, Leonor María Cantera; Marrochi, Leda María Marenco; Sánchez, Anna Fernández

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To analyze the content of policies and action plans within the public healthcare system that addresses the issue of violence against women. METHODS A descriptive and comparative study was conducted on the health policies and plans in Catalonia and Costa Rica from 2005 to 2011. It uses a qualitative methodology with documentary analysis. It is classified by topics that describe and interpret the contents. We considered dimensions, such as principles, strategies, concepts concerning violence against women, health trends, and evaluations. RESULTS Thirteen public policy documents were analyzed. In both countries’ contexts, we have provided an overview of violence against women as a problem whose roots are in gender inequality. The strategies of gender policies that address violence against women are cultural exchange and institutional action within the public healthcare system. The actions of the healthcare sector are expanded into specific plans. The priorities and specificity of actions in healthcare plans were the distinguishing features between the two countries. CONCLUSIONS The common features of the healthcare plans in both the counties include violence against women, use of protocols, detection tasks, care and recovery for women, and professional self-care. Catalonia does not consider healthcare actions with aggressors. Costa Rica has a lower specificity in conceptualization and protocol patterns, as well as a lack of updates concerning health standards in Catalonia. PMID:25210820

Methods for Intelligent Mapping of the IPV6 Address Space

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

the " Internet of Things " ( IoT ). (2013, Jan. 7). Forbes. [Online]. Available: http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/01/07/ how-many- things -are...currently-connected-to-the- internet -of- things - iot / 57 [13] G. Huston, “IPv4 address report,” Mar 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4...distribution is unlimited 12b. DISTRIBUTION CODE 13. ABSTRACT (maximum 200 words) Due to the rapid growth of the Internet , the available pool of unique

Reptile Critical Care and Common Emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Music, Meera Kumar; Strunk, Anneliese

2016-05-01

Reptile emergencies are an important part of exotic animal critical care, both true emergencies and those perceived as emergencies by owners. The most common presentations for reptile emergencies are addressed here, with information on differential diagnoses, helpful diagnostics, and approach to treatment. In many cases, reptile emergencies are actually acute presentations originating from a chronic problem, and the treatment plan must include both clinical treatment and addressing husbandry and dietary deficiencies at home. Accurate owner expectations must be set in order to have owner compliance to long-term treatment plans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

common problems affecting supranational attempts in africa

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

1902), a common currency (1905), a Postal Union (1917) and a Customs ..... established in 1994 as a measure to address the attendant effects of the devaluation ..... According to the IMF, in spite of the establishment of a customs union within ...

Statistical methods for physical science

CERN Document Server

Stanford, John L

1994-01-01

This volume of Methods of Experimental Physics provides an extensive introduction to probability and statistics in many areas of the physical sciences, with an emphasis on the emerging area of spatial statistics. The scope of topics covered is wide-ranging-the text discusses a variety of the most commonly used classical methods and addresses newer methods that are applicable or potentially important. The chapter authors motivate readers with their insightful discussions, augmenting their material withKey Features* Examines basic probability, including coverage of standard distributions, time s

Nuclear Security and Nuclear Safeguards; Differences, Commonalities and Synergies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jorant, C.

2015-01-01

Reference to the three S's in the nuclear world is recurring and much has been said about the need to build on synergies to reinforce safeguards, safety and security. In practice, the 3S's communities are seldom interconnected even though some interaction can be observed between safety and security and security and safeguards. Ensuring a better understanding between those three sectors about their scope, requirements, implementation methods and tools would stimulate cooperation. The second Nuclear Security Summit and particularly the industry related event stressed the synergies between safety and security. The first IAEAs Security Conference organized in July 2013 did not address specifically nuclear safeguards and security relations. Last Security Summit took place in The Hague in March 2014 and this type of issue was not really raised either. The safeguards Symposium provides a timely opportunity to tackle possible enhanced cooperation between safeguards and security communities and assess the prospect for addressing such issue at the next and allegedly last security summit in 2016. This presentation will analyze the differences and commonalities between those two sectors, in particular with regards to the objectives and actors, the organization and technicalities, or to the conceptual approaches (DBT and APA/SLC, attractiveness/accessibility). It will then assess the possible synergies or cooperation between both communities. It will discuss the merits of a global and comprehensive involvement of the different actors, (State, industry and international bodies including the NGOs) and of exchanges on good practices to contribute to a common understanding and references while allowing for an adaptable and national approach. Indeed the need to reassure the stakeholders, including the general public, that security, as well as safeguards are addressed in a consistent manner worldwide is of utmost importance for building future nuclear energy programmes on a

Fragmentation of DNA affects the accuracy of the DNA quantitation by the commonly used methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sedlackova Tatiana

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Specific applications and modern technologies, like non-invasive prenatal testing, non-invasive cancer diagnostic and next generation sequencing, are currently in the focus of researchers worldwide. These have common characteristics in use of highly fragmented DNA molecules for analysis. Hence, for the performance of molecular methods, DNA concentration is a crucial parameter; we compared the influence of different levels of DNA fragmentation on the accuracy of DNA concentration measurements. Results In our comparison, the performance of the currently most commonly used methods for DNA concentration measurement (spectrophotometric, fluorometric and qPCR based were tested on artificially fragmented DNA samples. In our comparison, unfragmented and three specifically fragmented DNA samples were used. According to our results, the level of fragmentation did not influence the accuracy of spectrophotometric measurements of DNA concentration, while other methods, fluorometric as well as qPCR-based, were significantly influenced and a decrease in measured concentration was observed with more intensive DNA fragmentation. Conclusions Our study has confirmed that the level of fragmentation of DNA has significant impact on accuracy of DNA concentration measurement with two of three mostly used methods (PicoGreen and qPCR. Only spectrophotometric measurement was not influenced by the level of fragmentation, but sensitivity of this method was lowest among the three tested. Therefore if it is possible the DNA quantification should be performed with use of equally fragmented control DNA.

A Survey of Procedural Methods for Terrain Modelling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smelik, R.M.; Kraker, J.K. de; Groenewegen, S.A.; Tutenel, T.; Bidarra, R.

2009-01-01

Procedural methods are a promising but underused alternative to manual content creation. Commonly heard drawbacks are the randomness of and the lack of control over the output and the absence of integrated solutions, although more recent publications increasingly address these issues. This paper

Identifying risk factors for healthcare-associated infections from electronic medical record home address data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosenman Marc B

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Residential address is a common element in patient electronic medical records. Guidelines from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specify that residence in a nursing home, skilled nursing facility, or hospice within a year prior to a positive culture date is among the criteria for differentiating healthcare-acquired from community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA infections. Residential addresses may be useful for identifying patients residing in healthcare-associated settings, but methods for categorizing residence type based on electronic medical records have not been widely documented. The aim of this study was to develop a process to assist in differentiating healthcare-associated from community-associated MRSA infections by analyzing patient addresses to determine if residence reported at the time of positive culture was associated with a healthcare facility or other institutional location. Results We identified 1,232 of the patients (8.24% of the sample with positive cultures as probable cases of healthcare-associated MRSA based on residential addresses contained in electronic medical records. Combining manual review with linking to institutional address databases improved geocoding rates from 11,870 records (79.37% to 12,549 records (83.91%. Standardization of patient home address through geocoding increased the number of matches to institutional facilities from 545 (3.64% to 1,379 (9.22%. Conclusions Linking patient home address data from electronic medical records to institutional residential databases provides useful information for epidemiologic researchers, infection control practitioners, and clinicians. This information, coupled with other clinical and laboratory data, can be used to inform differentiation of healthcare-acquired from community-acquired infections. The process presented should be extensible with little or no added data costs.

Addressing drug adherence using an operations management model.

Science.gov (United States)

Nunlee, Martin; Bones, Michelle

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE To provide a model that enables health systems and pharmacy benefit managers to provide medications reliably and test for reliability and validity in the analysis of adherence to drug therapy of chronic disease. SUMMARY The quantifiable model described here can be used in conjunction with behavioral designs of drug adherence assessments. The model identifies variables that can be reproduced and expanded across the management of chronic diseases with drug therapy. By creating a reorder point system for reordering medications, the model uses a methodology commonly seen in operations research. The design includes a safety stock of medication and current supply of medication, which increases the likelihood that patients will have a continuous supply of medications, thereby positively affecting adherence by removing barriers. CONCLUSION This method identifies an adherence model that quantifies variables related to recommendations from health care providers; it can assist health care and service delivery systems in making decisions that influence adherence based on the expected order cycle days and the expected daily quantity of medication administered. This model addresses the possession of medication as a barrier to adherence.

Residualization is not the answer: Rethinking how to address multicollinearity.

Science.gov (United States)

York, Richard

2012-11-01

Here I show that a commonly used procedure to address problems stemming from collinearity and multicollinearity among independent variables in regression analysis, "residualization", leads to biased coefficient and standard error estimates and does not address the fundamental problem of collinearity, which is a lack of information. I demonstrate this using visual representations of collinearity, hypothetical experimental designs, and analyses of both artificial and real world data. I conclude by noting the importance of examining methodological practices to ensure that their validity can be established based on rational criteria. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Method-Based Higher Education in Sustainability: The Potential of the Scenario Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Richard Beecroft

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Both sustainability and education are challenging process-oriented objectives. When the aim is to combine both notions, as in Higher Education in Sustainability (HES, it is indispensable to first establish a common ground between them. In this paper, we characterise this common ground in terms of four aspects: future orientation, normativity, global perspective, and theory engaged in practice. Based on an analysis of the common ground, one method that is well-established in a wide range of sustainability sciences shows high potential for use in HES because it covers all four aspects in detail: the scenario method. We argue that a didactical reconstruction of the scenario method is necessary to utilise its potential and develop adequate forms of teaching in higher education. The scenario method is used to construct and analyse a set of alternative future developments to support decisions that have to be made in the present. Didactical reconstruction reveals a spectrum of objectives for which the scenario method can be employed: (1 projection; (2 teleological planning and (3 an explorative search for possibilities not yet considered. By studying and experimenting with this spectrum of objectives, students in HES can develop fundamental reflexive competencies in addressing the future in different ways that are relevant for both sustainability and education.

Developing integrated methods to address complex resource and environmental issues

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kathleen S.; Phillips, Jeffrey D.; McCafferty, Anne E.; Clark, Roger N.

2016-02-08

IntroductionThis circular provides an overview of selected activities that were conducted within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Integrated Methods Development Project, an interdisciplinary project designed to develop new tools and conduct innovative research requiring integration of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and remote-sensing expertise. The project was supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program, and its products and acquired capabilities have broad applications to missions throughout the USGS and beyond.In addressing challenges associated with understanding the location, quantity, and quality of mineral resources, and in investigating the potential environmental consequences of resource development, a number of field and laboratory capabilities and interpretative methodologies evolved from the project that have applications to traditional resource studies as well as to studies related to ecosystem health, human health, disaster and hazard assessment, and planetary science. New or improved tools and research findings developed within the project have been applied to other projects and activities. Specifically, geophysical equipment and techniques have been applied to a variety of traditional and nontraditional mineral- and energy-resource studies, military applications, environmental investigations, and applied research activities that involve climate change, mapping techniques, and monitoring capabilities. Diverse applied geochemistry activities provide a process-level understanding of the mobility, chemical speciation, and bioavailability of elements, particularly metals and metalloids, in a variety of environmental settings. Imaging spectroscopy capabilities maintained and developed within the project have been applied to traditional resource studies as well as to studies related to ecosystem health, human health, disaster assessment, and planetary science. Brief descriptions of capabilities and laboratory facilities and summaries of some

Image Coding Based on Address Vector Quantization.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yushu

Image coding is finding increased application in teleconferencing, archiving, and remote sensing. This thesis investigates the potential of Vector Quantization (VQ), a relatively new source coding technique, for compression of monochromatic and color images. Extensions of the Vector Quantization technique to the Address Vector Quantization method have been investigated. In Vector Quantization, the image data to be encoded are first processed to yield a set of vectors. A codeword from the codebook which best matches the input image vector is then selected. Compression is achieved by replacing the image vector with the index of the code-word which produced the best match, the index is sent to the channel. Reconstruction of the image is done by using a table lookup technique, where the label is simply used as an address for a table containing the representative vectors. A code-book of representative vectors (codewords) is generated using an iterative clustering algorithm such as K-means, or the generalized Lloyd algorithm. A review of different Vector Quantization techniques are given in chapter 1. Chapter 2 gives an overview of codebook design methods including the Kohonen neural network to design codebook. During the encoding process, the correlation of the address is considered and Address Vector Quantization is developed for color image and monochrome image coding. Address VQ which includes static and dynamic processes is introduced in chapter 3. In order to overcome the problems in Hierarchical VQ, Multi-layer Address Vector Quantization is proposed in chapter 4. This approach gives the same performance as that of the normal VQ scheme but the bit rate is about 1/2 to 1/3 as that of the normal VQ method. In chapter 5, a Dynamic Finite State VQ based on a probability transition matrix to select the best subcodebook to encode the image is developed. In chapter 6, a new adaptive vector quantization scheme, suitable for color video coding, called "A Self -Organizing

Addressing techniques of liquid crystal displays

CERN Document Server

Ruckmongathan, Temkar N

2014-01-01

Unique reference source that can be used from the beginning to end of a design project to aid choosing an appropriate LCD addressing technique for a given application This book will be aimed at design engineers who are likely to embed LCD drivers and controllers in many systems including systems on chip. Such designers face the challenge of making the right choice of an addressing technique that will serve them with best performance at minimal cost and complexity. Readers will be able to learn about various methods available for driving matrix LCDs and the comparisons at the end of each chap

Casuistry as common law morality.

Science.gov (United States)

Paulo, Norbert

2015-12-01

This article elaborates on the relation between ethical casuistry and common law reasoning. Despite the frequent talk of casuistry as common law morality, remarks on this issue largely remain at the purely metaphorical level. The article outlines and scrutinizes Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin's version of casuistry and its basic elements. Drawing lessons for casuistry from common law reasoning, it is argued that one generally has to be faithful to ethical paradigms. There are, however, limitations for the binding force of paradigms. The most important limitations--the possibilities of overruling and distinguishing paradigm norms--are similar in common law and in casuistry, or so it is argued. These limitations explain why casuistry is not necessarily overly conservative and conventional, which is one line of criticism to which casuists can now better respond. Another line of criticism has it that the very reasoning from case to case is extremely unclear in casuistry. I suggest a certain model of analogical reasoning to address this critique. All my suggestions to understand and to enhance casuistry make use of common law reasoning whilst remaining faithful to Jonsen and Toulmin's main ideas and commitments. Further developed along these lines, casuistry can appropriately be called "common law morality."

Are Teacher and Principal Candidates Prepared to Address Student Cyberbullying?

Science.gov (United States)

Styron, Ronald A., Jr.; Bonner, Jessica L.; Styron, Jennifer L.; Bridgeforth, James; Martin, Cecelia

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the preparation of teacher and principal candidates to address problems created in K-12 settings as a result of cyberbullying. Participants included teacher and principal preparation students. Findings indicated that respondents were familiar with the most common forms of cyberbullying and its impact on…

Transfer Kernel Common Spatial Patterns for Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Mengxi; Liu, Shucong; Zhang, Pengju

2018-01-01

Motor-imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) commonly use the common spatial pattern (CSP) as preprocessing step before classification. The CSP method is a supervised algorithm. Therefore a lot of time-consuming training data is needed to build the model. To address this issue, one promising approach is transfer learning, which generalizes a learning model can extract discriminative information from other subjects for target classification task. To this end, we propose a transfer kernel CSP (TKCSP) approach to learn a domain-invariant kernel by directly matching distributions of source subjects and target subjects. The dataset IVa of BCI Competition III is used to demonstrate the validity by our proposed methods. In the experiment, we compare the classification performance of the TKCSP against CSP, CSP for subject-to-subject transfer (CSP SJ-to-SJ), regularizing CSP (RCSP), stationary subspace CSP (ssCSP), multitask CSP (mtCSP), and the combined mtCSP and ssCSP (ss + mtCSP) method. The results indicate that the superior mean classification performance of TKCSP can achieve 81.14%, especially in case of source subjects with fewer number of training samples. Comprehensive experimental evidence on the dataset verifies the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed TKCSP approach over several state-of-the-art methods. PMID:29743934

Methods for addressing "innocent bystanders" when evaluating safety of concomitant vaccines.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shirley V; Abdurrob, Abdurrahman; Spoendlin, Julia; Lewis, Edwin; Newcomer, Sophia R; Fireman, Bruce; Daley, Matthew F; Glanz, Jason M; Duffy, Jonathan; Weintraub, Eric S; Kulldorff, Martin

2018-04-01

The need to develop methods for studying the safety of childhood immunization schedules has been recognized by the Institute of Medicine and Department of Health and Human Services. The recommended childhood immunization schedule includes multiple vaccines in a visit. A key concern is safety of concomitant (same day) versus separate day vaccination. This paper addresses a methodological challenge for observational studies using a self-controlled design to investigate the safety of concomitant vaccination. We propose a process for distinguishing which of several concomitantly administered vaccines is responsible for increased risk of an adverse event while adjusting for confounding due to relationships between effect modifying risk factors and concomitant vaccine combinations. We illustrate the approach by re-examining the known increase in risk of seizure 7 to 10 days after measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination and evaluating potential independent or modifying effects of other vaccines. Initial analyses suggested that DTaP had both an independent and potentiating effect on seizure. After accounting for the relationship between age at vaccination and vaccine combination, there was little evidence for increased risk of seizure with same day administration of DTaP and MMR; incidence rate ratio, 95% confidence interval 1.2 (0.9-1.6), P value = θ.226. We have shown that when using a self-controlled design to investigate safety of concomitant vaccination, it can be critically important to adjust for time-invariant effect modifying risk factors, such as age at time of vaccination, which are structurally related to vaccination patterns due to recommended immunization schedules. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ADDRESS SEQUENCES FOR MULTI RUN RAM TESTING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. N. Yarmolik

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A universal approach for generation of address sequences with specified properties is proposed and analyzed. A modified version of the Antonov and Saleev algorithm for Sobol sequences genera-tion is chosen as a mathematical description of the proposed method. Within the framework of the proposed universal approach, the Sobol sequences form a subset of the address sequences. Other sub-sets are also formed, which are Gray sequences, anti-Gray sequences, counter sequences and sequenc-es with specified properties.

Modern methods of high-pressure fuel pump common rail power system diagnostics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyshchun В.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We've considered high pressure fuel pumps design features and equipment for their diagnosis. It was noted that the reliability of the fuel elements Common Rail system primarily provide precision parts of the fuel equipment. As a consequence, the aim of study was comparative analysis and laborious of modern methods of the high pressure fuel pump diagnosing. In particular, the definition of a technical condition of the fuel pump was carried out using a special stand and by measuring the fuel pressure and duty cycle of the pressure regulator signal. As an object of our research we've chosen Bosch № 0445010008 fuel pump (from Mercedes Benz E320cdi in which the plunger pairs were changed alternately with different technical conditions. Preliminary fuel pump parameters were determined by hydraulic testing. Based on conducted experiments we've found out that fuel pressure measurement change method and the duty cycle of the pressure regulator signal at the starting and full load modes less laborious compared to the definition of a technical condition of the pump on the stand. The results of both methods of diagnosing confirmed identity of the fuel pumps.

Relative accuracy of three common methods of parentage analysis in natural populations

KAUST Repository

Harrison, Hugo B.; Saenz Agudelo, Pablo; Planes, Serge; Jones, Geoffrey P.; Berumen, Michael L.

2012-01-01

Parentage studies and family reconstructions have become increasingly popular for investigating a range of evolutionary, ecological and behavioural processes in natural populations. However, a number of different assignment methods have emerged in common use and the accuracy of each may differ in relation to the number of loci examined, allelic diversity, incomplete sampling of all candidate parents and the presence of genotyping errors. Here, we examine how these factors affect the accuracy of three popular parentage inference methods (colony, famoz and an exclusion-Bayes' theorem approach by Christie (Molecular Ecology Resources, 2010a, 10, 115) to resolve true parent-offspring pairs using simulated data. Our findings demonstrate that accuracy increases with the number and diversity of loci. These were clearly the most important factors in obtaining accurate assignments explaining 75-90% of variance in overall accuracy across 60 simulated scenarios. Furthermore, the proportion of candidate parents sampled had a small but significant impact on the susceptibility of each method to either false-positive or false-negative assignments. Within the range of values simulated, colony outperformed FaMoz, which outperformed the exclusion-Bayes' theorem method. However, with 20 or more highly polymorphic loci, all methods could be applied with confidence. Our results show that for parentage inference in natural populations, careful consideration of the number and quality of markers will increase the accuracy of assignments and mitigate the effects of incomplete sampling of parental populations. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Relative accuracy of three common methods of parentage analysis in natural populations

KAUST Repository

Harrison, Hugo B.

2012-12-27

Parentage studies and family reconstructions have become increasingly popular for investigating a range of evolutionary, ecological and behavioural processes in natural populations. However, a number of different assignment methods have emerged in common use and the accuracy of each may differ in relation to the number of loci examined, allelic diversity, incomplete sampling of all candidate parents and the presence of genotyping errors. Here, we examine how these factors affect the accuracy of three popular parentage inference methods (colony, famoz and an exclusion-Bayes\\' theorem approach by Christie (Molecular Ecology Resources, 2010a, 10, 115) to resolve true parent-offspring pairs using simulated data. Our findings demonstrate that accuracy increases with the number and diversity of loci. These were clearly the most important factors in obtaining accurate assignments explaining 75-90% of variance in overall accuracy across 60 simulated scenarios. Furthermore, the proportion of candidate parents sampled had a small but significant impact on the susceptibility of each method to either false-positive or false-negative assignments. Within the range of values simulated, colony outperformed FaMoz, which outperformed the exclusion-Bayes\\' theorem method. However, with 20 or more highly polymorphic loci, all methods could be applied with confidence. Our results show that for parentage inference in natural populations, careful consideration of the number and quality of markers will increase the accuracy of assignments and mitigate the effects of incomplete sampling of parental populations. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Comparing the health impacts of different sources of energy. Keynote address

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hamilton, L.D.

1981-01-01

Assessing health impacts of different energy sources requires synthesis of research results from any different disciplines into a rational framework. Information is often scanty; qualitatively different risks, or energy systems with substantially different end uses, must be put on a common footing. Historically institutional constraints have inhibited agencies from making incisive comparisons necessary for formulating energy policy; this has exacerbated public controversy over appropriate energy sources. Risk assessment methods reviewed include examples drawn from work of the Biomedical and Environmental Assessment Division at Brookhaven National Laboratory and elsewhere. Uncertainty over the mechanism and size of air pollution health damage is addressed through a probabilistic health-damage function, using sulfate-particle exposure as an indicator. This facilitates intercomparison through analysis of each step in the whole fuel cycle between a typical coal and nuclear powerplant. Occupational health impacts, a significant fraction of overall damage, are illustrated by accident trends in coal mining. In broadening comparisons to include new technologies, one must include the impact of manufacturing the energy-producing device as part of an expanded fuel cycle, via input/output methods. Throughout the analysis, uncertainties must be made explicit in the results, including uncertainty of data and uncertainty in choice of appropriate models and methods. No single method of comparative risk assessment is fully satisfactory; each has its limitations. One needs to compare several methods if decision-making is to be realistic

A common base method for analysis of qPCR data and the application of simple blocking in qPCR experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Ganger, Michael T; Dietz, Geoffrey D; Ewing, Sarah J

2017-12-01

qPCR has established itself as the technique of choice for the quantification of gene expression. Procedures for conducting qPCR have received significant attention; however, more rigorous approaches to the statistical analysis of qPCR data are needed. Here we develop a mathematical model, termed the Common Base Method, for analysis of qPCR data based on threshold cycle values (C q ) and efficiencies of reactions (E). The Common Base Method keeps all calculations in the logscale as long as possible by working with log 10 (E) ∙ C q , which we call the efficiency-weighted C q value; subsequent statistical analyses are then applied in the logscale. We show how efficiency-weighted C q values may be analyzed using a simple paired or unpaired experimental design and develop blocking methods to help reduce unexplained variation. The Common Base Method has several advantages. It allows for the incorporation of well-specific efficiencies and multiple reference genes. The method does not necessitate the pairing of samples that must be performed using traditional analysis methods in order to calculate relative expression ratios. Our method is also simple enough to be implemented in any spreadsheet or statistical software without additional scripts or proprietary components.

A method of directly extracting multiwave angle-domain common-image gathers

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Jianguang; Wang, Yun

2017-10-01

Angle-domain common-image gathers (ADCIGs) can provide an effective way for migration velocity analysis and amplitude versus angle analysis in oil-gas seismic exploration. On the basis of multi-component Gaussian beam prestack depth migration (GB-PSDM), an alternative method of directly extracting multiwave ADCIGs is presented in this paper. We first introduce multi-component GB-PSDM, where a wavefield separation is proceeded to obtain the separated PP- and PS-wave seismic records before migration imaging for multiwave seismic data. Then, the principle of extracting PP- and PS-ADCIGs using GB-PSDM is presented. The propagation angle can be obtained using the real-value travel time of Gaussian beam in the course of GB-PSDM, which can be used to calculate the incidence and reflection angles. Two kinds of ADCIGs can be extracted for the PS-wave, one of which is P-wave incidence ADCIGs and the other one is S-wave reflection ADCIGs. In this paper, we use the incident angle to plot the ADCIGs for both PP- and PS-waves. Finally, tests of synthetic examples show that the method introduced here is accurate and effective.

Addressing implementation challenges during guideline development - a case study of Swedish national guidelines for methods of preventing disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter-Sundberg, Linda; Kardakis, Therese; Weinehall, Lars; Garvare, Rickard; Nyström, Monica E

2015-01-22

Many of the world's life threatening diseases (e.g. cancer, heart disease, stroke) could be prevented by eliminating life-style habits such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use. Incorporating evidence-based research on methods to change unhealthy lifestyle habits in clinical practice would be equally valuable. However gaps between guideline development and implementation are well documented, with implications for health care quality, safety and effectiveness. The development phase of guidelines has been shown to be important both for the quality in guideline content and for the success of implementation. There are, however, indications that guidelines related to general disease prevention methods encounter specific barriers compared to guidelines that are diagnosis-specific. In 2011 the Swedish National board for Health and Welfare launched guidelines with a preventive scope. The aim of this study was to investigate how implementation challenges were addressed during the development process of these disease preventive guidelines. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with members of the guideline development management group. Archival data detailing the guideline development process were also collected and used in the analysis. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis as the analytical framework. The study identified several strategies and approaches that were used to address implementation challenges during guideline development. Four themes emerged from the analysis: broad agreements and consensus about scope and purpose; a formalized and structured development procedure; systematic and active involvement of stakeholders; and openness and transparency in the specific guideline development procedure. Additional factors concerning the scope of prevention and the work environment of guideline developers were perceived to influence the possibilities to address implementation issues. This case study

Which Scientific Knowledge is a Common Good?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Radder, Hans

2017-01-01

In this article, I address the question of whether science can and should be seen as a common good. For this purpose, the first section focuses on the notion of (scientific) knowledge and examines its main characteristics. I discuss and assess the core view of analytic epistemology, that knowledge

No sulfates, no parabens, and the "no-poo" method: a new patient perspective on common shampoo ingredients.

Science.gov (United States)

Cline, Abigail; Uwakwe, Laura N; McMichael, Amy J

2018-01-01

The ingredients in shampoos and other cosmetic products have become scrutinized by the general public and the Internet has contributed to misinformation about certain shampoos. Dermatologists must be prepared to acknowledge the concerns that their patients have about common shampoo ingredients to dispel the myths that may misinform patient decision-making. This article reviews the controversy surrounding the use of sulfates and parabens in shampoos, as well as commonly used shampoo alternatives, often called the "no-poo" method.

Environmental Resource Management in Borderlands: Evolution from Competing Interests to Common Aversions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patrick Henry Buckley

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Great enthusiasm is attached to the emergence of cross-border regions (CBRs as a new institutional arrangement for dealing with local cross-border environmental resource management and other issues that remain too distant from national capitals and/or too expensive to be addressed in the traditional topocratic manner requiring instead local adhocratic methods. This study briefly discusses the perceived value of CBRs and necessary and sufficient conditions for the successful and sustainable development of such places. Then, assuming that necessary conditions can be met, the study investigates an intriguing hypothesis concerning the catalyzing of sustainable consensus for cross-border resource management based on a game theoretical approach that employs the use of dilemma of common aversion rather than the more traditional dilemma of competing common interests. Using this lens to investigate a series of events on the Pacific northwestern Canadian-American border in a part of the Fraser Lowland, we look for evidence of the emergence of an active and sustainable CBR to address local trans-border resource management issues. Although our micro-level scale fails to conclusively demonstrate such evidence, it does demonstrate the value of using this approach and suggests a number of avenues for further research.

Advantages and applicability of commonly used homogenisation methods for climate data

Science.gov (United States)

Ribeiro, Sara; Caineta, Júlio; Henriques, Roberto; Soares, Amílcar; Costa, Ana Cristina

2014-05-01

Homogenisation of climate data is a very relevant subject since these data are required as an input in a wide range of studies, such as atmospheric modelling, weather forecasting, climate change monitoring, or hydrological and environmental projects. Often, climate data series include non-natural irregularities which have to be detected and removed prior to their use, otherwise it would generate biased and erroneous results. Relocation of weather stations or changes in the measuring instruments are amongst the most relevant causes for these inhomogeneities. Depending on the climate variable, its temporal resolution and spatial continuity, homogenisation methods can be more or less effective. For example, due to its natural variability, precipitation is identified as a very challenging variable to be homogenised. During the last two decades, numerous methods have been proposed to homogenise climate data. In order to compare, evaluate and develop those methods, the European project COST Action ES0601, Advances in homogenisation methods of climate series: an integrated approach (HOME), was released in 2008. Existing homogenisation methods were improved based on the benchmark exercise issued by this project. A recent approach based on Direct Sequential Simulation (DSS), not yet evaluated by the benchmark exercise, is also presented as an innovative methodology for homogenising climate data series. DSS already proved to be a successful geostatistical method in environmental and hydrological studies, and it provides promising results for the homogenisation of climate data. Since DSS is a geostatistical stochastic approach, it accounts for the joint spatial and temporal dependence between observations, as well as the relative importance of stations both in terms of distance and correlation. This work presents a chronological review of the most commonly used homogenisation methods for climate data and available software packages. A short description and classification is

Computing travel time when the exact address is unknown: a comparison of point and polygon ZIP code approximation methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Berke, Ethan M; Shi, Xun

2009-04-29

Travel time is an important metric of geographic access to health care. We compared strategies of estimating travel times when only subject ZIP code data were available. Using simulated data from New Hampshire and Arizona, we estimated travel times to nearest cancer centers by using: 1) geometric centroid of ZIP code polygons as origins, 2) population centroids as origin, 3) service area rings around each cancer center, assigning subjects to rings by assuming they are evenly distributed within their ZIP code, 4) service area rings around each center, assuming the subjects follow the population distribution within the ZIP code. We used travel times based on street addresses as true values to validate estimates. Population-based methods have smaller errors than geometry-based methods. Within categories (geometry or population), centroid and service area methods have similar errors. Errors are smaller in urban areas than in rural areas. Population-based methods are superior to the geometry-based methods, with the population centroid method appearing to be the best choice for estimating travel time. Estimates in rural areas are less reliable.

Assessing common birds' ecological requirements to address nature conservation in permanent crops: Lessons from Italian vineyards.

Science.gov (United States)

Assandri, Giacomo; Bogliani, Giuseppe; Pedrini, Paolo; Brambilla, Mattia

2017-04-15

Viticulture has contributed to shaping cultural landscapes in several regions across all continents. Recent farming intensification is causing landscape homogenization and biodiversity loss in several of those areas, but knowledge about the impacts on biodiversity in vineyards is still scarce. Simplified agro-ecosystems resulting from intensification host mainly generalist and common species, which still play a key role in the regulation of ecosystems and in the provision of ecosystem services. We assessed the abundance of 11 common bird species at 47 linear transects in a vineyard-dominated landscape in Trentino (NE Italy), in both spring and winter, and analysed abundance variation in relation to three independent groups of predictors: landscape, management, and topographic-climatic variables. In the majority of species (7), abundance was primarily or considerably affected by landscape attributes. However, an additional 5 species were largely affected by management practices, often with conspicuous seasonal differences. Overall, landscape and management heterogeneity positively affected the abundance of 6 species. Vineyard cover (and in particular the new spalliera trellising system) was negatively related with the abundance of 6 species, with the strongest impacts occurring in winter. On the contrary, the cover of marginal habitats had major positive effects over 8 species. Hedgerows, tree rows, and dry stone walls, as well as traditional pergola vineyards and landscape and management heterogeneity should be conserved or restored in viticultural landscapes to promote the abundance of common bird species. This strategy would ensure the maintenance of the ecosystem services they provide, while promoting the general sustainability of the agroecosystem. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chaotic Dynamics and Application of LCR Oscillators Sharing Common Nonlinearity

Science.gov (United States)

Jeevarekha, A.; Paul Asir, M.; Philominathan, P.

2016-06-01

This paper addresses the problem of sharing common nonlinearity among nonautonomous and autonomous oscillators. By choosing a suitable common nonlinear element with the driving point characteristics capable of bringing out chaotic motion in a combined system, we obtain identical chaotic states. The dynamics of the coupled system is explored through numerical and experimental studies. Employing the concept of common nonlinearity, a simple chaotic communication system is modeled and its performance is verified through Multisim simulation.

Common Superficial Bursitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khodaee, Morteza

2017-02-15

Superficial bursitis most often occurs in the olecranon and prepatellar bursae. Less common locations are the superficial infrapatellar and subcutaneous (superficial) calcaneal bursae. Chronic microtrauma (e.g., kneeling on the prepatellar bursa) is the most common cause of superficial bursitis. Other causes include acute trauma/hemorrhage, inflammatory disorders such as gout or rheumatoid arthritis, and infection (septic bursitis). Diagnosis is usually based on clinical presentation, with a particular focus on signs of septic bursitis. Ultrasonography can help distinguish bursitis from cellulitis. Blood testing (white blood cell count, inflammatory markers) and magnetic resonance imaging can help distinguish infectious from noninfectious causes. If infection is suspected, bursal aspiration should be performed and fluid examined using Gram stain, crystal analysis, glucose measurement, blood cell count, and culture. Management depends on the type of bursitis. Acute traumatic/hemorrhagic bursitis is treated conservatively with ice, elevation, rest, and analgesics; aspiration may shorten the duration of symptoms. Chronic microtraumatic bursitis should be treated conservatively, and the underlying cause addressed. Bursal aspiration of microtraumatic bursitis is generally not recommended because of the risk of iatrogenic septic bursitis. Although intrabursal corticosteroid injections are sometimes used to treat microtraumatic bursitis, high-quality evidence demonstrating any benefit is unavailable. Chronic inflammatory bursitis (e.g., gout, rheumatoid arthritis) is treated by addressing the underlying condition, and intrabursal corticosteroid injections are often used. For septic bursitis, antibiotics effective against Staphylococcus aureus are generally the initial treatment, with surgery reserved for bursitis not responsive to antibiotics or for recurrent cases. Outpatient antibiotics may be considered in those who are not acutely ill; patients who are acutely ill

A method for automatically constructing the initial contour of the common carotid artery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yara Omran

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In this article we propose a novel method to automatically set the initial contour that is used by the Active contours algorithm.The proposed method exploits the accumulative intensity profiles to locate the points on the arterial wall. The intensity profiles of sections that intersect the artery show distinguishable characterstics that make it possible to recognize them from the profiles of sections that do not intersect the artery walls. The proposed method is applied on ultrasound images of the transverse section of the common carotid artery, but it can be extended to be used on the images of the longitudinal section. The intensity profiles are classified using Support vector machine algorithm, and the results of different kernels are compared. The extracted features used for the classification are basically statistical features of the intensity profiles. The echogenicity of the arterial lumen, and gives the profiles that intersect the artery a special shape that helps recognizing these profiles from other general profiles.The outlining of the arterial walls may seem a classic task in image processing. However, most of the methods used to outline the artery start from a manual, or semi-automatic, initial contour.The proposed method is highly appreciated in automating the entire process of automatic artery detection and segmentation.

Common-Cause Failure Analysis in Event Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasmuson, D.M.; Kelly, D.L.

2008-01-01

This paper reviews the basic concepts of modeling common-cause failures (CCFs) in reliability and risk studies and then applies these concepts to the treatment of CCF in event assessment. The cases of a failed component (with and without shared CCF potential) and a component being unavailable due to preventive maintenance or testing are addressed. The treatment of two related failure modes (e.g. failure to start and failure to run) is a new feature of this paper, as is the treatment of asymmetry within a common-cause component group

Developing a framework for digital objects in the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) commons: Report from the Commons Framework Pilots workshop.

Science.gov (United States)

Jagodnik, Kathleen M; Koplev, Simon; Jenkins, Sherry L; Ohno-Machado, Lucila; Paten, Benedict; Schurer, Stephan C; Dumontier, Michel; Verborgh, Ruben; Bui, Alex; Ping, Peipei; McKenna, Neil J; Madduri, Ravi; Pillai, Ajay; Ma'ayan, Avi

2017-07-01

The volume and diversity of data in biomedical research have been rapidly increasing in recent years. While such data hold significant promise for accelerating discovery, their use entails many challenges including: the need for adequate computational infrastructure, secure processes for data sharing and access, tools that allow researchers to find and integrate diverse datasets, and standardized methods of analysis. These are just some elements of a complex ecosystem that needs to be built to support the rapid accumulation of these data. The NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative aims to facilitate digitally enabled biomedical research. Within the BD2K framework, the Commons initiative is intended to establish a virtual environment that will facilitate the use, interoperability, and discoverability of shared digital objects used for research. The BD2K Commons Framework Pilots Working Group (CFPWG) was established to clarify goals and work on pilot projects that address existing gaps toward realizing the vision of the BD2K Commons. This report reviews highlights from a two-day meeting involving the BD2K CFPWG to provide insights on trends and considerations in advancing Big Data science for biomedical research in the United States. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

CNOSSOS-EU: Development of a common environmental noise assessment method in the European Union

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aspuru Soloaga, I.; Segues Echazarreta Segues, F.

2011-01-01

This article presents the main aspects of the work undertaken in the development of the common european method of environmental noise assessment CNOSSOS-EU. It summarizes the design, structure and content, and the methodological basis on which it is based. Taking into account the experience gained in the first round of strategic noise mapping, some conclusions are settled about its applications for the third round, and tits implications for the Spanish case. (Author) 9 refs.

Limitations in small artisanal gold mining addressed by educational components paired with alternative mining methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Zolnikov, Tara R

2012-03-01

Current solutions continue to be inadequate in addressing the longstanding, worldwide problem of mercury emissions from small artisanal gold mining. Mercury, an inexpensive and easily accessible heavy metal, is used in the process of extracting gold from ore. Mercury emissions disperse, affecting human populations by causing adverse health effects and environmental and social ramifications. Many developing nations have sizable gold ore deposits, making small artisanal gold mining a major source of employment in the world. Poverty drives vulnerable, rural populations into gold mining because of social and economic instabilities. Educational programs responding to this environmental hazard have been implemented in the past, but have had low positive results due to lack of governmental support and little economic incentive. Educational and enforced intervention programs must be developed in conjunction with governmental agencies in order to successfully eliminate this ongoing problem. Industry leaders offered hopeful suggestions, but revealed limitations when trying to develop encompassing solutions to halt mercury emissions. This research highlights potential options that have been attempted in the past and suggests alternative solutions to improve upon these methods. Some methods include buyer impact recognition, risk assessment proposals exposing a cost-benefit analysis and toxicokinetic modeling, public health awareness campaigns, and the education of miners, healthcare workers, and locals within hazardous areas of mercury exposure. These methods, paired with the implementation of alternative mining techniques, propose a substantial reduction of mercury emissions. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A scalable addressing method when using IMS as a service bus infrastructure

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stokking, H.M.; Hartog, F.T.H. den; Walraven, F.A.

2009-01-01

The dynamic provisioning of SIP addresses is a challenge when many devices and services are dynamically attached to an IMS network. Manual provisioning is too labor intensive for a telecommunications operator, and it is difficult to do it in a way that allows those devices and services access to all

Centrally managed unified shared virtual address space

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkes, John

2018-02-13

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for managing a unified shared virtual address space. A host may execute system software and manage a plurality of nodes coupled to the host. The host may send work tasks to the nodes, and for each node, the host may externally manage the node's view of the system's virtual address space. Each node may have a central processing unit (CPU) style memory management unit (MMU) with an internal translation lookaside buffer (TLB). In one embodiment, the host may be coupled to a given node via an input/output memory management unit (IOMMU) interface, where the IOMMU frontend interface shares the TLB with the given node's MMU. In another embodiment, the host may control the given node's view of virtual address space via memory-mapped control registers.

Pythium root rot of common bean: biology and control methods. A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Baudoin, JP.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Pythium root rot constitutes a highly damaging constraint on the common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris L., grown in several areas of Eastern and Central Africa. Here, this food legume is cultivated intensively under poor conditions of crop rotation due to the exiguity of the land in the region. Yield losses of up to 70% in traditional local bean cultivars have been reported in Kenya and Rwanda. In this study, a detailed analysis of the biology and diversity of the Pythium genus was carried out in order to understand the mechanisms leading to the development of the disease. Various control methods for reducing the damage provoked by this disease were analyzed.

Near-Term Actions to Address Long-Term Climate Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Lempert, R. J.

2014-12-01

Addressing climate change requires effective long-term policy making, which occurs when reflecting on potential events decades or more in the future causes policy makers to choose near-term actions different than those they would otherwise pursue. Contrary to some expectations, policy makers do sometimes make such long-term decisions, but not as commonly and successfully as climate change may require. In recent years however, the new capabilities of analytic decision support tools, combined with improved understanding of cognitive and organizational behaviors, has significantly improved the methods available for organizations to manage longer-term climate risks. In particular, these tools allow decision makers to understand what near-term actions consistently contribute to achieving both short- and long-term societal goals, even in the face of deep uncertainty regarding the long-term future. This talk will describe applications of these approaches for infrastructure, water, and flood risk management planning, as well as studies of how near-term choices about policy architectures can affect long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction pathways.

A non-destructive selection method for faster growth at suboptimal temperature in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drijfhout, E.; Oeveren, J.C. van; Jansen, R.C.

1991-01-01

A non-destructive method has been developed to select common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants whose growth is less effected at a suboptimal temperature. Shoot weight was determined at a suboptimal (14°C) and optimal temperature (20°C), 38 days after sowing and accessions identified with a

BCB polymer based row-column addressed CMUT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Havreland, Andreas Spandet; Ommen, Martin Lind; Silvestre, Chantal

2017-01-01

This paper presents an inexpensive, low temperature and rapid fabrication method for capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUT). The fabrication utilizes the bonding and dielectric properties of the photosensitive polymer Benzocyclobutene (BCB). A BCB based row-column addressed CMUT w...

Addressable droplet microarrays for single cell protein analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Salehi-Reyhani, Ali; Burgin, Edward; Ces, Oscar; Willison, Keith R; Klug, David R

2014-11-07

Addressable droplet microarrays are potentially attractive as a way to achieve miniaturised, reduced volume, high sensitivity analyses without the need to fabricate microfluidic devices or small volume chambers. We report a practical method for producing oil-encapsulated addressable droplet microarrays which can be used for such analyses. To demonstrate their utility, we undertake a series of single cell analyses, to determine the variation in copy number of p53 proteins in cells of a human cancer cell line.

Commons problems, common ground: Earth-surface dynamics and the social-physical interdisciplinary frontier

Science.gov (United States)

Lazarus, E.

2015-12-01

In the archetypal "tragedy of the commons" narrative, local farmers pasture their cows on the town common. Soon the common becomes crowded with cows, who graze it bare, and the arrangement of open access to a shared resource ultimately fails. The "tragedy" involves social and physical processes, but the denouement depends on who is telling the story. An economist might argue that the system collapses because each farmer always has a rational incentive to graze one more cow. An ecologist might remark that the rate of grass growth is an inherent control on the common's carrying capacity. And a geomorphologist might point out that processes of soil degradation almost always outstrip processes of soil production. Interdisciplinary research into human-environmental systems still tends to favor disciplinary vantages. In the context of Anthropocene grand challenges - including fundamental insight into dynamics of landscape resilience, and what the dominance of human activities means for processes of change and evolution on the Earth's surface - two disciplines in particular have more to talk about than they might think. Here, I use three examples - (1) beach nourishment, (2) upstream/downstream fluvial asymmetry, and (3) current and historical "land grabbing" - to illustrate a range of interconnections between physical Earth-surface science and common-pool resource economics. In many systems, decision-making and social complexity exert stronger controls on landscape expression than do physical geomorphological processes. Conversely, human-environmental research keeps encountering multi-scale, emergent problems of resource use made 'common-pool' by water, nutrient and sediment transport dynamics. Just as Earth-surface research can benefit from decades of work on common-pool resource systems, quantitative Earth-surface science can make essential contributions to efforts addressing complex problems in environmental sustainability.

Centrally managed unified shared virtual address space

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilkes, John

2018-02-13

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for managing a unified shared virtual address space. A host may execute system software and manage a plurality of nodes coupled to the host. The host may send work tasks to the nodes, and for each node, the host may externally manage the node's view of the system's virtual address space. Each node may have a central processing unit (CPU) style memory management unit (MMU) with an internal translation lookaside buffer (TLB). In one embodiment, the host may be coupled to a given node via an input/output memory management unit (IOMMU) interface, where the IOMMU frontend interface shares the TLB with the given node's MMU. In another embodiment, the host may control the given node's view of virtual address space via memory-mapped control registers.

Addressing the Analytic Challenges of Cross-Sectional Pediatric Pneumonia Etiology Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammitt, Laura L; Feikin, Daniel R; Scott, J Anthony G; Zeger, Scott L; Murdoch, David R; O'Brien, Katherine L; Deloria Knoll, Maria

2017-06-15

Despite tremendous advances in diagnostic laboratory technology, identifying the pathogen(s) causing pneumonia remains challenging because the infected lung tissue cannot usually be sampled for testing. Consequently, to obtain information about pneumonia etiology, clinicians and researchers test specimens distant to the site of infection. These tests may lack sensitivity (eg, blood culture, which is only positive in a small proportion of children with pneumonia) and/or specificity (eg, detection of pathogens in upper respiratory tract specimens, which may indicate asymptomatic carriage or a less severe syndrome, such as upper respiratory infection). While highly sensitive nucleic acid detection methods and testing of multiple specimens improve sensitivity, multiple pathogens are often detected and this adds complexity to the interpretation as the etiologic significance of results may be unclear (ie, the pneumonia may be caused by none, one, some, or all of the pathogens detected). Some of these challenges can be addressed by adjusting positivity rates to account for poor sensitivity or incorporating test results from controls without pneumonia to account for poor specificity. However, no classical analytic methods can account for measurement error (ie, sensitivity and specificity) for multiple specimen types and integrate the results of measurements for multiple pathogens to produce an accurate understanding of etiology. We describe the major analytic challenges in determining pneumonia etiology and review how the common analytical approaches (eg, descriptive, case-control, attributable fraction, latent class analysis) address some but not all challenges. We demonstrate how these limitations necessitate a new, integrated analytical approach to pneumonia etiology data. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Acceptability of delivery of dietary advice in the dentistry setting to address obesity in pre-school children: a case study of the Common Risk Factor Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Emily J

2015-07-01

The Common Risk Factor Approach proposes that public health efforts can be improved by multiple agencies working together on a shared risk factor. The present study aimed to assess the acceptability to parents, dental practice staff and commissioners of the delivery of dietary advice in the dentistry setting in order to address obesity. Semi-structured focus groups with dental practice staff and one-to-one interviews with parents of pre-school children and public health commissioners involved in an oral health promotion initiative delivering dietary advice in dental surgeries. Data were analysed using the Framework Approach. General dental practice surgeries and pre-schools in areas of high deprivation in north-east England. Parents (n 4), dental practice staff (n 23) and one commissioner. All participants found acceptable the concept of delivering public health messages in non-conventional settings. Dental practice staff were concerned about the potential for conflicting messages and deprioritisation of oral health advice, and they identified practical barriers to delivery, such as lack of training. Parents were very apprehensive about the potential of such approaches to stigmatise overweight children, including bullying. Uncertainty over the causes of obesity led to confusion about its solutions and the roles of public health and health care. Major concerns about the implementation of the Common Risk Factor Approach were raised by parents and dental practice staff. Specific dietary guidance for both oral health and healthy weight, as well as further research into issues of suitability, feasibility and stigmatisation, are needed.

Convocation address.

Science.gov (United States)

Swaminathan, M S

1998-07-01

This address delivered to the 40th convocation of the International Institute for Population Sciences in India in 1998 opens by noting that a shortage of jobs for youth is India's most urgent problem but that the problems that attend the increasing numbers of elderly also require serious attention. The address then notes that the Earth's population is growing at an unsustainable rate while economic inequities among countries are increasing, so that, while intellectual property is becoming the most important asset in developed countries, nutritional anemia among pregnant women causes their offspring to be unable to achieve their full intellectual potential from birth. Next, the address uses a discussion of the 18th-century work on population of the Marquis de Condorcet and of Thomas Malthus to lead into a consideration of estimated increased needs of countries like India and China to import food grains in the near future. Next, the progress of demographic transition in Indian states is covered and applied to Mahbub ul Haq's measure of human deprivation developed for and applied to the region of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and the Maldives). The address continues by reiterating some of the major recommendations forwarded by a government of India committee charged in 1995 with drafting a national population policy. Finally, the address suggests specific actions that could be important components of the Hunger-Free India Programme and concludes that all success rests on the successful implementation of appropriate population policies.

Water — The common element: Lessons from antiquity and the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Water — The common element: Lessons from antiquity and the health of the environment Presidential address delivered at the 37th congress of the Southern African Society of Aquatic Scientists, Swakopmund, Namibia.

Common liability to addiction and “gateway hypothesis”: Theoretical, empirical and evolutionary perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Vanyukov, Michael M.; Tarter, Ralph E.; Kirillova, Galina P.; Kirisci, Levent; Reynolds, Maureen D.; Kreek, Mary Jeanne; Conway, Kevin P.; Maher, Brion S.; Iacono, William G.; Bierut, Laura; Neale, Michael C.; Clark, Duncan B.; Ridenour, Ty A.

2013-01-01

Background Two competing concepts address the development of involvement with psychoactive substances: the “gateway hypothesis” (GH) and common liability to addiction (CLA). Method The literature on theoretical foundations and empirical findings related to both concepts is reviewed. Results The data suggest that drug use initiation sequencing, the core GH element, is variable and opportunistic rather than uniform and developmentally deterministic. The association between risks for use of different substances, if any, can be more readily explained by common underpinnings than by specific staging. In contrast, the CLA concept is grounded in genetic theory and supported by data identifying common sources of variation in the risk for specific addictions. This commonality has identifiable neurobiological substrate and plausible evolutionary explanations. Conclusions Whereas the “gateway” hypothesis does not specify mechanistic connections between “stages”, and does not extend to the risks for addictions, the concept of common liability to addictions incorporates sequencing of drug use initiation as well as extends to related addictions and their severity, provides a parsimonious explanation of substance use and addiction co-occurrence, and establishes a theoretical and empirical foundation to research in etiology, quantitative risk and severity measurement, as well as targeted non-drug-specific prevention and early intervention. PMID:22261179

Evaluation of phosphatic fertilizers of different solubility for common bean using isotopic methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Altunaga, Aurelio; Hernandez Barrueta, German; Nuviola Montoya, Antonio; Mendez Perez, Nancy; Herrero Echevarria, Grisel; Drevon, Jean Jacques

2005-01-01

Glass house experiments were carried out in the Experimental Station La Renee located in Habana province in the year 2003. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of phosphorus (P) sources varying in solubility for common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) nutrition using the isotopic dilution method with 32 P , growing under two soils: Acrisol and Rhodic Ferralsol. The P sources, evaluated in both soils were phosphate rock (PR) Trinidad de Guedes and PR partially solubilized at 50% with H 2 SO 4 , namely FPA 50, whereas single super phosphate (SS) and triple super phosphate (TSP) were used in the Acrisol and Rhodic Ferralsol Soils, respectively. The common bean genotypes were BAT 477, DOR 364, DOR 390 and Censa, and BAT 58, BAT 477, DOR 364 and CC-25-9(N) in the Acrisol and Rhodic Felrrasol soils, respectively. Dry matter production, P extraction, and the fraction and quantity of P in plants obtained from different P sources were evaluated, and P use efficiency of each P fertilizer were calculated. Single and tripe super phosphate and FPA 50 were effective P fertilizers in both soils whereas RF was not. (author) [es

Content-addressable read/write memories for image analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, W. E.; Savage, C. D.

1982-01-01

The commonly encountered image analysis problems of region labeling and clustering are found to be cases of search-and-rename problem which can be solved in parallel by a system architecture that is inherently suitable for VLSI implementation. This architecture is a novel form of content-addressable memory (CAM) which provides parallel search and update functions, allowing speed reductions down to constant time per operation. It has been proposed in related investigations by Hall (1981) that, with VLSI, CAM-based structures with enhanced instruction sets for general purpose processing will be feasible.

Applying a Common-Sense Approach to Fighting Obesity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica Y. Breland

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The obesity epidemic is a threat to the health of millions and to the economic viability of healthcare systems, governments, businesses, and nations. A range of answers come to mind if and when we ask, “What can we, health professionals (physicians, nurses, nutritionists, behavioral psychologists, do about this epidemic?” In this paper, we describe the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation as a framework for organizing existent tools and creating new tools to improve control of the obesity epidemic. Further, we explain how the Common-Sense Model can augment existing behavior-change models, with particular attention to the strength of the Common-Sense Model in addressing assessment and weight maintenance beyond initial weight loss.

Overview of an address and purpose of the workshop [ISO Workshop on address standards: Considering the issues related to an international address standard

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cooper, Antony K

2008-05-01

Full Text Available ) (ISO 19112) Precision Redirectable Standards Postal address Street delivery address Y N N Y N Y Fine Y UPU S42 PO Box or Private Bag Y N N Y Fine to Coarse Y UPU S42 Post Restante Y N N Y N Y Coarse Y UPU S42 Delivery address... (for goods, etc) Street address Y N N Y N Y Fine N Intersection address Y N N Y N Y Fine N Landmark address Y N N Y N Y Fine to Moderate N Building address Y N N Y N Y Fine N Site address Y N N Y N Y Fine to Coarse N Farm...

The differentiation of common species in a coral-reef fish assemblage for recreational scuba diving.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Tsen-Chien; Ho, Cheng-Tze; Jan, Rong-Quen

2016-01-01

Recreational scuba diving is a popular activity of the coral reef tourism industry. In practice, local diving centers recommend interesting sites to help visiting divers make their plans. Fish are among the major attractions, but they need to be listed with care because the temporal occurrence of a fish species is difficult to predict. To address this issue, we propose methods to categorize each fish species based on its long-term occurrence and likelihood of being seen. We assume that there are K categories of occurrence of a fish assemblage and propose two methods [an arithmetic-mean method (AM) and a geometric-mean method (GM)] to define the range of species in each category. Experiments based on long term datasets collected at three underwater stations (each having 51-53 surveys and totals of 262-284 fish species) on coral reefs in southern Taiwan showed that when K = 4 (rare, occasional, frequent and common categories), 11-14 species were concurrently assigned to the common category by AM for data sets based on surveys 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, or 51-53 in contrast to the 18-26 species assigned as common by GM. If a similarity index of 0.7 (compared to the total pool of fish species) was the minimum threshold for diver satisfaction, then 20-25 surveys provide sufficient data for listing the common species at a given dive spot. Common fish species, are the most temporally stable, and thus are more appropriate for attracting divers. These can be effectively differentiated by either AM or GM with at least 25 surveys. We suggest regular updating of each fish's category through periodic surveys to assure the accuracy of information at a particular dive spot.

License Address List

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Address list generated from National Saltwater Angler Registry. Used in conjunction with an address-based sample as per survey design.

Desalination Processes Evaluation at Common Platform: A Universal Performance Ratio (UPR) Method

KAUST Repository

Wakil Shahzad, Muhammad

2018-01-31

The inevitable escalation in economic development have serious implications on energy and environment nexus. The International Energy Outlook 2016 (IEO2016) predicted that the Non Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (non-OECD) countries will lead with 71% rise in energy demand in contrast with only 18% in developed countries from 2012-2040. In Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, about 40% of primary energy is consumed for cogeneration based power and desalination plants. The cogeneration based plants are struggling with unfair primary fuel cost apportionment to electricity and desalination. Also, the desalination processes performance evaluated based on derived energy, providing misleading selection of processes. There is a need of (i) appropriate primary fuel cost appointment method for multi-purposed plants and (ii) desalination processes performance evaluation method based on primary energy. As a solution, we proposed exergetic analysis for primary fuel percentage apportionment to all components in the cycle according to the quality of working fluid utilized. The proposed method showed that the gas turbine was under charged by 40%, steam turbine was overcharged by 71% and desalination was overcharged by 350% by conventional energetic apportionment methods. We also proposed a new and most suitable desalination processes performance evaluation method based on primary energy, called universal performance ratio (UPR). Since UPR is based on primary energy, it can be used to evaluate any kind of desalination processes, thermally driven, pressure driven & humidification-dehumidification etc. on common platform. We showed that all desalination processes are operating only at 10-13% of thermodynamic limit (TL) of UPR. For future sustainability, desalination must achieve 25-30% of TL and it is only possible either by hybridization of different processes or by innovative membrane materials.

Addresses

Data.gov (United States)

Town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina — Point features representing locations of all street addresses in Orange County, NC including Chapel Hill, NC. Data maintained by Orange County, the Town of Chapel...

Abandonment and reconciliation: addressing political and common law objections to fetal homicide laws.

Science.gov (United States)

Curran, Douglas S

2009-03-01

Fetal homicide laws criminalize killing a fetus largely to the same extent as killing any other human being. Historically, the common law did not generally recognize feticide as a crime, but this was because of the evidentiary "born-alive" rule, not because of the substantive understanding of the term "human being." As medicine and science have advanced, states have become increasingly willing to abandon this evidentiary rule and to criminalize feticide as homicide. Although most states have recognized the crime of fetal homicide, fourteen have not. This is largely the result of two independent obstacles: (judicial) adherence to the born-alive rule and (legislative) concern that fetal homicide laws could erode constitutionally protected reproductive rights. This Note explores a variety of fetal homicide laws that states have adopted, demonstrating that popular opinion has shifted toward recognizing this crime. It then directly confronts the objections that have prevented other states from adopting such laws: it first reviews the literature suggesting that the born-alive rule should be abandoned, as it is an obsolete evidentiary standard; it then argues that constitutionally protected reproductive liberties can be reconciled with, and in fact augmented by, punishing the killing of a fetus as a homicide.

Opening address

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boening, K.

2003-01-01

The program of this 9th Meeting of the International Group on Research Reactors IGORR includes are quite a number of fascinating new research reactor projects in France, Germany, Russia, Canada, China, Thailand, and in Australia. In addition to the session about New Facilities there are interesting sessions on the Upgrades and on the Optimization of Operation and Utilization of existing research reactors, on Secondary Neutron Sources, on Neutron Scattering applications, and on the aspects of Safety, Licensing and Decommissioning. Two particular projects of new research reactors are mentioned specially: the TRR-II project in Taiwan, has unfortunately been terminated last year because of a change to anti-nuclear of the ruling parties in the government - and the new FRM-II in Munich, Germany, which will hopefully survive such a political change and receive its green light for nuclear start up in the very near future. The charter of IGORR and its objectives are part of this address: The International Group on Research Reactors IGORR was formed to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and experience among those institutions and individuals who are actively working to design, build, and promote new research reactors or to make significant upgrades to existing facilities. The main IGORR objectives are to promote contacts between its members, to identify and discuss problems of common interest, to distribute newsletters about once or twice every year and to organize meetings about once every one-and-a-half years

Enter your email-address: how German internet users manage their email addresses

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Utz, S.

2004-01-01

Writing E-mail is the most popular Internet activity. Meanwhile, many people have more than one E-mail address. The question how people manage their E-mail addresses, more specifically, whether they use them deliberately for different purposes, is the central question of this paper. E-mail addresses

Monitoring post-fire vegetation rehabilitation projects: A common approach for non-forested ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Wirth, Troy A.; Pyke, David A.

2007-01-01

Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation (ES&R) and Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) treatments are short-term, high-intensity treatments designed to mitigate the adverse effects of wildfire on public lands. The federal government expends significant resources implementing ES&R and BAER treatments after wildfires; however, recent reviews have found that existing data from monitoring and research are insufficient to evaluate the effects of these activities. The purpose of this report is to: (1) document what monitoring methods are generally used by personnel in the field; (2) describe approaches and methods for post-fire vegetation and soil monitoring documented in agency manuals; (3) determine the common elements of monitoring programs recommended in these manuals; and (4) describe a common monitoring approach to determine the effectiveness of future ES&R and BAER treatments in non-forested regions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods to measure effectiveness of ES&R treatments are used by federal land management agencies. Quantitative methods are used in the field depending on factors such as funding, personnel, and time constraints. There are seven vegetation monitoring manuals produced by the federal government that address monitoring methods for (primarily) vegetation and soil attributes. These methods vary in their objectivity and repeatability. The most repeatable methods are point-intercept, quadrat-based density measurements, gap intercepts, and direct measurement of soil erosion. Additionally, these manuals recommend approaches for designing monitoring programs for the state of ecosystems or the effect of management actions. The elements of a defensible monitoring program applicable to ES&R and BAER projects that most of these manuals have in common are objectives, stratification, control areas, random sampling, data quality, and statistical analysis. The effectiveness of treatments can be determined more accurately if data are gathered using

Allegheny County Addressing Landmarks

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — This dataset contains address points which represent physical address locations assigned by the Allegheny County addressing authority. Data is updated by County...

Allegheny County Address Points

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — This dataset contains address points which represent physical address locations assigned by the Allegheny County addressing authority. Data is updated by County...

Mechanical design of a high field common coil magnet

CERN Document Server

Caspi, S; Dietderich, D R; Gourlay, S A; Gupta, R; McInturff, A; Millos, G; Scanlan, R M

1999-01-01

A common coil design for high field 2-in-1 accelerator magnets has been previously presented as a "conductor-friendly" option for high field magnets applicable for a Very Large Hadron Collider. This paper presents the mechanical design for a 14 tesla 2-in-1 dipole based on the common coil design approach. The magnet will use a high current density Nb/sub 3/Sn conductor. The design addresses mechanical issues particular to the common coil geometry: horizontal support against coil edges, vertical preload on coil faces, end loading and support, and coil stresses and strains. The magnet is the second in a series of racetrack coil magnets that will provide experimental verification of the common coil design approach. (9 refs).

THE PRAGMATIC MEANINGS OF ADDRESS TERMS SAMPEYAN AND ANDA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Djoko Susanto

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract: This research investigates the use of sampeyan and anda by the students from Pasuruan and Probolinggo. Address terms is one of important tools in communication in Javanese society as it is used, for example, to designate the person they are talking to or to show the possession of formal and informal manners. However, the use of this address terms may have different interpretation across regions. This research is undertaken to find out (1 factors that influence the choice of address terms sampeyan and anda in Pasuruan and Probolinggo and (2 situations in which the interlocutors use the address terms sampeyan and anda. Several theories are used to help analyze the data, which include address terms (Wardhaugh, 2002, sampeyan and anda (Wolf & Poedjosoedarmo, 1982, Politeness theory (Brown & Levinson, 1987, and Power and Solidarity (Brown & Gilman, 1960. The data were obtained from the results of observations, questionnaires and interviews with the participants. The results of the study show that both sampeyan and anda were found to be commonly used by the participants to address their lecturer, instead of using Bapak. This is, of course, uncommon from either the perspective of standard usage of Javanese or Indonesian language. This study also indicates that the participants used sampeyan to lecturer/teacher, kyai, parent, and older sibling because they wanted to express (1 express politeness and (2 to indicate informality. Concerning to the use of anda, this study reveals that the participants use this address term because of (1 more formal and appropriate manners in environmental education, (2 respecting person of higher social status and older person, (3 more polite and more appropriate than sampeyan, and (4 the use of Indonesian as a formal language. In some respect, however, the participants use anda to lecturer/teacher, which is not appropriate because they were not socially equal to the lecturer/teacher.  This study provide

Technical Note: Impact of the geometry dependence of the ion chamber detector response function on a convolution-based method to address the volume averaging effect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barraclough, Brendan; Lebron, Sharon [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32608 and J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (United States); Li, Jonathan G.; Fan, Qiyong; Liu, Chihray; Yan, Guanghua, E-mail: yangua@shands.ufl.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32608 (United States)

2016-05-15

Purpose: To investigate the geometry dependence of the detector response function (DRF) of three commonly used scanning ionization chambers and its impact on a convolution-based method to address the volume averaging effect (VAE). Methods: A convolution-based approach has been proposed recently to address the ionization chamber VAE. It simulates the VAE in the treatment planning system (TPS) by iteratively convolving the calculated beam profiles with the DRF while optimizing the beam model. Since the convolved and the measured profiles are subject to the same VAE, the calculated profiles match the implicit “real” ones when the optimization converges. Three DRFs (Gaussian, Lorentzian, and parabolic function) were used for three ionization chambers (CC04, CC13, and SNC125c) in this study. Geometry dependent/independent DRFs were obtained by minimizing the difference between the ionization chamber-measured profiles and the diode-measured profiles convolved with the DRFs. These DRFs were used to obtain eighteen beam models for a commercial TPS. Accuracy of the beam models were evaluated by assessing the 20%–80% penumbra width difference (PWD) between the computed and diode-measured beam profiles. Results: The convolution-based approach was found to be effective for all three ionization chambers with significant improvement for all beam models. Up to 17% geometry dependence of the three DRFs was observed for the studied ionization chambers. With geometry dependent DRFs, the PWD was within 0.80 mm for the parabolic function and CC04 combination and within 0.50 mm for other combinations; with geometry independent DRFs, the PWD was within 1.00 mm for all cases. When using the Gaussian function as the DRF, accounting for geometry dependence led to marginal improvement (PWD < 0.20 mm) for CC04; the improvement ranged from 0.38 to 0.65 mm for CC13; for SNC125c, the improvement was slightly above 0.50 mm. Conclusions: Although all three DRFs were found adequate to

Addressing model uncertainty in dose-response: The case of chloroform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, J.S.

1994-01-01

This paper discusses the issues involved in addressing model uncertainty in the analysis of dose-response relationships. A method for addressing model uncertainty is described and applied to characterize the uncertainty in estimates of the carcinogenic potency of chloroform. The approach, which is rooted in Bayesian concepts of subjective probability, uses probability trees and formally-elicited expert judgments to address model uncertainty. It is argued that a similar approach could be used to improve the characterization of model uncertainty in the dose-response relationships for health effects from ionizing radiation

South African address standard and initiatives towards an international address standard

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cooper, Antony K

2008-10-01

Full Text Available ; visiting friends; and providing a reference context for presenting other information. The benefits of an international address standards include: enabling address interoperability across boundaries; reducing service delivery costs; enabling development...

Simultaneous Multiple MS Binding Assays Addressing D1 and D2 Dopamine Receptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuller, Marion; Höfner, Georg; Wanner, Klaus T

2017-10-09

MS Binding Assays are a label-free alternative to radioligand binding assays. They provide basically the same capabilities as the latter, but use a non-labeled reporter ligand instead of a radioligand. In contrast to radioligand binding assays, MS Binding Assays offer-owing to the selectivity of mass spectrometric detection-the opportunity to monitor the binding of different reporter ligands at different targets simultaneously. The present study shows a proof of concept for this strategy as exemplified for MS Binding Assays selectively addressing D 1 and D 2 dopamine receptors in a single binding experiment. A highly sensitive, rapid and robust LC-ESI-MS/MS quantification method capable of quantifying both SCH23390 and raclopride, selectively addressing D 1 and D 2 receptors, respectively, was established and validated for this purpose. Based thereon, simultaneous saturation and competition experiments with SCH23390 and raclopride in the presence of both D 1 and D 2 receptors were performed and analyzed by LC-MS/MS within a single chromatographic cycle. The present study thus demonstrates the feasibility of this strategy and the high versatility of MS Binding Assays that appears to surpass that common for conventional radioligand binding assays. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Developing Common Set of Weights with Considering Nondiscretionary Inputs and Using Ideal Point Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Kiani Mavi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Data envelopment analysis (DEA is used to evaluate the performance of decision making units (DMUs with multiple inputs and outputs in a homogeneous group. In this way, the acquired relative efficiency score for each decision making unit lies between zero and one where a number of them may have an equal efficiency score of one. DEA successfully divides them into two categories of efficient DMUs and inefficient DMUs. A ranking for inefficient DMUs is given but DEA does not provide further information about the efficient DMUs. One of the popular methods for evaluating and ranking DMUs is the common set of weights (CSW method. We generate a CSW model with considering nondiscretionary inputs that are beyond the control of DMUs and using ideal point method. The main idea of this approach is to minimize the distance between the evaluated decision making unit and the ideal decision making unit (ideal point. Using an empirical example we put our proposed model to test by applying it to the data of some 20 bank branches and rank their efficient units.

Exploring two methods of usability testing: concurrent versus retrospective think-aloud protocols

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Haak, M.J.; de Jong, Menno D.T.

2003-01-01

Think-aloud protocols are commonly used for the usability testing of instructional documents, Web sites and interfaces. This paper addresses the benefits and drawbacks of two think-aloud variations: the traditional concurrent think-aloud method and the less familiar retrospective think-aloud

Exploring Two Methods of Usability Testing : Concurrent versus Retrospective Think-Aloud Protocols

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van den Haak, Maaike J.; De Jong, Menno D. T.

2003-01-01

Think-aloud protocols are commonly used for the usability testing of instructional documents, web sites and interfaces. This paper addresses the benefits and drawbacks of two think-aloud variations: the traditional concurrent think-aloud method and the less familiar retrospective think-aloud

Managing common marital stresses.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, A C; Starling, B P

1989-10-01

Marital conflict and divorce are problems of great magnitude in our society, and nurse practitioners are frequently asked by patients to address marital problems in clinical practice. "Family life cycle theory" provides a framework for understanding the common stresses of marital life and for developing nursing strategies to improve marital satisfaction. If unaddressed, marital difficulties have serious adverse consequences for a couple's health, leading to greater dysfunction and a decline in overall wellness. This article focuses on identifying couples in crisis, assisting them to achieve pre-crisis equilibrium or an even higher level of functioning, and providing appropriate referral if complex relationship problems exist.

A strategic stakeholder approach for addressing further analysis requests in whole genome sequencing research.

Science.gov (United States)

Thornock, Bradley Steven O

2016-01-01

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be a cost-effective and efficient means of diagnosis for some children, but it also raises a number of ethical concerns. One such concern is how researchers derive and communicate results from WGS, including future requests for further analysis of stored sequences. The purpose of this paper is to think about what is at stake, and for whom, in any solution that is developed to deal with such requests. To accomplish this task, this paper will utilize stakeholder theory, a common method used in business ethics. Several scenarios that connect stakeholder concerns and WGS will also posited and analyzed. This paper concludes by developing criteria composed of a series of questions that researchers can answer in order to more effectively address requests for further analysis of stored sequences.

Diversity Strategies to Mitigate Postulated Common Cause Failure Vulnerabilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, Richard Thomas

2010-01-01

This paper describes an approach to establish effective mitigating strategies that can resolve potential common-cause failure (CCF) vulnerabilities in instrumentation and control (I and C) systems at nuclear power plants. A particular objective in the development of these strategies, which consist of combinations of diversity attributes and their associated criteria, is to address the unique characteristics of digital technology that can contribute to CCF concerns. The research approach employed to establish diversity strategies involves investigation of available documentation on diversity usage and experience from nuclear power and non-nuclear industries, capture of expert knowledge and lessons learned, determination of common practices, and assessment of the nature of CCFs and compensating diversity attributes. The resulting diversity strategies address considerations such as the effect of technology choices, the nature of CCF vulnerabilities, and the prospective impact of each diversity type. In particular, the impact of each attribute and criterion on the purpose, process, product, and performance aspects of diverse systems are considered.

Algorithms for solving common fixed point problems

CERN Document Server

Zaslavski, Alexander J

2018-01-01

This book details approximate solutions to common fixed point problems and convex feasibility problems in the presence of perturbations. Convex feasibility problems search for a common point of a finite collection of subsets in a Hilbert space; common fixed point problems pursue a common fixed point of a finite collection of self-mappings in a Hilbert space. A variety of algorithms are considered in this book for solving both types of problems, the study of which has fueled a rapidly growing area of research. This monograph is timely and highlights the numerous applications to engineering, computed tomography, and radiation therapy planning. Totaling eight chapters, this book begins with an introduction to foundational material and moves on to examine iterative methods in metric spaces. The dynamic string-averaging methods for common fixed point problems in normed space are analyzed in Chapter 3. Dynamic string methods, for common fixed point problems in a metric space are introduced and discussed in Chapter ...

Radio frequency selective addressing of localized atoms in a periodic potential

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ott, H.; De Mirandes, E.; Ferlaino, F.; Roati, G.; Tuerck, V.; Modugno, G.; Inguscio, M.

2004-01-01

We study the localization and addressability of ultracold atoms in a combined parabolic and periodic potential. Such a potential supports the existence of localized stationary states and we show that applying a radio frequency field allows us to selectively address atoms in these states. This method is used to measure the energy and momentum distribution of the atoms in the localized states. We also discuss possible extensions of this scheme to address and manipulate atoms in single lattice sites

The four-principle formulation of common morality is at the core of bioethics mediation method.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmadi Nasab Emran, Shahram

2015-08-01

Bioethics mediation is increasingly used as a method in clinical ethics cases. My goal in this paper is to examine the implicit theoretical assumptions of the bioethics mediation method developed by Dubler and Liebman. According to them, the distinguishing feature of bioethics mediation is that the method is useful in most cases of clinical ethics in which conflict is the main issue, which implies that there is either no real ethical issue or if there were, they are not the key to finding a resolution. I question the tacit assumption of non-normativity of the mediation method in bioethics by examining the various senses in which bioethics mediation might be non-normative or neutral. The major normative assumption of the mediation method is the existence of common morality. In addition, the four-principle formulation of the theory articulated by Beauchamp and Childress implicitly provides the normative content for the method. Full acknowledgement of the theoretical and normative assumptions of bioethics mediation helps clinical ethicists better understand the nature of their job. In addition, the need for a robust philosophical background even in what appears to be a purely practical method of mediation cannot be overemphasized. Acknowledgement of the normative nature of bioethics mediation method necessitates a more critical attitude of the bioethics mediators towards the norms they usually take for granted uncritically as valid.

Study on the Related Teaching of "Narrative Creation" and "Narrative Reading" : Making use of "the method of narrative" as a common element

OpenAIRE

Mitoh, Yasuhiro

2014-01-01

This study has explored the related teaching of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading". For this study, I hypothesized as follows. There is "the method of narrative" in "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" as a common element. By this related teaching that used "the method of narrative" as a common element, children’s ability of "narrative creation" and "narrative reading" will increase. As a result of this study, the following conclusions were obtained. Children surely make use...

Microbial activity in aquatic environments measured by dimethyl sulfoxide reduction and intercomparison with commonly used methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Griebler, C; Slezak, D

2001-01-01

A new method to determine microbial (bacterial and fungal) activity in various freshwater habitats is described. Based on microbial reduction of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to dimethyl sulfide (DMS), our DMSO reduction method allows measurement of the respiratory activity in interstitial water, as well as in the water column. DMSO is added to water samples at a concentration (0.75% [vol/vol] or 106 mM) high enough to compete with other naturally occurring electron acceptors, as determined with oxygen and nitrate, without stimulating or inhibiting microbial activity. Addition of NaN(3), KCN, and formaldehyde, as well as autoclaving, inhibited the production of DMS, which proves that the reduction of DMSO is a biotic process. DMSO reduction is readily detectable via the formation of DMS even at low microbial activities. All water samples showed significant DMSO reduction over several hours. Microbially reduced DMSO is recovered in the form of DMS from water samples by a purge and trap system and is quantified by gas chromatography and detection with a flame photometric detector. The DMSO reduction method was compared with other methods commonly used for assessment of microbial activity. DMSO reduction activity correlated well with bacterial production in predator-free batch cultures. Cell-production-specific DMSO reduction rates did not differ significantly in batch cultures with different nutrient regimes but were different in different growth phases. Overall, a cell-production-specific DMSO reduction rate of 1.26 x 10(-17) +/- 0. 12 x 10(-17) mol of DMS per produced cell (mean +/- standard error; R(2) = 0.78) was calculated. We suggest that the relationship of DMSO reduction rates to thymidine and leucine incorporation is linear (the R(2) values ranged from 0.783 to 0.944), whereas there is an exponential relationship between DMSO reduction rates and glucose uptake, as well as incorporation (the R(2) values ranged from 0.821 to 0.931). Based on our results, we

Addressing the hidden curriculum in the clinical workplace: A practical tool for trainees and faculty.

Science.gov (United States)

Mulder, Hanneke; Ter Braak, Edith; Chen, H Carrie; Ten Cate, Olle

2018-02-28

The hidden curriculum, commonly described in negative terms, is considered highly influential in medical education, especially in the clinical workplace. Structured approaches to address it are limited in number and scope. This paper presents a practical, value-neutral method called REVIEW (Reflecting & Evaluating Values Implicit in Education in the Workplace), to facilitate reflection and discussion on the hidden curriculum by faculty members and trainees. REVIEW approaches the hidden curriculum as a reflection of the professional microculture of a clinical team. This microculture results from collective problem solving and mutual negotiation when facing different, often conflicting, demands and interests, and their underlying values in daily clinical practice. Using this nonjudgmental conceptual framework, REVIEW employs a series of 50 culture statements that must be prioritized using Q-sort methodology, reflecting how the culture in a particular clinical context (e.g. ward or department) is perceived by faculty members and trainees. This procedure can be done individually or in groups. Most important is the resulting team discussion after the exercise - a discussion about perceptions of actual team culture and the culture desired by the team. Our early experiences suggest that REVIEW can be a useful tool for addressing the hidden curriculum.

Evaluation of yield quality and weed infestation of common valerian (Valeriana officinalis L. in dependence on weed control method and forecrop.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cezary Kwiatkowski

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A field experiment involving the cultivation of common valerian was conducted on loess soil in Abramów (Lublin region in the period 2007-2009. Qualitative parameters of herbal raw material obtained from this plant as well as in-crop weed infestation were evaluated depending on the protection method and forecrop. Hand-weeded plots, in which a hand hoe was used, were the control. In the other treatments, weeds were controlled using various herbicides and a mechanical implement (brush weeder. Potato and winter wheat + field pea cover crop were the forecrops for common valerian crops. A hypothesis was made that the use of a brush weeder and herbicides not registered for application in valerian crops would have a positive effect on this plant's productivity and weed infestation in its crops. It was also assumed that the introduction of a cover crop would allow the elimination of differences in the forecrop value of the crop stands in question. The best quantitative and qualitative parameters of common valerian raw material as well as the largest reduction of incrop weed infestation were recorded after the application of the herbicides which were not type approved. The use of the brush weeder in the interrows also had a beneficial effect on productivity of the plant in question, but secondary weed infestation at the end of the growing season of common valerian turned out to be its disadvantage. Traditional crop protection methods used in common valerian crops were less effective in weed infestation reduction and they resulted in lower plant productivity and raw material quality. Potato proved to be a better forecrop for common valerian than winter wheat + field pea; however, this positive effect was not confirmed statistically. The following annual weeds: Chenopodium album, Galinsoga parviflora, Stellaria media, were predominant in the common valerian crop. Traditional weed control methods resulted in the dominance of some dicotyledonous weeds, such

Comprehensive method of common-mode failure analysis for LMFBR safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unione, A.J.; Ritzman, R.L.; Erdmann, R.C.

1976-01-01

A technique is demonstrated which allows the systematic treatment of common-mode failures of safety system performance. The technique uses log analysis in the form of fault and success trees to qualitatively assess the sources of common-mode failure and quantitatively estimate the contribution to the overall risk of system failure. The analysis is applied to the secondary control rod system of an early sized LMFBR

Building Capacity of Occupational Therapy Practitioners to Address the Mental Health Needs of Children and Youth: A Mixed-Methods Study of Knowledge Translation

Science.gov (United States)

Demirjian, Louise; LaGuardia, Teri; Thompson-Repas, Karen; Conway, Carol; Michaud, Paula

2015-01-01

PURPOSE. We explored the meaning and outcomes of a 6-mo building capacity process designed to promote knowledge translation of a public health approach to mental health among pediatric occupational therapy practitioners participating in a Community of Practice. METHOD. A one-group (N = 117) mixed-methods design using a pretest–posttest survey and qualitative analysis of written reflections was used to explore the meaning and outcomes of the building capacity process. RESULTS. Statistically significant improvements (p occupational therapy’s role in addressing children’s mental health. PMID:26565099

Show me the action and I will show you the commons!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helene Finidori

2013-12-01

Full Text Available What I am proposing here is not quite a more precise definition of the nature of the commons, related boundaries and access rights. Rather, starting from existing definitions, I address the topic from the perspective of experience: how commons are created or emerge from a process that intimately associates people and the participatory and mindful ways in which they produce, manage or care for their shared resources or assets. I also outline how the essential principles of a commons logic could help amplify the action of other sustainability and social change initiatives in a way that can be geared towards growing the commons as a whole.

Forms of address in Isizulu

OpenAIRE

2014-01-01

M.A. (African Studies) The study deals with forms of address in isiZulu. Therefore, the various aspects of speech that play roles when addressing a person, the factors affecting forms of address in isiZulu and the effect of languages such as English, Afrikaans and other African languages on the forms of address in isiZulu are of interest. Research was conducted on forms of address in isiZulu in parts of Soweto and it was discovered that form of address are determined by different factors i...

Quality Assurance in Post-Secondary Education: Some Common Approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Dennis Chung Sea

2010-01-01

Purpose: The common approaches to quality assurance (QA), as practiced by most post-secondary education institutions for internal quality monitoring and most QA authorities for external quality monitoring (EQM), have been considered by many researchers as having largely failed to address the essence of educational quality. The purpose of this…

ONE TIME PASSWORDLESS and IP ADDRESS AUTHENTICATION METHOD for WEB APPLICATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Sani Suprayogi

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Penelitian yang membahas model autentikasi pengguna, mulai dari autentikasi tradisional menggunakan username dan password hingga metode multi-factor authentication telah sering dilakukan. Namun model autentikasi tersebut masih menggunakan password, dimana manusia memiki keterbatasan untuk mengingat sehingga resiko kehilangan password kerap terjadi. Selain itu pencurian data pada jaringan komputer masih marak dilakukan sehingga perlu pendekatan lain dalam autentikasi pengguna terhadap sistem. Passwordless authentication adalah model autentikasi yang mulai dikenalkan, hanya saja proses implementasinya masih terbatas. Paper ini berusaha meningkatkan metode passwordless dengan tambahan time limit, session, dan ipaddress dalam melakukan autentikasi pengguna. Hasilnya, pengguna tidak perlu membuat dan mengingat password. Pengguna cukup memanfaatkan layanan email untuk proses registrasi dan login, kemudian ip address menjamin bahwa hanya pengguna tersebut yang dapat mengakses layanan website.

Reclaiming unused IPv4 addresses

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2016-01-01

As many people might know, the number of IPv4 addresses is limited and almost all have been allocated (see here and here for more information).   Although CERN has been allocated some 340,000 addresses, the way these are allocated across the site is not as efficient as we would like. As we face an increasing demand for IPv4 addresses with the growth in virtual machines, the IT Department’s Communication Systems Group will be reorganising address allocation during 2016 to make more efficient use of the IPv4 address ranges that have been allocated to CERN. We aim, wherever possible, to avoid giving out fixed IP addresses, and have all devices connected to the campus network obtain an address dynamically each time they connect. As a first stage, starting in February, IP addresses that have not been used for more than 9 months will be reclaimed. No information about the devices concerned will be deleted from LANDB, but a new IP address will have to be requested if they are ever reconnected to t...

Disscusion on the common

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Negri

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In this interview taken shortly after the launch of the Italian translation of the Commonwealth, Antonio Negri, besides discussing details of his collaboration with Michael Hardt, addresses the most important topics of the book, which could remain unclear for the readers. He gives a wide range of answers for the questions on, for example, importance of revision and revitalization of seventeenth century’s categories, what does it mean to be a communist today, elaboration of the thesis of real subsumption. He also stresses the significance of the struggle over the common and processes of its institutionalization for contemporary revolutionary politics and faces criticism of the conception of immaterial and biopolitical labour.

Mapping of MAC Address with Moving WiFi Scanner

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arief Hidayat

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Recently, Wifi is one of the most useful technologies that can be used for detecting and counting MAC Address. This paper described using of WiFi scanner which carried out seven times circulated the bus. The method used WiFi and GPS are to counting MAC address as raw data from the pedestrian smartphone, bus passenger or WiFi devices near from the bus as long as the bus going around the route. There are seven processes to make map WiFi data.

Addressing congestion on single allocation hub-and-spoke networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Saraiva de Camargo

2012-12-01

Full Text Available When considering hub-and-spoke networks with single allocation, the absence of alternative routes makes this kind of systems specially vulnerable to congestion effects. In order to improve the design of such networks, congestion costs must be addressed. This article deploys two different techniques for addressing congestion on single allocation hub-and-spoke networks: the Generalized Benders Decomposition and the Outer Approximation method. Both methods are able to solve large scale instances. Computational experiments show how the adoption of advanced solution strategies, such as Pareto-optimal cut generation on the Master Problem branch-and-bound tree, may be decisive. They also demonstrate that the solution effort is not only associated with the size of the instances, but also with their combination of the installation and congestion costs.

A light writable microfluidic "flash memory": optically addressed actuator array with latched operation for microfluidic applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Hua, Zhishan; Pal, Rohit; Srivannavit, Onnop; Burns, Mark A; Gulari, Erdogan

2008-03-01

This paper presents a novel optically addressed microactuator array (microfluidic "flash memory") with latched operation. Analogous to the address-data bus mediated memory address protocol in electronics, the microactuator array consists of individual phase-change based actuators addressed by localized heating through focused light patterns (address bus), which can be provided by a modified projector or high power laser pointer. A common pressure manifold (data bus) for the entire array is used to generate large deflections of the phase change actuators in the molten phase. The use of phase change material as the working media enables latched operation of the actuator array. After the initial light "writing" during which the phase is temporarily changed to molten, the actuated status is self-maintained by the solid phase of the actuator without power and pressure inputs. The microfluidic flash memory can be re-configured by a new light illumination pattern and common pressure signal. The proposed approach can achieve actuation of arbitrary units in a large-scale array without the need for complex external equipment such as solenoid valves and electrical modules, which leads to significantly simplified system implementation and compact system size. The proposed work therefore provides a flexible, energy-efficient, and low cost multiplexing solution for microfluidic applications based on physical displacements. As an example, the use of the latched microactuator array as "normally closed" or "normally open" microvalves is demonstrated. The phase-change wax is fully encapsulated and thus immune from contamination issues in fluidic environments.

SatisFactory Common Information Data Exchange Model

OpenAIRE

CERTH

2016-01-01

This deliverable defines the Common Information Data Exchange Model (CIDEM). The aim of CIDEM is to provide a model of information elements (e.g. concepts, even, relations, interfaces) used for information exchange between components as well as for modelling work performed by other tasks (e.g. knowledge models to support human resources optimization). The CIDEM definition is considered as a shared vocabulary that enables to address the information needs for the SatisFactory framework components.

Comparative digital cartilage histology for human and common osteoarthritis models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedersen DR

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Douglas R Pedersen, Jessica E Goetz, Gail L Kurriger, James A MartinDepartment of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USAPurpose: This study addresses the species-specific and site-specific details of weight-bearing articular cartilage zone depths and chondrocyte distributions among humans and common osteoarthritis (OA animal models using contemporary digital imaging tools. Histological analysis is the gold-standard research tool for evaluating cartilage health, OA severity, and treatment efficacy. Historically, evaluations were made by expert analysts. However, state-of-the-art tools have been developed that allow for digitization of entire histological sections for computer-aided analysis. Large volumes of common digital cartilage metrics directly complement elucidation of trends in OA inducement and concomitant potential treatments.Materials and methods: Sixteen fresh human knees, 26 adult New Zealand rabbit stifles, and 104 bovine lateral plateaus were measured for four cartilage zones and the cell densities within each zone. Each knee was divided into four weight-bearing sites: the medial and lateral plateaus and femoral condyles.Results: One-way analysis of variance followed by pairwise multiple comparisons (Holm–Sidak method at a significance of 0.05 clearly confirmed the variability between cartilage depths at each site, between sites in the same species, and between weight-bearing articular cartilage definitions in different species.Conclusion: The present study clearly demonstrates multisite, multispecies differences in normal weight-bearing articular cartilage, which can be objectively quantified by a common digital histology imaging technique. The clear site-specific differences in normal cartilage must be taken into consideration when characterizing the pathoetiology of OA models. Together, these provide a path to consistently analyze the volume and variety of histologic slides necessarily generated

Experimental tests and qualification of analytical methods to address thermohydraulic phenomena in advanced water cooled reactors. Proceedings of a technical committee meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-05-01

Worldwide there is considerable experience in nuclear power technology, especially in water cooled reactor technology. Of the operating plants, in September 1998, 346 were light water reactors (LWRs) totalling 306 GW(e) and 29 were heavy water reactors (HWRs) totalling 15 GW(e). The accumulated experience and lessons learned from these plants are being incorporated into new advanced reactor designs. Utility requirements documents have been formulated to guide these design activities by incorporating this experience, and results from research and development programmes, with the aim of reducing costs and licensing uncertainties by establishing the technical bases for the new designs. Common goals for advanced designs are high availability, user-friendly features, competitive economics and compliance with internationally recognized safety objectives. Large water cooled reactors with power outputs of 1300 MW(e) and above, which possess inherent safety characteristics (e.g. negative Doppler moderator temperature coefficients, and negative moderator void coefficient) and incorporate proven, active engineered systems to accomplish safety functions are being developed. Other designs with power outputs from, for example, 220 MW(e) up to about 1300 MW(e) which also possess inherent safety characteristics and which place more emphasis on utilization of passive safety systems are being developed. Passive systems are based on natural forces and phenomena such as natural convection and gravity, making safety functions less dependent on active systems and components like pumps and diesel generators. In some cases, further experimental tests for the thermohydraulic conditions of interest in advanced designs can provide improved understanding of the phenomena. Further, analytical methods to predict reactor thermohydraulic behaviour can be qualified for use by comparison with the experimental results. These activities should ultimately result in more economical designs. The

Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchrony: a common phenomenon with important implications

OpenAIRE

MacIntyre, Neil

2013-01-01

Patient-ventilator trigger dys-synchronies are common with the use of assisted forms of mechanical ventilatory support, including non-invasive mechanical ventilatory support (NIV). Future system designs need to address this in order to improve the effectiveness of NIV.

Addressing Common Technical challenges in Inertial Confinement Fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haynes, Donald A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2016-09-22

The implosion phase for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) occurs from initiation of the drive until just before stagnation. Evolution of the shell and fusion fuel during the implosion phase is affected by the initial conditions of the target, the drive history. Poor performing implosions are a result of the behavior that occurs during the implosion phase such as low mode asymmetries, mixing of the ablator into the fuel, and the hydrodynamic evolution of initial target features and defects such as the shell mounting hardware. The ultimate results of these effects can only be measured at stagnation. However, studying the implosion phase can be effective for understanding and mitigating these effects and for of ultimately improving the performance of ICF implosions. As the ICF program moves towards the 2020 milestone to “determine the efficacy of ignition”, it will be important to understand the physics that occurs during the implosion phase. This will require both focused and integrated experiments. Focused experiments will provide the understanding and the evidence needed to support any determination concerning the efficacy of ignition.

Addressing Common Technical challenges in Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haynes, Donald A.

2016-01-01

The implosion phase for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) occurs from initiation of the drive until just before stagnation. Evolution of the shell and fusion fuel during the implosion phase is affected by the initial conditions of the target, the drive history. Poor performing implosions are a result of the behavior that occurs during the implosion phase such as low mode asymmetries, mixing of the ablator into the fuel, and the hydrodynamic evolution of initial target features and defects such as the shell mounting hardware. The ultimate results of these effects can only be measured at stagnation. However, studying the implosion phase can be effective for understanding and mitigating these effects and for of ultimately improving the performance of ICF implosions. As the ICF program moves towards the 2020 milestone to ''determine the efficacy of ignition'', it will be important to understand the physics that occurs during the implosion phase. This will require both focused and integrated experiments. Focused experiments will provide the understanding and the evidence needed to support any determination concerning the efficacy of ignition.

Characterization of a Common-Source Amplifier Using Ferroelectric Transistors

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, Mitchell; Sayyah, Rana; MacLeond, Todd C.; Ho, Pat D.

2010-01-01

This paper presents empirical data that was collected through experiments using a FeFET in the established common-source amplifier circuit. The unique behavior of the FeFET lends itself to interesting and useful operation in this widely used common-source amplifier. The paper examines the effect of using a ferroelectric transistor for the amplifier. It also examines the effects of varying load resistance, biasing, and input voltages on the output signal and gives several examples of the output of the amplifier for a given input. The difference between a commonsource amplifier using a ferroelectric transistor and that using a MOSFET is addressed.

Hydrogeologic factors to be addressed in disposal guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lafleur, D.W.; Raven, K.G.

1986-12-01

This report identifies the physical hydrogeologic factors that should be addressed for performance assessment of a radioactive waste disposal facility in plutonic rock. The hydrogeologic factors include theoretical methods, groundwater flow factors and solute transport parameters. Theoretical methods, including different deterministic and stochastic approaches for evaluating physical hydrogeolgic conditions, are evaluated with respect to data requirements, applications and limitations. Preferred methods for measurement and determination of the identified groundwater flow factors and solute transport parameters are discussed. A recommended set of procedures for reliable hydrogeologic characterization of a plutonic rock mass at both regional and site scales is also presented

75 FR 41790 - Address Management Services-Elimination of the Manual Card Option for Address Sequencing Services

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-19

.... The authority citation for 39 CFR Part 111 continues to read as follows: Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a... addresses (including rural address conversions to city-style addressing). For each 5-digit ZIP Code grouping... customer includes a rural-style address (RR/box number) in an address file submitted for sequencing, and a...

Reach Address Database (RAD)

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — The Reach Address Database (RAD) stores the reach address of each Water Program feature that has been linked to the underlying surface water features (streams,...

Addressing Common Cloud-Radiation Errors from 4-hour to 4-week Model Prediction

Science.gov (United States)

Benjamin, S.; Sun, S.; Grell, G. A.; Green, B.; Olson, J.; Kenyon, J.; James, E.; Smirnova, T. G.; Brown, J. M.

2017-12-01

Cloud-radiation representation in models for subgrid-scale clouds is a known gap from subseasonal-to-seasonal models down to storm-scale models applied for forecast duration of only a few hours. NOAA/ESRL has been applying common physical parameterizations for scale-aware deep/shallow convection and boundary-layer mixing over this wide range of time and spatial scales, with some progress to be reported in this presentation. The Grell-Freitas scheme (2014, Atmos. Chem. Phys.) and MYNN boundary-layer EDMF scheme (Olson / Benjamin et al. 2016 Mon. Wea. Rev.) have been applied and tested extensively for the NOAA hourly updated 3-km High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) and 13-km Rapid Refresh (RAP) model/assimilation systems over the United States and North America, with targeting toward improvement to boundary-layer evolution and cloud-radiation representation in all seasons. This representation is critical for both warm-season severe convective storm forecasting and for winter-storm prediction of snow and mixed precipitation. At the same time the Grell-Freitas scheme has been applied also as an option for subseasonal forecasting toward improved US week 3-4 prediction with the FIM-HYCOM coupled model (Green et al 2017, MWR). Cloud/radiation evaluation using CERES satellite-based estimates have been applied to both 12-h RAP (13km) and also during Weeks 1-4 from 32-day FIM-HYCOM (60km) forecasts. Initial results reveal that improved cloud representation is needed for both resolutions and now is guiding further refinement for cloud representation including with the Grell-Freitas scheme and with the updated MYNN-EDMF scheme (both now also in global testing as well as with the 3km HRRR and 13km RAP models).

Common fluoroscopic studies in radiology : conduct and analysis method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valverde Sanchez, Allan

2011-01-01

A countless number of radiological procedures, that have involved the use of fluoroscopy and contrast media of different indole, have been carried out in all radiology services and medical images of Costa Rica for the diagnosis of diseases or conditions, in both adults and in children. Fluoroscopic studies, often called special or contrast studies, have had particular conditions for its realization. Some from the medical point of view: adequate training in the technical and cognitive development when evaluating the images to not miss important details. Other by the patient: adequate preparation to achieve the best images for optimal diagnosis. For example, adequate bowel preparation is essential for a barium enema, to cooperation by the patient to meet specific indications that the physician dictates when swallowing postures or just when you are prompted. Criteria have been met and unified for contrast studies in different hospitals and clinics. The indications, contra, method, technique of procedure, points to remember, number of images or projections minimum required in the interpretation of contrast studies, as well as a report template of standard and ideal study are presented in a simple, systematic and logical. The manual is intended for residents and attending physicians specialists in radiology and medical imaging including contrast studies more common. Spaces are promoted with current technology studies to set aside more complicated and less sophisticated as have been the fluoroscopic studies; however, in the national reality, access to computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging is not as easy. Radiological studies with fluoroscopy performed by trained staff led the treating physician to make sound decisions based on studies relatively simple and easy to do. The tests with the use of fluoroscopic have been named: the esophagogram, gastroduodenal series, gastro intestinal transit, the hysterosalpingography, the cystography and the

Development of a universal psycho-educational intervention to prevent common postpartum mental disorders in primiparous women: a multiple method approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rowe Heather J

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Prevention of postnatal mental disorders in women is an important component of comprehensive health service delivery because of the substantial potential benefits for population health. However, diverse approaches to prevention of postnatal depression have had limited success, possibly because anxiety and adjustment disorders are also problematic, mental health problems are multifactorially determined, and because relationships amongst psychosocial risk factors are complex and difficult to modify. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of a novel psycho-educational intervention to prevent postnatal mental disorders in mothers of firstborn infants. Methods Data from a variety of sources were synthesised: a literature review summarised epidemiological evidence about neglected modifiable risk factors; clinical research evidence identified successful psychosocial treatments for postnatal mental health problems; consultations with clinicians, health professionals, policy makers and consumers informed the proposed program and psychological and health promotion theories underpinned the proposed mechanisms of effect. The intervention was pilot-tested with small groups of mothers and fathers and their first newborn infants. Results What Were We Thinking! is a psycho-educational intervention, designed for universal implementation, that addresses heightened learning needs of parents of first newborns. It re-conceptualises mental health problems in mothers of infants as reflecting unmet needs for adaptations in the intimate partner relationship after the birth of a baby, and skills to promote settled infant behaviour. It addresses these two risk factors in half-day seminars, facilitated by trained maternal and child health nurses using non-psychiatric language, in groups of up to five couples and their four-week old infants in primary care. It is designed to promote confidence and reduce mental disorders by providing skills

Overarching sustainability objectives overcome incompatible directions in the Common Fisheries Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goti, Leyre; Fitzpatrick, Mike; Döring, Ralf

2018-01-01

The lack of clarity in the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) must be addressed to create a more efficient balance across diverse ecological, economic and social dimensions. Particularly economic and social objectives present at an overarching level must be made explicit and addressed...... objectives to managing fisheries can be derived from stakeholders. The paper first reviews the definition of objectives, from a historical and conceptual perspective. Secondly, it discusses the issues of manageability and acceptability, and finally describes an articulation of the high level objectives...

Addressing domestic violence in primary care: what the physician needs to know

Science.gov (United States)

Usta, Jinan; Taleb, Rim

2014-01-01

Domestic violence (DV) is quite prevalent and negatively impacts the health and mental wellbeing of those affected. Victims of DV are frequent users of health service, yet they are infrequently recognized. Physicians tend to treat the presenting complaints without addressing the root cause of the problem. Lack of knowledge on adequately managing cases of DV and on appropriate ways to help survivors is commonly presented as a barrier. This article presents the magnitude of the problem of DV in the Arab world, highlights the role of the primary care physician in addressing this problem, and provides practical steps that can guide the clinician in the Arab world in giving a comprehensive and culturally sensitive service to the survivors of DV. PMID:24647277

Microwave-assisted Facile and Ultrafast Growth of ZnO Nanostructures and Proposition of Alternative Microwave-assisted Methods to Address Growth Stoppage

Science.gov (United States)

Rana, Abu Ul Hassan Sarwar; Kang, Mingi; Kim, Hyun-Seok

2016-04-01

The time constraint in the growth of ZnO nanostructures when using a hydrothermal method is of paramount importance in contemporary research, where a long fabrication time rots the very essence of the research on ZnO nanostructures. In this study, we present the facile and ultrafast growth of ZnO nanostructures in a domestic microwave oven within a pressurized environment in just a few minutes. This method is preferred for the conventional solution-based method because of the ultrafast supersaturation of zinc salts and the fabrication of high-quality nanostructures. The study of the effect of seed layer density, growth time, and the solution’s molar concentration on the morphology, alignment, density, and aspect ratio of ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) is explored. It is found in a microwave-assisted direct growth method that ~5 mins is the optimum time beyond which homogeneous nucleation supersedes heterogeneous nucleation, which results in the growth stoppage of ZNRs. To deal with this issue, we propound different methods such as microwave-assisted solution-replacement, preheating, and PEI-based growth methods, where growth stoppage is addressed and ZNRs with a high aspect ratio can be grown. Furthermore, high-quality ZnO nanoflowers and ZnO nanowalls are fabricated via ammonium hydroxide treatment in a very short time.

Critical factors in the empirical performance of temporal difference and evolutionary methods for reinforcement learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Whiteson, S.; Taylor, M.E.; Stone, P.

2010-01-01

Temporal difference and evolutionary methods are two of the most common approaches to solving reinforcement learning problems. However, there is little consensus on their relative merits and there have been few empirical studies that directly compare their performance. This article aims to address

Addressing ethical challenges in the Genetics Substudy of the National Eye Survey of Trinidad and Tobago (GSNESTT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allana N. Roach

2016-06-01

Conclusion: This paper outlines an ethical framework for the conduct of population-based genetics and genomics research in Trinidad and Tobago; highlights common issues arising in the field and strategies to address these.

Mixed-Methods Design in Biology Education Research: Approach and Uses

Science.gov (United States)

Warfa, Abdi-Rizak M.

2016-01-01

Educational research often requires mixing different research methodologies to strengthen findings, better contextualize or explain results, or minimize the weaknesses of a single method. This article provides practical guidelines on how to conduct such research in biology education, with a focus on mixed-methods research (MMR) that uses both quantitative and qualitative inquiries. Specifically, the paper provides an overview of mixed-methods design typologies most relevant in biology education research. It also discusses common methodological issues that may arise in mixed-methods studies and ways to address them. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to report and write about MMR. PMID:27856556

Do pediatric gastroenterology doctors address pediatric obesity?

OpenAIRE

Batra, Suruchi; Yee, Caitlin; Diez, Bernadette; Nguyen, Nicholas; Sheridan, Michael J; Tufano, Mark; Sikka, Natalie; Townsend, Stacie; Hourigan, Suchitra

2017-01-01

Objectives: To assess how often obesity is acknowledged at pediatric gastroenterology outpatient visits. Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed to identify obese children seen at a gastroenterology subspecialty clinic over a 1-year period of time; 132 children were identified. Demographics, obesity comorbidities, reasons for referral, diagnosis of obesity, and a plan to address obesity were abstracted. Chi-square or Fisher?s exact tests were used to examine statistical associatio...

Convocation address.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakaria, R

1996-07-01

By means of this graduation address at the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in Bombay, the Chancellor of Urdu University voiced his concerns about overpopulation in India. During the speaker's tenure as Health Minister of Maharashtra, he implemented a sterilization incentive program that resulted in the state's having the best family planning (FP) statistics in India for almost 10 years. The incentive program, however, was misused by overenthusiastic officials in other states, with the result that the FP program was renamed the Family Welfare Programme. Population is growing in India because of improvements in health care, but the population education necessary to change fertility will require more time than the seriousness of the population problem allows. In the longterm, poverty and illiteracy must be addressed to control population. In the meanwhile, the graduate program at the IIPS should be expanded to include an undergraduate program, marriage age laws should be enforced, and misconceptions about religious objections to FP must be addressed. India can not afford to use the measures forwarded by developed countries to control population growth. India must integrate population control efforts with the provision of health care because if population continues to grow in the face of reduced infant mortality and longer life expectancy, future generations will be forced to live in a state of poverty and economic degradation.

A Common, Conceptual Framework for Behavioral Ecology and Evolutionary Psychology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donald W. White

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Since evolutionary psychology and behavioral ecology have much in common despite their using different objects for their study, one might expect these disciplines to share a common conceptual framework with associated definitions. Unfortunately, such agreement does not entirely exist. To address the problem, we propose a common, conceptual framework, the Adaptive Behavioral System (ABS, which organizes behavior within an evolutionary framework around an organism's life history tasks. An ABS includes strategies that use decision rules and employs tactics administered by a hypothesized construct, the Evolved Processing Unit (EPU. The ABS also includes observed or predicted behavior which can be tested experimentally – the ultimate test of construct validity. Use of the proposed framework should help the two disciplines focus on their common, core business of behavior and, ultimately, be to the benefit of both.

Why, and how, mixed methods research is undertaken in health services research in England: a mixed methods study

Science.gov (United States)

O'Cathain, Alicia; Murphy, Elizabeth; Nicholl, Jon

2007-01-01

Background Recently, there has been a surge of international interest in combining qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study – often called mixed methods research. It is timely to consider why and how mixed methods research is used in health services research (HSR). Methods Documentary analysis of proposals and reports of 75 mixed methods studies funded by a research commissioner of HSR in England between 1994 and 2004. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 20 researchers sampled from these studies. Results 18% (119/647) of HSR studies were classified as mixed methods research. In the documentation, comprehensiveness was the main driver for using mixed methods research, with researchers wanting to address a wider range of questions than quantitative methods alone would allow. Interviewees elaborated on this, identifying the need for qualitative research to engage with the complexity of health, health care interventions, and the environment in which studies took place. Motivations for adopting a mixed methods approach were not always based on the intrinsic value of mixed methods research for addressing the research question; they could be strategic, for example, to obtain funding. Mixed methods research was used in the context of evaluation, including randomised and non-randomised designs; survey and fieldwork exploratory studies; and instrument development. Studies drew on a limited number of methods – particularly surveys and individual interviews – but used methods in a wide range of roles. Conclusion Mixed methods research is common in HSR in the UK. Its use is driven by pragmatism rather than principle, motivated by the perceived deficit of quantitative methods alone to address the complexity of research in health care, as well as other more strategic gains. Methods are combined in a range of contexts, yet the emerging methodological contributions from HSR to the field of mixed methods research are currently limited to the single

The most common types of injuries in judo

OpenAIRE

Ječmínek, Jan

2014-01-01

Title: The most common types of injuries in judo Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the most common injuries that occur during training and judo competitions. Identify treatment options, prevention and identify most common causes of injury. Methods: The chosen method was theoretical and empirical, ie collecting data and information from other publications and conduct its own research. Selecting what is relevant for judo injuries and comparsion whith author's experience and res...

Identification and authentication. Common biometric methods review

OpenAIRE

Lysak, A.

2012-01-01

Major biometric methods used for identification and authentication purposes in modern computing systems are considered in the article. Basic classification, application areas and key differences are given.

Evaluation of common methods for sampling invertebrate pollinator assemblages: net sampling out-perform pan traps.

Science.gov (United States)

Popic, Tony J; Davila, Yvonne C; Wardle, Glenda M

2013-01-01

Methods for sampling ecological assemblages strive to be efficient, repeatable, and representative. Unknowingly, common methods may be limited in terms of revealing species function and so of less value for comparative studies. The global decline in pollination services has stimulated surveys of flower-visiting invertebrates, using pan traps and net sampling. We explore the relative merits of these two methods in terms of species discovery, quantifying abundance, function, and composition, and responses of species to changing floral resources. Using a spatially-nested design we sampled across a 5000 km(2) area of arid grasslands, including 432 hours of net sampling and 1296 pan trap-days, between June 2010 and July 2011. Net sampling yielded 22% more species and 30% higher abundance than pan traps, and better reflected the spatio-temporal variation of floral resources. Species composition differed significantly between methods; from 436 total species, 25% were sampled by both methods, 50% only by nets, and the remaining 25% only by pans. Apart from being less comprehensive, if pan traps do not sample flower-visitors, the link to pollination is questionable. By contrast, net sampling functionally linked species to pollination through behavioural observations of flower-visitation interaction frequency. Netted specimens are also necessary for evidence of pollen transport. Benefits of net-based sampling outweighed minor differences in overall sampling effort. As pan traps and net sampling methods are not equivalent for sampling invertebrate-flower interactions, we recommend net sampling of invertebrate pollinator assemblages, especially if datasets are intended to document declines in pollination and guide measures to retain this important ecosystem service.

Plant lifetime reliability and risk: Addressing today's strategies for making tomorrow's decisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boccio, J.L.

1986-01-01

This paper presents an overview of some of the research projects, conducted for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) that deal with the question: How can an acceptable level of risk of a nuclear power plant be maintained throughout its design life? With a viewpoint that life extension planning for a plant can be viewed as a long-range, strategic maintenance program, the products of this research are discussed from the perspective of being elements that can tie day-to-day, plant operational tactical decisions on component/system reliability with long-range strategic maintenance goals. A common factor in addressing issues associated with design life and life extension is the issue of component aging and the reliability implications of aging. A time-dependent reliability model is described which contains some of the requisite ingredients and is built on a framework from which the component aging/component reliability issue can be addressed. By way of select examples, the additional work needed to further address plant lifetime reliability and risk is indicated

MO-DE-207-04: Imaging educational program on solutions to common pediatric imaging challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krishnamurthy, R.

2015-01-01

This imaging educational program will focus on solutions to common pediatric imaging challenges. The speakers will present collective knowledge on best practices in pediatric imaging from their experience at dedicated children’s hospitals. The educational program will begin with a detailed discussion of the optimal configuration of fluoroscopes for general pediatric procedures. Following this introduction will be a focused discussion on the utility of Dual Energy CT for imaging children. The third lecture will address the substantial challenge of obtaining consistent image post -processing in pediatric digital radiography. The fourth and final lecture will address best practices in pediatric MRI including a discussion of ancillary methods to reduce sedation and anesthesia rates. Learning Objectives: To learn techniques for optimizing radiation dose and image quality in pediatric fluoroscopy To become familiar with the unique challenges and applications of Dual Energy CT in pediatric imaging To learn solutions for consistent post-processing quality in pediatric digital radiography To understand the key components of an effective MRI safety and quality program for the pediatric practice

MO-DE-207-04: Imaging educational program on solutions to common pediatric imaging challenges

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krishnamurthy, R. [Texas Children’s Hospital: Pediatric MRI Quality, Artifacts, and Safety (United States)

2015-06-15

This imaging educational program will focus on solutions to common pediatric imaging challenges. The speakers will present collective knowledge on best practices in pediatric imaging from their experience at dedicated children’s hospitals. The educational program will begin with a detailed discussion of the optimal configuration of fluoroscopes for general pediatric procedures. Following this introduction will be a focused discussion on the utility of Dual Energy CT for imaging children. The third lecture will address the substantial challenge of obtaining consistent image post -processing in pediatric digital radiography. The fourth and final lecture will address best practices in pediatric MRI including a discussion of ancillary methods to reduce sedation and anesthesia rates. Learning Objectives: To learn techniques for optimizing radiation dose and image quality in pediatric fluoroscopy To become familiar with the unique challenges and applications of Dual Energy CT in pediatric imaging To learn solutions for consistent post-processing quality in pediatric digital radiography To understand the key components of an effective MRI safety and quality program for the pediatric practice.

A framework for elaborating a geological disposal safety case: Main issues to be addressed

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Besnus, F.; Gay, D.

2002-01-01

International guidance on safety standards for the geological disposal of radioactive waste is being elaborated by IAEA. A comparison of experiences acquired in developing deep repository projects shows that many important issues related to the progressive building of confidence in the safety demonstration of such facilities are commonly addressed by the various organisations involved in radioactive waste management. However, there is still some discrepancies in defining the steps that form the staged elaboration of a safety case. This paper intends to propose a framework for defining the safety case in describing the main issues to be addressed and highlighting questions of consistency between former steps. (author)

Balancing Act: Addressing Culture and Gender in ESL Classrooms

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Michelle A.; Chang, Debbie

2012-01-01

ESL educators find themselves teaching a diverse group of students in today's classroom. This study investigated how ESL instructors address diversity in their teaching. The literature review revealed research on the experiences of teachers using culturally responsive teaching strategies. Using qualitative research methods, this study explores the…

Development of a magnet power supply with sub-ppm ripple performance for J-PARC with a novel common-mode rejection method with an NPC inverter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koseki, K.; Kurimoto, Y.

2014-01-01

The mechanism that generates common-mode noise in inverter circuits, which are widely used in magnet power supplies, was evaluated by a circuit simulation. By following asymmetric operational sequences, pulsed voltage is applied to the parasitic capacitance of power cables that causes a common-mode current at each switching period of the semiconductor switches. Common-mode noise was also found to disturb the normal-mode excitation current by inducing higher frequency components in the applied voltage to the magnet. To eliminate the disturbing effect by the common-mode noise, a newly developed operational method that uses a neutral point clamped, NPC, inverter with reduced switching sequences was evaluated both by a circuit simulation and experimentally. The operational method for the NPC inverter could sufficiently reduce the common-mode noise. A high-power test operation performed using 16 bending magnets at the J-PARC facility achieved a ripple of less than 1 ppm in the excitation current

Development of a magnet power supply with sub-ppm ripple performance for J-PARC with a novel common-mode rejection method with an NPC inverter

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koseki, K., E-mail: kunio.koseki@kek.jp; Kurimoto, Y.

2014-05-21

The mechanism that generates common-mode noise in inverter circuits, which are widely used in magnet power supplies, was evaluated by a circuit simulation. By following asymmetric operational sequences, pulsed voltage is applied to the parasitic capacitance of power cables that causes a common-mode current at each switching period of the semiconductor switches. Common-mode noise was also found to disturb the normal-mode excitation current by inducing higher frequency components in the applied voltage to the magnet. To eliminate the disturbing effect by the common-mode noise, a newly developed operational method that uses a neutral point clamped, NPC, inverter with reduced switching sequences was evaluated both by a circuit simulation and experimentally. The operational method for the NPC inverter could sufficiently reduce the common-mode noise. A high-power test operation performed using 16 bending magnets at the J-PARC facility achieved a ripple of less than 1 ppm in the excitation current.

Effects of Linear Falling Ramp Reset Pulse on Addressing Operation in AC PDP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Zujun; Liang Zhihu; Liu Chunliang; Meng Lingguo

2006-01-01

The effects of linear falling ramp reset pulse related to addressing operation in an alternating current plasma display panel (AC PDP) were studied. The wall charge waveforms were measured by the electrode balance method in a 12-inch coplanar AC PDP. The wall charge waveforms show the relationship between the slope ratio of the falling ramp reset pulse and the wall charges at the end of the falling ramp reset pulse which influences the addressing stability. Then the effects of the slope ratio of the linear falling ramp reset pulse on the addressing voltage and addressing time were investigated. The experimental results show that the minimum addressing voltage increases with the increase of the slope ratio of the falling ramp reset pulse, and so does the minimum addressing time. Based on the experimental results, the optimization of the addressing time and the slope ratio of the falling ramp pulse is discussed

Use of multicriteria decision analysis to address conservation conflicts.

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, A L; Bryce, R; Redpath, S M

2013-10-01

Conservation conflicts are increasing on a global scale and instruments for reconciling competing interests are urgently needed. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) is a structured, decision-support process that can facilitate dialogue between groups with differing interests and incorporate human and environmental dimensions of conflict. MCDA is a structured and transparent method of breaking down complex problems and incorporating multiple objectives. The value of this process for addressing major challenges in conservation conflict management is that MCDA helps in setting realistic goals; entails a transparent decision-making process; and addresses mistrust, differing world views, cross-scale issues, patchy or contested information, and inflexible legislative tools. Overall we believe MCDA provides a valuable decision-support tool, particularly for increasing awareness of the effects of particular values and choices for working toward negotiated compromise, although an awareness of the effect of methodological choices and the limitations of the method is vital before applying it in conflict situations. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Address Points - COUNTY_ADDRESS_POINTS_IDHS_IN: Address Points Maintained by County Agencies in Indiana (Indiana Department of Homeland Security, Point feature class)

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC State | GIS Inventory — COUNTY_ADDRESS_POINTS_IDHS_IN is an ESRI Geodatabase point feature class that contains address points maintained by county agencies in Indiana, provided by personnel...

Pre-Clinical Traumatic Brain Injury Common Data Elements: Toward a Common Language Across Laboratories.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Douglas H; Hicks, Ramona R; Johnson, Victoria E; Bergstrom, Debra A; Cummings, Diana M; Noble, Linda J; Hovda, David; Whalen, Michael; Ahlers, Stephen T; LaPlaca, Michelle; Tortella, Frank C; Duhaime, Ann-Christine; Dixon, C Edward

2015-11-15

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health issue exacting a substantial personal and economic burden globally. With the advent of "big data" approaches to understanding complex systems, there is the potential to greatly accelerate knowledge about mechanisms of injury and how to detect and modify them to improve patient outcomes. High quality, well-defined data are critical to the success of bioinformatics platforms, and a data dictionary of "common data elements" (CDEs), as well as "unique data elements" has been created for clinical TBI research. There is no data dictionary, however, for preclinical TBI research despite similar opportunities to accelerate knowledge. To address this gap, a committee of experts was tasked with creating a defined set of data elements to further collaboration across laboratories and enable the merging of data for meta-analysis. The CDEs were subdivided into a Core module for data elements relevant to most, if not all, studies, and Injury-Model-Specific modules for non-generalizable data elements. The purpose of this article is to provide both an overview of TBI models and the CDEs pertinent to these models to facilitate a common language for preclinical TBI research.

Scientists and Faith Communities in Dialogue - Finding Common Ground to Care for our Common Home

Science.gov (United States)

Jablonski, L. M.

2017-12-01

World-wide, faith communities are a key place for education and outreach to the general adult population. The sacred responsibility to care for the earth, living sustainability and concern for the poor are nearly universal priorities across faith communities. Scientists and people of faith share in common experiences of awe and wonder and ethical roles as citizens. The majority of faith communities have statements on climate changes, environmental justice, and stewardship, and respond with education, action plans and advocacy. People of faith are increasingly seeking science expertise to better understand the science and best solutions to implement. Transformation of point of view often requires heart-felt motivation (domain of religion) as well as knowledge (science). Scientists can participate in alleviating environmental justice by providing data and education to communities. Expert testimony is a critical service. Pope Francis' environmental encyclical Laudato si, engaged diverse scientists in its writing and outreach. Francis invites our continued dialogue with people of faith and goodwill of all societal sectors and fields to achieve an integral ecology that integrates science, economics, and impacts on the poor. For scientists to be most effective in sharing expertise, and building understanding and trust in scientific findings, skill- building is needed in: communication, finding common ground, intercultural competency, working with diverse populations and religious literacy. Educational initiatives bridging scientists and faith-communities will be highlighted including within: the Ecological Society of America, American Assn for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, faith-based & Environmental Justice networks, Nature centers, Higher Education (including Seminary) Initiatives and the Hanley Sustainability Institute, and interfaith religious organizations engaged with scientists. Bridge-building and ongoing partnerships of scientists, EJ

Standard test method for distribution coefficients of inorganic species by the batch method

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2010-01-01

1.1 This test method covers the determination of distribution coefficients of chemical species to quantify uptake onto solid materials by a batch sorption technique. It is a laboratory method primarily intended to assess sorption of dissolved ionic species subject to migration through pores and interstices of site specific geomedia. It may also be applied to other materials such as manufactured adsorption media and construction materials. Application of the results to long-term field behavior is not addressed in this method. Distribution coefficients for radionuclides in selected geomedia are commonly determined for the purpose of assessing potential migratory behavior of contaminants in the subsurface of contaminated sites and waste disposal facilities. This test method is also applicable to studies for parametric studies of the variables and mechanisms which contribute to the measured distribution coefficient. 1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement a...

Introduction to First-Principles Electronic Structure Methods: Application to Actinide Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klepeis, J E

2006-01-01

This paper provides an introduction for non-experts to first-principles electronic structure methods that are widely used in condensed-matter physics. Particular emphasis is placed on giving the appropriate background information needed to better appreciate the use of these methods to study actinide and other materials. Specifically, I describe the underlying theory sufficiently to enable an understanding of the relative strengths and weaknesses of the methods. I also explain the meaning of commonly used terminology, including density functional theory (DFT), local density approximation (LDA), and generalized gradient approximation (GGA), as well as linear muffin-tin orbital (LMTO), linear augmented plane wave (LAPW), and pseudopotential methods. I also briefly discuss methodologies that extend the basic theory to address specific limitations. Finally, I describe a few illustrative applications, including quantum molecular dynamics (QMD) simulations and studies of surfaces, impurities, and defects. I conclude by addressing the current controversy regarding magnetic calculations for actinide materials

Super-nodal methods for space-time kinetics

Science.gov (United States)

Mertyurek, Ugur

The purpose of this research has been to develop an advanced Super-Nodal method to reduce the run time of 3-D core neutronics models, such as in the NESTLE reactor core simulator and FORMOSA nuclear fuel management optimization codes. Computational performance of the neutronics model is increased by reducing the number of spatial nodes used in the core modeling. However, as the number of spatial nodes decreases, the error in the solution increases. The Super-Nodal method reduces the error associated with the use of coarse nodes in the analyses by providing a new set of cross sections and ADFs (Assembly Discontinuity Factors) for the new nodalization. These so called homogenization parameters are obtained by employing consistent collapsing technique. During this research a new type of singularity, namely "fundamental mode singularity", is addressed in the ANM (Analytical Nodal Method) solution. The "Coordinate Shifting" approach is developed as a method to address this singularity. Also, the "Buckling Shifting" approach is developed as an alternative and more accurate method to address the zero buckling singularity, which is a more common and well known singularity problem in the ANM solution. In the course of addressing the treatment of these singularities, an effort was made to provide better and more robust results from the Super-Nodal method by developing several new methods for determining the transverse leakage and collapsed diffusion coefficient, which generally are the two main approximations in the ANM methodology. Unfortunately, the proposed new transverse leakage and diffusion coefficient approximations failed to provide a consistent improvement to the current methodology. However, improvement in the Super-Nodal solution is achieved by updating the homogenization parameters at several time points during a transient. The update is achieved by employing a refinement technique similar to pin-power reconstruction. A simple error analysis based on the relative

Port virtual addressing for PC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolanos, L.; Arista, E.; Osorio Deliz, J.F.

1997-01-01

Instruments for nuclear signal measurements based on add-on card for a personal computer (PC) are designed often. Then one faces the problem of the addressing of data input/output devices which show an integration level or intelligence that makes the use of several port address indispensable, and these are limited in the PC. The virtual addressing offers the advantage of the occupation of few addresses to accede to many of these devices. The principles of this technique and the appliances of a solution in radiometric in a radiometric card based on programmed logic are discussed in this paper

Common Core State Standards for Students with Gifts and Talents

Science.gov (United States)

VanTassel-Baska, Joyce

2015-01-01

As many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), teachers can look to these standards as a framework for supporting students with gifts and talents. Differentiation of curriculum and instruction to address the CCSS will be necessary to meet the unique learning needs of learners with high ability and those with gifts and talents.…

WE-E-201-01: Use and Abuse of Common Statistics in Radiological Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Labby, Z. [University of Wisconsin (United States)

2015-06-15

Physicists are often expected to have a solid grounding in experimental design and statistical analysis, sometimes filling in when biostatisticians or other experts are not available for consultation. Unfortunately, graduate education on these topics is seldom emphasized and few opportunities for continuing education exist. Clinical physicists incorporate new technology and methods into their practice based on published literature. A poor understanding of experimental design and analysis could Result in inappropriate use of new techniques. Clinical physicists also improve current practice through quality initiatives that require sound experimental design and analysis. Academic physicists with a poor understanding of design and analysis may produce ambiguous (or misleading) results. This can Result in unnecessary rewrites, publication rejection, and experimental redesign (wasting time, money, and effort). This symposium will provide a practical review of error and uncertainty, common study designs, and statistical tests. Instruction will primarily focus on practical implementation through examples and answer questions such as: where would you typically apply the test/design and where is the test/design typically misapplied (i.e., common pitfalls)? An analysis of error and uncertainty will also be explored using biological studies and associated modeling as a specific use case. Learning Objectives: Understand common experimental testing and clinical trial designs, what questions they can answer, and how to interpret the results Determine where specific statistical tests are appropriate and identify common pitfalls Understand the how uncertainty and error are addressed in biological testing and associated biological modeling.

WE-E-201-01: Use and Abuse of Common Statistics in Radiological Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Labby, Z.

2015-01-01

Physicists are often expected to have a solid grounding in experimental design and statistical analysis, sometimes filling in when biostatisticians or other experts are not available for consultation. Unfortunately, graduate education on these topics is seldom emphasized and few opportunities for continuing education exist. Clinical physicists incorporate new technology and methods into their practice based on published literature. A poor understanding of experimental design and analysis could Result in inappropriate use of new techniques. Clinical physicists also improve current practice through quality initiatives that require sound experimental design and analysis. Academic physicists with a poor understanding of design and analysis may produce ambiguous (or misleading) results. This can Result in unnecessary rewrites, publication rejection, and experimental redesign (wasting time, money, and effort). This symposium will provide a practical review of error and uncertainty, common study designs, and statistical tests. Instruction will primarily focus on practical implementation through examples and answer questions such as: where would you typically apply the test/design and where is the test/design typically misapplied (i.e., common pitfalls)? An analysis of error and uncertainty will also be explored using biological studies and associated modeling as a specific use case. Learning Objectives: Understand common experimental testing and clinical trial designs, what questions they can answer, and how to interpret the results Determine where specific statistical tests are appropriate and identify common pitfalls Understand the how uncertainty and error are addressed in biological testing and associated biological modeling

Mixed-Methods Design in Biology Education Research: Approach and Uses.

Science.gov (United States)

Warfa, Abdi-Rizak M

Educational research often requires mixing different research methodologies to strengthen findings, better contextualize or explain results, or minimize the weaknesses of a single method. This article provides practical guidelines on how to conduct such research in biology education, with a focus on mixed-methods research (MMR) that uses both quantitative and qualitative inquiries. Specifically, the paper provides an overview of mixed-methods design typologies most relevant in biology education research. It also discusses common methodological issues that may arise in mixed-methods studies and ways to address them. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to report and write about MMR. © 2016 L. A.-R. M. Warfa. CBE—Life Sciences Education © 2016 The American Society for Cell Biology. This article is distributed by The American Society for Cell Biology under license from the author(s). It is available to the public under an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0).

Evaluation of common methods for sampling invertebrate pollinator assemblages: net sampling out-perform pan traps.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tony J Popic

Full Text Available Methods for sampling ecological assemblages strive to be efficient, repeatable, and representative. Unknowingly, common methods may be limited in terms of revealing species function and so of less value for comparative studies. The global decline in pollination services has stimulated surveys of flower-visiting invertebrates, using pan traps and net sampling. We explore the relative merits of these two methods in terms of species discovery, quantifying abundance, function, and composition, and responses of species to changing floral resources. Using a spatially-nested design we sampled across a 5000 km(2 area of arid grasslands, including 432 hours of net sampling and 1296 pan trap-days, between June 2010 and July 2011. Net sampling yielded 22% more species and 30% higher abundance than pan traps, and better reflected the spatio-temporal variation of floral resources. Species composition differed significantly between methods; from 436 total species, 25% were sampled by both methods, 50% only by nets, and the remaining 25% only by pans. Apart from being less comprehensive, if pan traps do not sample flower-visitors, the link to pollination is questionable. By contrast, net sampling functionally linked species to pollination through behavioural observations of flower-visitation interaction frequency. Netted specimens are also necessary for evidence of pollen transport. Benefits of net-based sampling outweighed minor differences in overall sampling effort. As pan traps and net sampling methods are not equivalent for sampling invertebrate-flower interactions, we recommend net sampling of invertebrate pollinator assemblages, especially if datasets are intended to document declines in pollination and guide measures to retain this important ecosystem service.

Transformed composite sequences for improved qubit addressing

Science.gov (United States)

Merrill, J. True; Doret, S. Charles; Vittorini, Grahame; Addison, J. P.; Brown, Kenneth R.

2014-10-01

Selective laser addressing of a single atom or atomic ion qubit can be improved using narrow-band composite pulse sequences. We describe a Lie-algebraic technique to generalize known narrow-band sequences and introduce sequences related by dilation and rotation of sequence generators. Our method improves known narrow-band sequences by decreasing both the pulse time and the residual error. Finally, we experimentally demonstrate these composite sequences using 40Ca+ ions trapped in a surface-electrode ion trap.

Towards Unification of Methods for Speech, Audio, Picture and Multimedia Quality Assessment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zielinski, S.; Rumsey, F.; Bech, Søren

2015-01-01

attempting to “bridge the gap” between the quality assessment methods used in various disciplines are indicated. Prospective challenges faced by researchers in the unification process are outlined. They include development of unified scales, defining unified anchors, integration of objective models......The paper addresses the need to develop unified methods for subjective and objective quality assessment across speech, audio, picture, and multimedia applications. Commonalities and differences between the currently used standards are overviewed. Examples of the already undertaken research...

Strategies to increase demand for maternal health services in resource-limited settings: challenges to be addressed.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmusharaf, Khalifa; Byrne, Elaine; O'Donovan, Diarmuid

2015-09-08

Universal health access will not be achieved unless women are cared for in their own communities and are empowered to take decisions about their own health in a supportive environment. This will only be achieved by community-based demand side interventions for maternal health access. In this review article, we highlight three common strategies to increase demand-side barriers to maternal healthcare access and identify the main challenges that still need to be addressed for these strategies to be effective. Common demand side strategies can be grouped into three categories:(i) Financial incentives/subsidies; (ii) Enhancing patient transfer, and; (iii) Community involvement. The main challenges in assessing the effectiveness or efficacy of these interventions or strategies are the lack of quality evidence on their outcome and impact and interventions not integrated into existing health or community systems. However, what is highlighted in this review and overlooked in most of the published literature on this topic is the lack of knowledge about the context in which these strategies are to be implemented. We suggest three challenges that need to be addressed to create a supportive environment in which these demand-side strategies can effectively improve access to maternal health services. These include: addressing decision-making norms, engaging in intergenerational dialogue, and designing contextually appropriate communication strategies.

Simulation-extrapolation method to address errors in atomic bomb survivor dosimetry on solid cancer and leukaemia mortality risk estimates, 1950-2003

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allodji, Rodrigue S.; Schwartz, Boris; Diallo, Ibrahima; Vathaire, Florent de [Gustave Roussy B2M, Radiation Epidemiology Group/CESP - Unit 1018 INSERM, Villejuif Cedex (France); Univ. Paris-Sud, Villejuif (France); Agbovon, Cesaire [Pierre and Vacances - Center Parcs Group, L' artois - Espace Pont de Flandre, Paris Cedex 19 (France); Laurier, Dominique [Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire (IRSN), DRPH, SRBE, Laboratoire d' epidemiologie, BP17, Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex (France)

2015-08-15

Analyses of the Life Span Study (LSS) of Japanese atomic bombing survivors have routinely incorporated corrections for additive classical measurement errors using regression calibration. Recently, several studies reported that the efficiency of the simulation-extrapolation method (SIMEX) is slightly more accurate than the simple regression calibration method (RCAL). In the present paper, the SIMEX and RCAL methods have been used to address errors in atomic bomb survivor dosimetry on solid cancer and leukaemia mortality risk estimates. For instance, it is shown that using the SIMEX method, the ERR/Gy is increased by an amount of about 29 % for all solid cancer deaths using a linear model compared to the RCAL method, and the corrected EAR 10{sup -4} person-years at 1 Gy (the linear terms) is decreased by about 8 %, while the corrected quadratic term (EAR 10{sup -4} person-years/Gy{sup 2}) is increased by about 65 % for leukaemia deaths based on a linear-quadratic model. The results with SIMEX method are slightly higher than published values. The observed differences were probably due to the fact that with the RCAL method the dosimetric data were partially corrected, while all doses were considered with the SIMEX method. Therefore, one should be careful when comparing the estimated risks and it may be useful to use several correction techniques in order to obtain a range of corrected estimates, rather than to rely on a single technique. This work will enable to improve the risk estimates derived from LSS data, and help to make more reliable the development of radiation protection standards. (orig.)

The principle of commonality and its application to the Space Station Freedom Program

Science.gov (United States)

Hopson, George D.; Thomas, L. Dale; Daniel, Charles C.

1989-01-01

The principle of commonality has achieved wide application in the communication, automotive, and aircraft industries. By the use of commonality, component development costs are minimized, logistics are simplified, and the investment costs of spares inventory are reduced. With space systems, which must be maintained and repaired in orbit, the advantages of commonality are compounded. Transportation of spares is expensive, on-board storage volume for spares is limited, and crew training and special tools needed for maintenance and repair are significant considerations. This paper addresses the techniques being formulated to realize the benefits of commonality in the design of the systems and elements of the Space Station Freedom Program, and include the criteria for determining the extent of commonality to be implemented.

inaugral address

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While political reorientation and economic redress were of immediate concern, ... South African context, where widespread changes have been proposed for education at all ... education at school and other levels and needs to be addressed so as to ..... the major national curriculum intervention in environmental education.

Comparative analyses reveal discrepancies among results of commonly used methods for Anopheles gambiaemolecular form identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pinto João

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Anopheles gambiae M and S molecular forms, the major malaria vectors in the Afro-tropical region, are ongoing a process of ecological diversification and adaptive lineage splitting, which is affecting malaria transmission and vector control strategies in West Africa. These two incipient species are defined on the basis of single nucleotide differences in the IGS and ITS regions of multicopy rDNA located on the X-chromosome. A number of PCR and PCR-RFLP approaches based on form-specific SNPs in the IGS region are used for M and S identification. Moreover, a PCR-method to detect the M-specific insertion of a short interspersed transposable element (SINE200 has recently been introduced as an alternative identification approach. However, a large-scale comparative analysis of four widely used PCR or PCR-RFLP genotyping methods for M and S identification was never carried out to evaluate whether they could be used interchangeably, as commonly assumed. Results The genotyping of more than 400 A. gambiae specimens from nine African countries, and the sequencing of the IGS-amplicon of 115 of them, highlighted discrepancies among results obtained by the different approaches due to different kinds of biases, which may result in an overestimation of MS putative hybrids, as follows: i incorrect match of M and S specific primers used in the allele specific-PCR approach; ii presence of polymorphisms in the recognition sequence of restriction enzymes used in the PCR-RFLP approaches; iii incomplete cleavage during the restriction reactions; iv presence of different copy numbers of M and S-specific IGS-arrays in single individuals in areas of secondary contact between the two forms. Conclusions The results reveal that the PCR and PCR-RFLP approaches most commonly utilized to identify A. gambiae M and S forms are not fully interchangeable as usually assumed, and highlight limits of the actual definition of the two molecular forms, which might

Validation of Housing Standards Addressing Accessibility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helle, Tina

2013-01-01

The aim was to explore the use of an activity-based approach to determine the validity of a set of housing standards addressing accessibility. This included examination of the frequency and the extent of accessibility problems among older people with physical functional limitations who used...... participant groups were examined. Performing well-known kitchen activities was associated with accessibility problems for all three participant groups, in particular those using a wheelchair. The overall validity of the housing standards examined was poor. Observing older people interacting with realistic...... environments while performing real everyday activities seems to be an appropriate method for assessing accessibility problems....

A program plan addressing carpal tunnel syndrome: the utility of King's goal attainment theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Norgan, G H; Ettipio, A M; Lasome, C E

1995-08-01

1. Today's nurse is prepared to address the needs of groups of individuals who share common characteristics or risks (aggregates). Program planning skills and ability to use nursing theory can enhance the nurse's effectiveness in addressing the needs of such aggregates. 2. Carpal tunnel syndrome and other repetitive stress injuries are very costly to industry, both in terms of monetary loss and lost work hours. Such injuries can be reduced in the workplace through careful observation and communication of trends by the nurse. 3. The systems perspective of King's goal attainment theory guided the nurse in problem solving and facilitating the development of a workplace capable of responding to trends as they occur.

Improved fixed point iterative method for blade element momentum computations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sun, Zhenye; Shen, Wen Zhong; Chen, Jin

2017-01-01

The blade element momentum (BEM) theory is widely used in aerodynamic performance calculations and optimization applications for wind turbines. The fixed point iterative method is the most commonly utilized technique to solve the BEM equations. However, this method sometimes does not converge...... are addressed through both theoretical analysis and numerical tests. A term from the BEM equations equals to zero at a critical inflow angle is the source of the convergence problems. When the initial inflow angle is set larger than the critical inflow angle and the relaxation methodology is adopted...

Diversity as a common research priority for Nordic and Southern African Universities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Karen Bjerg

This paper sets out to consider concepts of diversity as means to discuss and address the increasing diversity of modern societies and to reflect the development of research priorities for universities in Nordic and Southern African countries. Based on reconceptualisations of theoretical concepts...... like culture, multiculturalism and national identity the presentation will address and reflect upon how modern societies in South and North are becoming increasingly diverse with respect to demographic and ethno cultural composition of the population. The paper sets out to discuss how various European...... countries like e.g. Denmark have responded differently to diversification during the past decades. Based on this, challenges in deal-ing with diversity as a common research priority for Nordic and African universities will be shortly addressed....

Addressing Common Student Technical Errors in Field Data Collection: An Analysis of a Citizen-Science Monitoring Project.

Science.gov (United States)

Philippoff, Joanna; Baumgartner, Erin

2016-03-01

The scientific value of citizen-science programs is limited when the data gathered are inconsistent, erroneous, or otherwise unusable. Long-term monitoring studies, such as Our Project In Hawai'i's Intertidal (OPIHI), have clear and consistent procedures and are thus a good model for evaluating the quality of participant data. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinds of errors made by student researchers during OPIHI data collection and factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of these errors. Twenty-four different types of errors were grouped into four broad error categories: missing data, sloppiness, methodological errors, and misidentification errors. "Sloppiness" was the most prevalent error type. Error rates decreased with field trip experience and student age. We suggest strategies to reduce data collection errors applicable to many types of citizen-science projects including emphasizing neat data collection, explicitly addressing and discussing the problems of falsifying data, emphasizing the importance of using standard scientific vocabulary, and giving participants multiple opportunities to practice to build their data collection techniques and skills.

Addressing Common Student Technical Errors in Field Data Collection: An Analysis of a Citizen-Science Monitoring Project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joanna Philippoff

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The scientific value of citizen-science programs is limited when the data gathered are inconsistent, erroneous, or otherwise unusable. Long-term monitoring studies, such as Our Project In Hawai‘i's Intertidal (OPIHI, have clear and consistent procedures and are thus a good model for evaluating the quality of participant data. The purpose of this study was to examine the kinds of errors made by student researchers during OPIHI data collection and factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of these errors. Twenty-four different types of errors were grouped into four broad error categories: missing data, sloppiness, methodological errors, and misidentification errors. “Sloppiness” was the most prevalent error type. Error rates decreased with field trip experience and student age. We suggest strategies to reduce data collection errors applicable to many types of citizen-science projects including emphasizing neat data collection, explicitly addressing and discussing the problems of falsifying data, emphasizing the importance of using standard scientific vocabulary, and giving participants multiple opportunities to practice to build their data collection techniques and skills.

Generative Street Addresses from Satellite Imagery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

İlke Demir

2018-03-01

Full Text Available We describe our automatic generative algorithm to create street addresses from satellite images by learning and labeling roads, regions, and address cells. Currently, 75% of the world’s roads lack adequate street addressing systems. Recent geocoding initiatives tend to convert pure latitude and longitude information into a memorable form for unknown areas. However, settlements are identified by streets, and such addressing schemes are not coherent with the road topology. Instead, we propose a generative address design that maps the globe in accordance with streets. Our algorithm starts with extracting roads from satellite imagery by utilizing deep learning. Then, it uniquely labels the regions, roads, and structures using some graph- and proximity-based algorithms. We also extend our addressing scheme to (i cover inaccessible areas following similar design principles; (ii be inclusive and flexible for changes on the ground; and (iii lead as a pioneer for a unified street-based global geodatabase. We present our results on an example of a developed city and multiple undeveloped cities. We also compare productivity on the basis of current ad hoc and new complete addresses. We conclude by contrasting our generative addresses to current industrial and open solutions.

Ultrascalable Techniques Applied to the Global Intelligence Community Information Awareness Common Operating Picture (IA COP)

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Valdes, Alfonso; Kadte, Jim

2005-01-01

The focus of this research is to develop detection, correlation, and representation approaches to address the needs of the Intelligence Community Information Awareness Common Operating Picture (IA COP...

Addressing the effect of social life cycle assessments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Andreas; Dreyer, Louise Camilla; Wangel, Arne

2012-01-01

the validity of these hypotheses. Results: Three in some cases potentially overlapping SLCA approaches are presented, assumed to create a beneficial effect in the life cycle in different ways. However, empirical and theoretical findings show that the beneficial effects proposed to arise from the use of each......Purpose: In the recently published ‘Guidelines for social life cycle assessment of products’, it is stated that the ultimate objective of developing the social life cycle assessment (SLCA) is to promote improvements of social conditions for the stakeholders in the life cycle. This article addresses...... how the SLCA should be developed so that its use promotes these improvements. Methods: Hypotheses of how the use of SLCA can promote improvement of social conditions in the life cycle are formulated, after which theories and empirical findings from relevant fields of research are used to address...

Canada: variations on a common theme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raisa B. Deber

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Canada faces health care challenges common to all industrialized countries – how to ensure timely access to high quality care, close to home, at an affordable cost. Addressing these challenges is complicated by interjurisdictional variation in both how health care is managed and delivered, and in health outcomes. Canada can be described as a non-system of 10 provincial and three territorial health insurance plans which mandate publicly-funded coverage for medically necessary hospital and physician services, based upon common principles and shaped by a federal governance structure that affords substantial power and autonomy to the provinces/territories over matters of health and health care. This article first examines the structural context of the health care system in Canada, including the range of services publicly funded, the public-private mix, and the complexities of current governance arrangements. It then discusses several issues affecting health policy reform: costs versus access; questions of sustainability, quality, and performance; human resources capacity; and the provision of public and population health services.

An Augmented Common Weight Data Envelopment Analysis for Material Selection in High-tech Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iman Shokr

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Material selection is a challenging issue in manufacturing processes while the inappropriate selected material may lead to fail the manufacturing process or end user experience especially in high-tech industries such as aircraft and shipping. Every material has different quantitative and qualitative criteria which should be considered simultaneously when assessing and selecting the right material. A weighted linear optimization method (WLOM in the class of data envelopment analysis which exists in literature is adopted to address material selection problem while accounting for both qualitative and quantitative criteria. However, it is demonstrated the adopted WLOM method is not able to produce a full ranking vector for the material selection problems borrowed from the literature. Thus, an augmented common weight data envelopment analysis model (ACWDEA is developed in this paper with the aim of eliminating deficiencies of WLOM model. The proposed ACWDEA is able to produce full ranking vector in decision making problems with less computational complexities in superior to the WLOM. Two material selection problems are solved and results are compared with WLOM and previous methods. Finally, the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed ACWDEA method are evaluated through Spearman’s correlation tests.

Common display performance requirements for military and commercial aircraft product lines

Science.gov (United States)

Hoener, Steven J.; Behrens, Arthur J.; Flint, John R.; Jacobsen, Alan R.

2001-09-01

Obtaining high quality Active Matrix Liquid Crystal (AMLCD) glass to meet the needs of the commercial and military aerospace business is a major challenge, at best. With the demise of all domestic sources of AMLCD substrate glass, the industry is now focused on overseas sources, which are primarily producing glass for consumer electronics. Previous experience with ruggedizing commercial glass leads to the expectation that the aerospace industry can leverage off the commercial market. The problem remains, while the commercial industry is continually changing and improving its products, the commercial and military aerospace industries require stable and affordable supplies of AMLCD glass for upwards of 20 years to support production and maintenance operations. The Boeing Engineering and Supplier Management Process Councils have chartered a group of displays experts from multiple aircraft product divisions within the Boeing Company, the Displays Process Action Team (DPAT), to address this situation from an overall corporate perspective. The DPAT has formulated a set of Common Displays Performance Requirements for use across the corporate line of commercial and military aircraft products. Though focused on the AMLCD problem, the proposed common requirements are largely independent of display technology. This paper describes the strategy being pursued within the Boeing Company to address the AMLCD supply problem and details the proposed implementation process, centered on common requirements for both commercial and military aircraft displays. Highlighted in this paper are proposed common, or standard, display sizes and the other major requirements established by the DPAT, along with the rationale for these requirements.

Litigation-proof patents: avoiding the most common patent mistakes

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Goldstein, Larry M

2014-01-01

"Litigation-Proof Patents: Avoiding the Most Common Patent Mistakes explains the principles of excellent patents, presents the ten most common errors in patents, and details a step-by-step method for avoiding these common errors...

Rapid Radiochemical Methods for Asphalt Paving Material ...

Science.gov (United States)

Technical Brief Validated rapid radiochemical methods for alpha and beta emitters in solid matrices that are commonly encountered in urban environments were previously unavailable for public use by responding laboratories. A lack of tested rapid methods would delay the quick determination of contamination levels and the assessment of acceptable site-specific exposure levels. Of special concern are matrices with rough and porous surfaces, which allow the movement of radioactive material deep into the building material making it difficult to detect. This research focuses on methods that address preparation, radiochemical separation, and analysis of asphalt paving materials and asphalt roofing shingles. These matrices, common to outdoor environments, challenge the capability and capacity of very experienced radiochemistry laboratories. Generally, routine sample preparation and dissolution techniques produce liquid samples (representative of the original sample material) that can be processed using available radiochemical methods. The asphalt materials are especially difficult because they do not readily lend themselves to these routine sample preparation and dissolution techniques. The HSRP and ORIA coordinate radiological reference laboratory priorities and activities in conjunction with HSRP’s Partner Process. As part of the collaboration, the HSRP worked with ORIA to publish rapid radioanalytical methods for selected radionuclides in building material matrice

Texts, Structure, and Collaboration: Reflections of a Professional Development Addressing Homophobia in Secondary Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Joseph R.

2015-01-01

Homophobia is an incredible problem within educational settings. Therefore, we must begin examining how we can address the challenge in an effective manner. Researchers postulate professional development (PD) discussing homophobia is an appropriate method to address the problem. To date, there is little published literature that discusses how a PD…

Personality may confound common measures of mate-choice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morgan David

Full Text Available The measurement of female mating preferences is central to the study of the evolution of male ornaments. Although several different methods have been developed to assess sexual preference in some standardized way, the most commonly used procedure consists of recording female spatial association with different males presented simultaneously. Sexual preference is then inferred from time spent in front of each male. However, the extent to which the measurement of female mate-choice is related to exploration tendencies has not been addressed so far. In the present study we assessed the influence of variation in exploration tendencies, a trait closely associated to global personality, on the measurement of female mating preference in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata using the widely used four-chamber choice-apparatus. The number of movements performed within both exploration and mate-choice apparatus was consistent within and across the two contexts. In addition, personality explained variation in selectivity, preference strength and consistency. High-exploratory females showed lower selectivity, lower preference scores and displayed more consistent preference scores. Our results suggest that variation in personality may affect the measurement of female mating preference and may contribute to explain existing inconsistencies across studies.

Planar quadrature RF transceiver design using common-mode differential-mode (CMDM transmission line method for 7T MR imaging.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ye Li

Full Text Available The use of quadrature RF magnetic fields has been demonstrated to be an efficient method to reduce transmit power and to increase the signal-to-noise (SNR in magnetic resonance (MR imaging. The goal of this project was to develop a new method using the common-mode and differential-mode (CMDM technique for compact, planar, distributed-element quadrature transmit/receive resonators for MR signal excitation and detection and to investigate its performance for MR imaging, particularly, at ultrahigh magnetic fields. A prototype resonator based on CMDM method implemented by using microstrip transmission line was designed and fabricated for 7T imaging. Both the common mode (CM and the differential mode (DM of the resonator were tuned and matched at 298MHz independently. Numerical electromagnetic simulation was performed to verify the orthogonal B1 field direction of the two modes of the CMDM resonator. Both workbench tests and MR imaging experiments were carried out to evaluate the performance. The intrinsic decoupling between the two modes of the CMDM resonator was demonstrated by the bench test, showing a better than -36 dB transmission coefficient between the two modes at resonance frequency. The MR images acquired by using each mode and the images combined in quadrature showed that the CM and DM of the proposed resonator provided similar B1 coverage and achieved SNR improvement in the entire region of interest. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed CMDM method with distributed-element transmission line technique is a feasible and efficient technique for planar quadrature RF coil design at ultrahigh fields, providing intrinsic decoupling between two quadrature channels and high frequency capability. Due to its simple and compact geometry and easy implementation of decoupling methods, the CMDM quadrature resonator can possibly be a good candidate for design blocks in multichannel RF coil arrays.

Absolute symbolic addressing, a structure making time-sharing easier

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Debraine, P.

1968-08-01

Time-sharing of computers asks for a certain number of conditions, particularly, an efficient dynamic loading of programs and data. This paper indicates a paging method making linkages with a minimum of table-looking operations. The principle is to use associative memory registers for calling blocks of physical memory, the block address being given by the concatenation of a file number (located in a base register) and a page number (located in the instruction proper). The position within the block is given by a displacement located in the instruction. A second associated base register contains the local part (page number + displacement) of the base address. This extended base register system allows executing programs in a very large programming complex without loss of time. The addresses are fixed at assembly time and the blocks can be loaded anywhere without modification for execution. The various problems associated with the execution of complex programs are presented in this context and shown to be easily solved by the proposed system, the realization of which would be very easy starting from the computer structures existing now. (author) [fr

Advantages and limitations of common testing methods for antioxidants.

Science.gov (United States)

Amorati, R; Valgimigli, L

2015-05-01

Owing to the importance of antioxidants in the protection of both natural and man-made materials, a large variety of testing methods have been proposed and applied. These include methods based on inhibited autoxidation studies, which are better followed by monitoring the kinetics of oxygen consumption or of the formation of hydroperoxides, the primary oxidation products. Analytical determination of secondary oxidation products (e.g. carbonyl compounds) has also been used. The majority of testing methods, however, do not involve substrate autoxidation. They are based on the competitive bleaching of a probe (e.g. ORAC assay, β-carotene, crocin bleaching assays, and luminol assay), on reaction with a different probe (e.g. spin-trapping and TOSC assay), or they are indirect methods based on the reduction of persistent radicals (e.g. galvinoxyl, DPPH and TEAC assays), or of inorganic oxidizing species (e.g. FRAP, CUPRAC and Folin-Ciocalteu assays). Yet other methods are specific for preventive antioxidants. The relevance, advantages, and limitations of these methods are critically discussed, with respect to their chemistry and the mechanisms of antioxidant activity. A variety of cell-based assays have also been proposed, to investigate the biological activity of antioxidants. Their importance and critical aspects are discussed, along with arguments for the selection of the appropriate testing methods according to the different needs.

Resistive content addressable memory based in-memory computation architecture

KAUST Repository

Salama, Khaled N.; Zidan, Mohammed A.; Kurdahi, Fadi; Eltawil, Ahmed M.

2016-01-01

Various examples are provided examples related to resistive content addressable memory (RCAM) based in-memory computation architectures. In one example, a system includes a content addressable memory (CAM) including an array of cells having a memristor based crossbar and an interconnection switch matrix having a gateless memristor array, which is coupled to an output of the CAM. In another example, a method, includes comparing activated bit values stored a key register with corresponding bit values in a row of a CAM, setting a tag bit value to indicate that the activated bit values match the corresponding bit values, and writing masked key bit values to corresponding bit locations in the row of the CAM based on the tag bit value.

Resistive content addressable memory based in-memory computation architecture

KAUST Repository

Salama, Khaled N.

2016-12-08

Various examples are provided examples related to resistive content addressable memory (RCAM) based in-memory computation architectures. In one example, a system includes a content addressable memory (CAM) including an array of cells having a memristor based crossbar and an interconnection switch matrix having a gateless memristor array, which is coupled to an output of the CAM. In another example, a method, includes comparing activated bit values stored a key register with corresponding bit values in a row of a CAM, setting a tag bit value to indicate that the activated bit values match the corresponding bit values, and writing masked key bit values to corresponding bit locations in the row of the CAM based on the tag bit value.

Assessing the impact of natural policy experiments on socioeconomic inequalities in health: how to apply commonly used quantitative analytical methods?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yannan Hu

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The scientific evidence-base for policies to tackle health inequalities is limited. Natural policy experiments (NPE have drawn increasing attention as a means to evaluating the effects of policies on health. Several analytical methods can be used to evaluate the outcomes of NPEs in terms of average population health, but it is unclear whether they can also be used to assess the outcomes of NPEs in terms of health inequalities. The aim of this study therefore was to assess whether, and to demonstrate how, a number of commonly used analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs can be applied to quantify the effect of policies on health inequalities. Methods We identified seven quantitative analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs: regression adjustment, propensity score matching, difference-in-differences analysis, fixed effects analysis, instrumental variable analysis, regression discontinuity and interrupted time-series. We assessed whether these methods can be used to quantify the effect of policies on the magnitude of health inequalities either by conducting a stratified analysis or by including an interaction term, and illustrated both approaches in a fictitious numerical example. Results All seven methods can be used to quantify the equity impact of policies on absolute and relative inequalities in health by conducting an analysis stratified by socioeconomic position, and all but one (propensity score matching can be used to quantify equity impacts by inclusion of an interaction term between socioeconomic position and policy exposure. Conclusion Methods commonly used in economics and econometrics for the evaluation of NPEs can also be applied to assess the equity impact of policies, and our illustrations provide guidance on how to do this appropriately. The low external validity of results from instrumental variable analysis and regression discontinuity makes these methods less desirable for assessing policy effects

Addressing the common pathway underlying hypertension and diabetes in people who are obese by maximizing health: the ultimate knowledge translation gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Elizabeth; Lomi, Constantina; Bruno, Selma; Awad, Hamzeh; O'Donoghue, Grainne

2011-03-06

In accordance with the WHO definition of health, this article examines the alarming discord between the epidemiology of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and obesity and the low profile of noninvasive (nondrug) compared with invasive (drug) interventions with respect to their prevention, reversal and management. Herein lies the ultimate knowledge translation gap and challenge in 21st century health care. Although lifestyle modification has long appeared in guidelines for medically managing these conditions, this evidence-based strategy is seldom implemented as rigorously as drug prescription. Biomedicine focuses largely on reducing signs and symptoms; the effects of the problem rather than the problem. This article highlights the evidence-based rationale supporting prioritizing the underlying causes and contributing factors for hypertension and T2DM, and, in turn, obesity. We argue that a primary focus on maximizing health could eliminate all three conditions, at best, or, at worst, minimize their severity, complications, and medication needs. To enable such knowledge translation and maximizing health outcome, the health care community needs to practice as an integrated team, and address barriers to effecting maximal health in all patients. Addressing the ultimate knowledge translation gap, by aligning the health care paradigm to 21st century needs, would constitute a major advance.

Addressing the Common Pathway Underlying Hypertension and Diabetes in People Who Are Obese by Maximizing Health: The Ultimate Knowledge Translation Gap

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Dean

2011-01-01

Full Text Available In accordance with the WHO definition of health, this article examines the alarming discord between the epidemiology of hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM, and obesity and the low profile of noninvasive (nondrug compared with invasive (drug interventions with respect to their prevention, reversal and management. Herein lies the ultimate knowledge translation gap and challenge in 21st century health care. Although lifestyle modification has long appeared in guidelines for medically managing these conditions, this evidence-based strategy is seldom implemented as rigorously as drug prescription. Biomedicine focuses largely on reducing signs and symptoms; the effects of the problem rather than the problem. This article highlights the evidence-based rationale supporting prioritizing the underlying causes and contributing factors for hypertension and T2DM, and, in turn, obesity. We argue that a primary focus on maximizing health could eliminate all three conditions, at best, or, at worst, minimize their severity, complications, and medication needs. To enable such knowledge translation and maximizing health outcome, the health care community needs to practice as an integrated team, and address barriers to effecting maximal health in all patients. Addressing the ultimate knowledge translation gap, by aligning the health care paradigm to 21st century needs, would constitute a major advance.

The Virtual Learning Commons (VLC): Enabling Co-Innovation Across Disciplines

Science.gov (United States)

Pennington, D. D.; Gandara, A.; Del Rio, N.

2014-12-01

A key challenge for scientists addressing grand-challenge problems is identifying, understanding, and integrating potentially relevant methods, models and tools that that are rapidly evolving in the informatics community. Such tools are essential for effectively integrating data and models in complex research projects, yet it is often difficult to know what tools are available and it is not easy to understand or evaluate how they might be used in a given research context. The goal of the National Science Foundation-funded Virtual Learning Commons (VLC) is to improve awareness and understanding of emerging methodologies and technologies, facilitate individual and group evaluation of these, and trace the impact of innovations within and across teams, disciplines, and communities. The VLC is a Web-based social bookmarking site designed specifically to support knowledge exchange in research communities. It is founded on well-developed models of technology adoption, diffusion of innovation, and experiential learning. The VLC makes use of Web 2.0 (Social Web) and Web 3.0 (Semantic Web) approaches. Semantic Web approaches enable discovery of potentially relevant methods, models, and tools, while Social Web approaches enable collaborative learning about their function. The VLC is under development and the first release is expected Fall 2014.

An engineering approach to common mode failure analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gangloff, W.C.; Franke, T.H.

1975-01-01

Safety systems for nuclear reactors can be designed using standard reliability engineering techniques such that system failure due to random component faults is extremely unlikely. However, the common-mode failure where several components fail together from a common cause is not susceptible to prevention by the usual tactics. In systems where a high degree of redundancy has been employed, the actual reliability of the system in service may be limited by common-mode failures. A methodical and thorough procedure for evaluation of system vulnerability to common-mode failures is presented. This procedure was developed for use in nuclear reactor safety systems and has been applied specifically to reactor protection. The method offers a qualitative assessment of a system whereby weak points can be identified and the resistance to common-mode failure can be judged. It takes into account all factors influencing system performance including design, manufacturing, installation, operation, testing, and maintenance. It is not a guarantee or sure solution, but rather a practical tool which can provide good assurance that the probability of common-mode protection failure has been made acceptably low. (author)

Using variable transformations to perform common event analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worrell, R.B.

1977-01-01

Any analytical method for studying the effect of common events on the behavior of a system is considered as being a form of common event analysis. The particular common events that are involved often represent quite different phenomena, and this has led to the development of different kinds of common event analysis. For example, common mode failure analysis, common cause analysis, critical location analysis, etc., are all different kinds of common event analysis for which the common events involved represent different phenomena. However, the problem that must be solved for each of these different kinds of common event analysis is essentially the same: Determine the effect of common events on the behavior of a system. Thus, a technique that is useful in achieving one kind of common event analysis is often useful in achieving other kinds of common event analysis

Addressing Next Generation Science Standards: A Method for Supporting Classroom Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Pellien, Tamara; Rothenburger, Lisa

2014-01-01

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) will define science education for the foreseeable future, yet many educators struggle to see the bridge between current practice and future practices. The inquiry-based methods used by Extension professionals (Kress, 2006) can serve as a guide for classroom educators. Described herein is a method of…

Common Core Standards, Professional Texts, and Diverse Learners: A Qualitative Content Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Yanoff, Elizabeth; LaDuke, Aja; Lindner, Mary

2014-01-01

This research study questioned the degree to which six professional texts guiding implementation of the Common Core Standards in reading address the needs of diverse learners. For the purposes of this research, diverse learners were specifically defined as above grade level readers, below grade level readers, and English learners. The researchers…

33 CFR 135.9 - Fund address.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND COMPENSATION OFFSHORE OIL POLLUTION COMPENSATION FUND General § 135.9 Fund address. The address to which correspondence relating to the Coast Guard's administration of the Fund... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Fund address. 135.9 Section 135.9...

Sub-stoichiometric isotope dilution analysis method for the determination of iodine in common salts using iodine-131 tracer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Singh, Vivek; Garg, A.N.

1994-01-01

A sub-stoichiometric isotope dilution analysis (SIDA) method was developed for the determination of iodine in different brands of common salts. An aqueous salt solution containing 131 I tracer and NaI as carrier is oxidized by tartaric acid and KIO 3 and the liberated iodine is extracted with CCl 4 . To the extract an aqueous solution of AgNO 3 is added in substoichiometric amount to obtain a colloidal solution of AgI. On adding sodium thiosulfate solution, the NaI so formed passes into aqueous solution, which is then counted. Several different brands of salt were analysed. The method is especially suitable for the determination of microgram amounts of iodide in the presence of excess of chloride. (Author)

Assessing the impact of natural policy experiments on socioeconomic inequalities in health: how to apply commonly used quantitative analytical methods?

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yannan; van Lenthe, Frank J; Hoffmann, Rasmus; van Hedel, Karen; Mackenbach, Johan P

2017-04-20

The scientific evidence-base for policies to tackle health inequalities is limited. Natural policy experiments (NPE) have drawn increasing attention as a means to evaluating the effects of policies on health. Several analytical methods can be used to evaluate the outcomes of NPEs in terms of average population health, but it is unclear whether they can also be used to assess the outcomes of NPEs in terms of health inequalities. The aim of this study therefore was to assess whether, and to demonstrate how, a number of commonly used analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs can be applied to quantify the effect of policies on health inequalities. We identified seven quantitative analytical methods for the evaluation of NPEs: regression adjustment, propensity score matching, difference-in-differences analysis, fixed effects analysis, instrumental variable analysis, regression discontinuity and interrupted time-series. We assessed whether these methods can be used to quantify the effect of policies on the magnitude of health inequalities either by conducting a stratified analysis or by including an interaction term, and illustrated both approaches in a fictitious numerical example. All seven methods can be used to quantify the equity impact of policies on absolute and relative inequalities in health by conducting an analysis stratified by socioeconomic position, and all but one (propensity score matching) can be used to quantify equity impacts by inclusion of an interaction term between socioeconomic position and policy exposure. Methods commonly used in economics and econometrics for the evaluation of NPEs can also be applied to assess the equity impact of policies, and our illustrations provide guidance on how to do this appropriately. The low external validity of results from instrumental variable analysis and regression discontinuity makes these methods less desirable for assessing policy effects on population-level health inequalities. Increased use of the

Mathematical methods in time series analysis and digital image processing

CERN Document Server

Kurths, J; Maass, P; Timmer, J

2008-01-01

The aim of this volume is to bring together research directions in theoretical signal and imaging processing developed rather independently in electrical engineering, theoretical physics, mathematics and the computer sciences. In particular, mathematically justified algorithms and methods, the mathematical analysis of these algorithms, and methods as well as the investigation of connections between methods from time series analysis and image processing are reviewed. An interdisciplinary comparison of these methods, drawing upon common sets of test problems from medicine and geophysical/enviromental sciences, is also addressed. This volume coherently summarizes work carried out in the field of theoretical signal and image processing. It focuses on non-linear and non-parametric models for time series as well as on adaptive methods in image processing.

Addressing the nuclear misconception

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, J.J.

1998-01-01

There is a perception, fostered and encouraged by the anti-nuclear groups, that the nuclear industry generates large quantities of waste with no idea how to deal with it, that it is unsafe, uneconomic, and environmentally damaging. The task is to change these perceptions, by demonstrating that the industry is not a problem in itself, but in fact provides solutions to problems. This paper, while primarily concerned with waste, addresses all of these issues as each has a bearing on the perception of the industry and therefore must be considered when addressing the issue of waste. The paper concludes that evidence exists to support the industry view, but that the mission of the industry should be to change the perception of the industry, by influencing and working together with its stake holders to address their concerns, rather than merely presenting more and more facts. (author)

Differences in Movement Pattern and Detectability between Males and Females Influence How Common Sampling Methods Estimate Sex Ratio.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

João Fabrício Mota Rodrigues

Full Text Available Sampling the biodiversity is an essential step for conservation, and understanding the efficiency of sampling methods allows us to estimate the quality of our biodiversity data. Sex ratio is an important population characteristic, but until now, no study has evaluated how efficient are the sampling methods commonly used in biodiversity surveys in estimating the sex ratio of populations. We used a virtual ecologist approach to investigate whether active and passive capture methods are able to accurately sample a population's sex ratio and whether differences in movement pattern and detectability between males and females produce biased estimates of sex-ratios when using these methods. Our simulation allowed the recognition of individuals, similar to mark-recapture studies. We found that differences in both movement patterns and detectability between males and females produce biased estimates of sex ratios. However, increasing the sampling effort or the number of sampling days improves the ability of passive or active capture methods to properly sample sex ratio. Thus, prior knowledge regarding movement patterns and detectability for species is important information to guide field studies aiming to understand sex ratio related patterns.

Differences in Movement Pattern and Detectability between Males and Females Influence How Common Sampling Methods Estimate Sex Ratio.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodrigues, João Fabrício Mota; Coelho, Marco Túlio Pacheco

2016-01-01

Sampling the biodiversity is an essential step for conservation, and understanding the efficiency of sampling methods allows us to estimate the quality of our biodiversity data. Sex ratio is an important population characteristic, but until now, no study has evaluated how efficient are the sampling methods commonly used in biodiversity surveys in estimating the sex ratio of populations. We used a virtual ecologist approach to investigate whether active and passive capture methods are able to accurately sample a population's sex ratio and whether differences in movement pattern and detectability between males and females produce biased estimates of sex-ratios when using these methods. Our simulation allowed the recognition of individuals, similar to mark-recapture studies. We found that differences in both movement patterns and detectability between males and females produce biased estimates of sex ratios. However, increasing the sampling effort or the number of sampling days improves the ability of passive or active capture methods to properly sample sex ratio. Thus, prior knowledge regarding movement patterns and detectability for species is important information to guide field studies aiming to understand sex ratio related patterns.

Common cause failures of reactor pressure components

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mankamo, T.

1978-01-01

The common cause failure is defined as a multiple failure event due to a common cause. The existence of common failure causes may ruin the potential advantages of applying redundancy for reliability improvement. Examples relevant to large mechanical components are presented. Preventive measures against common cause failures, such as physical separation, equipment diversity, quality assurance, and feedback from experience are discussed. Despite the large number of potential interdependencies, the analysis of common cause failures can be done within the framework of conventional reliability analysis, utilizing, for example, the method of deriving minimal cut sets from a system fault tree. Tools for the description and evaluation of dependencies between components are discussed: these include the model of conditional failure causes that are common to many components, and evaluation of the reliability of redundant components subjected to a common load. (author)

Control Methods for Energy Management of Refrigeration Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shafiei, Seyed Ehsan

is decreased as the method does not need an explicit model of the system and, at the same time, the desired load following performance is attained. Recent research findings indicate that the refrigeration system commonly employed in food transportation can account for 40% of the total greenhouse gas emissions...... from the corresponding vehicle engines. Finally, the problem of optimization of a hybrid transport refrigeration system is addressed here. The hybrid refrigeration system is made by the integration of conventional refrigeration technology with thermal energy storage devices....

The First 100 Years of American College of Surgeons Presidential Addresses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghanem, Omar M; Heitmiller, Richard F

2016-01-01

We reviewed the first 100 years of presidential addresses delivered at the fall congress of the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Our hypothesis was that these addresses would be an excellent indicator of the College's position on surgical policy, ethics, methods, and education. All ACS presidential addresses from 1913 to 2013 were identified through the ACS archives website. This included the presenter, title, year, and citation if published in a peer reviewed journal. The text of each address was obtained from the ACS archives, or from the listed citations. Addresses were then classified into 1 of 6 subgroups based on content-surgical credo, medical innovation, medical education, surgical history, business and legal, and personal tribute. The 100-year period was divided into 5 interval each of 20-year and the frequency of each category was graphed over time. There were 111 ACS presidential addresses delivered in the study period. Distribution by category was surgical credo (57%), surgical history (14%), medical innovation (10%), medical education (8%), business and legal (6%), and personal tributes (5%). The frequency of surgical credo has remained stable over time. Business and legal emerged as a new category in 1975. The other topics had low, but stable frequency. ACS presidential addresses do reflect the College's position on surgical policy and practice. The college has remained consistent in serving its members, maintaining, and defining the role of its organization, the qualifications for membership, and the expectations for the professional conduct of its members. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Realization and Addressing Analysis In Blockchain Bitcoin

Science.gov (United States)

Sakti Arief Daulay, Raja; Michrandi Nasution, Surya; Paryasto, Marisa W.

2017-11-01

The implementation research and analyze address blockchain on this bitcoin will have the results that refers to making address bitcoin a safe and boost security of address the bitcoin. The working mechanism of blockchain in making address bitcoin which is already in the blockchain system.

Effects of common hemoglobin variants on HbA1c measurements in China: results for α- and β-globin variants measured by six methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Anping; Chen, Weidong; Xia, Yong; Zhou, Yu; Ji, Ling

2018-04-07

HbA1c is a widely used biomarker for diabetes mellitus management. Here, we evaluated the accuracy of six methods for determining HbA1c values in Chinese patients with common α- and β-globin chains variants in China. Blood samples from normal subjects and individuals exhibiting hemoglobin variants were analyzed for HbA1c, using Sebia Capillarys 2 Flex Piercing (C2FP), Bio-Rad Variant II Turbo 2.0, Tosoh HLC-723 G8 (ver. 5.24), Arkray ADAMS A1c HA-8180V fast mode, Cobas c501 and Trinity Ultra2 systems. DNA sequencing revealed five common β-globin chain variants and three common α-globin chain variants. The most common variant was Hb E, followed by Hb New York, Hb J-Bangkok, Hb G-Coushatta, Hb Q-Thailand, Hb G-Honolulu, Hb Ube-2 and Hb G-Taipei. Variant II Turbo 2.0, Ultra2 and Cobas c501 showed good agreement with C2FP for most samples with variants. HLC-723 G8 yielded no HbA1c values for Hb J-Bangkok, Hb Q-Thailand and Hb G-Honolulu. Samples with Hb E, Hb G-Coushatta, Hb G-Taipei and Hb Ube-2 produced significant negative biases for HLC-723 G8. HA-8180V showed statistically significant differences for Hb E, Hb G-Coushatta, Hb G-Taipei, Hb Q-Thailand and Hb G-Honolulu. HA-8180V yielded no HbA1c values for Hb J-Bangkok. All methods showed good agreement for samples with Hb New York. Some common hemoglobin variants can interfere with HbA1c determination by the most popular methods in China.

Address Points, The Address Point layer contains an address point for almost every structure over 200 square feet and for some vacant properties. Attributes include addresses, sub-units, address use, LAT/LONG, 10-digit SDAT taxpins, political areas and more., Published in 2013, 1:2400 (1in=200ft) scale, Baltimore County Government.

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Local Govt | GIS Inventory — Address Points dataset current as of 2013. The Address Point layer contains an address point for almost every structure over 200 square feet and for some vacant...

21 CFR 1321.01 - DEA mailing addresses.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false DEA mailing addresses. 1321.01 Section 1321.01 Food and Drugs DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE DEA MAILING ADDRESSES § 1321.01 DEA mailing addresses. The following table provides information regarding mailing addresses to be used...

IP Address Management Principles and Practice

CERN Document Server

Rooney, Timothy

2010-01-01

This book will be the first covering the subject of IP address management (IPAM). The practice of IPAM includes the application of network management disciplines to IP address space and associated network services, namely DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) and DNS (Domain Name System). The consequence of inaccurately configuring DHCP is that end users may not be able to obtain IP addresses to access the network. Without proper DNS configuration, usability of the network will greatly suffer as the name-to-address lookup process may fail. Imagine having to navigate to a website or send a

Providing cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses to patients: The patient’s perspective, a cross sectional study

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Today patients can consult with their treating physician by cell phone or e-mail. These means of communication enhance the quality of medical care and increase patient satisfaction, but they can also impinge on physicians’ free time and their patient schedule while at work. The objective of this study is to assess the attitudes and practice of patients on obtaining the cell phone number or e-mail address of their physician for the purpose of medical consultation. Methods Personal interviews with patients, 18 years of age or above, selected by random sampling from the roster of adults insured by Clalit Health Services, Southern Division. The total response rate was 41%. The questionnaire included questions on the attitude and practice of patients towards obtaining their physician’s cell phone number or e-mail address. Comparisons were performed using Chi-square tests to analyze statistically significant differences of categorical variables. Two-tailed p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant, with a power of 0.8. Results The study sample included 200 patients with a mean age of 46.6 ± 17.1, of whom 110 were women (55%). Ninety-three (46.5%) responded that they would be very interested in obtaining their physician’s cell phone number, and an additional 83 (41.5%) would not object to obtaining it. Of the 171 patients (85.5%) who had e-mail addresses, 25 (14.6%) said they would be very interested in obtaining their physician’s e-mail address, 85 (49.7%) said they would not object to getting it, and 61 (35.7%) were not interested. In practice only one patient had requested the physician’s e-mail address and none actually had it. Conclusions Patients favored cell phones over e-mail for consulting with their treating physicians. With new technologies such as cell phones and e-mail in common use, it is important to determine how they can be best used and how they should be integrated into the flow of clinical practice

Providing cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses to patients: The patient’s perspective, a cross sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peleg Roni

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Today patients can consult with their treating physician by cell phone or e-mail. These means of communication enhance the quality of medical care and increase patient satisfaction, but they can also impinge on physicians’ free time and their patient schedule while at work. The objective of this study is to assess the attitudes and practice of patients on obtaining the cell phone number or e-mail address of their physician for the purpose of medical consultation. Methods Personal interviews with patients, 18 years of age or above, selected by random sampling from the roster of adults insured by Clalit Health Services, Southern Division. The total response rate was 41%. The questionnaire included questions on the attitude and practice of patients towards obtaining their physician’s cell phone number or e-mail address. Comparisons were performed using Chi-square tests to analyze statistically significant differences of categorical variables. Two-tailed p values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant, with a power of 0.8. Results The study sample included 200 patients with a mean age of 46.6 ± 17.1, of whom 110 were women (55%. Ninety-three (46.5% responded that they would be very interested in obtaining their physician’s cell phone number, and an additional 83 (41.5% would not object to obtaining it. Of the 171 patients (85.5% who had e-mail addresses, 25 (14.6% said they would be very interested in obtaining their physician’s e-mail address, 85 (49.7% said they would not object to getting it, and 61 (35.7% were not interested. In practice only one patient had requested the physician’s e-mail address and none actually had it. Conclusions Patients favored cell phones over e-mail for consulting with their treating physicians. With new technologies such as cell phones and e-mail in common use, it is important to determine how they can be best used and how they should be integrated into the flow

S-curve networks and an approximate method for estimating degree distributions of complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Jin-Li

2010-12-01

In the study of complex networks almost all theoretical models have the property of infinite growth, but the size of actual networks is finite. According to statistics from the China Internet IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) addresses, this paper proposes a forecasting model by using S curve (logistic curve). The growing trend of IPv4 addresses in China is forecasted. There are some reference values for optimizing the distribution of IPv4 address resource and the development of IPv6. Based on the laws of IPv4 growth, that is, the bulk growth and the finitely growing limit, it proposes a finite network model with a bulk growth. The model is said to be an S-curve network. Analysis demonstrates that the analytic method based on uniform distributions (i.e., Barabási-Albert method) is not suitable for the network. It develops an approximate method to predict the growth dynamics of the individual nodes, and uses this to calculate analytically the degree distribution and the scaling exponents. The analytical result agrees with the simulation well, obeying an approximately power-law form. This method can overcome a shortcoming of Barabási-Albert method commonly used in current network research.

S-curve networks and an approximate method for estimating degree distributions of complex networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Jin-Li

2010-01-01

In the study of complex networks almost all theoretical models have the property of infinite growth, but the size of actual networks is finite. According to statistics from the China Internet IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) addresses, this paper proposes a forecasting model by using S curve (logistic curve). The growing trend of IPv4 addresses in China is forecasted. There are some reference values for optimizing the distribution of IPv4 address resource and the development of IPv6. Based on the laws of IPv4 growth, that is, the bulk growth and the finitely growing limit, it proposes a finite network model with a bulk growth. The model is said to be an S-curve network. Analysis demonstrates that the analytic method based on uniform distributions (i.e., Barabási-Albert method) is not suitable for the network. It develops an approximate method to predict the growth dynamics of the individual nodes, and uses this to calculate analytically the degree distribution and the scaling exponents. The analytical result agrees with the simulation well, obeying an approximately power-law form. This method can overcome a shortcoming of Barabási-Albert method commonly used in current network research. (general)

Common ataxia telangiectasia mutated haplotypes and risk of breast cancer: a nested case–control study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamimi, Rulla M; Hankinson, Susan E; Spiegelman, Donna; Kraft, Peter; Colditz, Graham A; Hunter, David J

2004-01-01

The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene is a tumor suppressor gene with functions in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Based on family studies, women heterozygous for mutations in the ATM gene are reported to have a fourfold to fivefold increased risk of breast cancer compared with noncarriers of the mutations, although not all studies have confirmed this association. Haplotype analysis has been suggested as an efficient method for investigating the role of common variation in the ATM gene and breast cancer. Five biallelic haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms are estimated to capture 99% of the haplotype diversity in Caucasian populations. We conducted a nested case–control study of breast cancer within the Nurses' Health Study cohort to address the role of common ATM haplotypes and breast cancer. Cases and controls were genotyped for five haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms. Haplotypes were predicted for 1309 cases and 1761 controls for which genotype information was available. Six unique haplotypes were predicted in this study, five of which occur at a frequency of 5% or greater. The overall distribution of haplotypes was not significantly different between cases and controls (χ 2 = 3.43, five degrees of freedom, P = 0.63). There was no evidence that common haplotypes of ATM are associated with breast cancer risk. Extensive single nucleotide polymorphism detection using the entire genomic sequence of ATM will be necessary to rule out less common variation in ATM and sporadic breast cancer risk

The systematic profiling of false identity documents: method validation and performance evaluation using seizures known to originate from common and different sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Baechler, Simon; Terrasse, Vincent; Pujol, Jean-Philippe; Fritz, Thibaud; Ribaux, Olivier; Margot, Pierre

2013-10-10

False identity documents constitute a potential powerful source of forensic intelligence because they are essential elements of transnational crime and provide cover for organized crime. In previous work, a systematic profiling method using false documents' visual features has been built within a forensic intelligence model. In the current study, the comparison process and metrics lying at the heart of this profiling method are described and evaluated. This evaluation takes advantage of 347 false identity documents of four different types seized in two countries whose sources were known to be common or different (following police investigations and dismantling of counterfeit factories). Intra-source and inter-sources variations were evaluated through the computation of more than 7500 similarity scores. The profiling method could thus be validated and its performance assessed using two complementary approaches to measuring type I and type II error rates: a binary classification and the computation of likelihood ratios. Very low error rates were measured across the four document types, demonstrating the validity and robustness of the method to link documents to a common source or to differentiate them. These results pave the way for an operational implementation of a systematic profiling process integrated in a developed forensic intelligence model. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Do Faith Communities Have a Role in Addressing Childhood Obesity?

Science.gov (United States)

Opalinski, Andra; Dyess, Susan; Grooper, Sareen

2015-01-01

Pediatric obesity is a multifaceted phenomenon. A partnership with faith-based communities to address the issue has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to describe the cultural beliefs of faith community leaders regarding childhood obesity and to examine attitudes about their role in addressing the issue. A qualitative descriptive design informed by ethnographic methods and triangulation of multiple data sources was utilized to assess the cultural beliefs of faith community leaders. A purposive sample of 13 leaders (nine females, four males) from seven multicultural and multigenerational local faith communities participated in the study. No more than three participants from any one faith community were enrolled in the study. Twenty-first century lifestyle challenges, accountability of behaviors (a dichotomy that fluctuated between individual responsibility to community and/or social responsibility), and the need for intentionality emerged as themes from the data. Faith community leaders envisioned a role for faith communities in addressing childhood obesity. Findings support the ongoing development of population based health promotion programs through faith community engagement. The findings provide a foundation for nurses partnering with faith communities on health promotion programs targeting childhood obesity to address family health issues in a holistic way. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Impact Pathways to Address Social Well-Being and Social Justice in SLCA—Fair Wage and Level of Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sabrina Neugebauer

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Social well-being and social justice are meant to create a positive outcome meaningful for people and societies. According to the guidelines of social life cycle assessment, especially well-being should be considered as the main area of protection to assess social impacts of products. In addition, equity and equality need to be addressed in terms of social justice to ensure a fair and ethic society. However, even if a lot of studies focused on the definition social indicators to assess resulting impacts, neither have scientific or common agreements been founded to define a valid set of indicators, nor have consistent pathways from inventory towards impact indicators been established. This work, therefore, proposes possible pathways from life cycle inventory to impact assessment of two social midpoint categories: fair wage and level of education. Respective cause-effect-chains are developed based on the environmental life cycle assessment principle. Correspondingly, social inventory indicators throughout direct impacts to midpoint and endpoint categories are defined. Three endpoint categories are included (economic welfare, damage to human health and environmental stability to address social well-being and social justice. Qualitative characterization factors and a scaling method are proposed to evaluate the impacts according to threshold and reference values from valuable literature.

Common Courses for Common Purposes:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schaub Jr, Gary John

2014-01-01

(PME)? I suggest three alternative paths that increased cooperation in PME at the level of the command and staff course could take: a Nordic Defence College, standardized national command and staff courses, and a core curriculum of common courses for common purposes. I conclude with a discussion of how...

Common themes, methods, and applications in multiscale science

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, G.A. Jr.

1997-10-01

In 1993, under the leadership of Richard Slansky, the T-Division Director, an initiative was started to facilitate cross communications and interactions between a large number of different workers who were, from their own perspectives and with regard to their own challenges, in fact working on very difficult problems which involved multiple size and time scales. The realization of this common element had the potential for valuable mutual interaction. His initiative led initially to a competency development initiative and subsequently to a broadening recognition of the importance of multiscale science and a broadening application of it to problems and concerns inherent in significant fields of endeavor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. One of the aspects of this effort was a series of meetings which emphasizes cross communication between the workers. It was realized early on that this cross communication would be fare more effective, considering the difficult technical nature and that the range of the material was well outside the area of specialization of individual members of the group, if notes were taken, written up, and disseminated. This report represents the collection of these notes.

Improved Focusing Method for 3-D Imaging using Row–Column-Addressed 2-D Arrays

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bouzari, Hamed; Engholm, Mathias; Stuart, Matthias Bo

2017-01-01

A row–column-addressed (RCA) 2-D array can be interpreted as two orthogonal 1-D arrays. By transmitting with row elements and receiving the echoes through column elements or vice versa, a rectilinear volume in front of the array can be beamformed. Since the transmit and receive 1-D arrays are ort...... measurements with a PZT λ/2-pitch 3 MHz 62+62 RCA 2-D transducer probe. A synthetic aperture imaging sequence with single element transmissions at a time, is designed for imaging down to 14 cm at a volume rate of 44 Hz....

Comparison of Methods for Adjusting Incorrect Assignments of Items to Subtests Oblique Multiple Group Method Versus Confirmatory Common Factor Method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stuive, Ilse; Kiers, Henk A.L.; Timmerman, Marieke E.

2009-01-01

A common question in test evaluation is whether an a priori assignment of items to subtests is supported by empirical data. If the analysis results indicate the assignment of items to subtests under study is not supported by data, the assignment is often adjusted. In this study the authors compare

Sexual behaviour research using the survey method: a critique of the literature over the last six years.

Science.gov (United States)

Malacad, Brea L; Hess, Gretchen C

2011-10-01

The survey method is often used to identify trends in sexual behaviour and attitudes. In order for research conclusions to be valid, however, data gathered from surveys must be unambiguous. For the current paper we reviewed survey research of sexual behaviour published in recent years. Our objective was to identify common methodological issues and provide recommendations for how to address them. We examined 62 articles, published in four prominent sexual health journals over the past six years. We evaluated each article based on how adequately its authors addressed four recurring methodological issues: ambiguous terminology, heterosexual bias, procedures that compromise honesty in responses, and survey language/literacy considerations. The review revealed some recurring issues: 47% of the studies failed to address the question of sexual orientation, sexual behaviour terminology was explicitly defined in only 32% of questionnaires, fewer than 5% of surveys clarified whether the sexual encounters in question were consensual, and 21% of the articles contained no mention of anonymity or confidentiality for participants. These results reveal common issues with survey data that compromise the validity of findings. In order to have confidence in research conclusions and recommendations, it is important that these issues be addressed.

Housing, Transportation, And Food: How ACOs Seek To Improve Population Health By Addressing Nonmedical Needs Of Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fraze, Taressa; Lewis, Valerie A; Rodriguez, Hector P; Fisher, Elliott S

2016-11-01

Addressing nonmedical needs-such as the need for housing-is critical to advancing population health, improving the quality of care, and lowering the costs of care. Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are well positioned to address these needs. We used qualitative interviews with ACO leaders and site visits to examine how these organizations addressed the nonmedical needs of their patients, and the extent to which they did so. We developed a typology of medical and social services integration among ACOs that disentangles service and organizational integration. We found that the nonmedical needs most commonly addressed by ACOs were the need for transportation and housing and food insecurity. ACOs identified nonmedical needs through processes that were part of the primary care visit or care transformation programs. Approaches to meeting patients' nonmedical needs were either individualized solutions (developed patient by patient) or targeted approaches (programs developed to address specific needs). As policy makers continue to provide incentives for health care organizations to meet a broader spectrum of patients' needs, these findings offer insights into how health care organizations such as ACOs integrate themselves with nonmedical organizations. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Common processes at unique volcanoes – a volcanological conundrum

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katharine eCashman

2014-11-01

Full Text Available An emerging challenge in modern volcanology is the apparent contradiction between the perception that every volcano is unique, and classification systems based on commonalities among volcano morphology and eruptive style. On the one hand, detailed studies of individual volcanoes show that a single volcano often exhibits similar patterns of behaviour over multiple eruptive episodes; this observation has led to the idea that each volcano has its own distinctive pattern of behaviour (or personality. In contrast, volcano classification schemes define eruption styles referenced to type volcanoes (e.g. Plinian, Strombolian, Vulcanian; this approach implicitly assumes that common processes underpin volcanic activity and can be used to predict the nature, extent and ensuing hazards of individual volcanoes. Actual volcanic eruptions, however, often include multiple styles, and type volcanoes may experience atypical eruptions (e.g., violent explosive eruptions of Kilauea, Hawaii1. The volcanological community is thus left with a fundamental conundrum that pits the uniqueness of individual volcanic systems against generalization of common processes. Addressing this challenge represents a major challenge to volcano research.

Reading handprinted addresses on IRS tax forms

Science.gov (United States)

Ramanaprasad, Vemulapati; Shin, Yong-Chul; Srihari, Sargur N.

1996-03-01

The hand-printed address recognition system described in this paper is a part of the Name and Address Block Reader (NABR) system developed by the Center of Excellence for Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR). NABR is currently being used by the IRS to read address blocks (hand-print as well as machine-print) on fifteen different tax forms. Although machine- print address reading was relatively straightforward, hand-print address recognition has posed some special challenges due to demands on processing speed (with an expected throughput of 8450 forms/hour) and recognition accuracy. We discuss various subsystems involved in hand- printed address recognition, including word segmentation, word recognition, digit segmentation, and digit recognition. We also describe control strategies used to make effective use of these subsystems to maximize recognition accuracy. We present system performance on 931 address blocks in recognizing various fields, such as city, state, ZIP Code, street number and name, and personal names.

Addressing social influences reduces antibiotic duration in complicated abdominal infection: a mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Jennifer; Tee, Chin Li; Broom, Alex; Kelly, Mark D; Scott, Tahira; Grieve, David A

2018-03-06

Antimicrobial therapy for intra-abdominal infections is often inappropriately prolonged. An intervention addressing factors influencing the duration of intravenous antibiotic use was undertaken. This study reports the antibiotic prescribing patterns before and after the intervention and a qualitative analysis of the experience of the intervention. Quantitative: A retrospective audit of patients with complicated intra-abdominal infection before and after a multifaceted persuasive intervention was performed. Qualitative: Semi-structured interviews were performed to evaluate which elements of the intervention were perceived to be effective. An intervention including collaborative inter-specialty and inter-professional educational meetings, and education of all professional streams was undertaken. Quantitative: Twenty-three patients before and 22 patients after the intervention were included. The total duration of antibiotics decreased significantly following the intervention (9.2 versus 6.6 days P = 0.02). The duration of intravenous antibiotics did not change significantly (5.4 versus 4.5 days, P = 0.06). Qualitative: Eighteen health-care professionals participated. Thematic analysis indicated that a collaborative approach between senior surgical and infectious disease specialists in the pre-intervention stage led to perceived ownership and leadership of the intervention by the surgical team, which was thought critical to the success of the intervention. Conversely, the ability of nurses and pharmacists to influence antibiotic practice was considered limited and a poster promoting the intervention was perceived as ineffective. Consultant leadership and specialty ownership of the process were perceived to be critical in the success of the intervention. Antibiotic stewardship programs which address social factors may have greater efficacy to optimize antimicrobial prescribing. © 2018 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Methods to address ethical issues in Counterterrorisme : An overview of methods and tools used to address and manage ethical issues in healthcare, social work, police and the military

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Anke van Gorp; Stijn Hoorens

2017-01-01

Abstract Chapter 4: Basing ourselves on a literature review and expert interviews we create an overview of methods and tools to identify and respond to ethical questions used in healthcare, social work, police and the military. We identify six main types of methods or tools that can support

hSAGEing: an improved SAGE-based software for identification of human tissue-specific or common tumor markers and suppressors.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Cheng-Hong; Chuang, Li-Yeh; Shih, Tsung-Mu; Chang, Hsueh-Wei

2010-12-17

SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) is a powerful method of analyzing gene expression for the entire transcriptome. There are currently many well-developed SAGE tools. However, the cross-comparison of different tissues is seldom addressed, thus limiting the identification of common- and tissue-specific tumor markers. To improve the SAGE mining methods, we propose a novel function for cross-tissue comparison of SAGE data by combining the mathematical set theory and logic with a unique "multi-pool method" that analyzes multiple pools of pair-wise case controls individually. When all the settings are in "inclusion", the common SAGE tag sequences are mined. When one tissue type is in "inclusion" and the other types of tissues are not in "inclusion", the selected tissue-specific SAGE tag sequences are generated. They are displayed in tags-per-million (TPM) and fold values, as well as visually displayed in four kinds of scales in a color gradient pattern. In the fold visualization display, the top scores of the SAGE tag sequences are provided, along with cluster plots. A user-defined matrix file is designed for cross-tissue comparison by selecting libraries from publically available databases or user-defined libraries. The hSAGEing tool provides a combination of friendly cross-tissue analysis and an interface for comparing SAGE libraries for the first time. Some up- or down-regulated genes with tissue-specific or common tumor markers and suppressors are identified computationally. The tool is useful and convenient for in silico cancer transcriptomic studies and is freely available at http://bio.kuas.edu.tw/hSAGEing.

Addressing unwarranted clinical variation: A rapid review of current evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrison, Reema; Manias, Elizabeth; Mears, Stephen; Heslop, David; Hinchcliff, Reece; Hay, Liz

2018-05-15

Unwarranted clinical variation (UCV) can be described as variation that can only be explained by differences in health system performance. There is a lack of clarity regarding how to define and identify UCV and, once identified, to determine whether it is sufficiently problematic to warrant action. As such, the implementation of systemic approaches to reducing UCV is challenging. A review of approaches to understand, identify, and address UCV was undertaken to determine how conceptual and theoretical frameworks currently attempt to define UCV, the approaches used to identify UCV, and the evidence of their effectiveness. Rapid evidence assessment (REA) methodology was used. A range of text words, synonyms, and subject headings were developed for the major concepts of unwarranted clinical variation, standards (and deviation from these standards), and health care environment. Two electronic databases (Medline and Pubmed) were searched from January 2006 to April 2017, in addition to hand searching of relevant journals, reference lists, and grey literature. Results were merged using reference-management software (Endnote) and duplicates removed. Inclusion criteria were independently applied to potentially relevant articles by 3 reviewers. Findings were presented in a narrative synthesis to highlight key concepts addressed in the published literature. A total of 48 relevant publications were included in the review; 21 articles were identified as eligible from the database search, 4 from hand searching published work and 23 from the grey literature. The search process highlighted the voluminous literature reporting clinical variation internationally; yet, there is a dearth of evidence regarding systematic approaches to identifying or addressing UCV. Wennberg's classification framework is commonly cited in relation to classifying variation, but no single approach is agreed upon to systematically explore and address UCV. The instances of UCV that warrant investigation and

Urban ambiances as common ground?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jean-Paul Thibaud

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to point out various arguments which question ambiance as a common ground of everyday urban experience. Such a project involves four major points. First, we have to move beyond the exclusive practical aspects of everyday life and bring the sensory to the forefront. Under such conditions, sensory cultures emerge where feeling and acting come together. Second, we must put common experience into perspectiveby initiating a dual dynamics of socialising the sensory and sensitising social life. Ambiances involve a complex web comprised of an ‘existential’ dimension (empathy with the ambient world, a ‘contextual’ dimension (degree of presence in the situation, and an ‘interactional’ dimension (forms of sociability expressed in the tonality. Third, we have to initiate a political ecology of ambiances in order to better understand how ambiances deal with fundamental design and planning issues. Far from being neutral, the notion of ambiance appears to be bound up with the socio-aesthetic strategies underpinning changes to the sensory urban environment of the future. Fourth, we have to question what in situ experience is all about. Three major research pointers enable to address this issue: the embodiment of situated experiences, the porous nature of sensory spaces, and the sensory efficiency of the build environment. Ambiances sensitize urban design as well as social lifeforms.

Common Technologies for Environmental Research Infrastructures in ENVRIplus

Science.gov (United States)

Paris, Jean-Daniel

2016-04-01

Environmental and geoscientific research infrastructures (RIs) are dedicated to distinct aspects of the ocean, atmosphere, ecosystems, or solid Earth research, yet there is significant commonality in the way they conceive, develop, operate and upgrade their observation systems and platforms. Many environmental Ris are distributed network of observatories (be it drifting buoys, geophysical observatories, ocean-bottom stations, atmospheric measurements sites) with needs for remote operations. Most RIs have to deal with calibration and standardization issues. RIs use a variety of measurements technologies, but this variety is based on a small, common set of physical principles. All RIs have set their own research and development priorities, and developed their solution to their problems - however many problems are common across RIs. Finally, RIs may overlap in terms of scientific perimeter. In ENVRIplus we aim, for the first time, to identify common opportunities for innovation, to support common research and development across RIs on promising issues, and more generally to create a forum to spread state of the art techniques among participants. ENVRIplus activities include 1) measurement technologies: where are the common types of measurement for which we can share expertise or common development? 2) Metrology : how do we tackle together the diversified challenge of quality assurance and standardization? 3) Remote operations: can we address collectively the need for autonomy, robustness and distributed data handling? And 4) joint operations for research: are we able to demonstrate that together, RIs are able to provide relevant information to support excellent research. In this process we need to nurture an ecosystem of key players. Can we involve all the key technologists of the European RIs for a greater mutual benefit? Can we pave the way to a growing common market for innovative European SMEs, with a common programmatic approach conducive to targeted R&D? Can we

A Managerial Perspective on Common Identity-based and Common Bond-based Groups in Non-governmental Organizations. Patterns of Interaction, Attachment and Social Network Configuration

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Elena - Mădălina VĂTĂMĂNESCU

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The paper approaches the common identity and common bond theories in analyzing the group patterns of interaction, their causes, processes and outcomes from a managerial perspective. The distinction between identity and bond referred to people’s different reasons for being in a group, stressing out whether they like the group as a whole — identity-based attachment, or they like individuals in the group — bond-based attachment.  While members of the common identity groups reported feeling more attached to their group as a whole than to their fellow group members and tended to perceive others in the group as interchangeable, in bond-based attachment, people felt connected to each other and less to the group as a whole, loyalty or attraction to the group stemming from their attraction primarily to certain members in the group. At this level, the main question concerned with the particularities of common identity-based or common bond-based groups regarding social interaction, the participatory architecture of the group, the levels of personal and work engagement in acting like a cohesive group. In order to address pertinently this issue, the current work was focused on a qualitative research which comprised in-depth (semi-structured interviews with several project coordinators from non-governmental organizations (NGOs. Also, to make the investigation more complex and clear, the research relied on the social network analysis which was indicative of the group dynamics and configuration, highlighting the differences between common identity-based and common bond-based groups.

Teachers' Understanding of and Concerns about Mathematical Modeling in the Common Core Standards

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Wolf, Nancy Butler

2013-01-01

Educational reform is most likely to be successful when teachers are knowledgeable about the intended reform, and when their concerns about the reform are understood and addressed. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is an effort to establish a set of nationwide expectations for students and teachers. This study examined teacher understanding…

Engineered biomaterial and biophysical stimulation as combinatorial strategies to address prosthetic infection by pathogenic bacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Boda, Sunil Kumar; Basu, Bikramjit

2017-10-01

A plethora of antimicrobial strategies are being developed to address prosthetic infection. The currently available methods for implant infection treatment include the use of antibiotics and revision surgery. Among the bacterial strains, Staphylococcus species pose significant challenges particularly, with regard to hospital acquired infections. In order to combat such life threatening infectious diseases, researchers have developed implantable biomaterials incorporating nanoparticles, antimicrobial reinforcements, surface coatings, slippery/non-adhesive and contact killing surfaces. This review discusses a few of the biomaterial and biophysical antimicrobial strategies, which are in the developmental stage and actively being pursued by several research groups. The clinical efficacy of biophysical stimulation methods such as ultrasound, electric and magnetic field treatments against prosthetic infection depends critically on the stimulation protocol and parameters of the treatment modality. A common thread among the three biophysical stimulation methods is the mechanism of bactericidal action, which is centered on biophysical rupture of bacterial membranes, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and bacterial membrane depolarization evoked by the interference of essential ion-transport. Although the extent of antimicrobial effect, normally achieved through biophysical stimulation protocol is insufficient to warrant therapeutic application, a combination of antibiotic/ROS inducing agents and biophysical stimulation methods can elicit a clinically relevant reduction in viable bacterial numbers. In this review, we present a detailed account of both the biomaterial and biophysical approaches for achieving maximum bacterial inactivation. Summarizing, the biophysical stimulation methods in a combinatorial manner with material based strategies can be a more potent solution to control bacterial infections. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B

Addressing Criticisms of Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas

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Ban, Natalie C; Fernandez, Miriam; Friedlander, Alan M; García-Borboroglu, Pablo; Golbuu, Yimnang; Guidetti, Paolo; Harris, Jean M; Hawkins, Julie P; Langlois, Tim; McCauley, Douglas J; Pikitch, Ellen K; Richmond, Robert H; Roberts, Callum M

2018-01-01

Abstract Designated large-scale marine protected areas (LSMPAs, 100,000 or more square kilometers) constitute over two-thirds of the approximately 6.6% of the ocean and approximately 14.5% of the exclusive economic zones within marine protected areas. Although LSMPAs have received support among scientists and conservation bodies for wilderness protection, regional ecological connectivity, and improving resilience to climate change, there are also concerns. We identified 10 common criticisms of LSMPAs along three themes: (1) placement, governance, and management; (2) political expediency; and (3) social–ecological value and cost. Through critical evaluation of scientific evidence, we discuss the value, achievements, challenges, and potential of LSMPAs in these arenas. We conclude that although some criticisms are valid and need addressing, none pertain exclusively to LSMPAs, and many involve challenges ubiquitous in management. We argue that LSMPAs are an important component of a diversified management portfolio that tempers potential losses, hedges against uncertainty, and enhances the probability of achieving sustainably managed oceans. PMID:29731514

Approximate solutions of common fixed-point problems

CERN Document Server

Zaslavski, Alexander J

2016-01-01

This book presents results on the convergence behavior of algorithms which are known as vital tools for solving convex feasibility problems and common fixed point problems. The main goal for us in dealing with a known computational error is to find what approximate solution can be obtained and how many iterates one needs to find it. According to know results, these algorithms should converge to a solution. In this exposition, these algorithms are studied, taking into account computational errors which remain consistent in practice. In this case the convergence to a solution does not take place. We show that our algorithms generate a good approximate solution if computational errors are bounded from above by a small positive constant. Beginning with an introduction, this monograph moves on to study: · dynamic string-averaging methods for common fixed point problems in a Hilbert space · dynamic string methods for common fixed point problems in a metric space · dynamic string-averaging version of the proximal...

Implementing the Obesity Care Model at a Community Health Center in Hawaii to Address Childhood Obesity

OpenAIRE

Okihiro, May; Pillen, Michelle; Ancog, Cristeta; Inda, Christy; Sehgal, Vija

2013-01-01

Obesity, the most common chronic disease of childhood, is prevalent among economically disadvantaged children. The Chronic Care and Obesity Care Models are comprehensive health care strategies to improve outcomes by linking primary care best practices and community-based programs. Pediatric providers and community health centers are well positioned to design and implement coordinated and synergistic programs to address childhood health disparities. This article describes a comprehensive proje...

Local address and emergency contact details

CERN Multimedia

2013-01-01

The HR Department would like to remind members of the personnel that they are responsible for ensuring that their personal data concerning local address and preferred emergency contact details remains valid and up-to-date.   Both are easily accessible via the links below: Local address: https://edh.cern.ch/Document/Personnel/LocalAddressChange   Emergency contacts: https://edh.cern.ch/Document/Personnel/EC   Please take a few minutes to check your details and modify if necessary. Thank you in advance. HR Department Head Office

Opening address

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ianko, L.

1993-01-01

This short talk was the opening remarks to the attendees at this conference, presented by the Scientific Secretary, IWG-LMNPP, of the IAEA. This meeting is an effort to aid research on problems related to the general area of nuclear plant aging and life management. In particular it addresses fracture properties of reactor materials and components, both as installed, and at end of service condition. A major concern is relating measurements made on laboratory samples to properties displayed by actual reactor components

Commonly Used Dietary Supplements on Coagulation Function during Surgery

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Chong-Zhi Wang

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Patients who undergo surgery appear to use dietary supplements significantly more frequently than the general population. Because they contain pharmacologically active compounds, dietary supplements may affect coagulation and platelet function during the perioperative period through direct effects, pharmacodynamic interactions, and pharmacokinetic interactions. However, in this regard, limited studies have been conducted that address the pharmacological interactions of dietary supplements. To avoid possible bleeding risks during surgery, information about the potential complications of dietary supplements during perioperative management is important for physicians. Methods: Through a systematic database search of all available years, articles were identified in this review if they included dietary supplements and coagulation/platelet function, while special attention was paid to studies published after 1990. Results: Safety concerns are reported in commercially available dietary supplements. Effects of the most commonly used natural products on blood coagulation and platelet function are systematically reviewed, including 11 herbal medicines (echinacea, ephedra, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, kava, saw palmetto, St John’s wort, and valerian and four other dietary supplements (coenzyme Q10, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, fish oil, and vitamins. Bleeding risks of garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, saw palmetto, St John’s wort, and fish oil are reported. Cardiovascular instability was observed with ephedra, ginseng, and kava. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between dietary supplements and drugs used in the perioperative period are discussed. Conclusions: To prevent potential problems associated with the use of dietary supplements, physicians should be familiar with the perioperative effects of commonly used dietary supplements. Since the effects of dietary supplements on coagulation and platelet

Commonly Used Dietary Supplements on Coagulation Function during Surgery

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chong-Zhi; Moss, Jonathan; Yuan, Chun-Su

2015-01-01

Abstract Background Patients who undergo surgery appear to use dietary supplements significantly more frequently than the general population. Because they contain pharmacologically active compounds, dietary supplements may affect coagulation and platelet function during the perioperative period through direct effects, pharmacodynamic interactions, and pharmacokinetic interactions. However, in this regard, limited studies have been conducted that address the pharmacological interactions of dietary supplements. To avoid possible bleeding risks during surgery, information about the potential complications of dietary supplements during perioperative management is important for physicians. Methods Through a systematic database search of all available years, articles were identified in this review if they included dietary supplements and coagulation/platelet function, while special attention was paid to studies published after 1990. Results Safety concerns are reported in commercially available dietary supplements. Effects of the most commonly used natural products on blood coagulation and platelet function are systematically reviewed, including 11 herbal medicines (echinacea, ephedra, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, kava, saw palmetto, St John’s wort, and valerian) and four other dietary supplements (coenzyme Q10, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, fish oil, and vitamins). Bleeding risks of garlic, ginkgo, ginseng, green tea, saw palmetto, St John’s wort, and fish oil are reported. Cardiovascular instability was observed with ephedra, ginseng, and kava. Pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic interactions between dietary supplements and drugs used in the perioperative period are discussed. Conclusions To prevent potential problems associated with the use of dietary supplements, physicians should be familiar with the perioperative effects of commonly used dietary supplements. Since the effects of dietary supplements on coagulation and platelet function are

A multi-sample based method for identifying common CNVs in normal human genomic structure using high-resolution aCGH data.

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Chihyun Park

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: It is difficult to identify copy number variations (CNV in normal human genomic data due to noise and non-linear relationships between different genomic regions and signal intensity. A high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH containing 42 million probes, which is very large compared to previous arrays, was recently published. Most existing CNV detection algorithms do not work well because of noise associated with the large amount of input data and because most of the current methods were not designed to analyze normal human samples. Normal human genome analysis often requires a joint approach across multiple samples. However, the majority of existing methods can only identify CNVs from a single sample. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We developed a multi-sample-based genomic variations detector (MGVD that uses segmentation to identify common breakpoints across multiple samples and a k-means-based clustering strategy. Unlike previous methods, MGVD simultaneously considers multiple samples with different genomic intensities and identifies CNVs and CNV zones (CNVZs; CNVZ is a more precise measure of the location of a genomic variant than the CNV region (CNVR. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: We designed a specialized algorithm to detect common CNVs from extremely high-resolution multi-sample aCGH data. MGVD showed high sensitivity and a low false discovery rate for a simulated data set, and outperformed most current methods when real, high-resolution HapMap datasets were analyzed. MGVD also had the fastest runtime compared to the other algorithms evaluated when actual, high-resolution aCGH data were analyzed. The CNVZs identified by MGVD can be used in association studies for revealing relationships between phenotypes and genomic aberrations. Our algorithm was developed with standard C++ and is available in Linux and MS Windows format in the STL library. It is freely available at: http://embio.yonsei.ac.kr/~Park/mgvd.php.

Bystander programs addressing sexual violence on college campuses: A systematic review and meta-analysis of program outcomes and delivery methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Jouriles, Ernest N; Krauss, Alison; Vu, Nicole L; Banyard, Victoria L; McDonald, Renee

2018-02-06

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluates the effectiveness of bystander programs that address sexual violence on college campuses. Program effects on student attitudes/beliefs and bystander behavior were examined. Durability of program outcomes and the influence of program-delivery methods (e.g., facilitator-led programs vs. video, online or poster campaign programs) and program-parameters (e.g., program length) were also evaluated. Twenty-four studies met criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis, and 207 separate results from these studies were coded. Students who participated in a bystander program, compared to those who had not, had more pro-social attitudes/beliefs about sexual violence and intervening to prevent it, and engaged in more bystander behavior. Program effects diminished over time, but meaningful changes persisted for at least three months following program delivery. Longer programs had greater effects than shorter programs on attitudes/beliefs. Bystander programs can be a valuable addition to colleges' violence prevention efforts.

Addressing Sexual Harassment

Science.gov (United States)

Young, Ellie L.; Ashbaker, Betty Y.

2008-01-01

This article discusses ways on how to address the problem of sexual harassment in schools. Sexual harassment--simply defined as any unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior--is a sensitive topic. Merely providing students, parents, and staff members with information about the school's sexual harassment policy is insufficient; schools must take…

A tutorial review of functional connectivity analysis methods and their interpretational pitfalls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andre M Bastos

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Oscillatory neuronal activity may provide a mechanism for dynamic network coordination. Rhythmic neuronal interactions can be quantified using multiple metrics, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. This tutorial will review and summarize current analysis methods used in the field of invasive and non-invasive electrophysiology to study the dynamic connections between neuronal populations. First, we review metrics for functional connectivity, including coherence, phase synchronization, phase-slope index, and Granger causality, with the specific aim to provide an intuition for how these metrics work, as well as their quantitative definition. Next, we highlight a number of interpretational caveats and common pitfalls that can arise when performing functional connectivity analysis, including the common reference problem, the signal to noise ratio problem, the volume conduction problem, the common input problem, and the trial sample size bias problem. These pitfalls will be illustrated by presenting a set of MATLAB-scripts, which can be executed by the reader to simulate each of these potential problems. We discuss of how these issues can be addressed using current methods.

Ocean Data Interoperability Platform (ODIP): developing a common framework for global marine data management

Science.gov (United States)

Glaves, H. M.

2015-12-01

In recent years marine research has become increasingly multidisciplinary in its approach with a corresponding rise in the demand for large quantities of high quality interoperable data as a result. This requirement for easily discoverable and readily available marine data is currently being addressed by a number of regional initiatives with projects such as SeaDataNet in Europe, Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) in the USA and the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) in Australia, having implemented local infrastructures to facilitate the exchange of standardised marine datasets. However, each of these systems has been developed to address local requirements and created in isolation from those in other regions.Multidisciplinary marine research on a global scale necessitates a common framework for marine data management which is based on existing data systems. The Ocean Data Interoperability Platform project is seeking to address this requirement by bringing together selected regional marine e-infrastructures for the purposes of developing interoperability across them. By identifying the areas of commonality and incompatibility between these data infrastructures, and leveraging the development activities and expertise of these individual systems, three prototype interoperability solutions are being created which demonstrate the effective sharing of marine data and associated metadata across the participating regional data infrastructures as well as with other target international systems such as GEO, COPERNICUS etc.These interoperability solutions combined with agreed best practice and approved standards, form the basis of a common global approach to marine data management which can be adopted by the wider marine research community. To encourage implementation of these interoperability solutions by other regional marine data infrastructures an impact assessment is being conducted to determine both the technical and financial implications of deploying them

Developing a common framework for evaluating the implementation of genomic medicine interventions in clinical care: the IGNITE Network's Common Measures Working Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Orlando, Lori A; Sperber, Nina R; Voils, Corrine; Nichols, Marshall; Myers, Rachel A; Wu, R Ryanne; Rakhra-Burris, Tejinder; Levy, Kenneth D; Levy, Mia; Pollin, Toni I; Guan, Yue; Horowitz, Carol R; Ramos, Michelle; Kimmel, Stephen E; McDonough, Caitrin W; Madden, Ebony B; Damschroder, Laura J

2018-06-01

PurposeImplementation research provides a structure for evaluating the clinical integration of genomic medicine interventions. This paper describes the Implementing Genomics in Practice (IGNITE) Network's efforts to promote (i) a broader understanding of genomic medicine implementation research and (ii) the sharing of knowledge generated in the network.MethodsTo facilitate this goal, the IGNITE Network Common Measures Working Group (CMG) members adopted the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide its approach to identifying constructs and measures relevant to evaluating genomic medicine as a whole, standardizing data collection across projects, and combining data in a centralized resource for cross-network analyses.ResultsCMG identified 10 high-priority CFIR constructs as important for genomic medicine. Of those, eight did not have standardized measurement instruments. Therefore, we developed four survey tools to address this gap. In addition, we identified seven high-priority constructs related to patients, families, and communities that did not map to CFIR constructs. Both sets of constructs were combined to create a draft genomic medicine implementation model.ConclusionWe developed processes to identify constructs deemed valuable for genomic medicine implementation and codified them in a model. These resources are freely available to facilitate knowledge generation and sharing across the field.

Integrating address geocoding, land use regression, and spatiotemporal geostatistical estimation for groundwater tetrachloroethylene.

Science.gov (United States)

Messier, Kyle P; Akita, Yasuyuki; Serre, Marc L

2012-03-06

Geographic information systems (GIS) based techniques are cost-effective and efficient methods used by state agencies and epidemiology researchers for estimating concentration and exposure. However, budget limitations have made statewide assessments of contamination difficult, especially in groundwater media. Many studies have implemented address geocoding, land use regression, and geostatistics independently, but this is the first to examine the benefits of integrating these GIS techniques to address the need of statewide exposure assessments. A novel framework for concentration exposure is introduced that integrates address geocoding, land use regression (LUR), below detect data modeling, and Bayesian Maximum Entropy (BME). A LUR model was developed for tetrachloroethylene that accounts for point sources and flow direction. We then integrate the LUR model into the BME method as a mean trend while also modeling below detects data as a truncated Gaussian probability distribution function. We increase available PCE data 4.7 times from previously available databases through multistage geocoding. The LUR model shows significant influence of dry cleaners at short ranges. The integration of the LUR model as mean trend in BME results in a 7.5% decrease in cross validation mean square error compared to BME with a constant mean trend.

Strategies to address the nursing shortage in Saudi Arabia.

Science.gov (United States)

Aboshaiqah, A

2016-09-01

To investigate the nursing shortage in Saudi Arabia and specifically the shortage of Saudi nurses in the healthcare workforce and to propose solutions. Literature published from 1993 to 2013 providing relevant information on the nursing shortage, cultural traditions and beliefs, and nursing education and policies in Saudi was accessed from multiple sources including Medline, CINAHL Plus and Google Scholar and from official Saudi government document and was reviewed. Saudi Arabia depends largely on an expatriate workforce, and this applies to nursing. Saudi Arabia is experiencing a nursing shortage in common with most countries in the world and a shortage of Saudi nationals, especially women, in the healthcare workforce. The world shortage of nursing is extrinsic to Saudi, but intrinsic factors include a poor image of the nursing profession in the country that is exacerbated by cultural factors. With the call for the Saudization of the workforce to replace the imported workforce by Saudi nationals, including nurses, through the 1992 Royal Decree, Saudi Arabia faces a problem in attracting and retaining Saudi nationals in the nursing workforce. Solutions are suggested that are aimed at improving the public image of nursing through education and the use of the media and improvements in the workplace by addressing working processes such as teamwork, ensuring adequate staffing levels and addressing some aspects of culture which may make working in nursing more compatible with being a Saudi national. © 2016 International Council of Nurses.

Cardiodiagnostic imaging. MRT, CT, echocardiography and other methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erbel, R.; Kreitner, K.F.; Barkhausen, J.; Thelen, M.

2007-01-01

The book presents a differentiated approach to cardiac imaging. The focus is n cardio-MR/-CT and echocardiography. These are highly complex methods involving new equipment, new protocols and indications. The techniques are new and difficult to learn for everybody concerned. MR, CT and echocardiography must always be viewed in the context of other diagnostic methods. The interdisciplinary approach of the book addresses both radiologists and cardiologists and relies on the vast experience of the authors. The book offers more than 500 large high-quality reference images reflecting the latest state of the art. It has amethodological section in which the current methods are described (X-ray, echocardiography, nuclear medicine, angiography, CT, MRT etc.) along with their advantages and shortcomings, and a clinical section in which the main indications are described in the common standardized way (anatomy, clinical picture, interpretation, differential diagnosis). (orig.)

Increasing Adolescent Self-Esteem: Group Strategies to Address Wellness and Process

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Bethany; McBride, Dawn Lorraine

2016-01-01

The authors present a therapeutic resource for school counselors who need a tangible method to integrate self-esteem strategies into their psychoeducational group programs. The focus of the group is a comprehensive wellness model based on five senses of self and how each self must be addressed to promote healthy life decisions. Special attention…

Governance and the Commons in a Multi-Level World

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Derek Armitage

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Multi-level governance may facilitate learning and adaptation in complex social-ecological circumstances. Such arrangements should connect community-based management with regional/national government-level management, link scientific management and traditional management systems, encourage the sharing of knowledge and information, and promote collaboration and dialogue around goals and outcomes. Governance innovations of this type can thus build capacity to adapt to change and manage for resilience. However, critical reflection on the emergence of adaptive, multi-level governance for the commons is warranted. Drawing on examples from the North and South, the purpose of this review is to connect three complementary bodies of scholarship with insights for commons governance in a multi-level world: common property theory, resilience thinking and political ecology. From the commons and resilience literature, normative principles of adaptive, multi-level governance are synthesized (e.g., participation, accountability, leadership, knowledge pluralism, learning and trust. Political ecological interpretations, however, help to reveal the challenge of actualizing these principles and the contextual forces that make entrenched, top-down management systems resilient to change. These forces include the role of power, scale and levels of organization, knowledge valuation, the positioning of social actors and social constructions of nature. Also addressed are the policy narratives that shape governance, and the dialectic relationship among ecological systems and social change. tekst

How can we conceptualize behavioural addiction without pathologizing common behaviours?

Science.gov (United States)

Kardefelt-Winther, Daniel; Heeren, Alexandre; Schimmenti, Adriano; van Rooij, Antonius; Maurage, Pierre; Carras, Michelle; Edman, Johan; Blaszczynski, Alexander; Khazaal, Yasser; Billieux, Joël

2017-10-01

Following the recent changes to the diagnostic category for addictive disorders in DSM-5, it is urgent to clarify what constitutes behavioural addiction to have a clear direction for future research and classification. However, in the years following the release of DSM-5, an expanding body of research has increasingly classified engagement in a wide range of common behaviours and leisure activities as possible behavioural addiction. If this expansion does not end, both the relevance and the credibility of the field of addictive disorders might be questioned, which may prompt a dismissive appraisal of the new DSM-5 subcategory for behavioural addiction. We propose an operational definition of behavioural addiction together with a number of exclusion criteria, to avoid pathologizing common behaviours and provide a common ground for further research. The definition and its exclusion criteria are clarified and justified by illustrating how these address a number of theoretical and methodological shortcomings that result from existing conceptualizations. We invite other researchers to extend our definition under an Open Science Foundation framework. © 2017 Society for the Study of Addiction.

Recall Performance for Content-Addressable Memory Using Adiabatic Quantum Optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Imam, Neena [ORNL; Humble, Travis S. [ORNL; McCaskey, Alex [ORNL; Schrock, Jonathan [ORNL; Hamilton, Kathleen E. [ORNL

2017-09-01

A content-addressable memory (CAM) stores key-value associations such that the key is recalled by providing its associated value. While CAM recall is traditionally performed using recurrent neural network models, we show how to solve this problem using adiabatic quantum optimization. Our approach maps the recurrent neural network to a commercially available quantum processing unit by taking advantage of the common underlying Ising spin model. We then assess the accuracy of the quantum processor to store key-value associations by quantifying recall performance against an ensemble of problem sets. We observe that different learning rules from the neural network community influence recall accuracy but performance appears to be limited by potential noise in the processor. The strong connection established between quantum processors and neural network problems supports the growing intersection of these two ideas.

hSAGEing: an improved SAGE-based software for identification of human tissue-specific or common tumor markers and suppressors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Hong Yang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression is a powerful method of analyzing gene expression for the entire transcriptome. There are currently many well-developed SAGE tools. However, the cross-comparison of different tissues is seldom addressed, thus limiting the identification of common- and tissue-specific tumor markers. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To improve the SAGE mining methods, we propose a novel function for cross-tissue comparison of SAGE data by combining the mathematical set theory and logic with a unique "multi-pool method" that analyzes multiple pools of pair-wise case controls individually. When all the settings are in "inclusion", the common SAGE tag sequences are mined. When one tissue type is in "inclusion" and the other types of tissues are not in "inclusion", the selected tissue-specific SAGE tag sequences are generated. They are displayed in tags-per-million (TPM and fold values, as well as visually displayed in four kinds of scales in a color gradient pattern. In the fold visualization display, the top scores of the SAGE tag sequences are provided, along with cluster plots. A user-defined matrix file is designed for cross-tissue comparison by selecting libraries from publically available databases or user-defined libraries. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The hSAGEing tool provides a combination of friendly cross-tissue analysis and an interface for comparing SAGE libraries for the first time. Some up- or down-regulated genes with tissue-specific or common tumor markers and suppressors are identified computationally. The tool is useful and convenient for in silico cancer transcriptomic studies and is freely available at http://bio.kuas.edu.tw/hSAGEing.

Keynote address

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herzog, R.

1985-01-01

This paper addresses various aspects of the bases underlying the nuclear third party liability regime, and also analyses the distinction between danger and risk and the manner in which damage caused by flood, mass unemployment (economic damage mainly) and certain diseases is dealt with in the absence of liability provisions similar to those applicable to nuclear incidents. It also is suggested that the State because of its duty under the Basic Law to ensure adequate energy supplies, should be co-responsible for liability questions along with the nuclear operator. (NEA) [fr

Watershed Management: Lessons from Common Property Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Kerr

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Watershed development is an important component of rural development and natural resource management strategies in many countries. A watershed is a special kind of common pool resource: an area defined by hydrological linkages where optimal management requires coordinated use of natural resources by all users. Management is difficult because natural resources comprising the watershed system have multiple, conflicting uses, so any given management approach will spread benefits and costs unevenly among users. To address these challenges, watershed approaches have evolved from more technocratic to a greater focus on social organization and participation. However, the latter cannot necessarily be widely replicated. In addition, participatory approaches have worked better at a small scale, but hydrological relationships cover a larger scale and some projects have faced tradeoffs in choosing between the two. Optimal approaches for future efforts are not clear, and theories from common property research do not support the idea that complex watershed management can succeed everywhere. Solutions may include simplifying watershed projects, pursuing watershed projects where conditions are favorable, and making other investments elsewhere, including building the organizational capacity that can facilitate watershed management.

System diagnosis using finite memory observers: Common Rail application; Diagnostic des systemes a l'aide d'observateurs a memoire finie: application au Common Rail

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Graton, G.

2005-12-15

The aim of this work was to propose a fault detection method on the high pressure direct injection system (called Common Rail system) set up on Diesel vehicles. The importance of the fault detection procedure implementation was highlighted thanks to the description of the stakes (lowers consumption, reduction in the pollutant emissions and sound, increase of performances) and constraints dependent on Common Rail (high pressure, high frequency, gas oil lubrication, high precision machining, standards EURO respect,...) but also through a listing of failures which can occur on Common Rail. A synthesis on the different diagnosis methods of systems contributed to select a fault detection method with expected performances (detection of fault beginning, detection speed, isolation and characterization of detected fault and minimizing false alarm and bad detections). After a detailed study (properties, sequential formulations and sensitivity study) of the selected detection method (finite memory observers) and a modeling of the Common Rail various bodies behavior, the algorithm of detection was tested on three different models of the system Common Rail. Moreover, the comparison between the finite memory observer and a Luenberger observer and a Kalman filter allow to appreciate the residual robustness degree. Obtained results allow to conclude on good detection of actuator and sensor faults. (author)

[Endo-Lap method in the management of biliary lithiasis (gallbladder and common bile duct)].

Science.gov (United States)

Filip, V; Georgescu, St; Stanciu, C; Bălan, Gh; Târcoveanu, E; Neacşu, C N; Cîrdei, C; Drug, V L

2004-01-01

To present the results of the biliary endoscopic approach (ERCP) followed by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in the management of biliary lithiasis (gallbladder and common bile duct--CBD). From 1997 to March 2003 37 patients with biliary lithiasis were treated by endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES) with stone extraction, followed after 24-48 hours by LC. The indications for ERCP were presence of an obstructive jaundice (n=32) and a dilated CBD at the ultrasound examination (n=5). Selective biliary cannulation was obtained in 35 (94.6%) cases, in all of them with successful papillotomy. Stones were found in all patients. CBD clearances for calculi (from 1 to 8) was obtained in 33 of 35 patients (94.3%), the rest of 2 being managed by open laparotomy. Antibiotics were administrated in all patients. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed after 24-48 hours, with one conversion (3%). Postoperative morbidity was 12.1%: 2 transitory pancreatic reactions and 2 wound infections. Endo-Lap method is a useful management alternative for combined gallbladder and CBD lithiasis. It has all the advantages of the two mini-invasive procedures (fast recovery, short hospitalization, low costs) and a less postoperative morbidity in patients with high risk.

Mutagenicity of basic fractions derived from lamb and beef cooked by common household methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrington, P J; Baker, R S; Truswell, A S; Bonin, A M; Ryan, A J; Paulin, A P

1990-03-01

Mutagen production was examined in lamb and beef in relation to certain common household cooking methods. Mutagenicity was assessed, after extraction of the basic fraction of cooked meat samples, using Salmonella typhimurium strain TA1538 with added rat-liver S-9 homogenate. Little or no mutagenicity was found in barbecued lamb chops, in microwave-cooked lamb chops, sirloin steak, leg of lamb, or rolled beef loaf, in roasted leg of lamb or rolled beef loaf, in stewed blade steak or in boiled chuck steak. However, the basic fraction from well-done, edible fried or grilled meat contained mutagenic activity equivalent to approximately 30,000 TA1538 revertants/100 g cooked meat. It was found tht the mutagenic activity of grilled lamb chops, sirloin and rump steaks was directly related to the average surface temperatures attained during cooking. Use of butter as a frying medium was particularly associated with higher mutagenicity in meat samples. Fried meats (rump and fillet steaks) generally yielded higher mutagenic activity than did grilled meats (rump steak, lamb chops) at comparable temperatures of the cooking medium. Using similar cooking procedures, lamb did not differ markedly from beef in mutagenic activity.

29 CFR 4245.7 - PBGC address.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 9 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false PBGC address. 4245.7 Section 4245.7 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY CORPORATION INSOLVENCY, REORGANIZATION, TERMINATION, AND OTHER RULES APPLICABLE TO MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS NOTICE OF INSOLVENCY § 4245.7 PBGC address. See...

Electromagnetic compatibility methods, analysis, circuits, and measurement

CERN Document Server

Weston, David A

2016-01-01

Revised, updated, and expanded, Electromagnetic Compatibility: Methods, Analysis, Circuits, and Measurement, Third Edition provides comprehensive practical coverage of the design, problem solving, and testing of electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) in electrical and electronic equipment and systems. This new edition provides novel information on theory, applications, evaluations, electromagnetic computational programs, and prediction techniques available. With sixty-nine schematics providing examples for circuit level electromagnetic interference (EMI) hardening and cost effective EMI problem solving, this book also includes 1130 illustrations and tables. Including extensive data on components and their correct implementation, the myths, misapplication, misconceptions, and fallacies that are common when discussing EMC/EMI will also be addressed and corrected.

What Type of Knowledge Provides Valid Housing Standards Addressing Accessibility?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helle, Tina; Brandt, Åse; Iwarsson, Susanne

evaluations of task-surface heights in elderly people’s homes. Applied Ergonomics, 31, 109-119. Kohlbacher, F. (2006). The use of qualitative content analysis in case study research. Forum: Qualitative social research sozialforschung (FQS), Open Journal Systems, vol 7, No1. Kozey, J.W. & Das, B. (2004...... accessibility aspects such as either reach, seat height or space requirements • Targeted primarily industrial workstation design and only wheelchair/scooter users • Addressed positions (standing/seated) and sex difference with respect to reach • Was generated in lab-like environments, using methods...... of the validity of housing standards. Therefore, it is reasonable to question what type of knowledge that provides the most valid standards addressing accessibility and explore the consequences of using an alternative approach. The idea was thus to examine the validity of a set of housing standards using a so...

Investigation of a Novel Common Subexpression Elimination Method for Low Power and Area Efficient DCT Architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. F. Siddiqui

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A wide interest has been observed to find a low power and area efficient hardware design of discrete cosine transform (DCT algorithm. This research work proposed a novel Common Subexpression Elimination (CSE based pipelined architecture for DCT, aimed at reproducing the cost metrics of power and area while maintaining high speed and accuracy in DCT applications. The proposed design combines the techniques of Canonical Signed Digit (CSD representation and CSE to implement the multiplier-less method for fixed constant multiplication of DCT coefficients. Furthermore, symmetry in the DCT coefficient matrix is used with CSE to further decrease the number of arithmetic operations. This architecture needs a single-port memory to feed the inputs instead of multiport memory, which leads to reduction of the hardware cost and area. From the analysis of experimental results and performance comparisons, it is observed that the proposed scheme uses minimum logic utilizing mere 340 slices and 22 adders. Moreover, this design meets the real time constraints of different video/image coders and peak-signal-to-noise-ratio (PSNR requirements. Furthermore, the proposed technique has significant advantages over recent well-known methods along with accuracy in terms of power reduction, silicon area usage, and maximum operating frequency by 41%, 15%, and 15%, respectively.

Investigation of a novel common subexpression elimination method for low power and area efficient DCT architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, M F; Reza, A W; Kanesan, J; Ramiah, H

2014-01-01

A wide interest has been observed to find a low power and area efficient hardware design of discrete cosine transform (DCT) algorithm. This research work proposed a novel Common Subexpression Elimination (CSE) based pipelined architecture for DCT, aimed at reproducing the cost metrics of power and area while maintaining high speed and accuracy in DCT applications. The proposed design combines the techniques of Canonical Signed Digit (CSD) representation and CSE to implement the multiplier-less method for fixed constant multiplication of DCT coefficients. Furthermore, symmetry in the DCT coefficient matrix is used with CSE to further decrease the number of arithmetic operations. This architecture needs a single-port memory to feed the inputs instead of multiport memory, which leads to reduction of the hardware cost and area. From the analysis of experimental results and performance comparisons, it is observed that the proposed scheme uses minimum logic utilizing mere 340 slices and 22 adders. Moreover, this design meets the real time constraints of different video/image coders and peak-signal-to-noise-ratio (PSNR) requirements. Furthermore, the proposed technique has significant advantages over recent well-known methods along with accuracy in terms of power reduction, silicon area usage, and maximum operating frequency by 41%, 15%, and 15%, respectively.

Forms of Address in Chilean Spanish

Science.gov (United States)

Bishop, Kelley; Michnowicz, Jim

2010-01-01

The present investigation examines possible social and linguistic factors that influence forms of address used in Chilean Spanish with various interlocutors. A characteristic of the Spanish of Chile is the use of a variety of forms of address for the second person singular, "tu", "vos", and "usted", with corresponding…

Efficient heuristics for maximum common substructure search.

Science.gov (United States)

Englert, Péter; Kovács, Péter

2015-05-26

Maximum common substructure search is a computationally hard optimization problem with diverse applications in the field of cheminformatics, including similarity search, lead optimization, molecule alignment, and clustering. Most of these applications have strict constraints on running time, so heuristic methods are often preferred. However, the development of an algorithm that is both fast enough and accurate enough for most practical purposes is still a challenge. Moreover, in some applications, the quality of a common substructure depends not only on its size but also on various topological features of the one-to-one atom correspondence it defines. Two state-of-the-art heuristic algorithms for finding maximum common substructures have been implemented at ChemAxon Ltd., and effective heuristics have been developed to improve both their efficiency and the relevance of the atom mappings they provide. The implementations have been thoroughly evaluated and compared with existing solutions (KCOMBU and Indigo). The heuristics have been found to greatly improve the performance and applicability of the algorithms. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the applied methods and present the experimental results.

A study on the improvement of age estimation in common minke whales using the method of gelatinized extraction of earplug

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hikari Maeda

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We attempted to settle the potential problems of bias caused by too soft earplugs and poor formation of the growth layers in age readings of common minke whales. Thus, we examined the feasibility of a new technique of incorporating gelatin in order to collect earplugs for age assessment. Frozen sectioning and histology of the earplug core were also used as methods to improve age estimation. Earplugs were collected by filling the space in the external auditory meatus with gelatin, hardening the gelatin, earplug and its fragments, by spraying with cooling gas, and removing the earplug embedded in gelatin. In 174 trials with common minke whales in the Western North Pacific of coastal waters of Japan in 2007–2009, it was revealed that embedding earplugs with gelatin minimized breakage and protected the neonatal line (NL. This method was particularly effective in younger animals. As a result, the readability was improved. We also examined the histological sections, which were sliced using the Kawamoto specialized frozen sectioning technique, and stained them separately with toluidine blue, haematoxylin and eosin, Sudan III, Sudan VII, and alizarin red S to display a clearer core surface image of the growth layers. The histological sections stained with alizarin red S provided the clearest images, in which we could easily identify both dark and pale laminations. This suggested a close relationship with the seasonal changes in calcium intake from feeding. Earlier age estimation methods focused on fat content in the growth layers; however, we found potential for an improvement in the readability of unclear growth layers when focusing on calcium.

Digital Media Education and Advocacy: Addressing Attitudes toward Disability on College Campuses

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Michael T.; Mapes, Aimee C.; Taylor, Aryn; Bourgeois, Paul J.

2016-01-01

As digital information becomes the preferred mode of communication, media applications have become an emerging context to address attitudes toward disability. This practice brief details digital media as one method to critically frame ableism on college campuses, promoting a more inclusive campus environment. Coordinated by the disability service…

Changes in weed infestation of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L. under conditions of strip intercropping and different weed control methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandra Głowacka

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The experiment was conducted in the years 2004-2006 in a private farm in the village of Frankamionka in Zamość district. There were two experimental factors: I. Cultivation methods - sole cropping and strip intercropping; and II. Tending methods - mechanical, mechanical-chemical, and chemical weed control. The subject of the study was weed infestation of the Mela variety of common bean. Beans were sown between 30 April and 5 May. Weed infestation was assessed in the last week before harvesting by determining its floristic composition and the frequency of occurrence of particular weed species, as well as the air-dry weight of weeds. The dominant weed species were Galinsoga parviflora, Echinochloa crus-galli, Chenopodium album, and Amaranthus retroflexus, which comprised 84.7% of the total number of weeds. Strip intercropping markedly reduced the number of weeds per unit area (by 50%, as well as the dry weight of their aerial parts. The most effective method of weed control was the mechanical-chemical method, which resulted in the lowest occurrence of weeds. It also significantly reduced the weight of weeds.

Organization of Control Units with Operational Addressing

OpenAIRE

Alexander A. Barkalov; Roman M. Babakov; Larysa A. Titarenko

2012-01-01

The using of operational addressing unit as the block of control unit is proposed. The new structure model of Moore finite-state machine with reduced hardware amount is developed. The generalized structure of operational addressing unit is suggested. An example of synthesis process for Moore finite-state machine with operational addressing unit is given. The analytical researches of proposed structure of control unit are executed.

Comparing a single-stage geocoding method to a multi-stage geocoding method: how much and where do they disagree?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rice Kenneth

2007-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Geocoding methods vary among spatial epidemiology studies. Errors in the geocoding process and differential match rates may reduce study validity. We compared two geocoding methods using 8,157 Washington State addresses. The multi-stage geocoding method implemented by the state health department used a sequence of local and national reference files. The single-stage method used a single national reference file. For each address geocoded by both methods, we measured the distance between the locations assigned by each method. Area-level characteristics were collected from census data, and modeled as predictors of the discordance between geocoded address coordinates. Results The multi-stage method had a higher match rate than the single-stage method: 99% versus 95%. Of 7,686 addresses were geocoded by both methods, 96% were geocoded to the same census tract by both methods and 98% were geocoded to locations within 1 km of each other by the two methods. The distance between geocoded coordinates for the same address was higher in sparsely populated and low poverty areas, and counties with local reference files. Conclusion The multi-stage geocoding method had a higher match rate than the single-stage method. An examination of differences in the location assigned to the same address suggested that study results may be most sensitive to the choice of geocoding method in sparsely populated or low-poverty areas.

The common risk factor approach: a rational basis for promoting oral health.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheiham, A; Watt, R G

2000-12-01

Conventional oral health education is not effective nor efficient. Many oral health programmes are developed and implemented in isolation from other health programmes. This often leads, at best to a duplication of effort, or worse, conflicting messages being delivered to the public. In addition, oral health programmes tend to concentrate on individual behaviour change and largely ignore the influence of socio-political factors as the key determinants of health. Based upon the general principles of health promotion this paper presents a rationale for an alternative approach for oral health policy. The common risk factor approach addresses risk factors common to many chronic conditions within the context of the wider socio-environmental milieu. Oral health is determined by diet, hygiene, smoking, alcohol use, stress and trauma. As these causes are common to a number of other chronic diseases, adopting a collaborative approach is more rational than one that is disease specific. The common risk factor approach can be implemented in a variety of ways. Food policy development and the Health Promoting Schools initiative are used as examples of effective ways of promoting oral health.

Addressing environmental justice under the National Environment Policy Act at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cohen, T.M.; Bleakly, D.R.

1997-04-01

Under Executive Order 12898, Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia National Laboratories New Mexico (SNL) are required to identify and address, as appropriate, disproportionately high, adverse human health or environmental effects of their activities on minority and low-income populations. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) also requires that environmental justice issues be identified and addressed. This presents a challenge for SNL because it is located in a culturally diverse area. Successfully addressing potential impacts is contingent upon accurately identifying them through objective analysis of demographic information. However, an effective public participation process, which is necessarily subjective, is also needed to understand the subtle nuances of diverse populations that can contribute to a potential impact, yet are not always accounted for in a strict demographic profile. Typically, there is little or no coordination between these two disparate processes. This report proposes a five-step method for reconciling these processes and uses a hypothetical case study to illustrate the method. A demographic analysis and community profile of the population within 50 miles of SNL were developed to support the environmental justice analysis process and enhance SNL`s NEPA and public involvement programs. This report focuses on developing a methodology for identifying potentially impacted populations. Environmental justice issues related to worker exposures associated with SNL activities will be addressed in a separate report.

Common dental and periodontal diseases: evaluation and management.

Science.gov (United States)

Laudenbach, Joel M; Simon, Ziv

2014-11-01

Physicians may encounter patients with dental and periodontal diseases in the context of outpatient medical practice. It is important for physicians to be aware of common dental and periodontal conditions and be able to assess for the presence and severity of these diseases. This article reviews common dental and periodontal conditions, their cardinal signs and symptoms, outpatient-setting assessment techniques, as well as common methods of treatment. Physicians detecting gross abnormalities on clinical examination should refer the patient to a dentist for further evaluation and management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Addressing Ozone Layer Depletion

Science.gov (United States)

Access information on EPA's efforts to address ozone layer depletion through regulations, collaborations with stakeholders, international treaties, partnerships with the private sector, and enforcement actions under Title VI of the Clean Air Act.

Putting a Price Tag on the Common Core: How Much Will Smart Implementation Cost?

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Patrick; Regenstein, Elliot

2012-01-01

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for English language arts and mathematics represent a sea change in standards-based reform and their implementation is the movement's next--and greatest--challenge. Yet, while most states have now set forth implementation plans, these tomes seldom address the crucial matter of cost. Putting a Price Tag on the…

Addressing trend-related changes within cumulative effects studies in water resources planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Canter, L.W.; Chawla, M.K.; Swor, C.T.

2014-01-01

Summarized herein are 28 case studies wherein trend-related causative physical, social, or institutional changes were connected to consequential changes in runoff, water quality, and riparian and aquatic ecological features. The reviewed cases were systematically evaluated relative to their identified environmental effects; usage of analytical frameworks, and appropriate models, methods, and technologies; and the attention given to mitigation and/or management of the resultant causative and consequential changes. These changes also represent important considerations in project design and operation, and in cumulative effects studies associated therewith. The cases were grouped into five categories: institutional changes associated with legislation and policies (seven cases); physical changes from land use changes in urbanizing watersheds (eight cases); physical changes from land use changes and development projects in watersheds (four cases); physical, institutional, and social changes from land use and related policy changes in river basins (three cases); and multiple changes within a comprehensive study of land use and policy changes in the Willamette River Basin in Oregon (six cases). A tabulation of 110 models, methods and technologies used in the studies is also presented. General observations from this review were that the features were unique for each case; the consequential changes were logically based on the causative changes; the analytical frameworks provided relevant structures for the studies, and the identified methods and technologies were pertinent for addressing both the causative and consequential changes. One key lesson was that the cases provide useful, “real-world” illustrations of the importance of addressing trend-related changes in cumulative effects studies within water resources planning. Accordingly, they could be used as an “initial tool kit” for addressing trend-related changes

Addressing trend-related changes within cumulative effects studies in water resources planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Canter, L.W., E-mail: envimptr@aol.com [University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma and President, Canter Associates, Inc., Horseshoe Bay, TX (United States); Chawla, M.K. [ERDC-CERL, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Champaign, IL (United States); Swor, C.T. [Canter Associates, Inc., Frankewing, TN (United States)

2014-01-15

Summarized herein are 28 case studies wherein trend-related causative physical, social, or institutional changes were connected to consequential changes in runoff, water quality, and riparian and aquatic ecological features. The reviewed cases were systematically evaluated relative to their identified environmental effects; usage of analytical frameworks, and appropriate models, methods, and technologies; and the attention given to mitigation and/or management of the resultant causative and consequential changes. These changes also represent important considerations in project design and operation, and in cumulative effects studies associated therewith. The cases were grouped into five categories: institutional changes associated with legislation and policies (seven cases); physical changes from land use changes in urbanizing watersheds (eight cases); physical changes from land use changes and development projects in watersheds (four cases); physical, institutional, and social changes from land use and related policy changes in river basins (three cases); and multiple changes within a comprehensive study of land use and policy changes in the Willamette River Basin in Oregon (six cases). A tabulation of 110 models, methods and technologies used in the studies is also presented. General observations from this review were that the features were unique for each case; the consequential changes were logically based on the causative changes; the analytical frameworks provided relevant structures for the studies, and the identified methods and technologies were pertinent for addressing both the causative and consequential changes. One key lesson was that the cases provide useful, “real-world” illustrations of the importance of addressing trend-related changes in cumulative effects studies within water resources planning. Accordingly, they could be used as an “initial tool kit” for addressing trend-related changes.

Heart and reason. A comparison of John Dewey's. A common faith and his 'religious'poems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miedema, S.

2010-01-01

In this article a comparison is drawn between the way in which the pragmatist philosopher and pedagogue John Dewey addressed religious issues and his view on Religious Education in his poetic narratives and in his scholarly writings, especially in his magnus opus on religion, A Common Faith. Do we

SPEECH STRATEGIES AND TACTICS IN THE ANNUAL ADDRESSES OF ANGELA MERKEL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eysfeld Evgeniy Aleksandrovich

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to studying speech strategies and tactics on the material of annual addresses of Angela Merkel. The author carries out the systematic linguistic analysis of her speeches in the period from 2005 to 2015 and reveals the dynamics of the speaker's stratagem and tactic complex development. The peculiarities of speech strategies and tactics used byAngela Merkel are investigated by the methods of continuous sampling and contextual analysis. As the research shows, the main speech strategies used by Angela Merkel in the analyzed texts are the following: the self-presentation strategy, the interpretation strategy, the argumentation strategy, the strategy of forming the addressee's emotional state, and the agitation strategy. Consequently, the implementation of these strategies through the set of speech tactics lets the speaker fulfil certain communicative objectives. In one of her annual speeches Angela Merkel aims to inform the audience, to interpret some facts or data, to assume confidence-building measures, to consolidate the people, to determine common tasks, to make audience believe in correctness of their political choice, to discredit political competitors, to stimulate recipients to take some actions etc. Moreover, the process of combining strategies and tactics promotes optimal achievement of communicative targets. The conclusions of this article may result in further academic research. Therefore the comparative analysis of speech strategies and tactics in Russian and German political discourse can be perspective of this study.

An Address Event Representation-Based Processing System for a Biped Robot

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Uziel Jaramillo-Avila

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In recent years, several important advances have been made in the fields of both biologically inspired sensorial processing and locomotion systems, such as Address Event Representation-based cameras (or Dynamic Vision Sensors and in human-like robot locomotion, e.g., the walking of a biped robot. However, making these fields merge properly is not an easy task. In this regard, Neuromorphic Engineering is a fast-growing research field, the main goal of which is the biologically inspired design of hybrid hardware systems in order to mimic neural architectures and to process information in the manner of the brain. However, few robotic applications exist to illustrate them. The main goal of this work is to demonstrate, by creating a closed-loop system using only bio-inspired techniques, how such applications can work properly. We present an algorithm using Spiking Neural Networks (SNN for a biped robot equipped with a Dynamic Vision Sensor, which is designed to follow a line drawn on the floor. This is a commonly used method for demonstrating control techniques. Most of them are fairly simple to implement without very sophisticated components; however, it can still serve as a good test in more elaborate circumstances. In addition, the locomotion system proposed is able to coordinately control the six DOFs of a biped robot in switching between basic forms of movement. The latter has been implemented as a FPGA-based neuromorphic system. Numerical tests and hardware validation are presented.

Addressing the Sustainability of Groundwater Extraction in California Using Hydrochronology

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, J. E.; Visser, A.; Singleton, M. J.; Esser, B. K.

2017-12-01

In urban and agricultural settings in California, intense pressure on water supplies has led to extensive managed aquifer recharge and extensive overdraft in these areas, respectively. The California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) includes criteria for pumping that maintains groundwater levels and basin storage, and avoids stream depletion and degradation of water quality. Most sustainability plans will likely use water level monitoring and water budget balancing based on integrated flow models as evidence of compliance. However, hydrochronology data are applicable to several of the criteria, and provide an independent method of addressing questions related to basin turnover time, recharge rate, surface water-groundwater interaction, and the age distribution at pumping wells. We have applied hydrochronology (mainly tritium-helium groundwater age dating and extrinsic tracers) in urban areas to delineate flowpaths of artificially recharged water, to identify stagnant zones bypassed by the engineered flow system, and to predict vulnerability of drinking water sources to contamination. In agricultural areas, we have applied multi-tracer hydrochronology to delineate groundwater stratigraphy, to identify paleowater, and to project future nitrate concentrations in long-screened wells. This presentation will describe examples in which groundwater dating and other tracer methods can be applied to directly address the SGMA criteria for sustainable groundwater pumping.

JEREMIAD FRAMES IN REAGAN’S INAUGURAL ADDRESSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mister Gidion Maru

2013-04-01

Full Text Available This research attempts to examine the existence of frames from jeremiad tradition as part of American values in an American president’s inaugural address. The function and context of the frames are also investigated. These aims are achieved by applying Goffman’s Frame Analysis on the text of Reagan’s inaugural addresses. This inaugural addresses is chosen because Reagan’s presidency is regarded to set the tone for the following presidencies; his presidency faced crises which other presidents following him have also faced; and he is viewed as one of the best orators among American presidents. The results show that Ronald Reagan’s inaugural addresses use the jeremiad frames which are categorized into three forms, namely, the lamentation of the present, the evocation of the past and the calling for renewal. By using these frames in combination with the context of the inaugural address, Reagan presents American perspective and hopes for their situation and future.

Addressing Three Common Myths about the Next Generation Science Standards

Science.gov (United States)

Huff, Kenneth L.

2016-01-01

Although the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS Lead States 2013) were released over two years ago, misconceptions about what they are--and are not--persist. The "NGSS" provide for consistent science education opportunities for all students--regardless of demographics--with a level of rigor expected in every location and…

Preventing and Addressing Challenging Behavior: Common Questions and Practical Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Ostrosky, Michaelene M.; Corso, Robert M.

2012-01-01

The purpose of this article is to offer preschool teachers strategies for preventing challenging behavior and supporting the development of social skills and emotional competencies. This article is framed in a question and answer format using questions from teachers who the authors have worked with in the past. These questions and strategies are…

Addressing problems of employee performance.

Science.gov (United States)

McConnell, Charles R

2011-01-01

Employee performance problems are essentially of 2 kinds: those that are motivational in origin and those resulting from skill deficiencies. Both kinds of problems are the province of the department manager. Performance problems differ from problems of conduct in that traditional disciplinary processes ordinarily do not apply. Rather, performance problems are addressed through educational and remedial processes. The manager has a basic responsibility in ensuring that everything reasonable is done to help each employee succeed. There are a number of steps the manager can take to address employee performance problems.

What did we find? Common Ground!

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ahnfeldt-Mollerup, Merete

2010-01-01

Within the field of planning, an important task is the creation of a common understanding of the issues at hand. Over the course of 7 years, we have been studying how architectural and anthropological methods can contribute to this. Our studies interchange between experimental practice and theory....

Targeted endothelial nanomedicine for common acute pathological conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Shuvaev, Vladimir V; Brenner, Jacob S; Muzykantov, Vladimir R

2015-12-10

Endothelium, a thin monolayer of specialized cells lining the lumen of blood vessels is the key regulatory interface between blood and tissues. Endothelial abnormalities are implicated in many diseases, including common acute conditions with high morbidity and mortality lacking therapy, in part because drugs and drug carriers have no natural endothelial affinity. Precise endothelial drug delivery may improve management of these conditions. Using ligands of molecules exposed to the bloodstream on the endothelial surface enables design of diverse targeted endothelial nanomedicine agents. Target molecules and binding epitopes must be accessible to drug carriers, carriers must be free of harmful effects, and targeting should provide desirable sub-cellular addressing of the drug cargo. The roster of current candidate target molecules for endothelial nanomedicine includes peptidases and other enzymes, cell adhesion molecules and integrins, localized in different domains of the endothelial plasmalemma and differentially distributed throughout the vasculature. Endowing carriers with an affinity to specific endothelial epitopes enables an unprecedented level of precision of control of drug delivery: binding to selected endothelial cell phenotypes, cellular addressing and duration of therapeutic effects. Features of nanocarrier design such as choice of epitope and ligand control delivery and effect of targeted endothelial nanomedicine agents. Pathological factors modulate endothelial targeting and uptake of nanocarriers. Selection of optimal binding sites and design features of nanocarriers are key controllable factors that can be iteratively engineered based on their performance from in vitro to pre-clinical in vivo experimental models. Targeted endothelial nanomedicine agents provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other therapeutic effects unattainable by non-targeted counterparts in animal models of common acute severe human disease conditions. The results of animal

Standard Test Method for Sandwich Corrosion Test

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2009-01-01

1.1 This test method defines the procedure for evaluating the corrosivity of aircraft maintenance chemicals, when present between faying surfaces (sandwich) of aluminum alloys commonly used for aircraft structures. This test method is intended to be used in the qualification and approval of compounds employed in aircraft maintenance operations. 1.2 The values stated in SI units are to be regarded as the standard. The values given in parentheses are for information. 1.3 This standard may involve hazardous materials, operations, and equipment. This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use. Specific hazard statements appear in Section 9.

Respiratory infections in adults with atopic disease and IgE antibodies to common aeroallergens.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aino Rantala

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Atopic diseases, including allergic rhinitis, allergic dermatitis and asthma, are common diseases with a prevalence of 30-40% worldwide and are thus of great global public health importance. Allergic inflammation may influence the immunity against infections, so atopic individuals could be susceptible to respiratory infections. No previous population-based study has addressed the relation between atopy and respiratory infections in adulthood. We assessed the relation between atopic disease, specific IgE antibodies and the occurrence of upper and lower respiratory infections in the past 12 months among working-aged adults. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A population-based cross-sectional study of 1008 atopic and non-atopic adults 21-63 years old was conducted. Information on atopic diseases, allergy tests and respiratory infections was collected by a questionnaire. Specific IgE antibodies to common aeroallergens were measured in serum. Adults with atopic disease had a significantly increased risk of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI; including acute bronchitis and pneumonia with an adjusted risk ratio (RR 2.24 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 3.52 and upper respiratory tract infections (URTI; including common cold, sinusitis, tonsillitis, and otitis media with an adjusted RR 1.55 (1.14, 2.10. The risk of LRTIs increased with increasing level of specific IgE (linear trend P = 0.059. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides new evidence that working-aged adults with atopic disease experience significantly more LRTIs and URTIs than non-atopics. The occurrence of respiratory infections increased with increasing levels of specific IgE antibodies to common aeroallergens, showing a dose-response pattern with LRTIs. From the clinical point of view it is important to recognize that those with atopies are a risk group for respiratory infections, including more severe LRTIs.

Addressing the Academic Gap Between 4- and 6-Year Pharmacy Programs in South Korea

OpenAIRE

Yoo, Sujin; Song, Seungyeon; Lee, Sangmi; Kwon, Kwangil; Kim, Eunyoung

2014-01-01

Objective. To address the academic gap (or lack of adequate training and programs) between 4- and 6-year pharmacy programs and suggest methods for reducing this gap and to evaluate pharmacists’ perceptions of preceptorship.

Using the method of judgement analysis to address variations in diagnostic decision making

OpenAIRE

Hancock, Helen C; Mason, James M; Murphy, Jerry J

2012-01-01

Abstract Background Heart failure is not a clear-cut diagnosis but a complex clinical syndrome with consequent diagnostic uncertainty. Judgment analysis is a method to help clinical teams to understand how they make complex decisions. The method of judgment analysis was used to determine the factors that influence clinicians' diagnostic decisions about heart failure. Methods Three consultants, three middle grade doctors, and two junior doctors each evaluated 45 patient scenarios. The main out...

An Evaluation of Common Cleaning Methods for the Removal of a Clinical Isolate of Escherichia coli in Personal Hydration System Water Reservoirs.

Science.gov (United States)

Helmus, Stephanie; Blythe, Jauchia; Guevara, Peter; Washington, Michael A

2016-01-01

Waterborne infection is an important cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Personal hydration packs have been used by military personnel since the Gulf War and are now a common issue item. Since military personnel tend to operate under austere conditions and may use a variety of water sources, preventing the acquisition of waterborne infections is extremely important. Further, since hydration pack water reservoir replacements may not be available during combat operations, the development of a reliable cleaning protocol for use in the field is essential. Several methods for cleaning have been described. In the current study, three common cleaning methodologies-bleach treatment, baking soda treatment, and proprietary CAMELBAK Cleaning Tabs™-were evaluated for the ability to remove Escherichia coli contamination from hydration pack water reservoirs. The study results suggest that the use of bleach and proprietary CAMELBAK tablets should be encouraged since they both operate by releasing bactericidal chlorine compounds into solution, which is more effective at reducing post-treatment bacterial burden. It should be noted that no method was 100% effective at completely eliminating bacteria from the reservoirs and that mechanical cleaning was not attempted. 2016.

Research of future network with multi-layer IP address

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Guoling; Long, Zhaohua; Wei, Ziqiang

2018-04-01

The shortage of IP addresses and the scalability of routing systems [1] are challenges for the Internet. The idea of dividing existing IP addresses between identities and locations is one of the important research directions. This paper proposed a new decimal network architecture based on IPv9 [11], and decimal network IP address from E.164 principle of traditional telecommunication network, the IP address level, which helps to achieve separation and identification and location of IP address, IP address form a multilayer network structure, routing scalability problem in remission at the same time, to solve the problem of IPv4 address depletion. On the basis of IPv9, a new decimal network architecture is proposed, and the IP address of the decimal network draws on the E.164 principle of the traditional telecommunication network, and the IP addresses are hierarchically divided, which helps to realize the identification and location separation of IP addresses, the formation of multi-layer IP address network structure, while easing the scalability of the routing system to find a way out of IPv4 address exhausted. In addition to modifying DNS [10] simply and adding the function of digital domain, a DDNS [12] is formed. At the same time, a gateway device is added, that is, IPV9 gateway. The original backbone network and user network are unchanged.

PACC information management code for common cause failures analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ortega Prieto, P.; Garcia Gay, J.; Mira McWilliams, J.

1987-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to present the PACC code, which, through an adequate data management, makes the task of computerized common-mode failure analysis easier. PACC processes and generates information in order to carry out the corresponding qualitative analysis, by means of the boolean technique of transformation of variables, and the quantitative analysis either using one of several parametric methods or a direct data-base. As far as the qualitative analysis is concerned, the code creates several functional forms for the transformation equations according to the user's choice. These equations are subsequently processed by boolean manipulation codes, such as SETS. The quantitative calculations of the code can be carried out in two different ways: either starting from a common cause data-base, or through parametric methods, such as the Binomial Failure Rate Method, the Basic Parameters Method or the Multiple Greek Letter Method, among others. (orig.)

Developing safety culture-rocket science or common sense?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahn, J.A.

1998-01-01

Despite evidence of significant management contributions to the causes of major accidents, recent events at Millstone Nuclear Power Station in the US and Ontario Hydro in Canada might lead one to conclude that the significance of safety culture, and the role of management in developing and maintaining an appropriate safety culture, is either not being understood or not being taken serious as integral to the safe operation of some complex, high-reliability operations. It is the purpose of this paper to address four aspects of management that are particularly important to safety culture, and to illustrate how development of an appropriate safety culture is more a matter of common sense than rocket science

Developing safety culture-rocket science or common sense?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mahn, J.A.

1998-08-01

Despite evidence of significant management contributions to the causes of major accidents, recent events at Millstone Nuclear Power Station in the US and Ontario Hydro in Canada might lead one to conclude that the significance of safety culture, and the role of management in developing and maintaining an appropriate safety culture, is either not being understood or not being taken serious as integral to the safe operation of some complex, high-reliability operations. It is the purpose of this paper to address four aspects of management that are particularly important to safety culture, and to illustrate how development of an appropriate safety culture is more a matter of common sense than rocket science.

Recent NRC research activities addressing valve and pump issues

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrison, D.L.

1996-12-01

The mission of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is to ensure the safe design, construction, and operation of commercial nuclear power plants and other facilities in the U.S.A. One of the main roles that the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) plays in achieving the NRC mission is to plan, recommend, and implement research programs that address safety and technical issues deemed important by the NRC. The results of the research activities provide the bases for developing NRC positions or decisions on these issues. Also, RES performs confirmatory research for developing the basis to evaluate industry responses and positions on various regulatory requirements. This presentation summarizes some recent RES supported research activities that have addressed safety and technical issues related to valves and pumps. These activities include the efforts on determining valve and motor-operator responses under dynamic loads and pressure locking events, evaluation of monitoring equipment, and methods for detecting and trending aging of check valves and pumps. The role that RES is expected to play in future years to fulfill the NRC mission is also discussed.

A comparison of confirmatory factor analysis methods : Oblique multiple group method versus confirmatory common factor method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stuive, Ilse

2007-01-01

Confirmatieve Factor Analyse (CFA) is een vaak gebruikte methode wanneer onderzoekers een bepaalde veronderstelling hebben over de indeling van items in één of meerdere subtests en willen onderzoeken of deze indeling ook wordt ondersteund door verzamelde onderzoeksgegevens. De meest gebruikte

A Development of Common Cause Failure Propagation Paths Identification Method Using Coloured Petri Nets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yim, Ho Bin; Park, Jae Min; Lee, Chang Gyun; Huh, Jae Young; Lee, Gyu Cheon

2017-01-01

The concept of Common-Cause Failure (CCF) first appeared in the aerospace industry several decades ago, and nuclear power industry actively adopted the concept to the nuclear power plant (NPP) system analysis after the TMI accident. Since digital Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems were applied to the NPP design, the CCF issues once again drew attention from the nuclear power industry in 90's. Identification of CCF has not been considered as a challenging issue because of its simplicity. However, as the systems become more complex and interconnected, demands are increasing to analyze CCF in more detail, for example, CCF with multiple initiating events or supporting situation awareness of the operation crew. The newly suggested CCF propagation paths identification method, CCF-SIREn, is expected to resolve path identification issue more practically and efficiently. CCF-SIREn uses general diagrams so that the compatibility and usability can be hugely increased. It also offers up-to-date CCF information with a least analysis effort whenever the ordinary NPP design change processes are made. A back-propagation technique is still under development to find out root-causes from the suspiciously responding signals, alarms and components. The probabilistic approach is also under consideration to prioritize defined CCF.

Scoping review of health promotion and disease prevention interventions addressed to elderly people.

Science.gov (United States)

Duplaga, Mariusz; Grysztar, Marcin; Rodzinka, Marcin; Kopec, Agnieszka

2016-09-05

The ageing of modern societies remains one of the greatest challenges for health and social systems. To respond to this challenge, we need effective strategies assuring healthy active life for elderly people. Health promotion and related activities are perceived as a key intervention, which can improve wellbeing in later life. The main aim of this study is the identification and classification of such interventions addressed to older adults and elderly. Therefore, the strategy based on the scoping review as a feasible tool for exploring this domain, summarizing research findings and identifying gaps of evidence, was applied. The scoping review relies on the analysis of previous reviews of interventions aimed at older adults (55-64 years old) and elderly persons (65 years and above) assessed for their effectiveness in the framework of a systematic review and/or meta-analysis. The search strategy was based on the identification of interventions reported as health promotion, primary disease prevention, screening or social support. In the analysis, the reviews published from January 2000 to April 2015 were included. The search strategy yielded 334 systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses addressed to target groups of interest, 182 of them assessed interventions belonging to health promotion, 219 to primary prevention, 34 to screening and 35 to social support. The studies focused on elderly (65 years and above) made up 40.4 % of all retrieved reviews and those addressing population of 55 years and above accounted for 24.0 %. Interventions focused on health maintenance and improvement in elderly and older adults represent frequently combined health promotion and disease prevention actions. Many interventions of this type are not addressed exclusively to elderly populations and/or older adults but are designed for the general population. The most common types of interventions addressed to elderly and older adults in the area of health promotion include health

Common usage of cardiologic anatomical terminology: critical analysis and a trilingual discussion proposal.

Science.gov (United States)

Werneck, Alexandre Lins; Batigália, Fernando

2009-01-01

Terminology and Lexicography have been especially addressed to the Allied Health Sciences regarding discussion of case reports or concerning publication of scientific articles. The knowledge of Human Anatomy enables the understanding of medical terms and the refinement of Medical Terminology makes possible a better anatomicomedical communication in a highly technical level. Most of the scientific publications in both Anatomy and Medicine are found only in English and most of dictionaries or search resources available do not have specificity enough to explain anatomicomedical, terminological, or lexicographical occurrences. To design and produce a multilingual terminological dictionary (Latin-English-Portuguese-Spanish) containing a list of English anatomicomedical terms in common usage in cardiology subspecialties addressed to medical students and professionals, to other allied health sciences professionals, and to translators working in this specific field. Terms, semantical and grammatical components were selected to compose an anatomicocardiological corpus. The adequacy to the thematic terminological research requests and the translation reliability level will be settled from the terminology specificity in contrast to the semantics, as well as from a peer survey of the main terms used by national and international experts in specialized journals, Internet sites, and from text-books on Anatomy and Cardiology. The inclusion criteria will be the terms included in the English, Portuguese, and Spanish Terminologia Anatomica - the official terminology of the anatomical sciences; nonofficial technical commonly used terms which lead to terminology or translation misunderstanding often being a source of confusion. A table with a sample of the 508 most used anatomical cardiologic terms in English language peer-reviewed journals of cardiology and (pediatric and adult) thoracic surgery is shown. The working up of a multilingual terminological dictionary reduces the risk of

CMLOG: A common message logging system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, J.; Akers, W.; Bickley, M.; Wu, D.; Watson, W. III

1997-01-01

The Common Message Logging (CMLOG) system is an object-oriented and distributed system that not only allows applications and systems to log data (messages) of any type into a centralized database but also lets applications view incoming messages in real-time or retrieve stored data from the database according to selection rules. It consists of a concurrent Unix server that handles incoming logging or searching messages, a Motif browser that can view incoming messages in real-time or display stored data in the database, a client daemon that buffers and sends logging messages to the server, and libraries that can be used by applications to send data to or retrieve data from the database via the server. This paper presents the design and implementation of the CMLOG system meanwhile it will also address the issue of integration of CMLOG into existing control systems. CMLOG into existing control systems

Alternate modal combination methods in response spectrum analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezler, P.; Curreri, J.R.; Wang, Y.K.; Gupta, A.K.

1990-10-01

In piping analyses using the response spectrum method Square Root of the Sum of the Squares (SRSS) with clustering between closely spaced modes is the combination procedure most commonly used to combine between the modal response components. This procedure is simple to apply and normally yields conservative estimates of the time history results. The purpose of this study is to investigate alternate methods to combine between the modal response components. These methods are mathematically based to properly account for the combination between rigid and flexible modal responses as well as closely spaced modes. The methods are those advanced by Gupta, Hadjian and Lindely-Yow to address rigid response modes and the Double Sum Combination (DSC) method and the Complete Quadratic Combination (CQC) method to account for closely spaced modes. A direct comparison between these methods as well as the SRSS procedure is made by using them to predict the response of six piping systems. The results provided by each method are compared to the corresponding time history estimates of results as well as to each other. The degree of conservatism associated with each method is characterized. 19 refs., 16 figs., 10 tabs

Partnering with Communities to Address the Mental Health Needs of Rural Veterans

Science.gov (United States)

Kirchner, JoAnn E.; Farmer, Mary Sue; Shue, Valorie M.; Blevins, Dean; Sullivan, Greer

2011-01-01

Purpose: Many veterans who face mental illness and live in rural areas never obtain the mental health care they need. To address these needs, it is important to reach out to community stakeholders who are likely to have frequent interactions with veterans, particularly those returning from Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF). Methods:…

Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and heat capacity by flash thermal imaging methods

Science.gov (United States)

Tao, N.; Li, X. L.; Sun, J. G.

2017-06-01

Thermal properties are important for material applications involved with temperature. Although many measurement methods are available, they may not be convenient to use or have not been demonstrated suitable for testing of a wide range of materials. To address this issue, we developed a new method for the nondestructive measurement of the thermal effusivity of bulk materials with uniform property. This method is based on the pulsed thermal imaging-multilayer analysis (PTI-MLA) method that has been commonly used for testing of coating materials. Because the test sample for PTI-MLA has to be in a two-layer configuration, we have found a commonly used commercial tape to construct such test samples with the tape as the first-layer material and the bulk material as the substrate. This method was evaluated for testing of six selected solid materials with a wide range of thermal properties covering most engineering materials. To determine both thermal conductivity and heat capacity, we also measured the thermal diffusivity of these six materials by the well-established flash method using the same experimental instruments with a different system setup. This paper provides a description of these methods, presents detailed experimental tests and data analyses, and discusses measurement results and their comparison with literature values.

A framework for a process-driven common foundation programme for graduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Jasper, M; Rolfe, G

1993-10-01

This paper discusses some of the problems encountered in writing a shortened Common Foundation Programme in nursing for graduates, and outlines a course which takes as its starting point the particular educational needs and requirements of the student group. Thus, the first question to be addressed by the curriculum writers when designing the course was "How can we teach these students?", rather than "What can we teach them?". The resulting process-driven course is heavily influenced by the student-centred philosophy of Carl Rogers, and utilizes a variety of large- and small-group methods to facilitate the students in gradually taking responsibility for, and making decisions about, their learning needs. The paper continues with some strategies for ensuring a smooth transition from a tutor-led, syllabus-driven start to the course, to a student-led, process-driven finish for both the theoretical and clinical components, and for the assessment schedule. Finally, a student-centred approach to evaluation is briefly outlined, and the paper concludes by suggesting that the principles employed in designing and implementing this course could be successfully transferred to a wide variety of other educational settings.

Common Spatialities: The Production of the Multitude

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucía Jalón Oyrazún

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The Gezi Park barricades in Istanbul, the OWS occupation of Zucotti Park in New York City, the tents of the Indignados movement in Spain, the London Blackberry riots and the seizure of Tahrir Square in Cairo to demand the overthrow of a dictator. As new forms of social coexistence and relationships are being configured, and new spaces for encounter and conflict are produced, architecture feels that essential questions regarding its activity are being addressed in each and every one of these situations. And yet we seem unable to relate to them and grasp their significance as we repeatedly turn to old metaphors and tools. If modern architecture pursues the modern liberal state techniques of management and administration of life, then recent forms of political action, which claim a new relation to the sensible, demand – and might help develop – a new understanding of architecture. We are moving from technical and disciplinary knowledge towards a critical practice that integrates with the action of the multitude. Starting from a definition of commons as the production of the multitude, we seek not only to understand the spatial dimension of this production, but also to acknowledge space as common. 

Biological approaches for addressing the grand challenge of providing access to clean drinking water

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

The U.S. National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recently published a document presenting "Grand Challenges for Engineering". This list was proposed by leading engineers and scientists from around the world at the request of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). Fourteen topics were selected for these grand challenges, and at least seven can be addressed using the tools and methods of biological engineering. Here we describe how biological engineers can address the challenge of providing access to clean drinking water. This issue must be addressed in part by removing or inactivating microbial and chemical contaminants in order to properly deliver water safe for human consumption. Despite many advances in technologies this challenge is expanding due to increased pressure on fresh water supplies and to new opportunities for growth of potentially pathogenic organisms. PMID:21453515

Research on common methods for evaluating the operation effect of integrated wastewater treatment facilities of iron and steel enterprises

Science.gov (United States)

Bingsheng, Xu

2017-04-01

Considering the large quantities of wastewater generated from iron and steel enterprises in China, this paper is aimed to research the common methods applied for evaluating the integrated wastewater treatment effect of iron and steel enterprises. Based on survey results on environmental protection performance, technological economy, resource & energy consumption, services and management, an indicator system for evaluating the operation effect of integrated wastewater treatment facilities is set up. By discussing the standards and industrial policies in and out of China, 27 key secondary indicators are further defined on the basis of investigation on main equipment and key processes for wastewater treatment, so as to determine the method for setting key quantitative and qualitative indicators for evaluation indicator system. It is also expected to satisfy the basic requirements of reasonable resource allocation, environmental protection and sustainable economic development, further improve the integrated wastewater treatment effect of iron and steel enterprises, and reduce the emission of hazardous substances and environmental impact.

On the CO2 Wettability of Reservoir Rocks: Addressing Conflicting Information

Science.gov (United States)

Garing, C.; Wang, S.; Tokunaga, T. K.; Wan, J.; Benson, S. M.

2017-12-01

Conventional wisdom is that siliclastic rocks are strongly water wet for the CO2-brine system, leading to high irreducible water saturation, moderate residual gas trapping and implying that tight rocks provide efficient seals for buoyant CO2. If the wetting properties become intermediate or CO2 wet, the conclusions regarding CO2 flow and trapping could be very different. Addressing the CO2 wettability of seal and reservoir rocks is therefore essential to predict CO2 storage in geologic formation. Although a substantial amount of work has been dedicated to the topic, contact angle data show a large variability and experiments on plates, micromodels and cores report conflicting results regarding the influence of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) exposure on wetting properties: whereas some experimental studies suggest dewetting upon reaction with scCO2, some others observe no wettability alteration under reservoir scCO2 conditions. After reviewing evidences for and against wettability changes associated with scCO2, we discuss potential causes for differences in experimental results. They include the presence of organic matter and impact of sample treatment, the type of media (non consolidated versus real rock), experimental time and exposure to scCO2, and difference in measurement system (porous plate versus stationary fluid method). In order to address these points, new scCO2/brine drainage-imbibition experiments were conducted on a same Berea sandstone rock core, first untreated, then fired and finally exposed to scCO2 for three weeks, using the stationary fluid method. The results are compared to similar experiments performed on quartz sands, untreated and then baked, using the porous plate method. In addition, a comparative experiment using the same Idaho gray sandstone rock core was performed with both the porous plate and the stationary fluid methods to investigate possible method-dependent results.

Phenotyping common beans for adaptation to drought

Science.gov (United States)

Beebe, Stephen E.; Rao, Idupulapati M.; Blair, Matthew W.; Acosta-Gallegos, Jorge A.

2013-01-01

Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) originated in the New World and are the grain legume of greatest production for direct human consumption. Common bean production is subject to frequent droughts in highland Mexico, in the Pacific coast of Central America, in northeast Brazil, and in eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa. This article reviews efforts to improve common bean for drought tolerance, referring to genetic diversity for drought response, the physiology of drought tolerance mechanisms, and breeding strategies. Different races of common bean respond differently to drought, with race Durango of highland Mexico being a major source of genes. Sister species of P. vulgaris likewise have unique traits, especially P. acutifolius which is well adapted to dryland conditions. Diverse sources of tolerance may have different mechanisms of plant response, implying the need for different methods of phenotyping to recognize the relevant traits. Practical considerations of field management are discussed including: trial planning; water management; and field preparation. PMID:23507928

Biometrics and Psychometrics: Origins, Commonalities and Differences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Gower

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Starting with the common origins of biometrics and psychometrics at the beginning of the twentieth century, the paper compares and contrasts subsequent developments, informed by the author's 35 years at Rothamsted Experimental Station followed by a period with the data theory group in Leiden and thereafter. Although the methods used by biometricians and psychometricians have much in common, there are important differences arising from the different fields of study. Similar differences arise wherever data are generated and may be regarded as a major driving force in the development of statistical ideas.

Providing cell phone numbers and email addresses to Patients: the physician's perspective

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background The provision of cell phone numbers and email addresses enhances the accessibility of medical consultations, but can add to the burden of physicians' routine clinical practice and affect their free time. The objective was to assess the attitudes of physicians to providing their telephone number or email address to patients. Methods Primary care physicians in the southern region of Israel completed a structured questionnaire that related to the study objective. Results The study population included 120 primary care physicians with a mean age of 41.2 ± 8.5, 88 of them women (73.3%). Physicians preferred to provide their cell phone number rather than their email address (P = 0.0007). They preferred to answer their cell phones only during the daytime and at predetermined times, but would answer email most hours of the day, including weekends and holidays (P = 0.001). More physicians (79.7%) would have preferred allotted time for email communication than allotted time for cell phone communication (50%). However, they felt that email communication was more likely to lead to miscommunication than telephone calls (P = 0.0001). There were no differences between male and female physicians on the provision of cell phone numbers or email addresses to patients. Older physicians were more prepared to provide cell phone numbers that younger ones (P = 0.039). Conclusions The attitude of participating physicians was to provide their cell phone number or email address to some of their patients, but most of them preferred to give out their cell phone number. PMID:21426591

Providing cell phone numbers and email addresses to Patients: the physician's perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Freud Tamar

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The provision of cell phone numbers and email addresses enhances the accessibility of medical consultations, but can add to the burden of physicians' routine clinical practice and affect their free time. The objective was to assess the attitudes of physicians to providing their telephone number or email address to patients. Methods Primary care physicians in the southern region of Israel completed a structured questionnaire that related to the study objective. Results The study population included 120 primary care physicians with a mean age of 41.2 ± 8.5, 88 of them women (73.3%. Physicians preferred to provide their cell phone number rather than their email address (P = 0.0007. They preferred to answer their cell phones only during the daytime and at predetermined times, but would answer email most hours of the day, including weekends and holidays (P = 0.001. More physicians (79.7% would have preferred allotted time for email communication than allotted time for cell phone communication (50%. However, they felt that email communication was more likely to lead to miscommunication than telephone calls (P = 0.0001. There were no differences between male and female physicians on the provision of cell phone numbers or email addresses to patients. Older physicians were more prepared to provide cell phone numbers that younger ones (P = 0.039. Conclusions The attitude of participating physicians was to provide their cell phone number or email address to some of their patients, but most of them preferred to give out their cell phone number.

Citizenship, Community Mental Health, and the Common Good.

Science.gov (United States)

Atterbury, Kendall; Rowe, Michael

2017-07-01

In this article, we address the issue of community mental health and the common good via an applied theory of citizenship to support the social inclusion, empowerment, and inclusion of persons diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. We begin by discussing citizenship, and the concept of the common good, in regard to historical conceptions of citizenship, including the historical exclusion of women, people of color, persons with mental illness, and others. We then review the development of our citizenship framework in response to the limitations of even the most innovative community mental health interventions, specifically the practice of mental health outreach to persons who are homeless. We review findings from three citizenship research studies - a community-level intervention, an individual- and group-level intervention, and development of an individual instrument of citizenship - along with brief comments on current citizenship research. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges of realizing both the individual and collective potential of, and challenges to, the citizenship framework in relation to current and future community mental health systems of care. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Strategies to increase demand for maternal health services in resource-limited settings: challenges to be addressed.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Elmusharaf, Khalifa

2015-09-01

Universal health access will not be achieved unless women are cared for in their own communities and are empowered to take decisions about their own health in a supportive environment. This will only be achieved by community-based demand side interventions for maternal health access. In this review article, we highlight three common strategies to increase demand-side barriers to maternal healthcare access and identify the main challenges that still need to be addressed for these strategies to be effective.

Community health centers and community development financial institutions: joining forces to address determinants of health.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotelchuck, Ronda; Lowenstein, Daniel; Tobin, Jonathan N

2011-11-01

Community health centers and community development financial institutions share similar origins and missions and are increasingly working together to meet community needs. Addressing the social and economic determinants of health is a common focus. The availability of new federal grants and tax credits has led these financial institutions to invest in the creation and expansion of community health centers. This article reviews the most recent trends in these two sectors and explores opportunities for further collaboration to transform the health and well-being of the nation's low-income communities.

A common evaluation framework for the African Health Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background The African Health Initiative includes highly diverse partnerships in five countries (Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zambia), each of which is working to improve population health by strengthening health systems and to evaluate the results. One aim of the Initiative is to generate cross-site learning that can inform implementation in the five partnerships during the project period and identify lessons that may be generalizable to other countries in the region. Collaborators in the Initiative developed a common evaluation framework as a basis for this cross-site learning. Methods This paper describes the components of the framework; this includes the conceptual model, core metrics to be measured in all sites, and standard guidelines for reporting on the implementation of partnership activities and contextual factors that may affect implementation, or the results it produces. We also describe the systems that have been put in place for data management, data quality assessments, and cross-site analysis of results. Results and conclusions The conceptual model for the Initiative highlights points in the causal chain between health system strengthening activities and health impact where evidence produced by the partnerships can contribute to learning. This model represents an important advance over its predecessors by including contextual factors and implementation strength as potential determinants, and explicitly including equity as a component of both outcomes and impact. Specific measurement challenges include the prospective documentation of program implementation and contextual factors. Methodological issues addressed in the development of the framework include the aggregation of data collected using different methods and the challenge of evaluating a complex set of interventions being improved over time based on continuous monitoring and intermediate results. PMID:23819778

Weight-training injuries. Common injuries and preventative methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazur, L J; Yetman, R J; Risser, W L

1993-07-01

The use of weights is an increasingly popular conditioning technique, competitive sport and recreational activity among children, adolescents and young adults. Weight-training can cause significant musculoskeletal injuries such as fractures, dislocations, spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, intervertebral disk herniation, and meniscal injuries of the knee. Although injuries can occur during the use of weight machines, most apparently happen during the aggressive use of free weights. Prepubescent and older athletes who are well trained and supervised appear to have low injury rates in strength training programmes. Good coaching and proper weightlifting techniques and other injury prevention methods are likely to minimise the number of musculoskeletal problems caused by weight-training.

The next organizational challenge: finding and addressing diagnostic error.

Science.gov (United States)

Graber, Mark L; Trowbridge, Robert; Myers, Jennifer S; Umscheid, Craig A; Strull, William; Kanter, Michael H

2014-03-01

Although health care organizations (HCOs) are intensely focused on improving the safety of health care, efforts to date have almost exclusively targeted treatment-related issues. The literature confirms that the approaches HCOs use to identify adverse medical events are not effective in finding diagnostic errors, so the initial challenge is to identify cases of diagnostic error. WHY HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO GET INVOLVED: HCOs are preoccupied with many quality- and safety-related operational and clinical issues, including performance measures. The case for paying attention to diagnostic errors, however, is based on the following four points: (1) diagnostic errors are common and harmful, (2) high-quality health care requires high-quality diagnosis, (3) diagnostic errors are costly, and (4) HCOs are well positioned to lead the way in reducing diagnostic error. FINDING DIAGNOSTIC ERRORS: Current approaches to identifying diagnostic errors, such as occurrence screens, incident reports, autopsy, and peer review, were not designed to detect diagnostic issues (or problems of omission in general) and/or rely on voluntary reporting. The realization that the existing tools are inadequate has spurred efforts to identify novel tools that could be used to discover diagnostic errors or breakdowns in the diagnostic process that are associated with errors. New approaches--Maine Medical Center's case-finding of diagnostic errors by facilitating direct reports from physicians and Kaiser Permanente's electronic health record--based reports that detect process breakdowns in the followup of abnormal findings--are described in case studies. By raising awareness and implementing targeted programs that address diagnostic error, HCOs may begin to play an important role in addressing the problem of diagnostic error.

Gender-based generalisations in school nurses' appraisals of and interventions addressing students' mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosvall, Per-Åke; Nilsson, Stefan

2016-08-30

There has been an increase of reports describing mental health problems in adolescents, especially girls. School nurses play an important role in supporting young people with health problems. Few studies have considered how the nurses' gender norms may influence their discussions. To investigate this issue, semi-structured interviews focusing on school nurses' work with students who have mental health problems were conducted. Transcripts of interviews with Swedish school nurses (n = 15) from the Help overcoming pain early project (HOPE) were analysed using theories on gender as a theoretical framework and then organised into themes related to the school nurses' provision of contact and intervention. The interviewees were all women, aged between 42-63 years, who had worked as nurses for 13-45 years, and as school nurses for 2-28 years. Five worked in upper secondary schools (for students aged 16-19) and 10 in secondary schools (for students aged 12-16). The results show that school nurses more commonly associated mental health problems with girls. When the school nurses discussed students that were difficult to reach, boys in particular were mentioned. However, very few nurses mentioned specific intervention to address students' mental health problems, and all of the mentioned interventions were focused on girls. Some of the school nurses reported that it was more difficult to initiate a health dialogue with boys, yet none of the nurses had organized interventions for the boys. We conclude that generalisations can sometimes be analytically helpful, facilitating, for instance, the identification of problems in school nurses' work methods and interventions. However, the most important conclusion from our research, which applied a design that is not commonly used, is that more varied approaches, as well as a greater awareness of potential gender stereotype pitfalls, are necessary to meet the needs of diverse student groups.

Reuse-oriented common structure discovery in assembly models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Pan; Zhang Jie; Li, Yuan; Yu, Jian Feng [The Ministry of Education Key Lab of Contemporary Design and Integrated Manufacturing Technology, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xian (China)

2017-01-15

Discovering the common structures in assembly models provides designers with the commonalities that carry significant design knowledge across multiple products, which helps to improve design efficiency and accelerate the design process. In this paper, a discovery method has been developed to obtain the common structure in assembly models. First, this work proposes a graph descriptor that captures both the geometrical and topological information of the assembly model, in which shape vectors and link vectors quantitatively describe the part models and mating relationships, respectively. Then, a clustering step is introduced into the discovery, which clusters the similar parts by comparing the similarities between them. In addition, some rules are also provided to filter the frequent subgraphs in order to obtain the expected results. Compared with the existing method, the proposed approach could overcome the disadvantages by providing an independent description of the part model and taking into consideration the similar parts in assemblies, which leads to a more reasonable result. Finally, some experiments have been carried out and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Reuse-oriented common structure discovery in assembly models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Pan; Zhang Jie; Li, Yuan; Yu, Jian Feng

2017-01-01

Discovering the common structures in assembly models provides designers with the commonalities that carry significant design knowledge across multiple products, which helps to improve design efficiency and accelerate the design process. In this paper, a discovery method has been developed to obtain the common structure in assembly models. First, this work proposes a graph descriptor that captures both the geometrical and topological information of the assembly model, in which shape vectors and link vectors quantitatively describe the part models and mating relationships, respectively. Then, a clustering step is introduced into the discovery, which clusters the similar parts by comparing the similarities between them. In addition, some rules are also provided to filter the frequent subgraphs in order to obtain the expected results. Compared with the existing method, the proposed approach could overcome the disadvantages by providing an independent description of the part model and taking into consideration the similar parts in assemblies, which leads to a more reasonable result. Finally, some experiments have been carried out and the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach

The common core mathematics standards transforming practice through team leadership

CERN Document Server

Hull, Ted H; Balka, Don S

2012-01-01

Transform math instruction with effective CCSS leadership The Common Core State Standards for mathematics describe the "habits of mind" that teachers should develop in their students without which the content standards cannot be successfully implemented. This professional development resource helps principals and math leaders grapple with the changes that must be addressed so that teachers can implement the practices required by the CCSS. Included are: A clear explanation of the CCSS for Mathematical Practice  Techniques to help leadership teams collaboratively implement and maintain the new standards A proficiency matrix with examples of instructional strategies for helping students reach competency in each standard.

Automatic address validation and health record review to identify homeless Social Security disability applicants.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Jennifer; Abbott, Kenneth; Susienka, Lucinda

2018-06-01

Homeless patients face a variety of obstacles in pursuit of basic social services. Acknowledging this, the Social Security Administration directs employees to prioritize homeless patients and handle their disability claims with special care. However, under existing manual processes for identification of homelessness, many homeless patients never receive the special service to which they are entitled. In this paper, we explore address validation and automatic annotation of electronic health records to improve identification of homeless patients. We developed a sample of claims containing medical records at the moment of arrival in a single office. Using address validation software, we reconciled patient addresses with public directories of homeless shelters, veterans' hospitals and clinics, and correctional facilities. Other tools annotated electronic health records. We trained random forests to identify homeless patients and validated each model with 10-fold cross validation. For our finished model, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.942. The random forest improved sensitivity from 0.067 to 0.879 but decreased positive predictive value to 0.382. Presumed false positive classifications bore many characteristics of homelessness. Organizations could use these methods to prompt early collection of information necessary to avoid labor-intensive attempts to reestablish contact with homeless individuals. Annually, such methods could benefit tens of thousands of patients who are homeless, destitute, and in urgent need of assistance. We were able to identify many more homeless patients through a combination of automatic address validation and natural language processing of unstructured electronic health records. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Common injuries related to weightlifting: MR imaging perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Joseph S; Habib, Paula A

2005-12-01

Weightlifting has evolved to become a ubiquitous form of exercise. Resistance training has been shown to have beneficial effects on both muscle and osseous maintenance and development. Competitive weightlifting sports continue to enjoy tremendous popularity, with participants striving to establish new standards in performance and more demanding personal goals. Thus, it is not surprising that we have also seen an increase in injuries related to weightlifting. Many of these injuries are radiographically occult and are best suited for evaluation by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging because many involve the soft tissues. In this article, we discuss some of the factors that contribute to these injuries and address the mechanisms of injury and the MR imaging manifestations of the more common injuries.

Experimental evaluation of the prevention methods for the interface between masonry infill walls and concrete columns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. P. Tramontin

Full Text Available Cracks that form at the interfaces between masonry structures are common uncontrolled occurrences in buildings. Numerous methods have been proposed by the construction industry to address this problem. Cracks continuously form in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls. In this study, the most common methods for preventing these types of cracks were evaluated in laboratory experiments. Column masonry models were constructed using different types of joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls, such as steel bars and steel mesh. The efficiency of each type of joint method was evaluated by performing direct tensile tests (pullout tests on the models and monitoring the evolution of the crack opening in the joint between the column and wall, as a function of load applied to the model. The results from this study indicate that the model composed of "electrowelded wire mesh without steel angles" is the best model for controlling cracking in the joints between concrete columns and masonry infill walls.

SSVEP recognition using common feature analysis in brain-computer interface.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Guoxu; Jin, Jing; Wang, Xingyu; Cichocki, Andrzej

2015-04-15

Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) has been successfully applied to steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) recognition for brain-computer interface (BCI) application. Although the CCA method outperforms the traditional power spectral density analysis through multi-channel detection, it requires additionally pre-constructed reference signals of sine-cosine waves. It is likely to encounter overfitting in using a short time window since the reference signals include no features from training data. We consider that a group of electroencephalogram (EEG) data trials recorded at a certain stimulus frequency on a same subject should share some common features that may bear the real SSVEP characteristics. This study therefore proposes a common feature analysis (CFA)-based method to exploit the latent common features as natural reference signals in using correlation analysis for SSVEP recognition. Good performance of the CFA method for SSVEP recognition is validated with EEG data recorded from ten healthy subjects, in contrast to CCA and a multiway extension of CCA (MCCA). Experimental results indicate that the CFA method significantly outperformed the CCA and the MCCA methods for SSVEP recognition in using a short time window (i.e., less than 1s). The superiority of the proposed CFA method suggests it is promising for the development of a real-time SSVEP-based BCI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using common mycorrhizal networks for controlled inoculation of Quercus spp. with Tuber melanosporum: the nurse plant method.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, Guillermo; Palfner, Götz; Chávez, Daniel; Suz, Laura M; Machuca, Angela; Honrubia, Mario

2013-07-01

The high cost and restricted availability of black truffle spore inoculum for controlled mycorrhiza formation of host trees produced for truffle orchards worldwide encourage the search for more efficient and sustainable inoculation methods that can be applied globally. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the nurse plant method for the controlled inoculation of Quercus cerris and Quercus robur with Tuber melanosporum by mycorrhizal networks in pot cultures. Pine bark compost, adjusted to pH 7.8 by liming, was used as substrate for all assays. Initially, Q. robur seedlings were inoculated with truffle spores and cultured for 12 months. After this period, the plants presenting 74 % mycorrhizal fine roots were transferred to larger containers. Nurse plants were used for two treatments of two different nursling species: five sterilized acorns or five 45-day-old, axenically grown Q. robur or Q. cerris seedlings, planted in containers around the nurse plant. After 6 months, colonized nursling plant root tips showed that mycorrhiza formation by T. melanosporum was higher than 45 % in the seedlings tested, with the most successful nursling combination being Q. cerris seedlings, reaching 81 % colonization. Bulk identification of T. melanosporum mycorrhizae was based on morphological and anatomical features and confirmed by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer region of the ribosomal DNA of selected root tips. Our results show that the nurse plant method yields attractive rates of mycorrhiza formation by the Périgord black truffle and suggest that establishing and maintaining common mycorrhizal networks in pot cultures enables sustained use of the initial spore inoculum.

The common European asylum system and the rights of the child : an exploration of meaning and compliance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smyth, Ciara Mary

2013-01-01

This thesis addresses the question of whether the EU Common European Asylum System (CEAS) complies with the rights of the child. A significant proportion of people seeking asylum in EU countries are children. These children may be totally alone, with people who are not their customary caregivers

Thermodynamics, ecology and evolutionary biology: A bridge over troubled water or common ground?

Science.gov (United States)

Skene, Keith R.

2017-11-01

This paper addresses a key issue confronting ecological and evolutionary biology, namely the challenge of a cohesive approach to these fields given significant differences in the concepts and foundations of their study. Yet these two areas of scientific research are paramount in terms addressing the spatial and temporal dynamics and distribution of diversity, an understanding of which is needed if we are to resolve the current crisis facing the biosphere. The importance of understanding how nature responds to change is now of essential rather than of metaphysical interest as our planet struggles with increasing anthropogenic damage. Ecology and evolutionary biology can no longer remain disjointed. While some progress has been made in terms of synthetic thinking across these areas, this has often been in terms of bridge building, where thinking in one aspect is extended over to the other side. We review these bridges and the success or otherwise of such efforts. This paper then suggests that in order to move from a descriptive to a mechanistic understanding of the biosphere, we may need to re-evaluate our approach to the studies of ecology and evolutionary biology, finding a common denominator that will enable us to address the critical issues facing us, particularly in terms of understanding what drives change, what determines tempo and how communities function. Common ground, we argue, is essential if we are to comprehend how resilience operates in the natural world and how diversification can counter increasing extinction rates. This paper suggests that thermodynamics may provide a bridge between ecology and evolutionary biology, and that this will enable us to move forward with otherwise intractable problems.

DEFINING THE "COMMUNITY" FOR A COMMUNITY-BASED PUBLIC HEALTH INTERVENTION ADDRESSING LATINO IMMIGRANT HEALTH DISPARITIES: AN APPLICATION OF ETHNOGRAPHIC METHODS.

Science.gov (United States)

Edberg, Mark; Cleary, Sean; Simmons, Lauren B; Cubilla-Batista, Idalina; Andrade, Elizabeth L; Gudger, Glencora

2015-01-01

Although Latino and other immigrant populations are the driving force behind population increases in the U.S., there are significant gaps in knowledge and practice on addressing health disparities in these populations. The Avance Center for the Advancement of Immigrant/Refugee Health, a health disparities research center in the Washington, DC area, includes as part of its mission a multi-level, participatory community intervention (called Adelante) to address the co-occurrence of substance abuse, violence and sex risk among Latino immigrant youth and young adults. Research staff and community partners knew that the intervention community had grown beyond its Census-designated place (CDP) boundaries, and that connection and attachment to community were relevant to an intervention. Thus, in order to understand current geographic and social boundaries of the community for sampling, data collection, intervention design and implementation, the research team conducted an ethnographic study to identify self-defined community boundaries, both geographic and social. Beginning with preliminary data from a pilot intervention and the original CDP map, the research included: geo-mapping de-identified addresses of service clients from a major community organization; key informant interviews; and observation and intercept interviews in the community. The results provided an expanded community boundary profile and important information about community identity.

Mapping of nutrition and sectoral policies addressing malnutrition in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Cristina Tirado

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective To map existing policies addressing malnutrition in all its forms in Latin America and identify gaps in enabling environments supporting the five priority lines of action outlined in the World Health Organization Comprehensive Implementation Plan on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition (CIP approved in 2014. Methods This descriptive study consisted of a systematic Internet search for and mapping of publicly available nutrition-related and sectoral policies already in place to address malnutrition in all its forms in 18 Latin American countries (Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. The policies were described in documents retrieved from the websites of ministries of health, education, agriculture, labor, and development; the national congress; and other government agencies. Results All 18 countries had relevant policies to address malnutrition, especially undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, but only a few had policies to address overweight and obesity. Nutrition actions were incorporated in food and nutrition security and social protection policies in all 18 countries, and were part of education, environment, agricultural, development, and/or employment policies in some countries. Information on human and financial resources assigned to nutrition was not available through the search strategies used in the study. Conclusions All 18 countries included in this review had established enabling environments to support CIP implementation. However, each of the 18 countries needs to develop integrated policies for the promotion of nutrition and prevention of noncommunicable diseases through cross-sector involvement and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Duplicate Address Detection Table in IPv6 Mobile Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Alisherov, Farkhod; Kim, Taihoon

In IP networks, each computer or communication equipment needs an IP address. To supply enough IP addresses, the new Internet protocol IPv6 is used in next generatoion mobile communication. Although IPv6 improves the existing IPv4 Internet protocol, Duplicate Address Detection (DAD) mechanism may consume resources and suffer from long delay. DAD is used to ensure whether the IP address is unique or not. When a mobile node performs an inter-domain handoff, it will first generate a new IP and perform a DAD procedure. The DAD procedure not only wastes time but also increases the signaling load on Internet. In this paper, the author proposes a new DAD mechanism to speed up the DAD procedure. A DAD table is created in access or mobility routers in IP networks and record all IP addresses of the area. When a new IP address needs to perform DAD, it can just search in the DAD table to confirm the uniqueness of the address.

Quantitative ethnobotanical study of common herbal remedies used ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

standing use of herbal remedies. The present ethnobotanical survey was geared towards documenting and preserving local knowledge pertaining to common medicinal plants (MP) used as therapeutic agents in Mauritius. Methods: Interviews were ...

T-tube vs Primary Common Bile Duct Closure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M R Joshi

2010-09-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Closure of the common bile duct over T-tube after exploration is a widely practiced traditional method. However, its use may give rise to many complications. We do primary closure of common bile duct after exploration. Aim of the study is to see the efficacy and safety of the primary closure. METHODS: Study was carried out to compare the results of both the techniques from 2006 to 2009 in the cases proven to have common bile duct stone with or without the features of obstructive jaundice. Post operative hospital stay and morbidities related to both the groups were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: There were total 71 cases included in the study. Thirty one in T-tube group and 40 in primary closure group. T-tube was removed in most of the cases after three weeks where as average time of drain removal in primary closure group is 5.79 +/-1.79 days. Incidence of retained stone was equal in each group. Major complication in T-tube group is biliary peritonitis in four patients at the time of T-tube removal whereas none of the patient from primary closure group suffered from such major complication. CONCLUSIONS: Primary closure after the common bile duct exploration is safe and it helps to avoid the morbidities related to T-tube. Keywords: Choledocholithiasis, Primary closure, retained stone, T-tube, Ureterorenoscope.

NKS - The Nordic region's cooperative network for addressing challenges in nuclear safety and emergency preparedness

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, K.G. [NKS/Technical University of Denmark (Denmark); Andgren, K. [NKS/Vattenfall R and D (Sweden); Leino, K. [NKS/Fortum Power and Heat Oy (Finland); Magnusson, S. [NKS/Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority (Iceland); Physant, F. [NKS/FRIT, Roskilde (Denmark)

2014-07-01

Based on the foundation of a common cultural and historical heritage and a long tradition of collaboration, NKS aims to facilitate a common Nordic view on nuclear and radiation safety. A common understanding of rules, practice and measures, and national differences in this context, is here an essential requirement. Problems can generally be tackled quicker, more efficiently, more consistently and at a lower cost through collaboration, bearing in mind that key competencies are not equally distributed in the different Nordic countries. For instance common Nordic challenges emerge in relation to nuclear installations, where nuclear power plants are in operation in Finland and Sweden, and research reactors have been operated in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There is an obvious benefit in exchanging ideas and technologies in relation to plant operation, and since a number of reactors in different Nordic countries are under decommissioning, a collaborative benefit can also be realised in that context. Sweden also has a nuclear fuel production plant, and its collaboration with other Nordic nuclear installations can also be beneficial. Further, a number of large radiological installations are projected in Nordic areas (e.g., the MAX-LAB/MAX IV synchrotron radiation source and the European spallation source ESS), where Nordic organisations are collaborating in addressing, e.g., potential environmental implications. On the emergency preparedness side, the Fukushima accident in March 2011 was a reminder that large accidents at nuclear installations can lead to widespread radioactive contamination in the environment. In order to respond to nuclear or radiological emergencies, should they affect Nordic populations, it is necessary to maintain an operational emergency preparedness. By continuously improving detection, response and decision aiding tools while maintaining an informal collaborative network between relevant stakeholders in the Nordic countries (including

Food processing methods influence the glycaemic indices of some commonly eaten West Indian carbohydrate-rich foods.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahado-Singh, P S; Wheatley, A O; Ahmad, M H; Morrison, E Y St A; Asemota, H N

2006-09-01

Glycaemic index (GI) values for fourteen commonly eaten carbohydrate-rich foods processed by various methods were determined using ten healthy subjects. The foods studied were round leaf yellow yam (Dioscorea cayenensis), negro and lucea yams (Dioscorea rotundata), white and sweet yams (Dioscorea alata), sweet potato (Solanum tuberosum), Irish potato (Ipomoea batatas), coco yam (Xanthosoma spp.), dasheen (Colocasia esculenta), pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis), green banana (Musa sapientum), and green and ripe plantain (Musa paradisiaca). The foods were processed by boiling, frying, baking and roasting where applicable. Pure glucose was used as the standard with a GI value of 100. The results revealed marked differences in GI among the different foods studied ranging from 35 (se 3) to 94 (se 8). The area under the glucose response curve and GI value of some of the roasted and baked foods were significantly higher than foods boiled or fried (P<0.05). The results indicate that foods processed by roasting or baking may result in higher GI. Conversely, boiling of foods may contribute to a lower GI diet.

Comparative law as method and the method of comparative law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hage, J.C.; Adams, M.; Heirbaut, D.

2014-01-01

This article addresses both the justificatory role of comparative law within legal research (comparative law as method) and the method of comparative law itself. In this connection two questions will be answered: 1. Is comparative law a method, or a set of methods, for legal research? 2. Does

The Electronic Data Methods (EDM) forum for comparative effectiveness research (CER).

Science.gov (United States)

Holve, Erin; Segal, Courtney; Lopez, Marianne Hamilton; Rein, Alison; Johnson, Beth H

2012-07-01

AcademyHealth convened the Electronic Data Methods (EDM) Forum to collect, synthesize, and share lessons from eleven projects that are building infrastructure and using electronic clinical data for comparative effectiveness research (CER) and patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR). This paper provides a brief review of participating projects and provides a framework of common challenges. EDM Forum staff conducted a text review of relevant grant programs' funding opportunity announcements; projects' research plans; and available information on projects' websites. Additional information was obtained from presentations provided by each project; phone calls with project principal investigators, affiliated partners, and staff from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ); and six site visits. Projects participating in the EDM Forum are building infrastructure and developing innovative strategies to address a set of methodological, and data and informatics challenges, here identified in a common framework. The eleven networks represent more than 20 states and include a range of partnership models. Projects vary substantially in size, from 11,000 to more than 7.5 million individuals. Nearly all of the AHRQ priority populations and conditions are addressed. In partnership with the projects, the EDM Forum is focused on identifying and sharing lessons learned to advance the national dialogue on the use of electronic clinical data to conduct CER and PCOR. These efforts have the shared goal of addressing challenges in traditional research studies and data sources, and aim to build infrastructure and generate evidence to support a learning health care system that can improve patient outcomes.

Hawai‘i in Public Health: Community Strengthening Through Canoe Culture: Ho'omana'o Mau as Method and Metaphor

OpenAIRE

Ho-Lastimosa, Ilima; Hwang, Phoebe W; Lastimosa, Bob

2014-01-01

Historical trauma occurs across generations and is evidenced by indigenous disparities. Efforts made to address this issue commonly utilize European ethnocentric methods. Rather, a community-based approach should be used to empower indigenous communities. God's Country Waimanalo (GCW) is a grassroots organization developed by Native Hawaiians for Native Hawaiians. Its wa‘a (canoe) project, Ho‘omana‘o Mau (everlasting memories; abbreviated Ho‘o) is meant to perpetuate pre-colonial Hawaiian pra...

Comparing and improving reconstruction methods for proxies based on compositional data

Science.gov (United States)

Nolan, C.; Tipton, J.; Booth, R.; Jackson, S. T.; Hooten, M.

2017-12-01

Many types of studies in paleoclimatology and paleoecology involve compositional data. Often, these studies aim to use compositional data to reconstruct an environmental variable of interest; the reconstruction is usually done via the development of a transfer function. Transfer functions have been developed using many different methods. Existing methods tend to relate the compositional data and the reconstruction target in very simple ways. Additionally, the results from different methods are rarely compared. Here we seek to address these two issues. First, we introduce a new hierarchical Bayesian multivariate gaussian process model; this model allows for the relationship between each species in the compositional dataset and the environmental variable to be modeled in a way that captures the underlying complexities. Then, we compare this new method to machine learning techniques and commonly used existing methods. The comparisons are based on reconstructing the water table depth history of Caribou Bog (an ombrotrophic Sphagnum peat bog in Old Town, Maine, USA) from a new 7500 year long record of testate amoebae assemblages. The resulting reconstructions from different methods diverge in both their resulting means and uncertainties. In particular, uncertainty tends to be drastically underestimated by some common methods. These results will help to improve inference of water table depth from testate amoebae. Furthermore, this approach can be applied to test and improve inferences of past environmental conditions from a broad array of paleo-proxies based on compositional data

Do systematic reviews address community healthcare professionals' wound care uncertainties? Results from evidence mapping in wound care.

Science.gov (United States)

Christie, Janice; Gray, Trish A; Dumville, Jo C; Cullum, Nicky A

2018-01-01

Complex wounds such as leg and foot ulcers are common, resource intensive and have negative impacts on patients' wellbeing. Evidence-based decision-making, substantiated by high quality evidence such as from systematic reviews, is widely advocated for improving patient care and healthcare efficiency. Consequently, we set out to classify and map the extent to which up-to-date systematic reviews containing robust evidence exist for wound care uncertainties prioritised by community-based healthcare professionals. We asked healthcare professionals to prioritise uncertainties based on complex wound care decisions, and then classified 28 uncertainties according to the type and level of decision. For each uncertainty, we searched for relevant systematic reviews. Two independent reviewers screened abstracts and full texts of reviews against the following criteria: meeting an a priori definition of a systematic review, sufficiently addressing the uncertainty, published during or after 2012, and identifying high quality research evidence. The most common uncertainty type was 'interventions' 24/28 (85%); the majority concerned wound level decisions 15/28 (53%) however, service delivery level decisions (10/28) were given highest priority. Overall, we found 162 potentially relevant reviews of which 57 (35%) were not systematic reviews. Of 106 systematic reviews, only 28 were relevant to an uncertainty and 18 of these were published within the preceding five years; none identified high quality research evidence. Despite the growing volume of published primary research, healthcare professionals delivering wound care have important clinical uncertainties which are not addressed by up-to-date systematic reviews containing high certainty evidence. These are high priority topics requiring new research and systematic reviews which are regularly updated. To reduce clinical and research waste, we recommend systematic reviewers and researchers make greater efforts to ensure that research

Valuation of common and preferred stocks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikolić Ljubica

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Buying stocks is a modern way of investing. The investors may place the available capital on the domestic and foreign stock market, they may buy more stocks of a single issuer or distribute money to purchase stocks of various public (stock-exchange companies, and they may form a portfolio of various securities. The investors' decisions on these options are based on their estimate on returns and risks underlying individual security instruments (securities. The two basic approaches to valuation of common stocks are: the Present Value Approach (method of valuating the capitalization of income and the P/E Ratio Approach (the method of valuating the multiple of per-share earnings. Instead of viewing these methods as competing alternatives, they should better be viewed as mutually complementary methods. Both methods are equally useful and their concurrent use may provide better grounds for the analysts' valuation of stocks.

Redesigning Health Care Practices to Address Childhood Poverty.

Science.gov (United States)

Fierman, Arthur H; Beck, Andrew F; Chung, Esther K; Tschudy, Megan M; Coker, Tumaini R; Mistry, Kamila B; Siegel, Benjamin; Chamberlain, Lisa J; Conroy, Kathleen; Federico, Steven G; Flanagan, Patricia J; Garg, Arvin; Gitterman, Benjamin A; Grace, Aimee M; Gross, Rachel S; Hole, Michael K; Klass, Perri; Kraft, Colleen; Kuo, Alice; Lewis, Gena; Lobach, Katherine S; Long, Dayna; Ma, Christine T; Messito, Mary; Navsaria, Dipesh; Northrip, Kimberley R; Osman, Cynthia; Sadof, Matthew D; Schickedanz, Adam B; Cox, Joanne

2016-04-01

Child poverty in the United States is widespread and has serious negative effects on the health and well-being of children throughout their life course. Child health providers are considering ways to redesign their practices in order to mitigate the negative effects of poverty on children and support the efforts of families to lift themselves out of poverty. To do so, practices need to adopt effective methods to identify poverty-related social determinants of health and provide effective interventions to address them. Identification of needs can be accomplished with a variety of established screening tools. Interventions may include resource directories, best maintained in collaboration with local/regional public health, community, and/or professional organizations; programs embedded in the practice (eg, Reach Out and Read, Healthy Steps for Young Children, Medical-Legal Partnership, Health Leads); and collaboration with home visiting programs. Changes to health care financing are needed to support the delivery of these enhanced services, and active advocacy by child health providers continues to be important in effecting change. We highlight the ongoing work of the Health Care Delivery Subcommittee of the Academic Pediatric Association Task Force on Child Poverty in defining the ways in which child health care practice can be adapted to improve the approach to addressing child poverty. Copyright © 2016 Academic Pediatric Association. All rights reserved.

Proceedings of the third international symposium on fire economics, planning, and policy: common problems and approaches

Science.gov (United States)

Armando González-Cabán

2009-01-01

These proceedings summarize the results of a symposium designed to address current issues of agencies with wildland fire protection responsibility at the federal and state levels in the United States as well as agencies in the international community. The topics discussed at the symposium included regional, national, and global vision of forest fires: common problems...

Common and distinct components in data fusion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Smilde, Age Klaas; Mage, Ingrid; Næs, Tormod

2016-01-01

and understanding their relative merits. This paper provides a unifying framework for this subfield of data fusion by using rigorous arguments from linear algebra. The most frequently used methods for distinguishing common and distinct components are explained in this framework and some practical examples are given...

Human Brucellosis in Khartoum State: A Commonly ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Human Brucellosis in Khartoum State: A Commonly Underdiagnosed Disease. AAA Mustafa, HS Hassan. Abstract. Back ground: Human brucellosis is a major debilitating zoonotic disease. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella Methods: The serum antibody titres to Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus of one ...

Heuristic Method for Decision-Making in Common Scheduling Problems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edyta Kucharska

2017-10-01

Full Text Available The aim of the paper is to present a heuristic method for decision-making regarding an NP-hard scheduling problem with limitations related to tasks and the resources dependent on the current state of the process. The presented approach is based on the algebraic-logical meta-model (ALMM, which enables making collective decisions in successive process stages, not separately for individual objects or executors. Moreover, taking into account the limitations of the problem, it involves constructing only an acceptable solution and significantly reduces the amount of calculations. A general algorithm based on the presented method is composed of the following elements: preliminary analysis of the problem, techniques for the choice of decision at a given state, the pruning non-perspective trajectory, selection technique of the initial state for the trajectory final part, and the trajectory generation parameters modification. The paper includes applications of the presented approach to scheduling problems on unrelated parallel machines with a deadline and machine setup time dependent on the process state, where the relationship between tasks is defined by the graph. The article also presents the results of computational experiments.

17 CFR 12.3 - Business address; hours.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... REPARATIONS General Information and Preliminary Consideration of Pleadings § 12.3 Business address; hours. The... 17 Commodity and Securities Exchanges 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Business address; hours. 12.3..., DC 20581. It is open each day, except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal public holidays, from 8:15 a.m...

A Latina/o Campus Community's Readiness to Address Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns

Science.gov (United States)

Rivera-Ramos, Zully A.; Oswald, Ramona F.; Buki, Lydia P.

2015-01-01

In response to the call for new and innovative methods of assessing campus climate (Worthington, 2008), the current study is the first to examine the readiness of a Latina/o campus community to address lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) concerns. Using the Community Readiness Model, data were collected through individual interviews with a total of…

Relationship between Processing Method and the Glycemic Indices of Ten Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas Cultivars Commonly Consumed in Jamaica

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Perceval S. Bahado-Singh

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated the effect of different traditional cooking methods on glycemic index (GI and glycemic response of ten Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas cultivars commonly eaten in Jamaica. Matured tubers were cooked by roasting, baking, frying, or boiling then immediately consumed by the ten nondiabetic test subjects (5 males and 5 females; mean age of 27 ± 2 years. The GI varied between 41 ± 5–93 ± 5 for the tubers studied. Samples prepared by boiling had the lowest GI (41 ± 5–50 ± 3, while those processed by baking (82 ± 3–94 ± 3 and roasting (79 ± 4–93 ± 2 had the highest GI values. The study indicates that the glycemic index of Jamaican sweet potatoes varies significantly with the method of preparation and to a lesser extent on intravarietal differences. Consumption of boiled sweet potatoes could minimize postprandial blood glucose spikes and therefore, may prove to be more efficacious in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Alternate modal combination methods in response spectrum analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Y.K.; Bezler, P.

1989-01-01

In piping analyses using the response spectrum method Square Root of the Sum of the Squares (SRSS) with clustering between closely spaced modes is the combination procedure most commonly used to combine between the modal response components. This procedure is simple to apply and normally yields conservative estimates of the time history results. The purpose of this study is to investigate alternate methods to combine between the modal response components. These methods are mathematically based to properly account for the combination between rigid and flexible modal responses as well as closely spaced modes. The methods are those advanced by Gupta, Hadjian and Lindley-Yow to address rigid response modes and the Double Sum Combination (DSC) method and the Complete Quadratic Combination (CQC) method to account for closely spaced modes. A direct comparison between these methods as well as the SRSS procedure is made by using them to predict the response of six piping systems. For two piping systems thirty-three earthquake records were considered to account for the impact of variations in the characteristics of the excitation. The results provided by each method are compared to the corresponding time history estimates of results as well as to each other. The degree of conservatism associated with each method is characterized. 7 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Common Sense dalam Epistemologi George Edward Moore dan Implikasinya terhadap Perkembangan Ilmu

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Abbas Hamami Mintaredja

2007-12-01

Full Text Available The birth of Moore's philosophy has a background in Bradley's Idealism-The philosophy of Bradley is rooted in Hegelianistic philosophy- and in Berkeley's immaterialism. Moore tried to revive English Realism tradition. Long before Bradley thoughts. The matterials of this research are all drawn from English philosophy that deals with Common Sense, both influencing and influenced by Moore's philsophy. The objective of this research is describe the function of Common Sense in Moore's philosophy. The aims of this research are (1 to determine the meaning of Common Sense, (2 to determine the realization of epistemology of Common Sense, and (3 to identify the contribution of epistemological Common Sense in the development of philosophy of science. This research uses three methods, (1 Factual-Historical Method, which is used to retrace the stream of development of the meaning of Common Sense in English philosophy. (2 Synthetico-Analitic method, which is used to find out specific meaning of the term Common Sense. (3 Hermeneutics. Which is useng to mediate the messeage drawn from realities (objects. The results of this research are (1 historically, the conception of Common Sense used by many philosophers. Despite differents of terminilogy and meaning according to them. (2 Synthetic-analitically, the meaning of Common Sense depends on the approaches of the respective philosophers. (3 Hermeneurtically, the meaning of Common Sense in Moore philosophy is to be understood as a unifeid ability of sense activities and consciuosness to grasp and understand material objects. Common Sense denotes to human capacity, that is a universal belief that produces certainty of knowledge of material things. Common Sense epistemology is specific ally Moore's epistemology. It is sparates the subjects from the objects distinictively. A subject sees factual objects in direct experiences, so that he gets the sense-data. Tp apprehend sense-data directly involves conscious activity

27 CFR 4.35 - Name and address.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... named winery: (A) Fermented not less than 75% of such wine at the stated address, or (B) Changed the.... (iv) Blended means that the named winery mixed the wine with other wines of the same class and type at the stated address. (v) Cellared, Vinted or Prepared means that the named winery, at the stated...

Seismic data enhancement with Common Reflection Surface (CRS) stack method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baykulov, M.; Brink, H.J.; Gajewski, D.; Yoon, Mi-Kyung [Hamburg Univ. (Germany). Inst. fuer Geophysik

2008-10-23

We present the results of partial stacking of prestack seismic reflection data based on the kinematic wavefield attributes computed during the automatic CRS stack. The resulting CRS supergathers are more regularised and have better signal to noise ratio compared to original CMP gathers. The improved data can be used in any conventional processing tool instead of the original data, providing enhanced images of better quality. The CRS supergather method is especially suited for low fold seismic reflection data. Application of the new method to synthetic and real low fold data shows a clear improvement of seismograms as well as time and depth-migrated sections. (orig.)

Is tube repair of aortic aneurysm followed by aneurysmal change in the common iliac arteries?

Science.gov (United States)

Provan, J L; Fialkov, J; Ameli, F M; St Louis, E L

1990-10-01

To address the concern that tube repair of an abdominal aortic aneurysm might be followed by aneurysmal change in the common iliac arteries, 23 patients who had undergone the operation were re-examined 3 to 5 years later. Although 9 had had minimal ectasia of these arteries preoperatively, in none of the 23 was there symptomatic or radiologic evidence of aneurysmal change on follow-up. Measurements of the maximum intraluminal diameters were made by computed tomography; they indicated no significant differences between the preoperative and follow-up sizes of the common iliac arteries. The variation in time to follow-up also showed no significant correlation with change in artery diameter.

Overview of ORNL/NRC programs addressing durability of concrete structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naus, D.J.; Oland, C.B.

1994-01-01

The role of reinforced concrete relative to its applications as either safety-related structures in nuclear power or engineered barriers of low-level radioactive waste disposal facilities is described. Factors that can affect the long-term durability of reinforced concrete are identified. Overviews are presented of the Structural Aging Program, which is addressing the aging management of safety-related concrete structures in nuclear power plants, and the Permeability Test Methods and Data Program, which is identifying pertinent data and information for use in performance assessments of engineered barriers for low-level radioactive waste disposal

Seismically induced common cause failures in PSA of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ravindra, M.K.; Johnson, J.J.

1991-01-01

In this paper, a research project on the seismically induced common cause failures in nuclear power plants performed for Toshiba Corp. is described. The objective of this research was to develop the procedure for estimating the common cause failure probabilities of different nuclear power plant components using the combination of seismic experience data, the review of sources of dependency, sensitivity studies and engineering judgement. The research project consisted of three tasks: the investigation of damage instances in past earthquakes, the analysis of multiple failures and their root causes, and the development of the methodology for assessing seismically induced common cause failures. The details of these tasks are explained. In this paper, the works carried out in the third task are described. A methodology for treating common cause failures and the correlation between component failures is formulated; it highlights the modeling of event trees taking into account common cause failures and the development of fault trees considering the correlation between component failures. The overview of seismic PSA, the quantification methods for dependent failures and Latin Hypercube sampling method are described. (K.I.)

A Survey on Methods for Reconstructing Surfaces from Unorganized Point Sets

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Vilius Matiukas

2011-08-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the issue of reconstructing and visualizing surfaces from unorganized point sets. These can be acquired using different techniques, such as 3D-laser scanning, computerized tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and multi-camera imaging. The problem of reconstructing surfaces from their unorganized point sets is common for many diverse areas, including computer graphics, computer vision, computational geometry or reverse engineering. The paper presents three alternative methods that all use variations in complementary cones to triangulate and reconstruct the tested 3D surfaces. The article evaluates and contrasts three alternatives.Article in English

[ENDOSONOGRAPHY IN THE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF THE COMMON BILE DUCT STENOSIS].

Science.gov (United States)

Solodinina, E N; Starkov, Y G; Shumkin, L V

2015-01-01

The article states the results of examination and treatment of 57 patients with stenosis of the common bile duct of various genesis. The main aim of the work is criteria definition and evaluation of diagnostic significance of endosonography in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant common bile duct stenosis. The paper presents a methodology of endoscopic ultrasound and basic criteria for the differential diagnosis of tumors and other lesions of the extrahepatic bile ducts. A comparative analysis of endosonography, ultrasound, CT, MRCP was conducted. The sensitivity of endosonography in determining the nature of the common bile duct stenosis was 97.7%, a specificity 100% and accuracy 98.2%, which is superior to other methods of radiological diagnosis. In comprehensive surgical centers endosonography should be used as a method of specifying the final diagnosis to determine the nature of the common bile duct stenosis, particularly at low constriction location.

Long-acting reversible contraception in the pediatric emergency department: clinical implications and common challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Koyama, Atsuko; Dorfman, David H; Forcier, Michelle M

2015-04-01

Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) is recommended as first-line contraception for adolescents and young adults. As the use of LARC increases, pediatric emergency medicine clinicians should be able to recognize different types of LARC and address their common adverse effects, adverse reactions, and complications. This continuing medical education activity provides an overview of LARC and will assist clinicians in the evaluation and management of patients with LARC-associated complaints.

Interventional studies in childhood dystonia do not address the concerns of children and their carers.

Science.gov (United States)

Lumsden, Daniel E; Gimeno, Hortensia; Tustin, Kylee; Kaminska, Margaret; Lin, Jean-Pierre

2015-05-01

This study aimed to determine the main concerns/priorities of the parents and carers of children with dystonia referred to our service and whether medical interventional studies addressed these concerns. Records of children assessed by our service from June 2005-December 2012 were reviewed and expressed parental/carer concerns at initial assessment categorized using the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) Framework. Medline, CINAHL and Embase databases were searched for outcome measures of medical and surgical interventional studies in childhood dystonia. Data was collected from 273 children and young people with dystonia. The most commonly expressed concerns were: pain (104/273, 38.1%); difficulties in delivering activities of daily-living (66/273, 24.2%), difficulties with hand-use (59/273, 21.6%) and seating (41/273, 15.0%). Literature review identified 70 interventional studies, 46 neurosurgical and 24 pharmacological. The majority of neurosurgical studies (34/46) used impairment scales to measure change, with pharmacological studies typically reporting more subjective changes in motor symptoms. Only a minority of studies used assessments or scales capable of objectively addressing the concerns reported by our cohort. Existing interventional studies in childhood dystonia poorly address the main concerns of children with dystonia and their carers, limiting the conclusions which may be drawn as to true impact of these interventions in childhood. Copyright © 2015 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing the obesity care model at a community health center in Hawaii to address childhood obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Okihiro, May; Pillen, Michelle; Ancog, Cristeta; Inda, Christy; Sehgal, Vija

2013-01-01

Obesity, the most common chronic disease of childhood, is prevalent among economically disadvantaged children. The Chronic Care and Obesity Care Models are comprehensive health care strategies to improve outcomes by linking primary care best practices and community-based programs. Pediatric providers and community health centers are well positioned to design and implement coordinated and synergistic programs to address childhood health disparities. This article describes a comprehensive project based on the Obesity Care Model initiated at a rural community health center in Hawaii to address childhood obesity including: (1) the health care delivery changes constituting the quality improvement project; (2) capacity and team-building activities; (3) use of the project community level data to strengthen community engagement and investment; and (4) the academic-community partnership providing the project framework. We anticipate that these efforts will contribute to the long-term goal of reducing the prevalence of obesity and obesity associated morbidity in the community.

A basis of common approach to the development of universal steganalysis methods for digital images

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Alla А. Kobozeva

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In this paper a new common approach to the organization of steganalysis in digital images is developed. New features of formal parameters defining the image are identified, theoretically grounded and practically tested. For the first time characteristics of mutual disposition of the left and right singular vectors corresponding to the largest singular value of the matrix (block of matrix of an image and the vector composed of the singular values obtained as a result of normal singular decomposition of the matrix (block matrix are obtained. It is shown that for the majority of the blocks of the original image (regardless of the storage format — lossy, lossless the angle between the left (right singular vector and the vector composed of singular numbers is determined by the angle between the n-optimal vector and the standard space basis of the corresponding dimension. It is shown that the discovered feature is violated for the mentioned formal parameters in the disturbed image. This is an indicator of integrity violation, particularly steganotransformation, and it can be used to develop new universal steganalysis methods and algorithms. Their efficiency does not depend on the specifics of steganoalgorithm used for insertion of additional information.

Comparison of address-based sampling and random-digit dialing methods for recruiting young men as controls in a case-control study of testicular cancer susceptibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Clagett, Bartholt; Nathanson, Katherine L; Ciosek, Stephanie L; McDermoth, Monique; Vaughn, David J; Mitra, Nandita; Weiss, Andrew; Martonik, Rachel; Kanetsky, Peter A

2013-12-01

Random-digit dialing (RDD) using landline telephone numbers is the historical gold standard for control recruitment in population-based epidemiologic research. However, increasing cell-phone usage and diminishing response rates suggest that the effectiveness of RDD in recruiting a random sample of the general population, particularly for younger target populations, is decreasing. In this study, we compared landline RDD with alternative methods of control recruitment, including RDD using cell-phone numbers and address-based sampling (ABS), to recruit primarily white men aged 18-55 years into a study of testicular cancer susceptibility conducted in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area between 2009 and 2012. With few exceptions, eligible and enrolled controls recruited by means of RDD and ABS were similar with regard to characteristics for which data were collected on the screening survey. While we find ABS to be a comparably effective method of recruiting young males compared with landline RDD, we acknowledge the potential impact that selection bias may have had on our results because of poor overall response rates, which ranged from 11.4% for landline RDD to 1.7% for ABS.

Method for automated building of spindle thermal model with use of CAE system

Science.gov (United States)

Kamenev, S. V.

2018-03-01

The spindle is one of the most important units of the metal-cutting machine tool. Its performance is critical to minimize the machining error, especially the thermal error. Various methods are applied to improve the thermal behaviour of spindle units. One of the most important methods is mathematical modelling based on the finite element analysis. The most common approach for its realization is the use of CAE systems. This approach, however, is not capable to address the number of important effects that need to be taken into consideration for proper simulation. In the present article, the authors propose the solution to overcome these disadvantages using automated thermal model building for the spindle unit utilizing the CAE system ANSYS.

Treatment countermeasures for common problems in dacryocystorhinostomy under nasal endoscope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhong-Ling Luo

2014-04-01

Full Text Available AIM: To discuss the common problems and treatment countermeasures in dacryocystorhinostomy under nasal endoscope.METHODS: The clinical data of 37 cases(43 eyesof postoperative dacryocystorhinostomy under nasal endoscope, by using high-frequency electric knife to open the nasal mucosa, hemostasis in surgery, burning fixed lacrimal sac mucosal flap and nasal mucosal flap, methylene blue staining of the lacrimal sac, lacrimal drainage tube implanted and expansion foam support fixed anastomotic methods were reviewed in our hospital from Mar. 2011 to June. 2013. The effects of surgery were observed, and the intraoperative common questions and the treatments were discussed.RESULTS: In the 37 cases(43 eyes, 42 eyes(97.7%were cured, and 1 eye was improved, and the total efficiency was 100%. All operations were successfully completed without any serious complications during surgery.CONCLUSION: The common complication in dacryocystorhinostomy under nasal endoscope are effectively treated and the success rates of surgery are improved, by using high-frequency electric knife to open the nasal mucosa, hemostasis in surgery, burning fixed lacrimal sac mucosal flap and nasal mucosal flap, methylene blue staining of the lacrimal sac, lacrimal drainage tube implanted and expansion foam support fixed anastomotic methods. These methods are worthy of application and promotion.

Application of DNA-based methods in forensic entomology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Jeffrey D; Stevens, Jamie R

2008-01-01

A forensic entomological investigation can benefit from a variety of widely practiced molecular genotyping methods. The most commonly used is DNA-based specimen identification. Other applications include the identification of insect gut contents and the characterization of the population genetic structure of a forensically important insect species. The proper application of these procedures demands that the analyst be technically expert. However, one must also be aware of the extensive list of standards and expectations that many legal systems have developed for forensic DNA analysis. We summarize the DNA techniques that are currently used in, or have been proposed for, forensic entomology and review established genetic analyses from other scientific fields that address questions similar to those in forensic entomology. We describe how accepted standards for forensic DNA practice and method validation are likely to apply to insect evidence used in a death or other forensic entomological investigation.

Qualitative research methods in renal medicine: an introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Bristowe, Katherine; Selman, Lucy; Murtagh, Fliss E M

2015-09-01