Whither RDS? An investigation of Respondent Driven Sampling as a method of recruiting mainstream marijuana users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cousineau Marie-Marthe

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background An important challenge in conducting social research of specific relevance to harm reduction programs is locating hidden populations of consumers of substances like cannabis who typically report few adverse or unwanted consequences of their use. Much of the deviant, pathologized perception of drug users is historically derived from, and empirically supported, by a research emphasis on gaining ready access to users in drug treatment or in prison populations with higher incidence of problems of dependence and misuse. Because they are less visible, responsible recreational users of illicit drugs have been more difficult to study. Methods This article investigates Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS as a method of recruiting experienced marijuana users representative of users in the general population. Based on sampling conducted in a multi-city study (Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, and compared to samples gathered using other research methods, we assess the strengths and weaknesses of RDS recruitment as a means of gaining access to illicit substance users who experience few harmful consequences of their use. Demographic characteristics of the sample in Toronto are compared with those of users in a recent household survey and a pilot study of Toronto where the latter utilized nonrandom self-selection of respondents. Results A modified approach to RDS was necessary to attain the target sample size in all four cities (i.e., 40 'users' from each site. The final sample in Toronto was largely similar, however, to marijuana users in a random household survey that was carried out in the same city. Whereas well-educated, married, whites and females in the survey were all somewhat overrepresented, the two samples, overall, were more alike than different with respect to economic status and employment. Furthermore, comparison with a self-selected sample suggests that (even modified RDS recruitment is a cost-effective way of

Geriatric Respondents and Non-Respondents To Probiotic Intervention Can Be Differentiated By Inherent Gut Microbiome Composition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Suja eSenan

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Scope: Probiotic interventions are known to have been shown to influence the composition of the intestinal microbiota in geriatrics. The growing concern is the apparent variation in response to identical strain dosage among human volunteers. One factor that governs this variation is the host gut microbiome. In this study, we attempted to define a core gut metagenome which could act as a predisposition signature marker of inherent bacterial community that can help predict the success of a probiotic intervention. Methods and Results: To characterize the geriatric gut microbiome we designed primers targeting the 16S rRNA hypervariable region V2-V3 followed by semiconductor sequencing using Ion Torrent PGM. Among respondents and non- respondents the chief genera of phylum Firmicutes that showed significant differences are Lactobacillus, Clostridium, Eubacterium, and Blautia (q< 0.002 while in the genera of phylum Proteobacteria included Shigella, Escherichia, Burkholderia and Camphylobacter (q <0.002. Conclusion: We have identified potential microbial biomarkers and taxonomic patterns that correlate with a positive response to probiotic intervention in geriatric volunteers. Future work with larger cohorts of geriatrics with diverse dietary influences could reveal the potential of the signature patterns of microbiota for personalized nutrition.

Methods of producing adsorption media including a metal oxide

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Nicholas R; Tranter, Troy J

2014-03-04

Methods of producing a metal oxide are disclosed. The method comprises dissolving a metal salt in a reaction solvent to form a metal salt/reaction solvent solution. The metal salt is converted to a metal oxide and a caustic solution is added to the metal oxide/reaction solvent solution to adjust the pH of the metal oxide/reaction solvent solution to less than approximately 7.0. The metal oxide is precipitated and recovered. A method of producing adsorption media including the metal oxide is also disclosed, as is a precursor of an active component including particles of a metal oxide.

Academics respond

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hazel, Spencer

2015-01-01

Contribution to the article "Academics respond: Brexit would weaken UK university research and funding", Guardian Witness, The Guardian, UK......Contribution to the article "Academics respond: Brexit would weaken UK university research and funding", Guardian Witness, The Guardian, UK...

Dissociating indifferent, directional, and extreme responding in personality data

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zettler, Ingo; Lang, Jonas W B; Hülsheger, Ute R

2015-01-01

- and observer reports of personality traits. The three-process model captures indifferent, directional, and extreme responding. Substantively, we hypothesize that, and test whether, trait Honesty-Humility is negatively linked to extreme responding. METHOD: We applied the three-process model to personality data......-process model. Second, we show that the various response processes show a pattern of correlations across traits and rating sources which is in line with the idea that indifferent and extreme responding are person-specific tendencies, whereas directional responding is content-specific. Third, we report findings...... of N = 577 dyads (self- and observer reports of the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised) of Dutch and German respondents. RESULTS: First, we provide evidence that indifferent, directional, and extreme responding can be separated from each other in personality data through the use of the three...

Microfluidic devices and methods including porous polymer monoliths

Science.gov (United States)

Hatch, Anson V; Sommer, Gregory J; Singh, Anup K; Wang, Ying-Chih; Abhyankar, Vinay V

2014-04-22

Microfluidic devices and methods including porous polymer monoliths are described. Polymerization techniques may be used to generate porous polymer monoliths having pores defined by a liquid component of a fluid mixture. The fluid mixture may contain iniferters and the resulting porous polymer monolith may include surfaces terminated with iniferter species. Capture molecules may then be grafted to the monolith pores.

Enhancing Syndromic Surveillance With Online Respondent-Driven Detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stein, Mart L; van Steenbergen, Jim E; Buskens, Vincent; van der Heijden, Peter G M; Koppeschaar, Carl E; Bengtsson, Linus; Thorson, Anna; Kretzschmar, MEE

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the feasibility of combining an online chain recruitment method (respondent-driven detection) and participatory surveillance panels to collect previously undetected information on infectious diseases via social networks of participants. METHODS: In 2014, volunteers from 2

Enhancing syndromic surveillance with online respondent-driven detection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stein, Mart L.; Van Steenbergen, Jim E.; Buskens, Vincent; Van Der Heijden, Peter G M; Koppeschaar, Carl E.; Bengtsson, Linus; Thorson, Anna; Kretzschmar, Mirjam E E

2015-01-01

Objectives. We investigated the feasibility of combining an online chain recruitment method (respondent-driven detection) and participatory surveillance panels to collect previously undetected information on infectious diseases via social networks of participants. Methods. In 2014, volunteers from 2

Transforming Higher Education in the Information Age: Presidents Respond.

Science.gov (United States)

Breslin, Richard D.; And Others

1991-01-01

College presidents respond to an article by Richard Nolan challenging college and university presidents and chancellors to transform their campuses for survival and competitive advantage in the information age. Respondents include Richard D. Breslin, David M. Clarke, Joseph Cronin, Thomas Ehrlich, Donald N. Langenberg, Harold McAninch, and Donald…

LH Pretreatment as a Novel Strategy for Poor Responders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Pia Ferraretti

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Poor response to ovarian stimulation is still a major problem in IVF. The study presents a new stimulation protocol evaluated in a suppopulation of very difficult young poor ovarian responders. Material and Methods. The study consists in two sections. The first includes data from a randomized controlled study involving forty-three young patients with a poor ovarian response in at least two previous cycles (intended as cycle cancellation or with ≤3 collected oocytes. Patients were randomized in two groups: group A (control received FSH (400 IU/day, while group B received the new stimulation protocol consisting in a sequential association of 150 IU r-LH for 4 days followed by 400 IU r-FSH/after downregulation with daily GnRh agonist. The second includes data from the overall results in 65 patients treated with the new protocol compared to their previous performance with conventional cycles (historical control. Results. Both in the RCT and in the historical control study, LH pretreatment was able to decrease the cancellation rate, to improve the in vitro performance, and to significantly increase the live birth rates. Conclusions. LH pretreatment improved oocyte quantity and quality in young repeated poor responders selected in accordance with the Bologna criteria.

Comparing Respondent-Driven Sampling and Targeted Sampling Methods of Recruiting Injection Drug Users in San Francisco

Science.gov (United States)

Malekinejad, Mohsen; Vaudrey, Jason; Martinez, Alexis N.; Lorvick, Jennifer; McFarland, Willi; Raymond, H. Fisher

2010-01-01

The objective of this article is to compare demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, and service utilization among injection drug users (IDUs) recruited from two separate studies in San Francisco in 2005, one which used targeted sampling (TS) and the other which used respondent-driven sampling (RDS). IDUs were recruited using TS (n = 651) and RDS (n = 534) and participated in quantitative interviews that included demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, and service utilization. Prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess whether there were differences in these variables by sampling method. There was overlap in 95% CIs for all demographic variables except African American race (TS: 45%, 53%; RDS: 29%, 44%). Maps showed that the proportion of IDUs distributed across zip codes were similar for the TS and RDS sample, with the exception of a single zip code that was more represented in the TS sample. This zip code includes an isolated, predominantly African American neighborhood where only the TS study had a field site. Risk behavior estimates were similar for both TS and RDS samples, although self-reported hepatitis C infection was lower in the RDS sample. In terms of service utilization, more IDUs in the RDS sample reported no recent use of drug treatment and syringe exchange program services. Our study suggests that perhaps a hybrid sampling plan is best suited for recruiting IDUs in San Francisco, whereby the more intensive ethnographic and secondary analysis components of TS would aid in the planning of seed placement and field locations for RDS. PMID:20582573

Visual Motor Integration as a Screener for Responders and Non-Responders in Preschool and Early School Years: Implications for Inclusive Assessment in Oman

Science.gov (United States)

Emam, Mahmoud Mohamed; Kazem, Ali Mahdi

2016-01-01

Visual motor integration (VMI) is the ability of the eyes and hands to work together in smooth, efficient patterns. In Oman, there are few effective methods to assess VMI skills in children in inclusive settings. The current study investigated the performance of preschool and early school years responders and non-responders on a VMI test. The full…

Comparison of MicroRNAs Mediated in Reactivation of the γ-Globin in β-Thalassemia Patients, Responders and Non-Responders to Hydroxyurea.

Science.gov (United States)

Hojjati, Mohammad T; Azarkeivan, Azita; Pourfathollah, Ali A; Amirizadeh, Naser

2017-03-01

Drug induction of Hb F seems to be an ideal therapy for patients with hemoglobin (Hb) disorders, and many efforts have been made to reveal the mechanism behind it. Thus, we examined in vivo expression of some microRNAs (miRNAs) that are thought to be involved in this process. Among β-thalassemia (β-thal) patients who were undergoing hydroxyurea (HU) therapy in the past 3 months and five healthy individuals, five responders and five non-responders, were also included in the study. Erythroid progenitors were isolated by magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS) and miRNA expression analyzed using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). We showed that γ-globin, miR-210 and miR-486-3p had higher levels in the responders than the non-responders group. Moreover, miR-150 and miR-320 had higher levels in the healthy group than both non-responders and responders groups, but the expression of miR-96 did not show any significant difference between the study groups. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study proposing that 'induction of cellular hypoxic condition by Hb F inducing agents' could be the milestone of possible mechanisms that explain why responders are able to reactivate γ-globin genes and subsequently, more production of Hb F, in response to these agents in comparison to non-responders. However, further investigations need to be performed to verify this hypothesis.

Collaboration and interaction of first responders with the general public

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Emmerik, M. van; Dinesen, C.; Rijk, R. van; Bird, M.; Wester, M.; Hansen, L.J.; Vinther-Larsen, L.; Padron, C.; Boswinkel, R.; Ven, J. van de

2016-01-01

There is an increased focus on the need for collaboration between first responders and the general public. This type of collaboration requires soft skills that are not necessarily included in more traditional command and control trainings for first responders. Learning to collaborate with the

Membrane for distillation including nanostructures, methods of making membranes, and methods of desalination and separation

KAUST Repository

Lai, Zhiping; Huang, Kuo-Wei; Chen, Wei

2016-01-01

In accordance with the purpose(s) of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure provide membranes, methods of making the membrane, systems including the membrane, methods of separation, methods of desalination, and the like.

Membrane for distillation including nanostructures, methods of making membranes, and methods of desalination and separation

KAUST Repository

Lai, Zhiping

2016-01-21

In accordance with the purpose(s) of the present disclosure, as embodied and broadly described herein, embodiments of the present disclosure provide membranes, methods of making the membrane, systems including the membrane, methods of separation, methods of desalination, and the like.

Differential resistances to anthracnose in Capsicum baccatum as responding to two Colletotrichum pathotypes and inoculation methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahasuk, Pitchayapa; Chinthaisong, Jittima; Mongkolporn, Orarat

2013-09-01

Chili anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum spp., is one of the major diseases to chili production in the tropics and subtropics worldwide. Breeding for durable anthracnose resistance requires a good understanding of the resistance mechanisms to different pathotypes and inoculation methods. This study aimed to investigate the inheritances of differential resistances as responding to two different Colletotrichum pathotypes, PCa2 and PCa3 and as by two different inoculation methods, microinjection (MI) and high pressure spray (HP). Detached ripe fruit of Capsicum baccatum 'PBC80' derived F2 and BC1s populations was assessed for anthracnose resistance. Two dominant genes were identified responsible for the differential resistance to anthracnose. One was responsible for the resistance to PCa2 and PCa3 by MI and the other was responsible for the resistance to PCa3 by HP. The two genes were linked with 16.7 cM distance.

Mischievous responding in Internet Gaming Disorder research.

Science.gov (United States)

Przybylski, Andrew K

2016-01-01

The most recent update to the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) included Internet Gaming Disorder as a new potential psychiatric condition that merited further scientific study. The present research was conducted in response to the APA Substance-Related Disorders Working Group's research call to estimate the extent to which mischievous responding-a known problematic pattern of participant self-report responding in questionnaires-is relevant to Internet Gaming Disorder research. In line with a registered sampling and analysis plan, findings from two studies (n tot = 11,908) provide clear evidence that mischievous responding is positively associated with the number of Internet Gaming Disorder indicators participants report. Results are discussed in the context of ongoing problem gaming research and the discussion provides recommendations for improving the quality of scientific practice in this area.

Probability Sampling Method for a Hidden Population Using Respondent-Driven Sampling: Simulation for Cancer Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Minsoo

2015-01-01

When there is no sampling frame within a certain group or the group is concerned that making its population public would bring social stigma, we say the population is hidden. It is difficult to approach this kind of population survey-methodologically because the response rate is low and its members are not quite honest with their responses when probability sampling is used. The only alternative known to address the problems caused by previous methods such as snowball sampling is respondent-driven sampling (RDS), which was developed by Heckathorn and his colleagues. RDS is based on a Markov chain, and uses the social network information of the respondent. This characteristic allows for probability sampling when we survey a hidden population. We verified through computer simulation whether RDS can be used on a hidden population of cancer survivors. According to the simulation results of this thesis, the chain-referral sampling of RDS tends to minimize as the sample gets bigger, and it becomes stabilized as the wave progresses. Therefore, it shows that the final sample information can be completely independent from the initial seeds if a certain level of sample size is secured even if the initial seeds were selected through convenient sampling. Thus, RDS can be considered as an alternative which can improve upon both key informant sampling and ethnographic surveys, and it needs to be utilized for various cases domestically as well.

Acute Chemical Incidents With Injured First Responders, 2002-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Melnikova, Natalia; Wu, Jennifer; Yang, Alice; Orr, Maureen

2018-04-01

IntroductionFirst responders, including firefighters, police officers, emergency medical services, and company emergency response team members, have dangerous jobs that can bring them in contact with hazardous chemicals among other dangers. Limited information is available on responder injuries that occur during hazardous chemical incidents. We analyzed 2002-2012 data on acute chemical incidents with injured responders from 2 Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry chemical incident surveillance programs. To learn more about such injuries, we performed descriptive analysis and looked for trends. The percentage of responders among all injured people in chemical incidents has not changed over the years. Firefighters were the most frequently injured group of responders, followed by police officers. Respiratory system problems were the most often reported injury, and the respiratory irritants, ammonia, methamphetamine-related chemicals, and carbon monoxide were the chemicals more often associated with injuries. Most of the incidents with responder injuries were caused by human error or equipment failure. Firefighters wore personal protective equipment (PPE) most frequently and police officers did so rarely. Police officers' injuries were mostly associated with exposure to ammonia and methamphetamine-related chemicals. Most responders did not receive basic awareness-level hazardous material training. All responders should have at least basic awareness-level hazardous material training to recognize and avoid exposure. Research on improving firefighter PPE should continue. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:211-221).

Network Model-Assisted Inference from Respondent-Driven Sampling Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Gile, Krista J; Handcock, Mark S

2015-06-01

Respondent-Driven Sampling is a widely-used method for sampling hard-to-reach human populations by link-tracing over their social networks. Inference from such data requires specialized techniques because the sampling process is both partially beyond the control of the researcher, and partially implicitly defined. Therefore, it is not generally possible to directly compute the sampling weights for traditional design-based inference, and likelihood inference requires modeling the complex sampling process. As an alternative, we introduce a model-assisted approach, resulting in a design-based estimator leveraging a working network model. We derive a new class of estimators for population means and a corresponding bootstrap standard error estimator. We demonstrate improved performance compared to existing estimators, including adjustment for an initial convenience sample. We also apply the method and an extension to the estimation of HIV prevalence in a high-risk population.

Immunotherapy, an evolving approach for the management of triple negative breast cancer: Converting non-responders to responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Tolba, Mai F; Omar, Hany A

2018-02-01

Immunotherapy comprises a promising new era in cancer therapy. Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting either the programmed death (PD)-1 receptor or its ligand PD-L1 were first approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of metastatic melanoma in 2011. The approval of this class is being extended to include other types of immunogenic tumors. Although breast cancer (BC) was first categorized as non-immunogenic tumor type, there are certain subsets of BC that showed a high level of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Those subsets include the triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and HER-2 positive breast tumors. Preliminary data from clinical trials presented promising outcomes for patients with advanced stage/metastatic TNBC. While the objective response rate (ORR) was relatively low, it is still promising because of the observation that the patients who respond to the treatment with immune checkpoint blockade have favorable prognosis and often show a significant increase in the overall survival. Therefore, the main challenge is to find ways to enhance the tumor response to such therapy and to convert the non-responders to responders. This will consequently bring new hopes for patients with advanced stage metastatic TNBC and help to decrease death tolls from this devastating disease. In the current review, we are highlighting and discussing the up-to-date strategies adopted at either the preclinical or the clinical settings to enhance tumor responsiveness to immunotherapy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Careless responding in internet-based quality of life assessments.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Stefan; May, Marcella; Stone, Arthur A

2018-04-01

Quality of life (QoL) measurement relies upon participants providing meaningful responses, but not all respondents may pay sufficient attention when completing self-reported QoL measures. This study examined the impact of careless responding on the reliability and validity of Internet-based QoL assessments. Internet panelists (n = 2000) completed Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS®) short-forms (depression, fatigue, pain impact, applied cognitive abilities) and single-item QoL measures (global health, pain intensity) as part of a larger survey that included multiple checks of whether participants paid attention to the items. Latent class analysis was used to identify groups of non-careless and careless responders from the attentiveness checks. Analyses compared psychometric properties of the QoL measures (reliability of PROMIS short-forms, correlations among QoL scores, "known-groups" validity) between non-careless and careless responder groups. Whether person-fit statistics derived from PROMIS measures accurately discriminated careless and non-careless responders was also examined. About 7.4% of participants were classified as careless responders. No substantial differences in the reliability of PROMIS measures between non-careless and careless responder groups were observed. However, careless responding meaningfully and significantly affected the correlations among QoL domains, as well as the magnitude of differences in QoL between medical and disability groups (presence or absence of disability, depression diagnosis, chronic pain diagnosis). Person-fit statistics significantly and moderately distinguished between non-careless and careless responders. The results support the importance of identifying and screening out careless responders to ensure high-quality self-report data in Internet-based QoL research.

Factors influencing healthcare provider respondent fatigue answering a globally administered in-app survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikas N. O’Reilly-Shah

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background Respondent fatigue, also known as survey fatigue, is a common problem in the collection of survey data. Factors that are known to influence respondent fatigue include survey length, survey topic, question complexity, and open-ended question type. There is a great deal of interest in understanding the drivers of physician survey responsiveness due to the value of information received from these practitioners. With the recent explosion of mobile smartphone technology, it has been possible to obtain survey data from users of mobile applications (apps on a question-by-question basis. The author obtained basic demographic survey data as well as survey data related to an anesthesiology-specific drug called sugammadex and leveraged nonresponse rates to examine factors that influenced respondent fatigue. Methods Primary data were collected between December 2015 and February 2017. Surveys and in-app analytics were collected from global users of a mobile anesthesia calculator app. Key independent variables were user country, healthcare provider role, rating of importance of the app to personal practice, length of time in practice, and frequency of app use. Key dependent variable was the metric of respondent fatigue. Results Provider role and World Bank country income level were predictive of the rate of respondent fatigue for this in-app survey. Importance of the app to the provider and length of time in practice were moderately associated with fatigue. Frequency of app use was not associated. This study focused on a survey with a topic closely related to the subject area of the app. Respondent fatigue rates will likely change dramatically if the topic does not align closely. Discussion Although apps may serve as powerful platforms for data collection, responses rates to in-app surveys may differ on the basis of important respondent characteristics. Studies should be carefully designed to mitigate fatigue as well as powered with the

Is an opportunistic primary care-based intervention for non-responders to bowel screening feasible and acceptable? A mixed-methods feasibility study in Scotland.

Science.gov (United States)

Calanzani, Natalia; Cavers, Debbie; Vojt, Gabriele; Orbell, Sheina; Steele, Robert J C; Brownlee, Linda; Smith, Steve; Patnick, Julietta; Weller, David; Campbell, Christine

2017-10-11

We aimed to test whether a brief, opportunistic intervention in general practice was a feasible and acceptable way to engage with bowel screening non-responders. This was a feasibility study testing an intervention which comprised a brief conversation during routine consultation, provision of a patient leaflet and instructions to request a replacement faecal occult blood test kit. A mixed-methods approach to evaluation was adopted. Data were collected from proformas completed after each intervention, from the Bowel Screening Centre database and from questionnaires. Semi-structured interviews were carried out. We used descriptive statistics, content and framework analysis to determine intervention feasibility and acceptability. Bowel screening non-responders (as defined by the Scottish Bowel Screening Centre) and primary care professionals working in five general practices in Lothian, Scotland. Several predefined feasibility parameters were assessed, including numbers of patients engaging in conversation, requesting a replacement kit and returning it, and willingness of primary care professionals to deliver the intervention. The intervention was offered to 258 patients in five general practices: 220 (87.0%) engaged with the intervention, 60 (23.3%) requested a new kit, 22 (8.5%) kits were completed and returned. Interviews and questionnaires suggest that the intervention was feasible, acceptable and consistent with an existing health prevention agenda. Reported challenges referred to work-related pressures, time constraints and practice priorities. This intervention was acceptable and resulted in a modest increase in non-responders participating in bowel screening, although outlined challenges may affect sustained implementation. The strategy is also aligned with the increasing role of primary care in promoting bowel screening. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use

Network Model-Assisted Inference from Respondent-Driven Sampling Data

Science.gov (United States)

Gile, Krista J.; Handcock, Mark S.

2015-01-01

Summary Respondent-Driven Sampling is a widely-used method for sampling hard-to-reach human populations by link-tracing over their social networks. Inference from such data requires specialized techniques because the sampling process is both partially beyond the control of the researcher, and partially implicitly defined. Therefore, it is not generally possible to directly compute the sampling weights for traditional design-based inference, and likelihood inference requires modeling the complex sampling process. As an alternative, we introduce a model-assisted approach, resulting in a design-based estimator leveraging a working network model. We derive a new class of estimators for population means and a corresponding bootstrap standard error estimator. We demonstrate improved performance compared to existing estimators, including adjustment for an initial convenience sample. We also apply the method and an extension to the estimation of HIV prevalence in a high-risk population. PMID:26640328

Unsteady panel method for complex configurations including wake modeling

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Van Zyl, Lourens H

2008-01-01

Full Text Available implementations of the DLM are however not very versatile in terms of geometries that can be modeled. The ZONA6 code offers a versatile surface panel body model including a separated wake model, but uses a pressure panel method for lifting surfaces. This paper...

Fire fighters as basic life support responders: A study of successful implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christensen Erika

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background First responders are recommended as a supplement to the Emergency Medical Services (EMS in order to achieve early defibrillation. Practical and organisational aspects are essential when trying to implement new parts in the "Chain of Survival"; areas to address include minimizing dispatch time, ensuring efficient and quick communication, and choosing areas with appropriate driving distances. The aim of this study was to implement a system using Basic Life Support (BLS responders equipped with an automatic external defibrillator in an area with relatively short emergency medical services' response times. Success criteria for implementation was defined as arrival of the BLS responders before the EMS, attachment (and use of the AED, and successful defibrillation. Methods This was a prospective observational study from September 1, 2005 to December 31, 2007 (28 months in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. The BLS responder system was implemented in an area up to three kilometres (driving distance from the central fire station, encompassing approximately 81,500 inhabitants. The team trained on each shift and response times were reduced by choice of area and by sending the alarm directly to the fire brigade dispatcher. Results The BLS responders had 1076 patient contacts. The median response time was 3.5 minutes (25th percentile 2.75, 75th percentile 4.25. The BLS responders arrived before EMS in 789 of the 1076 patient contacts (73%. Cardiac arrest was diagnosed in 53 cases, the AED was attached in 29 cases, and a shockable rhythm was detected in nine cases. Eight were defibrillated using an AED. Seven of the eight obtained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC. Six of the seven obtaining ROSC survived more than 30 days. Conclusion In this study, the implementation of BLS responders may have resulted in successful resuscitations. On basis of the close corporation between all participants in the chain of survival this project

Catalyst support structure, catalyst including the structure, reactor including a catalyst, and methods of forming same

Science.gov (United States)

Van Norman, Staci A.; Aston, Victoria J.; Weimer, Alan W.

2017-05-09

Structures, catalysts, and reactors suitable for use for a variety of applications, including gas-to-liquid and coal-to-liquid processes and methods of forming the structures, catalysts, and reactors are disclosed. The catalyst material can be deposited onto an inner wall of a microtubular reactor and/or onto porous tungsten support structures using atomic layer deposition techniques.

Resilience in Emergency Medical Responders: A Pilot Study of a Reflective Journal Intervention Using a Mixed Methods Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gail Rowntree

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Emergency Medical Responders (EMRs work in potentially traumatic situations as part of their job. To enable them to do so requires a degree of resilience (i.e., the ability to bounce back from exposure to disruptive events. Taking a mixed-methods approach, the proposed study addresses the question of whether a reflective journal intervention will impact EMRs’ resilience to support positive outcomes. Data will be collected in four EU countries. The Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale will be administered for pre- and post-intervention assessment, while qualitative data will be collected for further analysis.

29 CFR 98.1000 - Respondent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Respondent. 98.1000 Section 98.1000 Labor Office of the Secretary of Labor GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 98.1000 Respondent. Respondent means a person against whom an agency has initiated a debarment or suspension action. ...

Amitriptyline converts non-responders into responders to low-frequency electroacupuncture-induced analgesia in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Fais, Rafael S; Reis, G M; Rossaneis, A C; Silveira, J W S; Dias, Q M; Prado, W A

2012-07-26

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of intraperitoneal or intrathecal amitriptyline combined with electroacupuncture modifies the tail-flick reflex and incision pain in rats that normally do not have analgesia to electroacupuncture in the tail-flick test (non-responder rats). Changes in the nociceptive threshold of intraperitoneal or intrathecal saline- or amitriptyline-treated non-responder rats were evaluated using the tail-flick or incision pain tests before, during and after a 20-min period of electroacupuncture, applied at 2 Hz to the Zusanli and Sanynjiao acupoints. Amitriptyline was used at doses of 0.8 mg/kg or 30 μg/kg by intraperitoneal or intrathecal route, respectively. At these doses, amitriptyline has no effect against thermal or incision pain in rats. Rats selected as non-responders to the analgesic effect of electroacupuncture 2 Hz in tail-flick and incision pain tests become responders after an intraperitoneal or intrathecal injection of amitriptyline. Amitriptyline converts non-responder rats to rats that respond to electroacupuncture with analgesia in a model of thermal phasic pain and anti-hyperalgesia in a model of incision pain. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Identifying Careless Responding With the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised Validity Scales.

Science.gov (United States)

Marcus, David K; Church, Abere Sawaqdeh; O'Connell, Debra; Lilienfeld, Scott O

2018-01-01

The Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) includes validity scales that assess Deviant Responding (DR), Virtuous Responding, and Inconsistent Responding. We examined the utility of these scales for identifying careless responding using data from two online studies that examined correlates of psychopathy in college students (Sample 1: N = 583; Sample 2: N = 454). Compared with those below the cut scores, those above the cut on the DR scale yielded consistently lower validity coefficients when PPI-R scores were correlated with corresponding scales from the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. The other three PPI-R validity scales yielded weaker and less consistent results. Participants who completed the studies in an inordinately brief amount of time scored significantly higher on the DR and Virtuous Responding scales than other participants. Based on the findings from the current studies, researchers collecting PPI-R data online should consider identifying and perhaps screening out respondents with elevated scores on the DR scale.

Occluded object reconstruction for first responders with augmented reality glasses using conditional generative adversarial networks

OpenAIRE

Yun, Kyongsik; Lu, Thomas; Chow, Edward

2018-01-01

Firefighters suffer a variety of life-threatening risks, including line-of-duty deaths, injuries, and exposures to hazardous substances. Support for reducing these risks is important. We built a partially occluded object reconstruction method on augmented reality glasses for first responders. We used a deep learning based on conditional generative adversarial networks to train associations between the various images of flammable and hazardous objects and their partially occluded counterparts....

Responding to emergencies: How organization and management make a difference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metlay, D.S.; Haber, S.B.; Luckas, W.J.

1989-01-01

There is an observable and definable process that occurs during the course of responding to an abnormal event at a nuclear power plant. Each of the elements that comprise that process involves collective action and consequently is influenced by the character and effectiveness of organizational and managerial arrangements. Factors which affect each element include overt ones like the allocation of authority and responsibility and the skill of personnel, as well as covert factors like the methods used to resolve uncertainty. The purpose of this research project is to examine the process of response that occurs to an abnormal event at a nuclear power plant and where possible to identify the organizational and management factors that influence that process

Responding to emergencies: How organization and management make a difference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metlay, D.S.; Haber, S.B.; Luckas, W.J.

1990-01-01

There is an observable and definable process that occurs during the course of responding to an abnormal event at a nuclear power plant. Each of the elements that comprise that process involves collective action and consequently is influenced by the character and effectiveness of organizational and managerial arrangements. Factors which affect each element include overt ones like the allocation of authority and responsibility and the skill of personnel, as well as covert factors like the methods used to resolve uncertainty. The purpose of this research project is to examine the process of response that occurs to an abnormal event at a nuclear power plant and where possible to identify the organizational and management factors that influence that process

Responding with Care to Students Facing Trauma

Science.gov (United States)

Souers, Kristin

2018-01-01

Exposure to trauma--which many experts view as include ongoing life stressors like poverty, parents divorcing, death of a family member, or drug abuse in the home--is prevalent among school-aged children. Teachers know that facing trauma impedes students' ability to focus and learn, but it can be challenging to keep responding caringly to a…

Serial Killers: Academic Libraries Respond to Soaring Costs.

Science.gov (United States)

McCarthy, Paul

1994-01-01

Discusses ways in which academic libraries are responding to rising costs of serials. Topics addressed include pricing by publishers; the effect of journal cancellations on research activities; interlibrary loans and document delivery services; coordinated cancelling; electronic journals; and experiences at the University of Arizona. (LRW)

Disability weights for infectious diseases in four European countries: comparison between countries and across respondent characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Maertens de Noordhout, Charline; Devleesschauwer, Brecht; Salomon, Joshua A; Turner, Heather; Cassini, Alessandro; Colzani, Edoardo; Speybroeck, Niko; Polinder, Suzanne; Kretzschmar, Mirjam E; Havelaar, Arie H; Haagsma, Juanita A

2018-01-01

Abstract Background In 2015, new disability weights (DWs) for infectious diseases were constructed based on data from four European countries. In this paper, we evaluated if country, age, sex, disease experience status, income and educational levels have an impact on these DWs. Methods We analyzed paired comparison responses of the European DW study by participants’ characteristics with separate probit regression models. To evaluate the effect of participants’ characteristics, we performed correlation analyses between countries and within country by respondent characteristics and constructed seven probit regression models, including a null model and six models containing participants’ characteristics. We compared these seven models using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). Results According to AIC, the probit model including country as covariate was the best model. We found a lower correlation of the probit coefficients between countries and income levels (range rs: 0.97–0.99, P European countries. We recommend future researches studying the effect of other characteristics of respondents on health assessment. PMID:29020343

Model validation of solar PV plant with hybrid data dynamic simulation based on fast-responding generator method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Dawei

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a significant number of large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV plants have been put into operation or been under planning around the world. The model accuracy of solar PV plant is the key factor to investigate the mutual influences between solar PV plants and a power grid. However, this problem has not been well solved, especially in how to apply the real measurements to validate the models of the solar PV plants. Taking fast-responding generator method as an example, this paper presents a model validation methodology for solar PV plant via the hybrid data dynamic simulation. First, the implementation scheme of hybrid data dynamic simulation suitable for DIgSILENT PowerFactory software is proposed, and then an analysis model of solar PV plant integration based on IEEE 9 system is established. At last, model validation of solar PV plant is achieved by employing hybrid data dynamic simulation. The results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in solar PV plant model validation.

Force measuring valve assemblies, systems including such valve assemblies and related methods

Science.gov (United States)

DeWall, Kevin George [Pocatello, ID; Garcia, Humberto Enrique [Idaho Falls, ID; McKellar, Michael George [Idaho Falls, ID

2012-04-17

Methods of evaluating a fluid condition may include stroking a valve member and measuring a force acting on the valve member during the stroke. Methods of evaluating a fluid condition may include measuring a force acting on a valve member in the presence of fluid flow over a period of time and evaluating at least one of the frequency of changes in the measured force over the period of time and the magnitude of the changes in the measured force over the period of time to identify the presence of an anomaly in a fluid flow and, optionally, its estimated location. Methods of evaluating a valve condition may include directing a fluid flow through a valve while stroking a valve member, measuring a force acting on the valve member during the stroke, and comparing the measured force to a reference force. Valve assemblies and related systems are also disclosed.

Mischievous responding in Internet Gaming Disorder research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrew K. Przybylski

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The most recent update to the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 included Internet Gaming Disorder as a new potential psychiatric condition that merited further scientific study. The present research was conducted in response to the APA Substance-Related Disorders Working Group’s research call to estimate the extent to which mischievous responding—a known problematic pattern of participant self-report responding in questionnaires—is relevant to Internet Gaming Disorder research. In line with a registered sampling and analysis plan, findings from two studies (ntot = 11,908 provide clear evidence that mischievous responding is positively associated with the number of Internet Gaming Disorder indicators participants report. Results are discussed in the context of ongoing problem gaming research and the discussion provides recommendations for improving the quality of scientific practice in this area.

Composite materials and bodies including silicon carbide and titanium diboride and methods of forming same

Science.gov (United States)

Lillo, Thomas M.; Chu, Henry S.; Harrison, William M.; Bailey, Derek

2013-01-22

Methods of forming composite materials include coating particles of titanium dioxide with a substance including boron (e.g., boron carbide) and a substance including carbon, and reacting the titanium dioxide with the substance including boron and the substance including carbon to form titanium diboride. The methods may be used to form ceramic composite bodies and materials, such as, for example, a ceramic composite body or material including silicon carbide and titanium diboride. Such bodies and materials may be used as armor bodies and armor materials. Such methods may include forming a green body and sintering the green body to a desirable final density. Green bodies formed in accordance with such methods may include particles comprising titanium dioxide and a coating at least partially covering exterior surfaces thereof, the coating comprising a substance including boron (e.g., boron carbide) and a substance including carbon.

Initiation devices, initiation systems including initiation devices and related methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Daniels, Michael A.; Condit, Reston A.; Rasmussen, Nikki; Wallace, Ronald S.

2018-04-10

Initiation devices may include at least one substrate, an initiation element positioned on a first side of the at least one substrate, and a spark gap electrically coupled to the initiation element and positioned on a second side of the at least one substrate. Initiation devices may include a plurality of substrates where at least one substrate of the plurality of substrates is electrically connected to at least one adjacent substrate of the plurality of substrates with at least one via extending through the at least one substrate. Initiation systems may include such initiation devices. Methods of igniting energetic materials include passing a current through a spark gap formed on at least one substrate of the initiation device, passing the current through at least one via formed through the at least one substrate, and passing the current through an explosive bridge wire of the initiation device.

Exceptional Responders Initial Feasibility Results

Science.gov (United States)

A pilot study evaluating identification of cancer patients who respond to treatment that is ineffective in at least 90 percent of patients found that it was indeed able to confirm a majority of proposed patients as exceptional responders based on clinical

Identifying Factors Associated with Risk Assessment Competencies of Public Health Emergency Responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Jiejing; Ren, Jiaojiao; Wu, Qunhong; Hao, Yanhua; Sun, Hong; Ning, Ning; Ding, Ding

2017-06-04

This study aimed to better understand the current situation of risk assessment and identify the factors associated with competence of emergency responders in public health risk assessment. The participants were selected by a multi-stage, stratified cluster sampling method in Heilongjiang Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The questionnaires that measured their perceptions on risk assessment competences were administered through the face-to-face survey. A final sample of 1889 staff was obtained. Of this sample, 78.6% of respondents rated their own risk assessment competences as "relatively low", contrasting with 21.4% rated as "relatively high". Most of the respondents (62.7%) did not participate in any risk assessment work. Only 13.7% and 42.7% of respondents reported participating in risk assessment training and were familiar with risk assessment tools. There existed statistical significance between risk assessment-related characteristics of respondents and their self-rated competences scores. Financial support from the government and administrative attention were regarded as the important factors contributing to risk assessment competences of CDC responders. Higher attention should be given to risk assessment training and enhancing the availability of surveillance data. Continuous efforts should be made to remove the financial and technical obstacles to improve the competences of risk assessment for public health emergency responders.

7 CFR 3017.1000 - Respondent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 15 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Respondent. 3017.1000 Section 3017.1000 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) OFFICE OF THE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GOVERNMENTWIDE DEBARMENT AND SUSPENSION (NONPROCUREMENT) Definitions § 3017.1000 Respondent...

Trends in 'poor responder' research: lessons learned from RCTs in assisted conception.

Science.gov (United States)

Papathanasiou, Athanasios; Searle, Belinda J; King, Nicole M A; Bhattacharya, Siladitya

2016-04-01

A substantial minority of women undergoing IVF will under-respond to controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. These women-so-called 'poor responders'-suffer persistently reduced success rates after IVF. Currently, no single intervention is unanimously accepted as beneficial in overcoming poor ovarian response (POR). This has been supported by the available research on POR, which consists mainly of randomized controlled trials (RCTs ) with an inherent high-risk of bias. The aim of this review was to critically appraise the available experimental trials on POR and provide guidance towards more useful-less wasteful-future research. A comprehensive review was undertaken of RCTs on 'poor responders' published in the last 15 years. Data on various methodological traits as well as important clinical characteristics were extracted from the included studies and summarized, with a view to identifying deficiencies from which lessons can be learned. Based on this analysis, recommendations were provided for further research in this field of assisted conception. We selected and analysed 75 RCTs. A valid, 'low-risk' randomization method was reported in three out of four RCTs. An improving trend in reporting concealment of patient allocation was also evident over the 15-year period. In contrast, methodological quality were more likely to have been published in a high-impact journal. Overall, the majority of published trials on POR suffer from methodological flaws and are, thus, regarded as being high-risk for bias. The same trials have used a variety of definitions for their poor responders and a variety of interventions for their head-to-head comparisons. Not surprisingly, discrepancies are also evident in the findings of trials comparing similar interventions. Based on the identified deficiencies, this novel type of 'methodology and clinical' review has introduced custom recommendations on how to improve future experimental research in the 'poor responder' population. © The Author

A novel technique for including surface tension in PLIC-VOF methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meier, M.; Yadigaroglu, G. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Nuclear Engineering Lab. ETH-Zentrum, CLT, Zurich (Switzerland); Smith, B. [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland). Lab. for Thermal-Hydraulics

2002-02-01

Various versions of Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) methods have been used successfully for the numerical simulation of gas-liquid flows with an explicit tracking of the phase interface. Of these, Piecewise-Linear Interface Construction (PLIC-VOF) appears as a fairly accurate, although somewhat more involved variant. Including effects due to surface tension remains a problem, however. The most prominent methods, Continuum Surface Force (CSF) of Brackbill et al. and the method of Zaleski and co-workers (both referenced later), both induce spurious or 'parasitic' currents, and only moderate accuracy in regards to determining the curvature. We present here a new method to determine curvature accurately using an estimator function, which is tuned with a least-squares-fit against reference data. Furthermore, we show how spurious currents may be drastically reduced using the reconstructed interfaces from the PLIC-VOF method. (authors)

Mobile-Only Web Survey Respondents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lugtig, P.J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304824658; Toepoel, V.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304576034; amin, alerk

2016-01-01

Web surveys are no longer completed on just a desktop or laptop computer. Respondents increasingly use mobile devices, such as tablets and smartphones to complete web surveys. In this article, we study how respondents in the American Life Panel complete surveys using varying devices. We show that

Respondent driven sampling: determinants of recruitment and a method to improve point estimation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicky McCreesh

Full Text Available Respondent-driven sampling (RDS is a variant of a link-tracing design intended for generating unbiased estimates of the composition of hidden populations that typically involves giving participants several coupons to recruit their peers into the study. RDS may generate biased estimates if coupons are distributed non-randomly or if potential recruits present for interview non-randomly. We explore if biases detected in an RDS study were due to either of these mechanisms, and propose and apply weights to reduce bias due to non-random presentation for interview.Using data from the total population, and the population to whom recruiters offered their coupons, we explored how age and socioeconomic status were associated with being offered a coupon, and, if offered a coupon, with presenting for interview. Population proportions were estimated by weighting by the assumed inverse probabilities of being offered a coupon (as in existing RDS methods, and also of presentation for interview if offered a coupon by age and socioeconomic status group.Younger men were under-recruited primarily because they were less likely to be offered coupons. The under-recruitment of higher socioeconomic status men was due in part to them being less likely to present for interview. Consistent with these findings, weighting for non-random presentation for interview by age and socioeconomic status group greatly improved the estimate of the proportion of men in the lowest socioeconomic group, reducing the root-mean-squared error of RDS estimates of socioeconomic status by 38%, but had little effect on estimates for age. The weighting also improved estimates for tribe and religion (reducing root-mean-squared-errors by 19-29%, but had little effect for sexual activity or HIV status.Data collected from recruiters on the characteristics of men to whom they offered coupons may be used to reduce bias in RDS studies. Further evaluation of this new method is required.

Responder Technology Alert (February 2015)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upton, Jaki F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stein, Steven L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-04-10

As part of technology foraging for the Responder Technology Alliance, established by the Department of Homeland Science and Technologies First Responders Group, this report summarizes technologies that are relevant in the area of “wearables,” with the potential for use by first responders. The content was collected over the previous month(s) and reproduced from a general Internet search using the term wearables. Additional information is available at the websites provided. This report is not meant to be an exhaustive list nor an endorsement of any technology described herein. Rather, it is meant to provide useful information about current developments in the areas wearable technology.

Pattern-mixture models for analyzing normal outcome data with proxy respondents.

Science.gov (United States)

Shardell, Michelle; Hicks, Gregory E; Miller, Ram R; Langenberg, Patricia; Magaziner, Jay

2010-06-30

Studies of older adults often involve interview questions regarding subjective constructs such as perceived disability. In some studies, when subjects are unable (e.g. due to cognitive impairment) or unwilling to respond to these questions, proxies (e.g. relatives or other care givers) are recruited to provide responses in place of the subject. Proxies are usually not approached to respond on behalf of subjects who respond for themselves; thus, for each subject, data from only one of the subject or proxy are available. Typically, proxy responses are simply substituted for missing subject responses, and standard complete-data analyses are performed. However, this approach may introduce measurement error and produce biased parameter estimates. In this paper, we propose using pattern-mixture models that relate non-identifiable parameters to identifiable parameters to analyze data with proxy respondents. We posit three interpretable pattern-mixture restrictions to be used with proxy data, and we propose estimation procedures using maximum likelihood and multiple imputation. The methods are applied to a cohort of elderly hip-fracture patients. (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Individualized controlled ovarian stimulation in expected poor-responders: an update.

Science.gov (United States)

Haahr, Thor; Esteves, Sandro C; Humaidan, Peter

2018-03-09

Controlled ovarian stimulation with subsequent multi-follicular development continues to be a keystone in ART. Evidence supports an individualized approach to ovarian stimulation, usually involving combinations of ovarian reserve tests, body mass index and age to tailor the exogenous gonadotropin dose, and potentially adjuvant treatment aiming for high safety and a shortening of time to live birth. While stimulation and trigger concepts have been developed successfully in normo- and hyperresponder patients, the poor responder patient remains difficult to manage. However, recent advances in definition and classification of the expected poor ovarian responder patient might enable a more accurate and clinically useful interpretation of new treatment concepts in a more homogenous study population. In the present review, we discuss the classification of the expected poor ovarian responder patient as well as clinically useful measurements of efficacy for controlled ovarian stimulation, and finally, we discuss the evidence for clinical management of patients with expected poor ovarian response, including adjuvant treatments such as growth hormone, androgens, and LH activity.In conclusion, the best available evidence supports that the treatment of the expected poor ovarian response patient should be individualized in all steps of ART, including the choice of GnRH analogue, the gonadotropin type and dose, ovulation trigger, and the possible use of adjuvant therapies.

Random Walks on Directed Networks: Inference and Respondent-Driven Sampling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Malmros Jens

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Respondent-driven sampling (RDS is often used to estimate population properties (e.g., sexual risk behavior in hard-to-reach populations. In RDS, already sampled individuals recruit population members to the sample from their social contacts in an efficient snowball-like sampling procedure. By assuming a Markov model for the recruitment of individuals, asymptotically unbiased estimates of population characteristics can be obtained. Current RDS estimation methodology assumes that the social network is undirected, that is, all edges are reciprocal. However, empirical social networks in general also include a substantial number of nonreciprocal edges. In this article, we develop an estimation method for RDS in populations connected by social networks that include reciprocal and nonreciprocal edges. We derive estimators of the selection probabilities of individuals as a function of the number of outgoing edges of sampled individuals. The proposed estimators are evaluated on artificial and empirical networks and are shown to generally perform better than existing estimators. This is the case in particular when the fraction of directed edges in the network is large.

Occupational health surveillance: Pulmonary function testing in emergency responders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James D McCluskey

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emergency responders may be exposed to a variety of fumes, gases, and particulates during the course of their job that can affect pulmonary function (PF and require the use of respiratory protection. This investigation used occupational health monitoring examination data to characterize PF in a population currently employed as emergency responders. PF tests for workers who required health examinations to ensure fitness for continued respirator use were compared to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III Raw Spirometry database to determine if decreased PF was associated with employment as an emergency responder. The results of this research indicated that the emergency responders experienced a modest, but statistically significant, increase in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 and forced vital capacity (FVC mean values over the NHANES III population in both total and stratified analyses, including stratification by age, gender, height, and smoking history. Results are likely due to a combination of effectively controlled exposures in the workplace, and the healthy worker effect among long-term workers. PF testing required by the Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA has substantial utility for conducting occupational surveillance at the population level. In this investigation, we were able to quickly evaluate if abnormal PF existed in an industrial sector known to have exposures that, when uncontrolled, can lead to PF impairment.

The probability of reinforcement per trial affects posttrial responding and subsequent extinction but not within-trial responding.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, Justin A; Kwok, Dorothy W S

2018-01-01

During magazine approach conditioning, rats do not discriminate between a conditional stimulus (CS) that is consistently reinforced with food and a CS that is occasionally (partially) reinforced, as long as the CSs have the same overall reinforcement rate per second. This implies that rats are indifferent to the probability of reinforcement per trial. However, in the same rats, the per-trial reinforcement rate will affect subsequent extinction-responding extinguishes more rapidly for a CS that was consistently reinforced than for a partially reinforced CS. Here, we trained rats with consistently and partially reinforced CSs that were matched for overall reinforcement rate per second. We measured conditioned responding both during and immediately after the CSs. Differences in the per-trial probability of reinforcement did not affect the acquisition of responding during the CS but did affect subsequent extinction of that responding, and also affected the post-CS response rates during conditioning. Indeed, CSs with the same probability of reinforcement per trial evoked the same amount of post-CS responding even when they differed in overall reinforcement rate and thus evoked different amounts of responding during the CS. We conclude that reinforcement rate per second controls rats' acquisition of responding during the CS, but at the same time, rats also learn specifically about the probability of reinforcement per trial. The latter learning affects the rats' expectation of reinforcement as an outcome of the trial, which influences their ability to detect retrospectively that an opportunity for reinforcement was missed, and, in turn, drives extinction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

L-059: EPR-First responders: Radiological emergency manual for first responders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This conference is an emergency manual review about the first responders knowledge. The IAEA safety standard manuals, the medical gestion, the security forces and the fast communications are very important in a radiological emergency

The characteristics of non-respondents and respondents of a mental health survey among evacuees in a disaster: The Fukushima Health Management Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Horikoshi, Naoko; Iwasa, Hajime; Yasumura, Seiji; Maeda, Masaharu

2017-12-19

The Fukushima Medical University conducted a mental health care program for evacuees after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. However, the mental health status of non-respondents has not been considered for surveys using questionnaires. Therefore, the aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of non-respondents and respondents. The target population of the survey (FY2011-2013) is people living in the nationally designated evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture. Among these, the participants were 967 people (20 years or older). We examined factors that affected the difference between the groups of participants (i.e., non-respondents and respondents) using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Employment was higher in non-respondents (p=0.022) and they were also more socially isolated (p=0.047) when compared to respondents; non-respondents had a higher proportional risk of psychological distress compared to respondents (pemployment status (OR=1.99, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.12-3.51) and psychological distress (OR=2.17, 95% CI:1.01-4.66). We found that non-respondents had a significantly higher proportion of psychological distress compared to the respondents. Although the non-respondents were the high-risk group, it is not possible to grasp the complexity of the situation by simply using questionnaire surveys. Therefore, in the future it is necessary to direct our efforts towards the mental health of non-respondents and respondents alike.

Dependent Interviewing and Sub-Optimal Responding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johannes Eggs

2015-02-01

Full Text Available With proactive dependent interviewing (PDI respondents are reminded of the answer they gave in the previous interview, before being asked about their current status. PDI is used in panel surveys to assist respondent recall and reduce spurious changes in responses over time. PDI may however provide scope for new errors if respondents falsely accept the previous information as still being an accurate description of their current situation. In this paper we use data from the German Labour Market and Social Security panel study, in which an error was made with the preload data for a PDI question about receipt of welfare benefit. The survey data were linked to individual administrative records on receipt of welfare benefit. A large proportion of respondents accepted the false preload. This behaviour seems mainly driven by the difficulty of the response task: respondents with a more complex history of receipt according to the records were more likely to confirm the false preload. Personality also seemed related to the probability of confirming. Predictors of satisficing, indicators of satisficing on other items in the survey, and characteristics of the survey and interviewer were not predictive of confirming the false preload.

Adaptive Intervention Methodology for Reduction of Respondent Contact Burden in the American Community Survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ashmead Robert

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The notion of respondent contact burden in sample surveys is defined, and a multi-stage process to develop policies for curtailing nonresponse follow-up is described with the goal of reducing this burden on prospective survey respondents. The method depends on contact history paradata containing information about contact attempts both for respondents and for sampled nonrespondents. By analysis of past data, policies to stop case follow-up based on control variables measured in paradata can be developed by calculating propensities to respond for paradata-defined subgroups of sampled cases. Competing policies can be assessed by comparing outcomes (lost interviews, numbers of contacts, patterns of reluctant participation, or refusal to participate as if these stopping policies had been followed in past data. Finally, embedded survey experiments may be used to assess contact-burden reduction policies when these are implemented in the field. The multi-stage method described here abstracts the stages followed in a series of research studies aimed at reducing contact burden in the Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI and Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI modes of the American Community Survey (ACS, which culminated in implementation of policy changes in the ACS.

Insulin resistance in clomiphene responders and non-responders with polycystic ovarian disease and therapeutic effects of metformin.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsanezhad, M E; Alborzi, S; Zarei, A; Dehbashi, S; Omrani, G

2001-10-01

To evaluate the clinical features, endocrine and metabolic profiles in clomiphene (CC) responders and non-responders with polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD), and to examine the effects of metformin (MTF) on the above parameters of CC resistance. A prospective clinical trial was undertaken at the infertility division of a university teaching hospital. Forty-one CC responders were selected and their hormonal and clinical features were determined. Forty-one CC-resistant PCOD women were also selected and clinical features; metabolic and hormonal profiles before and after treatment with MTF 1500 mg/day for 6-8 weeks were evaluated. Women who failed to conceive were treated by CC while continuing to take MTF. CC responders had higher insulin levels while non-responders were hyperinsulinemic. Menstrual irregularities improved in 30%. Mean+/-S.D. area under curve of insulin decreased from 297.58+/-191.33 to 206+/-0.1 mIU/ml per min (P=0.005). Only 39.39% ovulated and 24.24% conceived. PCOD is associated with insulin resistance (IR) particularly in CC-resistant women. Insulin resistance and androgen levels are significantly higher in obese patients. MTF therapy improved hyperandrogenemia, IR, and pregnancy rate.

Do MRI findings identify patients with low back pain or sciatica who respond better to particular interventions?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steffens, Daniel; Hancock, Mark J; Pereira, Leani S M

2016-01-01

) or sciatica who respond better to particular interventions. METHODS: MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases were searched. We included RCTs investigating MRI findings as treatment effect modifiers for patients with LBP or sciatica. We excluded studies with specific diseases as the cause of LBP. Risk of bias...... in more than a single trial. High quality, adequately powered trials investigating MRI findings as effect modifiers are essential to determine the clinical importance of MRI findings in LBP and sciatica (PROSPERO: CRD42013006571)....

Development of an Inconsistent Responding Scale for the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure.

Science.gov (United States)

Mowle, Elyse N; Kelley, Shannon E; Edens, John F; Donnellan, M Brent; Smith, Shannon Toney; Wygant, Dustin B; Sellbom, Martin

2017-08-01

Inconsistent or careless responding to self-report measures is estimated to occur in approximately 10% of university research participants and may be even more common among offender populations. Inconsistent responding may be a result of a number of factors including inattentiveness, reading or comprehension difficulties, and cognitive impairment. Many stand-alone personality scales used in applied and research settings, however, do not include validity indicators to help identify inattentive response patterns. Using multiple archival samples, the current study describes the development of an inconsistent responding scale for the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM; Patrick, 2010), a widely used self-report measure of psychopathy. We first identified pairs of correlated TriPM items in a derivation sample (N = 2,138) and then created a total score based on the sum of the absolute value of the differences for each item pair. The resulting scale, the Triarchic Assessment Procedure for Inconsistent Responding (TAPIR), strongly differentiated between genuine TriPM protocols and randomly generated TriPM data (N = 1,000), as well as between genuine protocols and those in which 50% of the original data were replaced with random item responses. TAPIR scores demonstrated fairly consistent patterns of association with some theoretically relevant correlates (e.g., inconsistency scales embedded in other personality inventories), although not others (e.g., measures of conscientiousness) across our cross-validation samples. Tentative TAPIR cut scores that may discriminate between attentively and carelessly completed protocols are presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Home Care Providers to the Rescue: A Novel First-Responder Programme

Science.gov (United States)

Hansen, Steen M.; Brøndum, Stig; Thomas, Grethe; Rasmussen, Susanne R.; Kvist, Birgitte; Christensen, Anette; Lyng, Charlotte; Lindberg, Jan; Lauritsen, Torsten L. B.; Lippert, Freddy K.; Torp-Pedersen, Christian; Hansen, Poul A.

2015-01-01

Aim To describe the implementation of a novel first-responder programme in which home care providers equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were dispatched in parallel with existing emergency medical services in the event of a suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). Methods We evaluated a one-year prospective study that trained home care providers in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an AED in cases of suspected OHCA. Data were collected from cardiac arrest case files, case files from each provider dispatch and a survey among dispatched providers. The study was conducted in a rural district in Denmark. Results Home care providers were dispatched to 28 of the 60 OHCAs that occurred in the study period. In ten cases the providers arrived before the ambulance service and subsequently performed CPR. AED analysis was executed in three cases and shock was delivered in one case. For 26 of the 28 cases, the cardiac arrest occurred in a private home. Ninety-five per cent of the providers who had been dispatched to a cardiac arrest reported feeling prepared for managing the initial resuscitation, including use of AED. Conclusion Home care providers are suited to act as first-responders in predominantly rural and residential districts. Future follow-up will allow further evaluation of home care provider arrivals and patient survival. PMID:26509532

[11C] labeled erlotinib as a new radiotracer for identification of patients responding to erlotinib treatment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Memon, Ashfaque Ahmed; Weber, Britta; Jakobsen, Steen

2009-01-01

Erlotinib (Tarceva®) is a tailored drug targeting the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), which is commonly overexpressed in various human cancers including lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to develop a method for identification of lung cancer patients that respond to erlotinib...... the accumulation of [11C] erlotinib was higher in the tumor than in all other organs except the liverwhich is the main organ of erlotinib metabolism (Cancer Research, 2009 69: 873-878). We have now extended this study to patients with the aim to identify the subset of patients that will respond to Erlotinib...... treatment (10-15 %). Tumors were identified by routine CT scan and [18F]-2-fluoro- 2-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT and compared with [11C] erlotinib PET/CT. As expected, all patients examined so far (n=4) showed [18F] FDG uptake. Our results with [11C] erlotinib show that tumors can be identified by [11C...

Responders and non-responders to drug treatment in social phobia : Differences at baseline and prediction of response

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slaap, BR; Westenberg, HGM; DenBoer, JA

1996-01-01

Differences between responders and non-responders to drug therapy were investigated in social phobia. Two previously published studies were pooled to obtain data of 30 patients who were treated for 12 weeks with brofaromine or fluvoxamine. Four criterion variables were used to divide patients in

Responding to the Housing and Financial Crises

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scanlon, Kathleen; Lunde, Jens; Whitehead, Christine

2011-01-01

The long period of house price growth in markets across the world ended with the US and global financial crisis of 2007/08. The crisis and the consequent recession had profound effects on mortgage market actors – including households, institutions and governments – in most advanced economies......, whether or not they participated in this rapid house price growth. Many of the trends observed during the boom, especially the innovations in financial instruments, were reversed. This paper presents evidence on how mortgage markets and stakeholders responded in the initial period after the crash...

Responding to oil spills in the open ocean environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wood, A.E.

1994-01-01

The primary objectives in responding to any oil spill is to control the source of the spill, then, contain, collect, and recover the spilled product. Accomplishing those objectives is an immense challenge. It becomes much more difficult when attempted in the open ocean environment due to the more complex logistical and communications problems one encounters when operating miles from the nearest land. Often times, too, the response must be coordinated with either a salvage operation, a fire-fighting operation, a well control operation or a combination of any of these. There have been volumes of papers comparing the relative merits of mechanical recovery, in-situ burning, dispersant application, and bioremediation in responding to open ocean spills. Although each approach deserves special consideration in different circumstances, this presentation focuses on mechanical methods; the specialized equipment and operational tactics that are best utilized in responding to a major spill in the open ocean. This paper is divided into two sections. The first section, Equipment Used in Open Ocean Spills, addresses in general terms, the special equipment required in an offshore response operation. The second section, entitled Operational Tactics Used In Open Ocean Spills offers an overview of the tactics employed to achieve the general objectives of containment, collection, recovery, and temporary storage

Systems and Methods for Fabricating Structures Including Metallic Glass-Based Materials Using Low Pressure Casting

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Douglas C. (Inventor); Kennett, Andrew (Inventor)

2018-01-01

Systems and methods to fabricate objects including metallic glass-based materials using low-pressure casting techniques are described. In one embodiment, a method of fabricating an object that includes a metallic glass-based material includes: introducing molten alloy into a mold cavity defined by a mold using a low enough pressure such that the molten alloy does not conform to features of the mold cavity that are smaller than 100 microns; and cooling the molten alloy such that it solidifies, the solid including a metallic glass-based material.

Responder Technology Alert Monthly (January 2015)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upton, Jaki F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stein, Steven L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-02-01

As part of technology foraging for the Responder Technology Alliance, established by the Department of Homeland Science and Technologies First Responders Group, this report summarizes technologies that are relevant in the area of “wearables,” with the potential for use by first responders. The content was collected over the previous month(s) and reproduced from a general Internet search using the term wearables. Additional information is available at the websites provided. This report is not meant to be an exhaustive list nor an endorsement of any technology described herein. Rather, it is meant to provide useful information about current developments in the areas wearable technology.

Responder Technology Alert Monthly (December 2014)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upton, Jaki F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stein, Steven L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-02-13

As part of technology foraging for the Responder Technology Alliance, established by the Department of Homeland Science and Technologies First Responders Group, this report summarizes technologies that are relevant in the area of “wearables,” with the potential for use by first responders. The content was collected over the previous month(s) and reproduced from a general Internet search using the term wearables. Additional information is available at the websites provided. This report is not meant to be an exhaustive list nor an endorsement of any technology described herein. Rather, it is meant to provide useful information about current developments in the areas wearable technology.

Does freeze-all policy affect IVF outcomes in poor responders?

Science.gov (United States)

Roque, Matheus; Valle, Marcello; Sampaio, Marcos; Geber, Selmo

2017-12-27

To evaluate whether the freeze-all strategy affects in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in poor ovarian responders following the Bologna criteria. We performed a retrospective cohort study conducted between January 2012 and December 2016. A total of 433 poor responders (per the Bologna criteria) fulfilled the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the study, with 277 patients included in the fresh group and 156 in the freeze-all group. All patients were submitted to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol and cleavage-stage embryo transfer (ET). The main outcome measure was ongoing pregnancy rate. Secondary outcomes included implantation and clinical pregnancy rates. The freeze-all strategy was implemented when the progesterone serum level was >1.5 ng/mL on the trigger day, when the endometrium was <7 mm on the trigger day, or as a patient preference. Patients with previous failed fresh embryo transfer were also submitted to fresh or freeze-all strategy considering the indications mentioned above. The patients' mean age in the freeze-all group was 39.5±3.6 years, while that of patients in the fresh group was 39.7±3.8 years (P=0.54). The mean number of embryos transferred (nET) was 1.53±0.6 and 1.60±0.6 (P=0.12) in the freeze-all and fresh groups, respectively. Ongoing pregnancy rates did not significantly differ between the freeze-all and fresh groups (9.6% versus 10.1%, respectively; Relative Risk [RR]: 0.95; 95% CI: 0.52-1.73), nor did the clinical pregnancy rates (14.1% versus 13.7%, respectively; RR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.63-1.76). Implantation rates were 9.6% and 9.8% (P=0.82) in the freeze-all and fresh groups, respectively. The logistic regression analysis (including age, antral follicle count [AFC], the number of retrieved oocytes, the number of mature oocytes, nET, and fresh versus freeze-all strategy) indicated that age (P<0.001) and the nET (P=0.039) were the only independent variables

The efficacy of respondent-driven sampling for the health assessment of minority populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Badowski, Grazyna; Somera, Lilnabeth P; Simsiman, Brayan; Lee, Hye-Ryeon; Cassel, Kevin; Yamanaka, Alisha; Ren, JunHao

2017-10-01

Respondent driven sampling (RDS) is a relatively new network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations. Like snowball sampling, initial respondents or "seeds" recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. Under certain assumptions, the method promises to produce a sample independent from the biases that may have been introduced by the non-random choice of "seeds." We conducted a survey on health communication in Guam's general population using the RDS method, the first survey that has utilized this methodology in Guam. It was conducted in hopes of identifying a cost-efficient non-probability sampling strategy that could generate reasonable population estimates for both minority and general populations. RDS data was collected in Guam in 2013 (n=511) and population estimates were compared with 2012 BRFSS data (n=2031) and the 2010 census data. The estimates were calculated using the unweighted RDS sample and the weighted sample using RDS inference methods and compared with known population characteristics. The sample size was reached in 23days, providing evidence that the RDS method is a viable, cost-effective data collection method, which can provide reasonable population estimates. However, the results also suggest that the RDS inference methods used to reduce bias, based on self-reported estimates of network sizes, may not always work. Caution is needed when interpreting RDS study findings. For a more diverse sample, data collection should not be conducted in just one location. Fewer questions about network estimates should be asked, and more careful consideration should be given to the kind of incentives offered to participants. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Solar cells, structures including organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline films, and methods of preparation thereof

KAUST Repository

Bakr, Osman; Peng, Wei; Wang, Lingfei

2017-01-01

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for solar cells including an organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline film (see fig. 1.1B), other devices including the organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline film, methods of making

Examining factors associated with elevated Lie Scale responding on the Child Abuse Potential Inventory.

Science.gov (United States)

Costello, Amanda H; Shook, Natalie J; Wallace, Nancy M; McNeil, Cheryl B

2018-02-01

Child maltreatment remains a serious public health issue in the United States. Therefore, it is important to engage in quality control of the assessment, prevention, and treatment services for families affected by maltreatment. Parenting capacity assessments (PCAs) are typically an integral part of service delivery for families affected by maltreatment and can carry serious consequences for the referred parent. The Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAPI) is a measure that is widely used in PCAs; however, socially desirable responding on the CAPI can serve to invalidate the important information derived from this assessment, as well as lead to negative impressions of the parent. Using data collected via multiple methods (including a non-face valid behavioral measure, intelligence screening, and self-report) from a predominantly at-risk sample of parents, the aim of this study was to better understand factors that may predict socially desirable responding on the CAPI. Results indicated that lower parental intelligence, a "positivity bias" (i.e., the tendency to learn and attend to positive over negative information during the non-face valid behavioral task), and lower reported depressive symptoms were associated with higher socially desirable responding. These findings suggest that assessors should thoughtfully consider the possibility that invalid CAPI scores may be more related to low intelligence and a positivity bias than to psychopathy and manipulation (e.g., purposefully trying to present oneself in a positive light to gain favor in a PCA). Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrode assemblies, plasma apparatuses and systems including electrode assemblies, and methods for generating plasma

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Peter C; Grandy, Jon D; Detering, Brent A; Zuck, Larry D

2013-09-17

Electrode assemblies for plasma reactors include a structure or device for constraining an arc endpoint to a selected area or region on an electrode. In some embodiments, the structure or device may comprise one or more insulating members covering a portion of an electrode. In additional embodiments, the structure or device may provide a magnetic field configured to control a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Plasma generating modules, apparatus, and systems include such electrode assemblies. Methods for generating a plasma include covering at least a portion of a surface of an electrode with an electrically insulating member to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on the electrode. Additional methods for generating a plasma include generating a magnetic field to constrain a location of an arc endpoint on an electrode.

Characterization of Chemical Suicides in the United States and Its Adverse Impact on Responders and Bystanders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayana R. Anderson

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: A suicide trend that involves mixing household chemicals to produce hydrogen sulfide or hydrogen cyanide, commonly referred to as a detergent, hydrogen sulfide, or chemical suicide is a continuing problem in the United States (U.S.. Because there is not one database responsible for tracking chemical suicides, the actual number of incidents in the U.S. is unknown. To prevent morbidity and mortality associated with chemical suicides, it is important to characterize the incidents that have occurred in the U.S. Methods: The author analyzed data from 2011-2013 from state health departments participating in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s National Toxic Substance Incidents Program (NTSIP. NTSIP is a web-based chemical incident surveillance system that tracks the public health consequences (e.g., morbidity, mortality from acute chemical releases. Reporting sources for NTSIP incidents typically include first responders, hospitals, state environmental agencies, and media outlets. To find chemical suicide incidents in NTSIP’s database, the author queried open text fields in the comment, synopsis, and contributing factors variables for potential incidents. Results: Five of the nine states participating in NTSIP reported a total of 22 chemical suicide incidents or attempted suicides during 2011-2013. These states reported a total of 43 victims: 15 suicide victims who died, seven people who attempted suicide but survived, eight responders, and four employees working at a coroner’s office; the remainder were members of the general public. None of the injured responders reported receiving HazMat technician-level training, and none had documented appropriate personal protective equipment. Conclusion: Chemical suicides produce lethal gases that can pose a threat to responders and bystanders. Describing the characteristics of these incidents can help raise awareness among responders and the public about the dangers of

Bats Respond to Very Weak Magnetic Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Lan-Xiang; Pan, Yong-Xin; Metzner, Walter; Zhang, Jin-Shuo; Zhang, Bing-Fang

2015-01-01

How animals, including mammals, can respond to and utilize the direction and intensity of the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation and navigation is contentious. In this study, we experimentally tested whether the Chinese Noctule, Nyctalus plancyi (Vespertilionidae) can sense magnetic field strengths that were even lower than those of the present-day geomagnetic field. Such field strengths occurred during geomagnetic excursions or polarity reversals and thus may have played an important role in the evolution of a magnetic sense. We found that in a present-day local geomagnetic field, the bats showed a clear preference for positioning themselves at the magnetic north. As the field intensity decreased to only 1/5th of the natural intensity (i.e., 10 μT; the lowest field strength tested here), the bats still responded by positioning themselves at the magnetic north. When the field polarity was artificially reversed, the bats still preferred the new magnetic north, even at the lowest field strength tested (10 μT), despite the fact that the artificial field orientation was opposite to the natural geomagnetic field (Preversed tens of times over the past fifty million years. PMID:25922944

Responding to Tragedy

Science.gov (United States)

Coopman, J. T.

2009-01-01

In this article, the author, a superintendent of Clark-Pleasant School Corporation in Whiteland, Indiana, relates how she and the school community responded to a car accident that killed two students. The author stresses the need to develop a comprehensive crisis plan. It is also important to be sensitive to the needs of family members who are…

Standardized Index of Shape (SIS): a quantitative DCE-MRI parameter to discriminate responders by non-responders after neoadjuvant therapy in LARC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrillo, Antonella; Fusco, Roberta; Petrillo, Mario; Granata, Vincenza [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy). Div. of Radiology; Sansone, Mario [Naples Univ. ' ' Federico II' ' (Italy). Dept. of Biomedical, Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering; Avallone, Antonio [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy). Div. of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology; Delrio, Paolo [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy). Div. of Gastrointestinal surgical Oncology; Pecori, Biagio [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy). Div. of Radiotherapy; Tatangelo, Fabiana [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy). Div. of Diagnostic Pathology; Ciliberto, Gennaro [Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione Giovanni Pascale - IRCCS, Naples (Italy)

2015-07-15

To investigate the potential of DCE-MRI to discriminate responders from non-responders after neoadjuvant chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). We investigated several shape parameters for the time-intensity curve (TIC) in order to identify the best combination of parameters between two linear parameter classifiers. Seventy-four consecutive patients with LARC were enrolled in a prospective study approved by our ethics committee. Each patient gave written informed consent. After surgery, pathological TNM and tumour regression grade (TRG) were estimated. DCE-MRI semi-quantitative analysis (sqMRI) was performed to identify the best parameter or parameter combination to discriminate responders from non-responders in response monitoring to CRT. Percentage changes of TIC shape descriptors from the baseline to the presurgical scan were assessed and correlated with TRG. Receiver operating characteristic analysis and linear classifier were applied. Forty-six patients (62.2 %) were classified as responders, while 28 subjects (37.8 %) were considered as non-responders. sqMRI reached a sensitivity of 93.5 % and a specificity of 82.1 % combining the percentage change in Maximum Signal Difference (ΔMSD) and Wash-out Slope (ΔWOS), the Standardized Index of Shape (SIS). SIS obtains the best result in discriminating responders from non-responders after CRT in LARC, with a cut-off value of -3.0 %. (orig.)

A Simple Evacuation Modeling and Simulation Tool for First Responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koch, Daniel B [ORNL; Payne, Patricia W [ORNL

2015-01-01

Although modeling and simulation of mass evacuations during a natural or man-made disaster is an on-going and vigorous area of study, tool adoption by front-line first responders is uneven. Some of the factors that account for this situation include cost and complexity of the software. For several years, Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been actively developing the free Incident Management Preparedness and Coordination Toolkit (IMPACT) to address these issues. One of the components of IMPACT is a multi-agent simulation module for area-based and path-based evacuations. The user interface is designed so that anyone familiar with typical computer drawing tools can quickly author a geospatially-correct evacuation visualization suitable for table-top exercises. Since IMPACT is designed for use in the field where network communications may not be available, quick on-site evacuation alternatives can be evaluated to keep pace with a fluid threat situation. Realism is enhanced by incorporating collision avoidance into the simulation. Statistics are gathered as the simulation unfolds, including most importantly time-to-evacuate, to help first responders choose the best course of action.

Solar cells, structures including organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline films, and methods of preparation thereof

KAUST Repository

Bakr, Osman M.

2017-03-02

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide for solar cells including an organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline film (see fig. 1.1B), other devices including the organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline film, methods of making organometallic halide perovskite monocrystalline film, and the like.

Temporal analysis of pain responders and common adverse events: when do these first appear following treatment with pregabalin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Parsons B

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Bruce Parsons, Birol Emir, Andrew Clair Pfizer, New York, NY, USA Background: Pregabalin is an α2δ ligand indicated in the USA for treatment of a number of chronic pain conditions, including diabetic peripheral neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia, pain associated with spinal cord injury, and fibromyalgia. A greater understanding of when patients first respond to treatment with pregabalin and when adverse events emerge, or worsen, could aid design of new proof-of-concept studies and help guide treatment of patients. Methods: This was an analysis of five randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials (between 8 and 16 weeks in duration of flexible-dose pregabalin (150–600 mg/day. Individual patient data were pooled into three groups by disease condition: diabetic peripheral neuro-pathy or postherpetic neuralgia (n=514, spinal cord injury (n=356, and fibromyalgia (n=498. Responders were classified as having a ≥30% and/or ≥50% reduction in mean pain score from baseline; once a patient responded, they were not scored subsequently (and were excluded from the responder analysis. The emergence of adverse events at each week was also recorded. Results: The majority of the 30% and 50% responders emerged within the first 3–4 weeks with pregabalin, but were more uniformly distributed across the 6 weeks of the analysis with placebo. The majority of common adverse events also emerged within the first 3–4 weeks of pregabalin treatment. Conclusion: These data suggest that the majority of pain responders and common adverse events emerge within 3–4 weeks of treatment with pregabalin. These data could advise new proof-of-concept studies and guide clinical management. Keywords: neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, clinical trial design

Responding to chemical weapons violations in Syria: legal, health, and humanitarian recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Julia; Erickson, Timothy B; Kayden, Stephanie; Ruiz, Raul; Wilkinson, Stephen; Burkle, Frederick M

2018-01-01

The repeated use of prohibited chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict poses serious health, humanitarian, and security threats to civilians, healthcare personnel, and first responders. Moreover, the use of chemical weapons constitutes a clear and egregious violation of international law-likely amounting to a war crime-for which continued impunity is setting a dangerous precedent in relation to current and future conflicts. This debate article calls upon concerned states, organizations, and individuals to respond urgently and unequivocally to this serious breach of international legal and humanitarian norms. Based on health, humanitarian, and legal findings, this article calls for concrete action to: 1) reduce the risk of chemical weapons being used in current and future conflicts; 2) review and support the preparedness equipment and antidote supplies of first responders, humanitarian organizations, and military forces operating in Syria; 3) support international mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing the prohibition on chemical weapons, including through criminal accountability; 4) support civilian victims of chemical weapons attacks, including refugees; and 5) re-commit to the complete elimination of chemical weapons in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (1993), a comprehensive treaty that bans chemical weapons and requires their complete destruction. All involved states and organizations should take urgent steps to ensure the protection of the most vulnerable victims of conflict, including victims of chemical weapons attacks in Syria, and to reinforce international law in the face of such serious violations.

Earthquake analysis of structures including structure-soil interaction by a substructure method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chopra, A.K.; Guttierrez, J.A.

1977-01-01

A general substructure method for analysis of response of nuclear power plant structures to earthquake ground motion, including the effects of structure-soil interaction, is summarized. The method is applicable to complex structures idealized as finite element systems and the soil region treated as either a continuum, for example as a viscoelastic halfspace, or idealized as a finite element system. The halfspace idealization permits reliable analysis for sites where essentially similar soils extend to large depths and there is no rigid boundary such as soil-rock interface. For sites where layers of soft soil are underlain by rock at shallow depth, finite element idealization of the soil region is appropriate; in this case, the direct and substructure methods would lead to equivalent results but the latter provides the better alternative. Treating the free field motion directly as the earthquake input in the substructure eliminates the deconvolution calculations and the related assumption-regarding type and direction of earthquake waves-required in the direct method. (Auth.)

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 10: Summary report to phase 3 academic library respondents including frequency distributions

Science.gov (United States)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; White, Terry F.

1991-01-01

Phase 3 of a 4 part study was undertaken to study the use of scientific and technical information (STI) in the academic aerospace community. Phase 3 of this project used three questionnaires that were sent to three groups (i.e., faculty, librarians, and students) in the academic aerospace community. Specific attention was paid to the types of STI used and the methods in which academic users acquire STI. The responses of the academic libraries are focussed on herein. Demographic information on academic aerospace libraries is provided. Data regarding NASA interaction with academic aerospace libraries is also included, as is the survey instrument.

Responding to Mechanical Antigravity

Science.gov (United States)

Millis, Marc G.; Thomas, Nicholas E.

2006-01-01

Based on the experiences of the NASA Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project, suggestions are offered for constructively responding to proposals that purport breakthrough propulsion using mechanical devices. Because of the relatively large number of unsolicited submissions received (about 1 per workday) and because many of these involve similar concepts, this report is offered to help the would-be submitters make genuine progress as well as to help reviewers respond to such submissions. Devices that use oscillating masses or gyroscope falsely appear to create net thrust through differential friction or by misinterpreting torques as linear forces. To cover both the possibility of an errant claim and a genuine discovery, reviews should require that submitters meet minimal thresholds of proof before engaging in further correspondence; such as achieving sustained deflection of a level-platform pendulum in the case of mechanical thrusters.

Community response grids: using information technology to help communities respond to bioterror emergencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaeger, Paul T; Fleischmann, Kenneth R; Preece, Jennifer; Shneiderman, Ben; Wu, Philip Fei; Qu, Yan

2007-12-01

Access to accurate and trusted information is vital in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from an emergency. To facilitate response in large-scale emergency situations, Community Response Grids (CRGs) integrate Internet and mobile technologies to enable residents to report information, professional emergency responders to disseminate instructions, and residents to assist one another. CRGs use technology to help residents and professional emergency responders to work together in community response to emergencies, including bioterrorism events. In a time of increased danger from bioterrorist threats, the application of advanced information and communication technologies to community response is vital in confronting such threats. This article describes CRGs, their underlying concepts, development efforts, their relevance to biosecurity and bioterrorism, and future research issues in the use of technology to facilitate community response.

Percentage of vestibular dysfunction in 361 elderly citizens responding to a newspaper advertisement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brandt, Michael Smærup; Grönvall, Erik; Mørch, Marianne Metz

Percentage of Vestibular Dysfunction in 361 Elderly Citizens Responding to a Newspaper Advertisement. Brandt M, Grönvall E, Henriksen JJ, Larsen SB, Læssøe U, Mørch MM, Damsgaard EM Introduction Elderly patients with vestibular dysfunction have an eight-fold increased risk of falling compared...... advertisement. Method To recruit elderly citizens with dizziness we advertised in a local newspaper. A telephone interview with the respondents was done by a physiotherapist (PT). If the PT concluded that the reason for the dizziness could be vestibular dysfunction the citizen was invited to further...... Department, Aarhus University Hospital. Results 361 elderly citizens responded to the advertisement. 8 patients had alcohol problems, 14 had significantly impaired vision, 42 had evidence of orthostatic hypotension, 49 didn’t want to participate, 50 had evidence of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV...

Recruiting an Internet Panel Using Respondent-Driven Sampling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schonlau Matthias

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Respondent-driven sampling (RDS is a network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations when traditional sampling approaches are not feasible (e.g., homeless or do not work well (e.g., people with HIV. In RDS, seed respondents recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. The recruiting process repeats iteratively, thereby forming long referral chains.

Cultural Competence Training for Law Enforcement Responding to Domestic Violence Emergencies With the Deaf and Hard of Hearing: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelman, Alina; Deardorff, Julianna

2016-03-01

To evaluate a training workshop for law enforcement as first responders for the purpose of increasing officers' cultural competency in working with Deaf and hard-of-hearing people (Deaf/HH) during domestic violence (DV) emergencies. This evaluation assesses the efficacy of a 2-hour training workshop for law enforcement. Thirty-four participants completed questionnaires at pre- and postintervention to assess participants' (1) satisfaction with training; (2) skills in responding to Deaf/HH individual(s) in a DV emergency; (3) attitudes toward the Deaf/HH, including bias recognition, self-assessment of cultural competency, and perceived self-efficacy; and (4) knowledge of communication. Focus groups (FGs) were also conducted (n = 6 for FG1, n = 13 for FG2). SPSS software was used to analyze survey data; principal components analysis was conducted on the survey instruments. There were significant differences between pre- and posttests for several targeted outcomes, including knowledge and perceived self-efficacy. Both survey and FG results demonstrated that participants gained cultural competency skills as indicated by changes in attitudes toward the Deaf/HH, both in DV emergencies and in large-scale emergencies. Significant differences were evident between pre and posttest results in terms of knowledge and perceived self-efficacy. Nonetheless, survey participants demonstrated a lack of knowledge about policy and the law. Survey findings also suggest that while a onetime training can improve the perceived self-efficacy of participants, shifting attitudes about the capabilities of the Deaf/HH may require different training strategies. FG participants demonstrated a greater awareness of the complexity of working with this population in a DV emergency. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

Resilience among first responders | Pietrantoni | African Health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nine hundred and sixty-one first responders filled out an on-line questionnaire, containing measure of sense of community, collective efficacy, self-efficacy and work-related mental health outcomes (compassion fatigue, burnout and compassion satisfaction). Results. First responders reported high level of compassion ...

Comparison of sampling methods for hard-to-reach francophone populations: yield and adequacy of advertisement and respondent-driven sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Ngwakongnwi, Emmanuel; King-Shier, Kathryn M; Hemmelgarn, Brenda R; Musto, Richard; Quan, Hude

2014-01-01

Francophones who live outside the primarily French-speaking province of Quebec, Canada, risk being excluded from research by lack of a sampling frame. We examined the adequacy of random sampling, advertising, and respondent-driven sampling for recruitment of francophones for survey research. We recruited francophones residing in the city of Calgary, Alberta, through advertising and respondentdriven sampling. These 2 samples were then compared with a random subsample of Calgary francophones derived from the 2006 Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS). We assessed the effectiveness of advertising and respondent-driven sampling in relation to the CCHS sample by comparing demographic characteristics and selected items from the CCHS (specifically self-reported general health status, perceived weight, and having a family doctor). We recruited 120 francophones through advertising and 145 through respondent-driven sampling; the random sample from the CCHS consisted of 259 records. The samples derived from advertising and respondentdriven sampling differed from the CCHS in terms of age (mean ages 41.0, 37.6, and 42.5 years, respectively), sex (proportion of males 26.1%, 40.6%, and 56.6%, respectively), education (college or higher 86.7% , 77.9% , and 59.1%, respectively), place of birth (immigrants accounting for 45.8%, 55.2%, and 3.7%, respectively), and not having a regular medical doctor (16.7%, 34.5%, and 16.6%, respectively). Differences were not tested statistically because of limitations on the analysis of CCHS data imposed by Statistics Canada. The samples generated exclusively through advertising and respondent-driven sampling were not representative of the gold standard sample from the CCHS. Use of such biased samples for research studies could generate misleading results.

WS-020: EPR-First Responders: Cards of response measures for first responders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this working session is that the participants know how to use the cards of response measures for first responders. In a radiological emergency is useful to have cards which contains a list of the steps to be followed as well as the protection instructions and risk evaluation

System and method for integrating hazard-based decision making tools and processes

Science.gov (United States)

Hodgin, C Reed [Westminster, CO

2012-03-20

A system and method for inputting, analyzing, and disseminating information necessary for identified decision-makers to respond to emergency situations. This system and method provides consistency and integration among multiple groups, and may be used for both initial consequence-based decisions and follow-on consequence-based decisions. The system and method in a preferred embodiment also provides tools for accessing and manipulating information that are appropriate for each decision-maker, in order to achieve more reasoned and timely consequence-based decisions. The invention includes processes for designing and implementing a system or method for responding to emergency situations.

Impaired leukocyte influx in cervix of postterm women not responding to prostaglandin priming

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masironi Britt

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Prolonged pregnancies are associated with increased rate of maternal and fetal complications. Post term women could be divided into at least two subgroups, one where parturition is possible to induce by prostaglandins and one where it is not. Our aim was to study parameters in cervical biopsies in women with spontaneous delivery at term (controls and compare to those that are successfully induced post term (responders, and those that are not induced (non-responders, by local prostaglandin treatment. Methods Stromal parameters examined in this study were the accumulation of leukocytes (CD45, CD68, mRNAs and/or proteins for the extracellular matrix degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2, MMP-8 and MMP-9, their inhibitors (tissue inhibitor of MMP (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, interleukin-8 (IL-8, the platelet activating factor-receptor (PAF-R, syndecan-1 and estrogen binding receptors (estrogen receptor (ERα, ERβ and G-coupled protein receptor (GPR 30 as well as the proliferation marker Ki-67. Results The influx of leukocytes as assessed by CD45 was strongest in the responders, thereafter in the controls and significantly lower in the non-responders. IL-8, PAF-R and MMP-9, all predominantly expressed in leukocytes, showed significantly reduced immunostaining in the group of non-responders, while ERα and GPR30 were more abundant in the non-responders, as compared to the controls. Conclusion The impaired leukocyte influx, as reflected by the reduced number of CD45 positive cells as well as decreased immunostaining of IL-8, PAF-R and MMP-9 in the non-responders, could be one explanation of the failed ripening of the cervix in post term women. If the decreased leukocyte influx is a primary explanation to absent ripening or secondary, as a result of other factors, is yet to be established.

Responder Technology Alert Monthly (Oct-Nov 2014)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Upton, Jaki F. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Stein, Steven L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2015-01-21

As part of technology foraging for the Responder Technology Alliance, established by the Department of Homeland Science and Technologies First Responders Group, this report summarizes technologies that are relevant in the area of “wearables,” with the potential for use by first responders. The content was collected over the previous month(s) and reproduced from a general Internet search using the term wearables. Additional information is available at the websites provided. This report is not meant to be an exhaustive list nor an endorsement of any technology described herein. Rather, it is meant to provide useful information about current developments in the areas wearable technology.

A Systematic Review of Published Respondent-Driven Sampling Surveys Collecting Behavioral and Biologic Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnston, Lisa G; Hakim, Avi J; Dittrich, Samantha; Burnett, Janet; Kim, Evelyn; White, Richard G

2016-08-01

Reporting key details of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) survey implementation and analysis is essential for assessing the quality of RDS surveys. RDS is both a recruitment and analytic method and, as such, it is important to adequately describe both aspects in publications. We extracted data from peer-reviewed literature published through September, 2013 that reported collected biological specimens using RDS. We identified 151 eligible peer-reviewed articles describing 222 surveys conducted in seven regions throughout the world. Most published surveys reported basic implementation information such as survey city, country, year, population sampled, interview method, and final sample size. However, many surveys did not report essential methodological and analytical information for assessing RDS survey quality, including number of recruitment sites, seeds at start and end, maximum number of waves, and whether data were adjusted for network size. Understanding the quality of data collection and analysis in RDS is useful for effectively planning public health service delivery and funding priorities.

Including Online-Recruited Seeds: A Respondent-Driven Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachowsky, Nathan John; Lal, Allan; Forrest, Jamie I; Card, Kiffer George; Cui, Zishan; Sereda, Paul; Rich, Ashleigh; Raymond, Henry Fisher; Roth, Eric A; Moore, David M; Hogg, Robert S

2016-03-15

Technology has changed the way men who have sex with men (MSM) seek sex and socialize, which may impact the implementation of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) among this population. Initial participants (also known as seeds) are a critical consideration in RDS because they begin the recruitment chains. However, little information is available on how the online-recruited seeds may effect RDS implementation. The objectives of this study were to compare (1) online-recruited versus offline-recruited seeds and (2) subsequent recruitment chains of online-recruited versus offline-recruited seeds. Between 2012 and 2014, we recruited MSM using RDS in Vancouver, Canada. RDS weights were used with logistic regression to address each objective. A total of 119 seeds were used, 85 of whom were online-recruited seeds, to recruit an additional 600 MSM. Compared with offline-recruited seeds, online-recruited seeds were less likely to be HIV-positive (OR 0.34, 95% CI 0.13-0.88), to have attended a gay community group (AOR 0.33, 95% CI 0.12-0.90), and to feel gay community involvement was "very important" (AOR 0.16, 95% CI 0.03-0.93). Online-recruited seeds were more likely to ask a sexual partner's HIV status always versus online (AOR 4.29, 95% CI 1.53-12-12.05). Further, compared with recruitment chains started by offline-recruited seeds, recruits from chains started by online-recruited seeds (283/600, 47.2%) were less likely to be HIV-positive (AOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.16-0.40), to report "versatile" versus "bottom" sexual position preference (AOR 0.56, 95% CI 0.35-0.88), and to be in a relationship lasting >1 year (AOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.06-2.56). Recruits of online seeds were more likely to be out as gay for longer (eg, 11-21 vs 1-4 years, AOR 2.22, 95% CI 1.27-3.88) and have fewer Facebook friends (eg, 201-500 vs >500, AOR 1.69, 95% CI 1.02-2.80). Online-recruited seeds were more prevalent, recruited fewer participants, but were different from those recruited offline. This may therefore

First Responders Guide to Computer Forensics: Advanced Topics

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Nolan, Richard; Baker, Marie; Branson, Jake; Hammerstein, Josh; Rush, Kris; Waits, Cal; Schweinsberg, Elizabeth

2005-01-01

First Responders Guide to Computer Forensics: Advanced Topics expands on the technical material presented in SEI handbook CMU/SEI-2005-HB-001, First Responders Guide to Computer Forensics [Nolan 05...

Triangulation, Respondent Validation, and Democratic Participation in Mixed Methods Research

Science.gov (United States)

Torrance, Harry

2012-01-01

Over the past 10 years or so the "Field" of "Mixed Methods Research" (MMR) has increasingly been exerting itself as something separate, novel, and significant, with some advocates claiming paradigmatic status. Triangulation is an important component of mixed methods designs. Triangulation has its origins in attempts to validate research findings…

Outcomes from two forms of training for first-responder competency in cholinergic crisis management.

Science.gov (United States)

Andreatta, Pamela; Klotz, Jessica J; Madsen, James M; Hurst, Charles G; Talbot, Thomas B

2015-04-01

Military and civilian first responders must be able to recognize and effectively manage mass disaster casualties. Clinical management of injuries resulting from nerve agents provides different challenges for first responders than those of conventional weapons. We evaluated the impact of a mixed-methods training program on competency acquisition in cholinergic crisis clinical management using multimedia with either live animal or patient actor examples, and hands-on practice using SimMan3G mannequin simulators. A purposively selected sample of 204 civilian and military first responders who had not previously completed nerve agent training were assessed pre- and post-training for knowledge, performance, self-efficacy, and affective state. We conducted analysis of variance with repeated measures; statistical significance p 20%, performance > 50%, self-efficacy > 34%, and affective state > 15%. There were no significant differences between the live animal and patient actor groups. These findings could aid in the specification of training for first-responder personnel in military and civilian service. Although less comprehensive than U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense courses, the training outcomes associated with this easily distributed program demonstrate its value in increasing the competency of first responders in recognizing and managing a mass casualty cholinergic event. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Predictors of the short-term responder rate of Electroconvulsive therapy in depressive disorders - a population based study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nordenskjöld Axel

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The aim of the present study is to investigate the responder rate of Electroconvulsive therapy, ECT, in clinical routine work and to define clinical characteristics predictive of response to ECT. The main hypothesis is that the responder rate of ECT might be lower in clinical routine than in controlled trials. Methods This is a population-based study of all patients (N = 990 treated with ECT for depressive disorders, between 2008–2010 in eight hospitals in Sweden. Patients with Clinical Global Impression-Improvement scores of 1 or 2 (much improved within one week after ECT were considered responders to ECT. The predictive values of single clinical variables were tested by means of chi-squared tests and the relative importance was tested in a logistic regression analysis. Results The responder rate was 80.1%. A higher proportion of older patients (>50 years responded (84.3% vs. 74.2%, p  Conclusions This study focuses exclusively on the short term responder rate with ECT in clinical practice. Similarly to results from controlled trials a high responder rate is reported. Older patients, more severely ill patients, psychotically ill patients and patients without personality disorders had the highest responder rates. Inpatients may have better outcome with ECT than outpatients.

Respondent-driven sampling (rds as a new method to access vulnerable populations to hiv: its application in men who have sex with men

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John H. Estrada M

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Approximately 30 million people are living with hiv all around the world in 2010. The most vulnerable hiv/aids groups are sex workers, intravenous drug users, transgender people and population of men who have sex with men (msm. Up to now, the surveillance and behavioral studies on sexual transmitted diseases (sti and hiv have been conducted using intentional sampling methods like the snowball methodology, but this kind of sampling does not achieve representation and does not represent a conclusive method for the study of hidden populations in order to extend and apply its results to the general population. Furthermore, it is necessary to add to this limitation the lack of knowledge about the size of these groups that must face situations of stigma and discrimination. A decade ago a new method was designed to sample hidden and hard to reach populations based on Markov theories and on chain recruitment. This new method is known as respondent-driven sampling (rds and it has been used in several behavioral and hiv prevalence studies. This review article presents the background, the theoretical support and a description of the method. It also analyzes some studies carried out using this new methodology.

Survey sustainability Biomass. Appendix. Results of the international respondents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bergsma, G.C.; Groot, M.I.

2006-06-15

As part of an array of strategies to combat climate change, biomass is being used increasingly as a substitute for fossil fuels. It is important that the sustainability benefits thus accruing to the Netherlands are not at the expense of sustainable development in producer countries. Against this background the 'Sustainable biomass imports' project group is developing a set of criteria for evaluating the sustainability of biomass projects. To assess support for such criteria, CE conducted an internet survey among the various stakeholders (NGOs, industry, government), drawing a total of 104 responses. This report presents all the results and conclusions of the survey, for each category of stakeholders and overall. Among the most striking conclusions are the following: The majority of respondents see a sustainability audit on biomass as feasible, provided the sustainability criteria are adequate for the purpose (68%); Almost all the respondents are of the opinion that such sustainability criteria should apply to all applications of biomass (90%); On the issue of whether these criteria should vary according to the producer region concerned, respondents were divided (50% for, 50% against); Many NGOs state there should be different sustainability criteria in force for different biomass flows (50%), in contrast to industry, which argues for a uniform set of criteria for all flows; Most respondents hold that any biomass criteria should apply to both subsidised and unsubsidised projects; At the same time, a sizable majority of respondents state that subsidisation of biomass projects should depend on the degree of sustainability (72%) and in particular on the CO2 emission cuts achieved, this being regarded as the single most important factor; When it comes to the issue of GMO, opinions differ markedly between NGOs and industry, with some 75% of NGOs wanting this aspect included, but only 10% of industry; Respondents also commented on a number of additional issues

Earthquake analysis of structures including structure-soil interaction by a substructure method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chopra, A.K.; Guttierrez, J.A.

1977-01-01

A general substructure method for analysis of response of nuclear power plant structures to earthquake ground motion, including the effects of structure-soil interaction, is summarized. The method is applicable to complex structures idealized as finite element systems and the soil region treated as either a continuum, for example as a viscoelastic halfspace, or idealized as a finite element system. The halfspace idealization permits reliable analysis for sites where essentially similar soils extend to large depths and there is no rigid boundary such as soil-rock interface. For sites where layers of soft soil are underlain by rock at shallow depth, finite element idealization of the soil region is appropriate; in this case, the direct and substructure methods would lead to equivalent results but the latter provides the better alternative. Treating the free field motion directly as the earthquake input in the substructure method eliminates the deconvolution calculations and the related assumption -regarding type and direction of earthquake waves- required in the direct method. The substructure method is computationally efficient because the two substructures-the structure and the soil region- are analyzed separately; and, more important, it permits taking advantage of the important feature that response to earthquake ground motion is essentially contained in the lower few natural modes of vibration of the structure on fixed base. For sites where essentially similar soils extend to large depths and there is no obvious rigid boundary such as a soil-rock interface, numerical results for earthquake response of a nuclear reactor structure are presented to demonstrate that the commonly used finite element method may lead to unacceptable errors; but the substructure method leads to reliable results

How small communities respond to environmental change: patterns from tropical to polar ecosystems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry P. Huntington

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Local communities throughout the world are experiencing extensive social, cultural, economic, environmental, and climatic changes. Rather than passively accepting the effects of such changes, many communities are responding in various ways to take advantage of opportunities and to minimize negative impacts. We review examples from 13 cases around the world to identify patterns in how communities have been able to respond to change. Communities are able to respond by making changes in the time and location of activities, by using different species, by developing or using new technologies, and by organizing themselves internally or in networks. The possible responses a community can make on its own constitute the autonomous response space. When communities work with others to respond, they are in the collaborative response space. These findings suggest that assessments concerning climate and other forms of change should include local responses as a foundation for policy recommendations, recognizing that both autonomous and collaborative responses can contribute to adaptation. Policies designed to achieve adaptation or sustainability should consider ways to expand the autonomous response space, thus freeing local initiative, while also making the collaborative response space more cooperative, thus providing support to communities rather than imposing limitations.

Methodology for Assessing Radiation Detectors Used by Emergency Responders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piotr Wasiolek; April Simpson

2008-01-01

The threat of weapons of mass destruction terrorism resulted in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security deploying large quantities of radiation detectors throughout the emergency responder community. However, emergency responders specific needs were not always met by standard health physics instrumentation used in radiation facilities. Several American National Standards Institute standards were developed and approved to evaluate the technical capabilities of detection equipment. Establishing technical capability is a critical step, but it is equally important to emergency responders that the instruments are easy to operate and can withstand the rugged situations they encounter. The System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) Program (managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Grants and Training, Systems Support Division) focuses predominantly on the usability, ergonomics, readability, and other features of the detectors, rather than performance controlled by industry standards and the manufacturers. National Security Technologies, LLC, as a SAVER Technical Agent, conducts equipment evaluations using active emergency responders who are familiar with the detection equipment and knowledgeable of situations encountered in the field, which provides more relevant data to emergency responders

Comparison of different methods to include recycling in LCAs of aluminium cans and disposable polystyrene cups

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Harst-Wintraecken, van der Eugenie; Potting, José; Kroeze, Carolien

2016-01-01

Many methods have been reported and used to include recycling in life cycle assessments (LCAs). This paper evaluates six widely used methods: three substitution methods (i.e. substitution based on equal quality, a correction factor, and alternative material), allocation based on the number of

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea and the older dental patient: how do dentists respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Zwetchkenbaum, Samuel R; Overbeck, Kevin J; Pomerantz, Sherry C

2015-01-01

Gastrointestinal complications from antibiotic use, including Clostridium difficile infection (CDI), can have significant morbidity, especially among older patients. This descriptive study surveyed dentists to find out how they would respond to a patient with signs indicating potential CDI. A survey on prescribing medications for older patients was mailed to 1,000 dentists in New Jersey. Questions were asked regarding antibiotic selection, probiotic use, and approach to a patient scenario of diarrhea after antibiotic use. Respondents chose amoxicillin most frequently as an antibiotic, and clindamycin if penicillin allergy. When informed their patients had diarrhea, 64.5% advised them to stop the antibiotic. If the patient continued to have diarrhea on follow-up, 75.5% contacted the patient's physician. Most (61.6%) do not prescribe probiotics prophylactically. Most dentists respond appropriately to antibiotic-associated diarrhea in advising to stop the antibiotic, and seeking physician involvement if no improvement, but there are still many who make recommendations that could delay appropriate care. Dentists may wish to learn more about benefits of probiotics. © 2015 Special Care Dentistry Association and Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Lay responder naloxone access and Good Samaritan law compliance: postcard survey results from 20 Indiana counties.

Science.gov (United States)

Watson, Dennis P; Ray, Bradley; Robison, Lisa; Huynh, Philip; Sightes, Emily; Walker, La Shea; Brucker, Krista; Duwve, Joan

2018-04-06

To reduce fatal drug overdoses, two approaches many states have followed is to pass laws expanding naloxone access and Good Samaritan protections for lay persons with high likelihood to respond to an opioid overdose. Most prior research has examined attitudes and knowledge among lay responders in large metropolitan areas who actively use illicit substances. The present study addresses current gaps in knowledge related to this issue through an analysis of data collected from a broader group of lay responders who received naloxone kits from 20 local health departments across Indiana. Postcard surveys were included inside naloxone kits distributed in 20 Indiana counties, for which 217 returned cards indicated the person completing it was a lay responder. The survey captured demographic information and experiences with overdose, including the use of 911 and knowledge about Good Samaritan protections. Few respondents had administered naloxone before, but approximately one third had witnessed a prior overdose and the majority knew someone who had died from one. Those who knew someone who had overdosed were more likely to have obtained naloxone for someone other than themselves. Also, persons with knowledge of Good Samaritan protections or who had previously used naloxone were significantly more likely to have indicated calling 911 at the scene of a previously witnessed overdose. Primary reasons for not calling 911 included fear of the police and the person who overdosed waking up on their own. Knowing someone who has had a fatal or non-fatal overdose appears to be a strong motivating factor for obtaining naloxone. Clarifying and strengthening Good Samaritan protections, educating lay persons about these protections, and working to improve police interactions with the public when they are called to an overdose scene are likely to improve implementation and outcomes of naloxone distribution and opioid-related Good Samaritan laws.

Testosterone for Poor Ovarian Responders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Polyzos, Nikolaos P; Davis, Susan R; Drakopoulos, Panagiotis

2016-01-01

Testosterone, an androgen that directly binds to the androgen receptor, has been shown in previous small randomized controlled trials to increase the reproductive outcomes of poor ovarian responders. In most of these studies, transdermal testosterone in relatively high doses was administered before...... ovarian stimulation with a duration varying from 5 to 21 days. Nevertheless, the key question to be asked is whether, based on ovarian physiology and testosterone pharmacokinetics, a short course of testosterone administration of more than 10 mg could be expected to have any beneficial effect...... stages. In addition, extreme testosterone excess is not only likely to induce adverse events but has also the potential to be ineffective and even detrimental. Thus, evidence from clinical studies is not enough to either "reopen" or "close" the "androgen chapter" in poor responders, mainly because...

Ethical Considerations in HIV/AIDS Biobehavioral Surveys That Use Respondent-Driven Sampling: Illustrations From Lebanon

Science.gov (United States)

DeJong, Jocelyn; Mahfoud, Ziyad; Khoury, Danielle; Barbir, Farah

2009-01-01

Respondent-driven sampling is especially useful for reaching hidden populations and is increasingly used internationally in public health research, particularly on HIV. Respondent-driven sampling involves peer recruitment and has a dual-incentive structure: both recruiters and their peer recruits are paid. Recent literature focusing on the ethical dimensions of this method in the US context has identified integral safeguards that protect against ethical violations. We analyzed a study of 3 groups in Lebanon who are at risk for HIV (injection drug users, men who have sex with men, female sex workers) and the ethical issues that arose. More explicit attention should be given to ethical issues involved in research implementing respondent-driven sampling of at-risk populations in developing countries, where ethical review mechanisms may be weak. PMID:19608961

Responding to Children's Drawings

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Robert

2010-01-01

This article aims to explore the issues that face primary school teachers when responding to children's drawings. Assessment in art and design is an ongoing concern for teachers with limited experience and confidence in the area and, although children's drawings continue to be a focus of much research, the question of what it is that teachers say…

First aid skill retention of first responders within the workplace

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masse Jeff

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent literature states that many necessary skills of CPR and first aid are forgotten shortly after certification. The purpose of this study was to determine the skill and knowledge decay in first aid in those who are paid to respond to emergency situations within a workplace. Methods Using a choking victim scenario, the sequence and accuracy of events were observed and recorded in 257 participants paid to act as first responders in large industrial or service industry settings. A multiple choice exam was also written to determine knowledge retention. Results First aid knowledge was higher in those who were trained at a higher level, and did not significantly decline over time. Those who had renewed their certificate one or more times performed better than those who had learned the information only once. During the choking scenario many skills were performed poorly, regardless of days since last training, such as hand placement and abdominal thrusts. Compressions following the victim becoming unconscious also showed classic signs of skill deterioration after 30 days. Conclusions As many skills deteriorate rapidly over the course of the first 90 days, changing frequency of certification is not necessarily the most obvious choice to increase retention of skill and knowledge. Alternatively, methods of regularly "refreshing" a skill should be explored that could be delivered at a high frequency - such as every 90 days.

Value of diffusion-weighted images in differentiating mid-course responders to chemotherapy for osteosarcoma compared to the histological response: preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baunin, C.; Schmidt, G.; Aschero, A.; Ruocco, A.; Bourliere, B.; Gorincour, G.; Desvignes, C.; Colavolpe, N.; Petit, P.; Baumstarck, K.; Auqier, P.; Bouvier, C.; Gentet, J.C.; Bollini, G.

2012-01-01

Preoperative diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) has been described as an efficient method to differentiate good and poor responders to chemotherapy in osteosarcoma patients. A DW-MRI performed earlier during treatment could be helpful in monitoring chemotherapy. To assess the accuracy of DW-MRI in evaluating response to chemotherapy in the treatment of osteosarcoma, more specifically at mid-course of treatment. This study was carried out on a prospective series of adolescents treated for long-bone osteosarcoma. MR examinations were performed at diagnosis (MRI-1), at mid-course of chemotherapy (MRI-2), and immediately before surgery (MRI-3). A DW sequence was performed using diffusion gradients of b0 and b900. The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC1, ADC2, ADC3, respectively), their differentials (ADC2 - ADC1 and ADC3 - ADC1), and their variation (ADC2 - ADC1/ADC1 and ADC3 - ADC1/ADC1) were calculated for each of these three time points. Fifteen patients were included. Patients with no increase in ADC showed a poor response to chemotherapy on their histology results. At mid-course, the three calculated values were significantly different between good and poor responders. ADC2 - ADC1 enabled us to detect, with 100% specificity, four out of seven of the poor responders. There was no significant difference in the values at MRI-3 between the two groups. DW-MRI performed both at baseline and mid-course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an efficient method to predict further histological response of osteosarcoma. This method could be used as an early prognostic factor to monitor preoperative chemotherapy. (orig.)

Value of diffusion-weighted images in differentiating mid-course responders to chemotherapy for osteosarcoma compared to the histological response: preliminary results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baunin, C.; Schmidt, G.; Aschero, A.; Ruocco, A.; Bourliere, B.; Gorincour, G.; Desvignes, C.; Colavolpe, N.; Petit, P. [Hopital Timone Enfants, Service d' Imagerie Pediatrique et Prenatale, Marseille Cedex 05 (France); Baumstarck, K.; Auqier, P. [Faculte de Medecine de Marseille, Service de Sante Publique, Marseille Cedex 05 (France); Bouvier, C. [Hopital Timone, Service d' Anatomopathologie, Marseille Cedex 05 (France); Gentet, J.C. [Hopital Timone Enfants, Service d' Oncologie Pediatrique, Marseille Cedex 05 (France); Bollini, G. [Hopital Timone Enfants, Service d' Orthopedie Pediatrique, Marseille Cedex 05 (France)

2012-09-15

Preoperative diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) has been described as an efficient method to differentiate good and poor responders to chemotherapy in osteosarcoma patients. A DW-MRI performed earlier during treatment could be helpful in monitoring chemotherapy. To assess the accuracy of DW-MRI in evaluating response to chemotherapy in the treatment of osteosarcoma, more specifically at mid-course of treatment. This study was carried out on a prospective series of adolescents treated for long-bone osteosarcoma. MR examinations were performed at diagnosis (MRI-1), at mid-course of chemotherapy (MRI-2), and immediately before surgery (MRI-3). A DW sequence was performed using diffusion gradients of b0 and b900. The apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC1, ADC2, ADC3, respectively), their differentials (ADC2 - ADC1 and ADC3 - ADC1), and their variation (ADC2 - ADC1/ADC1 and ADC3 - ADC1/ADC1) were calculated for each of these three time points. Fifteen patients were included. Patients with no increase in ADC showed a poor response to chemotherapy on their histology results. At mid-course, the three calculated values were significantly different between good and poor responders. ADC2 - ADC1 enabled us to detect, with 100% specificity, four out of seven of the poor responders. There was no significant difference in the values at MRI-3 between the two groups. DW-MRI performed both at baseline and mid-course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an efficient method to predict further histological response of osteosarcoma. This method could be used as an early prognostic factor to monitor preoperative chemotherapy. (orig.)

Strategies in responding to a hostile takeover bid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shaw, R.

1997-01-01

This paper examines the steps to be taken by a corporation and its board in order to be properly prepared before a hostile takeover bid is made. The procedures and steps to be followed in responding to a bid with a view to maximizing value for shareholders are also outlined. Reasons why a company may become target for a hostile takeover bid are reviewed, followed by a more detailed examination of the responsibilities of a board in responding to a takeover bid. These responsibilities include the adoption of a shareholders' rights plan ('poison pill'), review of executive employment contracts, making sure that a corporate indemnification agreement and directors' and officers' liability insurance plan are in place, implementation of structural deterrents, investor communication plans, preparing the 'black book', creating or updating the list of 'white knights', designating a data room, entering into confidentiality agreements with white knights, preparation of a response timetable, review of recent takeover bids, strategies for dealing with hostile bidders, strategies for enticing one or more a white knights to enter the bidding. Sample copy of a confidentiality agreement is contained in Schedule A. A list of break-up fees in recent Canadian mergers and acquisitions transactions is provided in Schedule B. 24 refs

A method for the computation of turbulent polymeric liquids including hydrodynamic interactions and chain entanglements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kivotides, Demosthenes, E-mail: demosthenes.kivotides@strath.ac.uk

2017-02-12

An asymptotically exact method for the direct computation of turbulent polymeric liquids that includes (a) fully resolved, creeping microflow fields due to hydrodynamic interactions between chains, (b) exact account of (subfilter) residual stresses, (c) polymer Brownian motion, and (d) direct calculation of chain entanglements, is formulated. Although developed in the context of polymeric fluids, the method is equally applicable to turbulent colloidal dispersions and aerosols. - Highlights: • An asymptotically exact method for the computation of polymer and colloidal fluids is developed. • The method is valid for all flow inertia and all polymer volume fractions. • The method models entanglements and hydrodynamic interactions between polymer chains.

Development of calculation method for one-dimensional kinetic analysis in fission reactors, including feedback effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paixao, S.B.; Marzo, M.A.S.; Alvim, A.C.M.

1986-01-01

The calculation method used in WIGLE code is studied. Because of the non availability of such a praiseworthy solution, expounding the method minutely has been tried. This developed method has been applied for the solution of the one-dimensional, two-group, diffusion equations in slab, axial analysis, including non-boiling heat transfer, accountig for feedback. A steady-state program (CITER-1D), written in FORTRAN 4, has been implemented, providing excellent results, ratifying the developed work quality. (Author) [pt

Bats respond to very weak magnetic fields.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lan-Xiang Tian

Full Text Available How animals, including mammals, can respond to and utilize the direction and intensity of the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation is contentious. In this study, we experimentally tested whether the Chinese Noctule, Nyctalus plancyi (Vespertilionidae can sense magnetic field strengths that were even lower than those of the present-day geomagnetic field. Such field strengths occurred during geomagnetic excursions or polarity reversals and thus may have played an important role in the evolution of a magnetic sense. We found that in a present-day local geomagnetic field, the bats showed a clear preference for positioning themselves at the magnetic north. As the field intensity decreased to only 1/5th of the natural intensity (i.e., 10 μT; the lowest field strength tested here, the bats still responded by positioning themselves at the magnetic north. When the field polarity was artificially reversed, the bats still preferred the new magnetic north, even at the lowest field strength tested (10 μT, despite the fact that the artificial field orientation was opposite to the natural geomagnetic field (P<0.05. Hence, N. plancyi is able to detect the direction of a magnetic field even at 1/5th of the present-day field strength. This high sensitivity to magnetic fields may explain how magnetic orientation could have evolved in bats even as the Earth's magnetic field strength varied and the polarity reversed tens of times over the past fifty million years.

Interviewer-Respondent Interactions in Conversational and Standardized Interviewing

Science.gov (United States)

Mittereder, Felicitas; Durow, Jen; West, Brady T.; Kreuter, Frauke; Conrad, Frederick G.

2018-01-01

Standardized interviewing (SI) and conversational interviewing are two approaches to collect survey data that differ in how interviewers address respondent confusion. This article examines interviewer-respondent interactions that occur during these two techniques, focusing on requests for and provisions of clarification. The data derive from an…

Optimal qualifications, staffing and scope of practice for first responder nurses in disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Yin, Huahua; He, Haiyan; Arbon, Paul; Zhu, Jingci; Tan, Jing; Zhang, Limei

2012-01-01

To explore: the selection criteria for first responder nurses during disaster; scope of practice for disaster relief nurses; appropriate nurse - medical practitioner ratio at the disaster site. Nurses are key members of disaster response medical teams. A scarcity of literature exists relating to nurses attending disasters, their qualifications, experience, scope of practice and appropriate staffing ratios. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected via survey using self-developed questionnaires. Participants were 95 medical workers, who participated in emergency rescue teams following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China. A response rate of 93·7% achieved. The questionnaire included questions relating to nurses: previous experience in disaster relief; scope of practice at the disaster site; optimal ratio of medical practitioners to nurses in disaster relief teams. Following a disaster, first responder nurses considered most suitable were those with at least three years clinical experience, particularly in the emergency department or having emergency rescue skills training. The scope of practice for disaster relief nurses was different to that of nurses working in a hospital. The majority of participants reported insufficient nurses during the relief effort, concluding the optimal ratio of medical practitioner to nurse should range between 1:1-1:2 depending on the task and situation. At the scene of disaster, the preferred first responder nurses were nurses: with emergency rescue training; experienced in the emergency department; with at least three years clinical experience. The scope of practice for first responder nurses needs to be extended. Appropriate nurse - medical practitioner ratios in responding medical teams is dependant on the specific medical requirements of the disaster. The recommendations made by this study provide a guide to ensure that nurses can contribute effectively as essential members of first responder emergency disaster relief teams

Segregation of Job Duties and Types of Personalityin Responding the Risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonius Bimo Rentor

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the implementation of tasks separation associating with analysis of personality. The object in this study consists of organizational structure and job description of employees in a credit department at one of the banks in Indonesia. This research uses a descriptive method that designed to collect data that describes characteristics of an interesting variable in a certain situation. Data collection consists of literature studies and field research and specific techniques that developed from field research including interviews, questionnaire collection, and field observation. The results show that placement of employees related to functions separation at Relationship Banking Officer unit in credit department does not meet management expectations. This unit has too many employees with various personality types and different respond to risks. Meanwhile, the employee placement at Account Officer unit in credit department has met the management expectation as well as the employee placement at Administration Staff Credit unit. It can be concluded that the procedure of function separation in credit department has been done in accordance with the criteria of the management.

International Scavenging for First Responder Guidance and Tools: IAEA Products

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stern, W. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Berthelot, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Bachner, K. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2017-05-05

In fiscal years (FY) 2016 and 2017, with support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) examined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) radiological emergency response and preparedness products (guidance and tools) to determine which of these products could be useful to U.S. first responders. The IAEA Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC), which is responsible for emergency preparedness and response, offers a range of tools and guidance documents for responders in recognizing, responding to, and recovering from radiation emergencies and incidents. In order to implement this project, BNL obtained all potentially relevant tools and products produced by the IAEA IEC and analyzed these materials to determine their relevance to first responders in the U.S. Subsequently, BNL organized and hosted a workshop at DHS National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) for U.S. first responders to examine and evaluate IAEA products to consider their applicability to the United States. This report documents and describes the First Responder Product Evaluation Workshop, and provides recommendations on potential steps the U.S. federal government could take to make IAEA guidance and tools useful to U.S. responders.

High responders and low responders: factors associated with individual variation in response to standardized training.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann, Theresa N; Lamberts, Robert P; Lambert, Michael I

2014-08-01

The response to an exercise intervention is often described in general terms, with the assumption that the group average represents a typical response for most individuals. In reality, however, it is more common for individuals to show a wide range of responses to an intervention rather than a similar response. This phenomenon of 'high responders' and 'low responders' following a standardized training intervention may provide helpful insights into mechanisms of training adaptation and methods of training prescription. Therefore, the aim of this review was to discuss factors associated with inter-individual variation in response to standardized, endurance-type training. It is well-known that genetic influences make an important contribution to individual variation in certain training responses. The association between genotype and training response has often been supported using heritability estimates; however, recent studies have been able to link variation in some training responses to specific single nucleotide polymorphisms. It would appear that hereditary influences are often expressed through hereditary influences on the pre-training phenotype, with some parameters showing a hereditary influence in the pre-training phenotype but not in the subsequent training response. In most cases, the pre-training phenotype appears to predict only a small amount of variation in the subsequent training response of that phenotype. However, the relationship between pre-training autonomic activity and subsequent maximal oxygen uptake response appears to show relatively stronger predictive potential. Individual variation in response to standardized training that cannot be explained by genetic influences may be related to the characteristics of the training program or lifestyle factors. Although standardized programs usually involve training prescribed by relative intensity and duration, some methods of relative exercise intensity prescription may be more successful in creating

Complete Tangent Stiffness for eXtended Finite Element Method by including crack growth parameters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mougaard, J.F.; Poulsen, P.N.; Nielsen, L.O.

2013-01-01

the crack geometry parameters, such as the crack length and the crack direction directly in the virtual work formulation. For efficiency, it is essential to obtain a complete tangent stiffness. A new method in this work is presented to include an incremental form the crack growth parameters on equal terms......The eXtended Finite Element Method (XFEM) is a useful tool for modeling the growth of discrete cracks in structures made of concrete and other quasi‐brittle and brittle materials. However, in a standard application of XFEM, the tangent stiffness is not complete. This is a result of not including...... with the degrees of freedom in the FEM‐equations. The complete tangential stiffness matrix is based on the virtual work together with the constitutive conditions at the crack tip. Introducing the crack growth parameters as direct unknowns, both equilibrium equations and the crack tip criterion can be handled...

Utilization of respondent-driven sampling among a population of child workers in the diamond-mining sector of Sierra Leone.

Science.gov (United States)

Bjørkhaug, I; Hatløy, A

2009-01-01

This article describes the implementation of respondent driven sampling (RDS) in a study conducted in Kono District, Sierra Leone. RDS was used to identify children, under the age of 18 years old, working in the diamond sector of Sierra Leone. This includes children working directly as diamond miners as well as children working in the informal sector connected to the diamond field. The article seeks to postulate that RDS is a suitable method for a rapid approach to a population that is unidentified in size and demonstrate how RDS can reach a study population within a limited period.

Effectiveness of a high-throughput genetic analysis in the identification of responders/non-responders to CYP2D6-metabolized drugs.

Science.gov (United States)

Savino, Maria; Seripa, Davide; Gallo, Antonietta P; Garrubba, Maria; D'Onofrio, Grazia; Bizzarro, Alessandra; Paroni, Giulia; Paris, Francesco; Mecocci, Patrizia; Masullo, Carlo; Pilotto, Alberto; Santini, Stefano A

2011-01-01

Recent studies investigating the single cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 allele *2A reported an association with the response to drug treatments. More genetic data can be obtained, however, by high-throughput based-technologies. Aim of this study is the high-throughput analysis of the CYP2D6 polymorphisms to evaluate its effectiveness in the identification of patient responders/non-responders to CYP2D6-metabolized drugs. An attempt to compare our results with those previously obtained with the standard analysis of CYP2D6 allele *2A was also made. Sixty blood samples from patients treated with CYP2D6-metabolized drugs previously genotyped for the allele CYP2D6*2A, were analyzed for the CYP2D6 polymorphisms with the AutoGenomics INFINITI CYP4502D6-I assay on the AutoGenomics INFINITI analyzer. A higher frequency of mutated alleles in responder than in non-responder patients (75.38 % vs 43.48 %; p = 0.015) was observed. Thus, the presence of a mutated allele of CYP2D6 was associated with a response to CYP2D6-metabolized drugs (OR = 4.044 (1.348 - 12.154). No difference was observed in the distribution of allele *2A (p = 0.320). The high-throughput genetic analysis of the CYP2D6 polymorphisms better discriminate responders/non-responders with respect to the standard analysis of the CYP2D6 allele *2A. A high-throughput genetic assay of the CYP2D6 may be useful to identify patients with different clinical responses to CYP2D6-metabolized drugs.

Method for assessment of stormwater treatment facilities - Synthetic road runoff addition including micro-pollutants and tracer.

Science.gov (United States)

Cederkvist, Karin; Jensen, Marina B; Holm, Peter E

2017-08-01

Stormwater treatment facilities (STFs) are becoming increasingly widespread but knowledge on their performance is limited. This is due to difficulties in obtaining representative samples during storm events and documenting removal of the broad range of contaminants found in stormwater runoff. This paper presents a method to evaluate STFs by addition of synthetic runoff with representative concentrations of contaminant species, including the use of tracer for correction of removal rates for losses not caused by the STF. A list of organic and inorganic contaminant species, including trace elements representative of runoff from roads is suggested, as well as relevant concentration ranges. The method was used for adding contaminants to three different STFs including a curbstone extension with filter soil, a dual porosity filter, and six different permeable pavements. Evaluation of the method showed that it is possible to add a well-defined mixture of contaminants despite different field conditions by having a flexibly system, mixing different stock-solutions on site, and use bromide tracer for correction of outlet concentrations. Bromide recovery ranged from only 12% in one of the permeable pavements to 97% in the dual porosity filter, stressing the importance of including a conservative tracer for correction of contaminant retention values. The method is considered useful in future treatment performance testing of STFs. The observed performance of the STFs is presented in coming papers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Understanding and Responding to Adolescent Girls' Online Cruelty

Science.gov (United States)

Sokal, Laura

2012-01-01

Many school counsellors have identified "cyber-bullying" among adolescent girls as a growing concern. In order to respond to this issue, this article begins with a new model of cyber-communications from the unique perspective of adolescent girls. Next, it explores the limitations of responding to this model, based on current understandings of…

Method and apparatus for controlling a powertrain system including a multi-mode transmission

Science.gov (United States)

Hessell, Steven M.; Morris, Robert L.; McGrogan, Sean W.; Heap, Anthony H.; Mendoza, Gil J.

2015-09-08

A powertrain including an engine and torque machines is configured to transfer torque through a multi-mode transmission to an output member. A method for controlling the powertrain includes employing a closed-loop speed control system to control torque commands for the torque machines in response to a desired input speed. Upon approaching a power limit of a power storage device transferring power to the torque machines, power limited torque commands are determined for the torque machines in response to the power limit and the closed-loop speed control system is employed to determine an engine torque command in response to the desired input speed and the power limited torque commands for the torque machines.

Impact of combat events on first responders : Experiences of the armed conflict in Uruzgan, Afghanistan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoencamp, Rigo; Idenburg, Floris J.; Vermetten, Eric; Tan, Edward; Plat, Marie Christine; Hoencamp, Erik; Leenen, Luke P H; Hamming, Jaap F.

2015-01-01

Introduction Care for battle casualties demands special skills from medics, nurses, and tactical commanders. To date, no inventory has been performed evaluating the first responders (medics, nurses and tactical commanders) around battle casualties. Method This observational cohort study was

Reliability and limitation of various diagnostic methods including nuclear medicine in myocardial disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokuyasu, Yoshiki; Kusakabe, Kiyoko; Yamazaki, Toshio

1981-01-01

Electrocardiography (ECG), echocardiography, nuclear method, cardiac catheterization, left ventriculography and endomyocardial biopsy (biopsy) were performed in 40 cases of cardiomyopathy (CM), 9 of endocardial fibroelastosis and 19 of specific heart muscle disease, and the usefulness and limitation of each method was comparatively estimated. In CM, various methods including biopsy were performed. The 40 patients were classified into 3 groups, i.e., hypertrophic (17), dilated (20) and non-hypertrophic.non-dilated (3) on the basis of left ventricular ejection fraction and hypertrophy of the ventricular wall. The hypertrophic group was divided into 4 subgroups: 9 septal, 4 apical, 2 posterior and 2 anterior. The nuclear study is useful in assessing the site of the abnormal ventricular thickening, perfusion defect and ventricular function. Echocardiography is most useful in detecting asymmetric septal hypertrophy. The biopsy gives the sole diagnostic clue, especially in non-hypertrophic.non-dilated cardiomyopathy. ECG is useful in all cases but correlation with the site of disproportional hypertrophy was not obtained. (J.P.N.)

Measuring the Prevalence of Problematic Respondent Behaviors among MTurk, Campus, and Community Participants.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth A Necka

Full Text Available The reliance on small samples and underpowered studies may undermine the replicability of scientific findings. Large sample sizes may be necessary to achieve adequate statistical power. Crowdsourcing sites such as Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk have been regarded as an economical means for achieving larger samples. Because MTurk participants may engage in behaviors which adversely affect data quality, much recent research has focused on assessing the quality of data obtained from MTurk samples. However, participants from traditional campus- and community-based samples may also engage in behaviors which adversely affect the quality of the data that they provide. We compare an MTurk, campus, and community sample to measure how frequently participants report engaging in problematic respondent behaviors. We report evidence that suggests that participants from all samples engage in problematic respondent behaviors with comparable rates. Because statistical power is influenced by factors beyond sample size, including data integrity, methodological controls must be refined to better identify and diminish the frequency of participant engagement in problematic respondent behaviors.

Primate dental ecology: How teeth respond to the environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuozzo, Frank P; Ungar, Peter S; Sauther, Michelle L

2012-06-01

Teeth are central for the study of ecology, as teeth are at the direct interface between an organism and its environment. Recent years have witnessed a rapid growth in the use of teeth to understand a broad range of topics in living and fossil primate biology. This in part reflects new techniques for assessing ways in which teeth respond to, and interact with, an organism's environment. Long-term studies of wild primate populations that integrate dental analyses have also provided a new context for understanding primate interactions with their environments. These new techniques and long-term field studies have allowed the development of a new perspective-dental ecology. We define dental ecology as the broad study of how teeth respond to, or interact with, the environment. This includes identifying patterns of dental pathology and tooth use-wear, as they reflect feeding ecology, behavior, and habitat variation, including areas impacted by anthropogenic disturbance, and how dental development can reflect environmental change and/or stress. The dental ecology approach, built on collaboration between dental experts and ecologists, holds the potential to provide an important theoretical and practical framework for inferring ecology and behavior of fossil forms, for assessing environmental change in living populations, and for understanding ways in which habitat impacts primate growth and development. This symposium issue brings together experts on dental morphology, growth and development, tooth wear and health, primate ecology, and paleontology, to explore the broad application of dental ecology to questions of how living and fossil primates interact with their environments. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

LATAR BELAKANG KARAKTERISTIK RESPONDED DALAM PENCEGAHAN PENYAKIT SHIGELLA/DISENTRI YANG DILAKUKAN OLEH MASYARAKAT DI JAKARTA UTARA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kartika Handayani

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The Research was conducted in North Jakarta and Selected 2 district in Jakarta North that is Tanjung Priok and Koja district as a research region. About 300 respondents which include 140 men and 151 woman from Tanjung Priok district. In Koja district was taken 200 respondents that consist of 101 men and 99 woman. Data processing done with double entry, by using program ISSA (Integrated Survey Analysis and Analysis Data used SPSS (Statistic Package for Social Science. The Research shown 88,7%-89,2% prevent spicy food can overcome dysentery disease of, 55.2% improving clean water can be temporary prevention of dysentery disease, and 56,4%-56,6% personal hygiene able to handle dysentery disease forever. By repairing bathroom (usually used for bath, wash, dump faeces 57.1%-58.4% and fixing garbage 56,2%-57,2% can prevent dysentery disease temporary, while 97,2%-97,4% of drinking traditional medicine (jamu also happen the same thing with dysentery disease. Based on respondents, 96,5%-96,6% using its own medicine/ingredient will prevent dysentery disease. According respondents habit on wash hand about 84.4% respondents wash their hand firstly in the morning and 74.2% washing band before sleep but 64.4% respondents who never wash their band before get dressed. From this research inferential respondents belief to prevent eat spicy food, improving readily clean water, bathroom, garbage place, efficacious of traditional drink, ingredients, washing band habit can be major factors that can prevent community from dysentery disease. The research is part of social Behavior Culture in Overcome Shigella Disease in Jakarta. Keywords: Respondent, Preventing, Shigella Disease

Hospital Preparedness to Respond to Biological and Chemical Terrorist Attack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Florin, P.

2007-01-01

There is a growing concern about the terrorist use of chemical or biological agents against civilian population. A large proportion of hospitals are probably poorly prepared to handle victims of chemical or biological terrorism. At national level, starting with 2008 hospitals will be under the administration and control of local authorities. That is good opportunities for local authorities and public health office to tailor the activity of the hospitals to the real needs in the area of responsibility, and to allocate the suitable budget for them. Commonly hospitals are not fully prepared to respond to massive casualty disaster of any kind, either i their capacity to care for large numbers of victims or in their ability to provide care in coordination with a regional or national incident command structure. Preparedness activities to respond properly to chemical or biological attack including the adequate logistic, the principle of training and drill for the hospital emergency units and medical personal, communication and integration of the hospital team in local and regional civil response team are developed by the author.(author)

Responding to Indigenous Australian Sexual Assault

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janya McCalman

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Indigenous Australians experience a high prevalence of sexual assault, yet a regional sexual assault service found few Indigenous Australians accessed their services. This prompted exploration of how its services might be improved. A resultant systematic search of the literature is reported in this article. Seven electronic databases and seven websites were systematically searched for peer reviewed and gray literature documenting responses to the sexual assault of Indigenous Australians. These publications were then classified by response type and study type. Twenty-three publications met the inclusion criteria. They included studies of legal justice, media, and community-based and mainstream service responses for Indigenous survivors and perpetrators. We located program descriptions, measurement, and descriptive research, but no intervention studies. There is currently insufficient evidence to confidently prescribe what works to effectively respond to Indigenous Australian sexual assault. The study revealed an urgent need for researchers, Indigenous communities, and services to work together to develop the evidence base.

42 CFR 93.225 - Respondent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Respondent. 93.225 Section 93.225 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES HEALTH ASSESSMENTS AND HEALTH EFFECTS STUDIES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES RELEASES AND FACILITIES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE POLICIES ON RESEARCH...

Multi-level Correlates of Safer Conception Methods Awareness and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Many people living with HIV desire childbearing, but low cost safer conception methods (SCM) such as timed unprotected intercourse (TUI) and manual ... including perceived willingness to use SCM, knowledge of respondent's HIV status, HIV-seropositivity, marriage and equality in decision making within the relationship.

Defense Technology Opportunities for First Responders

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

White, Rodney; Bedard, Louis; Derrah, Scott; Boucher, Robert

2004-01-01

For this study, the US and Canadian governments assessed the potential for technology transfer of five technologies, which were developed to meet military requirements, to civilian first responders...

Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Aggressive Responding in Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcorn, Joseph L; Rathnayaka, Nuvan; Swann, Alan C; Moeller, F Gerard; Lane, Scott D

2015-12-01

The oxytocin receptor is important in several domains of social behavior, and administration of oxytocin modulates social responding in several mammalian species, including humans. Oxytocin has both therapeutic and scientific potential for elucidating the neural and behavioral mechanisms governing social behavior. In the present study, operationally-defined aggressive behavior of six males with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) was measured following acute intranasal oxytocin dosing (12, 24, and 48 international units) and placebo, using a well-validated laboratory task of human aggression (Point-Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, or PSAP). The PSAP provides participants with concurrently available monetary-earning and operationally-defined aggressive response options, maintained by fixed ratio schedules of consequences. Shifts in response rates and inter-response time (IRT) distributions were observed on the aggressive response option following oxytocin doses, relative to placebo. Few changes were observed in monetary-reinforced responding. However, across participants the direction and magnitude of changes in aggressive responding were not systematically related to dose. No trends were observed between psychometric or physiological data and oxytocin dosing or aggressive behavior. While this report is to our knowledge the first to examine the acute effects of oxytocin in this population at high risk for violence and other forms of antisocial behavior, several limitations in the experimental design and the results cast the study as a preliminary report. Strategies for more extensive future projects are discussed.

Strengthening international standards to prepare for and respond to an emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nogueira de Oliveira, C.

2006-01-01

Radiological emergencies of various types continue to occur - often accidents with orphan sources. In addition, the possibility of a severe nuclear accident that could result in transboundary radioactive release requiring protective actions in several countries, although extremely unlikely, can never be ruled out. Many Member States are currently not adequately prepared to respond to such emergency situations. Moreover, without standard procedures or common approaches, protective actions can differ between countries, resulting in confusion and mistrust among the public, interfering with recovery operations and possibly leading to severe socioeconomic and political consequences. Many of the lessons from past accidents, including even the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents, have still not been completely incorporated into emergency plans of all States. Furthermore, there is a heightened awareness of the need to strengthen arrangements to respond to emergencies that could arise from criminal or terrorist activities involving nuclear and other radioactive materials. Many Member States have expressed a desire to strengthen their national nuclear and radiological emergency preparedness arrangements, to harmonize them with their neighbours and to learn from international experience in responding to these relatively rare events. The Agency has a statutory function to develop standards for the protection of health and the environment and to provide on request for their application, through encouraging research and development; fostering information exchange; promoting education and training; and rendering services. (author)

Development of responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in fibromyalgia.

Science.gov (United States)

Vervoort, Vera M; Vriezekolk, Johanna E; van den Ende, Cornelia H

2017-01-01

There is a need to identify individual treatment success in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) who received non-pharmacological treatment. The present study described responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in FM, and estimated and compared their sensitivity and specificity. Candidate responder sets were 1) identified in literature; and 2) formulated by expert group consensus. All candidate responder sets were tested in a cohort of 129 patients with FM receiving multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment. We used two gold standards (both therapist's and patient's perspective), assessed at six months after the start of treatment. Seven responder sets were defined (three identified in literature and four formulated by expert group consensus), and comprised combinations of domains of 1) pain; 2) fatigue; 3) patient global assessment (PGA); 4) illness perceptions; 5) limitations in activities of daily living (ADL); and 6) sleep. The sensitivity and specificity of literature-based responder sets (n=3) ranged between 17%-99% and 15%-95% respectively, whereas the expert-based responder sets (n=4) performed slightly better with regard to sensitivity (range 41%-81%) and specificity (range 50%-96%). Of the literature-based responder sets the OMERACT-OARSI responder set with patient's gold standard performed best (sensitivity 63%, specificity 75% and ROC area = 0.69). Overall, the expert-based responder set comprising the domains illness perceptions and limitations in ADL with patient's gold standard performed best (sensitivity 47%, specificity 96% and ROC area = 0.71). We defined sets of responder criteria for multicomponent non-pharmacological treatment in fibromyalgia. Further research should focus on the validation of those sets with acceptable performance.

Identifying Armed Respondents to Domestic Violence Restraining Orders and Recovering Their Firearms: Process Evaluation of an Initiative in California

Science.gov (United States)

Frattaroli, Shannon; Claire, Barbara E.; Vittes, Katherine A.; Webster, Daniel W.

2014-01-01

Objectives. We evaluated a law enforcement initiative to screen respondents to domestic violence restraining orders for firearm ownership or possession and recover their firearms. Methods. The initiative was implemented in San Mateo and Butte counties in California from 2007 through 2010. We used descriptive methods to evaluate the screening process and recovery effort in each county, relying on records for individual cases. Results. Screening relied on an archive of firearm transactions, court records, and petitioner interviews; no single source was adequate. Screening linked 525 respondents (17.7%) in San Mateo County to firearms; 405 firearms were recovered from 119 (22.7%) of them. In Butte County, 88 (31.1%) respondents were linked to firearms; 260 firearms were recovered from 45 (51.1%) of them. Nonrecovery occurred most often when orders were never served or respondents denied having firearms. There were no reports of serious violence or injury. Conclusions. Recovering firearms from persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders is possible. We have identified design and implementation changes that may improve the screening process and the yield from recovery efforts. Larger implementation trials are needed. PMID:24328660

First responder tracking and visualization for command and control toolkit

Science.gov (United States)

Woodley, Robert; Petrov, Plamen; Meisinger, Roger

2010-04-01

In order for First Responder Command and Control personnel to visualize incidents at urban building locations, DHS sponsored a small business research program to develop a tool to visualize 3D building interiors and movement of First Responders on site. 21st Century Systems, Inc. (21CSI), has developed a toolkit called Hierarchical Grid Referenced Normalized Display (HiGRND). HiGRND utilizes three components to provide a full spectrum of visualization tools to the First Responder. First, HiGRND visualizes the structure in 3D. Utilities in the 3D environment allow the user to switch between views (2D floor plans, 3D spatial, evacuation routes, etc.) and manually edit fast changing environments. HiGRND accepts CAD drawings and 3D digital objects and renders these in the 3D space. Second, HiGRND has a First Responder tracker that uses the transponder signals from First Responders to locate them in the virtual space. We use the movements of the First Responder to map the interior of structures. Finally, HiGRND can turn 2D blueprints into 3D objects. The 3D extruder extracts walls, symbols, and text from scanned blueprints to create the 3D mesh of the building. HiGRND increases the situational awareness of First Responders and allows them to make better, faster decisions in critical urban situations.

Methods of forming aluminum oxynitride-comprising bodies, including methods of forming a sheet of transparent armor

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Henry Shiu-Hung [Idaho Falls, ID; Lillo, Thomas Martin [Idaho Falls, ID

2008-12-02

The invention includes methods of forming an aluminum oxynitride-comprising body. For example, a mixture is formed which comprises A:B:C in a respective molar ratio in the range of 9:3.6-6.2:0.1-1.1, where "A" is Al.sub.2O.sub.3, "B" is AlN, and "C" is a total of one or more of B.sub.2O.sub.3, SiO.sub.2, Si--Al--O--N, and TiO.sub.2. The mixture is sintered at a temperature of at least 1,600.degree. C. at a pressure of no greater than 500 psia effective to form an aluminum oxynitride-comprising body which is at least internally transparent and has at least 99% maximum theoretical density.

Engine including hydraulically actuated valvetrain and method of valve overlap control

Science.gov (United States)

Cowgill, Joel [White Lake, MI

2012-05-08

An exhaust valve control method may include displacing an exhaust valve in communication with the combustion chamber of an engine to an open position using a hydraulic exhaust valve actuation system and returning the exhaust valve to a closed position using the hydraulic exhaust valve actuation assembly. During closing, the exhaust valve may be displaced for a first duration from the open position to an intermediate closing position at a first velocity by operating the hydraulic exhaust valve actuation assembly in a first mode. The exhaust valve may be displaced for a second duration greater than the first duration from the intermediate closing position to a fully closed position at a second velocity at least eighty percent less than the first velocity by operating the hydraulic exhaust valve actuation assembly in a second mode.

Education in the responsible conduct of research in psychology: methods and scope.

Science.gov (United States)

DiLorenzo, Terry A; Becker-Fiegeles, Jill; Gibelman, Margaret

2014-01-01

In this mixed-method study of education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) in psychology, phase one survey respondents (n = 141) reported that faculty and students were familiar with RCR standards and procedures to educate them were believed to be adequate. However, educational methods varied widely. In phase two, seven survey respondents completed in-depth interviews assessing RCR training and education and research review procedures. Educational methods through which RCR content was presented included the following ones: traditional (lectures), technical (web-based), and experiential (internships), but RCR was often minimally considered in the formal curriculum. Our results suggest that psychology training programs might benefit from more formal consideration of RCR education and training in the curriculum.

PROJECT-ORIENTED RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES IN RURAL AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Андрій Іванович ІВАНУСА

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Substantiated way to determine the feasibility of the location of rescue units in the conditions of rural areas. Proposed improving the existing methods of using of forces and means to extinguish fires, emergencies, etc., by involving specially trained volunteer rescue brigades, carrying out daily duty at their place of residence. To improve the interaction of rescue units involved in the reaction to emergency situations improved the system of information and communication management of forces and means. Developed the model diagram of the project environment optimal allocation of resources when creating center responding to emergencies in conditions of encirclement turbulent environment of a sphere of civil protection. Developed 3D-model and WBS-structure of the project creation of center responding to emergencies using modern energy saving technologies that will minimize the use of financial resources on the stages of the realization and exploitation of the project.

Satisfaction Data Collected by E-mail and Smartphone for Emergency Department Patients: How Do Responders Compare With Nonresponders?

Science.gov (United States)

Strickler, Jeffery C; Lopiano, Kenneth K

2016-11-01

This study profiles an innovative approach to capture patient satisfaction data from emergency department (ED) patients by implementing an electronic survey method. This study compares responders to nonresponders. Our hypothesis is that the cohort of survey respondents will be similar to nonresponders in terms of the key characteristics of age, gender, race, ethnicity, ED disposition, and payor status. This study is a cross-sectional design using secondary data from the database and provides an opportunity for univariate analysis of the key characteristics for each group. The data elements will be abstracted from the database and compared with the same key characteristics from a similar sample from the database on nonresponders to the ED satisfaction survey. Age showed a statistically significant difference between responders and nonresponders. Comparison by disposition status showed no substantial difference between responders and nonresponders. Gender distribution showed a greater number of female than male responders. Race distribution showed a greater number and response by white and Asian patients as compared with African Americans. A review of ethnicity showed fewer Hispanics responded. An evaluation by payor classification showed greater number and response rate by those with a commercial or Workers Comp payor source. The response rate by Medicare recipients was stronger than expected; however, the response rate by Medicaid recipients and self-pay could be a concern for underrepresentation by lower socioeconomic groups. Finally, the evaluation of the method of notification showed that notification by both e-mail and text substantially improved response rates. The evaluation of key characteristics showed no difference related to disposition, but differences related to age, gender, race, ethnicity, and payor classification. These results point to a potential concern for underrepresentation by lower socioeconomic groups. The results showed that notification by

On-scene crisis intervention: psychological guidelines and communication strategies for first responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Laurence

2010-01-01

Effective emergency mental health intervention for victims of crime, natural disaster or terrorism begins the moment the first responders arrive. This article describes a range of on-scene crisis intervention options, including verbal communication, body language, behavioral strategies, and interpersonal style. The correct intervention in the first few moments and hours of a crisis can profoundly influence the recovery course of victims and survivors of catastrophic events.

Relationships Among Attention Networks and Physiological Responding to Threat

Science.gov (United States)

Sarapas, Casey; Weinberg, Anna; Langenecker, Scott A.

2016-01-01

Although researchers have long hypothesized a relationship between attention and anxiety, theoretical and empirical accounts of this relationship have conflicted. We attempted to resolve these conflicts by examining relationships of attentional abilities with responding to predictable and unpredictable threat, related but distinct motivational process implicated in a number of anxiety disorders. Eighty-one individuals completed a behavioral task assessing efficiency of three components of attention – alerting, orienting, and executive control (Attention Network Test - Revised). We also assessed startle responding during anticipation of both predictable, imminent threat (of mild electric shock) and unpredictable contextual threat. Faster alerting and slower disengaging from non-emotional attention cues were related to heightened responding to unpredictable threat, whereas poorer executive control of attention was related to heightened responding to predictable threat. This double dissociation helps to integrate models of attention and anxiety and may be informative for treatment development. PMID:27816781

Cost per responder of TNF-α therapies in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Gissel, Christian; Repp, Holger

2013-12-01

Tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) inhibitors ranked highest in German pharmaceutical expenditure in 2011. Their most important application is the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Our objective is to analyze cost per responder of TNF-α inhibitors for RA from the German Statutory Health Insurance funds' perspective. We aim to conduct the analysis based on randomized comparative effectiveness studies of the relevant treatments for the German setting. For inclusion of effectiveness studies, we require results in terms of response rates as defined by European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) or American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria. We identify conventional triple therapy as the relevant comparator. We calculate cost per responder based on German direct medical costs. Direct clinical comparisons could be identified for both etanercept and infliximab compared to triple therapy. For infliximab, cost per responder was 216,392 euros for ACR50 and 432,784 euros for ACR70 responses. For etanercept, cost per ACR70 responder was 321,527 euros. Cost was lower for response defined by EULAR criteria, but data was only available for infliximab. Cost per responder is overestimated by 40% due to inclusion of taxes and mandatory rebates in German drugs' list prices. Our analysis shows specific requirements for cost-effectiveness analysis in Germany. Cost per responder for TNF-α treatment in the German setting is more than double the cost estimated in a similar analysis for the USA, which measured against placebo. The difference in results shows the critical role of the correct comparator for a specific setting.

Assessment of respondent acceptability of preference measures: discriminatory power of graphic positioning scale versus traditional scaling measures.

Science.gov (United States)

Franic, Duska M; Pathak, Dev S

2003-01-01

decisions for chronic than for acute conditions. Results also show that respondents regard WTP as a more reasonable decision-making tool when assessing acute interventions in preference to SG and vice versa for chronic conditions. Of VAS, SG, and WTP methods, VAS was perceived as being the easiest to understand. These results can be explained by direct versus indirect comparisons made with GPS and TS methods, respectively.

Responding to Bullying: What Works?

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Wendy; Pepler, Debra; Blais, Julie

2007-01-01

Children who are bullied are often told to "solve the problems themselves"; however, when bullying is repeated over time, it becomes increasingly difficult for victimized children to stop the torment because of their relative lack of power. We examine the ways in which children respond to bullying and their evaluations of the…

Comparison of long GnRH agonist versus GnRH antagonist protocol in poor responders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sadık Şahin

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To compare long GnRH agonist with GnRH antagonist protocol in poor responders. Materials and Methods: Medical charts of 531 poor responder women undergoing in-vitro fertilization (IVF cycle at Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Hospital, IVF Center were retrospectively analysed. Those who received at least 300 IU/daily gonadotropin and had ≤3 oocytes retrieved were enrolled in the study. Poor responders were categorized into two groups as those who received long GnRH agonist or GnRH antagonist regimen. Results: Treatment duration and total gonadotropin dosage were significantly higher in women undergoing the long GnRH agonist regimen compared with the GnRH antagonist regimen (p<0.001 for both. Although the number of total and mature oocytes retrieved was similar between the groups, good quality embryos were found to be higher in the GnRH antagonist regimen. The day of embryo transfer and number of transferred embryos were similar in the groups. No statistically significant differences were detected in pregnancy (10.5% vs 14.1%, clinical pregnancy (7.7% vs 10.6% and early pregnancy loss rates (27.2% vs 35% between the groups. Conclusion: GnRH antagonist regimen may be preferable to long GnRH regimen as it could decrease the cost and treatment duration in poor responders.

Emergency and crisis management: critical incident stress management for first responders and business organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Guenthner, Daniel H

2012-01-01

A literature review was performed on critical incident stress after September 11th, 2001 (9/11), and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which focused on the need to implement a holistic critical incident stress management programme for first responders and business organisations. Critical incident stress management is required to handle acute stress and other distress in the face of natural or man-made disasters, including terrorist attacks. A holistic approach to community resilience through a well-planned and implemented critical incident stress management programme has been shown in the literature to promote self-help and self-efficacy of individuals and organisations. The interventions and programme elements defined clearly show how a number of different intervention and prevention strategies will promote business and community resilience and also self-efficacy in a culturally-diverse community and organisation. Implementing a critical incident stress management programme within a responding business organisation is critical because of the fact that first responders are the most susceptible every day to exposure to critical incidents that will affect their mental health; and business employees will suffer some of the same maladies as first responders in the event of a disaster or crisis. Utilising the framework provided, a holistic critical incident stress management programme can be implemented to help reduce the effects of burnout, absenteeism, acute stress, post-traumatic stress, substance use and traumatic stress, and to work to promote community resilience and toughen individuals against the effects of stress. Taking care of the needs of the employees of a business organisation, and of those of first responders, is clearly required.

Interaction in the Research Interview and Drug-Related Disclosures among Respondents.

Science.gov (United States)

Myers, Vincent

1979-01-01

Interviewers and respondents judged interview interactions during a survey of drug-related sentiments. Pronounced variability in interviewer-respondent judgements occurred in unanticipated ways related to gender, role, and ethnicity of participants. Positive interaction yielded different respondent cognitions and reports of illicit drug ingestion…

Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability—A Literature Review

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Eila Jeronen

2016-12-01

Full Text Available There are very few studies concerning the importance of teaching methods in biology education and environmental education including outdoor education for promoting sustainability at the levels of primary and secondary schools and pre-service teacher education. The material was selected using special keywords from biology and sustainable education in several scientific databases. The article provides an overview of 24 selected articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals from 2006–2016. The data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Altogether, 16 journals were selected and 24 articles were analyzed in detail. The foci of the analyses were teaching methods, learning environments, knowledge and thinking skills, psychomotor skills, emotions and attitudes, and evaluation methods. Additionally, features of good methods were investigated and their implications for teaching were emphasized. In total, 22 different teaching methods were found to improve sustainability education in different ways. The most emphasized teaching methods were those in which students worked in groups and participated actively in learning processes. Research points toward the value of teaching methods that provide a good introduction and supportive guidelines and include active participation and interactivity.

Cognitive Schemas in Placebo and Nocebo Responding: Role of Autobiographical Memories and Expectations.

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Bartels, Danielle J P; van Laarhoven, Antoinette I M; Heijmans, Naomi; Hermans, Dirk; Debeer, Elise; van de Kerkhof, Peter C M; Evers, Andrea W M

2017-03-01

Placebo effects are presumed to be based on one's expectations and previous experience with regard to a specific treatment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the specificity and valence of memories and expectations with regard to itch in experimentally induced placebo and nocebo itch responses. It was expected that cognitive schemas with more general and more negative memories and expectations with regard to itch contribute to less placebo itch responding. Validated memory tasks (ie, the Autobiographical Memory Test and the Self-referential Endorsement and Recall Task) and expectation tasks (ie, Future Event Task and the Self-referential Endorsement and Recall Task) were modified for physical symptoms, including itch. Specificity and valence of memories and expectations were assessed prior to a placebo experiment in which expectations regarding electrical itch stimuli were induced in healthy participants. Participants who were more specific in their memories regarding itch and who had lesser negative itch-related expectations for the future were more likely to be placebo itch responders. There were no significant differences in effects between the nocebo responders and nonresponders. The adapted tasks for assessing cognitive (memory and expectations) schemas on itch seem promising in explaining interindividual differences in placebo itch responding. Future research should investigate whether similar mechanisms apply to patients with chronic itch. This knowledge can be used for identifying patients who will benefit most from the placebo component of a treatment. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The acquisition of conditioned responding.

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Harris, Justin A

2011-04-01

This report analyzes the acquisition of conditioned responses in rats trained in a magazine approach paradigm. Following the suggestion by Gallistel, Fairhurst, and Balsam (2004), Weibull functions were fitted to the trial-by-trial response rates of individual rats. These showed that the emergence of responding was often delayed, after which the response rate would increase relatively gradually across trials. The fit of the Weibull function to the behavioral data of each rat was equaled by that of a cumulative exponential function incorporating a response threshold. Thus, the growth in conditioning strength on each trial can be modeled by the derivative of the exponential--a difference term of the form used in many models of associative learning (e.g., Rescorla & Wagner, 1972). Further analyses, comparing the acquisition of responding with a continuously reinforced stimulus (CRf) and a partially reinforced stimulus (PRf), provided further evidence in support of the difference term. In conclusion, the results are consistent with conventional models that describe learning as the growth of associative strength, incremented on each trial by an error-correction process.

The Influence of Agreeableness and Ego Depletion on Emotional Responding.

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Finley, Anna J; Crowell, Adrienne L; Harmon-Jones, Eddie; Schmeichel, Brandon J

2017-10-01

Agreeable individuals report more intense withdrawal-oriented negative emotions across aversive situations. Two studies tested the hypothesis that self-regulatory depletion (i.e., ego depletion) moderates the relationship between trait Agreeableness and negative emotional responding. Ego depletion was manipulated using a writing task. Emotional responding was measured with startle eye-blink responses (Study 1, N = 71) and self-reported valence, arousal, and empathic concern (Study 2, N = 256) during emotional picture viewing. Trait Agreeableness was measured using a questionnaire. In Study 1, Agreeableness predicted especially large startle responses during aversive images and especially small startles during appetitive images. After exercising self-control, the relationship between startle magnitudes and Agreeableness decreased. In Study 2, Agreeableness predicted more empathic concern for aversive images, which in turn predicted heightened self-reported negative emotions. After exercising self-control, the relationship between Agreeableness and empathic concern decreased. Agreeable individuals exhibit heightened negative emotional responding. Ego depletion reduced the link between Agreeableness and negative emotional responding in Study 1 and moderated the indirect effect of Agreeableness on negative emotional responding via empathic concern in Study 2. Empathic concern appears to be a resource-intensive process underlying heightened responding to aversive stimuli among agreeable persons. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The role of risk perception in willingness to respond to the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gee, Stephanie; Skovdal, Morten

2017-01-01

using NVivo 10. Results: We found that numerous individual and social-level factors played a role in modifying risk perception in health workers. Institutional trust emerged as a key risk attenuator, as did past experience, self-efficacy, duty of care, humanitarian ethos, and cognitive heuristics...... workers is essential for an effective epidemic response, health workforce capacity in times of crisis may be significantly impacted by how risks are perceived by health staff. This study aimed to explore how risk perceptions influenced healthcare workers’ willingness to respond during this outbreak....... Methods: Through in-depth interviews with 11 front-line international health care workers who chose to respond to the West Africa outbreak, this qualitative study explores how perceptions of risk developed and subsequently mediated the decision to respond to the outbreak. Data was thematically organized...

Freeze-all cycle for all normal responders?

Science.gov (United States)

Roque, Matheus; Valle, Marcello; Guimarães, Fernando; Sampaio, Marcos; Geber, Selmo

2017-02-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the freeze-all strategy in subgroups of normal responders, to assess whether this strategy is beneficial regardless of ovarian response, and to evaluate the possibility of implementing an individualized embryo transfer (iET) based on ovarian response. This was an observational, cohort study performed in a private IVF center. A total of 938 IVF cycles were included in this study. The patients were submitted to controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist protocol and a cleavage-stage day 3 embryo transfer. We performed a comparison of outcomes between the fresh embryo transfer (n = 523) and the freeze-all cycles (n = 415). The analysis was performed in two subgroups of patients based on the number of retrieved oocytes: Group 1 (4-9 oocytes) and Group 2 (10-15 oocytes). In Group 1 (4-9 retrieved oocytes), the implantation rates (IR) were 17.9 and 20.5% (P = 0.259) in the fresh and freeze-all group, respectively; the ongoing pregnancy rates (OPR) were 31 and 33% (P = 0.577) in the fresh and freeze-all group, respectively. In Group 2 (10-15 oocytes), the IR were 22.1 and 30.1% (P = 0.028) and the OPR were 34 and 47% (P = 0.021) in the fresh and freeze-all groups, respectively. Although the freeze-all policy may be related to better in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes in normal responders, these potential advantages decrease with worsening ovarian response. Patients with poorer ovarian response do not benefit from the freeze-all strategy.

Pregnancy outcome of “delayed start” GnRH antagonist protocol versus GnRH antagonist protocol in poor responders: A clinical trial study

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Abbas Aflatoonian

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Management of poor-responding patients is still major challenge in assisted reproductive techniques (ART. Delayed-start GnRH antagonist protocol is recommended to these patients, but little is known in this regards. Objective: The goal of this study was assessment of delayed-start GnRH antagonist protocol in poor responders, and in vitro fertilization (IVF outcomes. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial included sixty infertile women with Bologna criteria for ovarian poor responders who were candidate for IVF. In case group (n=30, delayed-start GnRH antagonist protocol administered estrogen priming followed by early follicular-phase GnRH antagonist treatment for 7 days before ovarian stimulation with gonadotropin. Control group (n=30 treated with estrogen priming antagonist protocol. Finally, endometrial thickness, the rates of oocytes maturation, , embryo formation, and pregnancy were compared between two groups. Results: Rates of implantation, chemical, clinical, and ongoing pregnancy in delayed-start cycles were higher although was not statistically significant. Endometrial thickness was significantly higher in case group. There were no statistically significant differences in the rates of oocyte maturation, embryo formation, and IVF outcomes between two groups. Conclusion: There is no significant difference between delayed-start GnRH antagonist protocol versus GnRH antagonist protocol.

Conversion of Type III penumococcal polysaccharide low responders to high responders by immunization with a thymus-dependent form of antigen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braley-Mullen, H.; Sharp, G.C.

1974-01-01

C57BL/Ks mice immunized with 0.6 μg Type III pneumococcal polysaccharide (S3) or with 10 9 S3 conjugated sheep erythrocytes (S3-SRBC) produced 5 to 7 times fewer S3-specific plaque-forming cells than similarly immunized BALB/c mice. However, when mice were primed with the SRBC carrier prior to challenge with S3-SRBC the low responder C57BL/Ks mice responded as well as the high-responder BALBc strain. The cell activated by the carrier priming was shown to be a thymus-derived (T) cell and the antibody produced by primed mice was mercaptoethanol sensitive (presumably IgM). Nonspecific T cell activation by unrelated antigens did not enhance C57BL/Ks responses to the same degree as specific carrier priming. These findings are discussed in relation to the possible cellular basis for genetic control of the S3 immune response

How do Polish workers respond to the information concerning health-oriented lifestyle?

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Elżbieta Korzeniowska

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Information overload, including commercial ones, about healthy lifestyle, is a challenge for perception of health education. Material and Methods: The empirical data gathered from 100 employees in 2010 by means of free interviews with a standardized list of required information, aimed at analyzing a feeling of pressure to lead a healthy lifestyle, including reactions to meassages provided by the media. Results: Respondents feel pressure associated with a healthy lifestyle from doctors, the state, relatives, friends and themselves. They accept pressure exerted by doctors and appreciate it from relatives and friends, however, the latter may stimulate adverse behavior. As a negative pressure they perceive that imposed by the media, government’s shifting the responsibility for citizens’ health, information overload contradictory to their own knowledge, unattainable recommendations and their volatility. Such pressure evokes conviction for their own resistance or rejection of the messages. They criticize the media for promoting unhealthy behavior, attending interests of advertisers, hiding information about harmful environmental influence. They appreciate the media for facilitating learning about health and preventive examinations. Health education messages are only occasionally identified by better educated people. Conclusions: “Dense” information environment is a hostile background for health education. An excess of critically evaluated information evokes pressure and lack of trust in information. Therefore, health education should facilitate the identification of its contents, avoid normative methods, limit the number of guidelines and better explain the faced changes, counteract tendencies to associate healthy lifestyle mainly with consumer behaviors, teach how to maintain self orientation in information overload conditions, and build up awareness of one’s own brand. Med Pr 2017;68(4:525–543

Systems and Methods for RFID-Enabled Dispenser

Science.gov (United States)

Fink, Patrick W. (Inventor); Lin, Gregory Y. (Inventor); Kennedy, Timothy F. (Inventor); Ngo, Phong H. (Inventor); Byerly, Diane (Inventor)

2015-01-01

Methods, apparatuses and systems for radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled information collection are disclosed, including an enclosure, a collector coupled to the enclosure, an interrogator, a processor, and one or more RFID field sensors, each having an individual identification, disposed within the enclosure. In operation, the interrogator transmits an incident signal to the collector, causing the collector to generate an electromagnetic field within the enclosure. The electromagnetic field is affected by one or more influences. RFID sensors respond to the electromagnetic field by transmitting reflected signals containing the individual identifications of the responding RFID sensors to the interrogator. The interrogator receives the reflected signals, measures one or more returned signal strength indications ("RSSI") of the reflected signals and sends the RSSI measurements and identification of the responding RFID sensors to the processor to determine one or more facts about the influences. Other embodiments are also described.

Assessment of nuclear medicine capabilities in responding to a radiological terrorism event. Technical memorandum

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stodilka, R.Z. [Univ. of Western Ontario, Schulich School of Medicine, London, Ontario (Canada); Wilkinson, D

2006-09-15

Substantial effort has been placed into enhancing federal capabilities for responding to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear (CBRN) terrorist attack. However, little emphasis has been placed on including the local-level medical responders in these efforts. In effecting response to a radiological incident, potentially useful resources to access are health care professionals with training in matters of ionizing radiation, namely: nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and technologists. In this report, we focus on Nuclear Medicine expertise in Canada, and place this expertise into the context of assisting with a radiological terrorist incident. Nuclear Medicine expertise, along with its supporting infrastructure has already been deployed in proportion to the distribution of the civilian population. Given the expectations that the civilian population places in these health care professionals, their immediate access to specialized equipment, and the delay between a radiological terrorist incident and the arrival of federal expert capabilities, it is likely that these health care professionals will play important roles in emergency response. These roles will likely be: identifying the nature of the incident, triage, decontamination, coordinating with First Responders, and communicating with the media. Acknowledging the potential value of these professionals in responding to a radiological terrorist incident, steps should be taken to enlist their support and integrate them into a coherent national strategy. (author)

Assessment of nuclear medicine capabilities in responding to a radiological terrorism event. Technical memorandum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stodilka, R.Z.; Wilkinson, D.

2006-09-01

Substantial effort has been placed into enhancing federal capabilities for responding to a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, or Nuclear (CBRN) terrorist attack. However, little emphasis has been placed on including the local-level medical responders in these efforts. In effecting response to a radiological incident, potentially useful resources to access are health care professionals with training in matters of ionizing radiation, namely: nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists, and technologists. In this report, we focus on Nuclear Medicine expertise in Canada, and place this expertise into the context of assisting with a radiological terrorist incident. Nuclear Medicine expertise, along with its supporting infrastructure has already been deployed in proportion to the distribution of the civilian population. Given the expectations that the civilian population places in these health care professionals, their immediate access to specialized equipment, and the delay between a radiological terrorist incident and the arrival of federal expert capabilities, it is likely that these health care professionals will play important roles in emergency response. These roles will likely be: identifying the nature of the incident, triage, decontamination, coordinating with First Responders, and communicating with the media. Acknowledging the potential value of these professionals in responding to a radiological terrorist incident, steps should be taken to enlist their support and integrate them into a coherent national strategy. (author)

Methods of using structures including catalytic materials disposed within porous zeolite materials to synthesize hydrocarbons

Science.gov (United States)

Rollins, Harry W [Idaho Falls, ID; Petkovic, Lucia M [Idaho Falls, ID; Ginosar, Daniel M [Idaho Falls, ID

2011-02-01

Catalytic structures include a catalytic material disposed within a zeolite material. The catalytic material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of methanol from carbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide, and the zeolite material may be capable of catalyzing a formation of hydrocarbon molecules from methanol. The catalytic material may include copper and zinc oxide. The zeolite material may include a first plurality of pores substantially defined by a crystal structure of the zeolite material and a second plurality of pores dispersed throughout the zeolite material. Systems for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules also include catalytic structures. Methods for synthesizing hydrocarbon molecules include contacting hydrogen and at least one of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide with such catalytic structures. Catalytic structures are fabricated by forming a zeolite material at least partially around a template structure, removing the template structure, and introducing a catalytic material into the zeolite material.

Training Law Enforcement Officials on Responding to Equine Calls

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Kathleen P.; Stauffer, Gary; Stauffer, Monte; Anderson, Doug; Biodrowski, Kristie

2016-01-01

The occurrence of equine abuse/neglect cases is an ongoing issue. However, officials responding to equine cases are rarely experienced in handling horses. Therefore, workshops teaching basic horse husbandry were offered to better equip and prepare officials to respond to equine cases. Trainings consisted of both classroom and hands-on sessions.…

Spine surgeon's kinematics during discectomy, part II: operating table height and visualization methods, including microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jeong Yoon; Kim, Kyung Hyun; Kuh, Sung Uk; Chin, Dong Kyu; Kim, Keun Su; Cho, Yong Eun

2014-05-01

Surgeon spine angle during surgery was studied ergonomically and the kinematics of the surgeon's spine was related with musculoskeletal fatigue and pain. Spine angles varied depending on operation table height and visualization method, and in a previous paper we showed that the use of a loupe and a table height at the midpoint between the umbilicus and the sternum are optimal for reducing musculoskeletal loading. However, no studies have previously included a microscope as a possible visualization method. The objective of this study is to assess differences in surgeon spine angles depending on operating table height and visualization method, including microscope. We enrolled 18 experienced spine surgeons for this study, who each performed a discectomy using a spine surgery simulator. Three different methods were used to visualize the surgical field (naked eye, loupe, microscope) and three different operating table heights (anterior superior iliac spine, umbilicus, the midpoint between the umbilicus and the sternum) were studied. Whole spine angles were compared for three different views during the discectomy simulation: midline, ipsilateral, and contralateral. A 16-camera optoelectronic motion analysis system was used, and 16 markers were placed from the head to the pelvis. Lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis, cervical lordosis, and occipital angle were compared between the different operating table heights and visualization methods as well as a natural standing position. Whole spine angles differed significantly depending on visualization method. All parameters were closer to natural standing values when discectomy was performed with a microscope, and there were no differences between the naked eye and the loupe. Whole spine angles were also found to differ from the natural standing position depending on operating table height, and became closer to natural standing position values as the operating table height increased, independent of the visualization method

The Relational Responding Task: Toward a New Implicit Measure of Beliefs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan eDe Houwer

2015-03-01

Full Text Available We introduce the Relational Responding Task (RRT as a tool for capturing beliefs at the implicit level. Flemish participants were asked to respond as if they believed that Flemish people are more intelligent than immigrants (e.g., respond true to the statement Flemish people are wiser than immigrants or to respond as if they believed that immigrants are more intelligent than Flemish people (e.g., respond true to the statement Flemish people are dumber than immigrants. The difference in performance between these two tasks correlated with ratings of the extent to which participants explicitly endorsed the belief that Flemish people are more intelligent than immigrants and with questionnaire measures of subtle and blatant racism. The current study provides a first step towards validating RRT effects as a viable measure of implicit beliefs.

Hostile attributional bias, negative emotional responding, and aggression in adults: moderating effects of gender and impulsivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pan; Coccaro, Emil F; Jacobson, Kristen C

2012-01-01

The current study examined the main effects of hostile attributional bias (HAB) and negative emotional responding on a variety of aggressive behaviors in adults, including general aggression, physical aggression, relational aggression, and verbal aggression. Effects of both externalizing (anger) and internalizing (embarrassment/upset) negative emotions were considered. In addition, the moderating roles of gender and impulsivity on the effects of HAB and negative emotional responding were explored. Multilevel models were fitted to data from 2,749 adult twins aged 20-55 from the PennTwins cohort. HAB was positively associated with all four forms of aggression. There was also a significant interaction between impulsivity and HAB for general aggression. Specifically, the relationship between HAB and general aggression was only significant for individuals with average or above-average levels of impulsivity. Negative emotional responding was also found to predict all measures of aggression, although in different ways. Anger was positively associated with all forms of aggression, whereas embarrassment/upset predicted decreased levels of general, physical, and verbal aggression but increased levels of relational aggression. The associations between negative emotional responding and aggression were generally stronger for males than females. The current study provides evidence for the utility of HAB and negative emotional responding as predictors of adult aggression and further suggests that gender and impulsivity may moderate their links with aggression. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Hostile Attributional Bias, Negative Emotional Responding, and Aggression in Adults: Moderating Effects of Gender and Impulsivity

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Pan; Coccaro, Emil F.; Jacobson, Kristen C.

2012-01-01

The current study examined the main effects of hostile attributional bias (HAB) and negative emotional responding on a variety of aggressive behaviors in adults, including general aggression, physical aggression, relational aggression, and verbal aggression. Effects of both externalizing (anger) and internalizing (embarrassment/upset) negative emotions were considered. In addition, the moderating roles of gender and impulsivity on the effects of HAB and negative emotional responding were explored. Multilevel models were fitted to data from 2,749 adult twins aged 20–55 from the PennTwins cohort. HAB was positively associated with all four forms of aggression. There was also a significant interaction between impulsivity and HAB for general aggression. Specifically, the relationship between HAB and general aggression was only significant for individuals with average or above-average levels of impulsivity. Negative emotional responding was also found to predict all measures of aggression, although in different ways. Anger was positively associated with all forms of aggression, whereas embarrassment/upset predicted decreased levels of general, physical, and verbal aggression but increased levels of relational aggression. The associations between negative emotional responding and aggression were generally stronger for males than females. The current study provides evidence for the utility of HAB and negative emotional responding as predictors of adult aggression and further suggests that gender and impulsivity may moderate their links with aggression. PMID:24833604

Survey indicated that core outcome set development is increasingly including patients, being conducted internationally and using Delphi surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Biggane, Alice M; Brading, Lucy; Ravaud, Philippe; Young, Bridget; Williamson, Paula R

2018-02-17

There are numerous challenges in including patients in a core outcome set (COS) study, these can vary depending on the patient group. This study describes current efforts to include patients in the development of COS, with the aim of identifying areas for further improvement and study. Using the COMET database, corresponding authors of COS projects registered or published from 1 January 2013 to 2 February 2017 were invited via a personalised email to participate in a short online survey. The survey and emails were constructed to maximise the response rate by following the academic literature on enhancing survey responses. Personalised reminder emails were sent to non-responders. This survey explored the frequency of patient input in COS studies, who was involved, what methods were used and whether or not the COS development was international. One hundred and ninety-two COS developers were sent the survey. Responses were collected from 21 February 2017 until 7 May 2017. One hundred and forty-six unique developers responded, yielding a 76% response rate and data in relation to 195 unique COSs (as some developers had worked on multiple COSs). Of focus here are their responses regarding 162 COSs at the published, completed or ongoing stages of development. Inclusion of patient participants was indicated in 87% (141/162) of COSs in the published completed or ongoing stages and over 94% (65/69) of ongoing COS projects. Nearly half (65/135) of COSs included patient participants from two or more countries and 22% (30/135) included patient participants from five or more countries. The Delphi survey was reported as being used singularly or in combination with other methods in 85% (119/140) of projects. Almost a quarter (16/65) of ongoing studies reported using a combination of qualitative interviews, Delphi survey and consensus meeting. These findings indicated that the Delphi survey is the most popular method of facilitating patient participation, while the combination of

Humility when responding to the abuse of adults with mental disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Skowron, Paul

Legal theorists often reduce the ethics of responding to the abuse of another person to a clash between the principles of autonomy and protection. This reduction is a problem. Responding to suspected abuse requires humility - the potential responder must be aware of and respect their own limits - but humility cannot be usefully reduced to protection and autonomy. Using examples from the Court of Protection of England and Wales, this article examines the different ways that someone responding to abuse should respect their own limits, and suggests that a failure to do so will disproportionately affect people with mental disabilities. It is therefore necessary to attend to whether the law fosters humility among those who respond to abuse, although this must be tempered by humility about legal reform itself. Finally, the article shows how attention to humility can assist the interpretation of Article 16 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and suggests that, so interpreted, the Convention may help to promote humility when responding to abuse. Crown Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to respond to referee comments for scientific articles?

Science.gov (United States)

Kalemci, Mustafa Serdar; Turna, Burak

2013-09-01

Currently, the increasing number of article submissions to scientific journals forces editors to be more selective in their acceptance of papers. Consequently, editors have increased the frequency of their use of scientific referee mechanisms. For many researchers, the publication of a scientific article in a high impact factor journal is a gradual and difficult process. After preparation and submission of a manuscript, one of the most important issue is responding to the comments of referees. However, there is a paucity of published reports in the literature describing how to respond to these comments. The aim of this review is to assist researchers/authors in responding to referee comments as part of the publication process for scientific articles.

Extinction of Chained Instrumental Behaviors: Effects of Procurement Extinction on Consumption Responding

Science.gov (United States)

Thrailkill, Eric A.; Bouton, Mark E.

2015-01-01

Instrumental behavior often consists of sequences or chains of responses that minimally include procurement behaviors that enable subsequent consumption behaviors. In such chains, behavioral units are linked by access to one another and eventually to a primary reinforcer, such as food or a drug. The present experiments examined the effects of extinguishing procurement responding on consumption responding after training of a discriminated heterogeneous instrumental chain. Rats learned to make a procurement response (e.g., pressing a lever) in the presence of a distinctive discriminative stimulus; making that response led to the presentation of a second discriminative stimulus that set the occasion for a consumption response (e.g., pulling a chain), which then produced a food-pellet reinforcer. Experiment 1 showed that extinction of either the full procurement-consumption chain or procurement alone weakened the consumption response tested in isolation. Experiment 2 replicated the procurement extinction effect and further demonstrated that the opportunity to make the procurement response, as opposed to simple exposure to the procurement stimulus alone, was required. In Experiment 3, rats learned 2 distinct discriminated heterogeneous chains; extinction of 1 procurement response specifically weakened the consumption response that had been associated with it. The results suggest that learning to inhibit the procurement response may produce extinction of consumption responding through mediated extinction. The experiments suggest the importance of an associative analysis of instrumental behavior chains. PMID:25915751

Reliability of proxy respondents for patients with stroke: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Oczkowski, Colin; O'Donnell, Martin

2010-01-01

Proxy respondents are an important aspect of stroke medicine and research. We performed a systematic review of studies evaluating the reliability of proxy respondents for stroke patients. Studies were identified by searches of MEDLINE, Google, and the Cochrane Library between January 1969 and June 2008. All were prospective or cross-sectional studies reporting the reliability of proxy respondents for patients with a history of previous stroke or transient ischemic attack. One author abstracted data. For each study, intraclass correlation (ICC) or the k-statistic was categorized as poor (0.80). Thirteen studies, with a total of 2618 participants, met our inclusion criteria. Most studies recruited patients >3 months after their stroke. Of these studies, 5 (360 participants; 5 scales) evaluated reliability of proxy respondents for activities of daily living (ADL), and 9 (2334 participants; 9 scales) evaluated reliability of proxy respondents for quality of life (QoL). One study evaluated both. In studies, the ICC/k for scales ranged from 0.61 to 0.91 for ADL and from 0.41 to 0.8 for QoL. Most studies reported that proxy respondents overestimated impairments compared with patient self-reports. Stroke severity and objective nature of questions were the most consistent determinants of disagreement between stroke patient and proxy respondent. Our data indicate that beyond the acute stroke period, the reliability of proxy respondents for validated scales of ADL was substantial to excellent, while that of scales for QoL was moderate to substantial. Copyright (c) 2010 National Stroke Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nonscalpel Vasectomy as Family Planning Method: A Battle Yet to Be Conquered

OpenAIRE

Garg, Pankaj Kumar; Jain, Bhupendra Kumar; Choudhary, Deepti; Chaurasia, Ashish; Pandey, Satya Deo

2013-01-01

Though nonscalpel vasectomy (NSV) technique was introduced in India in 1992 to increase male participation in family planning, it has failed to get adequate momentum and to achieve its goal. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey to get insight into apathy of men towards NSV. The study included 428 respondents. Most of the respondents (97.4%) were aware of NSV as a method for permanent male sterilization. The majority of them (97.2%) knew that NSV is done without any charge...

Do hospitals respond to rivals' quality and efficiency? A spatial panel econometric analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Longo, Francesco; Siciliani, Luigi; Gravelle, Hugh; Santos, Rita

2017-09-01

We investigate whether hospitals in the English National Health Service change their quality or efficiency in response to changes in quality or efficiency of neighbouring hospitals. We first provide a theoretical model that predicts that a hospital will not respond to changes in the efficiency of its rivals but may change its quality or efficiency in response to changes in the quality of rivals, though the direction of the response is ambiguous. We use data on eight quality measures (including mortality, emergency readmissions, patient reported outcome, and patient satisfaction) and six efficiency measures (including bed occupancy, cancelled operations, and costs) for public hospitals between 2010/11 and 2013/14 to estimate both spatial cross-sectional and spatial fixed- and random-effects panel data models. We find that although quality and efficiency measures are unconditionally spatially correlated, the spatial regression models suggest that a hospital's quality or efficiency does not respond to its rivals' quality or efficiency, except for a hospital's overall mortality that is positively associated with that of its rivals. The results are robust to allowing for spatially correlated covariates and errors and to instrumenting rivals' quality and efficiency. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Medial Orbitofrontal Cortex Mediates Effort-related Responding in Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Münster, Alexandra; Hauber, Wolfgang

2017-11-17

The medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) is known to support flexible control of goal-directed behavior. However, limited evidence suggests that the mOFC also mediates the ability of organisms to work with vigor towards a selected goal, a hypothesis that received little consideration to date. Here we show that excitotoxic mOFC lesion increased responding under a progressive ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement, that is, the highest ratio achieved, and increased the preference for the high effort-high reward option in an effort-related decision-making task, but left intact outcome-selective Pavlovian-instrumental transfer and outcome-specific devaluation. Moreover, pharmacological inhibition of the mOFC increased, while pharmacological stimulation reduced PR responding. In addition, pharmacological mOFC stimulation attenuated methylphenidate-induced increase of PR responding. Intact rats tested for PR responding displayed higher numbers of c-Fos positive mOFC neurons than appropriate controls; however, mOFC neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens did not show a selective increase in neuronal activation implying that they may not play a major role in regulating PR responding. Collectively, these results suggest that the mOFC plays a major role in mediating effort-related motivational functions. Moreover, our data demonstrate for the first time that the mOFC modulates effort-related effects of psychostimulant drugs. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Conscientious Responders Scale Helps Researchers Verify the Integrity of Personality Questionnaire Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Marjanovic, Zdravko; Bajkov, Lisa; MacDonald, Jennifer

2018-01-01

The Conscientious Responders Scale is a five-item embeddable validity scale that differentiates between conscientious and indiscriminate responding in personality-questionnaire data (CR & IR). This investigation presents further evidence of its validity and generalizability across two experiments. Study 1 tests its sensitivity to questionnaire length, a known cause of IR, and tries to provoke IR by manipulating psychological reactance. As expected, short questionnaires produced higher Conscientious Responders Scale scores than long questionnaires, and Conscientious Responders Scale scores were unaffected by reactance manipulations. Study 2 tests concerns that the Conscientious Responders Scale's unusual item content could potentially irritate and baffle responders, ironically increasing rates of IR. We administered two nearly identical questionnaires: one with an embedded Conscientious Responders Scale and one without the Conscientious Responders Scale. Psychometric comparisons revealed no differences across questionnaires' means, variances, interitem response consistencies, and Cronbach's alphas. In sum, the Conscientious Responders Scale is highly sensitive to questionnaire length-a known correlate of IR-and can be embedded harmlessly in questionnaires without provoking IR or changing the psychometrics of other measures.

Path planning for first responders in the presence of moving obstacles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiyong Wang

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Navigation services have gained much importance for all kinds of human activities ranging from tourist navigation to support of rescue teams in disaster management. However, despite the considerable amount of route guidance research that has been performed, many issues that are related to navigation for first responders still need to be addressed. During disasters, emergencies can result in different types of moving obstacles (e.g., fires, plumes, floods, which make some parts of the road network temporarily unavailable. After such incidents occur, responders have to go to different destinations to perform their tasks in the environment affected by the disaster. Therefore they need a path planner that is capable of dealing with such moving obstacles, as well as generating and coordinating their routes quickly and efficiently. During the past decades, more and more hazard simulations, which can modify the models with incorporation of dynamic data from the field, have been developed. These hazard simulations use methods such as data assimilation, stochastic estimation, and adaptive measurement techniques, and are able to generate more reliable results of hazards. This would allow the hazard simulation models to provide valuable information regarding the state of road networks affected by hazards, which supports path planning for first responders among the moving obstacles. The objective of this research is to develop an integrated navigation system for first responders in the presence of moving obstacles. Such system should be able to navigate one or more responders to one or multiple destinations avoiding the moving obstacles, using the predicted information of the moving obstacles generated from by hazard simulations. In this dissertation, the objective we have is expressed as the following research question: How do we safely and efficiently navigate one or more first responders to one or more destinations avoiding moving obstacles? To address

Effect of risperidone versus haloperidol on emotional responding in schizophrenic patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Fakra, E; Khalfa, S; Da Fonseca, D; Besnier, N; Delaveau, P; Azorin, J M; Blin, O

2008-10-01

Studies on emotional processing report that schizophrenic patients present a specific pattern of emotional responding that usually includes deficits in emotional expressiveness, increased feelings of unpleasant emotion but decreased feelings of pleasant emotion, and increased physiological reactivity. However, studies have rarely controlled the nature of antipsychotic medication. Yet, the influence of these drugs on emotional response is uncertain and could vary depending on their pharmacological profile. This prospective and randomized study aimed to compare the effects of an atypical antipsychotic, risperidone, to a typical one, haloperidol, on patients' emotional responding during an emotional induction task. Twenty-five schizophrenic patients underwent two emotional and clinical evaluations: one before treatment initiation and a second 4 weeks after. Emotional states of fear, sadness, anger, joy, and disgust were induced, as well as a neutral baseline state. Video recordings of patients during the induction task allowed for assessment of emotional expressiveness. Self-reports and measures of skin conductance and heart rate were performed to determine both subjective and physiological reactions to emotional experience. Compared to haloperidol, risperidone did not reduce patients' facial expressiveness, decreased physiological reactivity, and decreased experience of unpleasant emotion but maintained experience of pleasant emotion. Emotional expressiveness was negatively correlated to parkisonism. Our preliminary results suggest that atypical antipsychotics allow for better-adapted patterns of emotional responding than typical ones do. We suggest that this effect is due to reduced striatal D2 blockade, therefore, attenuating akinesia, coupled with increased 5HT and DA levels in prefrontal cortex, which improves emotional regulation.

What is wrong with non-respondents?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Anne Illemann; Ekholm, Ola; Gray, Linsay

2015-01-01

AIM: Response rates in health surveys have diminished over the last two decades, making it difficult to obtain reliable information on health and health-related risk factors in different population groups. This study compared cause-specific mortality and morbidity among survey respondents and dif...

System and Method for RFID-Enabled Information Collection

Science.gov (United States)

Fink, Patrick W. (Inventor); Lin, Gregory Y. (Inventor); Kennedy, Timothy F. (Inventor); Ngo, Phong H. (Inventor); Byerly, Diane (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Methods, apparatuses and systems for radio frequency identification (RFID)-enabled information collection are disclosed, including an enclosure, a collector coupled to the enclosure, an interrogator, a processor, and one or more RFID field sensors, each having an individual identification, disposed within the enclosure. In operation, the interrogator transmits an incident signal to the collector, causing the collector to generate an electromagnetic field within the enclosure. The electromagnetic field is affected by one or more influences. RFID sensors respond to the electromagnetic field by transmitting reflected signals containing the individual identifications of the responding RFID sensors to the interrogator. The interrogator receives the reflected signals, measures one or more returned signal strength indications ("RSSI") of the reflected signals and sends the RSSI measurements and identification of the responding RFID sensors to the processor to determine one or more facts about the influences. Other embodiments are also described.

77 FR 18860 - Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and Tablets; Notice of Receipt of Complaint...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-28

... INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION [DN 2885] Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile Phones and.... International Trade Commission has received a complaint entitled Certain Consumer Electronics, Including Mobile... electronics, including mobile phones and tablets. The complaint names as respondents ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. of...

Nutritional Informatics: Mining Supermarket Sales Data as a Nutritional Assessment Method

Science.gov (United States)

Brinkerhoff, Kristina Michelle

2012-01-01

Many nutritional assessment techniques, including food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) and 24-hour dietary recalls have innate limitations such as expensive protocols, high respondent burden, and self-reporting biases. Supermarket sales data have shown promise as a new, indirect, inexpensive nutritional assessment method in recent studies. The…

The Future of Responder Family Preparedness: The New Normal

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-01

smart practices. Though responder family preparedness measures may be occurring on a very limited basis, it was found that nothing was prevalent in the...family preparedness for their employees. If any such programs exist, they are not well known or prevalent in the literature. First responders are... Beaver and Harriet Nelson of Father Knows Best. This predominant family structure was the societal norm and framed Killian’s problem and analysis

Social learning and peer education in responding to opiate overdose among injection drug users in Ukraine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Tokar

2014-06-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Opiate overdoses (OD constitute one of the leading causes of avoidable deaths among people aged 20-40 years old. As peer-administered help in cases of overdose was found to be effective, we aimed to explore how much the subjects of the intervention are able to learn from one another and from their own experience. METHODS: Secondary data analysis was performed with the 2008 dataset of peer-driven intervention among IDUs who were not involved in harm reduction programs earlier; recruiting was performed with respondent driven sampling methodology combined with peer education covering overdose response. Subsample of 6667 opiate users was considered. Data on overdose response strategies experienced by respondents were considered predictors and data on intended response strategies as outcomes. To reveal relationships between the experienced and intended responses, binary logistic regression analysis was performed. RESULTS: With recommended strategies including calling ambulance, putting a person in recovery position, fixing the tongue, applying mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and cardiac massage, percentages of those planning to apply them was considerably higher (on average, 2.3 times higher than the percentage of those having experienced them. With other strategies including applying cold, pain, ammonia, percentages of those who experienced the strategy and those who planned to practice it were rather close and on average differed just by 1.1. With all the strategies, the intention to apply a particular response in future was strongly associated with personal experience of having had this applied when having an overdose episode. Peer-education to larger extent determines the intentions of those who have not experienced particular overdose responses themselves. On the other hand, social learning contributes to persisting of those experienced strategies which cannot be recommended. CONCLUSIONS: Social learning can impact intended overdose

Method of fabricating electrodes including high-capacity, binder-free anodes for lithium-ion batteries

Science.gov (United States)

Ban, Chunmei; Wu, Zhuangchun; Dillon, Anne C.

2017-01-10

An electrode (110) is provided that may be used in an electrochemical device (100) such as an energy storage/discharge device, e.g., a lithium-ion battery, or an electrochromic device, e.g., a smart window. Hydrothermal techniques and vacuum filtration methods were applied to fabricate the electrode (110). The electrode (110) includes an active portion (140) that is made up of electrochemically active nanoparticles, with one embodiment utilizing 3d-transition metal oxides to provide the electrochemical capacity of the electrode (110). The active material (140) may include other electrochemical materials, such as silicon, tin, lithium manganese oxide, and lithium iron phosphate. The electrode (110) also includes a matrix or net (170) of electrically conductive nanomaterial that acts to connect and/or bind the active nanoparticles (140) such that no binder material is required in the electrode (110), which allows more active materials (140) to be included to improve energy density and other desirable characteristics of the electrode. The matrix material (170) may take the form of carbon nanotubes, such as single-wall, double-wall, and/or multi-wall nanotubes, and be provided as about 2 to 30 percent weight of the electrode (110) with the rest being the active material (140).

How Do I Know? A Guide to the Selection of Personal Protective Equipment for Use in Responding to A Release of Chemical Warfare Agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foust, C.B.

1999-05-01

An incident involving chemical warfare agents requires a unique hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response. As with an HAZMAT event, federal regulations prescribe that responders must be protected from exposure to the chemical agents. But unlike other HAZMAT events, special considerations govern selection of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE includes all clothing, respirators and monitoring devices used to respond to a chemical release. PPE can differ depending on whether responders are military or civilian personnel.

How nursing managers respond to intraprofessional aggression: novel strategies to an ongoing challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

St-Pierre, Isabelle

2012-01-01

Nursing managers are identified as playing a central role in workplace aggression management. In effect, employees' decisions to report unacceptable behavior is said to be directly influenced by how a manager will respond to their claims. Using principles from critical nursing ethnography, data were collected from interviews, organizational documents, and observation of physical environment. Twenty-three semistructured interviews were conducted in both a university-affiliated psychiatric hospital and a community hospital located in a large metropolitan city in Ontario. The study aimed at broadening the understanding of how nurse managers respond to intraprofessional and interprofessional workplace aggression. Several strategies were described by managers including coaching individuals so they feel capable of addressing the issue themselves, acting as mediator to allow both sides to openly and respectfully talk about the issue, and disciplining employees whose actions warrant harsh consequences. As part of the study, managers reported that dealing with workplace aggression could be difficult and time consuming and admitted that they sometimes came to doubt their abilities to be able to positively resolve such a widespread problem. Conclusions drawn from the study suggest that aggression management is not solely the responsibility of managers but must involve several actors including the aggressive individual, peers, human resources department, and unions.

Recognizing and responding to uncertainty: a grounded theory of nurses' uncertainty.

Science.gov (United States)

Cranley, Lisa A; Doran, Diane M; Tourangeau, Ann E; Kushniruk, Andre; Nagle, Lynn

2012-08-01

There has been little research to date exploring nurses' uncertainty in their practice. Understanding nurses' uncertainty is important because it has potential implications for how care is delivered. The purpose of this study is to develop a substantive theory to explain how staff nurses experience and respond to uncertainty in their practice. Between 2006 and 2008, a grounded theory study was conducted that included in-depth semi-structured interviews. Fourteen staff nurses working in adult medical-surgical intensive care units at two teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada, participated in the study. The theory recognizing and responding to uncertainty characterizes the processes through which nurses' uncertainty manifested and how it was managed. Recognizing uncertainty involved the processes of assessing, reflecting, questioning, and/or being unable to predict aspects of the patient situation. Nurses' responses to uncertainty highlighted the cognitive-affective strategies used to manage uncertainty. Study findings highlight the importance of acknowledging uncertainty and having collegial support to manage uncertainty. The theory adds to our understanding the processes involved in recognizing uncertainty, strategies and outcomes of managing uncertainty, and influencing factors. Tailored nursing education programs should be developed to assist nurses in developing skills in articulating and managing their uncertainty. Further research is needed to extend, test and refine the theory of recognizing and responding to uncertainty to develop strategies for managing uncertainty. This theory advances the nursing perspective of uncertainty in clinical practice. The theory is relevant to nurses who are faced with uncertainty and complex clinical decisions, to managers who support nurses in their clinical decision-making, and to researchers who investigate ways to improve decision-making and care delivery. ©2012 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Responding to the deaf in disasters: establishing the need for systematic training for state-level emergency management agencies and community organizations

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Deaf and hard-of-hearing (Deaf/HH) individuals have been underserved before and during emergencies. This paper will assess Deaf/HH related emergency preparedness training needs for state emergency management agencies and deaf-serving community-based organizations (CBOs). Methods Four approaches were used: 1) a literature review; 2) results from 50 key informant (KI) interviews from state and territorial-level emergency management and public health agencies; 3) results from 14 KI interviews with deaf-serving CBOs in the San Francisco Bay Area; and 4) a pilot program evaluation of an emergency responder training serving the Deaf/HH in one urban community. Results Results from literature review and state and territorial level KIs indicate that there is a substantive gap in emergency preparedness training on serving Deaf/HH provided by state agencies. In addition, local KI interviews with 14 deaf-serving CBOs found gaps in training within deaf-serving CBOs. These gaps have implications for preparing for and responding to all-hazards emergencies including weather-related or earthquake-related natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and nuclear-chemical disasters. Conclusion Emergency preparedness trainings specific to responding to or promoting preparedness of the Deaf/HH is rare, even for state agency personnel, and frequently lack standardization, evaluation, or institutionalization in emergency management infrastructure. This has significant policy and research implications. Similarly, CBOs are not adequately trained to serve the needs of their constituents. PMID:23497178

Increasing Poverty: How Do Leaders in One Suburban District Respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Jennifer Dawn

2014-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question of how suburban school district leaders in one large Midwestern school district respond to increasing student poverty. The purpose of this study was to determine how suburban school district leaders respond to increasing student poverty in their decision making and actions. Data for this study came from one…

Farm Mapping to Assist, Protect, and Prepare Emergency Responders: Farm MAPPER.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Iris; Rollins, Tami; Mahnke, Andrea; Kadolph, Christopher; Minor, Gerald; Keifer, Matthew

2014-01-01

Responders such as firefighters and emergency medical technicians who respond to farm emergencies often face complex and unknown environments. They may encounter hazards such as fuels, solvents, pesticides, caustics, and exploding gas storage cylinders. Responders may be unaware of dirt roads within the farm that can expedite their arrival at critical sites or snow-covered manure pits that act as hidden hazards. A response to a farm, unless guided by someone familiar with the operation, may present a risk to responders and post a challenge in locating the victim. This project explored the use of a Web-based farm-mapping application optimized for tablets and accessible via easily accessible on-site matrix barcodes, or quick response codes (QR codes), to provide emergency responders with hazard and resource information to agricultural operations. Secured portals were developed for both farmers and responders, allowing both parties to populate and customize farm maps with icons. Data were stored online and linked to QR codes attached to mailbox posts where emergency responders may read them with a mobile device. Mock responses were conducted on dairy farms to test QR code linking efficacy, Web site security, and field usability. Findings from farmer usability tests showed willingness to enter data as well as ease of Web site navigation and data entry even with farmers who had limited computer knowledge. Usability tests with emergency responders showed ease of QR code connectivity to the farm maps and ease of Web site navigation. Further research is needed to improve data security as well as assess the program's applicability to nonfarm environments and integration with existing emergency response systems. The next phases of this project will expand the program for regional and national use, develop QR code-linked, Web-based extrication guidance for farm machinery for victim entrapment rescue, and create QR code-linked online training videos and materials for limited

Saddleworth, Responding to a Landscape

OpenAIRE

Murray, Matthew

2017-01-01

Matthew Murray's Landscape publication Saddleworth, Responding To A Landscape. Forward by Martin Barnes Senior Curator of Photographs at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Artist Richard Billingham and Maartje van den Heuvel Curator Photography and Media Culture -Leiden Institute. \\ud \\ud ‘Every trip I have taken to Saddleworth Moor over four years has encapsulated each season, weather and cloud pattern, rain, sunshine, snow, early morning clear skies and the sense of the bitter cold of ...

Pregabalin in fibromyalgia - responder analysis from individual patient data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paine Jocelyn

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Population mean changes are difficult to use in clinical practice. Responder analysis may be better, but needs validating for level of response and treatment duration. A consensus group has defined what constitutes minimal, moderate, and substantial benefit based on pain intensity and Patient Global Impression of Change scores. Methods We obtained individual patient data from four randomised double blind trials of pregabalin in fibromyalgia lasting eight to 14 weeks. We calculated response for all efficacy outcomes using any improvement (≥ 0%, minimal improvement (≥ 15%, moderate improvement (≥ 30%, substantial improvement (≥ 50%, and extensive improvement (≥ 70%, with numbers needed to treat (NNT for pregabalin 300 mg, 450 mg, and 600 mg daily compared with placebo. Results Information from 2,757 patients was available. Pain intensity and sleep interference showed reductions with increasing level of response, a significant difference between pregabalin and placebo, and a trend towards lower (better NNTs at higher doses. Maximum response rates occurred at 4-6 weeks for higher levels of response, and were constant thereafter. NNTs (with 95% confidence intervals for ≥ 50% improvement in pain intensity compared with placebo after 12 weeks were 22 (11 to 870 for pregabalin 300 mg, 16 (9.3 to 59 for pregabalin 450 mg, and 13 (8.1 to 31 for pregabalin 600 mg daily. NNTs for ≥ 50% improvement in sleep interference compared with placebo after 12 weeks were 13 (8.2 to 30 for pregabalin 300 mg, 8.4 (6.0 to 14 for pregabalin 450 mg, and 8.4 (6.1 to 14 for pregabalin 600 mg. Other outcomes had fewer respondents at higher response levels, but generally did not discriminate between pregabalin and placebo, or show any dose response. Shorter duration and use of 'any improvement' over-estimated treatment effect compared with longer duration and higher levels of response. Conclusions Responder analysis is useful in fibromyalgia

Effects of caffeine, theophylline and theobromine on scheduled controlled responding in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Carney, J. M.

1982-01-01

1 Rats were trained to respond under a variable interval 30 s (VI 30) schedule of food reinforcement. Caffeine (0.32-32 mg/kg), theophylline (1.0-56 mg/kg) and theobromine (10-320 mg/kg) in general produced dose-related decreases in operant responding. At relatively low doses, caffeine (1.0 mg/kg) and theophylline (3.2 mg/kg) produced slight but nonsignificant increases in VI 30 responding. 3 The rank order of potency for producing decreases in responding was caffeine greater than theophylline greater than theobromine. 4 Daily caffeine injections (32 mg/kg, i.p.) resulted in the development of caffeine tolerance. This tolerance was characterized by a 6 fold shift to the right in the caffeine dose-effect curve. Saline substitution for the 32.0 mg/kg caffeine maintenance dose resulted in a substantial decrease in responding. PMID:7066599

The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding Short Form (BIDR-16

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claire M. Hart

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Self-report studies often call for assessment of socially desirable responding. Many researchers use the Marlowe–Crowne Scale for its brief versions; however, this scale is outdated, and contemporary models of social desirability emphasize its multi-dimensional nature. The 40-item Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR incorporates Self-Deceptive Enhancement (honest but overly positive responding and Impression Management (bias toward pleasing others. However, its length limits its practicality. This article introduces the BIDR-16. In four studies, we shorten the BIDR from 40 items to 16 items, while retaining its two-factor structure, reliability, and validity. This short form will be invaluable to researchers wanting to assess social desirability when time is limited.

Bridging the radiation science divide between scientists and first responders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Musolinol, V.; Stephen, A.; Frederick, B.; Harper, T.; Schlueck, C. Richard

2018-01-01

To be prepared for a response to a complex radiological or nuclear emergency, the first responder community must incorporate radiation protection principles, and be able to conduct tactical operational measurements, assess data, and determine associated health risks. While these actions must occur promptly in the first hours of an unfolding crisis, the on-scene responders must do so with no scientific support from radiation protection experts, such as from the central government. To further the challenges to effectively perform these actions, local hazardous material (HAZMAT) response teams, which are usually the source of technical expertise at the scene of a hazardous materials release, rarely encounter radiological materials or respond to large-scale radiological or nuclear emergencies

Does contingency in adults' responding influence 12-month-old infants' social referencing?

Science.gov (United States)

Stenberg, Gunilla

2017-11-01

In two experiments we examined the influence of contingent versus non-contingent responding on infant social referencing behavior. EXPERIMENT 1: Forty 12-month-old infants were exposed to an ambiguous toy in a social referencing situation. In one condition an unfamiliar adult who in a previous play situation had responded contingently to the infant's looks gave the infant positive information about the toy. In the other condition an unfamiliar adult who previously had not responded contingently delivered the positive information. EXPERIMENT 2: Forty-eight 12-month-old infants participated in Experiment 2. In this experiment it was examined whether the familiarity of the adult influences infants' reactions to contingency in responding. In one condition a parent who previously had responded contingently to the infant's looks provided positive information about the ambiguous toy, and in the other condition a parent who previously had not responded contingently provided the positive information. The infants looked more at the contingent experimenter in Experimenter 1, and also played more with the toy after receiving positive information from the contingent experimenter. No differences in looking at the parent and in playing with the toy were found in Experiment 2. The results indicate that contingency in responding, as well as the familiarity of the adult, influence infants' social referencing behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

NARAC Dispersion Model Product Integration With RadResponder

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aluzzi, Fernando [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2015-09-30

Work on enhanced cooperation and interoperability of Nuclear Incident Response Teams (NIRT) is a joint effort between DHS/FEMA, DOE/NNSA and EPA. One such effort was the integration between the RadResponder Network, a resource sponsored by FEMA for the management of radiological data during an emergency, and the National Atmospheric Advisory Center (NARAC), a DOE/NNSA modeling resource whose predictions are used to aid radiological emergency preparedness and response. Working together under a FEMA-sponsored project these two radiological response assets developed a capability to read and display plume model prediction results from the NARAC computer system in the RadResponder software tool. As a result of this effort, RadResponder users have been provided with NARAC modeling predictions of contamination areas, radiological dose levels, and protective action areas (e.g., areas warranting worker protection or sheltering/evacuation) to help guide protective action decisions and field monitoring surveys, and gain key situation awareness following a radiological/nuclear accident or incident (e.g., nuclear power plant accident, radiological dispersal device incident, or improvised nuclear detonation incident). This document describes the details of this integration effort.

Suspected Child Maltreatment: Recognize and Respond

Science.gov (United States)

Kemple, Kristen Mary; Kim, Hae Kyoung

2011-01-01

Early childhood educators spend extensive amounts of time with young children, so they are often the first adults to notice signs that a child may be abused or neglected. All educators are required by law to report suspected maltreatment, and can play an important role in preventing and responding to abuse and neglect of young children. What is…

A robust two-node, 13 moment quadrature method of moments for dilute particle flows including wall bouncing

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Sun, Dan; Garmory, Andrew; Page, Gary J.

2017-02-01

For flows where the particle number density is low and the Stokes number is relatively high, as found when sand or ice is ingested into aircraft gas turbine engines, streams of particles can cross each other's path or bounce from a solid surface without being influenced by inter-particle collisions. The aim of this work is to develop an Eulerian method to simulate these types of flow. To this end, a two-node quadrature-based moment method using 13 moments is proposed. In the proposed algorithm thirteen moments of particle velocity, including cross-moments of second order, are used to determine the weights and abscissas of the two nodes and to set up the association between the velocity components in each node. Previous Quadrature Method of Moments (QMOM) algorithms either use more than two nodes, leading to increased computational expense, or are shown here to give incorrect results under some circumstances. This method gives the computational efficiency advantages of only needing two particle phase velocity fields whilst ensuring that a correct combination of weights and abscissas is returned for any arbitrary combination of particle trajectories without the need for any further assumptions. Particle crossing and wall bouncing with arbitrary combinations of angles are demonstrated using the method in a two-dimensional scheme. The ability of the scheme to include the presence of drag from a carrier phase is also demonstrated, as is bouncing off surfaces with inelastic collisions. The method is also applied to the Taylor-Green vortex flow test case and is found to give results superior to the existing two-node QMOM method and is in good agreement with results from Lagrangian modelling of this case.

First responder resuscitation teams in a rural Norwegian community: sustainability and self-reports of meaningfulness, stress and mastering

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Meland Eivind

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Training of lay first responder personnel situated closer to the potential victims than medical professionals is a strategy potentially capable of shortening the interval between collapse and start of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR in cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. In this study we trained lay first responders personnel in basic life support (BLS and defibrillation for cases of cardiac arrest and suspected acute myocardial infarction (AMI. Methods Forty-two lay first responders living in remote areas or working in industries in the island community of Austevoll, Western Norway, were trained in CPR and defibrillation. We placed particular emphasis on the first responders being able to defibrillate a primary ventricular fibrillation (PVF in patients with AMI. The trainees were organised in four teams to attend victims of AMI and cardiac arrest while awaiting the arrival of the community emergency medical services. The purpose of the study was to find out whether the teams were able to function during the five-year study project, and to examine whether lives could be saved. The first responders completed questionnaires each year on their experiences of participation. Data on the medical actions of the teams were also collected. Results By the end of the project all groups were functioning. The questionnaires evidenced a reasonable degree of motivation and self-evaluated competence in both types of group organisation, but in spite of this attrition effects in the first responders were considerable. The first responders were called out on 24 occasions, for a total of 17 patients. During the study period no case of PVF occurred after the arrival of the first responders, and the number of AMIs was very low, strongly deviating from what was anticipated. No lives were saved by the project. Conclusions The teams were sustained for almost five years without any significant deterioration of self-reported stress or mastering

Flexible barrier film, method of forming same, and organic electronic device including same

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Blizzard, John; Tonge, James Steven; Weidner, William Kenneth

2013-03-26

A flexible barrier film has a thickness of from greater than zero to less than 5,000 nanometers and a water vapor transmission rate of no more than 1.times.10.sup.-2 g/m.sup.2/day at 22.degree. C. and 47% relative humidity. The flexible barrier film is formed from a composition, which comprises a multi-functional acrylate. The composition further comprises the reaction product of an alkoxy-functional organometallic compound and an alkoxy-functional organosilicon compound. A method of forming the flexible barrier film includes the steps of disposing the composition on a substrate and curing the composition to form the flexible barrier film. The flexible barrier film may be utilized in organic electronic devices.

Bone morphogenetic protein-15 in follicle fluid combined with age may differentiate between successful and unsuccessful poor ovarian responders

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Wu Yan-Ting

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The counselling of poor ovarian responders about the probability of pregnancy remains a puzzle for gynaecologists. The aim of this study was to optimise the management of poor responders by investigating the role of the oocyte-derived factor bone morphogenetic protein-15 (BMP-15 combined with chronological age in the prediction of the outcome of in-vitro fertilisation-embryo transfer (IVF-ET in poor responders. Methods A retrospective study conducted in a university hospital. A total of 207 poor ovarian responders who reached the ovum pick-up stage undergoing IVF/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI with three or fewer follicles no less than 14 mm on the day of oocyte retrieval were recruited from July 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009. Another 215 coinstantaneous cycles with normal responses were selected as controls. The BMP-15 levels in the follicular fluid (FF of the 207 poor responders were analysed by western blot. Based on the FF BMP-15 level and age, poor responders were sub-divided into four groups. The main outcome measures were the FF BMP-15 level, implantation rate, pregnancy rate, and live birth rate. Results The implantation rate (24.2% vs. 15.3%, chemical pregnancy rate (40% vs. 23.7%, clinical pregnancy rate (36.5% vs. 20.4% and live birth rate (29.4% vs. 15.1% in the high BMP-15 group were significantly higher than those in the low BMP-15 group. Furthermore, poor responders aged less than or equal to 35 years with a higher FF BMP-15 level had the best implantation, pregnancy and live birth rates, which were comparable with those of normal responders. Conclusions Our study suggests a potential role of BMP-15 in the prediction of the IVF outcome. A high FF BMP-15 combined with an age less than or equal to 35 years may be used as a potential indicator for repeating IVF cycles in poor ovarian responders.

Participant Outcomes from Methods of Recruitment for Videogame Research.

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Ryan, Courtney; Dadabhoy, Hafza; Baranowski, Tom

2018-02-01

The most productive methods of recruitment for a videogame for health (G4H) trial are not known. Success or failure of recruitment methods has been reported for a variety of clinical trials, but few specifically for G4H trials. This study's goal was to recruit 444 overweight or obese (body mass index percentile between the 84.5th-99.4th percentiles) children between the ages of 10-12 years. The article reports the results of different methods of participant recruitment. Participants had to agree to three fasting blood samples (baseline, immediately after, and 2 months later); be willing to wear an accelerometer for 7 days at each assessment; read and speak English fluently (because the games were in English); have no history of any condition that would affect what he/she could eat or how much physical activity he/she could get; and have an eligible home computer purchased in the last 5 years with high-speed internet. Hardware criteria reflected the types of computers upon which Diab-Nano could be effectively played. Recruitment was conducted over a 35-month period and included electronic media, print advertising, community recruitment, and an internal volunteer list. Respondents were guided to a web-based screening questionnaire that asked for source of hearing about the study. Although diverse recruitment methods were used, slow recruitment resulted in obtaining only 45% of the recruitment goal (n = 199). Electronic media (e.g., radio, television, and internet), which reached millions of targeted parents, resulted in only 76 respondents, of whom 13 became participants; print media (e.g., magazine, newsletter/newspaper, and mail), which also reached large numbers of parents, resulted in 192 respondents, of whom 19 became participants; community recruitment (e.g., school, friend or family, doctors office, flyer, work, community program) resulted in 162 respondents, of whom 38 became participants; and the internal volunteer list resulted in 413 respondents, of

THE STUDY OF SOCIAL REPRESENTATIONS BY THE VIGNETTE METHOD: A QUANTITATIVE INTERPRETATION

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Ж В Пузанова

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The article focuses on the prospects of creating vignettes as a new method in empirical sociology. It is a good alternative to the conventional mass survey methods. The article consists of a few sections differing by the focus. The vignette method is not popular among Russian scientists, but has a big history abroad. A wide range of problems can be solved by this method (e.g. the prospects for guardianship and its evaluation, international students’ adaptation to the educational system, social justice studies, market-ing and business research, etc.. The vignette method can be used for studying different problems including sensitive questions (e.g. HIV, drugs, psychological trauma, etc., because it is one of the projective techniques. Projective techniques allow to obtain more reliable information, because the respondent projects one situation on the another, but at the same time responds to his own stimulus. The article considers advantages and disadvantages of the method. The authors provide information about the limitations of the method. The article presents the key principles for designing and developing the vignettes method depending on the research type. The authors provide examples of their own vignettes tested in the course of their own empirical research. The authors highlight the advantages of the logical-combinatorial approaches (especially the JSM method with its dichotomy for the analysis of data in quantitative research. Also they consider another method of the analysis of the data that implies the technique of “steeping”, i.e. when the respondent gets new information step by step, which extends his previous knowledge.

FirstAED emergency dispatch, global positioning of community first responders with distinct roles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henriksen, Finn Lund; Schorling, Per; Hansen, Bruno

2016-01-01

their roles in a team structure to reduce response times, ensure citizens' safety and offer equal possibility of early defibrillation. First aid is provided by community first responders who use their smartphone. FirstAED global positioning system (GPS)-tracks the nine nearby first responders and enables......FirstAED is a supplement to the existing emergency response systems. The aim is to shorten the community first responder response times at emergency calls to below five minutes in a bridge connected island area. FirstAED defines a way to dispatch the nearby three first responders and organise...... the emergency dispatcher to send an organised team of three first responders with distinct roles to the scene automatically. During the first 24 months the FirstAED system was used 718 times. Three first responders arrived in ∼89% of the cases, and they arrived before the ambulance in ∼94% of the cases. First...

Understanding and responding the students in learning mathematics through the differentiated instruction

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Hapsari, T.; Darhim; Dahlan, J. A.

2018-05-01

This research discusses the differentiated instruction, a mathematic learning which is as expected by the students in connection with the differentiated instruction itself, its implementation, and the students’ responses. This research employs a survey method which involves 62 students as the research respondents. The mathematics learning types required by the students and their responses to the differentiated instruction are examined through questionnaire and interview. The mathematics learning types in orderly required by the students, from the highest frequency cover the easily understood instructions, slowly/not rushing teaching, fun, not complicated, interspersed with humour, various question practices, not too serious, and conducive class atmosphere for the instructions. Implementing the differentiated instruction is not easy. The teacher should be able to constantly assess the students, s/he should have good knowledge of relevant materials and instructions, and properly prepare the instructions, although it is time-consuming. The differentiated instruction is implemented on the instructions of numerical pattern materials. The strategies implemented are flexible grouping, tiered assignment, and compacting. The students positively respond the differentiated learning instruction that they become more motivated and involved in the instruction.

Species-specific response-topography of chickens' and pigeons' water-induced autoshaped responding.

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Ploog, Bertram O

2014-07-01

Four pigeons and eight chickens received autoshaping training where a keylight (conditioned stimulus) signaled response-independent deliveries of water (unconditioned stimulus). Pigeons drink while keeping their beaks submerged in water and moving their beaks to create suction ("mumbling"), whereas chickens drink by trapping a small amount of water in their mouths and then lifting their heads so the water trickles down. This experiment tested whether these and other species-specific differences in drinking and related behaviors of pigeons and chickens would be reflected in the form of conditioned (autoshaped) responding. Touchscreens and videotapes were used for data recording. Results showed that chickens moved their heads more than pigeons when drinking (unconditioned response). The birds also differed in conditioned responding in the presence of the keylight: Pigeons produced more keyswitch closures and mumbled at the keylight more than chickens whereas chickens scratched more than pigeons. In conclusion, with this unique comparative method that employed identical contingencies and comparable deprivation levels, species-specific differences in unconditioned responses and, more importantly, differences in their corresponding conditioned responses were observed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparing continuous and dichotomous scoring of the balanced inventory of desirable responding.

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Stöber, Joachim; Dette, Dorothea E; Musch, Jochen

2002-04-01

The Balanced Inventory of Desirable Responding (BIDR; Paulhus, 1994) is a widely used instrument to measure the 2 components of social desirability: self-deceptive enhancement and impression management. With respect to scoring of the BIDR, Paulhus (1994) authorized 2 methods, namely continuous scoring (all answers on the continuous answer scale are counted) and dichotomous scoring (only extreme answers are counted). In this article, we report 3 studies with student samples, and continuous and dichotomous scoring of BIDR subscales are compared with respect to reliability, convergent validity, sensitivity to instructional variations, and correlations with personality. Across studies, the scores from continuous scoring (continuous scores) showed higher Cronbach's alphas than those from dichotomous scoring (dichotomous scores). Moreover, continuous scores showed higher convergent correlations with other measures of social desirability and more consistent effects with self-presentation instructions (fake-good vs. fake-bad instructions). Finally, continuous self-deceptive enhancement scores showed higher correlations with those traits of the Five-factor model for which substantial correlations were expected (i.e., Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness). Consequently, these findings indicate that continuous scoring may be preferable to dichotomous scoring when assessing socially desirable responding with the BIDR.

Comparing the validity of informant and self-reports of personality using laboratory indices of emotional responding as criterion variables.

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Lieberman, Lynne; Liu, Huiting; Huggins, Ashley A; Katz, Andrea C; Zvolensky, Michael J; Shankman, Stewart A

2016-09-01

Personality traits relate to risk for psychopathology and can inform predictions about treatment outcome. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive index of personality, informant reports of personality are sometimes obtained in addition to self-reports of personality. However, there is limited research comparing the validity of self- and informant reports of personality, particularly among those with internalizing psychopathology. This is important given that informants may provide an additional (and perhaps different) perspective on individuals' personality. The present study therefore compared how both reports of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) relate to psychophysiological and subjective measures of emotional responding to positive and negative stimuli. Given that our sample (n = 117) included individuals with no history of psychopathology, as well as individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD), we were also able to explore whether these internalizing diagnoses moderated the association between personality reports and measures of emotional responding. Informant-reported PA predicted physiological responses to positive stimuli (but not negative). Informant-reported NA predicted physiological responses to negative stimuli (but not positive). Self-reported personality did not predict physiological responding, but did predict subjectively measured emotional responding (NA for negative responding, PA for positive responding). Diagnoses of internalizing psychopathology (PD or MDD) did not moderate these associations. Results suggest self- and informant reports of personality may each provide valid indices of an individual's emotional response tendencies, but predict different aspects of those tendencies. © 2016 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Comparing the Validity of Informant- and Self-reports of Personality Using Laboratory Indices of Emotional Responding as Criterion Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Lieberman, Lynne; Liu, Huiting; Huggins, Ashley A.; Katz, Andrea C.; Zvolensky, Michael J.; Shankman, Stewart A.

2016-01-01

Personality traits relate to risk for psychopathology and can inform predictions about treatment outcome. In an effort to obtain a comprehensive index of personality, informant-reports of personality are sometimes obtained in addition to self-reports of personality. However, there is limited research comparing the validity of self- and informant-reports of personality, particularly among those with internalizing psychopathology. This is important given that informants may provide an additional (and perhaps different) perspective on individuals’ personality. The present study therefore compared how both reports of positive affectivity (PA) and negative affectivity (NA) relate to psychophysiological and subjective measures of emotional responding to positive and negative stimuli. Given that our sample (n = 117) included individuals with no history of psychopathology, as well as individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) and/or panic disorder (PD), we were also able to explore whether these internalizing diagnoses moderated the association between personality reports and measures of emotional responding. Informant-reported PA predicted physiological responses to positive stimuli (but not negative). Informant reported NA predicted physiological responses to negative stimuli (but not positive). Self-reported personality did not predict physiological responding, but did predict subjectively measured emotional responding (NA for negative responding; PA for positive responding). Diagnoses of internalizing psychopathology (PD or MDD) did not moderate these associations. Results suggest self- and informant-reports of personality may each provide valid indices of an individual’s emotional response tendencies, but predict different aspects of those tendencies. PMID:27273802

Methods for environmental change; an exploratory study

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Kok Gerjo

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background While the interest of health promotion researchers in change methods directed at the target population has a long tradition, interest in change methods directed at the environment is still developing. In this survey, the focus is on methods for environmental change; especially about how these are composed of methods for individual change (‘Bundling’ and how within one environmental level, organizations, methods differ when directed at the management (‘At’ or applied by the management (‘From’. Methods The first part of this online survey dealt with examining the ‘bundling’ of individual level methods to methods at the environmental level. The question asked was to what extent the use of an environmental level method would involve the use of certain individual level methods. In the second part of the survey the question was whether there are differences between applying methods directed ‘at’ an organization (for instance, by a health promoter versus ‘from’ within an organization itself. All of the 20 respondents are experts in the field of health promotion. Results Methods at the individual level are frequently bundled together as part of a method at a higher ecological level. A number of individual level methods are popular as part of most of the environmental level methods, while others are not chosen very often. Interventions directed at environmental agents often have a strong focus on the motivational part of behavior change. There are different approaches targeting a level or being targeted from a level. The health promoter will use combinations of motivation and facilitation. The manager will use individual level change methods focusing on self-efficacy and skills. Respondents think that any method may be used under the right circumstances, although few endorsed coercive methods. Conclusions Taxonomies of theoretical change methods for environmental change should include combinations of individual

Prejudice control and interracial relations: the role of motivation to respond without prejudice.

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Butz, David A; Plant, E Ashby

2009-10-01

A decade of research indicates that individual differences in motivation to respond without prejudice have important implications for the control of prejudice and interracial relations. In reviewing this work, we draw on W. Mischel and Y. Shoda's (1995, 1999) Cognitive-Affective Processing System (CAPS) to demonstrate that people with varying sources of motivation to respond without prejudice respond in distinct ways to situational cues, resulting in differing situation-behavior profiles in interracial contexts. People whose motivation is self-determined (i.e., the internally motivated) effectively control prejudice across situations and strive for positive interracial interactions. In contrast, people who respond without prejudice to avoid social sanction (i.e., the primarily externally motivated) consistently fail at regulating difficult to control prejudice and respond with anxiety and avoidance in interracial interactions. We further consider the nature of the cognitive-affective units of personality associated with motivation to respond without prejudice and their implications for the quality of interracial relations.

Methods for environmental change; an exploratory study.

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Kok, Gerjo; Gottlieb, Nell H; Panne, Robert; Smerecnik, Chris

2012-11-28

While the interest of health promotion researchers in change methods directed at the target population has a long tradition, interest in change methods directed at the environment is still developing. In this survey, the focus is on methods for environmental change; especially about how these are composed of methods for individual change ('Bundling') and how within one environmental level, organizations, methods differ when directed at the management ('At') or applied by the management ('From'). The first part of this online survey dealt with examining the 'bundling' of individual level methods to methods at the environmental level. The question asked was to what extent the use of an environmental level method would involve the use of certain individual level methods. In the second part of the survey the question was whether there are differences between applying methods directed 'at' an organization (for instance, by a health promoter) versus 'from' within an organization itself. All of the 20 respondents are experts in the field of health promotion. Methods at the individual level are frequently bundled together as part of a method at a higher ecological level. A number of individual level methods are popular as part of most of the environmental level methods, while others are not chosen very often. Interventions directed at environmental agents often have a strong focus on the motivational part of behavior change.There are different approaches targeting a level or being targeted from a level. The health promoter will use combinations of motivation and facilitation. The manager will use individual level change methods focusing on self-efficacy and skills. Respondents think that any method may be used under the right circumstances, although few endorsed coercive methods. Taxonomies of theoretical change methods for environmental change should include combinations of individual level methods that may be bundled and separate suggestions for methods targeting a level

Infant differential behavioral responding to discrete emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Walle, Eric A; Reschke, Peter J; Camras, Linda A; Campos, Joseph J

2017-10-01

Emotional communication regulates the behaviors of social partners. Research on individuals' responding to others' emotions typically compares responses to a single negative emotion compared with responses to a neutral or positive emotion. Furthermore, coding of such responses routinely measure surface level features of the behavior (e.g., approach vs. avoidance) rather than its underlying function (e.g., the goal of the approach or avoidant behavior). This investigation examined infants' responding to others' emotional displays across 5 discrete emotions: joy, sadness, fear, anger, and disgust. Specifically, 16-, 19-, and 24-month-old infants observed an adult communicate a discrete emotion toward a stimulus during a naturalistic interaction. Infants' responses were coded to capture the function of their behaviors (e.g., exploration, prosocial behavior, and security seeking). The results revealed a number of instances indicating that infants use different functional behaviors in response to discrete emotions. Differences in behaviors across emotions were clearest in the 24-month-old infants, though younger infants also demonstrated some differential use of behaviors in response to discrete emotions. This is the first comprehensive study to identify differences in how infants respond with goal-directed behaviors to discrete emotions. Additionally, the inclusion of a function-based coding scheme and interpersonal paradigms may be informative for future emotion research with children and adults. Possible developmental accounts for the observed behaviors and the benefits of coding techniques emphasizing the function of social behavior over their form are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Responding book banning in indonesia

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Aji, RNB; Artono; Liana, C.

2018-01-01

The prohibition of books conducted by the government through its apparatus without any due process of law is unfortunate. The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia (MKRI) in 2010 was decided that book banning is contradictory to the 1945 Constitution (UUD 1945). The purpose of this paper is to know Indonesia, according to the Constitutional Court must absolutely carry out the function of due process of law that is law enforcement in a judicial system when it wants to prohibit printed material which is a book, whether it is a book that is considered criticism and books that teach radicalism. It would be wise for anyone who disagrees with a book, and then responds by writing through a book. The result of this article is to support and suggest that the government and its apparatus in the state of the law should not arbitrarily impose a book ban. Likewise, people should not take violence action to respond this issue. In historical records, the prohibition of books without due process of law is always followed by the withdrawal of books and make people unable to deal with differences, especially in knowledge. That’s why, the government and its apparatus must create a conducive situation and support the creation of various perspectives in the framework of the progress of science through a book. It would implicate that people can respect in any perspective and thought.

Correlatos valorativos das motivações para responder sem preconceito Value correlates of the motivations to respond without prejudice

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Valdiney V. Gouveia

2006-01-01

Full Text Available O presente estudo teve como objetivo principal conhecer em que medida as motivações interna e externa para responder sem preconceito frente aos negros se correlacionam com os valores humanos. Para tanto, contou-se com a participação de 308 pessoas da cidade de João Pessoa (PB, distribuídas entre estudantes do ensino médio e universitário, bem como pessoas da população geral. Estes responderam, além de questões demográficas, o Questionário dos Valores Básicos, Escala de Desejabilidade Social e a Escala de Motivação Interna e Externa para Responder sem Preconceito. De acordo com os resultados, a motivação interna se correlacionou de modo positivo principalmente com os valores suprapessoais, como maturidade, beleza e conhecimento. No caso da motivação externa, esta o fez unicamente com os valores de realização, destacando-se entre eles prestígio e privacidade. Estes resultados são coerentes com aqueles apresentados na literatura, que indicam a oposição entre os valores de igualitarismo (suprapessoais vs. ética protestante (realização para explicar o preconceito e as motivações para não apresentar este tipo de atitude.The current study aimed at establishing to what extent both internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice towards Blacks would correlate with human values. As many as 308 subjects from João Pessoa - comprising high school and university students as well as individuals from the community as a whole - were considered. The Basic Values Questionnaire, the Impression Management Scale and the Scale of Internal and External Motivation to Respond without Prejudice, and also demographic questions were applied. Results showed that the internal motivation was positively correlated with the suprapersonal values, specifically maturity, beauty and knowledge. Moreover, the external motivation did correlate, predominantly, with the achievement values, specifically those of prestige and privacy. Such

The Forgotten Disaster Victim: Reducing Responder Injury

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

Approved by: Anke Richter Thesis Advisor Michael Petrie EMS Bureau, County of Monterey Second Reader Erik Dahl Associate Chair for Instruction...RESPONDERS IN DISASTERS .............20 1. Oklahoma City Bombing .............................................................20 2. World Trade Center...Categories, 2008–2014..................................................................................................19 Figure 4. Oklahoma City Bombing

A method for including external feed in depletion calculations with CRAM and implementation into ORIGEN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isotalo, A.E.; Wieselquist, W.A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • A method for handling external feed in depletion calculations with CRAM. • Source term can have polynomial or exponentially decaying time-dependence. • CRAM with source term and adjoint capability implemented to ORIGEN in SCALE. • The new solver is faster and more accurate than the original solver of ORIGEN. - Abstract: A method for including external feed with polynomial time dependence in depletion calculations with the Chebyshev Rational Approximation Method (CRAM) is presented and the implementation of CRAM to the ORIGEN module of the SCALE suite is described. In addition to being able to handle time-dependent feed rates, the new solver also adds the capability to perform adjoint calculations. Results obtained with the new CRAM solver and the original depletion solver of ORIGEN are compared to high precision reference calculations, which shows the new solver to be orders of magnitude more accurate. Furthermore, in most cases, the new solver is up to several times faster due to not requiring similar substepping as the original one

Composite material including nanocrystals and methods of making

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Bawendi, Moungi G.; Sundar, Vikram C.

2010-04-06

Temperature-sensing compositions can include an inorganic material, such as a semiconductor nanocrystal. The nanocrystal can be a dependable and accurate indicator of temperature. The intensity of emission of the nanocrystal varies with temperature and can be highly sensitive to surface temperature. The nanocrystals can be processed with a binder to form a matrix, which can be varied by altering the chemical nature of the surface of the nanocrystal. A nanocrystal with a compatibilizing outer layer can be incorporated into a coating formulation and retain its temperature sensitive emissive properties.

Transcripts and MicroRNAs Responding to Salt Stress in Musa acuminata Colla (AAA Group cv. Berangan Roots.

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Wan Sin Lee

Full Text Available Physiological responses to stress are controlled by expression of a large number of genes, many of which are regulated by microRNAs. Since most banana cultivars are salt-sensitive, improved understanding of genetic regulation of salt induced stress responses in banana can support future crop management and improvement in the face of increasing soil salinity related to irrigation and climate change. In this study we focused on determining miRNA and their targets that respond to NaCl exposure and used transcriptome sequencing of RNA and small RNA from control and NaCl-treated banana roots to assemble a cultivar-specific reference transcriptome and identify orthologous and Musa-specific miRNA responding to salinity. We observed that, banana roots responded to salinity stress with changes in expression for a large number of genes (9.5% of 31,390 expressed unigenes and reduction in levels of many miRNA, including several novel miRNA and banana-specific miRNA-target pairs. Banana roots expressed a unique set of orthologous and Musa-specific miRNAs of which 59 respond to salt stress in a dose-dependent manner. Gene expression patterns of miRNA compared with those of their predicted mRNA targets indicated that a majority of the differentially expressed miRNAs were down-regulated in response to increased salinity, allowing increased expression of targets involved in diverse biological processes including stress signaling, stress defence, transport, cellular homeostasis, metabolism and other stress-related functions. This study may contribute to the understanding of gene regulation and abiotic stress response of roots and the high-throughput sequencing data sets generated may serve as important resources related to salt tolerance traits for functional genomic studies and genetic improvement in banana.

Including mixed methods research in systematic reviews: Examples from qualitative syntheses in TB and malaria control

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Health policy makers now have access to a greater number and variety of systematic reviews to inform different stages in the policy making process, including reviews of qualitative research. The inclusion of mixed methods studies in systematic reviews is increasing, but these studies pose particular challenges to methods of review. This article examines the quality of the reporting of mixed methods and qualitative-only studies. Methods We used two completed systematic reviews to generate a sample of qualitative studies and mixed method studies in order to make an assessment of how the quality of reporting and rigor of qualitative-only studies compares with that of mixed-methods studies. Results Overall, the reporting of qualitative studies in our sample was consistently better when compared with the reporting of mixed methods studies. We found that mixed methods studies are less likely to provide a description of the research conduct or qualitative data analysis procedures and less likely to be judged credible or provide rich data and thick description compared with standalone qualitative studies. Our time-related analysis shows that for both types of study, papers published since 2003 are more likely to report on the study context, describe analysis procedures, and be judged credible and provide rich data. However, the reporting of other aspects of research conduct (i.e. descriptions of the research question, the sampling strategy, and data collection methods) in mixed methods studies does not appear to have improved over time. Conclusions Mixed methods research makes an important contribution to health research in general, and could make a more substantial contribution to systematic reviews. Through our careful analysis of the quality of reporting of mixed methods and qualitative-only research, we have identified areas that deserve more attention in the conduct and reporting of mixed methods research. PMID:22545681

How healthcare professionals respond to parents with religious objections to vaccination: a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruijs Wilhelmina LM

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent years healthcare professionals have faced increasing concerns about the value of childhood vaccination and many find it difficult to deal with parents who object to vaccination. In general, healthcare professionals are advised to listen respectfully to the objections of parents, provide honest information, and attempt to correct any misperceptions regarding vaccination. Religious objections are one of the possible reasons for refusing vaccination. Although religious objections have a long history, little is known about the way healthcare professionals deal with these specific objections. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the responding of healthcare professionals to parents with religious objections to the vaccination of their children. Methods A qualitative interview study was conducted with health care professionals (HCPs in the Netherlands who had ample experience with religious objections to vaccination. Purposeful sampling was applied in order to include HCPs with different professional and religious backgrounds. Data saturation was reached after 22 interviews, with 7 child health clinic doctors, 5 child health clinic nurses and 10 general practitioners. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Two analysts coded, reviewed, discussed, and refined the coding of the transcripts until consensus was reached. Emerging concepts were assessed using the constant comparative method from grounded theory. Results Three manners of responding to religious objections to vaccination were identified: providing medical information, discussion of the decision-making process, and adoption of an authoritarian stance. All of the HCPs provided the parents with medical information. In addition, some HCPs discussed the decision-making process. They verified how the decision was made and if possible consequences were realized. Sometimes they also discussed religious considerations. Whether the decision-making process was

Fearing shades of grey: individual differences in fear responding towards generalisation stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnaudova, Inna; Krypotos, Angelos-Miltiadis; Effting, Marieke; Kindt, Merel; Beckers, Tom

2017-09-01

Individual differences in fear generalisation have been proposed to play a role in the aetiology and/or maintenance of anxiety disorders, but few data are available to directly support that claim. The research that is available has focused mostly on generalisation of peripheral and central physiological fear responses. Far less is known about the generalisation of avoidance, the behavioural component of fear. In two experiments, we evaluated how neuroticism, a known vulnerability factor for anxiety, modulates an array of fear responses, including avoidance tendencies, towards generalisation stimuli (GS). Participants underwent differential fear conditioning, in which one conditioned stimulus (CS+) was repeatedly paired with an aversive outcome (shock; unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas another was not (CS-). Fear generalisation was observed across measures in Experiment 1 (US expectancy and evaluative ratings) and Experiment 2 (US expectancy, evaluative ratings, skin conductance, startle responses, safety behaviours), with overall highest responding to the CS+, lowest to the CS- and intermediate responding to the GSs. Neuroticism had very little impact on fear generalisation (but did affect GS recognition rates in Experiment 1), in line with the idea that fear generalisation is largely an adaptive process.

SU-F-J-86: Method to Include Tissue Dose Response Effect in Deformable Image Registration

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, J; Liang, J; Chen, S; Qin, A; Yan, D [Beaumont Health Systeml, Royal Oak, MI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Organ changes shape and size during radiation treatment due to both mechanical stress and radiation dose response. However, the dose response induced deformation has not been considered in conventional deformable image registration (DIR). A novel DIR approach is proposed to include both tissue elasticity and radiation dose induced organ deformation. Methods: Assuming that organ sub-volume shrinkage was proportional to the radiation dose induced cell killing/absorption, the dose induced organ volume change was simulated applying virtual temperature on each sub-volume. Hence, both stress and heterogeneity temperature induced organ deformation. Thermal stress finite element method with organ surface boundary condition was used to solve deformation. Initial boundary correspondence on organ surface was created from conventional DIR. Boundary condition was updated by an iterative optimization scheme to minimize elastic deformation energy. The registration was validated on a numerical phantom. Treatment dose was constructed applying both the conventional DIR and the proposed method using daily CBCT image obtained from HN treatment. Results: Phantom study showed 2.7% maximal discrepancy with respect to the actual displacement. Compared with conventional DIR, subvolume displacement difference in a right parotid had the mean±SD (Min, Max) to be 1.1±0.9(−0.4∼4.8), −0.1±0.9(−2.9∼2.4) and −0.1±0.9(−3.4∼1.9)mm in RL/PA/SI directions respectively. Mean parotid dose and V30 constructed including the dose response induced shrinkage were 6.3% and 12.0% higher than those from the conventional DIR. Conclusion: Heterogeneous dose distribution in normal organ causes non-uniform sub-volume shrinkage. Sub-volume in high dose region has a larger shrinkage than the one in low dose region, therefore causing more sub-volumes to move into the high dose area during the treatment course. This leads to an unfavorable dose-volume relationship for the normal organ

Sense and Respond Logistics: Integrating Prediction, Responsiveness, and Control Capabilities

Science.gov (United States)

2006-01-01

location. In the current environment, increased ambiguity has diminished this advantage and increased the need for a sense and respond combat...readily be applied to system dynamics prob- lems in business and organization processes. ABMs bring the “natu- ralness” advantage (which allows more...negotiation) as part of eCommerce applications being achieved by 2007. In the general opinion of AgentLink’s respondents, as well as our technology

Microdose follicular flare: a viable alternative for normal responding patients undergoing in vitro fertilization?

Science.gov (United States)

Levens, Eric D.; Whitcomb, Brian W.; Kort, Jonathan D.; Materia-Hoover, Donna; Larsen, Frederick W.

2009-01-01

Objective To compare cycle outcomes among normal responding patients ≤30 years receiving microdose follicular flare (MDF) and long-luteal agonist (LL). Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Military-based ART center. Patients First, autologous ART cycles among 499 women ≤30 years old from 01/1999 to 12/2005. Interventions Following OCP administration prior to cycle start, patients were non-randomly assigned to either LL or MDF for LH surge suppression. LL received 1 mg/d leuprolide acetate (LA) on cycle day 21, which was reduced to 0.25 mg/day 10–14 days later. MDF received LA (40 μg BID) beginning 3 days after discontinuing OCPs. Both groups received a combination of hMG and rFSH. Main Outcome Measures Primary outcomes were implantation, clinical pregnancy and live birth rates; in cycle variables included peak E2, oocytes retrieved, oocyte maturity, and fertilization rate. Results Multivariable models controlling for confounding by treatment indication found no significant differences between groups in implantation (MDF:36%; LL:38%), clinical pregnancy (MDF:53%; LL:56%), and live birth rates (MDF:47%; LL:50%). No differences were observed in peak E2, oocytes retrieved, oocyte maturity, fertilization rate, or embryos transferred. Conclusions MDF use among normal responding ART patients produced no differences in cycle outcome when compared to LL. Resultantly, MDF may be a viable alternative for normal responding patients. PMID:18249365

WS-008: EPR-First Responders: Establishment of facilities and zones of response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this working session is that the participants can apply their knowledge in a city explosion. The first responder have to identify the incident commander, the type of response required, the risks of the emergency, the requirements for transporting the victims to the hospital and the actors involved in a radiological emergency. The first responder have to know the time of the emergency, the number of potential victims, the equipment required and the responder number

Editorial: How to respond to reviewers' comments

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Soji, Zimkhitha

Is the content and writing satisfactory enough to make it worth reviewing? Not adequately addressing concerns raised by the reviewers and/or editors does not help the peer-review and publishing processes. Poor judgement when responding to reviewers'/editors' comments often produces a undesirable outcome. Merely ...

Phosphine Exposure Among Emergency Responders - Amarillo, Texas, January 2017.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Emily M; Patel, Ketki; Victory, Kerton R; Calvert, Geoffrey M; Nogueira, Leticia M; Bojes, Heidi K

2018-04-06

Phosphine is a highly toxic gas that forms when aluminum phosphide, a restricted-use pesticide* typically used in agricultural settings, reacts with water. Acute exposure can lead to a wide range of respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal symptoms, and can be fatal (1). On January 2, 2017, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) was notified by the Texas Panhandle Poison Center of an acute phosphine exposure incident in Amarillo, Texas. DSHS investigated potential occupational phosphine exposures among the 51 on-scene emergency responders; 40 (78.4%) did not use respiratory protection during response operations. Fifteen (37.5%) of these 40 responders received medical care for symptoms or as a precaution after the incident, and seven (17.5%) reported new or worsening symptoms consistent with phosphine exposure within 24 hours of the incident. Emergency response organizations should ensure that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is used during all incidents when an unknown hazardous substance is suspected. Additional evaluation is needed to identify targeted interventions that increase emergency responder PPE use during this type of incident.

Cognitive Attributes of Adequate and Inadequate Responders to Reading Intervention in Middle School

Science.gov (United States)

Miciak, Jeremy; Stuebing, Karla K.; Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Barth, Amy E.; Fletcher, Jack M.

2014-01-01

No studies have investigated the cognitive attributes of middle school students who are adequate and inadequate responders to Tier 2 reading intervention. We compared students in Grades 6 and 7 representing groups of adequate responders (n = 77) and inadequate responders who fell below criteria in (a) comprehension (n = 54); (b) fluency (n = 45);…

Including mixed methods research in systematic reviews: examples from qualitative syntheses in TB and malaria control.

Science.gov (United States)

Atkins, Salla; Launiala, Annika; Kagaha, Alexander; Smith, Helen

2012-04-30

Health policy makers now have access to a greater number and variety of systematic reviews to inform different stages in the policy making process, including reviews of qualitative research. The inclusion of mixed methods studies in systematic reviews is increasing, but these studies pose particular challenges to methods of review. This article examines the quality of the reporting of mixed methods and qualitative-only studies. We used two completed systematic reviews to generate a sample of qualitative studies and mixed method studies in order to make an assessment of how the quality of reporting and rigor of qualitative-only studies compares with that of mixed-methods studies. Overall, the reporting of qualitative studies in our sample was consistently better when compared with the reporting of mixed methods studies. We found that mixed methods studies are less likely to provide a description of the research conduct or qualitative data analysis procedures and less likely to be judged credible or provide rich data and thick description compared with standalone qualitative studies. Our time-related analysis shows that for both types of study, papers published since 2003 are more likely to report on the study context, describe analysis procedures, and be judged credible and provide rich data. However, the reporting of other aspects of research conduct (i.e. descriptions of the research question, the sampling strategy, and data collection methods) in mixed methods studies does not appear to have improved over time. Mixed methods research makes an important contribution to health research in general, and could make a more substantial contribution to systematic reviews. Through our careful analysis of the quality of reporting of mixed methods and qualitative-only research, we have identified areas that deserve more attention in the conduct and reporting of mixed methods research.

Aping expressions? Chimpanzees produce distinct laugh types when responding to laughter of others.

Science.gov (United States)

Davila-Ross, Marina; Allcock, Bethan; Thomas, Chris; Bard, Kim A

2011-10-01

Humans have the ability to replicate the emotional expressions of others even when they undergo different emotions. Such distinct responses of expressions, especially positive expressions, play a central role in everyday social communication of humans and may give the responding individuals important advantages in cooperation and communication. The present work examined laughter in chimpanzees to test whether nonhuman primates also use their expressions in such distinct ways. The approach was first to examine the form and occurrence of laugh replications (laughter after the laughter of others) and spontaneous laughter of chimpanzees during social play and then to test whether their laugh replications represented laugh-elicited laugh responses (laughter triggered by the laughter of others) by using a quantitative method designed to measure responses in natural social settings. The results of this study indicated that chimpanzees produce laugh-elicited laughter that is distinct in form and occurrence from their spontaneous laughter. These findings provide the first empirical evidence that nonhuman primates have the ability to replicate the expressions of others by producing expressions that differ in their underlying emotions and social implications. The data further showed that the laugh-elicited laugh responses of the subjects were closely linked to play maintenance, suggesting that chimpanzees might gain important cooperative and communicative advantages by responding with laughter to the laughter of their social partners. Notably, some chimpanzee groups of this study responded more with laughter than others, an outcome that provides empirical support of a socialization of expressions in great apes similar to that of humans.

Respondent Cooperation in Telephone Surveys: The Effects of Using Volunteer Interviewers.

Science.gov (United States)

Braverman, Marc T.

1988-01-01

The effects of using volunteer interviewers on respondent cooperation in telephone surveys were studied, using data on 241 interviews, 99 refusals, and 251 non-contacts. A random, national survey on public knowledge of and attitudes toward a county 4-H youth services program indicated respondent cooperation for professional program staff and…

Do birds in flight respond to (ultra)violet lighting?

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Roel May; Jens Åström; Øyvind Hamre; Espen Lie Dahl

2017-01-01

Background: Concerns for bird collisions with wind turbines affect the deployment of onshore and offshore wind-power plants. To avoid delays in consenting processes and to streamline the construction and operation phase, func-tional mitigation measures are required which efficiently reduces bird mortality. Vision is the primary sensory system in birds, which for a number of species also includes the ultraviolet spectrum. Many bird species that are known to collide with offshore wind turbines are sensitive in the violet or ultraviolet spectrum. For species that are mainly active at lower ambient light levels, lighting may deter birds from the lit area. Utilizing (ultra)violet lights may in addition not disturb humans. However, we do not know whether UV-sensitive birds in flight actually respond behaviourally to UV lights. Methods: We therefore tested the efficacy of two types of lights within the violet (400 nm) and ultraviolet (365 nm) spectrum to deter birds from the lit area. These lights were placed vertically and monitored continuously between dusk and dawn using an avian radar system. Results: Relative to control nights, bird flight activity (abundance) was 27% lower when the ultraviolet light was on. Violet light resulted in a 12% decrease in overall abundance, and in addition, a vertical displacement was seen, increasing the average flight altitude by 7 m. Although temporal changes occurred, this effect persisted over the season below 40 m above sea level. Conclusions: Although the results from this pilot study are promising, we argue there still is a long way to go before a potentially functional design to mitigate collisions that has proven to be effective in situ may be in place.

Responding to Destructive Interpersonal Interactions: A way forward ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Responding to Destructive Interpersonal Interactions: A way forward for ... cultural intolerance and other destructive interpersonal interactions and relationships clearly ... This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Penggunaan Metode Respondent Driven Sampling (Rds dalam Survey Pemasaran Beras di Provinsi Kepulauan Riau

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Herena Pudjihastuti

2014-06-01

Full Text Available As a Free Trade Zone (FTZ, the province of Riau Islands has a different pattern of strategic commodity (such as rice marketing comparing to other regions in Indonesia. To anticipate and control the negative effects of the implementation of FTZ policy, It is necessary to study about rice marketing trade system in the Riau Islands region. The study was conducted to identify patterns of supply and marketing of food (rice and analyze the marketing margin and marketing efficiency as well as the factors that influence it. The study was conducted through desk study and field surveys. Secondary data was collected from various sources and primary data collected through interviews with selected respondents using Respondent Driven Sampling method (RDS. The study shows that the structure of the rice market in Riau Islands can be categorized as monopolistic. Most of the rice supply comes from outside the region and import, the supply chain is quite simple, the price is relatively stable and relatively efficient marketing and resilience of rice reserves are relatively high for merchants. Nevertheless, the Riau islands will be very susceptible to interference distribution. Required efforts of the provincial government of Riau Islands to provide sufficient rice reserves. This paper gives an example of the use of the RDS method in marketing surveys.

Responding to Children Victimized by Their Peers

Science.gov (United States)

Nickerson, Amanda B.; Brock, Stephen E.; Chang, Yiping; O'Malley, Meagan D.

2006-01-01

Because victimization results from the dynamic interplay between the victim and his or her parents, peers, and teachers, responding to this problem should involve both direct and indirect interventions. This paper describes and reviews empirically supported direct interventions with victims, as well as indirect interventions with parents, peers,…

School Principals and Racism: Responding to Aveling

Science.gov (United States)

Charles, Claire; Mahoney, Caroline; Fox, Brandi; Halse, Christine

2016-01-01

This study responds to Nado Aveling's call in "Anti-racism in Schools: A question of leadership?" ("Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education," 2007, 28(1), 69-85) for further investigation into racism in Australian schools. Aveling's interview study concluded that an overwhelming number of school principals…

Amitriptyline Intoxication Responded to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Güldem Turan

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The most severe effects in amitriptiline intoxications are related with central nervous system and cardiovascular system. Amitriptiline intoxication especially with high doses has severe cardiac effects and can result in cardiac arrest. Most favorable responses can be achieved with efficient and prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We wanted to present a case ingested high dose of amitriptiline for attempt to suicide and responded to prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

What do we miss? ASAS non-responders on anti-TNF therapy show improvement in performance-based physical function

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Weely, S.F.E.; van Denderen, J.C.; Steultjens, M.P.M.; Nurmohamed, M.T.; Dijkmans, B.A.C.; Dekker, J.; van der Horst-Bruinsma, I.E.

2013-01-01

Objective: A prospective study was conducted in order to establish whether AS patients, who are defined as non-responders after 3 months of anti-TNF therapy, show improvement on performance-based tests of physical functioning. Methods: At baseline and 3 months after the start of anti-TNF therapy, AS

Service failures and challenges in responding to people bereaved through drugs and alcohol: An interprofessional analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Valentine, Christine; McKell, Jennifer; Ford, Allison

2018-05-01

This article reports findings from the first two stages of a three-stage qualitative study which considered the role of services, including public, private and charitable organisations, in responding to the needs of adults bereaved following the drug and/or alcohol-related death of someone close. The study, the first of its kind to explore the landscape and role of services in substance use deaths, was conducted over two sites: south west England and Scotland. In stage 1 of the research, adopting both convenience and purposive sampling, data were collected via semi-structured interviews on experiences and support needs of bereaved individuals (n = 106). In stage 2, six focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of practitioners (n = 40), including those working for the police, coroner's service, procurator fiscal depute (Scotland), health service, funeral service, press, clergy, Public Health England, Drugs Policy Unit, bereavement counselling/support and alcohol and drug treatment services, to investigate how services may better respond to this bereavement. Thematic analysis from both data-sets identified two overarching themes. The first, focusing on practitioner responses, captures how these bereaved people may meet with inadequate, unkind, and discriminatory responses from services. Having to navigate unfamiliar, fragmented, and time-consuming procedures compounds the bereaved's distress at an already difficult time, illustrated by a 'mapping' of relevant services. The second relates to challenges and opportunities for those responding. Service failures reflect practitioners' poor understanding of both substance use bereavement and the range of other practitioners and services involved. Those bereaved are a poorly understood, neglected and stigmatised group of service users. There is a need for services to respond without judgement or insensitive language, and provide information about, communicate and work closely with, other services despite

28 CFR 51.42 - Failure of the Attorney General to respond.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Failure of the Attorney General to... Failure of the Attorney General to respond. It is the practice and intention of the Attorney General to respond to each submission within the 60-day period. However, the failure of the Attorney General to make...

Value correlates of the motivations to respond without prejudice / Correlatos valorativos das motivações para responder sem preconceito

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdiney V. Gouveia

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The current study aimed at establishing to what extent both internal and external motivations to respond without prejudice towards Blacks would correlate with human values. As many as 308 subjects from João Pessoa – comprising high school and university students as well as individuals from the community as a whole – were considered. The Basic Values Questionnaire, the Impression Management Scale and the Scale of Internal and External Motivation to Respond without Prejudice, and also demographic questions were applied. Results showed that the internal motivation was positively correlated with the suprapersonal values, specifically maturity, beauty and knowledge. Moreover, the external motivation did correlate, predominantly, with the achievement values, specifically those of prestige and privacy. Such results are in line with those found in the literature, which indicate the opposition between egalitarianism (suprapersonal vs. protestant ethic (achievement values so as to explicate the prejudice and the motivations that would prevent such attitude.

Practice and perception of first aid among lay first responders in a southern district of India.

Science.gov (United States)

Pallavisarji, Uthkarsh; Gururaj, Gopalkrishna; Girish, Rao Nagaraja

2013-01-01

Injuries rank among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and are steadily increasing in developing countries like India. However, it is often possible to minimize injury and crash consequences by providing effective pre-hospital services promptly. In most low-and middle-income countries (LMICs), transportation of road traffic victims, is usually provided by relatives, taxi drivers, truck drivers, police officers and other motorists who are often untrained. The current study was conducted to understand the current practice and perception of first aid among lay first responders in a rural southern district of India. The current cross sectional descriptive study was conducted in the southern district of Tumkur in India within three months from January to March 2011 and covered the population including all police, ambulance personnel, taxi drivers, bus and auto drivers, and primary and middle school teachers within the study area. Nearly 60% of the responders had witnessed more than two emergencies in the previous six months and 55% had actively participated in helping the injured person. The nature of the help was mainly by calling for an ambulance (41.5%), transporting the injured (19.7%) and consoling the victim (14.9%). Majority (78.1%) of the responders informed that they had run to the victim (42.4%) or had called for an ambulance. The predominant reason for not providing help was often the 'fear of legal complications' (30%) that would follow later. Significant number (81.4%) of respondents reported that they did not have adequate skills to manage an emergency and were willing to acquire knowledge and skills in first aid to help victims. Regular and periodical community-based first aid training programs for first care responders will help to provide care and improve outcomes for injured persons.

Eliciting, Identifying, Interpreting, and Responding to Students' Ideas: Teacher Candidates' Growth in Formative Assessment Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Gotwals, Amelia Wenk; Birmingham, Daniel

2016-06-01

With the goal of helping teacher candidates become well-started beginners, it is important that methods courses in teacher education programs focus on high-leverage practices. Using responsive teaching practices, specifically eliciting, identifying, interpreting, and responding to students' science ideas (i.e., formative assessment), can be used to support all students in learning science successfully. This study follows seven secondary science teacher candidates in a yearlong practice-based methods course. Course assignments (i.e., plans for and reflections on teaching) as well as teaching videos were analyzed using a recursive qualitative approach. In this paper, we present themes and patterns in teacher candidates' abilities to elicit, identify, interpret, and respond to students' ideas. Specifically, we found that those teacher candidates who grew in the ways in which they elicited students' ideas from fall to spring were also those who were able to adopt a more balanced reflection approach (considering both teacher and student moves). However, we found that even the teacher candidates who grew in these practices did not move toward seeing students' ideas as nuanced; rather, they saw students' ideas in a dichotomous fashion: right or wrong. We discuss implications for teacher preparation, specifically for how to promote productive reflection and tools for better understanding students' ideas.

77 FR 53234 - Certain Communication Equipment, Components Thereof, and Products Containing the Same, Including...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-31

... respondents, including Avaya of Basking Ridge, New Jersey; Cisco Consumer Products LLC of Irvine, California, Cisco Systems International B.V. of the Netherlands, Cisco-Linksys LLC of Irvine, California (collectively, ``Cisco''); Hewlett-Packard Co. (``HP'') of Palo Alto, California; and Extreme Networks, Inc...

Biodetection Technologies for First Responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baird, Cheryl L.; Seiner, Derrick R.; Ozanich, Richard M.; Bartholomew, Rachel A.; Colburn, Heather A.; Straub, Tim M.; Bruckner-Lea, Cindy J.

2012-10-24

In a white powder scenario, there are a large number of field-deployable assays that can be used to determine if the suspicious substance contains biological material and warrants further investigation. This report summarizes commercially available technologies that are considered hand portable and can be used by first responders in the field. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor do the authors endorse any of the technologies described herein. Rather, it is meant to provide useful information about available technologies to help end-users make informed decisions about biodetection technology procurement and use.

Tryptophan Depletion Promotes Habitual over Goal-Directed Control of Appetitive Responding in Humans.

Science.gov (United States)

Worbe, Yulia; Savulich, George; de Wit, Sanne; Fernandez-Egea, Emilio; Robbins, Trevor W

2015-02-05

Optimal behavioral performance results from a balance between goal-directed and habitual systems of behavioral control, which are modulated by ascending monoaminergic projections. While the role of the dopaminergic system in behavioral control has been recently addressed, the extent to which changes in global serotonin neurotransmission could influence these 2 systems is still poorly understood. We employed the dietary acute tryptophan depletion procedure to reduce serotonin neurotransmission in 18 healthy volunteers and 18 matched controls. We used a 3-stage instrumental learning paradigm that includes an initial instrumental learning stage, a subsequent outcome-devaluation test, and a slip-of-action stage, which directly tests the balance between hypothetical goal-directed and habitual systems. We also employed a separate response inhibition control test to assess the behavioral specificity of the results. Acute tryptophan depletion produced a shift of behavioral performance towards habitual responding as indexed by performance on the slip-of-action test. Moreover, greater habitual responding in the acute tryptophan depletion group was predicted by a steeper decline in plasma tryptophan levels. In contrast, acute tryptophan depletion left intact the ability to use discriminative stimuli to guide instrumental choice as indexed by the instrumental learning stage and did not impair inhibitory response control. The major implication of this study is that serotonin modulates the balance between goal-directed and stimulus-response habitual systems of behavioral control. Our findings thus imply that diminished serotonin neurotransmission shifts behavioral control towards habitual responding. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of CINP.

Improved Riccati Transfer Matrix Method for Free Vibration of Non-Cylindrical Helical Springs Including Warping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.M. Yu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Free vibration equations for non-cylindrical (conical, barrel, and hyperboloidal types helical springs with noncircular cross-sections, which consist of 14 first-order ordinary differential equations with variable coefficients, are theoretically derived using spatially curved beam theory. In the formulation, the warping effect upon natural frequencies and vibrating mode shapes is first studied in addition to including the rotary inertia, the shear and axial deformation influences. The natural frequencies of the springs are determined by the use of improved Riccati transfer matrix method. The element transfer matrix used in the solution is calculated using the Scaling and Squaring method and Pad'e approximations. Three examples are presented for three types of springs with different cross-sectional shapes under clamped-clamped boundary condition. The accuracy of the proposed method has been compared with the FEM results using three-dimensional solid elements (Solid 45 in ANSYS code. Numerical results reveal that the warping effect is more pronounced in the case of non-cylindrical helical springs than that of cylindrical helical springs, which should be taken into consideration in the free vibration analysis of such springs.

The perception for Good Death of community dwelling Japanese and Thailand respondents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michiyo Ando

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Having a “good death” is a very important goal of palliative care, and it is useful for nurses to understand cultural differences in the perception of a good death to propose nursing care. The purpose of this study was to compare the perception of a “good death” among community-dwelling Japanese and Thai people. Three hundred sixty-nine respondents completed the Good Death Questionnaire. The research design was a cross-sectional study. The scores of the Japanese respondents on “good relationships with medical staff,” “being respected as an individual,” and “fighting against cancer” were higher among Thai respondents. On the other hand, “environmental comfort,” “unawareness of death,” “control over the future,” and “religious and spiritual comfort” were higher among the Japanese respondents. Among the Japanese, the score for “life completion” was significantly correlated with “role accomplishment and contribution to others.” Among the Thai respondents, the score for “good relationships with family” was significantly correlated with “physical and cognitive control.” The implications of these results were that Japanese respondents preferred medical treatments, maintaining a good relationship with physicians, and demanding to be respected as an individual. Thai respondent’s preferred “environmental comfort” and “religious and spiritual comfort.” In the future, medical staff members will need to consider these cultural differences when proposing nursing care.

Sexual Violence against Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Mongolia: A Mixed-Methods Study of Scope and Consequences

Science.gov (United States)

Peitzmeier, Sarah M.; Yasin, Faiza; Stephenson, Rob; Wirtz, Andrea L.; Delegchoimbol, Altanchimeg; Dorjgotov, Myagmardorj; Baral, Stefan

2015-01-01

The role of sexual violence in health and human rights-related outcomes, including HIV, is receiving increasing attention globally, yet the prevalence, patterns, and correlates of sexual violence have been little-studied among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women in low and middle income countries. A mixed-methods study with quantitative and qualitative phases was conducted among MSM and transgender women in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Methods included respondent-driven sampling (RDS) with structured socio-behavioral surveys (N = 313) as well as qualitative methods including 30 in-depth interviews and 2 focus group discussions. Forced sex in the last three years was reported by 14.7% of respondents (RDS-weighted estimate, 95%CI: 9.4–20.1; crude estimate 16.1%, 49/307) in the quantitative phase. A descriptive typology of common scenarios was constructed based on the specific incidents of sexual violence shared by respondents in the qualitative phase (37 incidents across 28 interviews and 2 focus groups). Eight major types of sexual violence were identified, most frequent of which were bias-motivated street violence and alcohol-involved party-related violence. Many vulnerabilities to and consequences of sexual violence described during the qualitative phase were also independently associated with forced sex, including alcohol use at least once per week (AOR = 3.39, 95% CI:1.69–6.81), and having received payment for sex (AOR = 2.77, 95% CI:1.14–6.75). Building on the promising strategies used in other settings to prevent and respond to sexual violence, similar strengthening of legal and social sector responses may provide much needed support to survivors and prevent future sexual violence. PMID:26431311

The Role of the Nucleus Accumbens in Knowing when to Respond

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Teghpal; McDannald, Michael A.; Takahashi, Yuji K.; Haney, Richard Z.; Cooch, Nisha K.; Lucantonio, Federica; Schoenbaum, Geoffrey

2011-01-01

While knowing what to expect is important, it is equally important to know when to expect it and to respond accordingly. This is apparent even in simple Pavlovian training situations in which animals learn to respond more strongly closer to reward delivery. Here we report that the nucleus accumbens core, an area well-positioned to represent…

24 CFR 15.112 - How will HUD respond to my appeal?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 24 Housing and Urban Development 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false How will HUD respond to my appeal... respond to my appeal? (a) How much time does HUD have to decide my appeal? HUD will decide your appeal of a denial of expedited processing within 10 working days after its receipt. For any other type of...

Responding to emergencies: How organization and management make a difference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metlay, D.S.; Haber, S.B.; Luckas, W.J.

1989-01-01

There is an observable and definable process that occurs during the course of responding to an abnormal event at a nuclear power plant (NPP). Each of the elements that comprise that process involves collective action and, consequently, is influenced by the character and effectiveness of organizational and managerial arrangements. Factors which affect each element include overt ones like the allocation of authority and responsibility and the skill of the personnel, as well as covert factors like the methods used to resolve uncertainty. The purpose of this research project is to examine the process of response that occurs to an abnormal event at a NPP and where possible, to identify the organizational and managerial factors that influence that process. The first task in this project involved the review and analysis of an extensive volume of documentation, primarily Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents. Based on the documentation reviewed during the first task of this project, it is possible to specify an observable and definable process for response to accident and emergency situations in a NPP. The process can be described by eight major elements; the initiating transient, information about plant behavior, diagnosing the problem, availability of emergency procedures, adequacy of emergency procedures, implementing emergency procedures, developing an ad hoc response evaluating an ad hoc response and implementing an ad hoc response. Importantly, the process to be described is an iterative one. Procedures and improvised responses are executed sequentially and the results of action are assessed and additional steps are taken if necessary

Pilot evaluation of the use of contract towing and first responder strategies in the Virginia Department of Transportation's Staunton District.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-06-01

This study evaluated the contract towing and first responder pilot projects in the Virginia Department of Transportations : Staunton District. The evaluation included before and after studies of incident duration and comparisons of clearance time....

Measure Guideline: Summary of Interior Ducts in New Construction, Including an Efficient, Affordable Method to Install Fur-Down Interior Ducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beal, D. [BA-PIRC, Cocoa, FL (United States); McIlvaine, J. [BA-PIRC, Cocoa, FL (United States); Fonorow, K. [BA-PIRC, Cocoa, FL (United States); Martin, E. [BA-PIRC, Cocoa, FL (United States)

2011-11-01

This document illustrates guidelines for the efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing, including the fur-up chase method, the fur-down chase method, and interior ducts positioned in sealed attics or sealed crawl spaces.

Responding to Children's Fears: A Partnership Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorin, Reesa

2002-01-01

Describes a study into children's fears and suggests that forging partnerships between parents, children, and teachers is one positive step toward addressing fear in young children. Defines partnerships and asserts that they can help in better recognizing fear displays in young children and in sharing ideas about best practice in responding to…

CBT for Childhood Anxiety Disorders: Differential Changes in Selective Attention between Treatment Responders and Non-Responders

Science.gov (United States)

Legerstee, Jeroen S.; Tulen, Joke H. M.; Dierckx, Bram; Treffers, Philip D. A.; Verhulst, Frank C.; Utens, Elisabeth M. W. J.

2010-01-01

Background: This study examined whether treatment response to stepped-care cognitive-behavioural treatment (CBT) is associated with changes in threat-related selective attention and its specific components in a large clinical sample of anxiety-disordered children. Methods: Ninety-one children with an anxiety disorder were included in the present…

Responding to Terrorist Incidents in Your Community: Flammable-Liquid Fire Fighting Techniques for Municipal and Rural Firefighters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Denise Baclawski

2010-03-08

The University of Nevada, Reno Fire Science Academy (FSA) applied for grant funding to develop and deliver programs for municipal, rural, and volunteer firefighters. The FSA specializes in preparing responders for a variety of emergency events, including flammable liquid fires resulting from accidents, intentional acts, or natural disasters. Live fire training on full scale burnable props is the hallmark of FSA training, allowing responders to practice critical skills in a realistic, yet safe environment. Unfortunately, flammable liquid live fire training is often not accessible to municipal, rural, or volunteer firefighters due to limited department training budgets, even though most department personnel will be exposed to flammable liquid fire incidents during the course of their careers. In response to this training need, the FSA developed a course during the first year of the grant (Year One), Responding to Terrorist Incidents in Your Community: Flammable-Liquid Fire Fighting Techniques for Municipal and Rural Firefighters. During the three years of the grant, a total of 2,029 emergency responders received this training. In Year Three, two new courses, a train-the-trainer for Responding to Terrorist Incidents in Your Community and Management of Large-Scale Disasters for Public Officials were developed and pilot tested during the Real-World Disaster Management Conference held at the FSA in June of 2007. Two research projects were conducted during Years Two and Three. The first, conducted over a two year period, evaluated student surveys regarding the value of the flammable liquids training received. The second was a needs assessment conducted for rural Nevada. Both projects provided important feedback and a basis for curricula development and improvements.

Home Care Providers to the Rescue: A Novel First-Responder Programme.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steen M Hansen

Full Text Available To describe the implementation of a novel first-responder programme in which home care providers equipped with automated external defibrillators (AEDs were dispatched in parallel with existing emergency medical services in the event of a suspected out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA.We evaluated a one-year prospective study that trained home care providers in performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR and using an AED in cases of suspected OHCA. Data were collected from cardiac arrest case files, case files from each provider dispatch and a survey among dispatched providers. The study was conducted in a rural district in Denmark.Home care providers were dispatched to 28 of the 60 OHCAs that occurred in the study period. In ten cases the providers arrived before the ambulance service and subsequently performed CPR. AED analysis was executed in three cases and shock was delivered in one case. For 26 of the 28 cases, the cardiac arrest occurred in a private home. Ninety-five per cent of the providers who had been dispatched to a cardiac arrest reported feeling prepared for managing the initial resuscitation, including use of AED.Home care providers are suited to act as first-responders in predominantly rural and residential districts. Future follow-up will allow further evaluation of home care provider arrivals and patient survival.

Teaching Methods in Biology Education and Sustainability Education Including Outdoor Education for Promoting Sustainability--A Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Jeronen, Eila; Palmberg, Irmeli; Yli-Panula, Eija

2017-01-01

There are very few studies concerning the importance of teaching methods in biology education and environmental education including outdoor education for promoting sustainability at the levels of primary and secondary schools and pre-service teacher education. The material was selected using special keywords from biology and sustainable education…

Pregabalin and placebo responders show different effects on central pain processing in chronic pancreatitis patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bouwense SA

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Stefan AW Bouwense,1 Søren S Olesen,2 Asbjørn M Drewes,2 Harry van Goor,1 Oliver HG Wilder-Smith31Pain and Nociception Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Surgery, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; 2Mech-Sense, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, Denmark; 3Pain and Nociception Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Anaesthesiology, Pain and Palliative Medicine, Radboud university medical center, Nijmegen, The NetherlandsBackground: Pain control in chronic pancreatitis is a major challenge; the mechanisms behind analgesic treatment are poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the differences in pain sensitivity and modulation in chronic pancreatitis patients, based on their clinical response (responders vs nonresponders to placebo or pregabalin treatment. Methods: This study was part of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the analgesic effects of pregabalin and placebo in chronic pancreatitis. Post hoc, patients were assigned to one of four groups, ie, responders and nonresponders to pregabalin (n=16; n=15 or placebo (n=12; n=17 treatment. Responders were defined as patients with >30% pain reduction after 3 weeks of treatment. We measured change in pain sensitivity before and after the treatment using electric pain detection thresholds (ePDT in dermatomes C5 (generalized effects and Ventral T10 (segmental effects. Descending endogenous pain modulation was quantified via conditioned pain modulation (CPM paradigm. Results: Sixty patients were analyzed in a per-protocol analysis. ePDT change in C5 was significant vs baseline and greater in pregabalin (1.3 mA vs placebo responders (−0.1 mA; P=0.015. This was not so for ePDT in Ventral T10. CPM increased more in pregabalin (9% vs placebo responders (−17%; P<0.001. CPM changed significantly vs baseline only for pregabalin responders (P=0.006. Conclusion: This hypothesis

Capacity of old trees to respond to environmental change.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Nathan G; Buckley, Thomas N; Tissue, David T

2008-11-01

Atmospheric carbon dioxide [CO2] has increased dramatically within the current life spans of long-lived trees and old forests. Consider that a 500-year-old tree in the early twenty-first century has spent 70% of its life growing under pre-industrial levels of [CO2], which were 30% lower than current levels. Here we address the question of whether old trees have already responded to the rapid rise in [CO2] occurring over the past 150 years. In spite of limited data, aging trees have been shown to possess a substantial capacity for increased net growth after a period of post-maturity growth decline. Observations of renewed growth and physiological function in old trees have, in some instances, coincided with Industrial Age increases in key environmental resources, including [CO2], suggesting the potential for continued growth in old trees as a function of continued global climate change.

Tips for Disaster Responders: Preventing and Managing Stress

Science.gov (United States)

... actions to prevent stress and to strengthen your stress management skills is before your disaster assignment. Responder stress ... the disaster role, developing a personal toolkit of stress management skills, and preparing yourself and your loved ones. ...

Assessment of immigrant certified nursing assistants' communication when responding to standardized care challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Massey, Meredith; Roter, Debra L

2016-01-01

Certified nursing assistants (CNAs) provide 80% of the hands-on care in US nursing homes; a significant portion of this work is performed by immigrants with limited English fluency. This study is designed to assess immigrant CNA's communication behavior in response to a series of virtual simulated care challenges. A convenience sample of 31 immigrant CNAs verbally responded to 9 care challenges embedded in an interactive computer platform. The responses were coded with the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS), CNA instructors rated response quality and spoken English was rated. CNA communication behaviors varied across care challenges and a broad repertoire of communication was used; 69% of response content was characterized as psychosocial. Communication elements (both instrumental and psychosocial) were significant predictors of response quality for 5 of 9 scenarios. Overall these variables explained between 13% and 36% of the adjusted variance in quality ratings. Immigrant CNAs responded to common care challenges using a variety of communication strategies despite fluency deficits. Virtual simulation-based observation is a feasible, acceptable and low cost method of communication assessment with implications for supervision, training and evaluation of a para-professional workforce. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The strange case of online surveys: response issues and respondent characteristics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adamsen, Jannie Mia; Rundle-Thiele, Sharyn; Mehnert, Christina

This research contributes to existing knowledge about collecting data online by analysing multiple data sets on key criteria including overall representativeness of the samples, response and break-off rates, timeliness of response and reminder effects. Across eight online surveys that initially......-30 years of age), single or in ‘other’ types of family relationships, and belong to a low-income bracket (annual household income ... a reminder 48-72 hours after the initial invitation and closing the survey one to two days later; based on our results this time-wise approach still captures 90% of respondents. This study must be viewed in light of some key limitations. Firstly, we have not considered whether there are differences...

IPV Screening and Readiness to Respond to IPV in Ob-Gyn Settings: A Patient-Physician Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katherine M. Jones

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Intimate partner violence (IPV is a serious, preventable public health concern that largely affects women of reproductive age. Obstetrician-gynecologists (ob-gyns have a unique opportunity to identify and support women experiencing IPV to improve women’s health. Considering recent efforts to increase IPV awareness and intervention, the present study aimed to provide a current evaluation of nationally representative samples to assess ob-gyn readiness to respond to IPV as well as patient IPV-related experiences. Methods. 400 ob-gyns were randomly selected from American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG Collaborative Ambulatory Research Network. Each physician was mailed one physician survey and 25 patient surveys. Results. IPV training/education and IPV screening practices were associated with most measures of ob-gyn readiness to respond to IPV. Among respondents, 36.8% endorsed screening all patients at annual exams; however, 36.8% felt they did not have sufficient training to assist individuals in addressing IPV. Workplace encouragement of IPV response was associated with training, screening, detection, preparation/knowledge, response practices, and resources. Thirty-one percent of patients indicated their ob-gyn had asked about possible IPV experiences during their medical visit. Conclusion. Findings highlight specific gaps in ob-gyns’ IPV knowledge and response practices to be further addressed by IPV training.

Communication: Listening and Responding. Affective 4.0.

Science.gov (United States)

Borgers, Sherry B., Comp.; Ward, G. Robert, Comp.

This module is designed to provide practice in listening effectively and in responding to messages sent by another. The module is divided into two sets of activities, the first is the formation of a triad enabling the student to investigate the following: do you listen, listening and the unrelated response, incomplete listening, listening for…

TH-E-BRF-08: Subpopulations of Similarly-Responding Lesions in Metastatic Prostate Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C; Harmon, S; Perk, T; Jeraj, R

2014-01-01

Purpose: In patients with multiple lesions, resistance to cancer treatments and subsequent disease recurrence may be due to heterogeneity of response across lesions. This study aims to identify subpopulations of similarly-responding metastatic prostate cancer lesions in bone using quantitative PET metrics. Methods: Seven metastatic prostate cancer patients treated with AR-directed therapy received pre-treatment and mid-treatment [F-18]NaF PET/CT scans. Images were registered using an articulated CT registration algorithm and transformations were applied to PET segmentations. Midtreatment response was calculated on PET-based texture features. Hierarchical agglomerative clustering was used to form groups of similarly-responding lesions, with the number of natural clusters (K) determined by the inconsistency coefficient. Lesion clustering was performed within each patient, and for the pooled population. The cophenetic coefficient (C) quantified how well the data was clustered. The Jaccard Index (JI) assessed similarity of cluster assignments from patient clustering and from population clustering. Results: 188 lesions in seven patients were identified for analysis (between 6 to 53 lesions per patient). Lesion response was defined as percent change relative to pre-treatment for 23 uncorrelated PET-based feature identifiers. . High response heterogeneity was found across all lesions (i.e. range ΔSUVmax =−95.98% to 775.00%). For intra-patient clustering, K ranged from 1–20. Population-based clustering resulted in 75 clusters, of 1-6 lesions each. Intra-patient clustering resulted in higher quality clusters than population clustering (mean C=0.95, range=0.89 to 1.00). For all patients, cluster assignments from population clustering showed good agreement to intra-patient clustering (mean JI=0.87, range=0.68 to 1.00). Conclusion: Subpopulations of similarly-responding lesions were identified in patients with multiple metastatic lesions. Good agreement was found between

Strengthening Capacity to Respond to Computer Security Incidents ...

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

... in the form of spam, improper access to confidential data and cyber theft. ... These teams are usually known as computer security incident response teams ... regional capacity for preventing and responding to cyber security incidents in Latin ...

Does the Length of Fielding Period Matter? Examining Response Scores of Early Versus Late Responders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sigman Richard

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the potential effects of a shortened fielding period on an employee survey’s item and index scores and respondent demographics. Using data from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s 2011 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, we investigate whether early responding employees differ from later responding employees. Specifically, we examine differences in item and index scores related to employee engagement and global satisfaction. Our findings show that early responders tend to be less positive, even after adjusting their weights for nonresponse. Agencies vary in their prevalence of late responders, and score differences become magnified as this proportion increases. We also examine the extent to which early versus late responders differ on demographic characteristics such as grade level, supervisory status, gender, tenure with agency, and intention to leave, noting that nonminorities and females are the two demographic characteristics most associated with responding early.

A Simulation Learning Approach to Training First Responders for Radiological Emergencies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, Robert Lon; Rhodes, Graham S.

2007-01-01

This paper describes the application of simulation learning technology, popularized by the emerging serious games industry, for training first responders to properly act in the event of a radiological emergency. Using state-of-the-art video game production tools and runtime engines as an enabling technology, simulation learning combines interactive virtual worlds based on validated engineering models with engaging storylines and scenarios that invoke the emotional response-and the corresponding human stress level-that first responders would encounter during a real-world emergency. For the application discussed here, in addition to providing engaging instruction about the fundamentals of radiological environments and the proper usage of radiological equipment, simulation learning prepares first responders to perform effectively under high stress and enables them to practice in teams

[How do Polish workers respond to the information concerning health-oriented lifestyle?

Science.gov (United States)

Korzeniowska, Elżbieta; Puchalski, Krzysztof

2017-06-27

Information overload, including commercial ones, about healthy lifestyle, is a challenge for perception of health education. The empirical data gathered from 100 employees in 2010 by means of free interviews with a standardized list of required information, aimed at analyzing a feeling of pressure to lead a healthy lifestyle, including reactions to meassages provided by the media. Respondents feel pressure associated with a healthy lifestyle from doctors, the state, relatives, friends and themselves. They accept pressure exerted by doctors and appreciate it from relatives and friends, however, the latter may stimulate adverse behavior. As a negative pressure they perceive that imposed by the media, government's shifting the responsibility for citizens' health, information overload contradictory to their own knowledge, unattainable recommendations and their volatility. Such pressure evokes conviction for their own resistance or rejection of the messages. They criticize the media for promoting unhealthy behavior, attending interests of advertisers, hiding information about harmful environmental influence. They appreciate the media for facilitating learning about health and preventive examinations. Health education messages are only occasionally identified by better educated people. "Dense" information environment is a hostile background for health education. An excess of critically evaluated information evokes pressure and lack of trust in information. Therefore, health education should facilitate the identification of its contents, avoid normative methods, limit the number of guidelines and better explain the faced changes, counteract tendencies to associate healthy lifestyle mainly with consumer behaviors, teach how to maintain self orientation in information overload conditions, and build up awareness of one's own brand. Med Pr 2017;68(4):525-543. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

Comparison of different methods to include recycling in LCAs of aluminium cans and disposable polystyrene cups.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Harst, Eugenie; Potting, José; Kroeze, Carolien

2016-02-01

Many methods have been reported and used to include recycling in life cycle assessments (LCAs). This paper evaluates six widely used methods: three substitution methods (i.e. substitution based on equal quality, a correction factor, and alternative material), allocation based on the number of recycling loops, the recycled-content method, and the equal-share method. These six methods were first compared, with an assumed hypothetical 100% recycling rate, for an aluminium can and a disposable polystyrene (PS) cup. The substitution and recycled-content method were next applied with actual rates for recycling, incineration and landfilling for both product systems in selected countries. The six methods differ in their approaches to credit recycling. The three substitution methods stimulate the recyclability of the product and assign credits for the obtained recycled material. The choice to either apply a correction factor, or to account for alternative substituted material has a considerable influence on the LCA results, and is debatable. Nevertheless, we prefer incorporating quality reduction of the recycled material by either a correction factor or an alternative substituted material over simply ignoring quality loss. The allocation-on-number-of-recycling-loops method focusses on the life expectancy of material itself, rather than on a specific separate product. The recycled-content method stimulates the use of recycled material, i.e. credits the use of recycled material in products and ignores the recyclability of the products. The equal-share method is a compromise between the substitution methods and the recycled-content method. The results for the aluminium can follow the underlying philosophies of the methods. The results for the PS cup are additionally influenced by the correction factor or credits for the alternative material accounting for the drop in PS quality, the waste treatment management (recycling rate, incineration rate, landfilling rate), and the

Building a shared understanding of the skills and competences in order to respond to the current global technical challenges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Friesel, Anna; Ward, Anthony; Welzer, Tatjana

2014-01-01

A pan-European team, including the representatives from 45 European universities, is working on an EU supported project to firstly explore and then provide models for ways in which Higher Education Institutions of Europe in the Electrical and Information Engineering disciplines can respond...

Using Video Modeling to Teach Children with PDD-NOS to Respond to Facial Expressions

Science.gov (United States)

Axe, Judah B.; Evans, Christine J.

2012-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorders often exhibit delays in responding to facial expressions, and few studies have examined teaching responding to subtle facial expressions to this population. We used video modeling to train 3 participants with PDD-NOS (age 5) to respond to eight facial expressions: approval, bored, calming, disapproval,…

Public transportation's role in responding to climate change

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

This paper details the role public transportation has in responding to the challenge of climate change. It collects and analyzes data from across the country on public transportation fuel use, vehicles deployed, rides taken, and other key metrics, dr...

Cognitive Attributes of Adequate and Inadequate Responders to Reading Intervention in Middle School

OpenAIRE

Miciak, Jeremy; Stuebing, Karla K.; Vaughn, Sharon; Roberts, Greg; Barth, Amy Elizabeth; Fletcher, Jack M.

2014-01-01

No studies have investigated the cognitive attributes of middle school students who are adequate and inadequate responders to Tier 2 reading intervention. We compared students in Grades 6 and 7 representing groups of adequate responders (n = 77) and inadequate responders who fell below criteria in (a) comprehension (n = 54); (b) fluency (n = 45); and (c) decoding, fluency, and comprehension (DFC; n = 45). These students received measures of phonological awareness, listening comprehension, rap...

Social skills group training in high-functioning autism: A qualitative responder study.

Science.gov (United States)

Choque Olsson, Nora; Rautio, Daniel; Asztalos, Jenny; Stoetzer, Ulrich; Bölte, Sven

2016-11-01

Systematic reviews show some evidence for the efficacy of group-based social skills group training in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, but more rigorous research is needed to endorse generalizability. In addition, little is known about the perspectives of autistic individuals participating in social skills group training. Using a qualitative approach, the objective of this study was to examine experiences and opinions about social skills group training of children and adolescents with higher functioning autism spectrum disorder and their parents following participation in a manualized social skills group training ("KONTAKT"). Within an ongoing randomized controlled clinical trial (NCT01854346) and based on outcome data from the Social Responsiveness Scale, six high responders and five low-to-non-responders to social skills group training and one parent of each child (N = 22) were deep interviewed. Interestingly, both high responders and low-to-non-responders (and their parents) reported improvements in social communication and related skills (e.g. awareness of own difficulties, self-confidence, independence in everyday life) and overall treatment satisfaction, although more positive intervention experiences were expressed by responders. These findings highlight the added value of collecting verbal data in addition to quantitative data in a comprehensive evaluation of social skills group training. © The Author(s) 2016.

Connecting to Get Things Done: A Conceptual Model of the Process Used to Respond to Bias Incidents

Science.gov (United States)

LePeau, Lucy A.; Morgan, Demetri L.; Zimmerman, Hilary B.; Snipes, Jeremy T.; Marcotte, Beth A.

2016-01-01

In this study, we interviewed victims of bias incidents and members of a bias response team to investigate the process the team used to respond to incidents. Incidents included acts of sexism, homophobia, and racism on a large, predominantly White research university in the Midwest. Data were analyzed using a 4-stage coding process. The emergent…

A frequency domain linearized Navier-Stokes method including acoustic damping by eddy viscosity using RANS

Science.gov (United States)

Holmberg, Andreas; Kierkegaard, Axel; Weng, Chenyang

2015-06-01

In this paper, a method for including damping of acoustic energy in regions of strong turbulence is derived for a linearized Navier-Stokes method in the frequency domain. The proposed method is validated and analyzed in 2D only, although the formulation is fully presented in 3D. The result is applied in a study of the linear interaction between the acoustic and the hydrodynamic field in a 2D T-junction, subject to grazing flow at Mach 0.1. Part of the acoustic energy at the upstream edge of the junction is shed as harmonically oscillating disturbances, which are conveyed across the shear layer over the junction, where they interact with the acoustic field. As the acoustic waves travel in regions of strong shear, there is a need to include the interaction between the background turbulence and the acoustic field. For this purpose, the oscillation of the background turbulence Reynold's stress, due to the acoustic field, is modeled using an eddy Newtonian model assumption. The time averaged flow is first solved for using RANS along with a k-ε turbulence model. The spatially varying turbulent eddy viscosity is then added to the spatially invariant kinematic viscosity in the acoustic set of equations. The response of the 2D T-junction to an incident acoustic field is analyzed via a plane wave scattering matrix model, and the result is compared to experimental data for a T-junction of rectangular ducts. A strong improvement in the agreement between calculation and experimental data is found when the modification proposed in this paper is implemented. Discrepancies remaining are likely due to inaccuracies in the selected turbulence model, which is known to produce large errors e.g. for flows with significant rotation, which the grazing flow across the T-junction certainly is. A natural next step is therefore to test the proposed methodology together with more sophisticated turbulence models.

Zirconium-based alloys, nuclear fuel rods and nuclear reactors including such alloys, and related methods

Science.gov (United States)

Mariani, Robert Dominick

2014-09-09

Zirconium-based metal alloy compositions comprise zirconium, a first additive in which the permeability of hydrogen decreases with increasing temperatures at least over a temperature range extending from 350.degree. C. to 750.degree. C., and a second additive having a solubility in zirconium over the temperature range extending from 350.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. At least one of a solubility of the first additive in the second additive over the temperature range extending from 350.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. and a solubility of the second additive in the first additive over the temperature range extending from 350.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. is higher than the solubility of the second additive in zirconium over the temperature range extending from 350.degree. C. to 750.degree. C. Nuclear fuel rods include a cladding material comprising such metal alloy compositions, and nuclear reactors include such fuel rods. Methods are used to fabricate such zirconium-based metal alloy compositions.

Stakeholders' perception on including broader economic impact of vaccines in economic evaluations in low and middle income countries: a mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Putten, Ingeborg M; Evers, Silvia M A A; Deogaonkar, Rohan; Jit, Mark; Hutubessy, Raymond C W

2015-04-10

Current health economic evaluation guidelines mainly concentrate on immediate health gains and cost savings for the individual involved in the intervention. However, it has been argued that these guidelines are too narrow to capture the full impact of vaccination in low and middle income countries. The inclusion of broader economic impact of vaccines (BEIV) has therefore been proposed. Some examples of these are productivity-related gains, macro-economic impact, and different externalities. Despite their potency, the extent to which such benefits can and should be incorporated into economic evaluations of vaccination is still unclear. This mixed methods study aims to assess the relevance of BEIV to different stakeholders involved in the vaccine introduction decision making process. In this mixed method study an internet based survey was sent to attendees of the New and Underutilized Vaccines Initiative meeting in Montreux, Switzerland in 2011. Additionally, semi-structured interviews of 15 minutes each were conducted during the meeting. Study participants included decision makers, experts and funders of vaccines and immunization programs in low and middle income countries. Descriptive analysis of the survey, along with identification of common themes and factors extracted from the interviews and open survey questions was undertaken. Evidence on macro-economic impact, burden of disease and ecological effects were perceived as being most valuable towards aiding decision making for vaccine introduction by the 26 survey respondents. The 14 interviewees highlighted the importance of burden of disease and different types of indirect effects. Furthermore, some new interpretations of BEIVs were discussed, such as the potential negative impact of wastage during immunization programs and the idea of using vaccines as a platform for delivering other types of health interventions. Interviewees also highlighted the importance of using a broader perspective in connection to

Survey of Public Understanding on Energy Resources including Nuclear Energy (I)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Se-Moon; Song, Sun-Ja

2007-01-01

Women in Nuclear-Korea (WINK) surveyed the public understanding on various energy resources in early September 2006 to offer the result for establishment of the nuclear communication policy. The reason why this survey includes other energy resources is because the previous works are only limited on nuclear energy, and also aimed to know the public's opinion on the present communication skill of nuclear energy for the public understanding. The present study is purposed of having data how public understands nuclear energy compared to other energies, such as fossil fuels, hydro power, and other sustainable energies. The data obtained from this survey have shown different results according to the responded group; age, gender, residential area, etc. Responded numbers are more than 2,000 of general public and university students. The survey result shows that nuclear understanding is more negative in women than in men, and is more negative in young than older age

Racial and Social Class Differences in How Parents Respond to Inadequate Achievement: Consequences for Children's Future Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Keith; Harris, Angel L

2013-12-01

Despite numerous studies on parental involvement in children's academic schooling, there is a dearth of knowledge on how parents respond specifically to inadequate academic performance. This study examines whether 1) racial differences exist in parenting philosophy for addressing inadequate achievement, 2) social class has implications for parenting philosophy, and 3) parents' philosophies are consequential for children's academic achievement. Using data from the Child Development Supplement (N=1041) to the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we sort parents into two categories-those whose parenting repertoires for addressing poor achievement include punitive responses and those whose repertoires do not. We then determine whether racial differences exist between these categories and how various responses within the aforementioned categories are related to students' academic achievement. The findings show that white and black parents have markedly different philosophies on how to respond to inadequate performance, and these differences appear to impact children's achievement in dramatically different ways. Educators and policy makers should pay particular attention to how parents respond to inadequate achievement as imploring parents of inadequately performing students to be more involved without providing them with some guidance might exacerbate the problem.

A new landmark in the strategy for responding to juvenile delinquency

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L.M. Karnozova

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the restorative approach in responding to juvenile delinquency, which is defined as a priority in this area in the “National Strategy for Action for the Benefit of Children for 2012-2017”. Attention is drawn to the fact that a new benchmark in the work with children cannot be viewed solely from a technological point of view; this is a new way of thinking, a new approach to the work of specialists of helping professions. The core of the practice of restorative justice is a mediation method, the hallmark of which is the transfer of authority in the resolution of conflicts to the parties themselves. We show the specificity of the offender and victim mediation, the restrictions of the conceptual apparatus of classical mediation and involvement the categories of restorative justice and narrative approach in the mediation method. We introduce a notion of communicative positions, the opposition of “expert diagnosis” and “understanding” approaches in the social and humanitarian practices.

11 CFR 111.38 - Can the respondent appeal the Commission's final determination?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Can the respondent appeal the Commission's final determination? 111.38 Section 111.38 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL... determination under 11 CFR 111.37, the respondent may submit a written petition to the district court of the...

Differential profiles of crack users in respondent-driven and institutional samples: a three-site comparison

OpenAIRE

Oteo Pérez, A.; Benschop, A.; Korf, D.J.

2012-01-01

Background/Aim: Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is increasingly applied in social epidemiological surveys among ‘hidden populations’ of hard drug users. The objective of the present study was to assess whether the profile of frequent crack users recruited through RDS differed from those surveyed in two random institutional samples, i.e. low-threshold opiate substitution treatment (ST) and user rooms (URs). Methods: A total of 1,039 crack users (mean age 45.1 8 9.1 years; 81.5% males; 49.5% n...

CB decontamination for first responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mayer, M.D.G.; Purdon, J.G.; Burczyk, A. [Defence Research and Development Canada Suffield, Ralston, AB (Canada)

2006-07-01

The Universal Containment System (UCS) is designed to contain, mitigate and decontaminate chemical, biological and radiological warfare agents. The UCS consists of a lightweight, tent-like enclosure filled with a water-based surface decontaminating foam (SDF). The Canadian government funded a project to advance the understanding of the behaviour of the UCS. This paper described the success of the project as well as the technological advances in the UCS formulation and equipment. Vapour desorption experiments were conducted in which SDF was applied onto 12 surfaces found in a typical office environment. Both mustard and nerve agent were studied on the test surfaces. Both scrubbing and non-scrubbing decontamination methods were tested. SDF effectively decontaminated the non-porous substances, particularly when the scrubbing procedure was used. Results were more complicated for the non-porous samples. A dye added to the agent was useful for determining the fate of the agent. Liquid phase studies were conducted in which the reaction between SDF and various agents were studied in the liquid phase in order to estimate the rate of reaction, the stoichiometry and the reaction products formed. Both SDF and the commercial decontamination agent CASCAD were found to effectively kill 100 per cent of anthrax spores. The significance of this project to first responders was considerable. Changes to the formulation and equipment of UCS will increase its usefulness and safety. Users will also have a better knowledge of the amount of decontamination needed for complete effectiveness in specific situations. Recommendations have been made for use of the product on a range of indoor surfaces. Field trials have shown the blast mitigation and agent decontamination ability of the foam under explosive situations. 15 refs., 4 tabs.

Policy options to respond to rapid climate change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swart, R.J.; Marinova, N.A.; Bakker, S.; Tilburg, van X.

2009-01-01

Ongoing research on climate change indicates that we cannot rule out the possibility of extreme climatic changes, beyond current IPCC scenarios. The thinking about policy responses to address these risks is still in its infancy. This study explores the possibilities for responding to extreme

16 CFR 5.62 - Hearing rights of respondent.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Hearing rights of respondent. 5.62 Section 5.62 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION, PROCEDURES AND RULES OF PRACTICE STANDARDS OF CONDUCT Disciplinary Actions Concerning Postemployment Conflict of Interest § 5.62 Hearing...

Body Dysmorphic, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Social Anxiety Disorder Beliefs as Predictors of In Vivo Stressor Responding.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, E Marie; Straub, Kelsey T; Smith, April R; Clerkin, Elise M

2017-06-01

This study tested the potential transdiagnostic nature of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and social anxiety disorder (SAD) beliefs, in addition to testing the specificity of those beliefs, in predicting how individuals responded to symptom-specific stressors. Participants included 127 adults (75% women) with a broad range of symptom severity. Path analysis was used to evaluate whether specific maladaptive beliefs predicted distress in response to symptom-relevant stressors over and above other beliefs and baseline distress. SAD beliefs emerged as a significant predictor of distress in response to a mirror gazing (BDD-relevant), a thought (OCD-relevant), and a public speaking (SAD-relevant) task, controlling for other disorder beliefs and baseline distress. BDD beliefs were also a robust predictor of BDD stressor responding. Results suggest that social anxiety-relevant beliefs may function as a transdiagnostic risk factor that predicts in vivo symptoms across a range of problem areas.

Listening to Early Career Teachers: How Can Elementary Mathematics Methods Courses Better Prepare Them to Utilize Standards-Based Practices in Their Classrooms?

Science.gov (United States)

Coester, Lee Anne

2010-01-01

This study was designed to gather input from early career elementary teachers with the goal of finding ways to improve elementary mathematics methods courses. Multiple areas were explored including the degree to which respondents' elementary mathematics methods course focused on the NCTM Process Standards, the teachers' current standards-based…

Sentiments and Perceptions of Business Respondents on Social Media: an Exploratory Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Torres van Grinsven Vanessa

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The perceptions and sentiments of business respondents are considered important for statistical bureaus. As perceptions and sentiments are related to the behavior of the people expressing them, gaining insights into the perceptions and sentiments of business respondents is of interest to understand business survey response. In this article we present an exploratory analysis of expressions in the social media regarding Statistics Netherlands. In recent years, social media have become an important infrastructure for communication flows and thus an essential network in our social structure. Within that network participants are actively involved in expressing sentiments and perceptions. The results of our analysis provide insights into the perceptions and sentiments that business respondents have of this national statistical institute and specifically its business surveys. They point towards the specific causes that have led to a positive or a negative sentiment. Based on these results, recommendations aimed at influencing the perceptions and sentiments will be discussed, with the ultimate goal of stimulating survey participation. We also suggest recommendations regarding social media studies on sentiments and perceptions of survey respondents.

Adhesion and migration of cells responding to microtopography.

Science.gov (United States)

Estévez, Maruxa; Martínez, Elena; Yarwood, Stephen J; Dalby, Matthew J; Samitier, Josep

2015-05-01

It is known that cells respond strongly to microtopography. However, cellular mechanisms of response are unclear. Here, we study wild-type fibroblasts responding to 25 µm(2) posts and compare their response to that of FAK(-/-) fibroblasts and fibroblasts with PMA treatment to stimulate protein kinase C (PKC) and the small g-protein Rac. FAK knockout cells modulated adhesion number and size in a similar way to cells on topography; that is, they used more, smaller adhesions, but migration was almost completely stalled demonstrating the importance of FAK signaling in contact guidance and adhesion turnover. Little similarity, however, was observed to PKC stimulated cells and cells on the topography. Interestingly, with PKC stimulation the cell nuclei became highly deformable bringing focus on these surfaces to the study of metastasis. Surfaces that aid the study of cellular migration are important in developing understanding of mechanisms of wound healing and repair in aligned tissues such as ligament and tendon. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Train-the-trainer training for EV first responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon

2011-11-15

This paper presents Electrical Line magazine. The magazine covers new product releases, provides expert opinion on solving problems posted by readers, has updated industry news and posts event calendars, among other features. This paper discusses industry news and various topics on electric vehicles. Nova Scotia Power is researching the convenience of electric charging and the readiness of the provincial electric grid to support electric vehicles as well as their cost effectiveness and performance. The paper describes how Hydro-Quebec is supporting the use of such vehicles through the selection of ten Boucherville businesses to participate in an electric vehicles trial program. The ten company names are listed. Recently, the national alternative fuels training consortium (NAFTC) conducted a safety-training workshop for electric drive vehicle first responders at the Tesla Motors headquarters in California. The aim was to ensure that first responders had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge of electric drive vehicle accident response procedures.

Perceptions of Children's Television Advertising: An Empirical Investigation of the Beliefs and Attitudes of Consumer, Industry, and Government Respondents.

Science.gov (United States)

Culley, James D.

This paper summarizes the findings of a study investigating the beliefs and attitudes of six key respondent groups regarding issues surrounding television advertising and children. The six groups included in the study are spokesmen for Action for Children's Television (ACT); the presidents and top executive officers of advertising agencies…

Using respondent uncertainty to mitigate hypothetical bias in a stated choice experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Richard C. Ready; Patricia A. Champ; Jennifer L. Lawton

2010-01-01

In a choice experiment study, willingness to pay for a public good estimated from hypothetical choices was three times as large as willingness to pay estimated from choices requiring actual payment. This hypothetical bias was related to the stated level of certainty of respondents. We develop protocols to measure respondent certainty in the context of a choice...

An Investigation into How Students Respond to Being Victimized by Peer Aggression

Science.gov (United States)

Sulkowski, Michael L.; Bauman, Sheri A.; Dinner, Stephanie; Nixon, Charisse; Davis, Stan

2014-01-01

This study investigates how students respond to peer aggression. Results indicate that boys tend to use more retaliatory responses to peer aggression compared with girls, who are more likely to confide in their friends. The use of humor in response to being victimized also was found to be a promising way to respond to being victimized, especially…

Learning environment simulator: a tool for local decision makers and first responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leclaire, Rene J [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hirsch, Gary B [CLE, INCORPORATED

2009-01-01

The National Infrastructure Simulation and Analysis Center (NISAC) has developed a prototype learning environment simulator (LES) based on the Critical Infrastructure Protection Decision Support System (CIPDSS) infrastructure and scenario models. The LES is designed to engage decision makers at the grass-roots level (local/city/state) to deepen their understanding of an evolving crisis, enhance their intuition and allow them to test their own strategies for events before they occur. An initial version is being developed, centered on a pandemic influenza outbreak and has been successfully tested with a group of hospital administrators and first responders. LES is not a predictive tool but rather a simulated environment allowing the user to experience the complexities of a crisis before it happens. Users can contrast various approaches to the crisis, competing with alternative strategies of their own or other participants. LES is designed to assist decision makers in making informed choices by functionally representing relevant scenarios before they occur, including impacts to critical infrastructures with their interdependencies, and estimating human health & safety and economic impacts. In this paper a brief overview of the underlying models are given followed by a description of the LES, its interface and usage and an overview of the experience testing LES with a group of hospital administrators and first responders. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the work remaining to make LES operational.

Requirements for radiation emergency urine bioassay techniques for the public and first responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunsheng; Vlahovich, Slavica; Dai, Xiongxin; Richardson, Richard B; Daka, Joseph N; Kramer, Gary H

2010-11-01

Following a radiation emergency, the affected public and the first responders may need to be quickly assessed for internal contamination by the radionuclides involved. Urine bioassay is one of the most commonly used methods for assessing radionuclide intake and radiation dose. This paper attempts to derive the sensitivity requirements (from inhalation exposure) for the urine bioassay techniques for the top 10 high-risk radionuclides that might be used in a terrorist attack. The requirements are based on a proposed reference dose to adults of 0.1 Sv (CED, committed effective dose). In addition, requirements related to sample turnaround time and field deployability of the assay techniques are also discussed. A review of currently available assay techniques summarized in this paper reveals that method development for ²⁴¹Am, ²²⁶Ra, ²³⁸Pu, and ⁹⁰Sr urine bioassay is needed.

Nuclear Fallout Decision Tool for First Responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Archibald, E. J. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Buddemeier, B. R. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

2010-08-11

If terrorists detonated an improvised nuclear device (IND) in an urban area, thousands of people would die from the blast, and many more would become sick or die from exposure to fallout radiation. Proper sheltering and evacuation can protect people from fallout and save lives. This project provides guidance to first responders as to when to evacuate and what route to take to protect themselves against fallout radiation.

The influence of indirect collective trauma on first responders' alcohol use.

Science.gov (United States)

Homish, Gregory G; Frazer, Bonita S; Carey, Mary G

2012-01-01

Previous research has suggested increased risk for negative outcomes such as increased alcohol use among first responders who are involved with the response to a community disaster; however it is not clear how indirect exposure to a critical incident impacts first responders. This work examined the impact of secondary or indirect trauma on changes in alcohol use among urban firefighters who were not directly involved in the response to a large scale community-level disaster. Firefighters enrolled in larger trial of health outcomes whose interview period coincided with the crash of a commercial airplane were the basis for the current report. Aggregate level data on changes in alcohol consumption for these firefighters were examined pre- and post-incident. There was a significant increase in alcohol use following the critical incident. This increase did not occur immediately; it was observed within several days and peaked about 8 days post-incident. Post-hoc analyses revealed that the increased alcohol consumption persisted for several months, finally returning to pre-incident levels by 8 months post-incident. Indirect trauma effects, likely operationalized in part through the "brotherhood" of the firefighters, clearly placed firefighters at risk for negative outcomes following a disaster. Intervention/prevention efforts aimed at distress reduction among first responders should not solely focus on responders with direct involvement in a disaster.

Rationale and design of a multicenter randomized clinical trial with memantine and dextromethorphan in ketamine-responder patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Pickering, Gisèle; Pereira, Bruno; Morel, Véronique; Tiberghien, Florence; Martin, Elodie; Marcaillou, Fabienne; Picard, Pascale; Delage, Noémie; de Montgazon, Géraldine; Sorel, Marc; Roux, Delphine; Dubray, Claude

2014-07-01

The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor plays an important role in central sensitization of neuropathic pain and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists, such as ketamine, memantine and dextromethorphan may be used for persistent pain. However, ketamine cannot be repeated too often because of its adverse events. A drug relay would be helpful in the outpatient to postpone or even cancel the next ketamine infusion. This clinical trial evaluates if memantine and/or dextromethorphan given as a relay to ketamine responders may maintain or induce a decrease of pain intensity and have a beneficial impact on cognition and quality of life. This trial is a multi-center, randomized, controlled and single-blind clinical study (NCT01602185). It includes 60 ketamine responder patients suffering from neuropathic pain. They are randomly allocated to memantine, dextromethorphan or placebo. After ketamine infusion, 60 patients received either memantine (maximal dose 20 mg/day), or dextromethorphan (maximal dose 90 mg/day), or placebo for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint is pain measured on a (0-10) Numeric Rating Scale 1 month after inclusion. Secondary outcomes include assessment of neuropathic pain, sleep, quality of life, anxiety/depression and cognitive function at 2 and 3 months. Data analysis is performed using mixed models and the tests are two-sided, with a type I error set at α=0.05. This study will explore if oral memantine and/or dextromethorphan may be a beneficial relay in ketamine responders and may diminish ketamine infusion frequency. Preservation of cognitive function and quality of life is also a central issue that will be analyzed in these vulnerable patients. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Established and emerging methods for assessment of small and large intestinal motility

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grønlund, D; Poulsen, J L; Sandberg, T H

2017-01-01

and validation of objective methods to evaluate motility of the whole gut is important. Such techniques may be applied in clinical settings as diagnostic tools, in research to elucidate underlying mechanisms of diseases, and to evaluate how the gut responds to various drugs. A wide array of such methods exists...... emerged, with the advantages that they are less invasive, use no radiation, and provide much more detailed information. PURPOSE: This review outlines well-established and emerging methods to evaluate small bowel and colonic motility in clinical settings and in research. The latter include the 3D...

An alternative framework for responding to the amphibian crisis

Science.gov (United States)

Muths, Erin L.; Fisher, Robert N.

2017-01-01

Volumes of data illustrate the severity of the crisis affecting amphibians, where > 32% of amphibians worldwide are threatened with declining populations. Although there have been isolated victories, the current approach to the issue is unsuccessful. We suggest that a radically different approach, something akin to human emergency response management (i.e. the Incident Command System), is one alternative to addressing the inertia and lack of cohesion in responding to amphibian issues. We acknowledge existing efforts and the useful research that has been conducted, but we suggest that a change is warranted and that the identification of a new amphibian chytrid provides the impetus for such a change. Our goal is to recognize that without a centralized effort we (collectively) are likely to fail in responding to this challenge.

Work-related psychosocial hazards among emergency medical responders (EMRS in Mansoura city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eman Omar Khashaba

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This research was done to assess levels of psychosocial stress and related hazards [(burnout, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD] among emergency medical responders (EMRs. Materials and Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted upon (140 EMRs and a comparative group composed of (140 nonemergency workers. The groups studied were subjected to semistructured questionnaire including demographic data, survey for job stressors, Maslach burn out inventory (MBI, Beck depression inventory (BDI, and Davidson Trauma scale for PTSD. Results: The most severe acute stressors among EMRs were dealing with traumatic events (88.57%, followed by dealing with serious accidents (87.8% and young victims (87.14%. Chronic stressors were more commonly reported among EMRs with statistically significant differences (P 0.05. There was increased risk of PTSD for those who had higher stress levels from death of colleagues [odds ratio (OR [95% confidence interval (CI] = 2.2 (0.7-7.6, exposure to verbal or physical assault OR (95% CI = 1.6 (0.5-4.4 and dealing with psychiatric OR (95% CI 1.4 (0.53.7 (P > 0.05 Conclusion: EMRs group had more frequent exposure to both acute and chronic work-related stressors than comparative group. Also, EMRs had higher levels of EE, DP, and PTSD compared with comparative group. EMRs are in need for stress management program for prevention these of stress related hazards on health and work performance.

A sensitive multi-residue method for the determination of 35 micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, iodinated contrast media and pesticides in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Valls-Cantenys, Carme; Scheurer, Marco; Iglesias, Mònica; Sacher, Frank; Brauch, Heinz-Jürgen; Salvadó, Victoria

2016-09-01

A sensitive, multi-residue method using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was developed to determine a representative group of 35 analytes, including corrosion inhibitors, pesticides and pharmaceuticals such as analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs, five iodinated contrast media, β-blockers and some of their metabolites and transformation products in water samples. Few other methods are capable of determining such a broad range of contrast media together with other analytes. We studied the parameters affecting the extraction of the target analytes, including sorbent selection and extraction conditions, their chromatographic separation (mobile phase composition and column) and detection conditions using two ionisation sources: electrospray ionisation (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation (APCI). In order to correct matrix effects, a total of 20 surrogate/internal standards were used. ESI was found to have better sensitivity than APCI. Recoveries ranging from 79 to 134 % for tap water and 66 to 144 % for surface water were obtained. Intra-day precision, calculated as relative standard deviation, was below 34 % for tap water and below 21 % for surface water, groundwater and effluent wastewater. Method quantification limits (MQL) were in the low ng L(-1) range, except for the contrast agents iomeprol, amidotrizoic acid and iohexol (22, 25.5 and 17.9 ng L(-1), respectively). Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of 56 real water samples as part of the validation procedure. All of the compounds were detected in at least some of the water samples analysed. Graphical Abstract Multi-residue method for the determination of micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, iodinated contrast media and pesticides in waters by LC-MS/MS.

Quality of courses evaluated by 'predictions' rather than opinions: Fewer respondents needed for similar results.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Schönrock-Adema, Johanna; Schmidt, Henk G

2010-01-01

A well-known problem with student surveys is a too low response rate. Experiences with predicting electoral outcomes, which required much smaller sample sizes, inspired us to adopt a similar approach to course evaluation. We expected that having respondents estimate the average opinions of their peers required fewer respondents for comparable outcomes than giving own opinions. Two course evaluation studies were performed among successive first-year medical students (N = 380 and 450, respectively). Study 1: Half the cohort gave opinions on nine questions, while the other half predicted the average outcomes. A prize was offered for the three best predictions (motivational remedy). Study 2: Half the cohort gave opinions, a quarter made predictions without a prize and a quarter made predictions with previous year's results as prior knowledge (cognitive remedy). The numbers of respondents required for stable outcomes were determined following an iterative process. Differences between numbers of respondents required and between average scores were analysed with ANOVA. In both studies, the prediction conditions required significantly fewer respondents (p < 0.001) for comparable outcomes. The informed prediction condition required the fewest respondents (N < 20). Problems with response rates can be reduced by asking respondents to predict evaluation outcomes rather than giving opinions.

Akt3 is a privileged first responder in isozyme-specific electrophile response.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Marcus J C; Parvez, Saba; Zhao, Yi; Surya, Sanjna L; Wang, Yiran; Zhang, Sheng; Aye, Yimon

2017-03-01

Isozyme-specific post-translational regulation fine tunes signaling events. However, redundancy in sequence or activity renders links between isozyme-specific modifications and downstream functions uncertain. Methods to study this phenomenon are underdeveloped. Here we use a redox-targeting screen to reveal that Akt3 is a first-responding isozyme sensing native electrophilic lipids. Electrophile modification of Akt3 modulated downstream pathway responses in cells and Danio rerio (zebrafish) and markedly differed from Akt2-specific oxidative regulation. Digest MS sequencing identified Akt3 C119 as the privileged cysteine that senses 4-hydroxynonenal. A C119S Akt3 mutant was hypomorphic for all downstream phenotypes shown by wild-type Akt3. This study documents isozyme-specific and chemical redox signal-personalized physiological responses.

A FILTRATION METHOD AND APPARATUS INCLUDING A ROLLER WITH PORES

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2008-01-01

The present invention offers a method for separating dry matter from a medium. A separation chamber is at least partly defined by a plurality of rollers (2,7) and is capable of being pressure regulated. At least one of the rollers is a pore roller (7) having a surface with pores allowing permeabi...

An examination of within-session responding following access to reinforcing stimuli.

Science.gov (United States)

Rispoli, Mandy; O'Reilly, Mark; Lang, Russell; Machalicek, Wendy; Kang, Soyeon; Davis, Tonya; Neely, Leslie

2016-01-01

Previous research has shown tangibly maintained challenging behavior can be temporarily decreased by providing presession access to the relevant tangible. However, the duration of this beneficial effect is unknown. We measured the subsequent duration of behavior reduction effects following presession access during extended classroom observation sessions by analyzing within-session patterns of responding in three children with autism. An alternating treatments design was used to analyze within- and across-session responding following presession access and presession restriction conditions. The cumulative frequency of challenging behavior was higher following the presession restriction condition for all participants and lower following presession access. Within-session analysis revealed the same basic pattern of responding across participants. Specifically, the first half of the sessions contained very little, if any, challenging behavior; however, after 60 min, the rate of challenging behavior began to increase rapidly for two of the three participants. Results are discussed in terms of implications for practitioners, satiation, habituation, and behavioral contrast. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How to define responders in osteoarthritis

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, Cyrus; Adachi, Jonathan D.; Bardin, Thomas; Berenbaum, Francis; Flamion, Bruno; Jonsson, Helgi; Kanis, John A.; Pelousse, Franz; Lems, Willem F.; Pelletier, Jean-Pierre; Martel-Pelletier, Johanne; Reiter, Susanne; Reginster, Jean-Yves; Rizzoli, René; Bruyère, Olivier

2013-01-01

Background Osteoarthritis is a clinical syndrome of failure of the joint accompanied by varying degrees of joint pain, functional limitation, and reduced quality of life due to deterioration of articular cartilage and involvement of other joint structures. Scope Regulatory agencies require relevant clinical benefit on symptoms and structure modification for registration of a new therapy as a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD). An international Working Group of the European Society on Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis (ESCEO) and International Osteoporosis Foundation was convened to explore the current burden of osteoarthritis, review current regulatory guidelines for the conduct of clinical trials, and examine the concept of responder analyses for improving drug evaluation in osteoarthritis. Findings The ESCEO considers that the major challenges in DMOAD development are the absence of a precise definition of the disease, particularly in the early stages, and the lack of consensus on how to detect structural changes and link them to clinically meaningful endpoints. Responder criteria should help identify progression of disease and be clinically meaningful. The ideal criterion should be sensitive to change over time and should predict disease progression and outcomes such as joint replacement. Conclusion The ESCEO considers that, for knee osteoarthritis, clinical trial data indicate that radiographic joint space narrowing >0.5 mm over 2 or 3 years might be a reliable surrogate measure for total joint replacement. On-going research using techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and biochemical markers may allow the identification of these patients earlier in the disease process. PMID:23557069

A Novel Analysis Method for Paired-Sample Microbial Ecology Experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Olesen, Scott W; Vora, Suhani; Techtmann, Stephen M; Fortney, Julian L; Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan R; Rodríguez, Jorge; Hazen, Terry C; Alm, Eric J

2016-01-01

Many microbial ecology experiments use sequencing data to measure a community's response to an experimental treatment. In a common experimental design, two units, one control and one experimental, are sampled before and after the treatment is applied to the experimental unit. The four resulting samples contain information about the dynamics of organisms that respond to the treatment, but there are no analytical methods designed to extract exactly this type of information from this configuration of samples. Here we present an analytical method specifically designed to visualize and generate hypotheses about microbial community dynamics in experiments that have paired samples and few or no replicates. The method is based on the Poisson lognormal distribution, long studied in macroecology, which we found accurately models the abundance distribution of taxa counts from 16S rRNA surveys. To demonstrate the method's validity and potential, we analyzed an experiment that measured the effect of crude oil on ocean microbial communities in microcosm. Our method identified known oil degraders as well as two clades, Maricurvus and Rhodobacteraceae, that responded to amendment with oil but do not include known oil degraders. Our approach is sensitive to organisms that increased in abundance only in the experimental unit but less sensitive to organisms that increased in both control and experimental units, thus mitigating the role of "bottle effects".

Sex-specific mechanisms for responding to stress.

Science.gov (United States)

Bangasser, Debra A; Wicks, Brittany

2017-01-02

Posttraumatic stress disorder and major depression share stress as an etiological contributor and are more common in women than in men. Traditionally, preclinical studies investigating the neurobiological underpinnings of stress vulnerability have used only male rodents; however, recent studies that include females are finding sex-specific mechanisms for responding to stress. This Mini-Review examines recent literature using a framework developed by McCarthy and colleagues (2012; J Neurosci 32:2241-2247) that highlights different types of sex differences. First, we detail how learned fear responses in rats are sexually dimorphic. Then, we contrast this finding with fear extinction, which is similar in males and females at the behavioral level but at the circuitry level is associated with sex-specific cellular changes and, thus, exemplifies a sex convergence. Next, sex differences in stress hormones are detailed. Finally, the effects of stress on learning, attention, and arousal are used to highlight the concept of a sex divergence in which the behavior of males and females is similar at baseline but diverges following stressor exposure. We argue that appreciating and investigating the diversity of sex differences in stress response systems will improve our understanding of vulnerability and resilience to stress-related psychiatric disorders and likely lead to the development of novel therapeutics for better treatment of these disorders in both men and women. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Responding to inequities: gorillas try to maintain their competitive advantage during play fights.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Leeuwen, Edwin J C; Zimmermann, Elke; Ross, Marina Davila

2011-02-23

Humans respond to unfair situations in various ways. Experimental research has revealed that non-human species also respond to unequal situations in the form of inequity aversions when they have the disadvantage. The current study focused on play fights in gorillas to explore for the first time, to our knowledge, if/how non-human species respond to inequities in natural social settings. Hitting causes a naturally occurring inequity among individuals and here it was specifically assessed how the hitters and their partners engaged in play chases that followed the hitting. The results of this work showed that the hitters significantly more often moved first to run away immediately after the encounter than their partners. These findings provide evidence that non-human species respond to inequities by trying to maintain their competitive advantages. We conclude that non-human primates, like humans, may show different responses to inequities and that they may modify them depending on if they have the advantage or the disadvantage.

Cling film plastic wrap: An innovation for dead body packaging, preservation and transportation by first responders as a replacement for cadaver body bag in large scale disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Lay See; Lai, Poh Soon; Saidin, Mohd Hilmi; Noor, Zahari; Mahmood, Mohd Shah

2018-04-01

Cadaver body bags are the conventional method to contain a human body or human remains, which includes the use for storage and transportation of the deceased at any crime scene or disaster scene. During disasters, most often than not, the first responders including the police will be equipped with cadaver body bags to do scene processing of human remains and collection of personal belongings at the disaster site. However, in an unanticipated large scale disasters involving hundreds and thousands of fatalities, cadaver body bags supplies may be scarce. The authors have therefore innovated the cling film plastic wrap as an alternative for the cadaver body bag used at the disaster site. The plastic wrap was tested on six different experimental subjects, i.e. both adult and child mannequins; body parts of the mannequin figure (arm and hand); a human adult subject and an unknown dead body. The strengths of the cling film plastic wrap are discussed in comparison with the cadaver body bag in the aspects of costing, weight, duration of the wrap, water and body fluid resistant properties, visibility and other advantages. An average savings of more than 5000% are noted for both adult body wrap and child body wrap compared to the cadaver body wrap. This simply means that the authors can either wrap 25 adult dead bodies or 80 children dead bodies with the cost of 1 cadaver body bag. The cling film plastic wrap has proven to have significant innovation impact for dead body management particularly by the first responders in large scale disasters. With proper handling of dead bodies, first responders can manage the dead with dignity and respect in an overwhelmed situation to facilitate the humanitarian victim identification process later. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Utility of Respondent Driven Sampling to Reach Disadvantaged Emerging Adults for Assessment of Substance Use, Weight, and Sexual Behaviors.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Jalie A; Simpson, Cathy A; Chandler, Susan D; Borch, Casey A; Davies, Susan L; Kerbawy, Shatomi J; Lewis, Terri H; Crawford, M Scott; Cheong, JeeWon; Michael, Max

2016-01-01

Emerging adulthood often entails heightened risk-taking with potential life-long consequences, and research on risk behaviors is needed to guide prevention programming, particularly in under-served and difficult to reach populations. This study evaluated the utility of Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS), a peer-driven methodology that corrects limitations of snowball sampling, to reach at-risk African American emerging adults from disadvantaged urban communities. Initial "seed" participants from the target group recruited peers, who then recruited their peers in an iterative process (110 males, 234 females; M age = 18.86 years). Structured field interviews assessed common health risk factors, including substance use, overweight/obesity, and sexual behaviors. Established gender-and age-related associations with risk factors were replicated, and sample risk profiles and prevalence estimates compared favorably with matched samples from representative U.S. national surveys. Findings supported the use of RDS as a sampling method and grassroots platform for research and prevention with community-dwelling risk groups.

Called to respond: The potential of unveiling hiddens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alison L Black

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Interested in exploring how personal stories and aesthetic modes of representing experiences can nudge open academic and educational spaces, this article/collection of particles seeks to document our encounters of being affected and called to respond to things the other has written and represented. As a way of engaging with questions about what research and research data might be and become, our attention has been drawn to stories and images from our lives that we have not shaken off – and to how, as we have opened these to the other, making once private moments public, our hiddens have morphed tenderly into a shared knowing and being. As we have acted on the call we have felt to respond we have found ourselves entering spaces of collaboration, communion, contemplation, and conversation – spaces illuminated by what we have not been able to – and cannot – set aside. Using visual and poetic materials we explore heartfelt and heartbroken aspects of our educational worlds and lives, to be present with each other and our (reemerging personal and professional meanings. We see the shared body (of work, of writing, of image that develops from the taking of brave steps and the risky slipping off of academic masks and language, as a manifestation of the trusted and nurturing spaces that can be generated through collaborative opportunities to gather together. These steps towards unveiling hiddens are producing in us and of us a friendship, fluency, and fluidity as we write new ways of becoming. In turn, we hope the uncovering and revealing of our dialogue in the public gathering of this journal might supports readers’ telling of their own life stories through what calls them to respond.

Method for including detailed evaluation of daylight levels in Be06

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Steffen

2008-01-01

Good daylight conditions in office buildings have become an important issue due to new European regulatory demands which include energy consumption for electrical lighting in the building energy frame. Good daylight conditions in offices are thus in increased focus as an energy conserving measure....... In order to evaluate whether a certain design is good daylight design or not building designers must perform detailed evaluation of daylight levels, including the daylight performance of dynamic solar shadings, and include these in the energy performance evaluation. However, the mandatory national...... calculation tool in Denmark (Be06) for evaluating the energy performance of buildings is currently using a simple representation of available daylight in a room and simple assumptions regarding the control of shading devices. In a case example, this is leading to an overestimation of the energy consumption...

Proton translocation stoichiometry of cytochrome oxidase: use of a fast-responding oxygen electrode.

Science.gov (United States)

Reynafarje, B; Alexandre, A; Davies, P; Lehninger, A L

1982-01-01

The mechanistic stoichiometry of vectorial H+ ejection coupled to electron transport from added ferrocytochrome c to oxygen by the cytochrome oxidase (EC 1.9.3.1) of rat liver mitoplasts was determined from measurements of the initial rates of electron flow and H+ ejection in the presence of K+ (with valinomycin). Three different methods of measuring electron flow were used: (a) dual-wavelength spectrophotometry of ferrocytochrome c oxidation, (b) uptake of scalar H+ for the reduction of O2 in the presence of a protonophore, and (c) a fast-responding membraneless oxygen electrode. The reliability of the rate measurements was first established against the known stoichiometry of the scalar reaction of cytochrome oxidase (2ferrocytochrome c + 2H+ + 1/2O2 leads to 2ferricytochrome c + H2O) in the presence of excess protonophore. With all three methods the directly observed vectorial H+/O ejection ratios in the presence of K+ + valinomycin significantly exceeded 3.0. However, because the rate of backflow of the ejected H+ into the mitoplasts is very high and increases with the increasing delta pH generated across the membrane, there is a very rapid decline in the observed H+/O ratio from the beginning of the reaction. Kinetic analysis of ferrocytochrome c oxidation by the mitoplasts, carried out with a fast-responding membraneless oxygen electrode, showed the reaction to be first order in O2 and allowed accurate extrapolation of the rates of O2 uptake and H+ ejection to zero time. At this point, at which there is zero delta pH across the membrane, the H+/O ejection ratio of the cytochrome oxidase reaction, obtained from the rates at zero time, is close to 4.0. PMID:6296824

Respondent-Driven Sampling – Testing Assumptions: Sampling with Replacement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barash Vladimir D.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Classical Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS estimators are based on a Markov Process model in which sampling occurs with replacement. Given that respondents generally cannot be interviewed more than once, this assumption is counterfactual. We join recent work by Gile and Handcock in exploring the implications of the sampling-with-replacement assumption for bias of RDS estimators. We differ from previous studies in examining a wider range of sampling fractions and in using not only simulations but also formal proofs. One key finding is that RDS estimates are surprisingly stable even in the presence of substantial sampling fractions. Our analyses show that the sampling-with-replacement assumption is a minor contributor to bias for sampling fractions under 40%, and bias is negligible for the 20% or smaller sampling fractions typical of field applications of RDS.

Reactor power reduction system and method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruno, S.J.; Dunn, S.A.; Raber, M.

1978-01-01

A method of operating a nuclear power reactor is disclosed which enables an accelerated power reduction of the reactor without completely shutting the reactor down. The method includes monitoring the incidents which, upon their occurrence, would require an accelerated power reduction in order to maintain the reactor in a safe operation mode; calculating the power reduction required on the occurrence of such an incident; determining a control rod insertion sequence for the normal operation of the reactor, said sequence being chosen to optimize reactor power capability; selecting the number of control rods necessary to respond to the accelerated power reduction demand, said selection being made according to a priority determined by said control rod insertion sequence; and inserting said selected control rods into the reactor core. 11 claims, 13 figures

Second-principles method for materials simulations including electron and lattice degrees of freedom

Science.gov (United States)

García-Fernández, Pablo; Wojdeł, Jacek C.; Íñiguez, Jorge; Junquera, Javier

2016-05-01

We present a first-principles-based (second-principles) scheme that permits large-scale materials simulations including both atomic and electronic degrees of freedom on the same footing. The method is based on a predictive quantum-mechanical theory—e.g., density functional theory—and its accuracy can be systematically improved at a very modest computational cost. Our approach is based on dividing the electron density of the system into a reference part—typically corresponding to the system's neutral, geometry-dependent ground state—and a deformation part—defined as the difference between the actual and reference densities. We then take advantage of the fact that the bulk part of the system's energy depends on the reference density alone; this part can be efficiently and accurately described by a force field, thus avoiding explicit consideration of the electrons. Then, the effects associated to the difference density can be treated perturbatively with good precision by working in a suitably chosen Wannier function basis. Further, the electronic model can be restricted to the bands of interest. All these features combined yield a very flexible and computationally very efficient scheme. Here we present the basic formulation of this approach, as well as a practical strategy to compute model parameters for realistic materials. We illustrate the accuracy and scope of the proposed method with two case studies, namely, the relative stability of various spin arrangements in NiO (featuring complex magnetic interactions in a strongly-correlated oxide) and the formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the interface between band insulators LaAlO3 and SrTiO3 (featuring subtle electron-lattice couplings and screening effects). We conclude by discussing ways to overcome the limitations of the present approach (most notably, the assumption of a fixed bonding topology), as well as its many envisioned possibilities and future extensions.

Investigating antenatal nutrition education preferences in South-East Queensland, including Maori and Pasifika women.

Science.gov (United States)

Cruickshank, Andrea; Porteous, Helen E; Palmer, Michelle A

2017-11-11

Little is reported about the nutrition-related needs and preferences of women seeking maternity services, particularly Maori and Pasifika (M&P) women who have higher chronic disease rates in Queensland. Nutrition-related knowledge, needs, behaviours and education preferences were compared between women of M&P ancestry and non-Maori and Pasifika women (NMP). Women (≥18 years) admitted to the postnatal ward were surveyed. Anthropometry, dietary quality, nutrition education preferences, country of birth and ancestry were collected. Analysis included chi-squared and t-tests. The survey was completed by 399 eligible women. Country of birth data suggested 4% of respondents were Pasifika and failed to separately identify New Zealand Maori, whereas 18% of respondents (n=73) reported M&P ancestry. Descriptors were similar between groups (28±5 years; 91% any breastfeeding; 18% gestational diabetes mellitus; p>0.05). However M&P women were less often university educated (M&P:6(9%); NMP:71(22%), p2 children (M&P: 30(54%); NMP:70(30%), p75%) women did not know their recommended weight gain. Many respondents reported inadequate intake of vegetables (95%), fruit (29%) and dairy (69%) during pregnancy. Two-fifths (38-41%) reported interest in perinatal nutrition education, with topics including healthy eating postpartum. Findings enable targeted service delivery according to women's preferences. Collecting ancestral and maternal data to facilitate the provision of appropriate nutrition education may be critical for achieving optimal maternal outcomes in Maori and Pasifika women. Copyright © 2017 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

11 CFR 111.39 - When must the respondent pay the civil money penalty?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 11 Federal Elections 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false When must the respondent pay the civil money penalty? 111.39 Section 111.39 Federal Elections FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION GENERAL COMPLIANCE PROCEDURE... penalty? (a) If the respondent does not submit a written petition to the district court of the United...

A comparison between brand-specific and traditional alcohol surveillance methods to assess underage drinkers' reported alcohol use.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Sarah P; Siegel, Michael B; DeJong, William; Jernigan, David H

2014-11-01

Adolescent alcohol consumption remains common and is associated with many negative health outcomes. Unfortunately, common alcohol surveillance methods often underestimate consumption. Improved alcohol use measures are needed to characterize the landscape of youth drinking. We aimed to compare a standard quantity-frequency measure of youth alcohol consumption to a novel brand-specific measure. We recruited a sample of 1031 respondents across the United States to complete an online survey. Analyses included 833 male and female underage drinkers ages 13-20. Respondents reported on how many of the past 30 days they consumed alcohol, and the number of drinks consumed on an average drinking day. Using our brand-specific measure, respondents identified which brands they consumed, how many days they consumed each brand, and how many drinks per brand they usually had. Youth reported consuming significantly more alcohol (on average, 11 drinks more per month) when responding to the brand-specific versus the standard measure (p brands consumed (p brand preferences and consumption.

Sentiments and Perceptions of Business Respondents on Social Media: an Exploratory Analysis

OpenAIRE

Torres van Grinsven Vanessa; Snijkers Ger

2015-01-01

The perceptions and sentiments of business respondents are considered important for statistical bureaus. As perceptions and sentiments are related to the behavior of the people expressing them, gaining insights into the perceptions and sentiments of business respondents is of interest to understand business survey response. In this article we present an exploratory analysis of expressions in the social media regarding Statistics Netherlands. In recent years, social media have become an import...

Editor's Note Responding to suggestions from the research ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Admin

Responding to suggestions from the research fellowship of the Institute of African Studies for a re-branding of the. Research Review, which began publication in the early 1960s soon after the establishment of the Institute, the old title has now been replaced with a new title — Contemporary Journal of African Studies. This is ...

45 CFR 5.24 - Responding to your request.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... information on paper, we will do this if it is the only way to respond to a request. Nor are we required to... copying them all. Moreover, we are required to furnish only one copy of a record and usually impose that limit. If information exists in different forms, we will provide the record in the form that best...

The Self as a Responding-and Responsible-Artifact

OpenAIRE

Dennett, Daniel C.

2003-01-01

The powerful illusion of a unified, Cartesian self responsible for intentional action is contrasted with the biologically sounder model of competitive processes that yield an only partially coherent agency, and the existence of the illusion of self is explained as an evolved feature of communicating agents, capable of responding to requests and queries about their own decisions and actions.

Beam transient analyses of Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactors based on neutron transport method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

He, Mingtao; Wu, Hongchun [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Zheng, Youqi, E-mail: yqzheng@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China); Wang, Kunpeng [Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center, PO Box 8088, Beijing 100082 (China); Li, Xunzhao; Zhou, Shengcheng [School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, Shaanxi (China)

2015-12-15

Highlights: • A transport-based kinetics code for Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactors is developed. • The performance of different kinetics methods adapted to the ADSR is investigated. • The impacts of neutronic parameters deteriorating with fuel depletion are investigated. - Abstract: The Accelerator Driven Subcritical Reactor (ADSR) is almost external source dominated since there is no additional reactivity control mechanism in most designs. This paper focuses on beam-induced transients with an in-house developed dynamic analysis code. The performance of different kinetics methods adapted to the ADSR is investigated, including the point kinetics approximation and space–time kinetics methods. Then, the transient responds of beam trip and beam overpower are calculated and analyzed for an ADSR design dedicated for minor actinides transmutation. The impacts of some safety-related neutronics parameters deteriorating with fuel depletion are also investigated. The results show that the power distribution varying with burnup leads to large differences in temperature responds during transients, while the impacts of kinetic parameters and feedback coefficients are not very obvious. Classification: Core physic.

Responding to the Challenge of True Uncertainty

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hallin, Carina Antonia; Andersen, Torben Juul

We construe a conceptual framework for responding effectively to true uncertainty in the business environment. We drill down to the essential micro-foundational capabilities - sensing and seizing of dynamic capabilities - and link them to classical strategic issue management theory with suggestions...... on how to operationalize these essential capabilities. By definition true uncertainty represents environmental conditions that are hard to foresee, which can catch the unprepared by surprise while presenting opportunities to the conscious organization. We demonstrate that organizations relying...

Learning as change: Responding to socio-scientific issues through informal education

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Lauren Brooks

Informal learning is an important venue for educating the general public about complex socio-scientific issues: intersections of scientific understanding and society. My dissertation is a multi-tiered analysis of how informal education, and particularly informal educators, can leverage learning to respond to one particular socio-scientific issue: climate change. Life-long, life-wide, and life-deep learning not only about the science of climate change, but how communities and society as a whole can respond to it in ways that are commensurate with its scale are necessary. In my three-article dissertation, I investigated the changes in practice and learning that informal educators from a natural history museum underwent in the process of implementing a new type of field trip about climate change. This study focused on inquiry-based learning principles taken on by the museum educators, albeit in different ways: learner autonomy, conversation, and deep investigation. My second article, a short literature review, makes the argument that climate change education must have goals beyond simply increasing learners' knowledge of climate science, and proposes three research-based principles for such learning: participation, relevance, and interconnectedness. These principles are argued to promote learning to respond to climate change as well as increased collective efficacy, necessary for responding. Finally, my third article is an in-depth examination of a heterogeneous network of informal educators and environmental professionals who worked together to design and implement a city-wide platform for informal climate change learning. By conceptualizing climate change learning at the level of the learning ecology, educators and learners are able to see how it can be responded to at the community level, and understand how climate change is interconnected with other scientific, natural, and social systems. I briefly discuss a different socio-scientific issue to which these

Disfiguring molluscum contagiosum in a HIV-positive patient responding to antiretroviral therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sen Sumit

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Molluscum contagiosum (MC is caused by a double stranded DNA virus belonging to the pox virus family. MC lesions are usually pearly, dome shaped, small, discrete lesions with central umbilication. In HIV-positive patients atypical varieties are found. They may be large or nonumbilicated. Individual papules may join to form the agminate variety. This form is rare. Lesions of MC in healthy immunocompetent patients may occur at any part of the body including face, trunk, and limbs. Sexually active adults have lesions usually on the genitalia, pubis, and inner thigh, rarely on the face and scalp. We present a case of agminate MC occurring in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency disease responding to highly active antiretroviral therapy.

Implementation aspects of the Boundary Element Method including viscous and thermal losses

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cutanda Henriquez, Vicente; Juhl, Peter Møller

2014-01-01

The implementation of viscous and thermal losses using the Boundary Element Method (BEM) is based on the Kirchhoff’s dispersion relation and has been tested in previous work using analytical test cases and comparison with measurements. Numerical methods that can simulate sound fields in fluids...

Health, utilisation of health services, 'core' information, and reasons for non-participation: a triangulation study amongst non-respondents.

Science.gov (United States)

Näslindh-Ylispangar, Anita; Sihvonen, Marja; Kekki, Pertti

2008-11-01

To explore health, use of health services, 'core' information and reasons for non-participation amongst males. Gender may provide an explanation for non-participation in the healthcare system. A growing body of research suggests that males are less likely than females to seek help from health professionals for their problems. The current research had its beginnings with the low response rate in a prior voluntary survey and health examination for Finnish males born in 1961. Data triangulation among 28 non-respondent middle-aged males in Helsinki was used. The methods involved structured and in-depth interviews and health measurements to explore the views of these males concerning their health-related behaviours and use of health services. Non-respondent males seldom used healthcare services. Despite clinical risk factors (e.g. obesity and blood pressure) and various symptoms, males perceived their health status as good. Work was widely experienced as excessively demanding, causing insomnia and other stress symptoms. Males expressed sensitive messages when a session was ending and when the participant was close to the door and leaving the room. This 'core' information included major causes of concern, anxiety, fears and loneliness. This triangulation study showed that by using an in-depth interview as one research strategy, more sensitive 'feminist' expressions in health and ill-health were got by men. The results emphasise a male's self-perception of his masculinity that may have relevance to the health experience of the male population. Nurses and physicians need to pay special attention to the requirements of gender-specific healthcare to be most effective in the delivery of healthcare to males.

Effects of mischievous responding on universal mental health screening: I love rum raisin ice cream, really I do!

Science.gov (United States)

Furlong, Michael J; Fullchange, Aileen; Dowdy, Erin

2017-09-01

Student surveys are often used for school-based mental health screening; hence, it is critical to evaluate the authenticity of information obtained via the self-report format. The objective of this study was to examine the possible effects of mischievous response patterns on school-based screening results. The present study included 1,857 high school students who completed a schoolwide screening for complete mental health. Student responses were reviewed to detect possible mischievous responses and to examine their association with other survey results. Consistent with previous research, mischievous responding was evaluated by items that are legitimate to ask of all students (e.g., How much do you weigh? and How many siblings do you have?). Responses were considered "mischievous" when a student selected multiple extreme, unusual (less than 5% incidence) response options, such as weighing more than 225 pounds and having 10 or more siblings. Only 1.8% of the students responded in extreme ways to 2 or more of 7 mischievous response items. When compared with other students, the mischievous responders were less likely to declare that they answered items honestly, were more likely to finish the survey in less than 10 min, reported lower levels of life satisfaction and school connectedness, and reported higher levels of emotional and behavioral distress. When applying a dual-factor mental health screening framework to the responses, mischievous responders were less likely to be categorized as having complete mental health. Implications for school-based mental health screening are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

A Data-Driven Approach to Responder Subgroup Identification after Paired Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tonio Heidegger

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Modulation of cortical excitability by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS is used for investigating human brain functions. A common observation is the high variability of long-term depression (LTD-like changes in human (motor cortex excitability. This study aimed at analyzing the response subgroup distribution after paired continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS as a basis for subject selection.Methods: The effects of paired cTBS using 80% active motor threshold (AMT in 31 healthy volunteers were assessed at the primary motor cortex (M1 corresponding to the representation of the first dorsal interosseous (FDI muscle of the left hand, before and up to 50 min after plasticity induction. The changes in motor evoked potentials (MEPs were analyzed using machine-learning derived methods implemented as Gaussian mixture modeling (GMM and computed ABC analysis.Results: The probability density distribution of the MEP changes from baseline was tri-modal, showing a clear separation at 80.9%. Subjects displaying at least this degree of LTD-like changes were n = 6 responders. By contrast, n = 7 subjects displayed a paradox response with increase in MEP. Reassessment using ABC analysis as alternative approach led to the same n = 6 subjects as a distinct category.Conclusion: Depressive effects of paired cTBS using 80% AMT endure at least 50 min, however, only in a small subgroup of healthy subjects. Hence, plasticity induction by paired cTBS might not reflect a general mechanism in human motor cortex excitability. A mathematically supported criterion is proposed to select responders for enrolment in assessments of human brain functional networks using virtual brain lesions.

Data for First Responder Use of Photoionization Detectors for Vapor Chemical Constituents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keith A. Daum; Matthew G. Watrous; M. Dean Neptune; Daniel I. Michael; Kevin J. Hull; Joseph D. Evans

2006-11-01

First responders need appropriate measurement technologies for evaluating incident scenes. This report provides information about photoionization detectors (PIDs), obtained from manufacturers and independent laboratory tests, and the use of PIDs by first responders, obtained from incident commanders in the United States and Canada. PIDs are valued for their relatively low cost, light weight, rapid detection response, and ease of use. However, it is clear that further efforts are needed to provide suitable instruments and decision tools to incident commanders and first responders for assessing potential hazardous chemical releases. Information provided in this report indicates that PIDs should always be part of a decision-making context in which other qualitative and more definitive tests and instruments are used to confirm a finding. Possible amelioratory actions ranging from quick and relatively easy fixes to those requiring significant additional effort are outlined in the report.

Understanding Why Students Participate in Multiple Surveys: Who are the Hard-Core Responders?

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Stephen R.; Whitcomb, Michael E.

2004-01-01

What causes a student to participate in a survey? This paper looks at survey response across multiple surveys to understand who the hard-core survey responders and non-responders are. Students at a selective liberal arts college were administered four different surveys throughout the 2002-2003 academic year, and we use the number of surveys…

Hip and pelvis diseases on lumbar AP radiographs including both hip joints

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lim, Hyun Soo; Juhng, Seon Kwan; Kim, Eun A; Kim, Jeong Ho; Song, Ha Heon; Shim, Dae Moo [Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan (Korea, Republic of)

2002-12-01

To determine the frequency of disease, and to evaluate the methods used for lumbar spine radiography in Korea. Sixty university and training hospitals were randomly selected and asked to describe the projections, film size and radiographic techniques employed for routine radiography in patients with suspected disease of the lumbar spine. Plain radiographs of 1215 patients, taken using 14x17 inch film and depicting both hip joints and the lumbar region, were analysed between March 1999 and February 2000. In 15 patients (1.2%), the radiographs revealed hip or pelvic lesion, confirmed as follows: avascular necrosis of the femoral head (n=11, with bilateral lesion in four cases); sustained ankylosing spondylitis (n=2); acetabular dysplasia (n=1); and insufficiency fracture of the pubic rami secondary to osteoporosis (n=1). In 11 or the 20 hospitals which responded, 14{sup x}17{sup f}ilm was being used for lumbar radiography, while in the other nine, film size was smaller. Plain radiography of the lumbar spine including both hip joints, may be a useful way to simultaneously evaluate lesions not only of the lumbar spine but also of the hip and/or pelvis.

Efficacy, safety and cost per responder of biologics in the treatment of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Olivieri, Ignazio; Fanizza, Caterina; Gilio, Michele; Ravasio, Roberto

2016-01-01

Anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents are recommended as second-line therapy for patients with axial spondyloarthropathies. This analysis reviewed data on studies investigating the efficacy and tolerability of anti-TNF agents in patients with non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) who had failed first-line non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) treatment. Efficacy data from RCTs were used to calculate the number needed to treat (NNT) for individual anti-TNFs and then the cost per responder was determined to provide an indication of the value of each therapy. A systematic literature review and analysis of search results over the period January 2008 to September 2014 identified four randomised placebo-controlled trials that were included in the analysis. Adalimumab, etanercept and certolizumab pegol were all effective and well tolerated in patients with nr-axSpA. A patient was more likely to reach ASAS20 or ASAS40 when treated with etanercept or adalimumab, the NNT was lowest for adalimumab, and the risk of adverse events was higher with certolizumab pegol 200 mg every 2 weeks. The cost per responder (NNT) was lowest for adalimumab, followed closely by certolizumab 400 mg every 4 weeks, intermediate for certolizumab 200 mg every 2 weeks and highest for etanercept. Although all anti-TNF agents were associated with clinical improvement in patients with nr-axSpA, adalimumab presented a better cost per responder than etanercept and certolizumab pegol.

Life Saving Apps: Linking Cardiac Arrest Victims to Emergency Services and Volunteer Responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim Choi Keung, Sarah N; Khan, Mohammed O; Smith, Christopher; Perkins, Gavin; Murphy, Paddie; Arvanitis, Theodoros N

2016-01-01

In cases of emergency, such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the first few minutes are crucial for victims to receive care and have a positive outcome. However, emergency services often arrive on scene after those first few minutes, making any bridging solutions key. Finding a defibrillator or accessing a trained volunteer responder are some of the technological solutions that are being developed to support the chain of survival. This paper looks at technologies, in particular those linked to mobile apps that have been used to locate defibrillators and responder apps that enable responders to attend to nearby emergencies. We review a selection of apps and also assess the challenges and considerations for such apps.

Platelet "first responders" in wound response, cancer, and metastasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Menter, David G; Kopetz, Scott; Hawk, Ernest; Sood, Anil K; Loree, Jonathan M; Gresele, Paolo; Honn, Kenneth V

2017-06-01

Platelets serve as "first responders" during normal wounding and homeostasis. Arising from bone marrow stem cell lineage megakaryocytes, anucleate platelets can influence inflammation and immune regulation. Biophysically, platelets are optimized due to size and discoid morphology to distribute near vessel walls, monitor vascular integrity, and initiate quick responses to vascular lesions. Adhesion receptors linked to a highly reactive filopodia-generating cytoskeleton maximizes their vascular surface contact allowing rapid response capabilities. Functionally, platelets normally initiate rapid clotting, vasoconstriction, inflammation, and wound biology that leads to sterilization, tissue repair, and resolution. Platelets also are among the first to sense, phagocytize, decorate, or react to pathogens in the circulation. These platelet first responder properties are commandeered during chronic inflammation, cancer progression, and metastasis. Leaky or inflammatory reaction blood vessel genesis during carcinogenesis provides opportunities for platelet invasion into tumors. Cancer is thought of as a non-healing or chronic wound that can be actively aided by platelet mitogenic properties to stimulate tumor growth. This growth ultimately outstrips circulatory support leads to angiogenesis and intravasation of tumor cells into the blood stream. Circulating tumor cells reengage additional platelets, which facilitates tumor cell adhesion, arrest and extravasation, and metastasis. This process, along with the hypercoagulable states associated with malignancy, is amplified by IL6 production in tumors that stimulate liver thrombopoietin production and elevates circulating platelet numbers by thrombopoiesis in the bone marrow. These complex interactions and the "first responder" role of platelets during diverse physiologic stresses provide a useful therapeutic target that deserves further exploration.

Recommendations for the definition of clinical responder in insulin preservation studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Beam, Craig A; Gitelman, Stephen E; Palmer, Jerry P

2014-09-01

Clinical responder studies should contribute to the translation of effective treatments and interventions to the clinic. Since ultimately this translation will involve regulatory approval, we recommend that clinical trials prespecify a responder definition that can be assessed against the requirements and suggestions of regulatory agencies. In this article, we propose a clinical responder definition to specifically assist researchers and regulatory agencies in interpreting the clinical importance of statistically significant findings for studies of interventions intended to preserve β-cell function in newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. We focus on studies of 6-month β-cell preservation in type 1 diabetes as measured by 2-h-stimulated C-peptide. We introduce criteria (bias, reliability, and external validity) for the assessment of responder definitions to ensure they meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency guidelines. Using data from several published TrialNet studies, we evaluate our definition (no decrease in C-peptide) against published alternatives and determine that our definition has minimum bias with external validity. We observe that reliability could be improved by using changes in C-peptide later than 6 months beyond baseline. In sum, to support efficacy claims of β-cell preservation therapies in type 1 diabetes submitted to U.S. and European regulatory agencies, we recommend use of our definition. © 2014 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

How do pharmacists respond to complaints of acute insomnia? A simulated patient study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kippist, Carly; Wong, Keith; Bartlett, Delwyn; Saini, Bandana

2011-04-01

It is known that many people with insomnia choose to self medicate and present at community pharmacies, particularly in cases of acute insomnia. The objective of this study is to investigate how community pharmacists respond to complaints of acute insomnia from people who seek self treatment and determine the factors affecting this response. Community pharmacies in New South Wales, Australia. A simulated patient study was conducted in 100 randomly selected pharmacies located in Newcastle and Sydney, Australia. A standardized scenario of acute sleep onset insomnia and a scoring system was used in each pharmacy. Main outcome measures included supply/non supply of an over the counter sleep aid to the simulated patient, and scores for pharmacists for skills in eliciting information prior to supply of medication (Pre Supply Score), counseling about medication (Supply Score), or about sleep (Sleep Score). Of the 100 pharmacies, upon simulated patient presentation, 96% supplied a product, the remaining 4% referred to a physician. Non-pharmacological advice was provided in 42%. Pharmacists scored highly on advice provided with supply of a medication (Supply scores/4, 3.1 ± 0.9), but lower on skills in eliciting information prior to supply (Pre-supply score/8, 3.6 ± 1.9) and sleep related counselling (Sleep Score/9, 2.1 ± 1.7). Lower estimated pharmacist age, being in a chain type pharmacy, and having a visible symbol of quality accreditation were found to significantly improve (P Supply Score (P Supply scores (P < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that many pharmacists are responding appropriately to complaints of sleeplessness in terms of eliciting insomnia type and counseling about medicines use. However more education for pharmacists would help to further promote good sleep health, and address behaviors including reliance on medicines taking that can progressively worsen insomnia.

Thirty-seven transcription factor genes differentially respond to a ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Plant transcription factors and insect defence si. Thirty-seven transcription factor genes differentially respond to a harpin protein and affect resistance to the green peach aphid in Arabidopsis. HUNLIN. PIN. RUOXUE LIŲ, BEIBEI LÜ, XIAOMENG WANG, CHUNLING ZHANG, SHUPING ZHANG, JUN QIAN, LEI CHEN,.

Manual for first responders to a radiological emergency. Emergency preparedness and response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

Under Article 5.a(ii) of the Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency (Assistance Convention), one function of the IAEA is to collect and disseminate to States Parties and Member States information concerning methodologies, techniques and results of research relating to response to nuclear or radiological emergencies. As stated in IAEA Safety Standards Series No. GS-R-2 'Preparedness and Response for a Nuclear or Radiological Emergency', which establishes the requirements for an adequate level of preparedness for and response to a nuclear or radiological emergency in any State, 'first responders shall take all practicable and appropriate actions to minimize the consequences of a nuclear or radiological emergency'. The IAEA General Conference, in resolution GC(49)/RES/9, continues to encourage Member States 'to adopt the relevant Agency standards, procedures and practical tools' and underlines 'the need for first responders to have appropriate training for dealing with ionizing radiation during nuclear and radiological emergencies'. This publication is intended to assist in meeting these requirements and to fulfil Article 5 of the Assistance Convention. Its aim is to provide practical guidance for those who will respond during the first few hours to a radiological emergency (referred to here as 'first responders') and for national officials who would support this early response. It provides guidance in the form of action guides, instructions, and supporting data that can be easily applied by a State to build a basic capability to respond to a radiological emergency. This guidance should be adapted to fit the user State's organizational arrangements, language, terminology, concept of operation and capabilities. This report, published as part of the IAEA Emergency Preparedness and Response Series, replaces and builds on IAEA-TECDOC-1162 in the area of early response and first responders' actions. It takes account of the

Slow fashion and sustainability in Spain: How can local manufacturing improve sustainability and how do consumers respond?

OpenAIRE

Karaosman, Hakan; Morales Alonso, Gustavo; Brun, Alessandro

2014-01-01

"Slow Fashion" attempts to offset the demand for fast fashion and mass production (Fletcher, 2007). Consumers' response to sustainability-based practices is a limited discourse and studies for slow fashion concept are scarce. This study thus aims to enlighten the subject of how slow fashion concept could improve local economies and how Spanish consumers respond to such initiatives. This paper is based on an exploratory qualitative research for which focus group interviews including three grou...

World Trade Center disaster and sensitization to subsequent life stress: A longitudinal study of disaster responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Zvolensky, Michael J; Farris, Samantha G; Kotov, Roman; Schechter, Clyde B; Bromet, Evelyn; Gonzalez, Adam; Vujanovic, Anka; Pietrzak, Robert H; Crane, Michael; Kaplan, Julia; Moline, Jacqueline; Southwick, Steven M; Feder, Adriana; Udasin, Iris; Reissman, Dori B; Luft, Benjamin J

2015-06-01

The current study examined the role of World Trade Center (WTC) disaster exposure (hours spent working on the site, dust cloud exposure, and losing friend/loved one) in exacerbating the effects of post-disaster life stress on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and overall functioning among WTC responders. Participants were 18,896 responders (8466 police officers and 10,430 non-traditional responders) participating in the WTC Health Program who completed an initial examination between July, 2002 and April, 2010 and were reassessed an average of two years later. Among police responders, there was a significant interaction, such that the effect of post-disaster life stress on later PTSD symptoms and overall functioning was stronger among police responders who had greater WTC disaster exposure (β's=.029 and .054, respectively, for PTSD symptoms and overall functioning). This moderating effect was absent in non-traditional responders. Across both groups, post-disaster life stress also consistently was related to the dependent variables in a more robust manner than WTC exposure. The present findings suggest that WTC exposure may compound post-disaster life stress, thereby resulting in a more chronic course of PTSD symptoms and reduced functioning among police responders. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Measure Guideline: Summary of Interior Ducts in New Construction, Including an Efficient, Affordable Method to Install Fur-Down Interior Ducts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beal, D.; McIlvaine , J.; Fonorow, K.; Martin, E.

2011-11-01

This document illustrates guidelines for the efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing, including the fur-up chase method, the fur-down chase method, and interior ducts positioned in sealed attics or sealed crawl spaces. This document illustrates guidelines for the efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing. Interior ducts result from bringing the duct work inside a home's thermal and air barrier. Architects, designers, builders, and new home buyers should thoroughly investigate any opportunity for energy savings that is as easy to implement during construction, such as the opportunity to construct interior duct work. In addition to enhanced energy efficiency, interior ductwork results in other important advantages, such as improved indoor air quality, increased system durability and increased homeowner comfort. While the advantages of well-designed and constructed interior duct systems are recognized, the implementation of this approach has not gained a significant market acceptance. This guideline describes a variety of methods to create interior ducts including the fur-up chase method, the fur-down chase method, and interior ducts positioned in sealed attics or sealed crawl spaces. As communication of the intent of an interior duct system, and collaboration on its construction are paramount to success, this guideline details the critical design, planning, construction, inspection, and verification steps that must be taken. Involved in this process are individuals from the design team; sales/marketing team; and mechanical, insulation, plumbing, electrical, framing, drywall and solar contractors.

Cost Per Additional Responder Associated With Ixekizumab and Etanercept in the Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Feldman, Steven R; Foster, Shonda A; Zhu, Baojin; Burge, Russel; Al Sawah, Sarah; Goldblum, Orin M

2017-12-01

BACKGROUND: Newer psoriasis treatments can achieve greater levels of efficacy than older systemic therapies; however, current psoriasis costs are substantial. We sought to estimate costs per additional responder associated with ixekizumab and etanercept, versus placebo, using efficacy data from phase 3 clinical trials (UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3). METHODS: In UNCOVER-2/UNCOVER-3, patients received subcutaneous placebo, etanercept 50 mg twice weekly (BIW), or ixekizumab one 80 mg injection every 2 weeks (Q2W) after a 160-mg starting dose. Twelve-week induction-phase Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75, PASI 90, and PASI 100 response rates for ixekizumab, etanercept, and placebo were obtained from pooled data from the overall and United States (US) subgroup intention-to-treat (ITT) populations, and used to calculate numbers needed to treat (NNTs) to achieve one additional PASI 75, PASI 90, or PASI 100 response for ixekizumab Q2W and etanercept BIW versus placebo. Twelve-week drug costs per patient were calculated based on the UNCOVER-2/UNCOVER-3 dosing schedule and wholesale acquisition costs. Mean costs per additional responder for PASI 75, PASI 90, and PASI 100 for each treatment versus placebo were calculated for pooled UN-COVER-2/UNCOVER-3 overall and US subgroup ITT populations. RESULTS: Pooled overall ITT population: costs per additional PASI 75, PASI 90, or PASI 100 responder were US $37,540, US $46,299, or US $80,710 for ixekizumab Q2W and US $57,533, US $120,720, or US $404,695 for etanercept BIW, respectively. US subgroup ITT population: costs per additional PASI 75, PASI 90, or PASI 100 responder were US $38,165, US $49,740, or US $93,536 for ixekizumab Q2W and US $69,580, US $140,881, or US $631,875 for etanercept BIW, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Twelve-week costs per additional responder were lower for ixekizumab Q2W than for etanercept BIW across all levels of clearance (PASI 75, PASI 90, and PASI 100) in the pooled UNCOVER-2/UNCOVER-3 overall and

Histomorphological changes in hepatitis C non-responders with respect to viral genotypes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adnan, U.; Mirza, T.; Naz, E.; Aziz, S.

2013-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the distinct histopathological changes of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) non-responders in association with viral genotypes. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the histopathology section of the Dow Diagnostic Research and Reference Laboratory, Dow University of Health Sciences in collaboration with Sarwar Zuberi Liver Centre, Civil Hospital, Karachi from September 2009 to August 2011. Seventy-five non-responders (end-treatment-response [ETR] positive patients) from a consecutive series of viral-RNA positive CHC patients with known genotypes were selected. Their genotypes and pertinent clinical history was recorded. They were subjected to liver biopsies which were assessed for grade, stage, steatosis, stainable iron and characteristic histological lesions. Results: Majority of the patients (63, 84%) had genotype 3 while 12(16%) cases had genotype 1. The genotype 1 patients had significantly higher scores of inflammation (p<0.03) and fibrosis (p<0.04) as compared to genotype 3. Steatosis was significantly present in all genotype 3 patients in higher scores (p<0.001) compared to genotype 1. Stainable iron scores were generally low in the patients in this study, however, it was more commonly seen in genotype 3. The distribution of characteristic histological lesions was noteworthy in both the groups, irrespective of genotype. Conclusion: In this series, the predominant genotype was 3. However, genotype 1 patients were more prone to the aggressive nature of the disease with significantly higher scores of inflammation and fibrosis. Steatosis was characteristically observed in genotype 3 group. Stainable iron could not be attributed as a cause of non-response. (author)

A retrospective evaluation of prognosis and cost-effectiveness of IVF in poor responders according to the Bologna criteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Busnelli, Andrea; Papaleo, Enrico; Del Prato, Diana; La Vecchia, Irene; Iachini, Eleonora; Paffoni, Alessio; Candiani, Massimo; Somigliana, Edgardo

2015-02-01

Do the Bologna criteria for poor responders successfully identify women with poor IVF outcome? The Bologna criteria effectively identify a population with a uniformly low chance of success. Women undergoing IVF who respond poorly to ovarian hyper-stimulation have a low chance of success. Even if improving IVF outcome in this population represents a main priority, the lack of a unique definition of the condition has hampered research in this area. To overcome this impediment, a recent expert meeting in Bologna proposed a new definition of poor responders ('Bologna criteria'). However, data supporting the relevance of this definition in clinical practice are scanty. Retrospective study of women undergoing IVF-ICSI between January 2010 and December 2012 in two independent infertility units. Women could be included if they fulfilled the definition of poor ovarian response (POR) according to Bologna criteria prior to initiation of the cycle. Women were included only for one cycle. The main outcome was the live birth rate per started cycle. The perspective of the cost analysis was the one of the health provider. Three-hundred sixty-two women from two independent Infertility Units were selected. A binomial distribution model was used to calculate the 95% CI of the rate of success. Characteristics of women who did and did not obtain a live birth were compared. A logistic regression model was used to adjust for confounders. The economic analysis included costs for pharmacological compounds and for the IVF procedure. The benefits were estimated on quality-adjusted life years (QALY). To develop the model, we used the local life-expectancy tables, we applied a 3% discount of life years gained and we used a 0.07 improvement in quality of life associated with parenthood. Sensitivity analyses were performed varying the improvement of the quality of life and including/excluding the male partner. The reference values for cost-effectiveness were the Italian and the local (Lombardy

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation and IVF outcome in poor responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Triantafyllidou, Olga; Sigalos, George; Vlahos, Nikos

2017-06-01

Ovarian stimulation of poor ovarian responders still remains a challenging issue. The incidence of poor responders among infertile women is reported in 9-24% IVF cycles and is associated with very low clinical pregnancy rates. Different treatments have been reported in the literature in an attempt to identify the best stimulation protocol for those patients. Administration of dehydroepiandrosterone acetate (DHEA) was suggested as a promising treatment. It is well known that androgens can influence ovarian follicular growth, augment steroidogenesis, promote follicular recruitment and increase the number of primary and pre-antral follicles. The purpose of this review is to evaluate the effect of DHEA supplementation on women with diminished ovarian reserve. Because of the uncertainty of published data, we suggest that well-designed multicentre RCTs are required to provide more insight on the effectiveness of DHEA. The absence of significant side effects should not be considered as an argument to support DHEA treatment.

L-63: The IAEA response role in the radiological emergencies: Revision for first responders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this conference is that the first responders have to know the IAEA role importance in a radiological emergency. The IAEA is prepared to provide assistance at the scene as well as medical treatment, mistake corrections, monitoring and respond to the media questions.

Applications of the conjugate gradient FFT method in scattering and radiation including simulations with impedance boundary conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Barkeshli, Kasra; Volakis, John L.

1991-01-01

The theoretical and computational aspects related to the application of the Conjugate Gradient FFT (CGFFT) method in computational electromagnetics are examined. The advantages of applying the CGFFT method to a class of large scale scattering and radiation problems are outlined. The main advantages of the method stem from its iterative nature which eliminates a need to form the system matrix (thus reducing the computer memory allocation requirements) and guarantees convergence to the true solution in a finite number of steps. Results are presented for various radiators and scatterers including thin cylindrical dipole antennas, thin conductive and resistive strips and plates, as well as dielectric cylinders. Solutions of integral equations derived on the basis of generalized impedance boundary conditions (GIBC) are also examined. The boundary conditions can be used to replace the profile of a material coating by an impedance sheet or insert, thus, eliminating the need to introduce unknown polarization currents within the volume of the layer. A general full wave analysis of 2-D and 3-D rectangular grooves and cavities is presented which will also serve as a reference for future work.

WS-009: EPR-First Responders: Personnel protection guidelines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

The purpose of this working session is that the participants can apply their knowledge in a laboratory explosion with radioactive material and a contamination risks by cobalt source. The first responder have to identify the incident commander, the type of response required, the risks of the emergency, the requirements for transporting the victims to the hospital and the actors involved in a radiological emergency

Just-in-time training of dental responders in a simulated pandemic immunization response exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Colvard, Michael D; Hirst, Jeremy L; Vesper, Benjamin J; DeTella, George E; Tsagalis, Mila P; Roberg, Mary J; Peters, David E; Wallace, Jimmy D; James, James J

2014-06-01

The reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2013 incorporated the dental profession and dental professionals into the federal legislation governing public health response to pandemics and all-hazard situations. Work is now necessary to expand the processes needed to incorporate and train oral health care professionals into pandemic and all-hazard response events. A just-in-time (JIT) training exercise and immunization drill using an ex vivo porcine model system was conducted to demonstrate the rapidity to which dental professionals can respond to a pandemic influenza scenario. Medical history documentation, vaccination procedures, and patient throughput and error rates of 15 dental responders were evaluated by trained nursing staff and emergency response personnel. The average throughput (22.33/hr) and medical error rates (7 of 335; 2.08%) of the dental responders were similar to those found in analogous influenza mass vaccination clinics previously conducted using certified public health nurses. The dental responder immunization drill validated the capacity and capability of dental professionals to function as a valuable immunization resource. The ex vivo porcine model system used for JIT training can serve as a simple and inexpensive training tool to update pandemic responders' immunization techniques and procedures supporting inoculation protocols.

77 FR 42764 - Certain Integrated Circuits, Chipsets, & Products Containing Same Including Televisions; Notice...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-20

...Notice is hereby given that the presiding administrative law judge has issued a Final Initial Determination and Recommended Determination on Remedy and Bonding in the above-captioned investigation. The Commission is soliciting comments on public interest issues raised by the recommended relief, specifically a limited exclusion order against certain integrated circuits, chipsets, and products containing the same including televisions, imported by respondents MediaTek Inc. of Hsinchu City, Taiwan and Zoran Corporation of Sunnyvale, California.

How healthcare professionals respond to parents with religious objections to vaccination: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruijs, Wilhelmina L M; Hautvast, Jeannine L A; van IJzendoorn, Giovanna; van Ansem, Wilke J C; Elwyn, Glyn; van der Velden, Koos; Hulscher, Marlies E J L

2012-08-01

In recent years healthcare professionals have faced increasing concerns about the value of childhood vaccination and many find it difficult to deal with parents who object to vaccination. In general, healthcare professionals are advised to listen respectfully to the objections of parents, provide honest information, and attempt to correct any misperceptions regarding vaccination. Religious objections are one of the possible reasons for refusing vaccination. Although religious objections have a long history, little is known about the way healthcare professionals deal with these specific objections. The aim of this study is to gain insight into the responding of healthcare professionals to parents with religious objections to the vaccination of their children. A qualitative interview study was conducted with health care professionals (HCPs) in the Netherlands who had ample experience with religious objections to vaccination. Purposeful sampling was applied in order to include HCPs with different professional and religious backgrounds. Data saturation was reached after 22 interviews, with 7 child health clinic doctors, 5 child health clinic nurses and 10 general practitioners. The interviews were thematically analyzed. Two analysts coded, reviewed, discussed, and refined the coding of the transcripts until consensus was reached. Emerging concepts were assessed using the constant comparative method from grounded theory. Three manners of responding to religious objections to vaccination were identified: providing medical information, discussion of the decision-making process, and adoption of an authoritarian stance. All of the HCPs provided the parents with medical information. In addition, some HCPs discussed the decision-making process. They verified how the decision was made and if possible consequences were realized. Sometimes they also discussed religious considerations. Whether the decision-making process was discussed depended on the willingness of the parents to

Comparison of corifollitropin alfa and daily recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone in poor responder patients undergoing in vitro fertilization cycles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Süleyman Akarsu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Objective The aim of this study was to compare the effect of corifollitropin alfa (CFA and recombinant follicle-stimulating hormone (rFSH in poor-responder patients undergoing antagonist cycles. Materials and Methods The study was a retrospective analysis of the treatment results of 214 poor responder patients who had been admitted to the In Vitro Fertilization Unit of İzmir Medical Park Hospital between November 2014 and November 2016. Intracytoplasmic sperm injections were performed in 38 patients (group 1 with CFA, and the remaining 176 (group 2 with rFSH for controlled ovarian hyperstimulation. Results The age, body mass index, anti-müllerian hormone level, duration of infertility, duration of induction and antral follicle number were similar in the two groups. There was no difference in the total aspirated oocyte counts, mature oocyte ratio, fertilization rate, implantation rate, and clinical pregnancy rates between the two groups. The implantation rate was 9/38 (23.6% in group 1 and 42/176 (23.8% in group 2, whereas the clinical pregnancy rates were 16.3% and 17.2%, respectively. Conclusion No difference was found in terms of oocyte count, fertilization rate, implantation rate, and clinical pregnancy rates of CFA or rFSH use in the antagonist cycles in poor-responder patients.

The Responders' Gender Stereotypes Modulate the Strategic Decision-Making of Proposers Playing the Ultimatum Game.

Science.gov (United States)

Fabre, Eve F; Causse, Mickael; Pesciarelli, Francesca; Cacciari, Cristina

2016-01-01

Despite the wealth of studies investigating factors affecting decisions, not much is known about the impact of stereotypical beliefs on strategic economic decision-making. In the present study, we used the ultimatum game paradigm to investigate how participants playing as proposer modulate their strategic economic behavior, according to their game counterparts' stereotypical identity (i.e., responders). The latter were introduced to the participants using occupational role nouns stereotypically marked with gender paired with feminine or masculine proper names (e.g., linguist-Anna; economist-David; economist-Cristina; linguist-Leonardo). When playing with male-stereotyped responders, proposers quickly applied the equity rule, behaving fairly, while they adopted a strategic behavior with responders characterized by female stereotypes. They were also longer to make their offers to female than to male responders but both kinds of responders received comparable offers, suggesting a greater cognitive effort to treat females as equally as males. The present study explicitly demonstrates that gender stereotypical information affect strategic economic decision-making and highlights a possible evolution of gender discrimination into a more insidious discrimination toward individuals with female characteristics.

A coupling method for a cardiovascular simulation model which includes the Kalman filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasegawa, Yuki; Shimayoshi, Takao; Amano, Akira; Matsuda, Tetsuya

2012-01-01

Multi-scale models of the cardiovascular system provide new insight that was unavailable with in vivo and in vitro experiments. For the cardiovascular system, multi-scale simulations provide a valuable perspective in analyzing the interaction of three phenomenons occurring at different spatial scales: circulatory hemodynamics, ventricular structural dynamics, and myocardial excitation-contraction. In order to simulate these interactions, multiscale cardiovascular simulation systems couple models that simulate different phenomena. However, coupling methods require a significant amount of calculation, since a system of non-linear equations must be solved for each timestep. Therefore, we proposed a coupling method which decreases the amount of calculation by using the Kalman filter. In our method, the Kalman filter calculates approximations for the solution to the system of non-linear equations at each timestep. The approximations are then used as initial values for solving the system of non-linear equations. The proposed method decreases the number of iterations required by 94.0% compared to the conventional strong coupling method. When compared with a smoothing spline predictor, the proposed method required 49.4% fewer iterations.

Reprint of: Cling film plastic wrap: An innovation for dead body packaging, preservation and transportation by first responders as a replacement for cadaver body bag in large scale disasters.

Science.gov (United States)

Khoo, Lay See; Lai, Poh Soon; Saidin, Mohd Hilmi; Noor, Zahari; Mahmood, Mohd Shah

2018-07-01

Cadaver body bags are the conventional method to contain a human body or human remains, which includes the use for storage and transportation of the deceased at any crime scene or disaster scene. During disasters, most often than not, the first responders including the police will be equipped with cadaver body bags to do scene processing of human remains and collection of personal belongings at the disaster site. However, in an unanticipated large scale disasters involving hundreds and thousands of fatalities, cadaver body bags supplies may be scarce. The authors have therefore innovated the cling film plastic wrap as an alternative for the cadaver body bag used at the disaster site. The plastic wrap was tested on six different experimental subjects, i.e. both adult and child mannequins; body parts of the mannequin figure (arm and hand); a human adult subject and an unknown dead body. The strengths of the cling film plastic wrap are discussed in comparison with the cadaver body bag in the aspects of costing, weight, duration of the wrap, water and body fluid resistant properties, visibility and other advantages. An average savings of more than 5000% are noted for both adult body wrap and child body wrap compared to the cadaver body wrap. This simply means that the authors can either wrap 25 adult dead bodies or 80 children dead bodies with the cost of 1 cadaver body bag. The cling film plastic wrap has proven to have significant innovation impact for dead body management particularly by the first responders in large scale disasters. With proper handling of dead bodies, first responders can manage the dead with dignity and respect in an overwhelmed situation to facilitate the humanitarian victim identification process later. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Consumers Respond to Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative: Cause Related Marketing vs Philantrophy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lisia Astari Pertiwi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Increasing in demand of CSR from various stakeholders has caused company’s CSR motives to be more complex. CSR activities are not only founded on the benevolence of corporate agents but also as part of a corporate strategy formulated in pursuit of stakeholder interest. This study investigate whether CSR motives could enhance customer trust and satisfaction. Focus on two CSR initiatives conducted by GrabTaxi (transportation industry and Alfamart (retail industry, the purposes is to demonstrate how two type CSR initiative could delivered perceived motives and create loyalty. Cross-sectional offline and on- line survey was conducted on 175 respondents of GrabTaxi and 192 respondents of Alfamart. Structural Equation Interestingly, even though respondent perceived firm-serving motives (as strategic objectives and reactive motives (as expected by stakeholder, CSR initiative could create trust and satisfaction.Struc- tural Equation Modelling as data analysis to test 5 hypotheses. The results show slightly different in the context of cause-related marketing (GrabTaxi, and philanthropy (Alfamart. Even though all respondents perceived that CSR is motivated by mix motives (benevolent and strategic, how these motives influence trust, satisfaction, and further loyalty are different. Two-type of CSR initiative ie Cause Related Market- ing (CrM and philanthropy can provide firm-serving motive, public serving motive and reactive motive. These motives could encourage trust and satisfaction through path motive-trust-satisfaction (directly or indirectly through trust-customer loyalty. Interestingly, even though respondent perceived firm-serving motives (as strategic objectives and reactive motives (as expected by stakeholder, CSR initiative could create trust and satisfaction.

Responding to Individual Differences in Inclusive Classrooms in Australia

Science.gov (United States)

van Kraayenoord, Christina E.; Waterworth, David; Brady, Trish

2014-01-01

Responding to individual differences in classrooms in which there is increasing diversity is one of the challenges of inclusive education in Australia. The linking of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and assistive technologies (ATs) is one way in which this challenge can be addressed. This article describes an initiative, known as…

Weight conversations in romantic relationships: What do they sound like and how do partners respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Berge, Jerica M; Pratt, Keeley; Miller, Laura

2016-09-01

The limited research examining weight conversations (i.e., conversations about weight, body shape, or size) in adult romantic relationships has shown associations between engaging in these conversations and disordered eating behaviors, overweight/obesity, and psychosocial problems in adults. Given the potential harmful consequences of these conversations, it is important to gather more rich qualitative data to understand how weight talk is experienced in romantic relationships and how romantic partners respond to these conversations. Adults (n = 118; mean age 35 years) from a cross-sectional study were interviewed in their homes. The majority of adults (90% female; mean age = 35 years) were from minority (64% African American) and low-income (content analysis. Sixty-five percent of participants reported that weight conversations were occurring in their romantic relationships. Qualitative themes included the following: (a) Weight conversations were direct and focused on physical characteristics; (b) weight conversations included joking or sarcastic remarks; (c) weight conversations focused on "we" and being healthy; (d) weight conversations occurred after watching TV or movies, as a result of insecurities in oneself, as length of the relationship increased, or as partners aged; and (e) partners responded to weight conversations by feeling insecure or by engaging in reciprocal weight conversations with their romantic partner. Weight conversations were prevalent in romantic relationships, with some conversations experienced as negative and some positive. Qualitative themes from the current study should be confirmed in quantitative studies to inform future intervention research targeting weight conversations in romantic relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

"Why Isn't There a Cure?" Emerging Empathy and Prosocial Behaviors among Middle Childhood Children Responding to Real-World Issue Lessons

Science.gov (United States)

Bang, Hyeyoung

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore empathy and prosocial behaviors within real-world issues among Korean middle-childhood children living in Australia. Using a qualitative approach, seven students were engaged in six sessions of group or individual activities including five sessions of responding to video vignettes which demonstrated…

75 FR 18828 - PSEG Power Connecticut LLC, Complainant v. ISO New England Inc., Respondent; Notice of Complaint

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-13

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. EL10-58-000] PSEG Power Connecticut LLC, Complainant v. ISO New England Inc., Respondent; Notice of Complaint April 6, 2010. Take... ISO New England Inc. (Respondent) challenging the justness and reasonableness of the Respondent's...

A test of the cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia in adequate and inadequate responders to reading intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Barth, Amy E; Denton, Carolyn A; Stuebing, Karla K; Fletcher, Jack M; Cirino, Paul T; Francis, David J; Vaughn, Sharon

2010-05-01

The cerebellar hypothesis of dyslexia posits that cerebellar deficits are associated with reading disabilities and may explain why some individuals with reading disabilities fail to respond to reading interventions. We tested these hypotheses in a sample of children who participated in a grade 1 reading intervention study (n = 174) and a group of typically achieving children (n = 62). At posttest, children were classified as adequately responding to the intervention (n = 82), inadequately responding with decoding and fluency deficits (n = 36), or inadequately responding with only fluency deficits (n = 56). Based on the Bead Threading and Postural Stability subtests from the Dyslexia Screening Test-Junior, we found little evidence that assessments of cerebellar functions were associated with academic performance or responder status. In addition, we did not find evidence supporting the hypothesis that cerebellar deficits are more prominent for poor readers with "specific" reading disabilities (i.e., with discrepancies relative to IQ) than for poor readers with reading scores consistent with IQ. In contrast, measures of phonological awareness, rapid naming, and vocabulary were strongly associated with responder status and academic outcomes. These results add to accumulating evidence that fails to associate cerebellar functions with reading difficulties.

Number needed to treat and costs per responder among biologic treatments for moderate-to-severe psoriasis: a network meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, April W; Betts, Keith A; Signorovitch, James E; Sundaram, Murali; Li, Junlong; Ganguli, Arijit X; Wu, Eric Q

2018-04-23

The clinical benefits of biologic therapies for moderate-to-severe psoriasis are well established, but wide variations exist in patient response. To determine the number needed to treat (NNT) to achieve a 75% and 90% reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI-75/90) with FDA-approved agents and evaluate the incremental cost per PASI-75 or PASI-90 responder. The relative probabilities of achieving PASI-75 and PASI-90, as well as NNTs, were estimated using a network meta-analysis. Costs (2017 USD) included drug acquisition and administration. The incremental cost per PASI-75 or PASI-90 responder for each treatment was estimated for the clinical trial period, and annually. Compared with supportive care, the NNT to achieve PASI-75 was 1.18 for ixekizumab, 1.29 for secukinumab 300 mg, 1.37 for infliximab, 1.48 for adalimumab, 1.53 for secukinumab 150 mg, 1.58 for ustekinumab, 2.25 for etanercept, and 3.71 for apremilast. The one-year incremental cost per PASI-75 responder relative to supportive care was $59,830 for infliximab, $88,775 for secukinumab 300 mg, $91,837 for adalimumab, $95,898 for ixekizumab, $97,363 for ustekinumab, $105,131 for secukinumab 150 mg, $129,665 for apremilast, and $159,328 for etanercept. Results were similar for PASI-90. The NNT and incremental cost per responder are meaningful ways to assess comparative effectiveness and cost effectiveness among psoriasis treatments.

Changes in Blood Pressure and Heart Rate during Fixed-Interval Responding in Squirrel Monkeys

Science.gov (United States)

DeWeese, Jo

2009-01-01

Episodic and sustained increases in heart rate and mean arterial blood pressure can occur with recurring patterns of schedule-controlled behavior. Most previous studies were conducted under fixed-ratio schedules, which maintained a consistent high rate of responding that alternated with periods of no responding during times when the schedule was…

An analysis of respondent driven sampling with Injection Drug Users (IDU) in Albania and the Russian Federation.

Science.gov (United States)

Stormer, Ame; Tun, Waimar; Guli, Lisa; Harxhi, Arjan; Bodanovskaia, Zinaida; Yakovleva, Anna; Rusakova, Maia; Levina, Olga; Bani, Roland; Rjepaj, Klodian; Bino, Silva

2006-11-01

Injection drug users in Tirana, Albania and St. Petersburg, Russia were recruited into a study assessing HIV-related behaviors and HIV serostatus using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS), a peer-driven recruitment sampling strategy that results in a probability sample. (Salganik M, Heckathorn DD. Sampling and estimation in hidden populations using respondent-driven sampling. Sociol Method. 2004;34:193-239). This paper presents a comparison of RDS implementation, findings on network and recruitment characteristics, and lessons learned. Initiated with 13 to 15 seeds, approximately 200 IDUs were recruited within 8 weeks. Information resulting from RDS indicates that social network patterns from the two studies differ greatly. Female IDUs in Tirana had smaller network sizes than male IDUs, unlike in St. Petersburg where female IDUs had larger network sizes than male IDUs. Recruitment patterns in each country also differed by demographic categories. Recruitment analyses indicate that IDUs form socially distinct groups by sex in Tirana, whereas there was a greater degree of gender mixing patterns in St. Petersburg. RDS proved to be an effective means of surveying these hard-to-reach populations.

Relation between Self-Esteem and Socially Desirable Responding and the Role of Socially Desirable Responding in the Relation between Self-Esteem and Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chiungjung

2013-01-01

This investigation examines the relation between self-esteem and socially desirable responding by integrating previous findings via a meta-analysis. In 55 studies containing 73 independent samples (N?=?11,901), the correlation between self-esteem and Impression Management was weak, that between self-esteem and Self-Deceptive Enhancement was from…

Contributors to Frequent Telehealth Alerts Including False Alerts for Patients with Heart Failure: A Mixed Methods Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Radhakrishna, K.; Bowles, K.; Zettek-Sumner, A.

2013-01-01

Summary Background Telehealth data overload through high alert generation is a significant barrier to sustained adoption of telehealth for managing HF patients. Objective To explore the factors contributing to frequent telehealth alerts including false alerts for Medicare heart failure (HF) patients admitted to a home health agency. Materials and Methods A mixed methods design that combined quantitative correlation analysis of patient characteristic data with number of telehealth alerts and qualitative analysis of telehealth and visiting nurses’ notes on follow-up actions to patients’ telehealth alerts was employed. All the quantitative and qualitative data was collected through retrospective review of electronic records of the home heath agency. Results Subjects in the study had a mean age of 83 (SD = 7.6); 56% were female. Patient co-morbidities (ppatient characteristics along with establishing patient-centered telehealth outcome goals may allow meaningful generation of telehealth alerts. Reducing avoidable telehealth alerts could vastly improve the efficiency and sustainability of telehealth programs for HF management. PMID:24454576

Conference Session I: Mitigating Risk at the Front Lines: The Copyright First Responders Program. Presented by Kyle Courtney, Copyright Advisor, the Office for Scholarly Communication, Harvard University.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sara R. Benson

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This is a summary of Kyle Courtney's Invited Presentation at the 2017 Kraemer Copyright Conference titled "Mitigating Risk at the Front Lines:  The Copyright First Responders Program."  After reading this article you will better understand the method and purpose of the First Responders Program and, hopefully, like me, you will be ready to volunteer your institution to add to the growing list of libraries engaged in this hub-and-spoke model of copyright information system.

The use of a responder analysis to identify clinically meaningful differences in chronic urticaria patients following placebo- controlled treatment with rupatadine 10 and 20 mg.

Science.gov (United States)

Giménez-Arnau, A; Izquierdo, I; Maurer, M

2009-09-01

According to the EAACI/GA(2)LEN/EDF guidelines for urticaria management, modern non-sedating H1-antihistamines are the first-line symptomatic treatment for chronic urticaria. Two previous randomized clinical trials demonstrated rupatadine efficacy and safety in chronic urticaria treatment. However, a responder analysis to identify clinically meaningful differences in patients with chronic urticaria has not yet been performed. This analysis includes the pooled data from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre studies in which chronic urticaria patients were treated with rupatadine at different doses. Responder rates were defined as the percentage of patients after 4 weeks of treatment who exhibited a reduction of symptoms by at least 50% or 75% as compared to baseline. The variables analysed were as follows: Mean Pruritus Score (MPS), Mean Number of Wheals (MNW), and Mean Urticaria Activity Score (UAS). A total of 538 patients were included. This responder analysis, using different response levels, shows that the efficacy of rupatadine 10 mg and 20 mg is significantly better as compared to placebo in the treatment of chronic urticaria patients. Notably, treatment with rupatadine 20 mg daily resulted in a higher percentage of patients with response of 75% symptom reduction or better than rupatadine 10 mg. Our results support the use of higher than standard doses of non sedating antihistamines in chronic urticaria. We strongly recommend performing and reporting responder analyses for established and new drugs used by patients with chronic urticaria.

Plasma cytokine profiles in depressed patients who fail to respond to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor therapy.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

O'Brien, Sinead M

2012-02-03

OBJECTIVE: Approximately 30% of patients with depression fail to respond to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI). Few studies have attempted to define these patients from a biological perspective. Studies suggest that overall patients with depression show increased production of proinflammatory cytokines. We examined pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels in patients who were SSRI resistant. METHODS: Plasma concentrations of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha and sIL-6R were measured with enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) in DSM-1V major depressives who were SSRI resistant, in formerly SSRI resistant patients currently euthymic and in healthy controls. RESULTS: Patients with SSRI-resistant depression had significantly higher production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 (p=0.01) and TNF-alpha (p=0.004) compared to normal controls. Euthymic patients who were formerly SSRI resistant had proinflammatory cytokine levels which were similar to the healthy subject group. Anti-inflammatory cytokine levels did not differ across the 3 groups. CONCLUSION: Suppression of proinflammatory cytokines does not occur in depressed patients who fail to respond to SSRIs and is necessary for clinical recovery.

Hazardous materials responder training in the new millennium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Turpin, R.D.; Betsinger, G.B. [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Edison, NJ (United States). Environmental Response Team; Merchant, S. [Environmental Tectonics Corp., Orlando, FL (United States)

2001-07-01

The Environmental Response Team (ERT) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created to provide on-site professional expertise as well as health and safety guidance to Federal on-scene coordinators during accidental oil and chemical releases. ERT provides practical technical solutions to response activities based on theory as well as actual experience. Its creation in 1978 fulfilled the requirements of the U.S. National Contingency Plan. Members of the team have developed a 40-hour Hazardous Waste Responders training course and have themselves, attended a hands-on chemical and biological warfare personnel protective clothing course provided by the U.S. Army. The course demonstrated decontamination showers, moon suits, and entry procedures to a contaminated battlefield situation. ERT continues to emphasize the importance of hands-on training and exercises. Various training programs are underway where students can learn real-time monitoring techniques and respond to simulated hazardous waste incidents. They also learn how to assess environmental, public and occupational health and safety information on the Internet. The students also run air plume models and perform wet bench chemistry experiments. With the advent of more powerful computers, the current objective is to continue with these training activities using Instructor Controlled Interactive Computer Training (ICICT).

Please respond ASAP: workplace telepressure and employee recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larissa K; Santuzzi, Alecia M

2015-04-01

Organizations rely heavily on asynchronous message-based technologies (e.g., e-mail) for the purposes of work-related communications. These technologies are primary means of knowledge transfer and building social networks. As a by-product, workers might feel varying levels of preoccupations with and urges for responding quickly to messages from clients, coworkers, or supervisors--an experience we label as workplace telepressure. This experience can lead to fast response times and thus faster decisions and other outcomes initially. However, research from the stress and recovery literature suggests that the defining features of workplace telepressure interfere with needed work recovery time and stress-related outcomes. The present set of studies defined and validated a new scale to measure telepressure. Study 1 tested an initial pool of items and found some support for a single-factor structure after problematic items were removed. As expected, public self-consciousness, techno-overload, and response expectations were moderately associated with telepressure in Study 1. Study 2 demonstrated that workplace telepressure was distinct from other personal (job involvement, affective commitment) and work environment (general and ICT work demands) factors and also predicted burnout (physical and cognitive), absenteeism, sleep quality, and e-mail responding beyond those factors. Implications for future research and workplace practices are discussed. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Bonobos respond to distress in others: consolation across the age spectrum.

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Zanna Clay

Full Text Available How animals respond to conflict provides key insights into the evolution of socio-cognitive and emotional capacities. Evidence from apes has shown that, after social conflicts, bystanders approach victims of aggression to offer stress-alleviating contact behavior, a phenomenon known as consolation. This other-orientated behavior depends on sensitivity to the other's emotional state, whereby the consoler acts to ameliorate the other's situation. We examined post-conflict interactions in bonobos (Pan paniscus to identify the determinants of consolation and reconciliation. Thirty-six semi-free bonobos of all ages were observed at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, DR Congo, using standardized Post-conflict/Matched Control methods. Across age and sex classes, bonobos consoled victims and reconciled after conflicts using a suite of affiliative and socio-sexual behaviors including embracing, touching, and mounting. Juveniles were more likely to console than adults, challenging the assumption that comfort-giving rests on advanced cognitive mechanisms that emerge only with age. Mother-reared individuals were more likely to console than orphans, highlighting the role of rearing in emotional development. Consistent with previous studies, bystanders were more likely to console relatives or closely bonded partners. Effects of kinship, affiliation and rearing were similarly indicated in patterns of reconciliation. Nearby bystanders were significantly more likely to contact victims than more distal ones, and consolation was more likely in non-food contexts than during feeding. The results did not provide convincing evidence that bystander contacts served for self-protection or as substitutes for reconciliation. Overall, results indicate that a suite of social, developmental and contextual factors underlie consolation and reconciliation in bonobos and that a sensitivity to the emotions of others and the ability to provide appropriate consolatory behaviors emerges

Bonobos respond to distress in others: consolation across the age spectrum.

Science.gov (United States)

Clay, Zanna; de Waal, Frans B M

2013-01-01

How animals respond to conflict provides key insights into the evolution of socio-cognitive and emotional capacities. Evidence from apes has shown that, after social conflicts, bystanders approach victims of aggression to offer stress-alleviating contact behavior, a phenomenon known as consolation. This other-orientated behavior depends on sensitivity to the other's emotional state, whereby the consoler acts to ameliorate the other's situation. We examined post-conflict interactions in bonobos (Pan paniscus) to identify the determinants of consolation and reconciliation. Thirty-six semi-free bonobos of all ages were observed at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary, DR Congo, using standardized Post-conflict/Matched Control methods. Across age and sex classes, bonobos consoled victims and reconciled after conflicts using a suite of affiliative and socio-sexual behaviors including embracing, touching, and mounting. Juveniles were more likely to console than adults, challenging the assumption that comfort-giving rests on advanced cognitive mechanisms that emerge only with age. Mother-reared individuals were more likely to console than orphans, highlighting the role of rearing in emotional development. Consistent with previous studies, bystanders were more likely to console relatives or closely bonded partners. Effects of kinship, affiliation and rearing were similarly indicated in patterns of reconciliation. Nearby bystanders were significantly more likely to contact victims than more distal ones, and consolation was more likely in non-food contexts than during feeding. The results did not provide convincing evidence that bystander contacts served for self-protection or as substitutes for reconciliation. Overall, results indicate that a suite of social, developmental and contextual factors underlie consolation and reconciliation in bonobos and that a sensitivity to the emotions of others and the ability to provide appropriate consolatory behaviors emerges early in development.

Development and psychometric testing of a Clinical Reasoning Evaluation Simulation Tool (CREST) for assessing nursing students' abilities to recognize and respond to clinical deterioration.

Science.gov (United States)

Liaw, Sok Ying; Rashasegaran, Ahtherai; Wong, Lai Fun; Deneen, Christopher Charles; Cooper, Simon; Levett-Jones, Tracy; Goh, Hongli Sam; Ignacio, Jeanette

2018-03-01

The development of clinical reasoning skills in recognising and responding to clinical deterioration is essential in pre-registration nursing education. Simulation has been increasingly used by educators to develop this skill. To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a Clinical Reasoning Evaluation Simulation Tool (CREST) for measuring clinical reasoning skills in recognising and responding to clinical deterioration in a simulated environment. A scale development with psychometric testing and mixed methods study. Nursing students and academic staff were recruited at a university. A three-phase prospective study was conducted. Phase 1 involved the development and content validation of the CREST; Phase 2 included the psychometric testing of the tool with 15 second-year and 15 third-year nursing students who undertook the simulation-based assessment; Phase 3 involved the usability testing of the tool with nine academic staff through a survey questionnaire and focus group discussion. A 10-item CREST was developed based on a model of clinical reasoning. A content validity of 0.93 was obtained from the validation of 15 international experts. The construct validity was supported as the third-year students demonstrated significantly higher (preasoning scores than the second-year students. The concurrent validity was also supported with significant positive correlations between global rating scores and almost all subscale scores, and the total scores. The predictive validity was supported with an existing tool. The internal consistency was high with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.92. A high inter-rater reliability was demonstrated with an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.88. The usability of the tool was rated positively by the nurse educators but the need to ease the scoring process was highlighted. A valid and reliable tool was developed to measure the effectiveness of simulation in developing clinical reasoning skills for recognising and responding to

A Novel Protection Method for Single Line-to-Ground Faults in Ungrounded Low-Inertia Microgrids

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Liuming Jing

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a novel protection method for single line-to-ground (SLG faults in ungrounded low-inertia microgrids. The proposed method includes microgrid interface protection and unit protection. The microgrid interface protection is based on the difference between the zero-sequence voltage angle and the zero-sequence current angle at the microgrid interconnection transformer for fast selection of the faulty feeder. The microgrid unit protection is based on a comparison of the three zero-sequence current phase directions at each junction point of load or distributed energy resources. Methods are also included to locate the minimum fault section. The fault section location technology operates according to the coordination of microgrid unit protection. The proposed method responds to SLG faults that may occur in both the grid and the microgrid. Simulations of an ungrounded low-inertia microgrid with a relay model were carried out using Power System Computer Aided Design (PSCAD/Electromagnetic Transients including DC (EMTDC.

Infant Responding to Joint Attention, Executive Processes, and Self-Regulation in Preschool Children

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hecke, Amy Vaughan; Mundy, Peter; Block, Jessica J.; Delgado, Christine E. F.; Parlade, Meaghan V.; Pomares, Yuly B.; Hobson, Jessica A.

2011-01-01

Infant joint attention is related to behavioral and social outcomes, as well as language in childhood. Recent research and theory suggests that the relations between joint attention and social-behavioral outcomes may reflect the role of executive self-regulatory processes in the development of joint attention. To test this hypothesis two- studies were conducted. The first, cross-sectional study examined the development of responding to joint attention skill (RJA) in terms of increasing executive efficiency of responding between 9 and 18 months of age. The results indicated that development of RJA was characterized by a decreased latency to shift attention in following another person’s gaze and head turn, as well as an increase in the proportion of correct RJA responses exhibited by older infants. The second study examined the longitudinal relations between 12-month measures of responding to joint attention (RJA) and 36-month attention regulation in a delay of gratification task. The results indicated that responding to joint attention at 12-months was significantly related to children’s use of three types of self-regulation behaviors while waiting for a snack reward at 36 months of age. These observations are discussed in light of a developmental theory of attention regulation and joint attention in infancy. PMID:22206892

A prospective study of hepatitis B vaccination - a comparison of responders versus nonresponders.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Brown, Catherine M

2011-01-01

Herein we present one of the largest single-center reports of the response of hemodialysis patients to a two-vaccine hepatitis B virus vaccination protocol in a European dialysis population. A hepatitis B recombinant DNA vaccine, HBvaxPRO, was given at a dose of 40 µg intramuscularly using a four-dose schedule at 0, 1, 2, and 12 months. Responses were (1) a titer >100 mIU\\/mL = patient immune, (2) a titer level 10-99 mIU\\/mL = give a booster dose and recheck level 2 months later, and (3) 0 ≤ 10 mIU\\/mL = repeat vaccination course using a different vaccine, Engerix-B. We compared responder groups in terms of titer levels for each vaccine and variables including age, gender, serum albumin, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphate, hemoglobin, years on dialysis, and type of dialysis access. Of the 176 patients who received the first vaccine course, 71 patients achieved immunity, that is, 40% uptake for the first vaccine. Of the 105 who failed, 72 received the second vaccine with 46 responders, that is, 64% uptake for the second vaccine. Overall, 143 of the 176 patients who entered the vaccination program completed the protocol with 117 achieving immunity, representing an 82% success rate. The only variable overall to show significance in achieving seroconversion was serum albumin (p = 0.03). Using a two-vaccine protocol, hepatitis B vaccination response was high in our population of end-stage renal disease patients.

A prospective study of hepatitis B vaccination - a comparison of responders versus nonresponders.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Brown, Catherine M

2012-02-01

Herein we present one of the largest single-center reports of the response of hemodialysis patients to a two-vaccine hepatitis B virus vaccination protocol in a European dialysis population. A hepatitis B recombinant DNA vaccine, HBvaxPRO, was given at a dose of 40 microg intramuscularly using a four-dose schedule at 0, 1, 2, and 12 months. Responses were (1) a titer >100 mIU\\/mL = patient immune, (2) a titer level 10-99 mIU\\/mL = give a booster dose and recheck level 2 months later, and (3) 0 <\\/= 10 mIU\\/mL = repeat vaccination course using a different vaccine, Engerix-B. We compared responder groups in terms of titer levels for each vaccine and variables including age, gender, serum albumin, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, phosphate, hemoglobin, years on dialysis, and type of dialysis access. Of the 176 patients who received the first vaccine course, 71 patients achieved immunity, that is, 40% uptake for the first vaccine. Of the 105 who failed, 72 received the second vaccine with 46 responders, that is, 64% uptake for the second vaccine. Overall, 143 of the 176 patients who entered the vaccination program completed the protocol with 117 achieving immunity, representing an 82% success rate. The only variable overall to show significance in achieving seroconversion was serum albumin (p = 0.03). Using a two-vaccine protocol, hepatitis B vaccination response was high in our population of end-stage renal disease patients.

Effect of electroconvulsive therapy in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation non-responder MDD patients: a preliminary study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dannon, P N; Grunhaus, L

2001-09-01

The aim of this study was to measure the effectiveness of ECT in-patients who had failed to respond to a course of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment. Seventeen patients with severe MDD who had not responded to a course of rTMS were switched to receive ECT treatments. All the patients were assessed with the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, the Global Assessment Functioning Scale, the Global Depression Scale, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Response to the treatment was defined as a 50% decrease in HDRS final score and a final GAS higher than 60. Seven out of 17 patients responded to ECT. Three out of 5 non-psychotics and 4 out of 12 psychotic patients responded. ECT seems to be an effective treatment for 40% of patients who failed to respond to rTMS treatment. Whether this is a result of reduced responsiveness to ECT in rTMS-resistant patients or a consequence of small sample size requires further study.

Stomata of the CAM plant Tillandsia recurvata respond directly to humidity.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, O L; Medina, E

1979-01-01

Under controlled conditions, CO 2 exchange of Tillandsia recurvata showed all characteristics of CAM. During the phase of nocturnal CO 2 fixation stomata of the plant responded sensitively to changes in ambient air humidity. Dry air resulted in an increase, moist air in a decrease of diffusion resistance. The evaporative demand of the air affected the level of stomatal resistance during the entire night period. Due to stomatal closure, the total nocturnal water loss of T. recurvata was less at low than at high humidity. It is concluded that stomata respond directly to humidity and not via bulk tissue water conditions of the leaves. Such control of transpiration may optimize water use efficiency for this almost rootless, extreme epiphyte.

Recurrent intraoperative silent ST depression responding to phenylephrine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P M Singh

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Intraoperative myocardial ischemia is attributed to decreased myocardial oxygen supply. We present an unusual case of recurrent, symptomless inferior wall ischemia in an apparently healthy male with no history of coronary artery disease after a spinal block. The recurring episodes were linked to tachycardia and presented with significant ST depression in Lead II with reciprocal elevation in lead aVL. The episodes responded to phenylephrine and subsided without residual sequelae.

MINER - A Mobile Imager of Neutrons for Emergency Responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goldsmith, John E. M. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Brennan, James S. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Gerling, Mark D [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kiff, Scott D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Mascarenhas, Nicholas [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Van De Vreugde, James L. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2014-10-01

We have developed a mobile fast neutron imaging platform to enhance the capabilities of emergency responders in the localization and characterization of special nuclear material. This mobile imager of neutrons for emergency responders (MINER) is based on the Neutron Scatter Camera, a large segmented imaging system that was optimized for large-area search applications. Due to the reduced size and power requirements of a man-portable system, MINER has been engineered to fit a much smaller form factor, and to be operated from either a battery or AC power. We chose a design that enabled omnidirectional (4π) imaging, with only a ~twofold decrease in sensitivity compared to the much larger neutron scatter cameras. The system was designed to optimize its performance for neutron imaging and spectroscopy, but it does also function as a Compton camera for gamma imaging. This document outlines the project activities, broadly characterized as system development, laboratory measurements, and deployments, and presents sample results in these areas. Additional information can be found in the documents that reside in WebPMIS.

Difference in target definition using three different methods to include respiratory motion in radiotherapy of lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloth Møller, Ditte; Knap, Marianne Marquard; Nyeng, Tine Bisballe; Khalil, Azza Ahmed; Holt, Marianne Ingerslev; Kandi, Maria; Hoffmann, Lone

2017-11-01

Minimizing the planning target volume (PTV) while ensuring sufficient target coverage during the entire respiratory cycle is essential for free-breathing radiotherapy of lung cancer. Different methods are used to incorporate the respiratory motion into the PTV. Fifteen patients were analyzed. Respiration can be included in the target delineation process creating a respiratory GTV, denoted iGTV. Alternatively, the respiratory amplitude (A) can be measured based on the 4D-CT and A can be incorporated in the margin expansion. The GTV expanded by A yielded GTV + resp, which was compared to iGTV in terms of overlap. Three methods for PTV generation were compared. PTV del (delineated iGTV expanded to CTV plus PTV margin), PTV σ (GTV expanded to CTV and A was included as a random uncertainty in the CTV to PTV margin) and PTV ∑ (GTV expanded to CTV, succeeded by CTV linear expansion by A to CTV + resp, which was finally expanded to PTV ∑ ). Deformation of tumor and lymph nodes during respiration resulted in volume changes between the respiratory phases. The overlap between iGTV and GTV + resp showed that on average 7% of iGTV was outside the GTV + resp implying that GTV + resp did not capture the tumor during the full deformable respiration cycle. A comparison of the PTV volumes showed that PTV σ was smallest and PTV Σ largest for all patients. PTV σ was in mean 14% (31 cm 3 ) smaller than PTV del , while PTV del was 7% (20 cm 3 ) smaller than PTV Σ . PTV σ yields the smallest volumes but does not ensure coverage of tumor during the full respiratory motion due to tumor deformation. Incorporating the respiratory motion in the delineation (PTV del ) takes into account the entire respiratory cycle including deformation, but at the cost, however, of larger treatment volumes. PTV Σ should not be used, since it incorporates the disadvantages of both PTV del and PTV σ .

Climate change 101 : understanding and responding to global climate change

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

To inform the climate change dialogue, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and the Pew Center on the States have developed a series of brief reports entitled Climate Change 101: Understanding and Responding to Global Climate Change. These reports...

Social Desirability and Self-Reports: Testing a Content and Response-Style Model of Socially Desirable Responding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arta Dodaj

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Personality assessment as a pre-employment screening procedure receives great interest from both researchers and practitioners. One key concern for selection specialists is represented by the response distortion among job applicants completing personality inventories. There are different operationalizations of socially desirable responding. One of the most accepted operationalizations was provided by Paulhus who distinguished between two social desirability factors (the egoistic and moralistic bias as well as their conscious and unconscious aspects (management and enhancement. The aim of the study reported here is to test the basic assumption of the Paulhus model of socially desirable responding. A convenience sample of 200 students (N = 21.61; SD = 1.46 completed the Comprehensive Inventory of Desirable Responding (Paulhus, 2006 and the International Personality Item Pool Questionnaire (Goldberg, 1999; by Goldberg et al., 2006. Questionnaires were applied in three conditions: honest responding, responding as an ideal manager job applicant, and as an ideal teacher applicant. Results give partial support to the existence of egoistic and moralistic bias. However, conscious and unconscious aspects of distortion were not found. In conclusion it could be said that Paulhus’ model doesn’t provide a full answer to the problem of the nature of socially desirable responding.

Responding to Hate and Bias at School. A Guide for Administrators, Counselors and Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Willoughby, Brian

2012-01-01

Your school has plans and protocols in place to respond to fires, severe weather, medical emergencies, fights and weapons possession. But what about school incidents like those listed above that involve bigotry and hate? Are plans in place to respond to a bias incident or hate crime? Too often these plans are created in the moment during the…

How do people respond to self-test results? A cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Vries Nanne K

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Self-tests, tests on medical conditions that can be performed by consumers without consulting a doctor first, are frequently used. Nevertheless, there are concerns about the safety of self-testing, as it may delay diagnosis and appropriate treatment in the case of inappropriate use of the test, or false-negative results. It is unclear whether self-tests stimulate appropriate follow-up behaviour. Our aim was to examine the frequency of self-test use, consumers' response to self-test results in terms of their confidence in the result, reassurance by the test result, and follow-up behaviour. Methods A two step cross-sectional survey was designed. A random sample of 6700 Internet users in an existing Internet panel received an online questionnaire on the use of self-tests. Self-tests were defined as tests on body materials, initiated by consumers with the aim to diagnose a disease or risk factor. A second questionnaire on consumers' response to self-test results was sent to the respondents that were identified as a self-tester in the first questionnaire (n = 703. Results 18.1% (799/4416 of the respondents had ever performed a self-test, the most frequently used tests being those for diabetes (5.3%, kidney disease (4.9%, cholesterol (4.5%, urinary tract infection (1.9% and HIV/AIDS and Chlamydia (both 1.6%. A total of 78.1% of the testers with a normal test result and 81.4% of those with an abnormal result reported confidence in this result. Almost all (95.6% of the testers with a normal result felt reassured. After a normal result, 78.1% did not take any further action and 5.8% consulted a doctor. The corresponding figures after an abnormal test result were 9.3% and 72.2%, respectively. Conclusions Respondents who had performed a self-test seemed to base their follow-up behaviour on the result of the test. They had confidence in the test result, and were often reassured by a normal result. After an abnormal result, most self

Treating Chronic Tension-type Headache Not Responding to Amitriptyline Hydrochloride With Paroxetine Hydrochloride: A Pilot Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Holroyd, Kenneth A.; Labus, Jennifer S.; O'Donnell, Francis J.; Cordingley, Gary E.

2007-01-01

Context In some individuals, chronic tension-type headache fails to respond to tricyclic antidepressant medications that often serve as first-line therapy. Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of paroxetine hydrochloride for chronic tension-type headache not responding to amitriptyline hydrochloride. Design and Setting Open-label trial of paroxetine conducted at 2 outpatient sites in Ohio. Participants and Intervention Thirty-one adults (mean age, 37 years; 20 women) with chronic tension-type headache (mean, 25 headache days per month) who had failed to respond (less than 30% improvement) to treatment with either amitriptyline (n = 13) or matched placebo (n = 18). All participants were treated with paroxetine (up to 40 mg per day) in a 9-month protocol. Outcome Measures Monthly headache index calculated as the mean of pain ratings (0 to 10 scale) recorded by participants in a diary 4 times per day, number of days per month with at least moderate pain (pain rating of 5 or greater), and analgesic medication use. Results In patients who had not responded to amitriptyline, paroxetine failed to reduce chronic tension-type headaches or analgesic medication use. In patients who had not responded to placebo, paroxetine produced modest reductions in chronic tension-type headaches and analgesic use. Conclusions We found no evidence that chronic tension-type headaches that failed to respond to tricyclic antidepressant therapy with amitriptyline improved when subsequently treated with paroxetine. More support was found for the efficacy of paroxetine in patients with chronic tension-type headaches who had failed to respond to placebo. PMID:14511278

L-061: EPR--First responders: Risk and Protection radiological emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This conference is about the basic risks, protection and the consequences in a radiological emergency. The first responders have to know the deterministic and stochastic effects in the health as well as the cancer risk due of the high radioactive doses exposure

Predictors of non-responding in short-term psychodynamic group therapy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Hans Henrik; Mortensen, Erik Lykke; Lotz, Martin

2017-01-01

.g. somatic illness, loss of partner or job), lack of social support, social burden and occupation were all significantly associated with non-responding in the bivariate analyses. However, in the multivariate analysis only adverse life events reached significance, and Interpersonal Sensitivity marginal...

Does the central bank directly respond to output and 
inflation uncertainties in Turkey?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pelin Öge Güney

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the role of inflation and output uncertainties on monetary policy rules in Turkey for the period 2002:01–2014:02. In the literature it is suggested that uncertainty is a key element in monetary policy, hence empirical models of monetary policy should regard to uncertainty. In this study, we estimate a forward-looking monetary reaction function of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT. In addition to inflation and output gap variables, our reaction function also includes both the inflation and output growth uncertainties. Our results suggest that the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT concerns with mainly price stability and significantly responds to inflation and growth uncertainties.

Chronic blockade or constitutive deletion of the serotonin transporter reduces operant responding for food reward.

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Sanders, Amy Cecilia; Hussain, Ali J; Hen, René; Zhuang, Xiaoxi

2007-11-01

The therapeutic effects of chronic selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are well documented, yet the elementary behavioral processes that are affected by such treatment have not been fully investigated. We report here the effects of chronic fluoxetine treatment and genetic deletion of the serotonin transporter (SERT) on food reinforced behavior in three paradigms: the progressive ratio operant task, the concurrent choice operant task, and the Pavlovian-to-Instrumental transfer task. We consistently find that chronic pharmacological blockade or genetic deletion of SERT result in similar behavioral consequences: reduced operant responding for natural reward. This is in line with previous studies reporting declines in operant responding for drugs and intracranial self-stimulation with fluoxetine treatment, suggesting that the effect of SERT blockade can be generalized to different reward types. Detailed analyses of behavioral parameters indicate that this reduction in operant responding affect both goal-directed and non-goal-directed behaviors without affecting the Pavlovian cue-triggered excessive operant responding. In addition, both pharmacological and genetic manipulations reduce locomotor activity in the open field novel environment. Our data contrast with the effect of dopamine in increasing operant responding for natural reward specifically in goal-directed behaviors and in increasing Pavlovian cue-triggered excessive operant responding. Serotonin and dopamine have been proposed to serve opposing functions in motivational processes. Our data suggest that their interactions do not result in simple opponency. The fact that pharmacological blockade and genetic deletion of SERT have similar behavioral consequences reinforces the utility of the SERT null mice for investigation of the mechanisms underlying chronic SSRIs treatment.

How Did Climate and Humans Respond to Past Volcanic Eruptions?

Science.gov (United States)

Toohey, Matthew; Ludlow, Francis; Legrande, Allegra N.

2016-01-01

To predict and prepare for future climate change, scientists are striving to understand how global-scale climatic change manifests itself on regional scales and also how societies adapt or don't to sometimes subtle and complex climatic changes. In this regard, the strongest volcanic eruptions of the past are powerful test cases, showcasing how the broad climate system responds to sudden changes in radiative forcing and how societies have responded to the resulting climatic shocks. These issues were at the heart of the inaugural workshop of the Volcanic Impacts on Climate and Society (VICS) Working Group, convened in June 2016 at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y. The 3-day meeting gathered approximately 50 researchers, who presented work intertwining the history of volcanic eruptions and the physical processes that connect eruptions with human and natural systems on a global scale.

Overview of Hazard Assessment and Emergency Planning Software of Use to RN First Responders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Waller, E; Millage, K; Blakely, W F; Ross, J A; Mercier, J R; Sandgren, D J; Levine, I H; Dickerson, W E; Nemhauser, J B; Nasstrom, J S; Sugiyama, G; Homann, S; Buddemeier, B R; Curling, C A; Disraelly, D S

2008-08-26

There are numerous software tools available for field deployment, reach-back, training and planning use in the event of a radiological or nuclear (RN) terrorist event. Specialized software tools used by CBRNe responders can increase information available and the speed and accuracy of the response, thereby ensuring that radiation doses to responders, receivers, and the general public are kept as low as reasonably achievable. Software designed to provide health care providers with assistance in selecting appropriate countermeasures or therapeutic interventions in a timely fashion can improve the potential for positive patient outcome. This paper reviews various software applications of relevance to radiological and nuclear (RN) events that are currently in use by first responders, emergency planners, medical receivers, and criminal investigators.

Respondence and feedback of modern sand deserts to climate change--A case study in Gurbantunggut Desert

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

The research on the respondence and feedback of modern sand deserts to the climate change is an important component part in the studies on the global climate change. Deserts respond to the climate change, meanwhile, they affect the climate with their feedback of peculiar environment during the respondence. Many researches on desert climate have been carried out at home and abroad. However, there is little research on the respondence and feedback of modern fixed, semi-fixed and mobile deserts in arid areas to the climate change, in which the factor analysis as well as the parameter changing effects is especially the difficult problem all along. In this note, the parameters of the respondence and feedback of Gurbantunggut Desert to the climate change are measured and analyzed, some variable parameters of water-heat exchange are obtained, and a numerical model of desertification is developed according to a series of climate change of about 40 years and the variable relations of meteorological and physical features of the sand surface in Gurbantunggut Desert.

Privacy effects on self-reported drug use: interactions with survey mode and respondent characteristics.

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Aquilino, W S

1997-01-01

This chapter examines the impact of interview privacy on self-reported illicit drug use. In 1991, interviews were completed with an urban-suburban sample of 2,417 adults aged 18 to 45. Results show that the presence of third parties during the interview significantly influences respondents' willingness to reveal illicit drug use. Among married respondents, presence of a spouse resulted in higher reporting of illicit drug use, while the presence of adults other than the spouse had a consistent negative effect on drug use reports. A parent's presence during the interview significantly reduced respondents' willingness to report illicit drug use. The pattern of findings suggests that the direction of effects due to third party presence is linked to two factors: the extent of the third party's knowledge of the information requested, and the degree of personal stake the third party may have in the respondent's answers. The differential impact of privacy by interview mode was also examined. Tests of interactions between privacy and interview mode failed to support the hypothesis that the use of self-administered answer sheets reduces privacy effects compared with interviewer-administered interviews.

Adipose Gene Expression Prior to Weight Loss Can Differentiate and Weakly Predict Dietary Responders

Science.gov (United States)

Mutch, David M.; Temanni, M. Ramzi; Henegar, Corneliu; Combes, Florence; Pelloux, Véronique; Holst, Claus; Sørensen, Thorkild I. A.; Astrup, Arne; Martinez, J. Alfredo; Saris, Wim H. M.; Viguerie, Nathalie; Langin, Dominique; Zucker, Jean-Daniel; Clément, Karine

2007-01-01

Background The ability to identify obese individuals who will successfully lose weight in response to dietary intervention will revolutionize disease management. Therefore, we asked whether it is possible to identify subjects who will lose weight during dietary intervention using only a single gene expression snapshot. Methodology/Principal Findings The present study involved 54 female subjects from the Nutrient-Gene Interactions in Human Obesity-Implications for Dietary Guidelines (NUGENOB) trial to determine whether subcutaneous adipose tissue gene expression could be used to predict weight loss prior to the 10-week consumption of a low-fat hypocaloric diet. Using several statistical tests revealed that the gene expression profiles of responders (8–12 kgs weight loss) could always be differentiated from non-responders (diet is able to differentiate responders from non-responders as well as serve as a weak predictor of subjects destined to lose weight. While the degree of prediction accuracy currently achieved with a gene expression snapshot is perhaps insufficient for clinical use, this work reveals that the comprehensive molecular signature of adipose tissue paves the way for the future of personalized nutrition. PMID:18094752

A Web-Based Respondent Driven Sampling Pilot Targeting Young People at Risk for Chlamydia Trachomatis in Social and Sexual Networks with Testing : A Use Evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Theunissen, Kevin; Hoebe, Christian; Kok, Gerjo; Crutzen, Rik; Kara-Zaïtri, Chakib; de Vries, Nanne; van Bergen, Jan; Hamilton, Robert; van der Sande, Marianne; Dukers-Muijrers, Nicole

BACKGROUND: With the aim of targeting high-risk hidden heterosexual young people for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) testing, an innovative web-based screening strategy using Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) and home-based CT testing, was developed, piloted and evaluated. METHODS: Two STI clinic nurses

Vital analysis: annotating sensed physiological signals with the stress levels of first responders in action.

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Gomes, P; Kaiseler, M; Queirós, C; Oliveira, M; Lopes, B; Coimbra, M

2012-01-01

First responders such as firefighters are exposed to extreme stress and fatigue situations during their work routines. It is thus desirable to monitor their health using wearable sensing but this is a complex and still unsolved research challenge that requires large amounts of properly annotated physiological signals data. In this paper we show that the information gathered by our Vital Analysis Framework can support the annotation of these vital signals with the stress levels perceived by the target user, confirmed by the analysis of more than 4600 hours of data collected from real firefighters in action, including 717 answers to event questionnaires from a total of 454 different events.

Perceptions of psychological first aid among providers responding to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike.

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Allen, Brian; Brymer, Melissa J; Steinberg, Alan M; Vernberg, Eric M; Jacobs, Anne; Speier, Anthony H; Pynoos, Robert S

2010-08-01

Psychological First Aid (PFA), developed by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, has been widely disseminated both nationally and internationally, and adopted and used by a number of disaster response organizations and agencies after major catastrophic events across the United States. This study represents a first examination of the perceptions of providers who utilized PFA in response to a disaster. Study participants included 50 individuals who utilized PFA in their response to Hurricane Gustav or Ike. Findings indicated that participation in PFA training was perceived to increase confidence in working with adults and children. PFA was not seen as harmful to survivors, and was perceived as an appropriate intervention for responding in the aftermath of hurricanes.

Attention and gaze shifting in dual-task and go/no-go performance with vocal responding

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lamers, M.J.M.; Roelofs, A.P.A.

2011-01-01

Evidence from go/no-go performance on the Eriksen flanker task with manual responding suggests that individuals gaze at stimuli just as long as needed to identify them (e.g.. Sanders, 1998). In contrast, evidence from dual-task performance with vocal responding suggests that gaze shifts occur after

Evaluation and comparison of multiple test methods, including real-time PCR, for Legionella detection in clinical specimens.

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Adriana Peci

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Legionella is a gram-negative bacterium that can cause Pontiac fever, a mild upper respiratory infection and Legionnaire’s disease, a more severe illness. We aimed to compare the performance of urine antigen, culture and PCR test methods and to determine if sputum is an alternative to the use of more invasive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL. Data for this study included specimens tested for Legionella at PHOL from January 1, 2010 to April 30, 2014, as part of routine clinical testing. We found sensitivity of UAT compared to culture to be 87%, specificity 94.7%, positive predictive value (PPV 63.8% and negative predictive value (NPV 98.5%. Sensitivity of UAT compared to PCR was 74.7%, specificity 98.3%, PPV 77.7% and NPV 98.1%. Of 146 patients who had a Legionella positive result by PCR, only 66(45.2% also had a positive result by culture. Sensitivity for culture was the same using either sputum or BAL (13.6%; sensitivity for PCR was 10.3% for sputum and 12.8% for BAL. Both sputum and BAL yield similar results despite testing methods (Fisher Exact p-values=1.0, for each test. In summary, all test methods have inherent weaknesses in identifying Legionella; thereforemore than one testing method should be used. Obtaining a single specimen type from patients with pneumonia limits the ability to diagnose Legionella, particularly when urine is the specimen type submitted. Given ease of collection, and similar sensitivity to BAL, clinicians are encouraged to submit sputum in addition to urine when BAL submission is not practical, from patients being tested for Legionella.

Adipose gene expression prior to weight loss can differentiate and weakly predict dietary responders.

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David M Mutch

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The ability to identify obese individuals who will successfully lose weight in response to dietary intervention will revolutionize disease management. Therefore, we asked whether it is possible to identify subjects who will lose weight during dietary intervention using only a single gene expression snapshot. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The present study involved 54 female subjects from the Nutrient-Gene Interactions in Human Obesity-Implications for Dietary Guidelines (NUGENOB trial to determine whether subcutaneous adipose tissue gene expression could be used to predict weight loss prior to the 10-week consumption of a low-fat hypocaloric diet. Using several statistical tests revealed that the gene expression profiles of responders (8-12 kgs weight loss could always be differentiated from non-responders (<4 kgs weight loss. We also assessed whether this differentiation was sufficient for prediction. Using a bottom-up (i.e. black-box approach, standard class prediction algorithms were able to predict dietary responders with up to 61.1%+/-8.1% accuracy. Using a top-down approach (i.e. using differentially expressed genes to build a classifier improved prediction accuracy to 80.9%+/-2.2%. CONCLUSION: Adipose gene expression profiling prior to the consumption of a low-fat diet is able to differentiate responders from non-responders as well as serve as a weak predictor of subjects destined to lose weight. While the degree of prediction accuracy currently achieved with a gene expression snapshot is perhaps insufficient for clinical use, this work reveals that the comprehensive molecular signature of adipose tissue paves the way for the future of personalized nutrition.

The role of citzens in detecting and responding to a rapid marine invasion

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Scyphers, Stephen B.; Powers, Sean P.; Akins, J. Lad; Drymon, J. Marcus; Martin, Charles M.; Schobernd, Zeb H.; Schofield, Pamela J.; Shipp, Robert L.; Switzer, Theodore S.

2015-01-01

Documenting and responding to species invasions requires innovative strategies that account for ecological and societal complexities. We used the recent expansion of Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans/miles) throughout northern Gulf of Mexico coastal waters to evaluate the role of stakeholders in documenting and responding to a rapid marine invasion. We coupled an online survey of spearfishers and citizen science monitoring programs with traditional fishery-independent data sources and found that citizen observations documented lionfish 1–2 years earlier and more frequently than traditional reef fish monitoring programs. Citizen observations first documented lionfish in 2010 followed by rapid expansion and proliferation in 2011 (+367%). From the survey of spearfishers, we determined that diving experience and personal observations of lionfish strongly influenced perceived impacts, and these perceptions were powerful predictors of support for initiatives. Our study demonstrates the value of engaging citizens for assessing and responding to large-scale and time-sensitive conservation problems.

Awareness of doctors of health care and possible therapy methods for alcohol and drug dependant patients in Latvia

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Dave V.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Aim is to investigate the knowledge of Latvian doctors about addiction treatment and healthcare possibilities in Latvia, to compare which methods are the best known to physicians, and which are offered to addicted patients. Work material and methods. Questionnaire was developed by researchers themselves, it contains 14 questions (about demographical data, treatment methods and their application. 250 questionnaires were distributed, 158 (63, 2% were received. Results. Average age of participants – 43.7 years. 31,0% of respondents are psychiatrists, 13,3% – addiction specialists, 34,8% – other specialists (general practitioners, internists, health care doctors, neurologists and others, 12,0% – psychotherapists, 4,4% – surgeons, 1,9% – dentists and 1,9% – paediatricians. The best known were detoxification (98,2% and suggestion (892% methods. The least known methods for drug addicts were substitution therapy (73,4% and rehabilitation communities (73,4%. The most recommended treatment method was Minnesota programme – 108 (68,4% and detoxification 99 (62,7%, the least recommended – substitution therapy – 29 (18,5%. Conclusions. 17,1% of respondents do not meet patients with addiction problems, but 20,3% of respondents don’t recommend any of treatment methods. Although 73%-98% of respondents have information about treatment methods, only 18%-68% of respondents offer them.

Development and evaluation of first responder equipment for nuclear forensics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchiya, Ken'ichi; Kurosawa, Kenji; Akiba, Norimitsu; Kuroki, Kenro; Schwantes, Jon M.; Pierson, Richard; Piper, Roman K.

2014-01-01

Nuclear forensics are the technical means by which nuclear and other radioactive materials used in illegal activities are characterized as to physical and chemical condition, provenance, and history. Sampling for traditional forensics evidence (e.g. fingerprints, DNA, hair, fibers, and digital evidence) contaminated by radionuclides, and categorization of nuclear and other radioactive materials by on-sight measurement are required for first responders. Portable radiological equipment and radiation protection for first responders to achieve emergency tasks safely at the incident sites have been developed and evaluated in National Research Institute of Police Science. In this report, we introduce wireless network dosimetry system and neutron protection shield with water under sampling and categorization. Described next in this report are evaluation tests of active personal dosimeters using neutron irradiation field in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. We evaluated them under fast and thermal neutron field. We confirmed the large fluctuation of the response for each dosimeter caused by the energy dependence of the detectors. (author)

Factors associated with the intention of health care personnel to respond to a disaster.

Science.gov (United States)

Connor, Susan B

2014-12-01

Over the past decade, numerous groups of researchers have studied the willingness of health care personnel (HCP) to respond when a disaster threatens the health of a community. Not one of those studies reported that 100% of HCP were willing to work during a public-health event (PHE). The objective of this study was to explore factors associated with the intent of HCP to respond to a future PHE. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) framed this cross-sectional study. Data were obtained via a web-based survey from 305 HCP. Linear associations between the TPB-based predictor and outcome variables were examined using Pearson's correlations. Differences between two groups of HCP were calculated using independent t tests. A model-generating approach was used to develop and assess a series of TBP-based observed variable structural equation models for prediction of intent to respond to a future PHE and to explore moderating and mediating effects. The beginning patterns of relationships identified by the correlation matrix and t tests were evident in the final structural equation model, even though the patterns of prediction differed from those posited by the theory. Outcome beliefs had both a significant, direct effect on intention and an indirect effect on intention that was mediated by perceived behavioral control. Control beliefs appeared to influence intention through perceived behavioral control, as posited by the TPB, and unexpectedly through subjective norm. Subjective norm not only mediated the relationship between control beliefs and intention, but also the relationship between referent beliefs and intention. Additionally, professional affiliation seemed to have a moderating effect on intention. The intention to respond was influenced primarily by normative and control factors. The intent of nurses to respond to a future PHE was influenced most by the control factors, whereas the intent of other HCP was shaped more by the normative factors. Health care educators

Utility of the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale validity scales in identifying simulated attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and random responding.

Science.gov (United States)

Walls, Brittany D; Wallace, Elizabeth R; Brothers, Stacey L; Berry, David T R

2017-12-01

Recent concern about malingered self-report of symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in college students has resulted in an urgent need for scales that can detect feigning of this disorder. The present study provided further validation data for a recently developed validity scale for the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS), the CAARS Infrequency Index (CII), as well as for the Inconsistency Index (INC). The sample included 139 undergraduate students: 21 individuals with diagnoses of ADHD, 29 individuals responding honestly, 54 individuals responding randomly (full or half), and 35 individuals instructed to feign. Overall, the INC showed moderate sensitivity to random responding (.44-.63) and fairly high specificity to ADHD (.86-.91). The CII demonstrated modest sensitivity to feigning (.31-.46) and excellent specificity to ADHD (.91-.95). Sequential application of validity scales had correct classification rates of honest (93.1%), ADHD (81.0%), feigning (57.1%), half random (42.3%), and full random (92.9%). The present study suggests that the CII is modestly sensitive (true positive rate) to feigned ADHD symptoms, and highly specific (true negative rate) to ADHD. Additionally, this study highlights the utility of applying the CAARS validity scales in a sequential manner for identifying feigning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

TRANSAT-- method for detecting the conserved helices of functional RNA structures, including transient, pseudo-knotted and alternative structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebe, Nicholas J P; Meyer, Irmtraud M

2010-06-24

The prediction of functional RNA structures has attracted increased interest, as it allows us to study the potential functional roles of many genes. RNA structure prediction methods, however, assume that there is a unique functional RNA structure and also do not predict functional features required for in vivo folding. In order to understand how functional RNA structures form in vivo, we require sophisticated experiments or reliable prediction methods. So far, there exist only a few, experimentally validated transient RNA structures. On the computational side, there exist several computer programs which aim to predict the co-transcriptional folding pathway in vivo, but these make a range of simplifying assumptions and do not capture all features known to influence RNA folding in vivo. We want to investigate if evolutionarily related RNA genes fold in a similar way in vivo. To this end, we have developed a new computational method, Transat, which detects conserved helices of high statistical significance. We introduce the method, present a comprehensive performance evaluation and show that Transat is able to predict the structural features of known reference structures including pseudo-knotted ones as well as those of known alternative structural configurations. Transat can also identify unstructured sub-sequences bound by other molecules and provides evidence for new helices which may define folding pathways, supporting the notion that homologous RNA sequence not only assume a similar reference RNA structure, but also fold similarly. Finally, we show that the structural features predicted by Transat differ from those assuming thermodynamic equilibrium. Unlike the existing methods for predicting folding pathways, our method works in a comparative way. This has the disadvantage of not being able to predict features as function of time, but has the considerable advantage of highlighting conserved features and of not requiring a detailed knowledge of the cellular

Pregnancy outcome in delayed start antagonist versus microdose flare GnRH agonist protocol in poor responders undergoing IVF/ICSI: An RCT

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Robab Davar

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Background: Over the years, many article on different aspects of pathogenesis and management of poor ovarian responders have been published but there is no clear guideline for treating themyet. Objective: This study was designated to compare the effectiveness of a delayed start protocol with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH antagonist and microdose flare-up GnRH agonist protocol in poor ovarian responders. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial consisted of 100 poor ovarian responder women in assisted reproductive technologies cycles. They were divided randomly in delayed-start antagonist protocol (with estrogen priming followed by early follicular-phase GnRH antagonist treatment for 7 days before ovarian stimulation and microdose flare-up GnRH agonist protocol. The main outcome was clinical pregnancy rate and second outcome was the number of retrieved oocytes, mature oocytes, 2PN number, fertilization rate, and implantation rate. Results: Fertilization rate, clinical pregnancy rate, and ongoing pregnancy rates were not significantly different between the two studied protocols. Number of retrieved oocytes (5.10±3.41 vs. 3.08±2.51 with p=0.002, mature oocytes (4.32±2.69 vs. 2.34±1.80 with p=0.003, number of 2PN (3.94±1.80 vs. 2.20±1.01 with p=0.001 and implantation rate (19.40% vs. 10.30% with p=0.022 were significantly higher in delayed antagonist group. Conclusion: The delayed-start protocol can improve ovarian response in poor responders by stimulating and synchronizing follicle development

Analysis of Smart Composite Structures Including Debonding

Science.gov (United States)

Chattopadhyay, Aditi; Seeley, Charles E.

1997-01-01

Smart composite structures with distributed sensors and actuators have the capability to actively respond to a changing environment while offering significant weight savings and additional passive controllability through ply tailoring. Piezoelectric sensing and actuation of composite laminates is the most promising concept due to the static and dynamic control capabilities. Essential to the implementation of these smart composites are the development of accurate and efficient modeling techniques and experimental validation. This research addresses each of these important topics. A refined higher order theory is developed to model composite structures with surface bonded or embedded piezoelectric transducers. These transducers are used as both sensors and actuators for closed loop control. The theory accurately captures the transverse shear deformation through the thickness of the smart composite laminate while satisfying stress free boundary conditions on the free surfaces. The theory is extended to include the effect of debonding at the actuator-laminate interface. The developed analytical model is implemented using the finite element method utilizing an induced strain approach for computational efficiency. This allows general laminate geometries and boundary conditions to be analyzed. The state space control equations are developed to allow flexibility in the design of the control system. Circuit concepts are also discussed. Static and dynamic results of smart composite structures, obtained using the higher order theory, are correlated with available analytical data. Comparisons, including debonded laminates, are also made with a general purpose finite element code and available experimental data. Overall, very good agreement is observed. Convergence of the finite element implementation of the higher order theory is shown with exact solutions. Additional results demonstrate the utility of the developed theory to study piezoelectric actuation of composite

Efficient methods for including quantum effects in Monte Carlo calculations of large systems: extension of the displaced points path integral method and other effective potential methods to calculate properties and distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mielke, Steven L; Dinpajooh, Mohammadhasan; Siepmann, J Ilja; Truhlar, Donald G

2013-01-07

We present a procedure to calculate ensemble averages, thermodynamic derivatives, and coordinate distributions by effective classical potential methods. In particular, we consider the displaced-points path integral (DPPI) method, which yields exact quantal partition functions and ensemble averages for a harmonic potential and approximate quantal ones for general potentials, and we discuss the implementation of the new procedure in two Monte Carlo simulation codes, one that uses uncorrelated samples to calculate absolute free energies, and another that employs Metropolis sampling to calculate relative free energies. The results of the new DPPI method are compared to those from accurate path integral calculations as well as to results of two other effective classical potential schemes for the case of an isolated water molecule. In addition to the partition function, we consider the heat capacity and expectation values of the energy, the potential energy, the bond angle, and the OH distance. We also consider coordinate distributions. The DPPI scheme performs best among the three effective potential schemes considered and achieves very good accuracy for all of the properties considered. A key advantage of the effective potential schemes is that they display much lower statistical sampling variances than those for accurate path integral calculations. The method presented here shows great promise for including quantum effects in calculations on large systems.

PERIPHERAL SENSORY NEURONS EXPRESSING MELANOPSIN RESPOND TO LIGHT

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Anna Matynia

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The ability of light to cause pain is paradoxical. The retina detects light but is devoid of nociceptors while the trigeminal sensory ganglia (TG contain nociceptors but not photoreceptors. Melanopsin-expressing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs are thought to mediate light-induced pain but recent evidence raises the possibility of an alternative light responsive pathway independent of the retina and optic nerve. Here, we show that melanopsin is expressed in both human and mouse TG neurons. In mice, they represent 3% of small TG neurons that are preferentially localized in the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal nerve and are likely nociceptive C fibers and high-threshold mechanoreceptor Aδ fibers based on a strong size-function association. These isolated neurons respond to blue light stimuli with a delayed onset and sustained firing, similar to the melanopsin-dependent intrinsic photosensitivity observed in ipRGCs. Mice with severe bilateral optic nerve crush exhibit no light-induced responses including behavioral light aversion until treated with nitroglycerin, an inducer of migraine in people and migraine-like symptoms in mice. With nitroglycerin, these same mice with optic nerve crush exhibit significant light aversion. Furthermore, this retained light aversion remains dependent on melanopsin-expressing neurons. Our results demonstrate a novel light-responsive neural function independent of the optic nerve that may originate in the peripheral nervous system to provide the first direct mechanism for an alternative light detection pathway that influences motivated behavior.

Intra-accumbens baclofen, but not muscimol, increases second order instrumental responding for food reward in rats.

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Kim G T Pulman

Full Text Available Stimulation of either GABA(A or GABA(B receptors within the nucleus accumbens shell strongly enhances food intake in rats. However the effects of subtype-selective stimulation of GABA receptors on instrumental responses for food reward are less well characterized. Here we contrast the effects of the GABA(A receptor agonist muscimol and GABA(B receptor agonist baclofen on instrumental responding for food using a second order reinforcement schedule. Bilateral intra-accumbens administration of baclofen (220-440 pmol stimulated responding but a higher dose (660 pmol induced stereotyped oral behaviour that interfered with responding. Baclofen (220-660 pmol also stimulated intake of freely available chow. Muscimol (220-660 pmol was without effect on responding for food on this schedule but did stimulate intake of freely available chow. Unilateral administration of either baclofen or muscimol (220 pmol induced similar patterns of c-fos immunoreactivity in several hypothalamic sites but differed in its induction in the central nucleus of the amygdala. We conclude that stimulation of GABA(A or GABA(B receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell of rats produces clearly distinguishable effects on operant responding for food.

Intra-accumbens baclofen, but not muscimol, increases second order instrumental responding for food reward in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Pulman, Kim G T; Somerville, Elizabeth M; Clifton, Peter G

2012-01-01

Stimulation of either GABA(A) or GABA(B) receptors within the nucleus accumbens shell strongly enhances food intake in rats. However the effects of subtype-selective stimulation of GABA receptors on instrumental responses for food reward are less well characterized. Here we contrast the effects of the GABA(A) receptor agonist muscimol and GABA(B) receptor agonist baclofen on instrumental responding for food using a second order reinforcement schedule. Bilateral intra-accumbens administration of baclofen (220-440 pmol) stimulated responding but a higher dose (660 pmol) induced stereotyped oral behaviour that interfered with responding. Baclofen (220-660 pmol) also stimulated intake of freely available chow. Muscimol (220-660 pmol) was without effect on responding for food on this schedule but did stimulate intake of freely available chow. Unilateral administration of either baclofen or muscimol (220 pmol) induced similar patterns of c-fos immunoreactivity in several hypothalamic sites but differed in its induction in the central nucleus of the amygdala. We conclude that stimulation of GABA(A) or GABA(B) receptors in the nucleus accumbens shell of rats produces clearly distinguishable effects on operant responding for food.

Factors predicting emotional cue-responding behaviors of nurses in Taiwan: An observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mei-Feng; Lee, An-Yu; Chou, Cheng-Chen; Liu, Tien-Yu; Tang, Chia-Chun

2017-10-01

Responding to emotional cues is an essential element of therapeutic communication. The purpose of this study is to examine nurses' competence of responding to emotional cues (CRE) and related factors while interacting with standardized patients with cancer. This is an exploratory and predictive correlational study. A convenience sample of registered nurses who have passed the probationary period in southern Taiwan was recruited to participate in 15-minute videotaped interviews with standardized patients. The Medical Interview Aural Rating Scale was used to describe standardized patients' emotional cues and to measure nurses' CRE. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to evaluate nurses' anxiety level before the conversation. We used descriptive statistics to describe the data and stepwise regression to examine the predictors of nurses' CRE. A total of 110 nurses participated in the study. Regardless of the emotional cue level, participants predominately responded to cues with inappropriate distancing strategies. Prior formal communication training, practice unit, length of nursing practice, and educational level together explain 36.3% variances of the nurses' CRE. This study is the first to explore factors related to Taiwanese nurses' CRE. Compared to nurses in other countries, Taiwanese nurses tended to respond to patients' emotional cues with more inappropriate strategies. We also identified significant predictors of CRE that show the importance of communication training. Future research and education programs are needed to enhance nurses' CRE and to advocate for emotion-focused communication. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A mixed methods evaluation of paediatric trainee preparedness to manage cardiopulmonary arrests.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Órla; Lydon, Sinéad; O'Connor, Paul

2017-12-01

Paediatric cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) survival rates are strongly linked to the training of the doctors responding to the event. This study sought to characterise the level of experience in managing CPAs among paediatric trainees and to investigate the nontechnical (NTS) required to effectively lead a paediatric CPA team. A mixed-methods research design was used. For the quantitative phase, a questionnaire was developed to assess training, confidence, and experiences related to CPA management. During the qualitative phase, 17 paediatric trainees participated in a series of critical incident technique (CIT) interviews to explore the NTS used during the management of paediatric CPAs. A total of 56 of 131 (37.1% response rate) trainees responded to the preparedness questionnaire. A total of 48.2% of respondents expressed low confidence in their skill as a team leader during the management of a CPA. The CIT interviews highlighted deficiencies in specific NTS (identifying options, prioritising, and identifying and utilising resources). Our results indicate that there is a desire for more training in CPA management among paediatric trainees, in particular as a team leader, which includes a focus on key NTS. What is Known • Levels of preparedness to be a paediatric cardiopulmonary arrests team member/leader are generally lower than desirable. • The importance of nontechnical skills to the effective performance of adult cardiopulmonary arrests teams has been identified. What is New • Levels of preparedness to be a cardiopulmonary arrests team member were higher than reported in US studies. • There is a need for greater training in cardiopulmonary arrest management which includes a focus on key nontechnical skills to include identifying options, prioritising, identifying and utilising resources.

Plant Reproduction: AMOR Enables Males to Respond to Female Signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Dresselhaus, Thomas; Coimbra, Silvia

2016-04-25

The pollen tube of flowering plants undertakes a long journey to transport two sperm cells for double fertilization. New work on pollen tube guidance has identified an arabinogalactan-derived ovular factor that primes tubes to respond to female gametophyte-secreted attraction signals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of Extended Ray-tracing method including diffraction, polarization and wave decay effects

Science.gov (United States)

Yanagihara, Kota; Kubo, Shin; Dodin, Ilya; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Tsujimura, Toru

2017-10-01

Geometrical Optics Ray-tracing is a reasonable numerical analytic approach for describing the Electron Cyclotron resonance Wave (ECW) in slowly varying spatially inhomogeneous plasma. It is well known that the result with this conventional method is adequate in most cases. However, in the case of Helical fusion plasma which has complicated magnetic structure, strong magnetic shear with a large scale length of density can cause a mode coupling of waves outside the last closed flux surface, and complicated absorption structure requires a strong focused wave for ECH. Since conventional Ray Equations to describe ECW do not have any terms to describe the diffraction, polarization and wave decay effects, we can not describe accurately a mode coupling of waves, strong focus waves, behavior of waves in inhomogeneous absorption region and so on. For fundamental solution of these problems, we consider the extension of the Ray-tracing method. Specific process is planned as follows. First, calculate the reference ray by conventional method, and define the local ray-base coordinate system along the reference ray. Then, calculate the evolution of the distributions of amplitude and phase on ray-base coordinate step by step. The progress of our extended method will be presented.

Evaluation and Comparison of Multiple Test Methods, Including Real-time PCR, for Legionella Detection in Clinical Specimens

Science.gov (United States)

Peci, Adriana; Winter, Anne-Luise; Gubbay, Jonathan B.

2016-01-01

Legionella is a Gram-negative bacterium that can cause Pontiac fever, a mild upper respiratory infection and Legionnaire’s disease, a more severe illness. We aimed to compare the performance of urine antigen, culture, and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test methods and to determine if sputum is an acceptable alternative to the use of more invasive bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Data for this study included specimens tested for Legionella at Public Health Ontario Laboratories from 1st January, 2010 to 30th April, 2014, as part of routine clinical testing. We found sensitivity of urinary antigen test (UAT) compared to culture to be 87%, specificity 94.7%, positive predictive value (PPV) 63.8%, and negative predictive value (NPV) 98.5%. Sensitivity of UAT compared to PCR was 74.7%, specificity 98.3%, PPV 77.7%, and NPV 98.1%. Out of 146 patients who had a Legionella-positive result by PCR, only 66 (45.2%) also had a positive result by culture. Sensitivity for culture was the same using either sputum or BAL (13.6%); sensitivity for PCR was 10.3% for sputum and 12.8% for BAL. Both sputum and BAL yield similar results regardless testing methods (Fisher Exact p-values = 1.0, for each test). In summary, all test methods have inherent weaknesses in identifying Legionella; therefore, more than one testing method should be used. Obtaining a single specimen type from patients with pneumonia limits the ability to diagnose Legionella, particularly when urine is the specimen type submitted. Given ease of collection and similar sensitivity to BAL, clinicians are encouraged to submit sputum in addition to urine when BAL submission is not practical from patients being tested for Legionella. PMID:27630979

Engagement with HIV prevention treatment and care among female sex workers in Zimbabwe: a respondent driven sampling survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Cowan, Frances M; Mtetwa, Sibongile; Davey, Calum; Fearon, Elizabeth; Dirawo, Jeffrey; Wong-Gruenwald, Ramona; Ndikudze, Theresa; Chidiya, Samson; Benedikt, Clemens; Busza, Joanna; Hargreaves, James R

2013-01-01

To determine the HIV prevalence and extent of engagement with HIV prevention and care among a representative sample of Zimbabwean sex workers working in Victoria Falls, Hwange and Mutare. Respondent driven sampling (RDS) surveys conducted at each site. Sex workers were recruited using respondent driven sampling with each respondent limited to recruiting 2 peers. Participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire and provided a finger prick blood sample for HIV antibody testing. Statistical analysis took account of sampling method. 870 women were recruited from the three sites. HIV prevalence was between 50 and 70%. Around half of those confirmed HIV positive were aware of their HIV status and of those 50-70% reported being enrolled in HIV care programmes. Overall only 25-35% of those with laboratory-confirmed HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy. Among those reporting they were HIV negative, 21-28% reported having an HIV test in the last 6 months. Of those tested HIV negative, most (65-82%) were unaware of their status. Around two-thirds of sex workers reported consistent condom use with their clients. As in other settings, sex workers reported high rates of gender based violence and police harassment. This survey suggests that prevalence of HIV is high among sex workers in Zimbabwe and that their engagement with prevention, treatment and care is sub-optimal. Intensifying prevention and care interventions for sex workers has the potential to markedly reduce HIV and social risks for sex workers, their clients and the general population in Zimbabwe and elsewhere in the region.

What is the role of health systems in responding to domestic violence? An evidence review.

Science.gov (United States)

Spangaro, Jo

2017-12-01

Objective The aim of the present study was to review and analyse academic literature and program evaluations to identify promising evidence for health system responses to domestic violence in Australia and internationally. Methods English-language literature published between January 2005 and March 2016 was retrieved from search results using the terms 'domestic violence' or 'intimate partner violence' in different combinations with other relevant terms, resulting in 1671 documents, of which 59 were systematic reviews. Electronic databases (Medline (Ovid), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Psycinfo, Social work Abstracts, Informit, Violence and Abuse Abstracts, Family Studies Abstracts, Cochrane Library of Systematic Reviews and EMBASE) were searched and narrative analysis undertaken. Results This review details the evidence base for the following interventions by health services responding to domestic violence: first-line responses, routine screening, risk assessment and safety planning, counselling with women, mother-child interventions, responses to perpetrators, child protection notifications, training and system-level responses. Conclusions There is growing evidence for the effectiveness of health service interventions to reduce the extent of harm caused by domestic violence. What is known about the topic? Domestic violence is a significant problem globally with enormous human, social and economic costs. Although women who have experienced abuse make extensive use of healthcare services, health services have lagged behind the policing, criminal justice and other human service domains in responding to domestic violence. What does this paper add? The present comprehensive review identifies best-practice health system responses to domestic violence. What are the implications for practitioners? Health systems can play a key role in identifying and responding to domestic violence for women who often do not access other services

Accidents on vessels transporting liquid gases and responder's concerns : the Galerne Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabioc'h, F.; De Castelet, D.; Penelon, T.; Pagnon, S.; Peuch, A.; Bonnardot, F.; Duhart, J.; Drevet, D.; Estiez, C.; Dernat, M.; Hermand, J.C.

2009-01-01

In 2006, the French Ministry of Research financed the Galerne project to provide responders at sea with relevant information on the hazards posed by liquid gas chemicals on vessels disabled at sea. Thirty-one chemicals are transported as liquids in order to facilitate handling and lower transport costs. Temperature and pressure parameters are manipulated in order to generate the liquefaction of the gases. Members of the Galerne project are producers and handlers of liquefied gases and are experts in atmospheric modelling, ship structure, risk assessment, hazards assessment and operations. Several simulations and experiments were performed in an effort to produce operational information for responders and headquarters. For practical and financial reasons, it was not possible to consider all 31 chemicals described in the IGC code. Only 4 liquid gases were chosen for the Galerne project, notably methane liquefied natural gas (LNG); propane LNG; ammonia; and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). They were chosen on the basis of their transport characteristics and behaviour. This paper outlined the physical characteristics of the transported products verses their volume in standard conditions; the type of ship dedicated to transporting gases in liquid forms; and various response phases. It also included a brief review of several ship incidents and accidents. It was concluded that as far as the LNG carriers are concerns, a few accidents at sea have occurred in more than 28 years, but no major accidents involving the cargo have been reported. Handling LNG at terminals can lead to serious accidents. Accidents have occurred at sea, but without any accidental spillage of cargo. It was concluded that response teams on-board disabled liquefied gas carriers need to know the main characteristics of the cargo and the potential hazards. 3 tabs., 6 figs

High-risk human papillomavirus detection in self-sampling compared to physician-taken smear in a responder population of the Dutch cervical screening: Results of the VERA study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ketelaars, P J W; Bosgraaf, R P; Siebers, A G; Massuger, L F A G; van der Linden, J C; Wauters, C A P; Rahamat-Langendoen, J C; van den Brule, A J C; IntHout, J; Melchers, W J G; Bekkers, R L M

2017-08-01

In 2017 the cervical cancer screening program in The Netherlands will be revised. Cervical smears will primarily be tested for the presence of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) instead of cytology, and vaginal self-sampling will be offered to non-responders. This includes a potential risk that part of the women who would otherwise opt for a cervical smear will wait for self-sampling. However, self-sampling for hrHPV in a responder population has never been studied yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the applicability and accuracy of self-sampling in detecting hrHPV in a screening responder population. A total of 2049 women, aged 30-60years, participating in the screening program in The Netherlands were included from April 2013 to May 2015. After they had their cervical smear taken, women self-collected a cervicovaginal sample with a brush-based device, the Evalyn Brush. Both the cervical smear and self-sample specimen were tested with the COBAS 4800 HPV platform. The hrHPV prevalence was 8.0% (95% CI 6.9-9.2) among the physician-taken samples, and 10.0% (95% CI 8.7-11.3) among the self-samples. There was 96.8% (95% CI 96.0-97.5) concordance of hrHPV prevalence between self-samples and physician-taken samples. Women in our study evaluated self-sampling as convenient (97.1%), user-friendly (98.5%), and 62.8% preferred self-sampling over a physician-taken sampling for the next screening round. In conclusion, self-sampling showed high concordance with physician-taken sampling for hrHPV detection in a responder screening population and highly acceptable to women. Implementation of HPV-self-sampling for the responder population as a primary screening tool may be considered. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Knowledge and use of modern family planning methods by rural women in Zambia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Mubita-Ngoma

2010-09-01

Full Text Available The main aim of the study was to determine knowledge and use of modem contractive methods among reproductive age group rural women in Zambia. The study is a descriptive cross-sectional study of 105 randomly selected rural women. Data was collected using semi-structured interview schedule and analyzed using EPI Info version 6 statistical packages. The findings revealed that 63% of the respondents were within the age group 21-35 years, 65% were married and 64% were peasant farmers. 90% of the respondents had heard about modem contraceptives and their main source of information was the Health worker (62%. 76% of the respondents stated that modem contraceptive methods could be obtained from public health facilities. 56% of the respondents were currently using modem contraceptive methods and 46% were not using modem contraceptive methods. Reasons for non use of contraceptive methods were religious beliefs (50%, partner disapproval (30% and side effects (20%. The results showed a relationship between educational level and use of contraceptives (Chi-square 7.83, df = 3, P < 0.05 and spouse approval or support of contractive methods and use of contraceptive (Chisquare 5.9, df = 2, P < 0.05. Therefore, efforts to promote modem contraceptive use among the rural women should be intensified to overcome barriers to contraceptive use and should involve men.

The Role of Theory-Specific Techniques and Therapeutic Alliance in Promoting Positive Outcomes: Integrative Psychotherapy for World Trade Center Responders.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugen, Peter Tejas; Werth, Aditi Sinha; Foster, Alyce Lauren; Owen, Jesse

2016-12-01

World Trade Center responders demonstrate high symptom burden, underscoring the importance of refining treatment approaches for this cohort. One method is examining the impact of therapy techniques on outcomes, and the interactions between technique and alliance on outcomes. This study a) examined the interaction of early treatment techniques on integrative psychotherapy outcomes and b) explored whether associations differed at varying levels of alliance. Twenty-nine adult responders diagnosed with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder received outpatient psychotherapy and completed weekly measures of alliance, technique, and symptom distress. Analyses indicated significant interactions between 1) alliance and psychodynamic interventions on outcomes and 2) alliance and cognitive behavioral (CB) interventions on outcomes. Clients with high alliance had better outcomes when their therapist used fewer CB techniques. No meaningful differences were found between technique and outcomes for clients with lower alliance. These findings reiterate the critical roles technique and responsiveness to the alliance play in engendering successful outcomes.

Baltic salmon activates immune relevant genes in fin tissue when responding to Gyrodactylus salaris infection

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kania, Per Walther; Larsen, Thomas Bjerre; Ingerslev, Hans C.

2007-01-01

A series of immune relevant genes are expressed when the Baltic salmon responds on infections with the ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris which leads to a decrease of the parasite infection......A series of immune relevant genes are expressed when the Baltic salmon responds on infections with the ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris which leads to a decrease of the parasite infection...

Stress responding in cannabis smokers as a function of trauma exposure, sex, and relapse in the human laboratory.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Thomas; Radoncic, Vanya; Hien, Denise; Bedi, Gillinder; Haney, Margaret

2018-04-01

Stress responding is linked to drug use, but little is known about stress responses in cannabis smokers. We investigated acute stress responding in cannabis smokers as a function of trauma exposure and sex, and relationships between stress responses and cannabis relapse. 125 healthy, non-treatment-seeking daily cannabis smokers (23F, 102 M) completed the Trier Social Stress Task (TSST), a standardized laboratory stressor; subsets also completed a trauma questionnaire (n = 106) and a laboratory cannabis relapse measure (n = 54). Stress responding was assessed with heart rate (HR), salivary cortisol (CORT), and self-rated mood. Cannabis smokers reporting at least one trauma exposure had higher CORT and anxiety overall compared to those reporting no trauma. Stress responding did not differ as a function of binary trauma exposure, although total number of exposures correlated positively with CORT and anxiety during stress. Females reported increased nervousness after stress relative to males matched to the females for cannabis and cigarette use. An interactive effect of sex and trauma on HR suggested that females with trauma exposure have increased cardiovascular stress responding relative to those without such exposure, with no differential effect in males. Stress responding did not predict laboratory cannabis relapse. We report differences in acute stress responding as a function of trauma, sex, and their interaction in a large sample of relatively homogenous cannabis smokers. Further investigation of how trauma impacts stress responding in male and female cannabis smokers, and how this relates to different aspects of cannabis use, is warranted. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

How Does the PAC Respond to Changes in the Payment Rate

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — How Does the Volume of Post-Acute Care Respond to Changes in the Payment Rate Measure the effect of changes from 1997 to 2001 in Medicares payment rates for skilled...

L-038: EPR-First Responders: Forces / safety equipment. Action Guides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

This conference is about the actions carry out by the forces and the safety equipment in a radiological emergency. The security area, the victims, the hospitals, the police vehicles area, the safety cordon, the evacuation, the contamination level and the risk of life are important aspects to be considered by the first responders.

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

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Dafu; Zhang Shengli; Li Dongfang

2009-01-01

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

A mobile computer system to support first responders to a radiological emergency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Antonio J.D. da, E-mail: antoniojoseds@gmail.com [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Informatica; Santos, Joao R. dos; Pereira, Claudio M.N.A.; Carvalho, Paulo V.R., E-mail: paulov@ien.gov.br [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2013-07-01

Decision-making in emergency situations is characterized by its speed, pressure, and especially the uncertainty of information. Uninformed decisions or decisions based on unreliable data may lead to inappropriate actions. Although several studies that aim to combine different databases and provide full information to emergency response operation commanders can be found, only few of them are dedicated to radiological emergencies situations and even less are those that aim to provide support for the emergency first responder. We developed a system to support first responders to deal with radiological emergencies using cognitive task analysis techniques to elicit the tacitly knowledge of practitioners to grasp what information is really needed during radiological emergency response. (author)

A mobile computer system to support first responders to a radiological emergency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Antonio J.D. da

2013-01-01

Decision-making in emergency situations is characterized by its speed, pressure, and especially the uncertainty of information. Uninformed decisions or decisions based on unreliable data may lead to inappropriate actions. Although several studies that aim to combine different databases and provide full information to emergency response operation commanders can be found, only few of them are dedicated to radiological emergencies situations and even less are those that aim to provide support for the emergency first responder. We developed a system to support first responders to deal with radiological emergencies using cognitive task analysis techniques to elicit the tacitly knowledge of practitioners to grasp what information is really needed during radiological emergency response. (author)

Biodetection Technologies for First Responders: 2014 Edition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozanich, Richard M.; Baird, Cheryl L.; Bartholomew, Rachel A.; Colburn, Heather A.; Straub, Tim M.; Bruckner-Lea, Cindy J.

2014-03-28

This report summarizes commercially-available, hand-portable technologies that can be used by first responders in the field. This is not meant to be an exhaustive list, nor an endorsement of any technology described herein. Rather, this report is meant to provide useful information about available technologies to help end-users make informed decisions about biodetection technology procurement and use. Information listed in this report is primarily vendor-provided; however, where possible it has been supplemented with additional information obtained from publications, reports, and websites. Manufacturers were given the chance to review summaries of their technologies from August through November 2013 to verify the accuracy of technical specifications, available references, and pricing.

Responding to Crop Failure: Understanding Farmers’ Coping Strategies in Southern Malawi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeanne Y. Coulibaly

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Malawi is a country in southern Africa facing high climate variability and many agricultural challenges. This paper examines farmers’ coping strategies for crop failure and the determinants of their choices using household level data from rural southern Malawi. The results highlight that farmers are not responding directly to climate variability, but to crop failure, which is influenced by climate stress, as well as other constraints, such as poor soil fertility and lack of agricultural inputs and technologies. The coping strategies adopted by households are mostly ex-post measures, including engaging in casual labor, small businesses and the sale of forest products. The main determinants of the adoption of these coping options are education, gender of the head of household, soil fertility and frequency of crop failure. This study concludes by recommending, among other things, that policies for the more efficient communication of climate change threats should emphasize the risk of crop failure. Furthermore, initiatives to assist households to better cope with climate change should take into consideration the local context of decision-making which is shaped by multiple stressors.

Knowledge attitude to modern family planning methods in Abraka ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective:. To assess the level of regard and misconceptions of modern family planning methods in Abraka communities. Methods: The interviewer\\'s administered questionnaire method was used to gather the required information from 657 respondents randomly chosen from PO, Ajalomi, Erho, Oria, Otorho, Umeghe, ...

Responder Feelings in a Three-Player Three-Option Ultimatum Game: Affective Determinants of Rejection Behavior

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hans-Rüdiger Pfister

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the role of affect and emotions in shaping the behavior of responders in the ultimatum game. A huge amount of research shows that players do not behave in an economically rational way in the ultimatum game, and emotional mechanisms have been proposed as a possible explanation. In particular, feelings of fairness, anger and envy are likely candidates as affective determinants. We introduce a three-player ultimatum game with three-options, which permits the responder to either penalize the proposer or to penalize a third party by rejecting offers. This allows for partially distinguishing rejections due to a retaliation motive driven by anger towards the proposer from rejections due to inequity aversion driven by feelings of envy towards a third party. Results from two experiments suggest that responders experience feelings of dissatisfaction and unfairness if their share is small in comparison to the proposer���s share; anger, then, may trigger rejections towards the proposer. Responders also experience dissatisfaction and envy when third party shares exceed their own shares; however, in contrast to anger, envy does not trigger rejections and is dissociated from the decision to accept or reject an offer. We conclude that acting upon anger is socially acceptable, whereas envy is not acceptable as a reason for action. Furthermore, we find that responders generally feel better after rejections, suggesting that rejections serve to regulate one’s affective state.

The prevalence of bad headaches including migraine in a multiethnic community.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomson, A N; White, G E; West, R

1993-11-10

Overall and ethnic specific prevalences of bad headache including migraine, for the New Zealand population, are unknown. A study was carried out in South Auckland to estimate prevalence and to explore ethnic differences in doctor attendance for the diagnosis and management of bad headaches. Telephone interviews were administered to respondents selected by random digit dialing of households. 40.6% of the respondents suffered from bad headaches. 54.5% of these had the characteristics of bad headache with features symptomatic of migraine. Trends in the prevalence of bad headache with features symptomatic of common migraine, peaked between the ages of 30-49 years in both men and women. A difference was seen in the prevalence of bad headache with aura, with or without common migraine features, when ethnic groups and gender were examined. The difference in prevalence of aura was particularly noticeable between Pacific Island men and women. Although there was no difference between ethnic groups in doctor attendance, headaches were more likely to be labelled as migraine in Europeans than in the Polynesian groups. Ways in which people perceive and report their bad headaches have a bearing on management by general practitioners. Although no overall ethnic predominance was seen, there was a gender difference amongst Pacific Island people in reporting bad headaches with aura. The labelling process, and thus the management by general practitioners does demonstrate likely ethnic differences.

Conditioned Microplitis croceipes Cresson (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) detect and respond to 2,4-DNT: development of a biological sensor.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomberlin, Jeffery K; Tertuliano, Moukaram; Rains, Glen; Lewis, W Joe

2005-09-01

We examined the ability of M. croceipes to learn, detect, and respond to 2,4-DNT, which is a volatile discriminator of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The percentage of conditioned wasps to detect and respond to the various concentrations of 2,4-DNT for > or = 15 sec was measured. Significantly more of the conditioned wasps responded to the concentration of 2,4-DNT used for conditioning than other concentrations examined. Accordingly, percent conditioned wasps to respond > or = 15 sec could be used as a suitable measure to screen air samples and distinguish between samples with or without the target odorant. The data recorded in this study indicate the measured behavior could be used to estimate the concentration of target odorants. Data in this study indicate M. croceipes can detect and respond to this compound, which provide further support for its development as a biological sensor.

L-037: EPR-First Responders: Action Guides commander of incident response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01