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Sample records for multiple factors determine

  1. Use of multiple methods to determine factors affecting quality of care of patients with diabetes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khunti, K

    1999-10-01

    The process of care of patients with diabetes is complex; however, GPs are playing a greater role in its management. Despite the research evidence, the quality of care of patients with diabetes is variable. In order to improve care, information is required on the obstacles faced by practices in improving care. Qualitative and quantitative methods can be used for formation of hypotheses and the development of survey procedures. However, to date few examples exist in general practice research on the use of multiple methods using both quantitative and qualitative techniques for hypothesis generation. We aimed to determine information on all factors that may be associated with delivery of care to patients with diabetes. Factors for consideration on delivery of diabetes care were generated by multiple qualitative methods including brainstorming with health professionals and patients, a focus group and interviews with key informants which included GPs and practice nurses. Audit data showing variations in care of patients with diabetes were used to stimulate the brainstorming session. A systematic literature search focusing on quality of care of patients with diabetes in primary care was also conducted. Fifty-four potential factors were identified by multiple methods. Twenty (37.0%) were practice-related factors, 14 (25.9%) were patient-related factors and 20 (37.0%) were organizational factors. A combination of brainstorming and the literature review identified 51 (94.4%) factors. Patients did not identify factors in addition to those identified by other methods. The complexity of delivery of care to patients with diabetes is reflected in the large number of potential factors identified in this study. This study shows the feasibility of using multiple methods for hypothesis generation. Each evaluation method provided unique data which could not otherwise be easily obtained. This study highlights a way of combining various traditional methods in an attempt to overcome the

  2. Determining neutron multiplication factor in the infinite system by reactivity dependence on one dimension of the reactor core

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pesic, M.

    1975-01-01

    The objective of this task was to apply Fermi age theory for determining τ and neutron multiplication factor in infinite medium by measuring reactivity coefficient of heavy water in heterogeneous mixed reactor lattice. Basis of experiment is the measurement of stable reactor period. Measurement of heavy water reactivity coefficient by measuring the stable reactor period is described for chosen overcritical heavy water levels. Calculated values of infinite multiplication factor for measured neutron age data are presented and they are compared to expected theoretical values

  3. A computer program for determining multiplicities of powder reflexions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rouse, K.D.; Cooper, M.J.

    1977-01-01

    A computer program has been written which determines the multiplicity factors for a given set of X-ray or neutron powder diffraction reflexions for crystals of any space group. The value of the multiplicity for each reflexion is determined from a look-up table which is indexed by the symmetry type, determined directly from the space-group number, and the reflexion type, determined from the Miller indices. There are no restrictions on the choice of indices which are used to specify the reflexions. (Auth.)

  4. System for prediction and determination of the sub critic multiplication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, Aquilino S.; Pereira, Valmir; Silva, Fernando C. da

    1997-01-01

    It is presented a concept of a system which may be used to calculate and anticipate the subcritical multiplication of a PWR nuclear power plant. The system is divided into two different modules. The first module allows the theoretical prediction of the subcritical multiplication factor through the solution of the multigroup diffusion equation. The second module determines this factor based on the data acquired from the neutron detectors of a NPP external nuclear detection system. (author). 3 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs

  5. Determination of the QCD color factor ratio CA/CF from the scale dependence of multiplicity in three jet events

    CERN Document Server

    Gary, J W

    2000-01-01

    I examine the determination of the QCD color factor ratio CA/CF from the scale evolution of particle multiplicity in e+e- three jet events. I fit an analytic expression for the multiplicity in three jet events to event samples generated with QCD multihadronic event generators. I demonstrate that a one parameter fit of CA/CF yields the expected result CA/CF=2.25 in the limit of asymptotically large energies if energy conservation is included in the calculation. In contrast, a two parameter fit of CA/CF and a constant offset to the gluon jet multiplicity, proposed in a recent study, does not yield CA/CF=2.25 in this limit. I apply the one parameter fit method to recently published data of the DELPHI experiment at LEP and determine the effective value of CA/CF from this technique, at the finite energy of the Z0 boson, to be 1.74+-0.03+-0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic.

  6. Study of the multiplication factor in the core of Saclay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacrot, B.; Netter, F.; Raievski, V.

    1953-01-01

    Several methods were studied for the measure of the multiplication factor strength in a core, by experiences in subcritical regime. These methods are applied to the determination of the effect on the reactivity of such different parameters of the battery that: heavy water level, position of the regulating plates. These results are used to establish an experimental relation between the time of the rise of the divergent core and the factor of effective multiplication. It is also given the application of these methods to the assessment of the power of the core. (author) [fr

  7. Determining the Relationship between U.S. County-Level Adult Obesity Rate and Multiple Risk Factors by PLS Regression and SVM Modeling Approaches

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chau-Kuang Chen

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Data from the Center for Disease Control (CDC has shown that the obesity rate doubled among adults within the past two decades. This upsurge was the result of changes in human behavior and environment. Partial least squares (PLS regression and support vector machine (SVM models were conducted to determine the relationship between U.S. county-level adult obesity rate and multiple risk factors. The outcome variable was the adult obesity rate. The 23 risk factors were categorized into four domains of the social ecological model including biological/behavioral factor, socioeconomic status, food environment, and physical environment. Of the 23 risk factors related to adult obesity, the top eight significant risk factors with high normalized importance were identified including physical inactivity, natural amenity, percent of households receiving SNAP benefits, and percent of all restaurants being fast food. The study results were consistent with those in the literature. The study showed that adult obesity rate was influenced by biological/behavioral factor, socioeconomic status, food environment, and physical environment embedded in the social ecological theory. By analyzing multiple risk factors of obesity in the communities, may lead to the proposal of more comprehensive and integrated policies and intervention programs to solve the population-based problem.

  8. Early reoxygenation in tumors after irradiation: Determining factors and consequences for radiotherapy regimens using daily multiple fractions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Crokart, Nathalie; Jordan, Benedicte F.; Baudelet, Christine; Ansiaux, Reginald; Sonveaux, Pierre; Gregoire, Vincent; Beghein, Nelson; Wever, Julie de; Bouzin, Caroline; Feron, Olivier; Gallez, Bernard

    2005-01-01

    Purpose: To characterize changes in the tumor microenvironment early after irradiation and determine the factors responsible for early reoxygenation. Methods and Materials: Fibrosarcoma type II (FSaII) and hepatocarcinoma transplantable liver tumor tumor oxygenation were determined using electron paramagnetic resonance oximetry and a fiberoptic device. Perfusion was assessed by laser Doppler, dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, and dye penetration. Oxygen consumption was determined by electron paramagnetic resonance. The interstitial fluid pressure was evaluated by the wick-in-needle technique. Results: An increase in oxygen partial pressure was observed 3-4 h after irradiation. This increase resulted from a decrease in global oxygen consumption and an increase in oxygen delivery. The increase in oxygen delivery was due to radiation-induced acute inflammation (that was partially inhibited by the antiinflammatory agent diclofenac) and to a decrease in interstitial fluid pressure. The endothelial nitric oxide synthase pathway, identified as a contributing factor at 24 h after irradiation, did not play a role in the early stage after irradiation. We also observed that splitting a treatment of 18 Gy into two fractions separated by 4 h (time of maximal reoxygenation) had a greater effect on tumor regrowth delay than when applied as a single dose. Conclusion: Although the cell cycle redistribution effect is important for treatment protocols using multiple daily radiation fractions, the results of this work emphasize that the oxygen effect must be also considered to optimize the treatment strategy

  9. Survivability of systems under multiple factor impact

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Korczak, Edward; Levitin, Gregory

    2007-01-01

    The paper considers vulnerable multi-state series-parallel systems operating under influence of external impacts. Both the external impacts and internal failures affect system survivability, which is determined as the probability of meeting a given demand. The external impacts are characterized by several destructive factors affecting the system or its parts simultaneously. In order to increase the system's survivability a multilevel protection against the destructive factors can be applied to its subsystems. In such systems, the protected subsystems can be destroyed only if all of the levels of their protection are destroyed. The paper presents an algorithm for evaluating the survivability of series-parallel systems with arbitrary configuration of multilevel protection against multiple destructive factor impacts. The algorithm is based on a composition of Boolean and the Universal Generating Function techniques. Illustrative examples are presented

  10. Determination of osteoporosis risk factors using a multiple logistic regression model in postmenopausal Turkish women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akkus, Zeki; Camdeviren, Handan; Celik, Fatma; Gur, Ali; Nas, Kemal

    2005-09-01

    To determine the risk factors of osteoporosis using a multiple binary logistic regression method and to assess the risk variables for osteoporosis, which is a major and growing health problem in many countries. We presented a case-control study, consisting of 126 postmenopausal healthy women as control group and 225 postmenopausal osteoporotic women as the case group. The study was carried out in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey between 1999-2002. The data from the 351 participants were collected using a standard questionnaire that contains 43 variables. A multiple logistic regression model was then used to evaluate the data and to find the best regression model. We classified 80.1% (281/351) of the participants using the regression model. Furthermore, the specificity value of the model was 67% (84/126) of the control group while the sensitivity value was 88% (197/225) of the case group. We found the distribution of residual values standardized for final model to be exponential using the Kolmogorow-Smirnow test (p=0.193). The receiver operating characteristic curve was found successful to predict patients with risk for osteoporosis. This study suggests that low levels of dietary calcium intake, physical activity, education, and longer duration of menopause are independent predictors of the risk of low bone density in our population. Adequate dietary calcium intake in combination with maintaining a daily physical activity, increasing educational level, decreasing birth rate, and duration of breast-feeding may contribute to healthy bones and play a role in practical prevention of osteoporosis in Southeast Anatolia. In addition, the findings of the present study indicate that the use of multivariate statistical method as a multiple logistic regression in osteoporosis, which maybe influenced by many variables, is better than univariate statistical evaluation.

  11. Sequence Factorization with Multiple References.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastian Wandelt

    Full Text Available The success of high-throughput sequencing has lead to an increasing number of projects which sequence large populations of a species. Storage and analysis of sequence data is a key challenge in these projects, because of the sheer size of the datasets. Compression is one simple technology to deal with this challenge. Referential factorization and compression schemes, which store only the differences between input sequence and a reference sequence, gained lots of interest in this field. Highly-similar sequences, e.g., Human genomes, can be compressed with a compression ratio of 1,000:1 and more, up to two orders of magnitude better than with standard compression techniques. Recently, it was shown that the compression against multiple references from the same species can boost the compression ratio up to 4,000:1. However, a detailed analysis of using multiple references is lacking, e.g., for main memory consumption and optimality. In this paper, we describe one key technique for the referential compression against multiple references: The factorization of sequences. Based on the notion of an optimal factorization, we propose optimization heuristics and identify parameter settings which greatly influence 1 the size of the factorization, 2 the time for factorization, and 3 the required amount of main memory. We evaluate a total of 30 setups with a varying number of references on data from three different species. Our results show a wide range of factorization sizes (optimal to an overhead of up to 300%, factorization speed (0.01 MB/s to more than 600 MB/s, and main memory usage (few dozen MB to dozens of GB. Based on our evaluation, we identify the best configurations for common use cases. Our evaluation shows that multi-reference factorization is much better than single-reference factorization.

  12. Study of the multiplication factor in the core of Saclay; Etude du facteur de multiplication dans la pile de Saclay

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacrot, B; Netter, F; Raievski, V [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay(France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1953-07-01

    Several methods were studied for the measure of the multiplication factor strength in a core, by experiences in subcritical regime. These methods are applied to the determination of the effect on the reactivity of such different parameters of the battery that: heavy water level, position of the regulating plates. These results are used to establish an experimental relation between the time of the rise of the divergent core and the factor of effective multiplication. It is also given the application of these methods to the assessment of the power of the core. (author) [French] Des methodes ont ete etudie pour la mesure du facteur de multiplication effectif dans une pile, par des experiences en regime sous-critique. Ces methodes sont appliquees a la determination de l'effet sur la reactivite de differents parametres de la pile tels que: niveau d'eau lourde, position des plaques de reglage. Ces resultats sont utilises pour etablir une relation experimentale entre le temps de la montee de la pile divergente et le facteur de multiplication effectif. On donne egalement l'application de ces methodes a l'evaluation de la puissance de la pile. (auteur)

  13. Multiple factor analysis by example using R

    CERN Document Server

    Pagès, Jérôme

    2014-01-01

    Multiple factor analysis (MFA) enables users to analyze tables of individuals and variables in which the variables are structured into quantitative, qualitative, or mixed groups. Written by the co-developer of this methodology, Multiple Factor Analysis by Example Using R brings together the theoretical and methodological aspects of MFA. It also includes examples of applications and details of how to implement MFA using an R package (FactoMineR).The first two chapters cover the basic factorial analysis methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The

  14. Determination of multiple scattering effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langevin, M.

    1981-01-01

    The integration of Sigmund and Winterbon numerical values is extended to the reduced thickness tau=2000. The diagram obtained allows a simple determination of the multiple scattering effect for different targets and projectiles [fr

  15. Effect of thermohydraulic parameter on the flux distribution and the effective multiplication factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mello, J.C.; Valladares, G.L.

    1990-01-01

    The influence of two thermohydraulics parameters; the coolant flow velocity along the reactor channels and the increase of the average water temperature through the core, on the thermal flux distribution and on the effective multiplication factor, was studied in a radioisotopes production reactor. The results show that, for a fixed values of the thermohydraulics parameters reffered above, there are limits for the reactor core volume reduction for each value of the V sub(mod)/V sub(comb) ratio. These thermohydraulics conditions determine the higher termal flux value in the flux-trap and the lower value of the reactor effective multiplication factor. It is also show that there is a V sub(mod)/V sub(comb) ratio value that correspond to the higher value of the lower effective multiplication factor. These results was interpreted and comment using fundamentals concepts and relations of reactor physics. (author)

  16. Smoldering multiple myeloma risk factors for progression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørrig, Rasmus; Klausen, Tobias W; Salomo, Morten

    2016-01-01

    Several risk scores for disease progression in Smoldering Multiple Myeloma (SMM) patients have been proposed, however, all have been developed using single center registries. To examine risk factors for time to progression (TTP) to Multiple Myeloma (MM) for SMM we analyzed a nationwide population......-based cohort of 321 newly diagnosed SMM patients registered within the Danish Multiple Myeloma Registry between 2005 and 2014. Significant univariable risk factors for TTP were selected for multivariable Cox regression analyses. We found that both an M-protein ≥ 30g/l and immunoparesis significantly influenced......-high risk of transformation to MM. Using only immunoparesis and M-protein ≥ 30g/l, we created a scoring system to identify low, intermediate and high risk SMM. This first population-based study of SMM patients confirms that an M-protein ≥ 30g/l and immunoparesis remain important risk factors for progression...

  17. Tehran Survey of Potential Risk Factors for Multiple Births

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Omani Samani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background The multiple pregnancy incidence is increasing worldwide. This increased incidence is concerning to the health care system. This study aims to determine the frequency of multiple pregnancy and identify factors that affect this frequency in Tehran, Iran. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study included 5170 mothers in labor between July 6-21, 2015 from 103 hospitals with Obstetrics and Gynecology Wards. The questionnaire used in this study consisted of five parts: demographic characteristics; information related to pregnancy; information related to the infant; information regarding the multiple pregnancy; and information associated with infertility. We recruited 103 trained midwives to collect data related to the questionnaire from eligible participants through an interview and medical records review. Frequencies and odds ratios (OR for the association between multiple pregnancy and the selected characteristics (maternal age, economic status, history of multiple pregnancy in first-degree relatives, and reproductive history were computed by multiple logistic regression. Stata software, version 13 (Stata Corp, College Station, TX, USA was used for all statistical analyses. Results Multiple pregnancy had a prevalence of 1.48% [95% confidence interval (CI: 1.19-1.85]. After controlling for confounding variables, we observed a significant association between frequency of multiple pregnancy and mother’s age (OR=1.04, 95% CI: 1.001-1.09, P=0.044, assisted reproductive technique (ART, OR=6.11, 95% CI: 1.7- 21.97, P=0.006, and history of multiple pregnancy in the mother’s family (OR=5.49, 95% CI: 3.55-9.93, P=0.001. Conclusion The frequency of multiple pregnancy approximated results reported in previous studies in Iran. Based on the results, we observed significantly greater frequency of multiple pregnancy in older women, those with a history of ART, and a history of multiple pregnancy in the mother’s family compared to the other

  18. Local multiboson factorization of the quark determinant

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ce, Marco [Mainz Univ. (Germany). Helmholtz-Institut; Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy); INFN, Sezione di Pisa (Italy); Giusti, Leonardo [CERN, Geneva (Switzerland). Theoretical Physics Dept.; Milano-Bicocca Univ., Milano (Italy). Dipt. di Fisica; INFN, Sezione di Milano Bicocca, Milano (Italy); Schaefer, Stefan [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC

    2017-11-15

    We discuss the recently proposed multiboson domain-decomposed factorization of the gauge-field dependence of the fermion determinant in lattice QCD. In particular, we focus on the case of a lattice divided in an arbitrary number of thick time slices. As a consequence, multiple space-time regions can be updated independently. This allows to address the exponential degradation of the signal-to-noise ration of correlation functions with multilevel Monte Carlo sampling. We show numerical evidence of the effectiveness of a two-level integration for pseudoscalar propagators with momentum and for vector propagators, in a two active regions setup. These results are relevant to lattice computation of the hadronic contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and to heavy meson decay form factors.

  19. Combined influence of multiple climatic factors on the incidence of bacterial foodborne diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Myoung Su; Park, Ki Hwan; Bahk, Gyung Jin

    2018-01-01

    Information regarding the relationship between the incidence of foodborne diseases (FBD) and climatic factors is useful in designing preventive strategies for FBD based on anticipated future climate change. To better predict the effect of climate change on foodborne pathogens, the present study investigated the combined influence of multiple climatic factors on bacterial FBD incidence in South Korea. During 2011-2015, the relationships between 8 climatic factors and the incidences of 13 bacterial FBD, were determined based on inpatient stays, on a monthly basis using the Pearson correlation analyses, multicollinearity tests, principal component analysis (PCA), and the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) modeling. Of the 8 climatic variables, the combination of temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, insolation, and cloudiness was significantly associated with salmonellosis (Pclimatic factors. These findings indicate that the relationships between multiple climatic factors and bacterial FBD incidence can be valuable for the development of prediction models for future patterns of diseases in response to changes in climate. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. System for prediction and determination of the sub critic multiplication; Sistema para previsao e determinacao da multiplicacao subcritica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martinez, Aquilino S.; Pereira, Valmir; Silva, Fernando C. da [Universidade Federal, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Inst. de Fisica

    1997-12-01

    It is presented a concept of a system which may be used to calculate and anticipate the subcritical multiplication of a PWR nuclear power plant. The system is divided into two different modules. The first module allows the theoretical prediction of the subcritical multiplication factor through the solution of the multigroup diffusion equation. The second module determines this factor based on the data acquired from the neutron detectors of a NPP external nuclear detection system. (author). 3 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

  1. Preliminary performance analysis of exponential experimental system for the determination of neutron effective multiplication factor of PWR spent fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shin, Heesung; Lee, Sang-Yun; Ro, Seung-Gy; Seo, Gi-Seok; Kim, Ho-Dong

    2002-01-01

    An exponential experiment system which is composed of neutron detector, signal analysis system and neutron source, 10 mCi Cf-252 has been installed in the storage pool of PIEF at KAERI in order to experimentally determining neutron effective multiplication factors of PWR spent fuel assemblies. Preliminary functional characteristic tests of the experimental system are performed for C15, J14 and J44 assemblies loaded in the pool. As a result of preliminary tests, the average neutron counts obtained for 3 minutes in the plateau of the C15, J14 and J44 assemblies are about 1900, 3800 and 3200, respectively. A dip of the neutron flux density distribution is noticed in the spacer grid position. Neutron counts at those positions appear to be reduced to about 70 % in comparison to the fuel position. The measured axial neutron distribution shapes are compared with the result for the P14 assembly and Cs-137 gamma scanning data performed in KAERI. It is revealed that the spacer grid position measured is consistent with the design specifications within a 2.3 % error. The exponential decay constants for the C15 assembly were determined to be 0.152 and 0.165 for detector and source scanning, respectively. (author)

  2. Determining neutron multiplication factor in the infinite system by reactivity dependence on one dimension of the reactor core; Odredjivanje faktora umnozavanja neutrona u beskonacnom sistemu pomocu zavisnosti reaktivnosti od jedne dimenzije reaktorskog jezgra, Diplomski rad

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pesic, M [Boris Kidric Institute of nuclear sciences Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

    1975-07-01

    The objective of this task was to apply Fermi age theory for determining {tau} and neutron multiplication factor in infinite medium by measuring reactivity coefficient of heavy water in heterogeneous mixed reactor lattice. Basis of experiment is the measurement of stable reactor period. Measurement of heavy water reactivity coefficient by measuring the stable reactor period is described for chosen overcritical heavy water levels. Calculated values of infinite multiplication factor for measured neutron age data are presented and they are compared to expected theoretical values.

  3. Search Strategy of Detector Position For Neutron Source Multiplication Method by Using Detected-Neutron Multiplication Factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Endo, Tomohiro

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, an alternative definition of a neutron multiplication factor, detected-neutron multiplication factor kdet, is produced for the neutron source multiplication method..(NSM). By using kdet, a search strategy of appropriate detector position for NSM is also proposed. The NSM is one of the practical subcritical measurement techniques, i.e., the NSM does not require any special equipment other than a stationary external neutron source and an ordinary neutron detector. Additionally, the NSM method is based on steady-state analysis, so that this technique is very suitable for quasi real-time measurement. It is noted that the correction factors play important roles in order to accurately estimate subcriticality from the measured neutron count rates. The present paper aims to clarify how to correct the subcriticality measured by the NSM method, the physical meaning of the correction factors, and how to reduce the impact of correction factors by setting a neutron detector at an appropriate detector position

  4. Multiple Factors Influence Glomerular Albumin Permeability in Rats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandoval, Ruben M.; Wagner, Mark C.; Patel, Monica; Campos-Bilderback, Silvia B.; Rhodes, George J.; Wang, Exing; Wean, Sarah E.; Clendenon, Sherry S.

    2012-01-01

    Different laboratories recently reported incongruous results describing the quantification of albumin filtration using two-photon microscopy. We investigated the factors that influence the glomerular sieving coefficient for albumin (GSCA) in an effort to explain these discordant reports and to develop standard operating procedures for determining GSCA. Multiple factors influenced GSCA, including the kidney depth of image acquisition (10–20 μm was appropriate), the selection of fluorophore (probes emitting longer wavelengths were superior), the selection of plasma regions for fluorescence measurements, the size and molecular dispersion characteristics of dextran polymers if used, dietary status, and the genetic strain of rat. Fasting reduced the GSCA in Simonsen Munich Wistar rats from 0.035±0.005 to 0.016±0.004 (Palbumin transcytosis with vesicular and tubular delivery to and fusion with the basolateral membrane in S1 proximal tubule cells. In summary, these results help explain the previously conflicting microscopy and micropuncture data describing albumin filtration and highlight the dynamic nature of glomerular albumin permeability. PMID:22223875

  5. Factors that determine development of the ability to draw

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge Luis Dahik Cabrera

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available In this investigation, the necessary factors are determined to structure a drawing representing an object, a brief description of the functions of the cerebral hemispheres, the theory of multiple bits of intelligence Gardner, capacities of representation and perception involved in the skill is reviewed and ability to draw. This work aims to be the beginning of a larger study, where they plan to measure the ability to draw in students, in order to experiment with alternative methodologies for teaching drawing.

  6. Factors affecting dignity of patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharifi, Simin; Borhani, Fariba; Abbaszadeh, Abbas

    2016-12-01

    MS is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. Apart from disease progression, other complications such as unemployment, separation and divorce could potentially threat patients' dignity. Most of the previous studies have been done of maintaining patients' dignity in interaction with healthcare team, but studies on affecting factors of dignity in chronic patients in the society and in interaction with usual people are scarce. We aimed to investigate factors affecting dignity of Iranian patients with MS in daily living and in interaction of them with the society. In this qualitative study, 13 patients with multiple sclerosis were chosen by purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until data saturation. The study was done in Tehran, the capital city of Iran. Factors affecting dignity were classified as 'personal factors' and 'social factors'. Personal factors consist of the following subcategories: patients' communication with self, patients' knowledge, patients' values and beliefs and patients' resources. Social factors include others' communication with patients, social knowledge, social values and beliefs and social resources. Multiple personal and social factors interfere in perceived patient dignity. In fact, interaction between personal and social factors can be influential in final perceived dignity. By focusing on whole aspects of the patients' lives, we can identify dignity-promoting or dignity-threatening factors and help patients maintain their dignity by taking appropriate measures for moderating threatening factors and improving dignity enhancing ones. © 2016 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  7. arXiv Local multiboson factorization of the quark determinant

    CERN Document Server

    Cè, Marco; Schaefer, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    We discuss the recently proposed multiboson domain-decomposed factorization of the gauge-field dependence of the fermion determinant in lattice QCD. In particular, we focus on the case of a lattice divided in an arbitrary number of thick time slices. As a consequence, multiple space-time regions can be updated independently. This allows to address the exponential degradation of the signal-to-noise ration of correlation functions with multilevel Monte Carlo sampling. We show numerical evidence of the effectiveness of a two-level integration for pseudoscalar propagators with momentum and for vector propagators, in a two active regions setup. These results are relevant to lattice computation of the hadronic contributions to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon and to heavy meson decay form factors.

  8. Structured plant metabolomics for the simultaneous exploration of multiple factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasilev, Nikolay; Boccard, Julien; Lang, Gerhard; Grömping, Ulrike; Fischer, Rainer; Goepfert, Simon; Rudaz, Serge; Schillberg, Stefan

    2016-11-17

    Multiple factors act simultaneously on plants to establish complex interaction networks involving nutrients, elicitors and metabolites. Metabolomics offers a better understanding of complex biological systems, but evaluating the simultaneous impact of different parameters on metabolic pathways that have many components is a challenging task. We therefore developed a novel approach that combines experimental design, untargeted metabolic profiling based on multiple chromatography systems and ionization modes, and multiblock data analysis, facilitating the systematic analysis of metabolic changes in plants caused by different factors acting at the same time. Using this method, target geraniol compounds produced in transgenic tobacco cell cultures were grouped into clusters based on their response to different factors. We hypothesized that our novel approach may provide more robust data for process optimization in plant cell cultures producing any target secondary metabolite, based on the simultaneous exploration of multiple factors rather than varying one factor each time. The suitability of our approach was verified by confirming several previously reported examples of elicitor-metabolite crosstalk. However, unravelling all factor-metabolite networks remains challenging because it requires the identification of all biochemically significant metabolites in the metabolomics dataset.

  9. Bayesian CP Factorization of Incomplete Tensors with Automatic Rank Determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Qibin; Zhang, Liqing; Cichocki, Andrzej

    2015-09-01

    CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) tensor factorization of incomplete data is a powerful technique for tensor completion through explicitly capturing the multilinear latent factors. The existing CP algorithms require the tensor rank to be manually specified, however, the determination of tensor rank remains a challenging problem especially for CP rank . In addition, existing approaches do not take into account uncertainty information of latent factors, as well as missing entries. To address these issues, we formulate CP factorization using a hierarchical probabilistic model and employ a fully Bayesian treatment by incorporating a sparsity-inducing prior over multiple latent factors and the appropriate hyperpriors over all hyperparameters, resulting in automatic rank determination. To learn the model, we develop an efficient deterministic Bayesian inference algorithm, which scales linearly with data size. Our method is characterized as a tuning parameter-free approach, which can effectively infer underlying multilinear factors with a low-rank constraint, while also providing predictive distributions over missing entries. Extensive simulations on synthetic data illustrate the intrinsic capability of our method to recover the ground-truth of CP rank and prevent the overfitting problem, even when a large amount of entries are missing. Moreover, the results from real-world applications, including image inpainting and facial image synthesis, demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art approaches for both tensor factorization and tensor completion in terms of predictive performance.

  10. Measuring method for effective neutron multiplication factor upon containing irradiated fuel assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Makoto; Mitsuhashi, Ishi; Sasaki, Tomoharu.

    1993-01-01

    A portion of irradiated fuel assemblies at a place where a reactivity effect is high, that is, at a place where neutron importance is high is replaced with standard fuel assemblies having a known composition to measure neutron fluxes at each of the places. An effective composition at the periphery of the standard fuel assemblies is determined by utilizing a calibration curve determined separately based on the composition and neutron flux values of the standard assemblies. By using the calibration curve determined separately based on this composition and the known composition of the standard fuel assemblies, an effective neutron multiplication factor for the fuel containing portion containing the irradiated fuel assemblies is recognized. Then, subcriticality is ensured and critical safety upon containing the fuel assemblies can be secured quantitatively. (N.H.)

  11. Determination of the multiplication factor and its bias by the 252Cf-source technique: A method for code benchmarking with subcritical configurations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, R.B.; Valentine, T.E.; Mihalczo, J.T.; Mattingly, J.K.

    1997-01-01

    A brief discussion of the Cf-252 source driven method for subcritical measurements serves as an introduction to the concept and use of the spectral ratio, Γ. It has also been shown that the Monte Carlo calculation of spectral densities and effective multiplication factors have as a common denominator the transport propagator. This commonality follows from the fact that the Neumann series expansion of the propagator lends itself to the Monte Carlo method. On this basis a linear relationship between the spectral ratio and the effective multiplication factor has been shown. This relationship demonstrates the ability of subcritical measurements of the ratio of spectral densities to validate transport theory methods and cross sections

  12. Is Hypovitaminosis D One of the Environmental Risk Factors for Multiple Sclerosis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierrot-Deseilligny, Charles; Souberbielle, Jean-Claude

    2010-01-01

    The role of hypovitaminosis D as a possible risk factor for multiple sclerosis is reviewed. First, it is emphasized that hypovitaminosis D could be only one of the risk factors for multiple sclerosis and that numerous other environmental and genetic risk factors appear to interact and combine to trigger the disease. Secondly, the classical…

  13. Area Factor Determinations for an Industrial Worker Exposed to a Concrete Slab End-State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jannik, G. Timothy; Lee, Patricia L.; Farfan, Eduardo B.; Roach, Jesse L.

    2008-01-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) is decommissioning many of its excess facilities through removal of the facility structures leaving only the concrete-slab foundations in place. Site-specific, risk-based derived concentration guideline levels (DCGLs) for radionuclides have been determined for a future industrial worker potentially exposed to residual contamination on these concrete slabs as described in Jannik. These risk-based DCGLs were estimated for an exposure area of 100 m 2 . During deactivation and decommissioning (D and D) operations at SRS, the need for area factors for larger and smaller contaminated areas arose. This paper compares the area factors determined for an industrial worker exposed to a concrete slab end-state for several radionuclides of concern at SRS with 1) the illustrative area factors provided in MARSSIM, 2) the area correction factors provided in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Soil Screening Guidance, and 3) the hot spot criterion for field application provided in the RESRAD User's Manual. The purpose of this site-specific assessment is to determine if any of the recommended area factors provided in the guidance documents could be utilized at SRS for field applications of the industrial worker DCGLs. Results show the area factors that were determined for an SRS industrial worker exposed to concrete slab end-states for the common radionuclides provided in the referenced guidance documents. In addition to the SRS site-specific area factors, the following area factors are provided for comparison: - Illustrative examples of outdoor area dose factors (MARSSIM); - Area correction factors as a function of source area (Soil Screening Guidance). Note: the area correction factors were inverted to correspond to a DCGL area factor. - Recommended area correction factors as a function of source area (Soil Screening Guidance); - Ranges for hot spot multiplication factors (RESRAD). As it can be seen

  14. Determining the Number of Factors in P-Technique Factor Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Lawrence L.; Molenaar, Peter C. M.; Rovine, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Determining the number of factors is a critical first step in exploratory factor analysis. Although various criteria and methods for determining the number of factors have been evaluated in the usual between-subjects R-technique factor analysis, there is still question of how these methods perform in within-subjects P-technique factor analysis. A…

  15. Prognostic Classification Factors Associated With Development of Multiple Autoantibodies, Dysglycemia, and Type 1 Diabetes?A Recursive Partitioning Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Ping; Krischer, Jeffrey P.

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To define prognostic classification factors associated with the progression from single to multiple autoantibodies, multiple autoantibodies to dysglycemia, and dysglycemia to type 1 diabetes onset in relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Three distinct cohorts of subjects from the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study were investigated separately. A recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to determine the risk classes. Clini...

  16. Sample size determination in clinical trials with multiple endpoints

    CERN Document Server

    Sozu, Takashi; Hamasaki, Toshimitsu; Evans, Scott R

    2015-01-01

    This book integrates recent methodological developments for calculating the sample size and power in trials with more than one endpoint considered as multiple primary or co-primary, offering an important reference work for statisticians working in this area. The determination of sample size and the evaluation of power are fundamental and critical elements in the design of clinical trials. If the sample size is too small, important effects may go unnoticed; if the sample size is too large, it represents a waste of resources and unethically puts more participants at risk than necessary. Recently many clinical trials have been designed with more than one endpoint considered as multiple primary or co-primary, creating a need for new approaches to the design and analysis of these clinical trials. The book focuses on the evaluation of power and sample size determination when comparing the effects of two interventions in superiority clinical trials with multiple endpoints. Methods for sample size calculation in clin...

  17. 40 CFR 94.218 - Deterioration factor determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 20 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Deterioration factor determination. 94... Deterioration factor determination. Manufacturers shall determine exhaust emission deterioration factors using good engineering judgement according to the provisions of this section. Every deterioration factor must...

  18. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; Gao, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Beyond cross-domain learning: Multiple-domain nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2014-02-01

    Traditional cross-domain learning methods transfer learning from a source domain to a target domain. In this paper, we propose the multiple-domain learning problem for several equally treated domains. The multiple-domain learning problem assumes that samples from different domains have different distributions, but share the same feature and class label spaces. Each domain could be a target domain, while also be a source domain for other domains. A novel multiple-domain representation method is proposed for the multiple-domain learning problem. This method is based on nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF), and tries to learn a basis matrix and coding vectors for samples, so that the domain distribution mismatch among different domains will be reduced under an extended variation of the maximum mean discrepancy (MMD) criterion. The novel algorithm - multiple-domain NMF (MDNMF) - was evaluated on two challenging multiple-domain learning problems - multiple user spam email detection and multiple-domain glioma diagnosis. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is experimentally verified. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Multiplication factor versus regression analysis in stature estimation from hand and foot dimensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishan, Kewal; Kanchan, Tanuj; Sharma, Abhilasha

    2012-05-01

    Estimation of stature is an important parameter in identification of human remains in forensic examinations. The present study is aimed to compare the reliability and accuracy of stature estimation and to demonstrate the variability in estimated stature and actual stature using multiplication factor and regression analysis methods. The study is based on a sample of 246 subjects (123 males and 123 females) from North India aged between 17 and 20 years. Four anthropometric measurements; hand length, hand breadth, foot length and foot breadth taken on the left side in each subject were included in the study. Stature was measured using standard anthropometric techniques. Multiplication factors were calculated and linear regression models were derived for estimation of stature from hand and foot dimensions. Derived multiplication factors and regression formula were applied to the hand and foot measurements in the study sample. The estimated stature from the multiplication factors and regression analysis was compared with the actual stature to find the error in estimated stature. The results indicate that the range of error in estimation of stature from regression analysis method is less than that of multiplication factor method thus, confirming that the regression analysis method is better than multiplication factor analysis in stature estimation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

  1. Male factor infertility and risk of multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glazer, Clara Helene; Tøttenborg, Sandra Søgaard; Giwercman, Aleksander

    2018-01-01

    and prevalent as well as incident MS. METHOD: Our cohort was established by linkage of the Danish National in vitro fertilization (IVF) registry to The Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry and consisted of 51,063 men whose partners had undergone fertility treatment in all public and private fertility clinics......BACKGROUND: Gender, possibly due to the influence of gonadal hormones, is presumed to play a role in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), but no studies have evaluated whether male infertility is associated with MS. OBJECTIVE: To study the association between male factor infertility...

  2. Chronic periodontitis with multiple risk factor syndrome: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimoe, Masayuki; Yamamoto, Tadashi; Iwamoto, Yoshihiro; Shiomi, Nobuyuki; Maeda, Hiroshi; Nishimura, Fusanori; Takashiba, Shogo

    2011-07-01

    Multiple risk factor syndrome is a clustering of cardiovascular risk factors, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and obesity associated epidemiologically with insulin resistance. This report describes the clinical course of a patient suffering from severe periodontitis with multiple risk factor syndrome, and discusses the association between periodontal infection and systemic health. The patient had a history of type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension for over 10 years. At baseline, her hemoglobin A1 c was 8.1%. However, she had no diabetic complications except periodontitis. The IgG antibody titers against Porphyromonas gingivalis FDC 381 and SU63 were elevated above the mean of healthy subjects +2 standard deviations. Intensive periodontal treatment, including periodontal surgery, was performed to reduce periodontal infection and bacteremia. Her systemic and periodontal conditions were evaluated longitudinally for 10 years. Following periodontal treatment, antibody titers against Porphyromonas gingivalis and hemoglobin A1c values were significantly improved. The other clinical data and medication for her systemic condition also remained stable during supportive periodontal therapy. However, she developed myocardial infarction, and showed continuous deterioration of hemoglobin A1 c level and periodontitis. The long-term clustering of risk factors, such as diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and periodontitis, are associated with the development of myocardial infarction. Treatment of systemic conditions in combination with comprehensive periodontal treatment is important in management of patients with multiple risk factor syndrome.

  3. Significant Factors Determining E-government Adoption in Selangor, Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Hajar Mohd Idris

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Studies have shown that low adoption rate among citizens has been hindering the optimization of e-Government services especially in developing countries. Hence, one of the critical measures that has to be undertaken is to identify and overcome possible barriers to further facilitate a higher rate of adoption. A multistage stratified sampling was used in this study to collect data from 1000 respondents, both user and non-user residing in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. This state was chosen as to provide a better understanding of low adoption when issues of basic facilities have been successfully overcome. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify latent constructs and seven key factors were identified. A multiple regression model was subsequently used to analyze significant factors in determining the willingness to use e-Government services. The determinants are language barrier, educational level, secure, format, easy to use, enjoyable, reliable, visual appeal and infrastructure. The result shows significant variables that act as barriers to adoption are reliable, enjoyable, easy to use, secure, and language used. The constraints pointed out in the open ended questions mainly focus on the issue of accessibility, ease of use and awareness. Overcoming these obstacles is therefore crucial in order to enhance the usage of e-Government services which consequently will improve the quality of public administration in Malaysia.

  4. Empirical formulae for excess noise factor with dead space for single carrier multiplication

    KAUST Repository

    Dehwah, Ahmad H.

    2011-09-01

    In this letter, two empirical equations are presented for the calculation of the excess noise factor of an avalanche photodiode for single carrier multiplication including the dead space effect. The first is an equation for calculating the excess noise factor when the multiplication approaches infinity as a function of parameters that describe the degree of the dead space effect. The second equation can be used to find the minimum value of the excess noise factor for any multiplication when the dead space effect is completely dominant, the so called "deterministic" limit. This agrees with the theoretically known equation for multiplications less than or equal to two. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.

  5. Empirical formulae for excess noise factor with dead space for single carrier multiplication

    KAUST Repository

    Dehwah, Ahmad H.; Ajia, Idris A.; Marsland, John S.

    2011-01-01

    In this letter, two empirical equations are presented for the calculation of the excess noise factor of an avalanche photodiode for single carrier multiplication including the dead space effect. The first is an equation for calculating the excess noise factor when the multiplication approaches infinity as a function of parameters that describe the degree of the dead space effect. The second equation can be used to find the minimum value of the excess noise factor for any multiplication when the dead space effect is completely dominant, the so called "deterministic" limit. This agrees with the theoretically known equation for multiplications less than or equal to two. © 2011 World Scientific Publishing Company.

  6. Role of Proangiogenic Factors in Immunopathogenesis of Multiple Sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamid, Kabir Magaji; Mirshafiey, Abbas

    2016-02-01

    Angiogenesis is a complex and balanced process in which new blood vessels form from preexisting ones by sprouting, splitting, growth and remodeling. This phenomenon plays a vital role in many physiological and pathological processes. However, the disturbance in physiological process can play a role in pathogenesis of some chronic inflammatory diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) in human and its animal model. Although the relation between abnormal blood vessels and MS lesions was established in previous studies, but the role of pathological angiogenesis remains unclear. In this study, the link between proangiogenic factors and multiple sclerosis pathogenesis was examined by conducting a systemic review. Thus we searched the English medical literature via PubMed, ISI web of knowledge, Medline and virtual health library (VHL) databases. In this review, we describe direct and indirect roles of some proangiogenic factors in MS pathogenesis and report the association of these factors with pathological and inflammatory angiogenesis.

  7. [Analysis of factors associated with multiple pregnancies in assisted reproduction treatment complex].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernández-Nieto, C A; Méndez-Lozano, D H; Fraustro-Ávila, M E; García-Martínez, M R; Soto-Cossio, L E; Basurto-Díaz, D; Flores-Mendoza, H

    2016-01-01

    Today, advances in technology provide the best success rates in the reproductive medicine field. One of the biggest concerns about it, is the high risk of achieving multiple pregnancies, which may carry greater health risks for both; the mother and fetuses. Besides that, multiple pregnancies are considered a complication or an adverse effect of assisted reproduction treatments. To compare the factors associated with multiple pregnancy in patients who underwent complex assisted reproduction techniques. A retrospective and transversal case control study was rolled to compare the factors associated with multiple pregnancy rates, these results were correlated using a logistic regression model. a total of 1063 cases were reviewed, we obtained a pregnancy rate of 35.9%, and a multiple pregnancy rate of 31.5%. We found positive statistical association between patient age, total number of oocytes obtained, total embryos transferred, total vitrified embryos per cycle, total serum cuantitative B-GCH level, endometrial thickness in milimeters, and the Honest of a multiple pregnancy. In the logistic regression model, we found statistical association between the number of embryos transferred, number of embryos obtained, embryo quality, total vitrified embryos and the risk for multiple pregnancies. The total number of embryos transferred in a cycle of a complex assisted reproduction, is the most important factor for the onset of multiple pregnancies. The age of patients, the number of oocytes, total number of embryos obtained, the number of embryos transferred, the quality of embryos transferred and the number of frozen embryos per cycle, correlate significantly with more risk for multiple pregnancies.

  8. Stress and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review considering potential moderating and mediating factors and methods of assessing stress

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laia Briones-Buixassa

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Research about the effects of stress on multiple sclerosis has yielded contradictory results. This study aims to systematically review the evidence focusing on two possible causes: the role of stress assessment and potential moderating and mediating factors. The Web of Knowledge (MEDLINE and Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO databases were searched for relevant articles published from 1900 through December 2014 using the terms “stress*” AND “multiple sclerosis.” Twenty-three articles were included. Studies focused on the effect of stress on multiple sclerosis onset ( n  = 9 were mostly retrospective, and semi-structured interviews and scales yielded the most consistent associations. Studies focused on multiple sclerosis progression ( n  = 14 were mostly prospective, and self-reported diaries yielded the most consistent results. The most important modifying factors were stressor duration, severity, and frequency; cardiovascular reactivity and heart rate; and social support and escitalopram intake. Future studies should consider the use of prospective design with self-reported evaluations and the study of moderators and mediators related to amount of stress and autonomic nervous system reactivity to determine the effects of stress on multiple sclerosis.

  9. Stress and multiple sclerosis: A systematic review considering potential moderating and mediating factors and methods of assessing stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briones-Buixassa, Laia; Milà, Raimon; Mª Aragonès, Josep; Bufill, Enric; Olaya, Beatriz; Arrufat, Francesc Xavier

    2015-07-01

    Research about the effects of stress on multiple sclerosis has yielded contradictory results. This study aims to systematically review the evidence focusing on two possible causes: the role of stress assessment and potential moderating and mediating factors. The Web of Knowledge (MEDLINE and Web of Science), Scopus, and PsycINFO databases were searched for relevant articles published from 1900 through December 2014 using the terms "stress*" AND "multiple sclerosis." Twenty-three articles were included. Studies focused on the effect of stress on multiple sclerosis onset ( n  = 9) were mostly retrospective, and semi-structured interviews and scales yielded the most consistent associations. Studies focused on multiple sclerosis progression ( n  = 14) were mostly prospective, and self-reported diaries yielded the most consistent results. The most important modifying factors were stressor duration, severity, and frequency; cardiovascular reactivity and heart rate; and social support and escitalopram intake. Future studies should consider the use of prospective design with self-reported evaluations and the study of moderators and mediators related to amount of stress and autonomic nervous system reactivity to determine the effects of stress on multiple sclerosis.

  10. Multiple factors affecting South African anchovy recruitment in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Multiple factors affecting South African anchovy recruitment in the spawning, transport and nursery. ... and are inversely linked to high rates of gonad atresia in anchovy and reduced subsequent recruitment. ... AJOL African Journals Online.

  11. International Differences in Multiple Sclerosis Health Outcomes and Associated Factors in a Cross-sectional Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grace D. Reilly

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Multiple sclerosis (MS is a major cause of disability and poor quality of life (QOL. Previous studies have shown differences in MS health outcomes between countries. This study aimed to examine the associations between international regions and health outcomes in people with MS. Self-reported data were taken from the Health Outcomes and Lifestyle In a Sample of people with Multiple Sclerosis online survey collected in 2012. The 2,401 participants from 37 countries were categorized into three regions: Australasia, Europe, and North America. Differences were observed between regions in disability, physical and mental health QOL, fatigue, and depression, but most of these disappeared after adjusting for sociodemographic, disease, and lifestyle factors in multivariable regression models. However, adjusted odds for disability were higher in Europe [odds ratio (OR: 2.17, 95% confidence interval (CI: 1.28 to 3.67] and North America (OR: 1.79, 95% CI: 1.28 to 2.51 compared to Australasia. There may be other unmeasured factors that vary between regions, including differences in access and quality of healthcare services, determining disability in MS. When assessing differences in MS health outcomes, lifestyle factors and medication use should be taken into consideration.

  12. Exact criteria for uniqueness and multiplicity of an nth order chemical reaction via catastrophe theory approach. [Determines boundaries between unique and multiple steady state conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, H C; Calo, J M

    1979-01-01

    A simple, generalized technique for the exact determination of the boundaries between regions of unique and of multiple solutions to certain nonlinear equations was developed by applying catastrophe theory to the mapping of implicit and explicit functions. Its application to an nth order reaction in continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) yields exact, explicit expressions for the boundaries between regions of single and multiple steady states, expressed in terms of the dimensionless heat transfer coefficient and activation energy. An exact implicit expression for the boundaries between regions of uniqueness and multiplicity was also derived for an nth order reaction in a catalyst particle with an intraparticle concentration gradient and uniform temperature and is fully demonstrated for the first-order reaction. In addition, explicit criteria were developed by assuming the limits on d ln g/d ln q, where g is the effectiveness factor and q the Thiele modulus, proposed by van den Bosch and Luss.

  13. Filter Factors of Truncated TLS Regularization with Multiple Observations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hnětynková, I.; Plešinger, Martin; Žáková, J.

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 62, č. 2 (2017), s. 105-120 ISSN 0862-7940 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-06684S Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : truncated total least squares * multiple right-hand sides * eigenvalues of rank-d update * ill-posed problem * regularization * filter factors Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Applied mathematics Impact factor: 0.618, year: 2016 http://hdl.handle.net/10338.dmlcz/146698

  14. Identification determinant factors on willingness to pay for health services in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javan-Noughabi, Javad; Kavosi, Zahra; Faramarzi, Ahmad; Khammarnia, Mohammad

    2017-11-21

    A common method used to examine the relationship between internal preferences and caring externalities is willingness to pay (WTP) approach. We aimed to estimate WTP for health status with different severity level and identify determinant factors on WTP. For determining main factors in WTP, a cross-sectional study was conducted in Shiraz in the southeast of Iran, in March to April 2015. The open-ended method was used to estimate monthly WTP in private and altruistic section. Multivariate regression analyses using ordinary least squares were applied to examine the effect of Scio-demographic factors on WTP using SPSS software 21. Participants were willing to pay an average amount of $ 295 in health status 1 and an average amount of $ 596 in health status 6 (worst status) for internal preferences. Altruistic WTP for health status 1 was $ 294 and participants were willing to pay an average amount of $ 416 in health status 6. Multiple regression analysis identified monthly income as the key determinant of WTP for internal preferences and caring externalities (P < 0.01). With an increase of 1% in income, private WTP increase 1.38% in health status 1. The finding indicates that the mean of WTP increases at severe health status; therefore, health policy maker should allocate resources toward severe health status.

  15. Feed/meat transfer factor determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoepfner, U.

    1981-01-01

    The transfer of cesium from the feed to bovine meat is taken as an example to discuss natural environmental conditions and their effects on the determination of the transfer factor. Criteria for estimating the validity of experimentally determined transfer factors are given and used for a critical evaluation of significant literature data. The evaluation presented in this report is not a merely statistical evaluation of transfer data, indicating one single value as the correct one (sometimes within a certain margin), but rather scans the data available for incertainties and drawbacks of the experimental methods applied, finally stating a range of variation within which transfer factors can be considered to be correct. (orig./DG) [de

  16. DETERMINANT FACTORS OF FINANCIAL REPORTING QUALITY AND ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaenal Fanani

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this research was to prove empirically the determining factors that influence the quality of financialreporting and the economic consequences, and there were influence differences of quality attributes of financialreporting to the economic consequences. The research samples were taken by purposive sampling so it obtained141 listed manufacturing businesses from 2001 to 2006. The research used four data analysis technique:auxiliary regression R2, confirmatory factor analysis, simple regression, and multiple regressions. The resultsshowed seven attributes, there were five attributes that gave contribution for financial reporting quality namelyaccrual quality, predictability, smoothness, relevance value, and conservatism while the persistence and timelinessgave small contribution. The five attributes were also different each other. From the thirteen determiningfactors, it showed nine factors that produced significant influences namely operation cycle, sales volatility,firm size, firm age, loss proportion, leverage, environmental risk, institutional ownership, market concentration,and auditor quality, while the other three, they were liquidity, managerial ownership, and investmentgrowth that were not significant. Testing results of economic consequences of quality of financial reportingshowed that the quality of factorial financial reporting influenced negatively and significantly toward informationasymmetry.

  17. Factors predicting work outcome in Japanese patients with schizophrenia: role of multiple functioning levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumiyoshi, Chika; Harvey, Philip D; Takaki, Manabu; Okahisa, Yuko; Sato, Taku; Sora, Ichiro; Nuechterlein, Keith H; Subotnik, Kenneth L; Sumiyoshi, Tomiki

    2015-09-01

    Functional outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia suggest recovery of cognitive, everyday, and social functioning. Specifically improvement of work status is considered to be most important for their independent living and self-efficacy. The main purposes of the present study were 1) to identify which outcome factors predict occupational functioning, quantified as work hours, and 2) to provide cut-offs on the scales for those factors to attain better work status. Forty-five Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 111 healthy controls entered the study. Cognition, capacity for everyday activities, and social functioning were assessed by the Japanese versions of the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus Battery (MCCB), the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B), and the Social Functioning Scale Individuals' version modified for the MATRICS-PASS (Modified SFS for PASS), respectively. Potential factors for work outcome were estimated by multiple linear regression analyses (predicting work hours directly) and a multiple logistic regression analyses (predicting dichotomized work status based on work hours). ROC curve analyses were performed to determine cut-off points for differentiating between the better- and poor work status. The results showed that a cognitive component, comprising visual/verbal learning and emotional management, and a social functioning component, comprising independent living and vocational functioning, were potential factors for predicting work hours/status. Cut-off points obtained in ROC analyses indicated that 60-70% achievements on the measures of those factors were expected to maintain the better work status. Our findings suggest that improvement on specific aspects of cognitive and social functioning are important for work outcome in patients with schizophrenia.

  18. On functional determinants of matrix differential operators with multiple zero modes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Falco, G.M.; Fedorenko, Andrey A; Gruzberg, Ilya A

    2017-01-01

    We generalize the method of computing functional determinants with a single excluded zero eigenvalue developed by McKane and Tarlie to differential operators with multiple zero eigenvalues. We derive general formulas for such functional determinants of $r\\times r$ matrix second order differential

  19. Psychological determinants of job retention in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ford, Helen L; Wicks, Charlotte R; Stroud, Amanda; Tennant, Alan

    2018-01-01

    Maintaining paid work is a key issue for people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS). Different factors, including psychological attributes, can influence job retention. Understanding their role should inform potential interventions to help PwMS retain employment. The aim of this study was to identify the key factors which improve job retention in an employed cohort of PwMS. This three-year longitudinal study used validated self-completed measures of physical and psychological factors at four time points over 28 months. Of 208 employed PwMS, just over 1 in 10 was no longer working at the end of the study. Three variables were predictive of continuing employment; low 'work instability' at baseline increased the odds of job retention by a factor of 12.76; high levels of self-efficacy by a factor of 4.66 and being less than 50 years of age increased the odds of job retention by a factor of 3.90. Path analysis demonstrated the mediating role of self-efficacy between the physical impact of MS and the level of work instability at exit. Screening for work instability and self-efficacy in a clinical setting followed by appropriate interventions to increase self-efficacy and reduce work instability could aid job retention in MS.

  20. Ranking of factors determining potassium mass balance in bicarbonate haemodialysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basile, Carlo; Libutti, Pasquale; Lisi, Piero; Teutonico, Annalisa; Vernaglione, Luigi; Casucci, Francesco; Lomonte, Carlo

    2015-03-01

    One of the most important pathogenetic factors involved in the onset of intradialysis arrhytmias is the alteration in electrolyte concentration, particularly potassium (K(+)). Two studies were performed: Study A was designed to investigate above all the isolated effect of the factor time t on intradialysis K(+) mass balance (K(+)MB): 11 stable prevalent Caucasian anuric patients underwent one standard (∼4 h) and one long-hour (∼8 h) bicarbonate haemodialysis (HD) session. The latter were pair-matched as far as the dialysate and blood volume processed (90 L) and volume of ultrafiltration are concerned. Study B was designed to identify and rank the other factors determining intradialysis K(+)MB: 63 stable prevalent Caucasian anuric patients underwent one 4-h standard bicarbonate HD session. Dialysate K(+) concentration was 2.0 mmol/L in both studies. Blood samples were obtained from the inlet blood tubing immediately before the onset of dialysis and at t60, t120, t180 min and at end of the 4- and 8-h sessions for the measurement of plasma K(+), blood bicarbonates and blood pH. Additional blood samples were obtained at t360 min for the 8 h sessions. Direct dialysate quantification was utilized for K(+)MBs. Direct potentiometry with an ion-selective electrode was used for K(+) measurements. Study A: mean K(+)MBs were significantly higher in the 8-h sessions (4 h: -88.4 ± 23.2 SD mmol versus 8 h: -101.9 ± 32.2 mmol; P = 0.02). Bivariate linear regression analyses showed that only mean plasma K(+), area under the curve (AUC) of the hourly inlet dialyser diffusion concentration gradient of K(+) (hcgAUCK(+)) and AUC of blood bicarbonates and mean blood bicarbonates were significantly related to K(+)MB in both 4- and 8-h sessions. A multiple linear regression output with K(+)MB as dependent variable showed that only mean plasma K(+), hcgAUCK(+) and duration of HD sessions per se remained statistically significant. Study B: mean K(+)MBs were -86.7 ± 22.6 mmol

  1. Modifiable factors influencing relapses and disability in multiple sclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D'hooghe, M. B.; Nagels, G.; Bissay, V.; De Keyser, J.

    A growing body of literature indicates that the natural course of multiple sclerosis can be influenced by a number of factors. Strong evidence suggests that relapses can be triggered by infections, the postpartum period and stressful life events. Vaccinations against influenza, hepatitis B and

  2. Protective factors associated with fewer multiple problem behaviors among homeless/runaway youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lightfoot, Marguerita; Stein, Judith A; Tevendale, Heather; Preston, Kathleen

    2011-01-01

    Although homeless youth exhibit numerous problem behaviors, protective factors that can be targeted and modified by prevention programs to decrease the likelihood of involvement in risky behaviors are less apparent. The current study tested a model of protective factors for multiple problem behavior in a sample of 474 homeless youth (42% girls; 83% minority) ages 12 to 24 years. Higher levels of problem solving and planning skills were strongly related to lower levels of multiple problem behaviors in homeless youth, suggesting both the positive impact of preexisting personal assets of these youth and important programmatic targets for further building their resilience and decreasing problem behaviors. Indirect relationships between the background factors of self-esteem and social support and multiple problem behaviors were significantly mediated through protective skills. The model suggests that helping youth enhance their skills in goal setting, decision making, and self-reliant coping could lessen a variety of problem behaviors commonly found among homeless youth.

  3. Factors affecting bone mineral density in multiple sclerosis patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayatollahi, Azin; Mohajeri-Tehrani, Mohammad Reza

    2013-01-01

    Background Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating disease which can cause many disabilities for the patient. Recent data suggests that MS patients have higher risk for osteoporosis. This study was performed to investigate if the osteoporosis prevalence is higher in MS patients and to determine the possible factors affecting bone mineral density (BMD). Methods 51 definite relapsing-remitting MS patients according to McDonald's criteria (45 females, 6 males aged between 20 and 50 years) participated in this study. The control group included 407 females aged from 20 to 49 years; they were healthy and had no history of the diseases affecting bone metabolism. Femoral and lumbar BMD were measured by Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA). The disability of MS patients was evaluated by Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The patient's quality of life was evaluated by the validated Persian version of multiple sclerosis impact scale (MSIS-29). Results Patients’ mean age was 36 ± 3.3 years and their mean disease duration was 8.7 ± 1.7 years. The mean EDSS score and the mean body mass index (BMI) of the patients were 3 ± 0.9 and 23.5 ± 2.3 kg/m2, respectively. 29% of the patients had never been treated by ß-interferon and 6% of them had not received glucocorticoids (GCs) pulses since their MS had been diagnosed. 26% of the patients had a history of fracture.18% of our patients were osteoporotic and 43% of them were osteopenic. Femoral BMD was significantly lower among MS patients than age matched controls (P < 0.001), but lumbar BMD showed no difference. There was no correlation between administration of GCs pulses, interferon and BMD; however, we found a significant correlation between EDSS score, quality of life (QoL), disease duration and BMD of both site. Conclusion As a result of this study, bone loss inevitably occurs in MS patients. The major factor of BMD loss is immobility. Osteoporosis should be managed as part of MS patients’ treatment protocols

  4. Experimental model for neutron scattering in disordered systems: static structure factor determination of mode-softening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siegel, E.

    1982-01-01

    The generalized-disorder collective-boson mode-softening universality-principle (GDCBMSUP) for collective-boson mode dispersion in disordered systems (liquids, quantum liquids, glasses, powders, disordered magnets, plasmas...), a unified qualitative and semi-qualitative and semi-quantitative descriptive prescription for treating the properties of very differently disordered systems, is directly dependent upon a measurement (or calculation) of the static structure factor S(k) determined from a frequency average of the dynamic structure factor S(k,w), a multiple of the inelastic differential neutron scattering cross section d 2 sigma/dwdOMEGA. The prescription for this principle is given and, because of its universal applicability to disordered systems of any type with any type and/or degree of disorder, the neutron scattering determination of S(k) takes on renewed importance

  5. Multiple factor analysis of metachronous upper urinary tract transitional cell carcinoma after radical cystectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Wang

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC of the urothelium is often multifocal and subsequent tumors may occur anywhere in the urinary tract after the treatment of a primary carcinoma. Patients initially presenting a bladder cancer are at significant risk of developing metachronous tumors in the upper urinary tract (UUT. We evaluated the prognostic factors of primary invasive bladder cancer that may predict a metachronous UUT TCC after radical cystectomy. The records of 476 patients who underwent radical cystectomy for primary invasive bladder TCC from 1989 to 2001 were reviewed retrospectively. The prognostic factors of UUT TCC were determined by multivariate analysis using the COX proportional hazards regression model. Kaplan-Meier analysis was also used to assess the variable incidence of UUT TCC according to different risk factors. Twenty-two patients (4.6%. developed metachronous UUT TCC. Multiplicity, prostatic urethral involvement by the bladder cancer and the associated carcinoma in situ (CIS were significant and independent factors affecting the occurrence of metachronous UUT TCC (P = 0.0425, 0.0082, and 0.0006, respectively. These results were supported, to some extent, by analysis of the UUT TCC disease-free rate by the Kaplan-Meier method, whereby patients with prostatic urethral involvement or with associated CIS demonstrated a significantly lower metachronous UUT TCC disease-free rate than patients without prostatic urethral involvement or without associated CIS (log-rank test, P = 0.0116 and 0.0075, respectively. Multiple tumors, prostatic urethral involvement and associated CIS were risk factors for metachronous UUT TCC, a conclusion that may be useful for designing follow-up strategies for primary invasive bladder cancer after radical cystectomy.

  6. Factors predicting work outcome in Japanese patients with schizophrenia: role of multiple functioning levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chika Sumiyoshi

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Functional outcomes in individuals with schizophrenia suggest recovery of cognitive, everyday, and social functioning. Specifically improvement of work status is considered to be most important for their independent living and self-efficacy. The main purposes of the present study were 1 to identify which outcome factors predict occupational functioning, quantified as work hours, and 2 to provide cut-offs on the scales for those factors to attain better work status. Forty-five Japanese patients with schizophrenia and 111 healthy controls entered the study. Cognition, capacity for everyday activities, and social functioning were assessed by the Japanese versions of the MATRICS Cognitive Consensus Battery (MCCB, the UCSD Performance-based Skills Assessment-Brief (UPSA-B, and the Social Functioning Scale Individuals’ version modified for the MATRICS-PASS (Modified SFS for PASS, respectively. Potential factors for work outcome were estimated by multiple linear regression analyses (predicting work hours directly and a multiple logistic regression analyses (predicting dichotomized work status based on work hours. ROC curve analyses were performed to determine cut-off points for differentiating between the better- and poor work status. The results showed that a cognitive component, comprising visual/verbal learning and emotional management, and a social functioning component, comprising independent living and vocational functioning, were potential factors for predicting work hours/status. Cut-off points obtained in ROC analyses indicated that 60–70% achievements on the measures of those factors were expected to maintain the better work status. Our findings suggest that improvement on specific aspects of cognitive and social functioning are important for work outcome in patients with schizophrenia.

  7. Determining Sample Size for Accurate Estimation of the Squared Multiple Correlation Coefficient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Algina, James; Olejnik, Stephen

    2000-01-01

    Discusses determining sample size for estimation of the squared multiple correlation coefficient and presents regression equations that permit determination of the sample size for estimating this parameter for up to 20 predictor variables. (SLD)

  8. Determinant Factors of Corporate Social Disclosures in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juniati Gunawan

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia as one of the big developing countries has been responding rapidly to the issue of Corporate Social Disclosure (CSD. This can be seen from the CSD section in the listed companies’ annual reports which keep increasing throughout the years. However, there are still inconclusive findings in factors that determine the extent of CSD. Based on a comprehensive research, therefore, this paper examines some selected factors in their relations to the extent of CSD, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Corporate annual reports for the year 2003 to 2006 were examined to verify the CSD practices by applying a content analysis method and multiple regression analysis. Then, firm’s characteristics (category, size, financial performances, age, and group influential (creditors, auditors, owners were analysed to seek their significant relationships to the extent of CSD. The findings show that (1 there was no significant influence of ‘company type’ to the extent of CSD; but ‘company status’ was significantl y influence CSD (2 ‘company size’, ‘financial performances’, ‘age’, and ‘auditors’ influences’ were found to have significant positi ve influences to the extent of CSD; (3 ‘Owners’ influence’ correlated positivel y rather than negati vely to CSD; and (4 Mixed results were provided by the ‘creditors’ influence’ throughout the years. The overall correlations between predictor and criterion variables are considered to be low to moderate, varied from 0.463 to 0.607 for correlation coefficients (R and 0.215 to 0.368 for determinant coefficients (R2 in the regression model.

  9. Factors determining lumber recovery in sawmilling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Philip H. Steele

    1984-01-01

    Lumber volume recovery in sawmilling is determined by a confusing interaction of several factors. The more one knows about each individual factor, the more one can understand how the factors interact. The author identifies and discusses in detail seven factors influencing lumber recovery. Past and current research is cited, and examples are given to illustrate the...

  10. Determination of 226Ra contamination depth in soil using the multiple photopeaks method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddad, Kh.; Al-Masri, M.S.; Doubal, A.W.

    2014-01-01

    Radioactive contamination presents a diverse range of challenges in many industries. Determination of radioactive contamination depth plays a vital role in the assessment of contaminated sites, because it can be used to estimate the activity content. It is determined traditionally by measuring the activity distributions along the depth. This approach gives accurate results, but it is time consuming, lengthy and costly. The multiple photopeaks method was developed in this work for 226 Ra contamination depth determination in a NORM contaminated soil using in-situ gamma spectrometry. The developed method bases on linear correlation between the attenuation ratio of different gamma lines emitted by 214 Bi and the 226 Ra contamination depth. Although this method is approximate, but it is much simpler, faster and cheaper than the traditional one. This method can be applied for any case of multiple gamma emitter contaminant. -- Highlights: • The multiple photopeaks method was developed for 226 Ra contamination depth determination using in-situ gamma spectrometry. • The method bases on linear correlation between the attenuation ratio of 214 Bi gamma lines and 226 Ra contamination depth. • This method is simpler, faster and cheaper than the traditional one, it can be applied for any multiple gamma contaminant

  11. Low bone density risk is higher in exercising women with multiple triad risk factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gibbs, Jenna C; Nattiv, Aurelia; Barrack, Michelle T; Williams, Nancy I; Rauh, Mitchell J; Nichols, Jeanne F; De Souza, Mary Jane

    2014-01-01

    The cumulative effect of the female athlete triad (Triad) risk factors on the likelihood of low bone mineral density (BMD) in exercising women is unclear. This study aimed to determine the risk of low BMD in exercising women with multiple Triad risk factors. We retrospectively examined cross-sectional data from 437 exercising women (mean ± SD age of 18.0 ± 3.5 yr, weighed 57.5 ± 7.1 kg with 24.5% ± 6.1% body fat) obtained at baseline from 4 prospective cohort studies examining Triad risk factors. Questionnaires were completed to obtain information on demographic characteristics, self-reported eating attitudes/behaviors, menstrual function, sport/activity participation, and medication use. Height and body weight were measured. BMD was measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Low BMD was defined as z-scores of exercising women. Further research should be conducted to develop a user-friendly algorithm integrating these indicators of risk for low BMD in exercising women (particularly factors associated with low BMI/body weight, menstrual dysfunction, lean sport/activity participation, and elevated dietary restraint).

  12. EBF factors drive expression of multiple classes of target genes governing neuronal development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Green, Yangsook S; Vetter, Monica L

    2011-04-30

    Early B cell factor (EBF) family members are transcription factors known to have important roles in several aspects of vertebrate neurogenesis, including commitment, migration and differentiation. Knowledge of how EBF family members contribute to neurogenesis is limited by a lack of detailed understanding of genes that are transcriptionally regulated by these factors. We performed a microarray screen in Xenopus animal caps to search for targets of EBF transcriptional activity, and identified candidate targets with multiple roles, including transcription factors of several classes. We determined that, among the most upregulated candidate genes with expected neuronal functions, most require EBF activity for some or all of their expression, and most have overlapping expression with ebf genes. We also found that the candidate target genes that had the most strongly overlapping expression patterns with ebf genes were predicted to be direct transcriptional targets of EBF transcriptional activity. The identification of candidate targets that are transcription factor genes, including nscl-1, emx1 and aml1, improves our understanding of how EBF proteins participate in the hierarchy of transcription control during neuronal development, and suggests novel mechanisms by which EBF activity promotes migration and differentiation. Other candidate targets, including pcdh8 and kcnk5, expand our knowledge of the types of terminal differentiated neuronal functions that EBF proteins regulate.

  13. Multiplicative Effects of Social and Psychological Risk Factors on College Students’ Suicidal Behaviors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervin Assari

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Less is known about the multiplicative effects of social and psychological risk and protective factors of suicidality on college campuses. The current study aimed to investigate the multiplicative effects of social (identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, financial difficulty, violence victimization, and religiosity and psychological (anxiety, depression, problem alcohol use, drug use and risk/protective factors on suicidal behaviors among college students in the United States. Using a cross-sectional design, the Healthy Mind Study (HMS; 2016–2017, is a national online survey of college students in the United States. Social (identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, violence victimization, financial difficulty, and religiosity and psychological (anxiety, depression, problem alcohol use, and drug use risk/protective factors were assessed among 27,961 individuals. Three aspects of suicidality, including ideation, plan, and attempt, were also assessed. Logistic regression models were used for data analysis. Financial difficulty, violence victimization, identifying oneself as gay/lesbian, anxiety, depression, and drug use increased, while religiosity reduced the odds of suicidal behaviors. Multiplicative effects were found between the following social and psychological risk factors: (1 financial difficulty and anxiety; (2 financial difficulty and depression; (3 depression and drug use; (4 problem alcohol use and drug use; and (5 depression and problem alcohol use. There is a considerable overlap in the social and psychological processes, such as financial stress, mood disorders, and substance use problems, on risk of suicide in college students. As social and psychological risk factors do not operate independently, comprehensive suicidal risk evaluations that simultaneously address multiple social and psychological risk factors may be superior to programs that only address a single risk factor.

  14. Development of a multiple immunoaffinity column for simultaneous determination of multiple mycotoxins in feeds using UPLC-MS/MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Xiaofeng; Hu, Rui; Zhang, Zhaowei; Li, Peiwu; Zhang, Qi; Wang, Min

    2016-09-01

    A sensitive and specific immunoaffinity column to clean up and isolate multiple mycotoxins was developed along with a rapid one-step sample preparation procedure for ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis. Monoclonal antibodies against aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, zearalenone, ochratoxin A, sterigmatocystin, and T-2 toxin were coupled to microbeads for mycotoxin purification. We optimized a homogenization and extraction procedure as well as column loading and elution conditions to maximize recoveries from complex feed matrices. This method allowed rapid, simple, and simultaneous determination of mycotoxins in feeds with a single chromatographic run. Detection limits for these toxins ranged from 0.006 to 0.12 ng mL(-1), and quantitation limits ranged from 0.06 to 0.75 ng mL(-1). Concentration curves were linear from 0.12 to 40 μg kg(-1) with correlation coefficients of R (2) > 0.99. Intra-assay and inter-assay comparisons indicated excellent repeatability and reproducibility of the multiple immunoaffinity columns. As a proof of principle, 80 feed samples were tested and several contained multiple mycotoxins. This method is sensitive, rapid, and durable enough for multiple mycotoxin determinations that fulfill European Union and Chinese testing criteria.

  15. Genetic variants are major determinants of CSF antibody levels in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goris, An; Pauwels, Ine; Gustavsen, Marte W; van Son, Brechtje; Hilven, Kelly; Bos, Steffan D; Celius, Elisabeth Gulowsen; Berg-Hansen, Pål; Aarseth, Jan; Myhr, Kjell-Morten; D'Alfonso, Sandra; Barizzone, Nadia; Leone, Maurizio A; Martinelli Boneschi, Filippo; Sorosina, Melissa; Liberatore, Giuseppe; Kockum, Ingrid; Olsson, Tomas; Hillert, Jan; Alfredsson, Lars; Bedri, Sahl Khalid; Hemmer, Bernhard; Buck, Dorothea; Berthele, Achim; Knier, Benjamin; Biberacher, Viola; van Pesch, Vincent; Sindic, Christian; Bang Oturai, Annette; Søndergaard, Helle Bach; Sellebjerg, Finn; Jensen, Poul Erik H; Comabella, Manuel; Montalban, Xavier; Pérez-Boza, Jennifer; Malhotra, Sunny; Lechner-Scott, Jeannette; Broadley, Simon; Slee, Mark; Taylor, Bruce; Kermode, Allan G; Gourraud, Pierre-Antoine; Sawcer, Stephen J; Andreassen, Bettina Kullle; Dubois, Bénédicte; Harbo, Hanne F

    2015-03-01

    as female gender, age at onset and severity. This is the largest study population so far investigated for the genetic influence on antibody levels in the cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis, including 6950 patients. We confirm that genetic factors underlie these antibody levels and identify both the major histocompatibility complex and immunoglobulin heavy chain region as major determinants. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Genetic variants are major determinants of CSF antibody levels in multiple sclerosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pauwels, Ine; Gustavsen, Marte W.; van Son, Brechtje; Hilven, Kelly; Bos, Steffan D.; Celius, Elisabeth Gulowsen; Berg-Hansen, Pål; Aarseth, Jan; Myhr, Kjell-Morten; D’Alfonso, Sandra; Barizzone, Nadia; Leone, Maurizio A.; Martinelli Boneschi, Filippo; Sorosina, Melissa; Liberatore, Giuseppe; Kockum, Ingrid; Olsson, Tomas; Hillert, Jan; Alfredsson, Lars; Bedri, Sahl Khalid; Hemmer, Bernhard; Buck, Dorothea; Berthele, Achim; Knier, Benjamin; Biberacher, Viola; van Pesch, Vincent; Sindic, Christian; Bang Oturai, Annette; Søndergaard, Helle Bach; Sellebjerg, Finn; Jensen, Poul Erik H.; Comabella, Manuel; Montalban, Xavier; Pérez-Boza, Jennifer; Malhotra, Sunny; Lechner-Scott, Jeannette; Broadley, Simon; Slee, Mark; Taylor, Bruce; Kermode, Allan G.; Gourraud, Pierre-Antoine; Sawcer, Stephen J.; Andreassen, Bettina Kullle; Dubois, Bénédicte; Harbo, Hanne F.

    2015-01-01

    as female gender, age at onset and severity. This is the largest study population so far investigated for the genetic influence on antibody levels in the cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis, including 6950 patients. We confirm that genetic factors underlie these antibody levels and identify both the major histocompatibility complex and immunoglobulin heavy chain region as major determinants. PMID:25616667

  17. Risk Factors for Pneumonia in Ventilated Trauma Patients with Multiple Rib Fractures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun Oh Park

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP is a common disease that may contribute to morbidity and mortality among trauma patients in the intensive care unit (ICU. This study evaluated the associations between trauma factors and the development of VAP in ventilated patients with multiple rib fractures. Methods: We retrospectively and consecutively evaluated 101 patients with multiple rib fractures who were ventilated and managed at our hospital between January 2010 and December 2015, analyzing the associations between VAP and trauma factors in these patients. Trauma factors included sternal fracture, flail chest, diaphragm injury, traumatic aortic dissection, combined cardiac injury, pulmonary contusion, pneumothorax, hemothorax, hemopneumothorax, abbreviated injury scale score, thoracic trauma severity score, and injury severity score. Results: Forty-six patients (45.5% had at least 1 episode of VAP, 10 (21.7% of whom died in the ICU. Of the 55 (54.5% patients who did not have pneumonia, 9 (16.4% died in the ICU. Using logistic regression analysis, we found that VAP was associated with severe lung contusion (odds ratio, 3.07; 95% confidence interval, 1.12 to 8.39; p=0.029. Conclusion: Severe pulmonary contusion (pulmonary lung contusion score 6–12 is an independent risk factor for VAP in ventilated trauma patients with multiple rib fractures.

  18. 25 CFR 153.4 - Factors determining competency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Factors determining competency. 153.4 Section 153.4...: CROW INDIANS § 153.4 Factors determining competency. Among the matters to be considered by the... friends and relatives, or will become such a charge, by reason of being classed as competent; and whether...

  19. Sample size determination for equivalence assessment with multiple endpoints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Anna; Dong, Xiaoyu; Tsong, Yi

    2014-01-01

    Equivalence assessment between a reference and test treatment is often conducted by two one-sided tests (TOST). The corresponding power function and sample size determination can be derived from a joint distribution of the sample mean and sample variance. When an equivalence trial is designed with multiple endpoints, it often involves several sets of two one-sided tests. A naive approach for sample size determination in this case would select the largest sample size required for each endpoint. However, such a method ignores the correlation among endpoints. With the objective to reject all endpoints and when the endpoints are uncorrelated, the power function is the production of all power functions for individual endpoints. With correlated endpoints, the sample size and power should be adjusted for such a correlation. In this article, we propose the exact power function for the equivalence test with multiple endpoints adjusted for correlation under both crossover and parallel designs. We further discuss the differences in sample size for the naive method without and with correlation adjusted methods and illustrate with an in vivo bioequivalence crossover study with area under the curve (AUC) and maximum concentration (Cmax) as the two endpoints.

  20. Sf29 Gene of Spodoptera frugiperda Multiple Nucleopolyhedrovirus Is a Viral Factor That Determines the Number of Virions in Occlusion Bodies▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simón, Oihane; Williams, Trevor; Asensio, Aaron C.; Ros, Sarhay; Gaya, Andrea; Caballero, Primitivo; Possee, Robert D.

    2008-01-01

    The genome of Spodoptera frugiperda multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) was inserted into a bacmid (Sfbac) and used to produce a mutant lacking open reading frame 29 (Sf29null). Sf29null bacmid DNA was able to generate an infection in S. frugiperda. Approximately six times less DNA was present in occlusion bodies (OBs) produced by the Sf29null bacmid in comparison to viruses containing this gene. This reduction in DNA content was consistent with fewer virus particles being packaged within Sf29null bacmid OBs, as determined by fractionation of dissolved polyhedra and comparison of occlusion-derived virus (ODV) infectivity in cell culture. DNA from Sfbac, Sf29null, or Sf29null-repair, in which the gene deletion had been repaired, were equally infectious when used to transfect S. frugiperda. All three viruses produced similar numbers of OBs, although those from Sf29null were 10-fold less infectious than viruses with the gene. Insects infected with Sf29null bacmid died ∼24 h later than positive controls, consistent with the reduced virus particle content of Sf29null OBs. Transcripts from Sf29 were detected in infected insects 12 h prior to those from the polyhedrin gene. Homologs to Sf29 were present in other group II NPVs, and similar sequences were present in entomopoxviruses. Analysis of the Sf29 predicted protein sequence revealed signal peptide and transmembrane domains, but the presence of 12 potential N-glycosylation sites suggest that it is not an ODV envelope protein. Other motifs, including zinc-binding and threonine-rich regions, suggest degradation and adhesion functions. We conclude that Sf29 is a viral factor that determines the number of ODVs occluded in each OB. PMID:18550678

  1. Fatigue - determination of a more realistic usage factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lang, H.

    2001-01-01

    The ability to use a suitable counting method for determining the stress range spectrum in elastic and simplified elastic-plastic fatigue analyses is of crucial importance for enabling determination of a realistic usage factor. Determination of elastic-plastic strain range using the K e factor from fictitious elastically calculated loads is also important in the event of elastic behaviour being exceeded. This paper thus examines both points in detail. A fatigue module with additional options, which functions on this basis is presented. The much more realistic determination of usage factor presented here offers various economic benefits depending on the application

  2. DetOx: a program for determining anomalous scattering factors of mixed-oxidation-state species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutton, Karim J; Barnett, Sarah A; Christensen, Kirsten E; Nowell, Harriott; Thompson, Amber L; Allan, David R; Cooper, Richard I

    2013-01-01

    Overlapping absorption edges will occur when an element is present in multiple oxidation states within a material. DetOx is a program for partitioning overlapping X-ray absorption spectra into contributions from individual atomic species and computing the dependence of the anomalous scattering factors on X-ray energy. It is demonstrated how these results can be used in combination with X-ray diffraction data to determine the oxidation state of ions at specific sites in a mixed-valance material, GaCl(2).

  3. EBF factors drive expression of multiple classes of target genes governing neuronal development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vetter Monica L

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Early B cell factor (EBF family members are transcription factors known to have important roles in several aspects of vertebrate neurogenesis, including commitment, migration and differentiation. Knowledge of how EBF family members contribute to neurogenesis is limited by a lack of detailed understanding of genes that are transcriptionally regulated by these factors. Results We performed a microarray screen in Xenopus animal caps to search for targets of EBF transcriptional activity, and identified candidate targets with multiple roles, including transcription factors of several classes. We determined that, among the most upregulated candidate genes with expected neuronal functions, most require EBF activity for some or all of their expression, and most have overlapping expression with ebf genes. We also found that the candidate target genes that had the most strongly overlapping expression patterns with ebf genes were predicted to be direct transcriptional targets of EBF transcriptional activity. Conclusions The identification of candidate targets that are transcription factor genes, including nscl-1, emx1 and aml1, improves our understanding of how EBF proteins participate in the hierarchy of transcription control during neuronal development, and suggests novel mechanisms by which EBF activity promotes migration and differentiation. Other candidate targets, including pcdh8 and kcnk5, expand our knowledge of the types of terminal differentiated neuronal functions that EBF proteins regulate.

  4. Factors that influence the relative use of multiple memory systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Packard, Mark G; Goodman, Jarid

    2013-11-01

    Neurobehavioral evidence supports the existence of at least two anatomically distinct "memory systems" in the mammalian brain that mediate dissociable types of learning and memory; a "cognitive" memory system dependent upon the hippocampus and a "stimulus-response/habit" memory system dependent upon the dorsolateral striatum. Several findings indicate that despite their anatomical and functional distinctiveness, hippocampal- and dorsolateral striatal-dependent memory systems may potentially interact and that, depending on the learning situation, this interaction may be cooperative or competitive. One approach to examining the neural mechanisms underlying these interactions is to consider how various factors influence the relative use of multiple memory systems. The present review examines several such factors, including information compatibility, temporal sequence of training, the visual sensory environment, reinforcement parameters, emotional arousal, and memory modulatory systems. Altering these parameters can lead to selective enhancements of either hippocampal-dependent or dorsolateral striatal-dependent memory, and bias animals toward the use of either cognitive or habit memory in dual-solution tasks that may be solved adequately with either memory system. In many learning situations, the influence of such experimental factors on the relative use of memory systems likely reflects a competitive interaction between the systems. Research examining how various factors influence the relative use of multiple memory systems may be a useful method for investigating how these systems interact with one another. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. Multiple determinants of whole and regional brain volume among terrestrial carnivorans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eli M Swanson

    Full Text Available Mammalian brain volumes vary considerably, even after controlling for body size. Although several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this variation, most research in mammals on the evolution of encephalization has focused on primates, leaving the generality of these explanations uncertain. Furthermore, much research still addresses only one hypothesis at a time, despite the demonstrated importance of considering multiple factors simultaneously. We used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate simultaneously the importance of several factors previously hypothesized to be important in neural evolution among mammalian carnivores, including social complexity, forelimb use, home range size, diet, life history, phylogeny, and recent evolutionary changes in body size. We also tested hypotheses suggesting roles for these variables in determining the relative volume of four brain regions measured using computed tomography. Our data suggest that, in contrast to brain size in primates, carnivoran brain size may lag behind body size over evolutionary time. Moreover, carnivore species that primarily consume vertebrates have the largest brains. Although we found no support for a role of social complexity in overall encephalization, relative cerebrum volume correlated positively with sociality. Finally, our results support negative relationships among different brain regions after accounting for overall endocranial volume, suggesting that increased size of one brain regions is often accompanied by reduced size in other regions rather than overall brain expansion.

  6. [A factor analysis method for contingency table data with unlimited multiple choice questions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toyoda, Hideki; Haiden, Reina; Kubo, Saori; Ikehara, Kazuya; Isobe, Yurie

    2016-02-01

    The purpose of this study is to propose a method of factor analysis for analyzing contingency tables developed from the data of unlimited multiple-choice questions. This method assumes that the element of each cell of the contingency table has a binominal distribution and a factor analysis model is applied to the logit of the selection probability. Scree plot and WAIC are used to decide the number of factors, and the standardized residual, the standardized difference between the sample, and the proportion ratio, is used to select items. The proposed method was applied to real product impression research data on advertised chips and energy drinks. Since the results of the analysis showed that this method could be used in conjunction with conventional factor analysis model, and extracted factors were fully interpretable, and suggests the usefulness of the proposed method in the study of psychology using unlimited multiple-choice questions.

  7. [Application of Multiple Genetic Markers in a Case of Determination of Half Sibling].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Xue; Shi, Mei-sen; Yuan, Li; Lu, Di

    2016-02-01

    A case of half sibling was determined with multiple genetic markers, which could be potentially applied for determination of half sibling relationship from same father. Half sibling relationship was detected by 39 autosomal STR genetic markers, 23 Y-chromosomal STR genetic markers and 12 X -chromosomal STR genetic markers among ZHAO -1, ZHAO -2, ZHAO -3, ZHAO -4, and ZHAO-5. According to autosomal STR, Y-STR and X-STR genotyping results, it was determined that ZHAO-4 (alleged half sibling) was unrelated with ZHAO-1 and ZHAO-2; however, ZHAO-3 (alleged half sibling), ZHAO-5 (alleged half sibling) shared same genetic profile with ZHAO-1, and ZHAO-2 from same father. It is reliable to use multiple genetic markers and family gene reconstruction to determine half sibling relationship from same father, but it is difficult to determination by calculating half sibling index with ITO and discriminant functions.

  8. Power Factor Correction Capacitors for Multiple Parallel Three-Phase ASD Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yang, Yongheng; Blaabjerg, Frede

    2017-01-01

    Today’s three-phase Adjustable Speed Drive (ASD) systems still employ Diode Rectifiers (DRs) and Silicon-Controlled Rectifiers (SCRs) as the front-end converters due to structural and control simplicity, small volume, low cost, and high reliability. However, the uncontrollable DRs and phase......-controllable SCRs bring side-effects by injecting high harmonics to the grid, which will degrade the system performance in terms of lowering the overall efficiency and overheating the system if remain uncontrolled or unattenuated. For multiple ASD systems, certain harmonics in the entire system can be mitigated...... the power factor, passive capacitors can be installed, which yet can trigger the system resonance. Hence, this paper analyzes the resonant issues in multiple ASD systems with power factor correction capacitors. Potential damping solutions are summarized. Simulations are carried out, while laboratory tests...

  9. Body Esteem Among Women with Multiple Sclerosis and its Relationship with Demographic, Clinical and Socio-Psychological Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilski, M; Tasiemski, T; Dąbrowski, A

    2016-06-01

    The principal aim of this study was to verify if specific socio-demographic, clinical, and socio-psychological factors are correlates of body esteem in women with multiple sclerosis (MS). The study included 185 women with MS who completed the Body Esteem Scale (BES), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale (MSIS-29), Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ), Actually Received Support Scale (a part of the Berlin Social Support Scale), and Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). The patients were recruited as a result of cooperation with the Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Centre in Borne Sulinowo and Polish Society of Multiple Sclerosis. The demographic characteristics of the participants and their illness-related problems were determined with a self-report survey. A hierarchical multiple regression revealed that four factors, psychological condition (R (2) = 0.23, p ≤ 0.001), received support (R (2) = 0.28, p ≤ 0.001), personal control (R (2) = 0.30, p ≤ 0.001), and physical condition (R (2) = 0.31, p ≤ 0.001), were significant correlates of the general body esteem in our study group of women with MS. The model explained 31 % of variance in body esteem. Positive body esteem, an important component of self-esteem in women with MS, is associated with better social support, overcoming negative illness-related appraisals and improvement of psychological well-being. Subjective perception of a negative impact of MS on one's physical condition may be helpful in the identification of women with MS being at increased risk of decreased body esteem.

  10. Factors determining UK album success

    OpenAIRE

    Elliott, Caroline; Simmons, Robert

    2011-01-01

    This article uses a recently compiled dataset on the UK album sales to determine which factors contribute to best-selling album sales success. We control for factors including length of time since release, nationality of artist, artist type and album type, testing the increasing returns to information hypothesis. Information on general public online review scores for the albums in the dataset allows for a strong test of the accuracy of online reviews in predicting music sales, as online revie...

  11. Research on the Multiple Factors Influencing Human Identification Based on Pyroelectric Infrared Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lou, Ping; Hu, Jianmin

    2018-01-01

    Analysis of the multiple factors affecting human identification ability based on pyroelectric infrared technology is a complex problem. First, we examine various sensed pyroelectric waveforms of the human body thermal infrared signal and reveal a mechanism for affecting human identification. Then, we find that the mechanism is decided by the distance, human target, pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensor, the body type, human moving velocity, signal modulation mask, and Fresnel lens. The mapping relationship between the sensed waveform and multiple influencing factors is established, and a group of mathematical models are deduced which fuse the macro factors and micro factors. Finally, the experimental results show the macro-factors indirectly affect the recognition ability of human based on the pyroelectric technology. At the same time, the correctness and effectiveness of the mathematical models is also verified, which make it easier to obtain more pyroelectric infrared information about the human body for discriminating human targets. PMID:29462908

  12. Determining Factors of Subsidiary Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Torben

    (the depth of activities) and level of integration in the internal MNC-network. Birkinshaw and Hood (1998a) have in their seminal paper proposed a model where subsidiary development is determined by three factors: Headquarter assignment, dynamism of local business environment and subsidiary initiatives......Subsidiary development is a multi-dimensional construct that cannot be captured just by looking at subsidiary roles, activities, etc. Three distinct dimensions of subsidiary development are identified and these are: scope of subsidiary (the breadth of activities), level of subsidiary competence....... This paper is the first to conduct a statistical test of this model on a large-sample data set including data of more than 2.100 subsidiaries located in seven different countries in Europe. The effect of the three determining factors on subsidiary development is tested simultaneously in a LISREL model....

  13. Ecological correlates of multiple sexual partnerships among adolescents and young adults in urban Cape Town: a cumulative risk factor approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muchiri, Evans; Odimegwu, Clifford; Banda, Pamela; Ntoimo, Lorreta; Adedini, Sunday

    2017-07-01

    Studies in South Africa have reported unsafe levels of risky sexual behvaiours among adolescents and young adults, with the country reporting the highest burden of HIV/AIDS globally, as well as a high rate of teenage pregnancy. While determinants of risky sexual behaviours have been investigated for factors occurring at the individual and household levels, not fully explored in the literature is the effect of community level factors. Furthermore, it is unclear whether risk factors occurring within the ecology of adolescents and young adults act cumulatively to influence their sexual practices. This article aims to address this knowledge gap using a case study of the Cape Area Panel Study of adolescents and young adults in urban Cape Town, South Africa. The ecological framework was adopted to guide the selection of risk factors at the individual, household, and community levels. Multivariate linear discriminant function analyses were used to select significant risk factors for multiple sexual partnerships and used to produce risk indices for the respondents. The cumulative risk approach was applied to test whether significant risk factors acted cumulatively. Findings point to the importance of ecological factors in influencing outcomes of multiple sexual partnerships among respondents and further demonstrate that ecological risk factors may act cumulatively. These findings are important for South Africa that is grappling with teenage pregnancy and disproportionate HIV epidemic among the youth.

  14. A self-determination multiple risk intervention trial to improve smokers' health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Geoffrey C; McGregor, Holly; Sharp, Daryl; Kouldes, Ruth W; Lévesque, Chantal S; Ryan, Richard M; Deci, Edward L

    2006-12-01

    Little is known about how interventions motivate individuals to change multiple health risk behaviors. Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes that patient autonomy is an essential factor for motivating change. An SDT-based intervention to enhance autonomous motivation for tobacco abstinence and improving cholesterol was tested. The Smokers' Health Study is a randomized multiple risk behavior change intervention trial. Smokers were recruited to a tobacco treatment center. A total of 1.006 adult smokers were recruited between 1999 and 2002 from physician offices and by newspaper advertisements. A 6-month clinical intervention (4 contacts) to facilitate internalization of autonomy and perceived competence for tobacco abstinence and reduced percent calories from fat was compared with community care. Clinicians elicited patient perspectives and life strivings, provided absolute coronary artery disease risk estimates,enumerated effective treatment options, supported patient initiatives,minimized clinician control, assessed motivation for change, and developed a plan for change. Twelve-month prolonged tobacco abstinence, and change in percent calories from fat and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) from baseline to 18 months. RESULTS- Intention to treat analyses revealed that the intervention significantly increased 12-month prolonged tobacco abstinence (6.2% vs 2.4%; odds ratio [OR]=2.7, P=.01, number needed to treat [NNT] =26), and reduced LDL-C (-8.9 vs -4.1 mg/dL; P=.05). There was no effect on percent calories from fat. An intervention focused on supporting smokers'autonomy was effective in increasing prolonged tobacco abstinence and lowering LDL-C. Clinical interventions for behavior change may be improved by increasing patient autonomy and perceived competence.

  15. [Determination of priority unfavorable environmental factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaikova, Z A; Burdukovskaya, A V; Belykh, A I

    In the Irkutsk region there are recorded high indices of rates of morbidity, disability, mortality rate of the working-age population and low levels of life expectancy of the population, that is confirmed by ranking position levels among the all subjects of the Russian Federation. According to all mentioned indices of health the region is inside the top ten unfavorable regions of Russia. In relation to the problem in the state of health of the adult population the estimation of the causal relationships between environmental factors and certain health indices is actual. The list of studiedfactors included health indices that characterize the harmful working conditions of the working population and basic socioeconomic indices in the region. Estimation of causal-relationship relationships was performed with the use of methods of multivariate analysis - correlation and multiple linear regression. In the selection offactors for the construction of mathematical models of multiple regression there were used methods of the analysis of variables variability, pair correlation coefficients matrix and sequential switching covariates to eliminate the problems of multicollinearity, pre-standardization of indices for the elevation of the numerical stability of regression analysis algorithm. As a result of the execution of the analysis there were constructed statistical models for the dependence in the system variables “environment - public health”, which allowed to identify the most informative regression models for the adult population health according to indices of primary disability of the population, the mortality rate and life expectancy of the working age population. According to results of the analysis there were identified priority factors affecting on the health of the adult population of the Irkutsk region. To these factors there are referred the proportion of workplaces failing to meet sanitary standards for vibration and 8 socio-economic indices of living

  16. 40 CFR 1065.845 - Response factor determination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Response factor determination. 1065... POLLUTION CONTROLS ENGINE-TESTING PROCEDURES Testing With Oxygenated Fuels § 1065.845 Response factor... each FID analyzer's alcohol/carbonyl response factor (such as RF MeOH) after FID optimization to...

  17. Risk Factors for Pneumonia in Ventilated Trauma Patients with Multiple Rib Fractures

    OpenAIRE

    Park, Hyun Oh; Kang, Dong Hoon; Moon, Seong Ho; Yang, Jun Ho; Kim, Sung Hwan; Byun, Joung Hun

    2017-01-01

    Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a common disease that may contribute to morbidity and mortality among trauma patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). This study evaluated the associations between trauma factors and the development of VAP in ventilated patients with multiple rib fractures. Methods: We retrospectively and consecutively evaluated 101 patients with multiple rib fractures who were ventilated and managed at our hospital between January 2010 and De...

  18. Biogastronomy: Factors that determine the biological response to meal ingestion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pribic, T; Azpiroz, F

    2018-02-02

    The biological response to a meal includes physiological changes, primarily related to the digestive process, and a sensory experience, involving sensations related to the homeostatic control of food consumption, eg, satiety and fullness, with a hedonic dimension, ie associated with changes in digestive well-being and mood. The responses to a meal include a series of events before, during and after ingestion. While much attention has been paid to the events before and during ingestion, relatively little is known about the postprandial sensations, which are key to the gastronomical experience. The aim of this narrative review is to provide a comprehensive overview and to define the framework to investigate the factors that determine the postprandial experience. Based on a series of proof-of-concept studies and related information, we propose that the biological responses to a meal depend on the characteristics of the meal, primarily its palatability and composition, and the responsiveness of the guest, which may be influenced by multiple previous and concurrent conditioning factors. This information provides the scientific backbone to the development of personalized gastronomy. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Supervised Cross-Modal Factor Analysis for Multiple Modal Data Classification

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jingbin

    2015-10-09

    In this paper we study the problem of learning from multiple modal data for purpose of document classification. In this problem, each document is composed two different modals of data, i.e., An image and a text. Cross-modal factor analysis (CFA) has been proposed to project the two different modals of data to a shared data space, so that the classification of a image or a text can be performed directly in this space. A disadvantage of CFA is that it has ignored the supervision information. In this paper, we improve CFA by incorporating the supervision information to represent and classify both image and text modals of documents. We project both image and text data to a shared data space by factor analysis, and then train a class label predictor in the shared space to use the class label information. The factor analysis parameter and the predictor parameter are learned jointly by solving one single objective function. With this objective function, we minimize the distance between the projections of image and text of the same document, and the classification error of the projection measured by hinge loss function. The objective function is optimized by an alternate optimization strategy in an iterative algorithm. Experiments in two different multiple modal document data sets show the advantage of the proposed algorithm over other CFA methods.

  20. Multiple sclerosis and employment: Associations of psychological factors and work instability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wicks, Charlotte Rose; Ward, Karl; Stroud, Amanda; Tennant, Alan; Ford, Helen L

    2016-10-12

    People with multiple sclerosis often stop working earlier than expected. Psychological factors may have an impact on job retention. Investigation may inform interventions to help people stay in work. To investigate the associations between psychological factors and work instability in people with multiple sclerosis. A multi-method, 2-phased study. Focus groups were held to identify key themes. Questionnaire packs using validated scales of the key themes were completed at baseline and at 8-month follow-up. Four key psychological themes emerged. Out of 208 study subjects 57.2% reported medium/high risk of job loss, with marginal changes at 8 months. Some psychological variables fluctuated significantly, e.g. depression fell from 24.6% to 14.5%. Work instability and anxiety and depression were strongly correlated (χ2 p work instability, and baseline depression levels also predicted later work instability (Hosmer-Lemeshow test 0.899; Nagelkerke R Square 0.579). Psychological factors fluctuated over the 8-month follow-up period. Some psychological variables, including anxiety and depression, were significantly associated with, and predictive of, work instability. Longitudinal analysis should further identify how these psychological attributes impact on work instability and potential job loss in the longer term.

  1. Calculation of the flux attenuation and multiple scattering correction factors in time of flight technique for double differential cross section measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, G.; Coca, M.; Capote, R.

    1996-01-01

    Using Monte Carlo method technique , a computer code which simulates the time of flight experiment to measure double differential cross section was developed. The correction factor for flux attenuation and multiple scattering, that make a deformation to the measured spectrum, were calculated. The energy dependence of the correction factor was determined and a comparison with other works is shown. Calculations for Fe 56 at two different scattering angles were made. We also reproduce the experiment performed at the Nuclear Analysis Laboratory for C 12 at 25 celsius degree and the calculated correction factor for the is measured is shown. We found a linear relation between the scatter size and the correction factor for flux attenuation

  2. Genetic variants are major determinants of CSF antibody levels in multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Goris, An; Pauwels, Ine; Gustavsen, Marte W

    2015-01-01

    Immunological hallmarks of multiple sclerosis include the production of antibodies in the central nervous system, expressed as presence of oligoclonal bands and/or an increased immunoglobulin G index-the level of immunoglobulin G in the cerebrospinal fluid compared to serum. However, the underlying...... differences between oligoclonal band-positive and -negative patients with multiple sclerosis and reasons for variability in immunoglobulin G index are not known. To identify genetic factors influencing the variation in the antibody levels in the cerebrospinal fluid in multiple sclerosis, we have performed...... a genome-wide association screen in patients collected from nine countries for two traits, presence or absence of oligoclonal bands (n = 3026) and immunoglobulin G index levels (n = 938), followed by a replication in 3891 additional patients. We replicate previously suggested association signals...

  3. Determination of the hexagonal network parameters of the quartz β using neutron multiple diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos, L.C.; Parente, C.B.R.; Mazzocchi, V.L.; Helene, O.

    2000-01-01

    In this work, neutron multiple diffraction is employed for the determination of the parameters a and c of the β-quartz hexagonal cell. This crystalline phase of silica (SiO 2 ) occurs in temperatures between ca. 846 and 1143 K. A β-quartz neutron multiple diffraction pattern has been used in the determinations. This pattern was obtained with a natural quartz single crystal heated to 1003 K. During the indexing of the pattern it was verified that most of the pairs of secondary reflections, which are responsible for the formation of peaks, could be classified as 'good for the determination of a' or 'good for the determination of c'. With this classification, it became possible to employ an iterative method for the determination of both parameters. After 8 cycles of iteration the values found for the parameters were a = 4.9964 +- 0.0018 and c = 5.46268 +- 0.00052 A. (author)

  4. Neutron Detector Signal Processing to Calculate the Effective Neutron Multiplication Factor of Subcritical Assemblies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talamo, Alberto; Gohar, Yousry

    2016-01-01

    This report describes different methodologies to calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor of subcritical assemblies by processing the neutron detector signals using MATLAB scripts. The subcritical assembly can be driven either by a spontaneous fission neutron source (e.g. californium) or by a neutron source generated from the interactions of accelerated particles with target materials. In the latter case, when the particle accelerator operates in a pulsed mode, the signals are typically stored into two files. One file contains the time when neutron reactions occur and the other contains the times when the neutron pulses start. In both files, the time is given by an integer representing the number of time bins since the start of the counting. These signal files are used to construct the neutron count distribution from a single neutron pulse. The built-in functions of MATLAB are used to calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor through the application of the prompt decay fitting or the area method to the neutron count distribution. If the subcritical assembly is driven by a spontaneous fission neutron source, then the effective multiplication factor can be evaluated either using the prompt neutron decay constant obtained from Rossi or Feynman distributions or the Modified Source Multiplication (MSM) method.

  5. Neutron Detector Signal Processing to Calculate the Effective Neutron Multiplication Factor of Subcritical Assemblies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Talamo, Alberto [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division; Gohar, Yousry [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States). Nuclear Engineering Division

    2016-06-01

    This report describes different methodologies to calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor of subcritical assemblies by processing the neutron detector signals using MATLAB scripts. The subcritical assembly can be driven either by a spontaneous fission neutron source (e.g. californium) or by a neutron source generated from the interactions of accelerated particles with target materials. In the latter case, when the particle accelerator operates in a pulsed mode, the signals are typically stored into two files. One file contains the time when neutron reactions occur and the other contains the times when the neutron pulses start. In both files, the time is given by an integer representing the number of time bins since the start of the counting. These signal files are used to construct the neutron count distribution from a single neutron pulse. The built-in functions of MATLAB are used to calculate the effective neutron multiplication factor through the application of the prompt decay fitting or the area method to the neutron count distribution. If the subcritical assembly is driven by a spontaneous fission neutron source, then the effective multiplication factor can be evaluated either using the prompt neutron decay constant obtained from Rossi or Feynman distributions or the Modified Source Multiplication (MSM) method.

  6. Cone Penetrometer N Factor Determination Testing Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Follett, Jordan R.

    2014-03-05

    This document contains the results of testing activities to determine the empirical 'N Factor' for the cone penetrometer in kaolin clay simulant. The N Factor is used to releate resistance measurements taken with the cone penetrometer to shear strength.

  7. Multiple factors explain injury risk in adolescent elite athletes: Applying a biopsychosocial perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Rosen, P; Frohm, A; Kottorp, A; Fridén, C; Heijne, A

    2017-12-01

    Many risk factors for injury are presented in the literature, few of those are however consistent and the majority is associated with adult and not adolescent elite athletes. The aim was to identify risk factors for injury in adolescent elite athletes, by applying a biopsychosocial approach. A total of 496 adolescent elite athletes (age range 15-19), participating in 16 different sports, were monitored repeatedly over 52 weeks using a valid questionnaire about injuries, training exposure, sleep, stress, nutrition, and competence-based self-esteem. Univariate and multiple Cox regression analyses were used to calculate hazard ratios (HR) for risk factors for first reported injury. The main finding was that an increase in training load, training intensity, and at the same time decreasing the sleep volume resulted in a higher risk for injury compared to no change in these variables (HR 2.25, 95% CI, 1.46-3.45, Pself-esteem increased the hazard for injury with 1.02 (HR 95% CI, 1.00-1.04, P=.01). Based on the multiple Cox regression analysis, an athlete having the identified risk factors (Risk Index, competence-based self-esteem), with an average competence-based self-esteem score, had more than a threefold increased risk for injury (HR 3.35), compared to an athlete with a low competence-based self-esteem and no change in sleep or training volume. Our findings confirm injury occurrence as a result of multiple risk factors interacting in complex ways. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  8. A retrospective likelihood approach for efficient integration of multiple omics factors in case-control association studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balliu, Brunilda; Tsonaka, Roula; Boehringer, Stefan; Houwing-Duistermaat, Jeanine

    2015-03-01

    Integrative omics, the joint analysis of outcome and multiple types of omics data, such as genomics, epigenomics, and transcriptomics data, constitute a promising approach for powerful and biologically relevant association studies. These studies often employ a case-control design, and often include nonomics covariates, such as age and gender, that may modify the underlying omics risk factors. An open question is how to best integrate multiple omics and nonomics information to maximize statistical power in case-control studies that ascertain individuals based on the phenotype. Recent work on integrative omics have used prospective approaches, modeling case-control status conditional on omics, and nonomics risk factors. Compared to univariate approaches, jointly analyzing multiple risk factors with a prospective approach increases power in nonascertained cohorts. However, these prospective approaches often lose power in case-control studies. In this article, we propose a novel statistical method for integrating multiple omics and nonomics factors in case-control association studies. Our method is based on a retrospective likelihood function that models the joint distribution of omics and nonomics factors conditional on case-control status. The new method provides accurate control of Type I error rate and has increased efficiency over prospective approaches in both simulated and real data. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Multiplicative algorithms for constrained non-negative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Peng, Chengbin

    2012-12-01

    Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) provides the advantage of parts-based data representation through additive only combinations. It has been widely adopted in areas like item recommending, text mining, data clustering, speech denoising, etc. In this paper, we provide an algorithm that allows the factorization to have linear or approximatly linear constraints with respect to each factor. We prove that if the constraint function is linear, algorithms within our multiplicative framework will converge. This theory supports a large variety of equality and inequality constraints, and can facilitate application of NMF to a much larger domain. Taking the recommender system as an example, we demonstrate how a specialized weighted and constrained NMF algorithm can be developed to fit exactly for the problem, and the tests justify that our constraints improve the performance for both weighted and unweighted NMF algorithms under several different metrics. In particular, on the Movielens data with 94% of items, the Constrained NMF improves recall rate 3% compared to SVD50 and 45% compared to SVD150, which were reported as the best two in the top-N metric. © 2012 IEEE.

  10. Determining The Factors Affecting Fruit Hardness of Different Peach Types with Meta Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hande Küçükönder

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to determine the factor effective in determining the hardness of Caterina, Suidring, Royal Glory and Tirrenia peach types using meta analysis. In the study, the impact force (Fi and the contact time (tc were detected and the impulse values (I that are expressed as independent variable in the area under the curve were calculated in the measurements performed using the technique of a low-mass lateral impactor multiplicated with peach. Using the theory of elasticity, the independent variables were determined as Fmax (maximum impact force, contact time (tmax, Fmax/tmax, 1/tmax, 1/tmax2,5, Fmax/tmax 1.25 and Fmax2.5 parameters. The correlation coefficient values showing the relationship between these parameters and the dependent variable Magness-Taylor force (MT were calculated and were combined with meta-analysis by using the Hunter-Schmid and Fisher’s Z methods. The Cohen’s classification criterion was used in evaluating the resulting mean effect size (combined correlation value and in determining its direction. As a result of the meta-analysis, the mean effect size according to Hunter-Schmid method was found 0.436 (0.371-0.497 positively directed in 95% confidence interval, while it was found 0.468 (0.390-0.545 according to Fisher’s Z method. The effect sizes in both methods were determined “mid-level” according to the Cohen’s classification. When the significance level of the studies was analyzed with the Z test, all of the ones that taken into the meta analysis has been found statistically significant. As a result of the meta analysis in this study evaluating the relationship of peach types with the fruit hardness, the mean effect size has been found to reach “strong level”. Consequently, “maximum shock acceleration” was found to be a more effective factor comparing to the other factors in determining the the fruit hardness according to the results of meta analysis applied in both methods.

  11. Definition of neutron multiplication in a reception capacity of radioactive waste shop

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dulin, V.A.; Dulin, V.V.; Pavlova, O.N.

    2006-01-01

    To determine neutrons multiplication the measurements and calculations of spatial distributions of neutron counting and absolute fission rates in a reception capacity of IPPE radioactive waste shop have been carried out and analyzed. A content of fissionable medium was unknown. The approach developed has allowed implementing a calculation analysis of the experimental data on determination of the most probable spatial distributions of basic parameters of the fissionable medium of unknown content. It has allowed determining the neutrons multiplication factor in a reception capacity of a tank No. 17. It has been found that the value of neutrons multiplication factor in a tank is 1.07 ± 0.03. The developed measurement method and calculation analysis used for experimental data also can be applied in other cases when the multiplication medium content is unknown [ru

  12. Multiple-Factor Based Sparse Urban Travel Time Prediction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xinyan Zhu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The prediction of travel time is challenging given the sparseness of real-time traffic data and the uncertainty of travel, because it is influenced by multiple factors on the congested urban road networks. In our paper, we propose a three-layer neural network from big probe vehicles data incorporating multi-factors to estimate travel time. The procedure includes the following three steps. First, we aggregate data according to the travel time of a single taxi traveling a target link on working days as traffic flows display similar traffic patterns over a weekly cycle. We then extract feature relationships between target and adjacent links at 30 min interval. About 224,830,178 records are extracted from probe vehicles. Second, we design a three-layer artificial neural network model. The number of neurons in input layer is eight, and the number of neurons in output layer is one. Finally, the trained neural network model is used for link travel time prediction. Different factors are included to examine their influence on the link travel time. Our model is verified using historical data from probe vehicles collected from May to July 2014 in Wuhan, China. The results show that we could obtain the link travel time prediction results using the designed artificial neural network model and detect the influence of different factors on link travel time.

  13. Determinants of health care expenditures and the contribution of associated factors: 16 cities and provinces in Korea, 2003-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Kimyoung; Cho, Minho; Chun, Kihong

    2013-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to classify determinants of cost increases into two categories, negotiable factors and non-negotiable factors, in order to identify the determinants of health care expenditure increases and to clarify the contribution of associated factors selected based on a literature review. The data in this analysis was from the statistical yearbooks of National Health Insurance Service, the Economic Index from Statistics Korea and regional statistical yearbooks. The unit of analysis was the annual growth rate of variables of 16 cities and provinces from 2003 to 2010. First, multiple regression was used to identify the determinants of health care expenditures. We then used hierarchical multiple regression to calculate the contribution of associated factors. The changes of coefficients (R(2)) of predictors, which were entered into this analysis step by step based on the empirical evidence of the investigator could explain the contribution of predictors to increased medical cost. Health spending was mainly associated with the proportion of the elderly population, but the Medicare Economic Index (MEI) showed an inverse association. The contribution of predictors was as follows: the proportion of elderly in the population (22.4%), gross domestic product (GDP) per capita (4.5%), MEI (-12%), and other predictors (less than 1%). As Baby Boomers enter retirement, an increasing proportion of the population aged 65 and over and the GDP will continue to increase, thus accelerating the inflation of health care expenditures and precipitating a crisis in the health insurance system. Policy makers should consider providing comprehensive health services by an accountable care organization to achieve cost savings while ensuring high-quality care.

  14. Determination of epithermal flux correction factor (α) for irradiation ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Due to resonance that occur in the epithermal energy region of a reactor, the flux spectra in that region deviates strongly from the ideal I/E law to a I/E1+α with alpha as the correction factor. The factor has to be determined if zirconium as monitor pairs to determine the correction factor for inner irradiation channel 5 and outer ...

  15. The Customers’ Determinant Factors of the Bank Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umbas Krisnanto

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Some previous researchers are still arguing about the factors that determine the selection of a bank. These factors depend on the intensity of marketing activities undertaken by the bank, reputation of the bank, credit availability, friendly staffs, appropriate interest rates, and location. Jakarta was selected for the research location since Jakarta is the biggest city in Indonesia that represents the advancement of the banking industry. Different statistics tools are applied to find the accurate opinion why respondent choose a bank. Based on the results, the research concludes factors that determine in selecting a bank tend to be based on the secondary factors such as recommendation from friends, and advice from family members.

  16. The Customers’ Determinant Factors of the Bank Selection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umbas Krisnanto

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Some previous researchers are still arguing about the factors that determine the selection of a bank. These factors depend on the intensity of marketing activities undertaken by the bank, reputation of the bank, credit availability, friendly staffs, appropriate interest rates, and location. Jakarta was selected for the research location since Jakarta is the biggest city in Indonesia that represents the advancement of the banking industry. Different statistics tools are applied to find the accurate opinion why respondent choose a bank. Based on the results, the research concludes factors that determine in selecting a bank tend to be based on the secondary factors such as recommendation from friends, and advice from family members..

  17. Multiple graph regularized nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan

    2013-10-01

    Non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) has been widely used as a data representation method based on components. To overcome the disadvantage of NMF in failing to consider the manifold structure of a data set, graph regularized NMF (GrNMF) has been proposed by Cai et al. by constructing an affinity graph and searching for a matrix factorization that respects graph structure. Selecting a graph model and its corresponding parameters is critical for this strategy. This process is usually carried out by cross-validation or discrete grid search, which are time consuming and prone to overfitting. In this paper, we propose a GrNMF, called MultiGrNMF, in which the intrinsic manifold is approximated by a linear combination of several graphs with different models and parameters inspired by ensemble manifold regularization. Factorization metrics and linear combination coefficients of graphs are determined simultaneously within a unified object function. They are alternately optimized in an iterative algorithm, thus resulting in a novel data representation algorithm. Extensive experiments on a protein subcellular localization task and an Alzheimer\\'s disease diagnosis task demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Retrospective Evaluation of Safety, Efficacy and Risk Factors for Pneumothorax in Simultaneous Localizations of Multiple Pulmonary Nodules Using Hook Wire System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Yan; Xu, Xiao-Quan; Pan, Xiang-Long; Zhang, Wei; Xu, Hai; Yuan, Mei; Kong, Ling-Yan; Pu, Xue-Hui; Chen, Liang; Yu, Tong-Fu

    2017-09-01

    To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the hook wire system in the simultaneous localizations for multiple pulmonary nodules (PNs) before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS), and to clarify the risk factors for pneumothorax associated with the localization procedure. Between January 2010 and February 2016, 67 patients (147 nodules, Group A) underwent simultaneous localizations for multiple PNs using a hook wire system. The demographic, localization procedure-related information and the occurrence rate of pneumothorax were assessed and compared with a control group (349 patients, 349 nodules, Group B). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to determine the risk factors for pneumothorax during the localization procedure. All the 147 nodules were successfully localized. Four (2.7%) hook wires dislodged before VATS procedure, but all these four lesions were successfully resected according to the insertion route of hook wire. Pathological diagnoses were acquired for all 147 nodules. Compared with Group B, Group A demonstrated significantly longer procedure time (p pneumothorax (p = 0.019). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that position change during localization procedure (OR 2.675, p = 0.021) and the nodules located in the ipsilateral lung (OR 9.404, p pneumothorax. Simultaneous localizations for multiple PNs using a hook wire system before VATS procedure were safe and effective. Compared with localization for single PN, simultaneous localizations for multiple PNs were prone to the occurrence of pneumothorax. Position change during localization procedure and the nodules located in the ipsilateral lung were independent risk factors for pneumothorax.

  19. Determining e-learning success factor in higher education based on user perspective using Fuzzy AHP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anggrainingsih Rini

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently almost all universities in the world have implemented E-learning to support their academic system. Previous studies have been conducted to determine CSF using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP method. However, AHP method cannot handle the uncertainty and vagueness of the human’s opinion, so then it causes less appropriate decision. Some researcher has proposed to use fuzzy sets theory with AHP to increase the ability of AHP to deal problem regarding the uncertainty/fuzziness. This study aims to determine ranks of priorities of the multiple factors which influence the E-learning success using FAHP method. The respondents consist of ten e-learning’s experts, 305 lecturers, and 4195 students at Sebelas Maret University. The result describes similar success factors ranking between both experienced and non-experienced user (lecturer and student. Then, the result shows that there are five most influencial success factors of e-learning at Sebelas Maret University based on the lectures perspective Financial Policy, Regulatory Policy, Course quality, Relevant Content and Technical Support. On the other hand, according to the student's point of view five most e-learning, critical success factors are Quality of Course, Relevant of Content, Completeness of Content, Attitudes toward Student, and Flexibility in taking Course. Therefore, this finding can be used by E-learning management of Sebelas Maret University to deteremine a strategy to to achieve successful implementation of e-learning at Sebelas Maret University with consider these factors.

  20. Physiotherapeutic interventions in multiple sclerosis across Europe: regions and other factors that matter

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Martinková, Patrícia; Freeman, J.; Drabinová, Adéla; Erosheva, E.; Cattaneo, D.; Jonsdottir, J.; Baert, I.; Smedal, T.; Romberg, A.; Feys, P.; Alves-Guerreiro, J.; Habek, M.; Henze, T.; Santoyo Medina, C.; Beiske, A.; Van Asch, P.; Bakalidou, D.; Salci, Y.; Dimitrova, E.N.; Pavlíková, M.; Řasová, K.

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 22, May (2018), s. 59-67 ISSN 2211-0348 Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : Multiple Sclerosis * Physical Therapy * Physiotherapeutic interventions * Europe * Questionnaire Survey * Cluster Analysis Impact factor: 2.349, year: 2016

  1. Risk factors of suicide mortality among multiple attempters: A national registry study in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, I-Ming; Liao, Shih-Cheng; Lee, Ming-Been; Wu, Chia-Yi; Lin, Po-Hsien; Chen, Wei J

    2016-05-01

    Little is known about the risk factors of suicide mortality among multiple attempters. This study aims to investigate the predictors of suicidal mortality in a prospective cohort of attempters in Taiwan, focusing on the time interval and suicide method change between the last two nonfatal attempts. The representative data retrieved from the National Suicide Surveillance System (NSSS) was linked with National Mortality Database to identify the causes of death in multiple attempters during 2006-2008. Cox-proportional hazard models were applied to calculate the hazard ratios for the predictors of suicide. Among the 55,560 attempters, 6485 (11.7%) had survived attempts ranging from one to 11 times; 861 (1.5%) eventually died by suicide. Multiple attempters were characterized by female (OR = 1.56, p suicidal death were identified as male, older age (≥ 45 years), shorter interval and not maintaining methods of low lethality in the last two nonfatal attempts. Receipt of nationwide aftercare was associated with lower risk of suicide but the effect was insignificant. The time interval of the last two nonfatal attempts and alteration in the lethality of suicide method were significant factors for completed suicide. Risk assessment involving these two factors may be necessary for multiple attempters in different clinical settings. Effective strategies for suicide prevention emphasizing this high risk population should be developed in the future. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Gaseous Multiplication factor measurements on low pressure ethylene

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hevia Vives, Alberto

    2008-01-01

    The present investigation consists of a study of a Proportional Counter considered as a fundamental part of an Absolute Neutron Dosimeter developed for the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission. The proportional counter consists of a Polyethylene Cathode of approximately 5 cm in diameter and an Anode consisting of a central wire of 5 μm in diameter. The proportional counter is biased at 650 V. The gas pressure ranges from 12 to 36 Torr of pure Ethylene. The work comes up as a need to obtain gas gain curves (Gas Multiplication Factors) for the proportional counter operated in the conditions as mentioned. This is a consequence of the scarcity of the existing information referred to Ethylene for the range of bias and gas pressure required in this case. Likewise, the research involved in this study contributed with useful information for the institution involved in the design and construction of the neutron dosimeter, as well as for the scientific community through the publication of this work. The results were obtained by using the above-mentioned Neutron Dosimeter but instead of using recoil protons by fast neutrons, the measurements were completed by directly using a 241 Am alpha particle source installed inside the dosimeter. The analysis of results as well as a detailed study of the pulse shapes provided by the proportional counter was performed by using the well-known MathCAD software. This software contains a text interface that includes symbolic and numeric calculations. Results of the research show that for the high Reduced Electric Fields ( Sa > 1500 Volts/cmTorr) used throughout the present work, Townsend law is still valid. This law states that the Multiplication Factors may be considered as dependent on the Reduced Electric Field instead of depending on the bias and gas pressure separately

  3. Malignant multiple sclerosis: clinical and demographic prognostic factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabrício Hampshire-Araújo

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Patients with malignant multiple sclerosis (MMS reach a significant level of disability within a short period of time (Expanded Disability Status Scale score of 6 within five years. The clinical profile and progression of the disease were analyzed in a Brazilian cohort of 293 patients. Twenty-five (8,53% patients were found to have MMS and were compared with the remaining 268 (91,47%. Women, non-white patients, older age at disease onset, shorter intervals between the first attacks, and more attacks in the first two years of the disease were all more common in the MMS group. These findings could serve as prognostic factors when making therapeutic decisions.

  4. Tumor necrosis factor alpha gene polymorphism in multiple sclerosis and optic neuritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fugger, L; Morling, N; Sandberg-Wollheim, M

    1990-01-01

    The NcoI tumor necrosis factor (TNF alpha) polymorphism was studied in relapsing/remitting multiple sclerosis and monosymptomatic optic neuritis. The frequency of the NcoI marker phenotypes did not differ between healthy controls and the two disease groups. No extra or missing DNA fragments were...

  5. Impact of high-intensity concurrent training on cardiovascular risk factors in persons with multiple sclerosis - pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keytsman, Charly; Hansen, Dominique; Wens, Inez; O Eijnde, Bert

    2017-10-27

    High-intensity concurrent training positively affects cardiovascular risk factors. Because this was never investigated in multiple sclerosis, the present pilot study explored the impact of this training on cardiovascular risk factors in this population. Before and after 12 weeks of high-intense concurrent training (interval and strength training, 5 sessions per 2 weeks, n = 16) body composition, resting blood pressure and heart rate, 2-h oral glucose tolerance (insulin sensitivity, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood glucose and insulin concentrations), blood lipids (high- and low-density lipoprotein, total cholesterol, triglyceride levels) and C-reactive protein were analyzed. Twelve weeks of high-intense concurrent training significantly improved resting heart rate (-6%), 2-h blood glucose concentrations (-13%) and insulin sensitivity (-24%). Blood pressure, body composition, blood lipids and C-reactive protein did not seem to be affected. Under the conditions of this pilot study, 12 weeks of concurrent high-intense interval and strength training improved resting heart rate, 2-h glucose and insulin sensitivity in multiple sclerosis but did not affect blood C-reactive protein levels, blood pressure, body composition and blood lipid profiles. Further, larger and controlled research investigating the effects of high-intense concurrent training on cardiovascular risk factors in multiple sclerosis is warranted. Implications for rehabilitation High-intensity concurrent training improves cardiovascular fitness. This pilot study explores the impact of this training on cardiovascular risk factors in multiple sclerosis. Despite the lack of a control group, high-intense concurrent training does not seem to improve cardiovascular risk factors in multiple sclerosis.

  6. Determination of spent nuclear fuel assembly multiplication with the differential die-away self-interrogation instrument

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kaplan, Alexis C. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544 (United States); Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Henzl, Vladimir; Menlove, Howard O.; Swinhoe, Martyn T.; Belian, Anthony P. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87544 (United States); Flaska, Marek; Pozzi, Sara A. [Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)

    2014-09-01

    We present a novel method for determining the multiplication of a spent nuclear fuel assembly with a Differential Die-Away Self-Interrogation (DDSI) instrument. The signal, which is primarily created by thermal neutrons, is measured with four {sup 3}He detector banks surrounding a spent fuel assembly. The Rossi-alpha distribution (RAD) at early times reflects coincident events from single fissions as well as fission chains. Because of this fact, the early time domain contains information about both the fissile material and spontaneous fission material in the assembly being measured. A single exponential function fit to the early time domain of the RAD has a die-away time proportional to the spent fuel assembly (SFA) multiplication. This correlation was tested by simulating assay of 44 different SFAs with the DDSI instrument. The SFA multiplication was determined with a variance of 0.7%.

  7. Science Teaching Efficacy of Preservice Elementary Teachers: Examination of the Multiple Factors Reported as Influential

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tastan Kirik, Özgecan

    2013-01-01

    This study explores the science teaching efficacy beliefs of preservice elementary teachers and the relationship between efficacy beliefs and multiple factors such as antecedent factors (participation in extracurricular activities and number of science and science teaching methods courses taken), conceptual understanding, classroom management…

  8. A study on the effect of stainless steel plate position on neutron multiplication factor in spent fuel storage racks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sohn, Hee Dong

    2012-02-01

    In spent fuel storage racks, which are just composed of stainless steel plates without neutron absorbing materials, neutron multiplication factors are investigated as the variation of the water gap that exists between the fuel assembly and the stainless steel plates. The stainless steel plate has a low moderating power compared with water because it has a lower elastic scattering cross section, as well as far less change of lethargy in an elastic collision than water. Thus, if stainless steel plates are installed around the fuel assembly instead of water, it is hard for neutrons to be thermalized properly. Therefore, the neutron multiplication factor can be decreased because the thermal neutron fluence and the total neutron production rate in fuel rods are decreased. A stainless steel plate has also has a thermal neutron absorption cross section. Thus, it can absorb thermal neutrons around the fuel assembly. The dominant factor which can cause a decrease in the neutron multiplication factor is the interruption of neutron moderation by stainless steel plates. Therefore, the neutron multiplication factor should always be kept at its lowest point, if stainless steel plates are installed on the specific position where interruptions of the neutron moderation occur most often, allowing for thermal neutrons to be absorbed. The stainless steel plate position is 7 mm away from the outermost surface of the fuel assembly with a pitch of 280mm. The specific position appearing the lowest neutron multiplication factor as the pitch variation from 260mm to 290mm with 10mm interval is also investigated. The lowest neutron multiplication factor also occurs 7mm or 8mm away from the outermost surface of the fuel assembly

  9. A study on the effect of stainless steel plate position on neutron multiplication factor in spent fuel storage racks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sohn, Hee Dong

    2012-02-15

    In spent fuel storage racks, which are just composed of stainless steel plates without neutron absorbing materials, neutron multiplication factors are investigated as the variation of the water gap that exists between the fuel assembly and the stainless steel plates. The stainless steel plate has a low moderating power compared with water because it has a lower elastic scattering cross section, as well as far less change of lethargy in an elastic collision than water. Thus, if stainless steel plates are installed around the fuel assembly instead of water, it is hard for neutrons to be thermalized properly. Therefore, the neutron multiplication factor can be decreased because the thermal neutron fluence and the total neutron production rate in fuel rods are decreased. A stainless steel plate has also has a thermal neutron absorption cross section. Thus, it can absorb thermal neutrons around the fuel assembly. The dominant factor which can cause a decrease in the neutron multiplication factor is the interruption of neutron moderation by stainless steel plates. Therefore, the neutron multiplication factor should always be kept at its lowest point, if stainless steel plates are installed on the specific position where interruptions of the neutron moderation occur most often, allowing for thermal neutrons to be absorbed. The stainless steel plate position is 7 mm away from the outermost surface of the fuel assembly with a pitch of 280mm. The specific position appearing the lowest neutron multiplication factor as the pitch variation from 260mm to 290mm with 10mm interval is also investigated. The lowest neutron multiplication factor also occurs 7mm or 8mm away from the outermost surface of the fuel assembly

  10. Multiple Levels of Family Factors and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms Among Chinese Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Xiuyun; Li, Longfeng; Heath, Melissa A; Chi, Peilian; Xu, Shousen; Fang, Xiaoyi

    2018-03-01

    Family factors are closely associated with child developmental outcomes. This study examined the relationship of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms and factors at whole family, dyadic, and individual levels in Chinese children. Participants, who were recruited from 14 primary schools in north, east, and south-west China, included 80 father-child dyads and 169 mother-child dyads. Children in the participating dyads were previously diagnosed with ODD. Results revealed that family cohesion/adaptability was indirectly associated with ODD symptoms via parent-child relationship and child emotion regulation. Parent-child relationship affected ODD symptoms directly and indirectly through child emotion regulation. In addition, the effects of family cohesion/adaptability on parent emotion regulation and child emotion regulation were mediated by the parent-child relationship. The tested model provides a comprehensive framework of how family factors at multiple levels are related to child ODD symptoms and highlights the importance of understanding child emotional and behavioral problems within the family context, more specifically within the multiple levels of family relationships. © 2016 Family Process Institute.

  11. Evidence from intrinsic activity that asymmetry of the human brain is controlled by multiple factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Hesheng; Stufflebeam, Steven M; Sepulcre, Jorge; Hedden, Trey; Buckner, Randy L

    2009-12-01

    Cerebral lateralization is a fundamental property of the human brain and a marker of successful development. Here we provide evidence that multiple mechanisms control asymmetry for distinct brain systems. Using intrinsic activity to measure asymmetry in 300 adults, we mapped the most strongly lateralized brain regions. Both men and women showed strong asymmetries with a significant, but small, group difference. Factor analysis on the asymmetric regions revealed 4 separate factors that each accounted for significant variation across subjects. The factors were associated with brain systems involved in vision, internal thought (the default network), attention, and language. An independent sample of right- and left-handed individuals showed that hand dominance affects brain asymmetry but differentially across the 4 factors supporting their independence. These findings show the feasibility of measuring brain asymmetry using intrinsic activity fluctuations and suggest that multiple genetic or environmental mechanisms control cerebral lateralization.

  12. Multiple Illuminant Colour Estimation via Statistical Inference on Factor Graphs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutimbu, Lawrence; Robles-Kelly, Antonio

    2016-08-31

    This paper presents a method to recover a spatially varying illuminant colour estimate from scenes lit by multiple light sources. Starting with the image formation process, we formulate the illuminant recovery problem in a statistically datadriven setting. To do this, we use a factor graph defined across the scale space of the input image. In the graph, we utilise a set of illuminant prototypes computed using a data driven approach. As a result, our method delivers a pixelwise illuminant colour estimate being devoid of libraries or user input. The use of a factor graph also allows for the illuminant estimates to be recovered making use of a maximum a posteriori (MAP) inference process. Moreover, we compute the probability marginals by performing a Delaunay triangulation on our factor graph. We illustrate the utility of our method for pixelwise illuminant colour recovery on widely available datasets and compare against a number of alternatives. We also show sample colour correction results on real-world images.

  13. A factor analytic investigation of the Mercy Evaluation of Multiple Sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merz, Zachary C; Wright, John D; Vander Wal, Jillon S; Gfeller, Jeffrey D

    2018-01-23

    Neurocognitive deficits commonly are an accompanying feature of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). A brief, yet comprehensive neuropsychological battery is desirable for assessing the extent of these deficits. Therefore, the present study examined the validity of the Mercy Evaluation of Multiple Sclerosis (MEMS) for use with the MS population. Archival data from individuals diagnosed with MS (N = 378) by independent neurologists was examined. Cognitive domains assessed included processing speed and attention, learning, and memory, visuospatial, language, and executive functioning. A mean battery index was calculated to provide a general indicator of cognitive impairment within the current sample. Overall performance across participants was found to be in the lower limits of the average range. Results of factor analytic statistical procedures yielded a four-factor solution, accounting for 67% of total variance within the MEMS. Four neurocognitive measures exhibited the highest sensitivity in detecting cognitive impairment, constituting a psychometrically established brief cognitive screening battery, which accounted for 83% of total variance within the mean battery index score. Overall, the results of the current study suggest appropriate construct validity of the MEMS for use with individuals with MS, as well as provide support for previously established cognitive batteries.

  14. How agricultural multiple ecosystem services respond to socioeconomic factors in Mengyin County, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yajuan; Yu, Zhenrong; Li, Xuedong; Li, Pengyao

    2018-07-15

    Provisioning services have always been the main focus of agriculture, and which have led to a decline in biodiversity and have damaged a number of other services. Agriculture should contribute to current and future food security while producing multiple ecosystem services (ES). Restoration outcomes of multiple ES were affected by different socioeconomic drivers, thus a better understanding of how multiple ES respond to socioeconomic drivers can help to restore multiple ES. This paper used rural people's perceptions of ES to quantify and map ecosystem service obtainment and demand in the Mengyin County, China. An integrative index of multiple ecosystem services (IMES) was used to effectively aggregate the values of multiple ES. The threat categorization framework is designed to communicate the degree to which the adequate and sustainable provision of multiple ES is threatened, in order to prioritize conservation actions. The results revealed that 6 townships in the Mengyin County exhibited an excessive obtainment situation (demand is less than obtainment) of multiple ES; an insufficient obtainment situation (demand is greater than obtainment) of multiple ES was mainly situated in the northern part of Mengyin County. Overall, the current state of multiple ES across Mengyin County is classified as "Endangered" classification according to application of threat categorization framework. It is necessary to restructure and manage socioeconomic factors for multiple ES. At national level, the macro decision-making (controlling population density) and the mechanisms (attracting high-quality human resources into the rural) will play an important role in promoting multiple ES management, and it is necessary to provide 3 or more years of tailored educational resources for rural residents to advance multiple ES in agricultural landscape. Development of agricultural PES programs in China that enable farmers to profit from production ES is a sustainable strategy for increasing

  15. Monte Carlo analyses of the source multiplication factor of the YALINA booster facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Talamo, Alberto; Gohar, Y.; Kondev, F.; Aliberti, Gerardo [Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Bolshinsky, I. [Idaho National Laboratory, P. O. Box 2528, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83403 (United States); Kiyavitskaya, Hanna; Bournos, Victor; Fokov, Yury; Routkovskaya, Christina; Serafimovich, Ivan [Joint Institute for Power and Nuclear Research-Sosny, National Academy of Sciences, Minsk, acad. Krasin, 99, 220109 (Belarus)

    2008-07-01

    The multiplication factor of a subcritical assembly is affected by the energy spectrum and spatial distribution of the neutron source. In a critical assembly, neutrons emerge from the fission reactions with an average energy of approx2 MeV; in a deuteron accelerator driven subcritical assembly, neutrons emerge from the fusion target with a fixed energy of 2.45 or 14.1 MeV, from the Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) and Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) reactions respectively. This study aims at generating accurate neutronics models for the YALINA Booster facility, based on the use of different Monte Carlo neutron transport codes, at defining the facility key physical parameters, and at comparing the neutron multiplication factor for three different neutron sources: fission, D-D and D-T. The calculated values are compared with the experimental results. (authors)

  16. Monte Carlo analyses of the source multiplication factor of the YALINA booster facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talamo, Alberto; Gohar, Y.; Kondev, F.; Aliberti, Gerardo; Bolshinsky, I.; Kiyavitskaya, Hanna; Bournos, Victor; Fokov, Yury; Routkovskaya, Christina; Serafimovich, Ivan

    2008-01-01

    The multiplication factor of a subcritical assembly is affected by the energy spectrum and spatial distribution of the neutron source. In a critical assembly, neutrons emerge from the fission reactions with an average energy of ∼2 MeV; in a deuteron accelerator driven subcritical assembly, neutrons emerge from the fusion target with a fixed energy of 2.45 or 14.1 MeV, from the Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) and Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) reactions respectively. This study aims at generating accurate neutronics models for the YALINA Booster facility, based on the use of different Monte Carlo neutron transport codes, at defining the facility key physical parameters, and at comparing the neutron multiplication factor for three different neutron sources: fission, D-D and D-T. The calculated values are compared with the experimental results. (authors)

  17. Calculation of multiplication factors regarding criticality aiming at the storage of fissile material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lima Barros, M. de.

    1982-04-01

    The multiplication factors of several systems with low enrichment, 3,5% and 3,2% in the isotope 235 U, aiming at the storage of fuel of ANGRA-I and ANGRA II, through the method of Monte Carlo, by the computacional code KENO-IV and the library of section of cross Hansen - Roach with 16 groups of energy. The method of Monte Carlo is specially suitable to the calculation of the factor of multiplication, because it is one of the most acurate models of solution and allows the description of complex tridimensional systems. Various tests of sensibility of this method have been done in order to present the most convenient way of working with KENO-IV code. The safety on criticality of stores of fissile material of the 'Fabrica de Elementos Combustiveis ', has been analyzed through the method of Monte Carlo. (Author) [pt

  18. Determination of some radiative view factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghosh, B.; Mukhopadhyay, D.; Lele, H.G.; Fichot, F.; Guillard, G.

    2011-01-01

    View factors are essential components for analysis for of radiative heat transfer through enclosure methods like radiosity approach, direct/total exchange area approach etc. View factor is defined as the integral over the interacting surface. View factor integral can be calculated by following various approaches, such as: view factor algebra, direction analytical approach, contour integration method, Monte Carlo method, numerical methods based of FDM or FEM, Hottle's string method etc. The present module of work on determination of view factor is aimed for use in ASTEC code system for severe accident analysis. There exist many routines (RADB, RADC, GRADEB, RADR, RADL) in the ICARE module of ASTEC code system to model radiative heat transfer from different types of assemblies of interacting surfaces of different nature. The present work is specially targeted for radiative heat transfer model for lower plenum (RADILOWE) and for extension of ICARE module for IPHWR. In interacting surfaces within the lower plenum comprises of different types of circular, cylindrical and conical surface. In the work completed so far, view factor relations have been derived/compiled based on exact/approximate analytical and numerical approaches. (author)

  19. More basic approach to the analysis of multiple specimen R-curves for determination of J/sub c/

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, K.W.; Williams, J.A.

    1980-02-01

    Multiple specimen J-R curves were developed for groups of 1T compact specimens with different a/W values and depth of side grooving. The purpose of this investigation was to determine J/sub c/ (J at onset of crack extension) for each group. Judicious selection of points on the load versus load-line deflection record at which to unload and heat tint specimens permitted direct observation of approximate onset of crack extension. It was found that the present recommended procedure for determining J/sub c/ from multiple specimen R-curves, which is being considered for standardization, consistently yielded nonconservative J/sub c/ values. A more basic approach to analyzing multiple specimen R-curves is presented, applied, and discussed. This analysis determined J/sub c/ values that closely corresponded to actual observed onset of crack extension

  20. Effect of fuel particles' size variations on multiplication factor in pebble-bed nuclear reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Snoj, L.; Ravnik, M.

    2005-01-01

    The pebble-bed reactor (Pbr) spherical fuel element consists of two radial zones: the inner zone, in which the fissile material in form of the so-called TRISO particles is uniformly dispersed in graphite matrix and the outer zone, a shell of pure graphite. A TRISO particle is composed of a fissile kernel (UO 2 ) and several layers of carbon composites. The effect of TRISO particles' size variations and distance between them on PBR multiplication factor is studied using MCNP code. Fuel element is modelled in approximation of a cubical unit cell with periodic boundary condition. The multiplication factor of the fuel element depends on the size of the TRISO particles due to resonance self-shielding effect and on the inter-particle distance due to inter-kernel shadowing. (author)

  1. DETERMINANT FACTORS OF STUDENTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTENTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renny Dwijayanti

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to determine and analyze the dominant factor as a determinant of the entrepreneurship intent of the students of the Department of Economic Education of the State University of Surabaya.This research uses explanatory research method, the sample used is 166 students from the total population of 286 students with purposiverandom sampling technique. The results showed that locus of control, subjective norms, and entrepreneurial attitudes affect the intention of student entrepreneurship. From the three determining variables of the entrepreneurship intentions, there is one dominant variable as determinant of student entrepreneurship intention, it is locus of control. The locus of control of students related to entrepreneurship is a personal belief in the success gained from the business and learning process. The implication of this research is students need to strengthen the formation ofentrepreneurial mindset to be able to grow their self-confidence on their own potentials.

  2. Multiple Kernel Learning for adaptive graph regularized nonnegative matrix factorization

    KAUST Repository

    Wang, Jim Jing-Yan; AbdulJabbar, Mustafa Abdulmajeed

    2012-01-01

    Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) has been continuously evolving in several areas like pattern recognition and information retrieval methods. It factorizes a matrix into a product of 2 low-rank non-negative matrices that will define parts-based, and linear representation of non-negative data. Recently, Graph regularized NMF (GrNMF) is proposed to find a compact representation, which uncovers the hidden semantics and simultaneously respects the intrinsic geometric structure. In GNMF, an affinity graph is constructed from the original data space to encode the geometrical information. In this paper, we propose a novel idea which engages a Multiple Kernel Learning approach into refining the graph structure that reflects the factorization of the matrix and the new data space. The GrNMF is improved by utilizing the graph refined by the kernel learning, and then a novel kernel learning method is introduced under the GrNMF framework. Our approach shows encouraging results of the proposed algorithm in comparison to the state-of-the-art clustering algorithms like NMF, GrNMF, SVD etc.

  3. Ruminal bacteria and protozoa composition, digestibility, and amino acid profile determined by multiple hydrolysis times.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fessenden, S W; Hackmann, T J; Ross, D A; Foskolos, A; Van Amburgh, M E

    2017-09-01

    Microbial samples from 4 independent experiments in lactating dairy cattle were obtained and analyzed for nutrient composition, AA digestibility, and AA profile after multiple hydrolysis times ranging from 2 to 168 h. Similar bacterial and protozoal isolation techniques were used for all isolations. Omasal bacteria and protozoa samples were analyzed for AA digestibility using a new in vitro technique. Multiple time point hydrolysis and least squares nonlinear regression were used to determine the AA content of omasal bacteria and protozoa, and equivalency comparisons were made against single time point hydrolysis. Formalin was used in 1 experiment, which negatively affected AA digestibility and likely limited the complete release of AA during acid hydrolysis. The mean AA digestibility was 87.8 and 81.6% for non-formalin-treated bacteria and protozoa, respectively. Preservation of microbe samples in formalin likely decreased recovery of several individual AA. Results from the multiple time point hydrolysis indicated that Ile, Val, and Met hydrolyzed at a slower rate compared with other essential AA. Singe time point hydrolysis was found to be nonequivalent to multiple time point hydrolysis when considering biologically important changes in estimated microbial AA profiles. Several AA, including Met, Ile, and Val, were underpredicted using AA determination after a single 24-h hydrolysis. Models for predicting postruminal supply of AA might need to consider potential bias present in postruminal AA flow literature when AA determinations are performed after single time point hydrolysis and when using formalin as a preservative for microbial samples. Copyright © 2017 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Multiple gcd-closed sets and determinants of matrices associated with arithmetic functions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Siao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Let f be an arithmetic function and S = {x1, …, xn} be a set of n distinct positive integers. By (f(xi, xj (resp. (f[xi, xj] we denote the n × n matrix having f evaluated at the greatest common divisor (xi, xj (resp. the least common multiple [xi, xj] of x, and xj as its (i, j-entry, respectively. The set S is said to be gcd closed if (xi, xj ∈ S for 1 ≤ i, j ≤ n. In this paper, we give formulas for the determinants of the matrices (f(xi, xj and (f[xi, xj] if S consists of multiple coprime gcd-closed sets (i.e., S equals the union of S1, …, Sk with k ≥ 1 being an integer and S1, …, Sk being gcd-closed sets such that (lcm(Si, lcm(Sj = 1 for all 1 ≤ i ≠ j ≤ k. This extends the Bourque-Ligh, Hong’s and the Hong-Loewy formulas obtained in 1993, 2002 and 2011, respectively. It also generalizes the famous Smith’s determinant.

  5. Methods of fast, multiple-point in vivo T1 determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Y.; Spigarelli, M.; Fencil, L.E.; Yeung, H.N.

    1989-01-01

    Two methods of rapid, multiple-point determination of T1 in vivo have been evaluated with a phantom consisting of vials of gel in different Mn + + concentrations. The first method was an inversion-recovery- on-the-fly technique, and the second method used a variable- tip-angle (α) progressive saturation with two sub- sequences of different repetition times. In the first method, 1/T1 was evaluated by an exponential fit. In the second method, 1/T1 was obtained iteratively with a linear fit and then readjusted together with α to a model equation until self-consistency was reached

  6. Confidence ellipses: A variation based on parametric bootstrapping applicable on Multiple Factor Analysis results for rapid graphical evaluation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dehlholm, Christian; Brockhoff, Per B.; Bredie, Wender L. P.

    2012-01-01

    A new way of parametric bootstrapping allows similar construction of confidence ellipses applicable on all results from Multiple Factor Analysis obtained from the FactoMineR package in the statistical program R. With this procedure, a similar approach will be applied to Multiple Factor Analysis r...... in different studies performed on the same set of products. In addition, the graphical display of confidence ellipses eases interpretation and communication of results....

  7. Integration of multiple determinants in the neuronal computation of economic values.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raghuraman, Anantha P; Padoa-Schioppa, Camillo

    2014-08-27

    Economic goods may vary on multiple dimensions (determinants). A central conjecture in decision neuroscience is that choices between goods are made by comparing subjective values computed through the integration of all relevant determinants. Previous work identified three groups of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of monkeys engaged in economic choices: (1) offer value cells, which encode the value of individual offers; (2) chosen value cells, which encode the value of the chosen good; and (3) chosen juice cells, which encode the identity of the chosen good. In principle, these populations could be sufficient to generate a decision. Critically, previous work did not assess whether offer value cells (the putative input to the decision) indeed encode subjective values as opposed to physical properties of the goods, and/or whether offer value cells integrate multiple determinants. To address these issues, we recorded from the OFC while monkeys chose between risky outcomes. Confirming previous observations, three populations of neurons encoded the value of individual offers, the value of the chosen option, and the value-independent choice outcome. The activity of both offer value cells and chosen value cells encoded values defined by the integration of juice quantity and probability. Furthermore, both populations reflected the subjective risk attitude of the animals. We also found additional groups of neurons encoding the risk associated with a particular option, the risky nature of the chosen option, and whether the trial outcome was positive or negative. These results provide substantial support for the conjecture described above and for the involvement of OFC in good-based decisions. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3311583-21$15.00/0.

  8. Factors determining early internationalization of entrepreneurial SMEs: Theoretical approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agne Matiusinaite

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – This study extends the scientific discussion of early internationalization of SMEs. The main purpose of this paper – to develop a theoretical framework to investigate factors determining early internationalization of international new ventures. Design/methodology/approach – The conceptual framework is built on the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature. Findings – This paper presents different factors, which determine early internationalization of international new ventures. These factors are divided to entrepreneurial, organizational and contextual factors. We argue that early internationalization of international new ventures is defined by entrepreneurial characteristics and previous experience of the entrepreneur, opportunities recognition and exploitation, risk tolerance, specific of the organization, involvement into networks and contextual factors. Study proved that only interaction between factors and categories has an effect for business development and successful implementation of early internationalization. Research limitations/implications – The research was conducted on the theoretical basis of scientific literature. The future studies could include a practical confirmation or denial of such allocation of factors. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the finding that factor itself has limited effect to early internationalization. Only the interoperability of categories and factors gives a positive impact on early internationalization of entrepreneurial SMEs.

  9. Ecological Factors Determining Abundance of Parasitic Mites on Aedes spp. Larvae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurhadi Eko Firmansyah

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Ability to infestation and abundance of parasitic mites in Aedes spp. larvae cannot be separated from the influence of various factors. Ecological factors have been suggested to play a role determine the presence of parasitic mites that under certain conditions become a key factor in determining the abundance of parasitic mites on Aedes spp. larvae. The aim of this study to determine the ecological factors affect the abundance of parasitic mites on Aedes spp. larvae in Bogor Regency. Capturing of Aedes spp. larvae was performed directly on the habitats found in indoor and outdoor. Capturing mites in the body of Aedes spp. larvae was performed using insect forceps. Ecological factors measured were dissolved oxygen (DO, pH, temperature, and total dissolved solid (TDS. The influence of ecological factors was analyzed using regression and correlation analysis. The result of mite identification has been obtained three species of mites that are Halacarus sp., Histiostoma sp., and Hydrozetes sp. The result indicated that total dissolved solid (TDS and temperature was the factors that determined the abundance of mites. The factors of pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO did not determine the abundance of parasitic mites of Aedes spp. larvae. The research result can be further developed as a new alternative to Dengue Hemorraghic Fever control and provide information on parasitic mites that infest Aedes spp. larvae. In addition, this results become an early step in controlling of Aedes spp. strategy platform by the parasitic mites.

  10. Genetic susceptibility factors for multiple chemical sensitivity revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berg, Nikolaj Drimer; Rasmussen, Henrik Berg; Linneberg, Allan

    2010-01-01

    of this study was to investigate genetic susceptibility factors for MCS and self-reported chemical sensitivity in a population sample. Ninety six MCS patients and 1,207 controls from a general population divided into four severity groups of chemical sensitivity were genotyped for variants in the genes encoding......Multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) is characterised by adverse effects due to exposure to low levels of chemical substances. Various genes, especially genes of importance to the metabolism of xenobiotic compounds, have been associated with MCS, but findings are inconsistent. The purpose...... significant (OR=1.2, p=0.28). Fast arylamine N-acetyltransferase 2 metaboliser status was associated with severity of chemical sensitivity only in the most severely affected group in the population sample (OR=3.1, p=0.04). The cholecystokinin 2 receptor allele with 21 CT repeats was associated with MCS when...

  11. Determination of Fano's factor in semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomes, P.R.S.

    1975-07-01

    A study was made of three different semiconductor detectors: intrinsic germanium, germanium drifted with lithium, and silicon drifted with lithium. In the efficiency measurements for these detectors, special attention was paid to the escape of the germanium X-rays produced within the detector. The principal part of this work is the determination of the Fano factor for germanium and silicon. A great deal of attention was given to the analysis of experimental results. Different criteria for eliminating the linewidth contribution due to charge collection fluctuations lead to widely different values and have caused great controversy over the value of the Fano factor. Measurements were made for the three detectors using energies of 14.4 kev, 35.4 kev, 46.5 kev, 59.5 kev, 81 kev, 88 kev, 122 kev and 136.5 kev and the results indicate a Fano factor of 0.105 +- 0.004 for germanium and 0.130 +- 0.120 for silicon. (author) [pt

  12. Leukemia inhibitory factor tips the immune balance towards regulatory T cells in multiple sclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssens, K.; Van den Haute, C.; Baekelandt, V.; Lucas, S.; van Horssen, J.; Somers, V.; Van Wijmeersch, B.; Stinissen, P.; Hendriks, J.J.A.; Slaets, H.; Hellings, N.

    2015-01-01

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), for which current treatments are unable to prevent disease progression. Based on its neuroprotective and neuroregenerating properties, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a member of the interleukin-6

  13. Determinants of Perceived Stress in Individuals with Obesity: Exploring the Relationship of Potentially Obesity-Related Factors and Perceived Stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Junne, Florian; Ziser, Katrin; Giel, Katrin Elisabeth; Schag, Kathrin; Skoda, Eva; Mack, Isabelle; Niess, Andreas; Zipfel, Stephan; Teufel, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Associations of specific types of stress with increased food intake and subsequent weight gain have been demonstrated in animal models as well as in experimental and epidemiological studies on humans. This study explores the research question of to what extent potentially obesity-related factors determine perceived stress in individuals with obesity. N = 547 individuals with obesity participated in a cross-sectional study assessing perceived stress as the outcome variable and potential determinants of stress related to obesity. Based on the available evidence, a five factorial model of 'obesity-related obesogenic stressors' was hypothesized, including the dimensions, 'drive for thinness', 'impulse regulation', 'ineffectiveness', 'social insecurity', and 'body dissatisfaction'. The model was tested using multiple linear regression analyses. The five factorial model of 'potentially obesity-related stressors' resulted in a total variance explanation of adjusted R² = 0.616 for males and adjusted R² = 0.595 for females for perceived stress. The relative variance contribution of the five included factors differed substantially for the two sexes. The findings of this cross-sectional study support the hypothesized, potentially obesity-related factors: 'drive for thinness', 'impulse regulation', 'ineffectiveness', 'social insecurity', and 'body dissatisfaction' as relevant determinants of perceived stress in individuals with obesity. © 2017 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg.

  14. Anthropometric Factors and Physical Condition Dominant Determinants Batting Skills in Softball

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arif Eka Saraya

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available batting skills in softball requires several anthropometric factors and physical condition to play to improve skills. Anthropometric factors and physical condition, among others, height, arm length, arm muscle strength, hand-eye coordination, balance, and reaction time. This study aims to determine the anthropometric factors and the physical condition of the dominant determinant of batting skills in softball. This research approach uses a quantitative to design of confirmatory factor analysis. This study population is training student achievement softball in sports education university of riau. A sample of 100 people was obtained through a simple random sampling technique. The data used are taken through a series of tests of the independent and dependent variables. This research method through testing confirmatory factor KMO and Bartlett’s Test analysis using SPSS. Results from this research is: factor of anthropometri dominant physical condition and determinants batting skill in game of softball is arm length with value 0,788, arm muscle power with value 0,851 and time reaction of with value 0,737. The conclusion of this research is: factor of anthropometri dominant physical condition and determinants batting skill in game of softball is arm length, arm muscle power and time reaction

  15. APPLICATION OF MULTIPLE LOGISTIC REGRESSION, BAYESIAN LOGISTIC AND CLASSIFICATION TREE TO IDENTIFY THE SIGNIFICANT FACTORS INFLUENCING CRASH SEVERITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MILAD TAZIK

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Identifying cases in which road crashes result in fatality or injury of drivers may help improve their safety. In this study, datasets of crashes happened in TehranQom freeway, Iran, were examined by three models (multiple logistic regression, Bayesian logistic and classification tree to analyse the contribution of several variables to fatal accidents. For multiple logistic regression and Bayesian logistic models, the odds ratio was calculated for each variable. The model which best suited the identification of accident severity was determined based on AIC and DIC criteria. Based on the results of these two models, rollover crashes (OR = 14.58, %95 CI: 6.8-28.6, not using of seat belt (OR = 5.79, %95 CI: 3.1-9.9, exceeding speed limits (OR = 4.02, %95 CI: 1.8-7.9 and being female (OR = 2.91, %95 CI: 1.1-6.1 were the most important factors in fatalities of drivers. In addition, the results of the classification tree model have verified the findings of the other models.

  16. Insulin-like growth factor 1: common mediator of multiple enterotrophic hormones and growth factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bortvedt, Sarah F; Lund, P Kay

    2012-03-01

    To summarize the recent evidence that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) mediates growth effects of multiple trophic factors and discuss clinical relevance. Recent reviews and original reports indicate benefits of growth hormone (GH) and long-acting glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP2) analogs in short bowel syndrome and Crohn's disease. This review highlights the evidence that biomarkers of sustained small intestinal growth or mucosal healing and evaluation of intestinal epithelial stem cell biomarkers may improve clinical measures of intestinal growth or response to trophic hormones. Compelling evidence that IGF1 mediates growth effects of GH and GLP2 on intestine or linear growth in preclinical models of resection or Crohn's disease is presented, along with a concept that these hormones or IGF1 may enhance sustained growth if given early after bowel resection. Evidence that suppressor of cytokine signaling protein induction by GH or GLP2 in normal or inflamed intestine may limit IGF1-induced growth, but protect against risk of dysplasia or fibrosis, is reviewed. Whether IGF1 receptor mediates IGF1 action and potential roles of insulin receptors are addressed. IGF1 has a central role in mediating trophic hormone action in small intestine. Better understanding of benefits and risks of IGF1, receptors that mediate IGF1 action, and factors that limit undesirable growth are needed.

  17. Performance related factors are the main determinants of the von Willebrand factor response to exhaustive physical exercise

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.E. van Loon (Janine ); M.A.H. Sonneveld (Michelle); S.F.E. Praet (Stephan); M.P.M. de Maat (Moniek); F.W.G. Leebeek (Frank)

    2014-01-01

    textabstractBackground: Physical stress triggers the endothelium to release von Willebrand Factor (VWF) from the Weibel Palade bodies. Since VWF is a risk factor for arterial thrombosis, it is of great interest to discover determinants of VWF response to physical stress. We aimed to determine the

  18. Gender determination from diagnostic factors on anteroposterior pelvic radiographs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azadeh Memarian

    2017-03-01

    Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that the evaluation of the radiographic images of pelvic bones by assessing the mentioned factors can be useful for sex determination from skeletal remains. However, ethical considerations should also be taken into account while using these factors.

  19. The association of reproductive and lifestyle factors with a score of multiple endogenous hormones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shafrir, Amy L; Zhang, Xuehong; Poole, Elizabeth M; Hankinson, Susan E; Tworoger, Shelley S

    2014-10-01

    We recently reported that high levels of multiple sex and growth hormones were associated with increased postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Limited research has explored the relationship between reproductive, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors and levels of multiple hormones simultaneously. This cross-sectional analysis included 738 postmenopausal Nurses' Health Study participants who were controls in a breast cancer nested case-control study and had measured levels of estrone, estradiol, estrone sulfate, testosterone, androstenedione, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, prolactin, and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). A score was created by summing the number of hormones a woman had above (below for SHBG) each hormone's age-adjusted geometric mean. The association between lifestyle, anthropometric, and reproductive exposures and the score was assessed using generalized linear models. The hormone score ranged from 0 to 8 with a mean of 4.0 (standard deviation = 2.2). Body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption at blood draw were positively associated with the hormone score: a 5 unit increase in BMI was associated with a 0.79 (95%CI: 0.63, 0.95) unit increase in the score (p hormones, whereas anthropometric and lifestyle factors, particularly BMI and alcohol consumption, tended to be associated with higher levels of multiple hormones.

  20. Dimensions of insight in schizophrenia: Exploratory factor analysis of items from multiple self- and interviewer-rated measures of insight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konsztowicz, Susanna; Schmitz, Norbert; Lepage, Martin

    2018-03-10

    Insight in schizophrenia is regarded as a multidimensional construct that comprises aspects such as awareness of the disorder and recognition of the need for treatment. The proposed number of underlying dimensions of insight is variable in the literature. In an effort to identify a range of existing dimensions of insight, we conducted a factor analysis on combined items from multiple measures of insight. We recruited 165 participants with enduring schizophrenia (treated for >3years). Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on itemized scores from two interviewer-rated measures of insight: the Schedule for the Assessment of Insight-Expanded and the abbreviated Scale to assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder; and two self-report measures: the Birchwood Insight Scale and the Beck Cognitive Insight Scale. A five-factor solution was selected as the best-fitting model, with the following dimensions of insight: 1) awareness of illness and the need for treatment; 2) awareness and attribution of symptoms and consequences; 3) self-certainty; 4) self-reflectiveness for objectivity and fallibility; and 5) self-reflectiveness for errors in reasoning and openness to feedback. Insight in schizophrenia is a multidimensional construct comprised of distinct clinical and cognitive domains of awareness. Multiple measures of insight, both clinician- and self-rated, are needed to capture all of the existing dimensions of insight. Future exploration of associations between the various dimensions and their potential determinants will facilitate the development of clinically useful models of insight and effective interventions to improve outcome. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Personality factors in recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients: a preliminary investigation with the NEO-FFI scale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Braz de Lima

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This article describes some prevalent personality dimensions of recently diagnosed multiple sclerosis patients. A sample of 33 female recently diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS was assessed with the NEO-FFI personality scale. Beck depression (BDI and anxiety (BAI scales were also used. No significant levels of anxiety or depression were identified in this group. As for personality factors, conscientiousness was the most common factor found, whereas openness to experience was the least observed. Literature on the relationship between personality and MS is scarce and there are no Brazilian studies on this subject. Some personality traits might complicate or facilitate the experience of living with a chronic, disabling and uncertain neurological condition such as MS.

  2. Is personality profile a relevant determinant of fatigue in multiple sclerosis ?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herbert eSchreiber

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The origin and pathophysiological background of MS-associated fatigue is poorly understood. There is no unifying concept of its nature and its determinants to date. This paper reviews possible influences of factors determining personality profile on mental fatigue in MS. Likewise, the role of psychological factors and their interaction with personality to promote fatigue is discussed. Current data suggests that fatigue, especially in early MS states, may be influenced by vulnerable personality traits and personality-associated features. Among them are depressive disease coping, avoidance behavior and inhibition, irritability, less extraversion, neuroticism, disturbed reward responsiveness and somatization behavior. However, among the validated personality factors no genuine influences that are independent of depression have been documented. From a psychological perspective, depressiveness, anxiety and perhaps somatization may be relevant mediators of fatigue. Interesting to note that in early MS a psychiatric diagnosis is significantly more likely than on a later stage of the disease and that fatigue and motivation might share neural circuits. It is hypothesized that psychological factors promote fatigue in MS by psychological distress and sustained neuro-endocrine and neurovegetative stress response. Despite there are limitations of data as discussed in the paper, personality research might help to disentangle specific promoting factors of fatigue in MS. Further research efforts are warranted since they might open ways to early psychological intervention of MS-associated fatigue. This is all the more important since medication is insufficient until now.

  3. Simple and effective method of determining multiplicity distribution law of neutrons emitted by fissionable material with significant self -multiplication effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanjushkin, V.A.

    1991-01-01

    At developing new methods of non-destructive determination of plutonium full mass in nuclear materials and products being involved in uranium -plutonium fuel cycle by its intrinsic neutron radiation, it may be useful to know not only separate moments but the multiplicity distribution law itself of neutron leaving this material surface using the following as parameters - firstly, unconditional multiplicity distribution laws of neutrons formed in spontaneous and induced fission acts of the given fissionable material corresponding nuclei and unconditional multiplicity distribution law of neutrons caused by (α,n) reactions at light nuclei of some elements which compose this material chemical structure; -secondly, probability of induced fission of this material nuclei by an incident neutron of any nature formed during the previous fissions or(α,n) reactions. An attempt to develop similar theory has been undertaken. Here the author proposes his approach to this problem. The main advantage of this approach, to our mind, consists in its mathematical simplicity and easy realization at the computer. In principle, the given model guarantees any good accuracy at any real value of induced fission probability without limitations dealing with physico-chemical composition of nuclear material

  4. Acute Ascending Flaccid Paralysis Secondary to Multiple Trigger Factor Induced Hyperkalemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. H. D. Thilini Hemachandra

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Acute flaccid paralysis is an uncommon, but potentially life threatening, sequel of severe hyperkalemia. Reported primary aetiologies include renal failure, Addison’s disease, potassium sparing diuretics, potassium supplements, and dietary excess. Coconut water, when consumed in excess, has been reported to cause severe hyperkalemia. We report the case of acute ascending flaccid paralysis secondary to hyperkalemia induced by multiple trigger factors—king coconut water, renal failure, diabetes, metabolic acidosis, and potassium sparing diuretics. Case Presentation. A 78-year-old man presented with acute ascending type flaccid paralysis over five-hour duration and subsequently developed preterminal cardiac arrhythmias secondary to severe hyperkalemia (serum potassium: 7.02 mEq/L. He was on Losartan and Spironolactone for ischemic heart disease. Dietary history revealed excessive intake of king coconut water (Cocos nucifera over past one week. Electrocardiogram returned to normal rhythm and serum potassium was 6.1 mEq/L within 2 hours of institution of emergency management for life threatening hyperkalemia. Neurological symptoms completely recovered within twenty-four hours without the need for dialysis. Electromyogram three days after the initial presentation revealed normal findings. Conclusions. The report describes a rare case of secondary hyperkalemic flaccid paralysis induced by multiple trigger factors. It is important that patients with risk factors for hyperkalemia are educated regarding avoiding excess dietary potassium. Regular follow-up of these patients is mandatory with review of medication related side effects and serum electrolytes.

  5. Analysis of Trends and Factors in Breast Multiple Primary Malignant Neoplasms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Motuzyuk

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background: The study aims to evaluate the current state and tendencies in multiple primary breast cancer incidence, behavior, and treatment in Ukraine. Methods: A total of 2032 patients who received special treatment at the Department of Breast Tumors and Reconstructive Surgery of the National Cancer Institute from 2008 to 2015 were included in the study. Among them, there were 195 patients with multiple primary malignant neoplasms: 54.9% patients with synchronous cancer and 45.1% patients with metachronous cancer. The average age of patients was 46.6 years, and the percentage of postmenopausal women was 63.1%. Among patients with synchronous cancer, there were 56.1% patients with only breast localizations and 43.9% with combination of breast and other localizations, and among patients with metachronous cancer, there were 46.6% patients with only breast localizations and 53.4% with combination of breast and other localizations. All the patients were evaluated in terms of aggressiveness of the disease, survival rates, as well as risk factors and treatment options. Results: A more aggressive course of breast cancer is observed in patients exposed to radiation from the Chernobyl accident under the age of 30 years ( P  < .01. The clinical course of disease in patients with synchronous cancer is worse and prognostically unfavorable compared with metachronous cancer ( P  < .01. The course of the disease in patients who underwent mastectomy is worse compared with patients who underwent breast-conserving surgery ( P  < .01. Plastic and reconstructive surgery in patients with synchronous cancer was proven to be reasonable in terms of increase in survival ( P  < .01. Conclusions: The patients with multiple primary breast cancer should have attentive management and treatment. Multidisciplinary team should concern all the risk factors and provide the most sufficient option of management. This is crucial to continue research in this

  6. Using the Coefficient of Determination "R"[superscript 2] to Test the Significance of Multiple Linear Regression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quinino, Roberto C.; Reis, Edna A.; Bessegato, Lupercio F.

    2013-01-01

    This article proposes the use of the coefficient of determination as a statistic for hypothesis testing in multiple linear regression based on distributions acquired by beta sampling. (Contains 3 figures.)

  7. Characteristic Determination Of Self Shielding Factor And Cadmium Ratio Of Cylindrical Probe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamzah, Amir; Budi R, Ita; Pinem, Suriam

    1996-01-01

    Determination of thermal, epithermal and total self shielding factor and cadmium ratio of cylindrical probe has been done by measurement and calculation. Self shielding factor can be determined by dividing probe activity to Al-alloy probe activity. Due to the lack of cylindrical probe made of Al-alloy, self shielding factor can be determined by parabolic extrapolation of measured activities to 0 cm radius to divide those activities. Theoretically, self shielding factor can be determined by making numerical solution of two dimensional integral equations using Romberg method. To simplify, the calculation is based on single collision theory with the assumption of monoenergetic neutron and isotropic distribution. For gold cylindrical probe, the calculation results are quite close to the measurement one with the relative discrepancy for activities, cadmium ratio and self shielding factor of bare probe are less then 11.5%, 3,5% and 1.5% respectively. The program can be used for the calculation of other kinds of cylindrical probes. Due to dependency to radius, cylindrical probe made of copper has the best characteristic of self shielding factor and cadmium ratio

  8. Single-cell multiple gene expression analysis based on single-molecule-detection microarray assay for multi-DNA determination

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Lu [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Wang, Xianwei [School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Zhang, Xiaoli [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Wang, Jinxing [School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China); Jin, Wenrui, E-mail: jwr@sdu.edu.cn [School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100 (China)

    2015-01-07

    Highlights: • A single-molecule-detection (SMD) microarray for 10 samples is fabricated. • The based-SMD microarray assay (SMA) can determine 8 DNAs for each sample. • The limit of detection of SMA is as low as 1.3 × 10{sup −16} mol L{sup −1}. • The SMA can be applied in single-cell multiple gene expression analysis. - Abstract: We report a novel ultra-sensitive and high-selective single-molecule-detection microarray assay (SMA) for multiple DNA determination. In the SMA, a capture DNA (DNAc) microarray consisting of 10 subarrays with 9 spots for each subarray is fabricated on a silanized glass coverslip as the substrate. On the subarrays, the spot-to-spot spacing is 500 μm and each spot has a diameter of ∼300 μm. The sequence of the DNAcs on the 9 spots of a subarray is different, to determine 8 types of target DNAs (DNAts). Thus, 8 types of DNAts are captured to their complementary DNAcs at 8 spots of a subarray, respectively, and then labeled with quantum dots (QDs) attached to 8 types of detection DNAs (DNAds) with different sequences. The ninth spot is used to detect the blank value. In order to determine the same 8 types of DNAts in 10 samples, the 10 DNAc-modified subarrays on the microarray are identical. Fluorescence single-molecule images of the QD-labeled DNAts on each spot of the subarray are acquired using a home-made single-molecule microarray reader. The amounts of the DNAts are quantified by counting the bright dots from the QDs. For a microarray, 8 types of DNAts in 10 samples can be quantified in parallel. The limit of detection of the SMA for DNA determination is as low as 1.3 × 10{sup −16} mol L{sup −1}. The SMA for multi-DNA determination can also be applied in single-cell multiple gene expression analysis through quantification of complementary DNAs (cDNAs) corresponding to multiple messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in single cells. To do so, total RNA in single cells is extracted and reversely transcribed into their cDNAs. Three

  9. Determining of the nuclear composition of primary cosmic rays from the experimental distributions of multiple muons in atmospheric showers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beshtoev, Kh.M.

    1993-01-01

    Various approaches are discussed for determining the nuclear composition of the primary cosmic radiation from the distributions of multiple muons. Results are presented of calculations of the distributions of multiple muons for A 1 , A 4 , A 14 , A 26 , A 56 nuclei for an infinite plane and for the underground scintillation telescope of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Academy of Sciences of Russia.The most suitable technique for determination of the primary nuclear composition of cosmic rays from the distribution of multiple muons is shown to be the approximate solution of a set of N equations, in which the respective coefficients of the contributions of various nuclei A i (i=1-N) to the primary composition serve as variables, while the remaining parts of these equations are the distributions of multiple muons obtained experimentally. 7 refs.; 2 tabs

  10. Adjusting for multiple prognostic factors in the analysis of randomised trials

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background When multiple prognostic factors are adjusted for in the analysis of a randomised trial, it is unclear (1) whether it is necessary to account for each of the strata, formed by all combinations of the prognostic factors (stratified analysis), when randomisation has been balanced within each stratum (stratified randomisation), or whether adjusting for the main effects alone will suffice, and (2) the best method of adjustment in terms of type I error rate and power, irrespective of the randomisation method. Methods We used simulation to (1) determine if a stratified analysis is necessary after stratified randomisation, and (2) to compare different methods of adjustment in terms of power and type I error rate. We considered the following methods of analysis: adjusting for covariates in a regression model, adjusting for each stratum using either fixed or random effects, and Mantel-Haenszel or a stratified Cox model depending on outcome. Results Stratified analysis is required after stratified randomisation to maintain correct type I error rates when (a) there are strong interactions between prognostic factors, and (b) there are approximately equal number of patients in each stratum. However, simulations based on real trial data found that type I error rates were unaffected by the method of analysis (stratified vs unstratified), indicating these conditions were not met in real datasets. Comparison of different analysis methods found that with small sample sizes and a binary or time-to-event outcome, most analysis methods lead to either inflated type I error rates or a reduction in power; the lone exception was a stratified analysis using random effects for strata, which gave nominal type I error rates and adequate power. Conclusions It is unlikely that a stratified analysis is necessary after stratified randomisation except in extreme scenarios. Therefore, the method of analysis (accounting for the strata, or adjusting only for the covariates) will not

  11. Sintering equation: determination of its coefficients by experiments - using multiple regression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Windelberg, D.

    1999-01-01

    Sintering is a method for volume-compression (or volume-contraction) of powdered or grained material applying high temperature (less than the melting point of the material). Maekipirtti tried to find an equation which describes the process of sintering by its main parameters sintering time, sintering temperature and volume contracting. Such equation is called a sintering equation. It also contains some coefficients which characterise the behaviour of the material during the process of sintering. These coefficients have to be determined by experiments. Here we show that some linear regressions will produce wrong coefficients, but multiple regression results in an useful sintering equation. (orig.)

  12. Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

    OpenAIRE

    Yurdanur Dikmen; Dilek Kara Yilmaz; Handenur Basaran; Nasibe Yagmur Filiz

    2016-01-01

    Aim: This study was conducted to determine the factors affecting the labor productivity of nurses. Material and Methods: The study which was planned as descriptive and analytical was carried out with 156 nurses who volunteered to participate in the study in a public hospital in the northwest of Turkey. Data was collected with the and ldquo;Participant Presentation Form and rdquo; and the questionnaire including the factors affecting labor productivity which was developed by Ozkoc (2005). ...

  13. Evidence from intrinsic activity that asymmetry of the human brain is controlled by multiple factors

    OpenAIRE

    Liu, Hesheng; Stufflebeam, Steven M.; Sepulcre, Jorge; Hedden, Trey; Buckner, Randy L.

    2009-01-01

    Cerebral lateralization is a fundamental property of the human brain and a marker of successful development. Here we provide evidence that multiple mechanisms control asymmetry for distinct brain systems. Using intrinsic activity to measure asymmetry in 300 adults, we mapped the most strongly lateralized brain regions. Both men and women showed strong asymmetries with a significant, but small, group difference. Factor analysis on the asymmetric regions revealed 4 separate factors that each ac...

  14. Uranium mass and neutron multiplication factor estimates from time-correlation coincidence counts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xie, Wenxiong [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Center for Strategic Studies, Beijing 100088 (China); Li, Jiansheng [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Institute of Nuclear Physics and Chemistry, Mianyang 621900 (China); Zhu, Jianyu [China Academy of Engineering Physics, Center for Strategic Studies, Beijing 100088 (China)

    2015-10-11

    Time-correlation coincidence counts of neutrons are an important means to measure attributes of nuclear material. The main deficiency in the analysis is that an attribute of an unknown component can only be assessed by comparing it with similar known components. There is a lack of a universal method of measurement suitable for the different attributes of the components. This paper presents a new method that uses universal relations to estimate the mass and neutron multiplication factor of any uranium component with known enrichment. Based on numerical simulations and analyses of 64 highly enriched uranium components with different thicknesses and average radii, the relations between mass, multiplication and coincidence spectral features have been obtained by linear regression analysis. To examine the validity of the method in estimating the mass of uranium components with different sizes, shapes, enrichment, and shielding, the features of time-correlation coincidence-count spectra for other objects with similar attributes are simulated. Most of the masses and multiplications for these objects could also be derived by the formulation. Experimental measurements of highly enriched uranium castings have also been used to verify the formulation. The results show that for a well-designed time-dependent coincidence-count measuring system of a uranium attribute, there are a set of relations dependent on the uranium enrichment by which the mass and multiplication of the measured uranium components of any shape and size can be estimated from the features of the source-detector coincidence-count spectrum.

  15. Determining the Factors Affecting Labor Productivity of Nurses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yurdanur Dikmen

    2016-12-01

    Results: It was found that the 45.5% of nurses participated in the study were in the 23-53 age group, 79.5% were women, 76.9% married, 41.1% associate degree graduates. 42.3% of nurses' durations of professional experience were 0-5 years, 22.4% of nurses were clinical chief, 69.2% were working as shifts. Participants believe that the factors affecting the labor productivity were respectively organizational factors, ergonomic factors and personal factors. When organizational factors was examined; nurses stated that the lack of working personnel in the section, the low wages and unequal wages for the same work, the long working hours and the system which based on personal relations instead of merit were affecting productivity. The factors affecting labor productivity of nurses were not different according to age, gender, education level and marital status (p>0.05, but different according to mode of operation and years of experience (p<0.05. Conclusion: According to this study, it was found that there are many factors that affect the efficiency of the nurses. The most important factors affecting nurses' efficiency were determined as wage and working conditions. [J Contemp Med 2016; 6(4.000: 334-342

  16. Neutron-multiplication measurement instrument

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nixon, K.V.; Dowdy, E.J.; France, S.W.; Millegan, D.R.; Robba, A.A.

    1982-01-01

    The Advanced Nuclear Technology Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory is now using intelligent data-acquisition and analysis instrumentation for determining the multiplication of nuclear material. Earlier instrumentation, such as the large NIM-crate systems, depended on house power and required additional computation to determine multiplication or to estimate error. The portable, battery-powered multiplication measurement unit, with advanced computational power, acquires data, calculates multiplication, and completes error analysis automatically. Thus, the multiplication is determined easily and an available error estimate enables the user to judge the significance of results.

  17. Neutron multiplication measurement instrument

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nixon, K.V.; Dowdy, E.J.; France, S.W.; Millegan, D.R.; Robba, A.A.

    1983-01-01

    The Advanced Nuclear Technology Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory is now using intelligent data-acquisition and analysis instrumentation for determining the multiplication of nuclear material. Earlier instrumentation, such as the large NIM-crate systems, depended on house power and required additional computation to determine multiplication or to estimate error. The portable, battery-powered multiplication measurement unit, with advanced computational power, acquires data, calculates multiplication, and completes error analysis automatically. Thus, the multiplication is determined easily and an available error estimate enables the user to judge the significance of results

  18. Neutron-multiplication measurement instrument

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nixon, K.V.; Dowdy, E.J.; France, S.W.; Millegan, D.R.; Robba, A.A.

    1982-01-01

    The Advanced Nuclear Technology Group of the Los Alamos National Laboratory is now using intelligent data-acquisition and analysis instrumentation for determining the multiplication of nuclear material. Earlier instrumentation, such as the large NIM-crate systems, depended on house power and required additional computation to determine multiplication or to estimate error. The portable, battery-powered multiplication measurement unit, with advanced computational power, acquires data, calculates multiplication, and completes error analysis automatically. Thus, the multiplication is determined easily and an available error estimate enables the user to judge the significance of results

  19. Expanded uncertainty associated with determination of isotope enrichment factors: Comparison of two point calculation and Rayleigh-plot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julien, Maxime; Gilbert, Alexis; Yamada, Keita; Robins, Richard J; Höhener, Patrick; Yoshida, Naohiro; Remaud, Gérald S

    2018-01-01

    The enrichment factor (ε) is a common way to express Isotope Effects (IEs) associated with a phenomenon. Many studies determine ε using a Rayleigh-plot, which needs multiple data points. More recent articles describe an alternative method using the Rayleigh equation that allows the determination of ε using only one experimental point, but this method is often subject to controversy. However, a calculation method using two points (one experimental point and one at t 0 ) should lead to the same results because the calculation is derived from the Rayleigh equation. But, it is frequently asked "what is the valid domain of use of this two point calculation?" The primary aim of the present work is a systematic comparison of results obtained with these two methodologies and the determination of the conditions required for the valid calculation of ε. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the two approaches, the expanded uncertainty (U) associated with determining ε has been calculated using experimental data from three published articles. The second objective of the present work is to describe how to determine the expanded uncertainty (U) associated with determining ε. Comparative methodologies using both Rayleigh-plot and two point calculation are detailed and it is clearly demonstrated that calculation of ε using a single data point can give the same result as a Rayleigh-plot provided one strict condition is respected: that the experimental value is measured at a small fraction of unreacted substrate (f < 30%). This study will help stable isotope users to present their results in a more rigorous expression: ε ± U and therefore to define better the significance of an experimental results prior interpretation. Capsule: Enrichment factor can be determined through two different methods and the calculation of associated expanded uncertainty allows checking its significance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks Four spacecraft determination of shock normals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russell, C. T.; Mellott, M. M.; Smith, E. J.; King, J. H.

    1983-01-01

    ISEE 1, 2, 3, IMP 8, and Prognoz 7 observations of interplanetary shocks in 1978 and 1979 provide five instances where a single shock is observed by four spacecraft. These observations are used to determine best-fit normals for these five shocks. In addition to providing well-documented shocks for future investigations these data allow the evaluation of the accuracy of several shock normal determination techniques. When the angle between upstream and downstream magnetic field is greater than 20 deg, magnetic coplanarity can be an accurate single spacecraft method. However, no technique based solely on the magnetic measurements at one or multiple sites was universally accurate. Thus, the use of overdetermined shock normal solutions, utilizing plasma measurements, separation vectors, and time delays together with magnetic constraints, is recommended whenever possible.

  1. Determinants of Actor Rationality

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ellegaard, Chris

    Industrial companies must exercise influence on their suppliers (or supplier actors). Actor rationality is a central theme connected to this management task. In this article, relevant literature is studied with the purpose of shedding light on determinants of actor rationality. Two buyer-supplier...... relations are investigated in a multiple case study, leading to the proposal of various additional factors that determine and shape actor rationality. Moreover a conceptual model of rationality determinants in the buyer-supplier relation is proposed, a model that may help supply managers analyse...

  2. Impact of neighbourhood land-cover in epiphytic lichen diversity: Analysis of multiple factors working at different spatial scales

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pinho, P.; Augusto, S.; Maguas, C. [Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Centro de Ecologia e Biologia Vegetal (CEBV), 1749-016 Lisbon (Portugal); Pereira, M.J.; Soares, A. [Universidade Tecnica de Lisboa, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Centro de Recursos Naturais e Ambiente (CERENA) Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisbon (Portugal); Branquinho, C. [Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciencias, Centro de Ecologia e Biologia Vegetal (CEBV), 1749-016 Lisbon (Portugal); Universidade Atlantica, Antiga Fabrica da Polvora de Barcarena, 2745-615 Barcarena (Portugal)], E-mail: cmbranquinho@fc.ul.pt

    2008-01-15

    The objective of this work was to determine the impact of neighbourhood land-cover in epiphytic lichen diversity. We used geostatistics to analyse the spatial structure of lichen-indicators (number of lichen species and Lichen Diversity Value) and correlate them to land-cover considering different distances from the observed data. The results showed that lichen diversity was influenced by different environmental factors that act in the same territory but impact lichens at different distances from the source. The differences in the distance of influence of the several land-cover types seem to be related to the size of pollutants/particles that predominantly are dispersed by each land-cover type. We also showed that a local scale of analysis gives a deeper insight into the understanding of lichen richness and abundance in the region. This work highlighted the importance of a multiple spatial scale of analysis to deeply interpret the relation between lichen diversity and the underling environmental factors. - The interpretation of lichen-biodiversity data was improved by using analysis at different scales.

  3. Impact of neighbourhood land-cover in epiphytic lichen diversity: Analysis of multiple factors working at different spatial scales

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pinho, P.; Augusto, S.; Maguas, C.; Pereira, M.J.; Soares, A.; Branquinho, C.

    2008-01-01

    The objective of this work was to determine the impact of neighbourhood land-cover in epiphytic lichen diversity. We used geostatistics to analyse the spatial structure of lichen-indicators (number of lichen species and Lichen Diversity Value) and correlate them to land-cover considering different distances from the observed data. The results showed that lichen diversity was influenced by different environmental factors that act in the same territory but impact lichens at different distances from the source. The differences in the distance of influence of the several land-cover types seem to be related to the size of pollutants/particles that predominantly are dispersed by each land-cover type. We also showed that a local scale of analysis gives a deeper insight into the understanding of lichen richness and abundance in the region. This work highlighted the importance of a multiple spatial scale of analysis to deeply interpret the relation between lichen diversity and the underling environmental factors. - The interpretation of lichen-biodiversity data was improved by using analysis at different scales

  4. Cooperation evolution in random multiplicative environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaari, G.; Solomon, S.

    2010-02-01

    Most real life systems have a random component: the multitude of endogenous and exogenous factors influencing them result in stochastic fluctuations of the parameters determining their dynamics. These empirical systems are in many cases subject to noise of multiplicative nature. The special properties of multiplicative noise as opposed to additive noise have been noticed for a long while. Even though apparently and formally the difference between free additive vs. multiplicative random walks consists in just a move from normal to log-normal distributions, in practice the implications are much more far reaching. While in an additive context the emergence and survival of cooperation requires special conditions (especially some level of reward, punishment, reciprocity), we find that in the multiplicative random context the emergence of cooperation is much more natural and effective. We study the various implications of this observation and its applications in various contexts.

  5. The Five-Factor Model and Self-Determination Theory

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olesen, Martin Hammershøj; Thomsen, Dorthe Kirkegaard; Schnieber, Anette

    This study investigates conceptual overlap vs. distinction between individual differences in personality traits, i.e. the Five-Factor Model; and Self-determination Theory, i.e. general causality orientations. Twelve-hundred-and-eighty-seven freshmen (mean age 21.71; 64% women) completed electronic...

  6. Enhancing China’s energy security: Determining influential factors and effective strategic measures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Sovacool, Benjamin K.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • The most influential factors affecting China’s energy security are identified. • Fuzzy AHP is used to quantify the importance of influential factors. • Strategic measures for enhancing China’s energy security are prioritized. • Fuzzy AHP is used to determine the priorities of the strategic measures. - Abstract: This study investigates the most influential factors affecting China’s energy security. It also identifies the most effective strategic measures for enhancing it. Fuzzy AHP has been used to determine weights for ranking the importance of Chinese energy security factors, and it has also been used to determine the priorities of the strategic measures with respect to enhancing those same factors. The study argues that a low proportion of renewable energy penetration is the most severe factor threatening China’s energy security, and that conducting research and development on energy technologies and improving energy efficiency is the most salient, positive, and necessary strategic measure

  7. Regional determinants of FDI in China: a factor-based approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Martijn A. Boermans; Zhang Yi; Hein Roelfsema

    2011-01-01

    We empirically investigate the factors that drive the uneven regional distribution of foreign direct investment (FDI) across Chinese provinces from 1995 to 2006. We first perform a factor analysis to summarize information embodied in around 40 variables and derive four FDI determinants:

  8. Molecular determinants of epidermal growth factor binding: a molecular dynamics study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jeffrey M Sanders

    Full Text Available The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR is a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family that plays a role in multiple cellular processes. Activation of EGFR requires binding of a ligand on the extracellular domain to promote conformational changes leading to dimerization and transphosphorylation of intracellular kinase domains. Seven ligands are known to bind EGFR with affinities ranging from sub-nanomolar to near micromolar dissociation constants. In the case of EGFR, distinct conformational states assumed upon binding a ligand is thought to be a determining factor in activation of a downstream signaling network. Previous biochemical studies suggest the existence of both low affinity and high affinity EGFR ligands. While these studies have identified functional effects of ligand binding, high-resolution structural data are lacking. To gain a better understanding of the molecular basis of EGFR binding affinities, we docked each EGFR ligand to the putative active state extracellular domain dimer and 25.0 ns molecular dynamics simulations were performed. MM-PBSA/GBSA are efficient computational approaches to approximate free energies of protein-protein interactions and decompose the free energy at the amino acid level. We applied these methods to the last 6.0 ns of each ligand-receptor simulation. MM-PBSA calculations were able to successfully rank all seven of the EGFR ligands based on the two affinity classes: EGF>HB-EGF>TGF-α>BTC>EPR>EPG>AR. Results from energy decomposition identified several interactions that are common among binding ligands. These findings reveal that while several residues are conserved among the EGFR ligand family, no single set of residues determines the affinity class. Instead we found heterogeneous sets of interactions that were driven primarily by electrostatic and Van der Waals forces. These results not only illustrate the complexity of EGFR dynamics but also pave the way for structure-based design of

  9. Multiple Mechanisms are Responsible for Transactivation of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor in Mammary Epithelial Cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rodland, Karin D.; Bollinger, Nikki; Ippolito, Danielle L.; Opresko, Lee; Coffey, Robert J.; Zangar, Richard C.; Wiley, H. S.

    2008-11-14

    REVIEW ENTIRE DOCUMENT AT: https://pnlweb.pnl.gov/projects/bsd/ERICA%20Manuscripts%20for%20Review/KD%20Rodland%20D7E80/HMEC_transactivation_ms01_15+Figs.pdf ABSTRACT: Using a single nontransformed strain of human mammary epithelial cells, we found that the ability of multiple growth factors and cytokines to induce ERK phosphorylation was dependent on EGFR activity. These included lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), uridine triphosphate, growth hormone, vascular endothelial growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and tumor necrosis factoralpha. In contrast, hepatocyte growth factor could stimulate ERK phosphorylation independent of EGFR activity...

  10. Lidar inelastic multiple-scattering parameters of cirrus particle ensembles determined with geometrical-optics crystal phase functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reichardt, J; Hess, M; Macke, A

    2000-04-20

    Multiple-scattering correction factors for cirrus particle extinction coefficients measured with Raman and high spectral resolution lidars are calculated with a radiative-transfer model. Cirrus particle-ensemble phase functions are computed from single-crystal phase functions derived in a geometrical-optics approximation. Seven crystal types are considered. In cirrus clouds with height-independent particle extinction coefficients the general pattern of the multiple-scattering parameters has a steep onset at cloud base with values of 0.5-0.7 followed by a gradual and monotonic decrease to 0.1-0.2 at cloud top. The larger the scattering particles are, the more gradual is the rate of decrease. Multiple-scattering parameters of complex crystals and of imperfect hexagonal columns and plates can be well approximated by those of projected-area equivalent ice spheres, whereas perfect hexagonal crystals show values as much as 70% higher than those of spheres. The dependencies of the multiple-scattering parameters on cirrus particle spectrum, base height, and geometric depth and on the lidar parameters laser wavelength and receiver field of view, are discussed, and a set of multiple-scattering parameter profiles for the correction of extinction measurements in homogeneous cirrus is provided.

  11. Determinant factors influencing efficiency of Fadama Arable crop ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... farm income, output, productivity and farm size and determined factors influencing Fadama farmer's efficiency. The multistage sampling technique was employed in the selection of120 Fadama farmers and their location. One hundred and twenty non-Fadama farmers were drawn using the same technique for comparison.

  12. Risk Factors as Major Determinants of Resilience: A Replication Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eshel, Yohanan; Kimhi, Shaul; Lahad, Mooli; Leykin, Dmitry; Goroshit, Marina

    2018-03-16

    The present study was conducted in the context of current concerns about replication in psychological research. It claims that risk factors should be regarded as an integral part of the definition of individual resilience, which should be defined in terms of the balance between individual strength or protective factors, and individual vulnerability or risk factors (IND-SVR). Five independent samples, including 3457 Israeli participants, were employed to determine the effects of resilience promoting and resilience suppressing variables on the IND-SVR index of resilience, and on its two components: recovery from adversity, and distress symptoms. Five path analyses were employed for determining the role of distress symptoms as a measure of psychological resilience, as compared to other indices of this resilience. Results indicated the major role of risk factors (distress symptoms) as an integral component of resilience. This role was generally replicated in the five investigated samples. Risk factors are legitimate, valid, and useful parts of the definition of psychological resilience. Resilience research has shifted away from studying individual risk factors to investigating the process through which individuals overcome the hardships they experience. The present data seem to suggest that this shift should be reexamined.

  13. Determination of Stress Intensity Factor K1 from Two Fringe Orders by Fringe Multiplication and Sharpening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Lei; Baek, Tae Hyun

    2007-01-01

    Stress intensity factor is one of the most important parameters in fracture mechanics. Both the stress field distribution and the crack propagation are closely related to these parameters. Due to the complexity of actual engineering problems, it is difficult to calculate the stress intensity factor by theoretical formulation, so photoelasticity method is a good choice. In this paper, modified two parameter method is employed to calculate stress intensity factor for opening mode by using data from more than one photoelastic fringe loop. For getting accurate experiment results, the initial fringes are doubled and sharpened by digital image programs from the fringe patterns obtained by a CCD camera. Photoelastic results are compared with those obtained by the use of empirical equation and FEM. Good agreement shows that the methods utilized in experiments are considerably reliable. The photoelastic experiment can be used for bench mark in theoretical study and other experiments

  14. Enhancing China’s Energy Security: Determining Influential Factors and Effective Strategic Measures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ren, Jingzheng; Sovacool, Benjamin

    2014-01-01

    This study investigates the most influential factors affecting China’s energy security. It also identifies the most effective strategic measures for enhancing it. Fuzzy AHP has been used to determine weights for ranking the importance of Chinese energy security factors, and it has also been used...... to determine the priorities of the strategic measures with respect to enhancing those same factors. The study argues that a low proportion of renewable energy penetration is the most severe factor threatening China’s energy security, and that conducting research and development on energy technologies...

  15. B-cell activating factor in the pathophysiology of multiple myeloma: a target for therapy?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hengeveld, P J; Kersten, M J

    2015-01-01

    Multiple myeloma (MM) is a currently incurable malignancy of plasma cells. Malignant myeloma cells (MMCs) are heavily dependent upon the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment for their survival. One component of this tumor microenvironment, B-Cell Activating Factor (BAFF), has been implicated as a key player in this interaction. This review discusses the role of BAFF in the pathophysiology of MM, and the potential of BAFF-inhibitory therapy for the treatment of MM. Multiple studies have shown that BAFF functions as a survival factor for MMCs. Furthermore, MMCs express several BAFF-binding receptors. Of these, only Transmembrane Activator and CAML Interactor (TACI) correlates with the MMC's capability to ligate BAFF. Additionally, the level of expression of TACI correlates with the level of the MMC's BM dependency. Ligation of BAFF receptors on MMCs causes activation of the Nuclear Factor of κ-B (NF-κB) pathway, a crucial pathway for the pathogenesis of many B-cell malignancies. Serum BAFF levels are significantly elevated in MM patients when compared to healthy controls, and correlate inversely with overall survival. BAFF signaling is thus an interesting target for the treatment of MM. Several BAFF-inhibitory drugs are currently under evaluation for the treatment of MM. These include BAFF-monoclonal antibodies (tabalumab) and antibody-drug conjugates (GSK2857916)

  16. Practical criterion for the determination of translation factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riera, A.

    1984-01-01

    Following an idea of Rankin and Thorson, a method is proposed to determine translation factors in the molecular model of atomic collisions, and for low and intermediate nuclear velocities. The method is based on the minimization of a measure of all (electrostatic and dynamical) couplings between the states included in, and those left out from, the molecular expansion. The properties of this measure are discussed. In particular, its evaluation involves the calculation of a few new matrix elements, and this can be performed analytically when Gaussian-type orbitals are used to construct the wave functions. The method also provides a comparison between all approaches that employ translation factors, and a test of the conditions that are usually enforced on these factors

  17. Practical criterion for the determination of translation factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Riera, A.

    1984-11-01

    Following an idea of Rankin and Thorson, a method is proposed to determine translation factors in the molecular model of atomic collisions, and for low and intermediate nuclear velocities. The method is based on the minimization of a measure of all (electrostatic and dynamical) couplings between the states included in, and those left out from, the molecular expansion. The properties of this measure are discussed. In particular, its evaluation involves the calculation of a few new matrix elements, and this can be performed analytically when Gaussian-type orbitals are used to construct the wave functions. The method also provides a comparison between all approaches that employ translation factors, and a test of the conditions that are usually enforced on these factors.

  18. Determining Factors for Delisting of Companies Listed on BM&FBOVESPA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Maria Bortolon

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, the capital market has attracted the interest of scholars and researchers, motivated to understand the process of going public and trading securities of companies on a stock exchange. In this research context, an aspect had been neglected, something which indi cates a gap in the body of knowledge about the capital market and corporate governance: delisting of companies. We aim to identify the determining factors for delisting companies from the Commodity & Futures Exchange BOVESPA (BM&FBOVESPA. Methodologically, this research has related a set of variables collected from secondary data available on the database of the Securities Commission of Brazil (CVM, BM&FBOVESPA, and Economatica. By analyzing 227 listing cancellations, between 2001 and 2012, the results indicate that de listing of companies from BM&FBOVESPA is determined by the following factors: (i greater concentration of ownership and control; (ii lower free float; (iii lower liquidity of shares; (iv greater availability of cash; and (v larger size. The fact that the controlling shareholder is a public or private company determines significant differences in the decision to delist. While in the first case cash availability is the most important factor, in the second liquidity is the main determining factor for delisting. From the academic viewpoint, this research extends the studies on delisting, still incipient in the Brazilian capital market context. For the capital market, identifying the characteristics of companies prone to cancel listing may prevent investors concerned about inherent risks at the time of acquiring shares by the controlling group interested in delisting.

  19. Summarizing description of the stereological equations to determine the stereometry factors of material microstructures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ondracek, G.

    1975-01-01

    The microstructure of a material can be determined quantitatively with the help of stereometric methods and described by stereometric factors. These are phase concentraction factor, form factor and orientation factor for the multiphase material. The determination of these parameters from stereometric measurements is discussed. (GSCH/LH) [de

  20. Adherence to multiple micronutrient powders and associated factors in children aged 6 to 35 months treated in sentinel health facilities, Ministry of Health of Peru.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munares-García, Oscar; Gómez-Guizado, Guillermo

    2016-01-01

    Anemia in children is a public health issue, and the current strategies include treatment and iron supplementation, but their level of adherence or compliance is unknown. To consider the adherence to multiple micronutrient powders and the associated factors. Epidemiological study of active surveillance through sentinel facilities in 2,024 children aged 6 to 35 months treated in health facilities of the Ministry of Health of Peru, from October to December 2014. Household visits were conducted in which counting of multiple micronutrient powders was applied and determined an adherence of consumption ≥ 90% envelopes, besides a form on the associated factors (anemia knowledge, iron-rich food, side effects, dosage regimen, drugs used, and motivation) was applied. Descriptive statistics, χ² test, Odds Ratio with a 95% confidence interval (CI), and binary logistic regression or adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) were used. Of all, 79.1% participants were aged 6 to 23 months; 75.9% received multiple micronutrient powders; and the adherence was equivalent to 24.4% (95%CI 22.3 - 26.6). The factors: continue supplementation (OR = 3.5; 95%CI 1.7 - 7.5); no nausea (OR = 3.0; 95%CI 2.0 - 4.3); no use of antibiotics (OR = 2.5; 95%CI 1.7 - 3.6); and intention to continue treatment (OR = 2.3; 95%CI 1.3 - 4.1) were associated with adherence. The variables: thought of continuing treatment (aOR = 2.6; 95%CI 1.1 - 6.1); presence of side effects, but no discontinuation of the treatment (aOR = 2.5; 95%CI 1.4 - 4.3); no use of antibiotics (aOR = 2.0; 95%CI 1.1 - 3.4); and belief that not only drugs cure anemia (aOR = 1.6; 95%CI 1.0 - 2.6) were associated in the multivariate analysis. There was a low prevalence of adherence to a demanding cut-off point (≥ 90% of envelopes of multiple micronutrient powders), and the associated factors are associated with absence of infections, side effects, and mother's beliefs.

  1. Are religiosity and prayer use related with multiple behavioural risk factors for chronic diseases in European adults aged 50+ years?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linardakis, M; Papadaki, A; Smpokos, E; Sarri, K; Vozikaki, M; Philalithis, A

    2015-05-01

    Behavioural risk factors for chronic diseases involve factors relating to lifestyle habits. This study examined the relationship of religious and spiritual beliefs with the adoption and presence of multiple behavioural risk factors (MBRFs) in European adults. Cross-sectional study. Data were used from 16,557 individuals, aged 50+ years, participating in the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004/05). MBRFs clustering was defined by high body weight, smoking, physical inactivity and risky alcohol consumption, and regression estimations with religiosity and prayer use were assessed based on sampling weights. In total, 79.4% of participants had received religious education, 33.4% had used prayer '≥1 time/day' and 53.3% had clustering of 2+ MBRFs. Lower prevalence of smoking was found in males (20.6% vs. 29.4%, P prayer use (standardized beta = 0.056, P prayer use were related to the presence of fewer MBRFs in European adults aged 50+ years. These lifestyle factors should be assessed as potential determinants of MBRFs adoption when examining chronic disease development in multicultural populations. Copyright © 2015 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. 48 CFR 538.270 - Evaluation of multiple award schedule (MAS) offers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... SERVICES ADMINISTRATION SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTING FEDERAL SUPPLY SCHEDULE CONTRACTING Establishing and Administering Federal Supply Schedules 538.270 Evaluation of multiple award schedule (MAS) offers... determining the Government's price negotiation objectives, consider the following factors: (1) Aggregate...

  3. Characterization and in vivo regulon determination of an ECF sigma factor and its cognate anti-sigma factor in Nostoc punctiforme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Nicole; Lee, Jamie J; Summers, Michael L

    2017-04-01

    Based on primary sequence comparisons and genomic context, Npun_F4153 (SigG)/Npun_F4154 (SapG) of the cyanobacterium Nostoc punctiforme were hypothesized to encode an ECF sigma factor/anti-sigma factor pair. Transcription of sigG increased in heterocysts and akinetes, and after EDTA treatment. Interaction between SigG and the predicted cytoplasmic domain of SapG was observed in vitro. A SigG-GFP translational fusion protein localized to the periphery of vegetative cells in vivo, but lost this association following heat stress. A sigG mutant was unable to survive envelope damage caused by heat or EDTA, but was able to form functional heterocysts. Akinetes in the mutant strain appeared normal, but these cultures were less resistant to lysozyme and cold treatments than those of the wild-type strain. The SigG in vivo regulon was determined before and during akinete differentiation using DNA microarray analysis, and found to include multiple genes with putative association to the cell envelope. Mapped promoters common to both arrays enabled identification of a SigG promoter-binding motif that was supported in vivo by reporter studies, and in vitro by run-off transcription experiments. These findings support SigG/SapG as a sigma/anti-sigma pair involved in repair of envelope damage resulting from exogenous sources or cellular differentiation. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Caregivers of older persons with multiple sclerosis: determinants of health-related quality of life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buhse, Marijean; Della Ratta, Carol; Galiczewski, Janet; Eckardt, Patricia

    2015-04-01

    This study was conducted to determine which factors (clinical and demographic) are associated with mental and physical health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for caregivers of older persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). The Andersen's Healthcare Utilization Model guided this study. Knowledge of identified predictors of HRQOL may prompt nurses who care for persons with MS to address these issues and provide supportive care. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to examine the relationship between patient with MS and caregiver clinical and demographic factors with caregiver physical and mental HRQOL. Patients with MS aged 60 years or older and their caregivers from four MS centers on Long Island, New York, self-selected into this study (n = 102). A caregiver survey was administered that collected demographic information and included validated questionnaires measuring HRQOL, caregiver burden, and caregiver perception of risk for neuropsychological impairment of patients with MS. Patient surveys collected demographic information and validated questionnaires measuring cognition, depression, and disability. Multivariate linear regression was used to examine patient and caregiver variables to explain caregiver physical and mental HRQOL. The caregivers in this study were older (mean age = 61 years) with existing comorbidities. We found that caregiver mental HRQOL was negatively associated with patient depression and, surprisingly, positively associated with caregiver burden and caregiver comorbidity of heart disease. Caregiver physical HRQOL was negatively associated with caregiver comorbidities of arthritis and diabetes and lower household income. The challenges older caregivers face when caring for older persons with MS have been shown to affect their mental and physical QOL. Nurses who care for older patients with MS will increasingly rely on older caregivers to provide patient-centered interventions. This descriptive study, based on the Anderson theoretical

  5. Direct Position Determination of Multiple Non-Circular Sources with a Moving Coprime Array

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yankui Zhang

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Direct position determination (DPD is currently a hot topic in wireless localization research as it is more accurate than traditional two-step positioning. However, current DPD algorithms are all based on uniform arrays, which have an insufficient degree of freedom and limited estimation accuracy. To improve the DPD accuracy, this paper introduces a coprime array to the position model of multiple non-circular sources with a moving array. To maximize the advantages of this coprime array, we reconstruct the covariance matrix by vectorization, apply a spatial smoothing technique, and converge the subspace data from each measuring position to establish the cost function. Finally, we obtain the position coordinates of the multiple non-circular sources. The complexity of the proposed method is computed and compared with that of other methods, and the Cramer–Rao lower bound of DPD for multiple sources with a moving coprime array, is derived. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is not only applicable to circular sources, but can also improve the positioning accuracy of non-circular sources. Compared with existing two-step positioning algorithms and DPD algorithms based on uniform linear arrays, the proposed technique offers a significant improvement in positioning accuracy with a slight increase in complexity.

  6. Direct Position Determination of Multiple Non-Circular Sources with a Moving Coprime Array.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yankui; Ba, Bin; Wang, Daming; Geng, Wei; Xu, Haiyun

    2018-05-08

    Direct position determination (DPD) is currently a hot topic in wireless localization research as it is more accurate than traditional two-step positioning. However, current DPD algorithms are all based on uniform arrays, which have an insufficient degree of freedom and limited estimation accuracy. To improve the DPD accuracy, this paper introduces a coprime array to the position model of multiple non-circular sources with a moving array. To maximize the advantages of this coprime array, we reconstruct the covariance matrix by vectorization, apply a spatial smoothing technique, and converge the subspace data from each measuring position to establish the cost function. Finally, we obtain the position coordinates of the multiple non-circular sources. The complexity of the proposed method is computed and compared with that of other methods, and the Cramer⁻Rao lower bound of DPD for multiple sources with a moving coprime array, is derived. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is not only applicable to circular sources, but can also improve the positioning accuracy of non-circular sources. Compared with existing two-step positioning algorithms and DPD algorithms based on uniform linear arrays, the proposed technique offers a significant improvement in positioning accuracy with a slight increase in complexity.

  7. Application of revised procedure on determining large excess reactivity of operating reactor. Fuel addition method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagao, Yoshiharu

    2002-01-01

    The fuel addition method or the neutron absorption substitution method have been used for determination of large excess multiplication factor of large sized reactors. It has been pointed out, however, that all the experimental methods are possibly not free from the substantially large systematic error up to 20%, when the value of the excess multiplication factor exceeds about 15%Δk. Then, a basic idea of a revised procedure was proposed to cope with the problem, which converts the increase of multiplication factor in an actual core to that in a virtual core by calculation, because its value is in principle defined not for the former but the latter core. This paper proves that the revised procedure is able to be applicable for large sized research and test reactors through the theoretical analyses on the measurements undertaken at the JMTRC and JMTR cores. The values of excess multiplication factor are accurately determined utilizing the whole core calculation by the Monte Carlo code MCNP4A. (author)

  8. Associated Risk Factors of STIs and Multiple Sexual Relationships among Youths in Malawi.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilson Chialepeh N

    Full Text Available Having unprotected sex with multiple sexual partners (MSP is the greatest risk factor for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs among youths. Young people with MSPs are less likely to use a condom and the greater the risk for STIs. This study examines the associated risk factors of STIs and multiple sexual partnerships among youths aged 15-24 years.The Malawi Demographic Health Survey 2010 data was used. Out of a sample of 2,987 males and 9,559 females aged 15-24 years, 2,026 males and 6,470 females were considered in the study. Chi square test and logistic regression techniques were performed. Analysis was performed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22.The results indicate that 1,399 (69.0% males and 2,290 (35.4% females reported multiple sexual partnerships (MSP. Within the rural area, females (n = 1779 were more likely to report MSP than males (n = 1082 and within the urban areas, a higher proportion of females (n = 511 still reported MSP, with males (n = 316. About 78% rural females aged 20-24 years, and about 79% rural males aged 15-19 years reported MSP. The likelihood of MSP was higher among females in the poorest households (OR = 1.31, being married (OR = 5.71 and Catholic males (OR = 1.63, who were married (OR = 1.59. Catholic males (OR = 1.82 in the rural areas, who were married (OR = 1.80 and rural females in the northern region (OR = 1.26 were more likely to have MSP. The odds ratios were higher among urban females in the poorest (OR = 3.45 households who were married (OR = 4.22.Having more than one sexual partner increases the risk of STIs and sexuality education programs should be introduced that emphasize the danger that surrounds MSP.

  9. ALICE measurements in p–Pb collisions: Charged particle multiplicity, centrality determination and implications for binary scaling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toia, Alberica, E-mail: alberica.toia@cern.ch [Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Padova (Italy); Goethe University Frankfurt (Germany)

    2014-06-15

    Measurements of particle production in proton–nucleus collisions provide a reference to disentangle final state effects, i.e. signatures of the formation of a deconfined hot medium, from initial state effects, already present in cold nuclear matter. Since many initial state effects are expected to vary as function of the number of collisions suffered by the incoming proton, it is crucial to estimate the centrality of the collision. In p-Pb collisions categorization of events into different centrality classes using a particle multiplicity distribution is complicated by the low particle multiplicities and the large multiplicity fluctuations. We present ALICE measurements of particle production in p-Pb collisions at √(s{sub NN})=5.02 TeV, including the pseudo-rapidity and transverse momentum dependence, and we discuss the event classification in centrality classes and its implications for the measurements of nuclear modification factors.

  10. Factors influencing changes in health related quality of life of caregivers of persons with multiple chronic conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duggleby, Wendy; Williams, Allison; Ghosh, Sunita; Moquin, Heather; Ploeg, Jenny; Markle-Reid, Maureen; Peacock, Shelley

    2016-05-27

    The majority of care for older adults with multiple chronic conditions (MCC) is provided by family (including friends) caregivers. Although caregivers have reported positive benefits to caregiving they also experience decreases in their physical and mental health. As there is a critical need for supportive interventions for this population, it is important to know what influences the health of family caregivers of persons with MCC. This research examined relationships among the changes from baseline to 6 months in health related quality of life (SF12v2) of family caregivers caring for older adults with multiple chronic conditions and the following factors: a) demographic variables, b) gender identity [Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)] c) changes in general self-efficacy [General Self Efficacy Scale (GSES) (baseline to 6 months) and d)) changes in caregiver burden [Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI)] baseline to 6 months. Specific hypothesis were based on a conceptual framework generated from a literature review. This is a secondary analysis of a study of 194 family caregivers who were recruited from two Canadian provinces Alberta and Ontario. Data were collected in-person, by telephone, by Skype or by mail at two time periods spaced 6 months apart. The sample size for this secondary analysis was n = 185, as 9 participants had dropped out of the study at 6 months. Changes in the scores between the two time periods were calculated for SF12v2 physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS) and the other main variables. Generalized Linear Modeling was then used to determine factors associated with changes in HRQL. Participants who had significantly positive increases in their MCS (baseline to 6 months) reported lower burden (ZBI, p gender identity (which incorporates assertive and instrumental approaches to caregiving), and confidence in the ability to deal with difficult situations was positively related to improvement in mental health for caregivers of

  11. Position and mass determination of multiple particles using cantilever based mass sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dohn, Soeren; Schmid, Silvan; Boisen, Anja; Amiot, Fabien

    2010-01-01

    Resonant microcantilevers are highly sensitive to added masses and have the potential to be used as mass-spectrometers. However, making the detection of individual added masses quantitative requires the position determination for each added mass. We derive expressions relating the position and mass of several added particles to the resonant frequencies of a cantilever, and an identification procedure valid for particles with different masses is proposed. The identification procedure is tested by calculating positions and mass of multiple microparticles with similar mass positioned on individual microcantilevers. Excellent agreement is observed between calculated and measured positions and calculated and theoretical masses.

  12. Multiple Targets for Novel Therapy of FSGS Associated with Circulating Permeability Factor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia J. Savin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available A plasma component is responsible for altered glomerular permeability in patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Evidence includes recurrence after renal transplantation, remission after plasmapheresis, proteinuria in infants of affected mothers, transfer of proteinuria to experimental animals, and impaired glomerular permeability after exposure to patient plasma. Therapy may include decreasing synthesis of the injurious agent, removing or blocking its interaction with cells, or blocking signaling or enhancing cell defenses to restore the permeability barrier and prevent progression. Agents that may prevent the synthesis of the permeability factor include cytotoxic agents or aggressive chemotherapy. Extracorporeal therapies include plasmapheresis, immunoadsorption with protein A or anti-immunoglobulin, or lipopheresis. Oral or intravenous galactose also decreases Palb activity. Studies of glomeruli have shown that several strategies prevent the action of FSGS sera. These include blocking receptor-ligand interactions, modulating cell reactions using indomethacin or eicosanoids 20-HETE or 8,9-EET, and enhancing cytoskeleton and protein interactions using calcineurin inhibitors, glucocorticoids, or rituximab. We have identified cardiotrophin-like cytokine factor 1 (CLCF-1 as a candidate for the permeability factor. Therapies specific to CLCF-1 include potential use of cytokine receptor-like factor (CRLF-1 and inhibition of Janus kinase 2. Combined therapy using multiple modalities offers therapy to reverse proteinuria and prevent scarring.

  13. The basics of experimental determination of the Fano factor in intrinsic semiconductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samedov, Victor-V.

    2013-06-01

    Intrinsic semiconductors such as High Purity Germanium Detectors are exceptional X-ray and gamma-ray detectors because of their large sizes and small band gap. They are used for fundamental scientific researches, nuclear material safeguards and security, environmental protection, and human health and safety. The fundamental limit of the energy resolution of a semiconductor detector is determined by variance in the number of electron-hole pairs produced by X-rays in detector volume. The principal characteristic of material for using as semiconductor detector is the Fano factor that determines the fluctuation in the number of electron-hole pairs. Now, all existing methods of experimental determination of the Fano factor in semiconductors are based on the subtraction of electronic noise from the signal variance. In this work, I propose the method of experimental determination of the Fano factor in a planar semiconductor detector based on dependences of the mean amplitude and the energy resolution on the electric field. It was shown that inverse electric field expansion of these dependences allow determining the Fano factor, electron mobility lifetime product, and relative variance of electron lifetime due to inhomogeneous charge transport in semiconductor material. The important advantage of the proposed method is independence on detector electronic noise. (authors)

  14. Total Ambient Dose Equivalent Buildup Factor Determination for Nbs04 Concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duckic, Paulina; Hayes, Robert B

    2018-06-01

    Buildup factors are dimensionless multiplicative factors required by the point kernel method to account for scattered radiation through a shielding material. The accuracy of the point kernel method is strongly affected by the correspondence of analyzed parameters to experimental configurations, which is attempted to be simplified here. The point kernel method has not been found to have widespread practical use for neutron shielding calculations due to the complex neutron transport behavior through shielding materials (i.e. the variety of interaction mechanisms that neutrons may undergo while traversing the shield) as well as non-linear neutron total cross section energy dependence. In this work, total ambient dose buildup factors for NBS04 concrete are calculated in terms of neutron and secondary gamma ray transmission factors. The neutron and secondary gamma ray transmission factors are calculated using MCNP6™ code with updated cross sections. Both transmission factors and buildup factors are given in a tabulated form. Practical use of neutron transmission and buildup factors warrants rigorously calculated results with all associated uncertainties. In this work, sensitivity analysis of neutron transmission factors and total buildup factors with varying water content has been conducted. The analysis showed significant impact of varying water content in concrete on both neutron transmission factors and total buildup factors. Finally, support vector regression, a machine learning technique, has been engaged to make a model based on the calculated data for calculation of the buildup factors. The developed model can predict most of the data with 20% relative error.

  15. Factors Determining Quality of Care in Family Planning Services in Africa: A Systematic Review of Mixed Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tessema, Gizachew Assefa; Streak Gomersall, Judith; Mahmood, Mohammad Afzal; Laurence, Caroline O

    2016-01-01

    Improving use of family planning services is key to improving maternal health in Africa, and provision of quality of care in family planning services is critical to support higher levels of contraceptive uptake. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the available evidence on factors determining the quality of care in family planning services in Africa. Quantitative and qualitative studies undertaken in Africa, published in English, in grey and commercial literature, between 1990 and 2015 were considered. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using standardized tools. Findings from the quantitative studies were summarized using narrative and tables. Client satisfaction was used to assess the quality of care in family planning services in the quantitative component of the review. Meta-aggregation was used to synthesize the qualitative study findings. From 4334 records, 11 studies (eight quantitative, three qualitative) met the review eligibility criteria. The review found that quality of care was influenced by client, provider and facility factors, and structural and process aspects of the facilities. Client's waiting time, provider competency, provision/prescription of injectable methods, maintaining privacy and confidentiality were the most commonly identified process factors. The quality of stock inventory was the most commonly identified structural factor. The quality of care was also positively associated with privately-owned facilities. The qualitative synthesis revealed additional factors including access related factors such as 'pre-requisites to be fulfilled by the clients and cost of services, provider workload, and providers' behaviour. There is limited evidence on factors determining quality of care in family planning services in Africa that shows quality of care is influenced by multiple factors. The evidence suggests that lowering access barriers and avoiding unnecessary pre-requisites for taking contraceptive

  16. Factors Determining Quality of Care in Family Planning Services in Africa: A Systematic Review of Mixed Evidence.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gizachew Assefa Tessema

    Full Text Available Improving use of family planning services is key to improving maternal health in Africa, and provision of quality of care in family planning services is critical to support higher levels of contraceptive uptake. The objective of this systematic review was to synthesize the available evidence on factors determining the quality of care in family planning services in Africa.Quantitative and qualitative studies undertaken in Africa, published in English, in grey and commercial literature, between 1990 and 2015 were considered. Methodological quality of included studies was assessed using standardized tools. Findings from the quantitative studies were summarized using narrative and tables. Client satisfaction was used to assess the quality of care in family planning services in the quantitative component of the review. Meta-aggregation was used to synthesize the qualitative study findings.From 4334 records, 11 studies (eight quantitative, three qualitative met the review eligibility criteria. The review found that quality of care was influenced by client, provider and facility factors, and structural and process aspects of the facilities. Client's waiting time, provider competency, provision/prescription of injectable methods, maintaining privacy and confidentiality were the most commonly identified process factors. The quality of stock inventory was the most commonly identified structural factor. The quality of care was also positively associated with privately-owned facilities. The qualitative synthesis revealed additional factors including access related factors such as 'pre-requisites to be fulfilled by the clients and cost of services, provider workload, and providers' behaviour.There is limited evidence on factors determining quality of care in family planning services in Africa that shows quality of care is influenced by multiple factors. The evidence suggests that lowering access barriers and avoiding unnecessary pre-requisites for taking

  17. Trends and determining factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART in Cameroon: a systematic review and analysis of the CAMPS trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mbuagbaw Lawrence

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The benefits of antiretroviral therapy (ART cannot be experienced if they are not taken as prescribed. Yet, not all causes of non-adherence are dependent on the patient. Having to pay for medication reduces adherence rates. Non- adherence has severe public health implications which must be addressed locally and globally. This paper seeks to describe the trends in adherence rates reported in Cameroon and to investigate the determinants of adherence to ART in the Cameroon Mobile Phone SMS (CAMPS trial. Methods We conducted a systematic review of electronic databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE and PSYCINFO for publications on adherence to ART in Cameroon (from January 1999 to May 2012 and described the trend in reported adherence rates and the factors associated with adherence. Data were extracted in duplicate. We used multivariable analyses on the baseline data for 200 participants in the CAMPS trial to determine the factors associated with adherence in four models using different measures of adherence (more than 90% or 95% on the visual analogue scale, no missed doses and a composite measure: 100% on the visual analogue scale, no missed doses and all pills taken on time. Results We identified nine studies meeting our inclusion criteria. Adherence to ART in Cameroon has risen steadily between 2000 and 2010, corresponding to reductions in the cost of medication. The factors associated with adherence to ART in Cameroon are grouped into patient, medication and disease related factors. We also identified factors related to the health system and the patient-provider relationship. In the CAMPS trial, education, side effects experienced and number of reminder methods were found to improve adherence, but only using multiple reminder methods was associated with better adherence in all the regression models (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] 4.11, 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.89, 8.93; p Conclusions Reducing the

  18. Determination of Parachute Joint Factors using Seam and Joint Testing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mollmann, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    This paper details the methodology for determining the joint factor for all parachute components. This method has been successfully implemented on the Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) for the NASA Orion crew module for use in determining the margin of safety for each component under peak loads. Also discussed are concepts behind the joint factor and what drives the loss of material strength at joints. The joint factor is defined as a "loss in joint strength...relative to the basic material strength" that occurs when "textiles are connected to each other or to metals." During the CPAS engineering development phase, a conservative joint factor of 0.80 was assumed for each parachute component. In order to refine this factor and eliminate excess conservatism, a seam and joint testing program was implemented as part of the structural validation. This method split each of the parachute structural joints into discrete tensile tests designed to duplicate the loading of each joint. Breaking strength data collected from destructive pull testing was then used to calculate the joint factor in the form of an efficiency. Joint efficiency is the percentage of the base material strength that remains after degradation due to sewing or interaction with other components; it is used interchangeably with joint factor in this paper. Parachute materials vary in type-mainly cord, tape, webbing, and cloth -which require different test fixtures and joint sample construction methods. This paper defines guidelines for designing and testing samples based on materials and test goals. Using the test methodology and analysis approach detailed in this paper, the minimum joint factor for each parachute component can be formulated. The joint factors can then be used to calculate the design factor and margin of safety for that component, a critical part of the design verification process.

  19. Determinant Factors of Green Marketing Adoption in the Hospitality Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liviu B. Vlad

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Green marketing is falling into the category of answers provided by the business world to the requirement to combine the economic development with the preservation of natural resources which represents a pressing concern of the modern times. In this context, the hospitality sector is facing as well an increasing pressure to pay attention to environmental issues, hotel organizations are increasingly tending to use environmentally friendly products and services, and to implement programs to manage energy and water consumption and waste. The adoption of green marketing in hospitality industry is significantly facilitated by internal and external factors. The paper focuses on the analysis of determinant internal factors: first and foremost on the pro-environmental behavior of the hotel managers and employees, and also on the already implemented green practices in the daily hotel activity. The implementation of green marketing strategies further examined being taken into account the organizational change theory, discloses a third determinant factor, namely, to what extent the process of changing is prepared. This paper is advancing an integrated model of determinant internal factors of green marketing implementation in the hospitality sector. The proposed research model has been tested and validated after analyzing the data collected in a quantitative research conducted on 330 managers and employees from the hospitality industry in Romania. The results show that the three predictors - pro-environmental behavior, current green practices and the change readiness - are having a significant influence on the implementation of green marketing.

  20. Multiplication factor evaluation of bare and reflected small fast assemblies using variational methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dwivedi, S.R.; Jain, D.

    1979-01-01

    The multigroup collision probability equations were solved by the variational method to derive a simple relation between the multiplication factor and the size of a small spherical bare or reflected fast reactor. This relation was verified by a number of 26-group, S 4 , transport theory calculations in one-dimensional spherical geometry for enriched uranium and plutonium systems. It has been shown that further approximations to the above relation lead to the universal empirical relation obtained by Anil Kumar. (orig.) [de

  1. Analyzing the Impacts of Alternated Number of Iterations in Multiple Imputation Method on Explanatory Factor Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Duygu KOÇAK

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The study aims to identify the effects of iteration numbers used in multiple iteration method, one of the methods used to cope with missing values, on the results of factor analysis. With this aim, artificial datasets of different sample sizes were created. Missing values at random and missing values at complete random were created in various ratios by deleting data. For the data in random missing values, a second variable was iterated at ordinal scale level and datasets with different ratios of missing values were obtained based on the levels of this variable. The data were generated using “psych” program in R software, while “dplyr” program was used to create codes that would delete values according to predetermined conditions of missing value mechanism. Different datasets were generated by applying different iteration numbers. Explanatory factor analysis was conducted on the datasets completed and the factors and total explained variances are presented. These values were first evaluated based on the number of factors and total variance explained of the complete datasets. The results indicate that multiple iteration method yields a better performance in cases of missing values at random compared to datasets with missing values at complete random. Also, it was found that increasing the number of iterations in both missing value datasets decreases the difference in the results obtained from complete datasets.

  2. Genetic Factors Associated with Risk and Disability Progression of Multiple Sclerosis in Slovak Population

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanysova Sandra

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The aim of our study was to determine the relation of particular genetic variants in selected genes (GSTM1, GSTT1 null genotypes; rs1695 GSTP1; rs10735781 EVI5 to the risk of multiple sclerosis (MS development and find out the possible association with disease disability progression rate. Material and methods: Our study included 202 MS patients and 174 healthy control volunteers. MS patients were divided according to disability progression rate to three groups - slowly progressing, mid-rate progressing and rapidly progressing. All DNA samples were isolated from venous blood. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP and multiplex PCR. Results: Our analysis showed that GSTT1 null genotype (OR 0.56; 95%CI 0.33 -0.95; p=0.04 and GSTM1, GSTT1 double null genotype (OR 0.32; 95%CI 0.14 - 0.74; p=0.006 are potentially protective in relation to MS. We observed similar result in GSTT1 null genotype in association with mid-rate progression (OR 0.48; 95%CI 0.24 - 0.97; p=0.05. Frequency of GSTM1 and GSTT1 double null genotype is significantly lower in subgroup of MS patients with progression rate defined as slow (OR 0.22; 95%CI 0.05 - 0.98; p=0.05 and middle (OR 0.33; 95%CI 0.11 - 0.99; p=0.045. We did not show any significant association of genetic changes rs1695 in GSTP1 and rs10735781 in EVI5 with MS or rate of disease progression. Conclusions: Genetic basis of multiple sclerosis is still not fully elucidated. Further research may clarify our results and confirm the value of studied factors for clinical practice.

  3. The relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms in different racial/ethnic groups of midlife women: the structural equation modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Im, Eun-Ok; Chang, Sun Ju; Chee, Eunice; Chee, Wonshik

    2018-04-09

    The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms in different racial/ethnic groups of midlife women. This secondary analysis was conducted with the data from 980 midlife women that were collected from 2005 to 2013 using the Midlife Women's Symptom Index. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The model had the highest fit indices for Non-Hispanic (NH) White midlife women, and prominent racial/ethnic differences were observed in the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms. In all racial/ethnic groups (except in Hispanic women), perceived health status was significantly associated positively with menopausal symptoms (β = -0.149 for NH African American; β = -0.207 for NH Asians; β = -0.162 for NH Whites). Body mass index was significantly positively associated with menopausal symptoms only in NH Asians (β = 0.118) and Hispanics (β = 0.210). The racial/ethnic differences in the relationships of multiple factors to menopausal symptoms could have resulted from the different cultural contexts in which women undergo during their menopausal transitions. Further cultural studies on the associations of racial/ethnic-specific factors with menopausal symptoms would help in understanding possible causes for racial/ethnic differences in the factors significantly associated with menopausal symptoms.

  4. Parametric modeling for damped sinusoids from multiple channels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Zhenhua; So, Hing Cheung; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2013-01-01

    frequencies and damping factors are then computed with the multi-channel weighted linear prediction method. The estimated sinusoidal poles are then matched to each channel according to the extreme value theory of distribution of random fields. Simulations are performed to show the performance advantages......The problem of parametric modeling for noisy damped sinusoidal signals from multiple channels is addressed. Utilizing the shift invariance property of the signal subspace, the number of distinct sinusoidal poles in the multiple channels is first determined. With the estimated number, the distinct...... of the proposed multi-channel sinusoidal modeling methodology compared with existing methods....

  5. Principle of the determination of neutron multiplication coefficients by the Monte Carlo method. Application. Description of a code for ibm 360-75; Principe de la determination des coefficients de multiplication neutronique par methode de Monte-Carlo. Application. Description d'un code pour IBM 360-75

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moreau, J; Parisot, B [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1969-07-01

    The determination of neutron multiplication coefficients by the Monte Carlo method can be carried out in different ways; the are first examined particularly complex geometries; it makes use of multi-group isotropic cross sections. The performances of this code are illustrated by some examples. (author) [French] La determination des coefficients de multiplication neutronique par methode de Monte Carlo peut se faire par differentes voies, elles sont successivement examinees et comparees. On en deduit un code rapide pour des geometries particulierement complexes, il utilise des sections efficaces multigroupes isotropes. Les performances de ce code sont demontrees par quelques exemples. (auteur)

  6. Logistic regression and multiple classification analyses to explore risk factors of under-5 mortality in bangladesh

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhowmik, K.R.; Islam, S.

    2016-01-01

    Logistic regression (LR) analysis is the most common statistical methodology to find out the determinants of childhood mortality. However, the significant predictors cannot be ranked according to their influence on the response variable. Multiple classification (MC) analysis can be applied to identify the significant predictors with a priority index which helps to rank the predictors. The main objective of the study is to find the socio-demographic determinants of childhood mortality at neonatal, post-neonatal, and post-infant period by fitting LR model as well as to rank those through MC analysis. The study is conducted using the data of Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2007 where birth and death information of children were collected from their mothers. Three dichotomous response variables are constructed from children age at death to fit the LR and MC models. Socio-economic and demographic variables significantly associated with the response variables separately are considered in LR and MC analyses. Both the LR and MC models identified the same significant predictors for specific childhood mortality. For both the neonatal and child mortality, biological factors of children, regional settings, and parents socio-economic status are found as 1st, 2nd, and 3rd significant groups of predictors respectively. Mother education and household environment are detected as major significant predictors of post-neonatal mortality. This study shows that MC analysis with or without LR analysis can be applied to detect determinants with rank which help the policy makers taking initiatives on a priority basis. (author)

  7. Determination of engineering safety factor -routine in Hungary (a methodology for the normal operation local power engineering safety factors)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szecsenyi, Z.; Korpas, L.; Bona, G.; Kereszturi, A.

    2010-01-01

    From the late nineties Paks Nuclear Power Plant-in collaboration with KFKI Atomic Energy Research Institute (KFKI AEKI)- is developing a system for determining the normal operation local power engineering safety factors. The system is based on a Monte Carlo sampling of the uncertain model input parameters. Additionally, the comparison of the calculation to the in-core measurements plays essential role for determining some important input parameters. By using new fuel types and the corresponding more recent detailed technological data, the applied method is being improved from time to time. Presently, the actually used and authorized engineering safety factors at Paks NPP are determined by using this method. In the paper, the system.s main properties are described (not going beyond the possible extent). The main points are as follows:-Mathematical definition of the engineering safety factor;-Sources of the uncertainties;-Input error propagation method constituting the basis of the system;-Flow-chart of the subsequent steps of the determination Finally, in the paper the engineering safety factors values of some selected parameters are presented as examples for demonstration of the capability of the method. (Authors)

  8. Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation of multiple environmental factors for swine building assessment and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Qiuju; Ni, Ji-Qin; Su, Zhongbin

    2017-10-15

    In confined swine buildings, temperature, humidity, and air quality are all important for animal health and productivity. However, the current swine building environmental control is only based on temperature; and evaluation and control methods based on multiple environmental factors are needed. In this paper, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) theory was adopted for multi-factor assessment of environmental quality in two commercial swine buildings using real measurement data. An assessment index system and membership functions were established; and predetermined weights were given using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) combined with knowledge of experts. The results show that multi-factors such as temperature, humidity, and concentrations of ammonia (NH 3 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), and hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) can be successfully integrated in FCE for swine building environment assessment. The FCE method has a high correlation coefficient of 0.737 compared with the method of single-factor evaluation (SFE). The FCE method can significantly increase the sensitivity and perform an effective and integrative assessment. It can be used as part of environmental controlling and warning systems for swine building environment management to improve swine production and welfare. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. The influence of the interactions between anthropogenic activities and multiple ecological factors on land surface temperatures of urban forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Context Land surface temperatures (LSTs) spatio-temporal distribution pattern of urban forests are influenced by many ecological factors; the identification of interaction between these factors can improve simulations and predictions of spatial patterns of urban cold islands. This quantitative research requires an integrated method that combines multiple sources data with spatial statistical analysis. Objectives The purpose of this study was to clarify urban forest LST influence interaction between anthropogenic activities and multiple ecological factors using cluster analysis of hot and cold spots and Geogdetector model. We introduced the hypothesis that anthropogenic activity interacts with certain ecological factors, and their combination influences urban forests LST. We also assumed that spatio-temporal distributions of urban forest LST should be similar to those of ecological factors and can be represented quantitatively. Methods We used Jinjiang as a representative city in China as a case study. Population density was employed to represent anthropogenic activity. We built up a multi-source data (forest inventory, digital elevation models (DEM), population, and remote sensing imagery) on a unified urban scale to support urban forest LST influence interaction research. Through a combination of spatial statistical analysis results, multi-source spatial data, and Geogdetector model, the interaction mechanisms of urban forest LST were revealed. Results Although different ecological factors have different influences on forest LST, in two periods with different hot spots and cold spots, the patch area and dominant tree species were the main factors contributing to LST clustering in urban forests. The interaction between anthropogenic activity and multiple ecological factors increased LST in urban forest stands, linearly and nonlinearly. Strong interactions between elevation and dominant species were generally observed and were prevalent in either hot or cold spots

  10. Production of Multiple Growth Factors by a Newly Established Human Thyroid Carcinoma Cell Line

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoshida, Yataro; Ohashi, Kensaku; Sano, Emiko; Kobayashi, Hisataka; Endo, Keigo; Naruto, Masanobu; Nakamura, Toru

    1992-01-01

    A multiple growth factor‐producing tumor cell line (NIM‐1) was newly established from a patient with thyroid cancer and remarkable neutrophilia. NIM‐1 cells also caused severe neutrophilia in nude mice bearing tumors. NIM‐1‐conditioned medium (NIM‐1CM) contained activities that supported not only granulocyte, macrophage and eosinophil colony formation of human bone marrow cells but also the growth of colony‐stimulating factor (CSF)‐dependent cell lines, NFS60‐KX and TF‐1. Northern blot hybridization analysis revealed the constitutive expression of granulocyte‐CSF (G‐CSF), granulocyte/macrophage‐CSF (GM‐CSF) and interleukin(IL)‐6 mRNAs in NIM‐1 cells. Enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) using NIM‐1CM also confirmed the production of IL‐la and a small amount of IL‐1β besides G‐CSF, GM‐CSF and IL‐6 in NIM‐1 cells. In addition, unexpected production of IL‐11 in NIM‐1 cells was detected by northern blot hybridization analysis and by bioassay using an IL‐11‐dependent cell line. Therefore, NIM‐1 cell line is shown to produce multiple cytokines including potentially megakaryopoietic growth factors such as GM‐CSF, IL‐6 and IL‐11. PMID:1372885

  11. Total-Factor Energy Efficiency (TFEE Evaluation on Thermal Power Industry with DEA, Malmquist and Multiple Regression Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-Peng Liu

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Under the background of a new round of power market reform, realizing the goals of energy saving and emission reduction, reducing the coal consumption and ensuring the sustainable development are the key issues for thermal power industry. With the biggest economy and energy consumption scales in the world, China should promote the energy efficiency of thermal power industry to solve these problems. Therefore, from multiple perspectives, the factors influential to the energy efficiency of thermal power industry were identified. Based on the economic, social and environmental factors, a combination model with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA and Malmquist index was constructed to evaluate the total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE in thermal power industry. With the empirical studies from national and provincial levels, the TFEE index can be factorized into the technical efficiency index (TECH, the technical progress index (TPCH, the pure efficiency index (PECH and the scale efficiency index (SECH. The analysis showed that the TFEE was mainly determined by TECH and PECH. Meanwhile, by panel data regression model, unit coal consumption, talents and government supervision were selected as important indexes to have positive effects on TFEE in thermal power industry. In addition, the negative indexes, such as energy price and installed capacity, were also analyzed to control their undesired effects. Finally, considering the analysis results, measures for improving energy efficiency of thermal power industry were discussed widely, such as strengthening technology research and design (R&D, enforcing pollutant and emission reduction, distributing capital and labor rationally and improving the government supervision. Relative study results and suggestions can provide references for Chinese government and enterprises to enhance the energy efficiency level.

  12. Determination of shielding factors for typical buildings in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salinas, Isabel Cristina Poquet

    2006-10-01

    This study presents a methodology for the determination of the air kerma inside buildings due to contamination on the external surfaces and the shielding factors for the construction material to be used on emergency assessment systems for urban areas. The commonly used construction materials were simulated with the MCNP computer code. A special methodology to simulate the bricks with holes were developed, mixing all different regions into a single one, making the simulation easier and faster. The effective density and the attenuation coefficients for the 50-3000 keV energy range were determined. The effective protection for the bricks with no cement cover decreases by 40-50% for energies greater then 300 keV when compared to bricks covered on both sides. With the data made available it was possible to evaluate the influence of the construction materials densities and thickness on the exposure due to external surfaces contamination and to estimate the error on the dose when the shielding factor applied on the calculation differs from the more realistic ones. The shielding factors for three types of walls were determined for a five rooms house. Special protection procedures should be applied for houses built with bricks with no cement cover, because they are due to the double of the dose when compared to houses built with bricks two-sided cement covered. The influence of windows and doors were evaluated too. This work was developed at the IRD in order to provide information on the construction material commonly uses on building in Brazil. (author)

  13. Accurate multiplicity scaling in isotopically conjugate reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golokhvastov, A.I.

    1989-01-01

    The generation of accurate scaling of mutiplicity distributions is presented. The distributions of π - mesons (negative particles) and π + mesons in different nucleon-nucleon interactions (PP, NP and NN) are described by the same universal function Ψ(z) and the same energy dependence of the scale parameter which determines the stretching factor for the unit function Ψ(z) to obtain the desired multiplicity distribution. 29 refs.; 6 figs

  14. Covariance among multiple health risk behaviors in adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kayla de la Haye

    Full Text Available In a diverse group of early adolescents, this study explores the co-occurrence of a broad range of health risk behaviors: alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use; physical inactivity; sedentary computing/gaming; and the consumption of low-nutrient energy-dense food. We tested differences in the associations of unhealthy behaviors over time, and by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.Participants were 8360 students from 16 middle schools in California (50% female; 52% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 16% White, and 15% Black/multiethnic/other. Behaviors were measured with surveys in Spring 2010 and Spring 2011. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to assess if an underlying factor accounted for the covariance of multiple behaviors, and composite reliability methods were used to determine the degree to which behaviors were related.The measured behaviors were explained by two moderately correlated factors: a 'substance use risk factor' and an 'unhealthy eating and sedentary factor'. Physical inactivity did not reflect the latent factors as expected. There were few differences in the associations among these behaviors over time or by demographic characteristics.Two distinct, yet related groups of health compromising behaviors were identified that could be jointly targeted in multiple health behavior change interventions among early adolescents of diverse backgrounds.

  15. A systematic review of factors associated with accidental falls in people with multiple sclerosis: a meta-analytic approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giannì, Costanza; Prosperini, Luca; Jonsdottir, Johanna; Cattaneo, Davide

    2014-07-01

    To determine whether there are demographic, clinical, and instrumental variables useful to detect fall status of patients with multiple sclerosis. PubMed and the Cochrane Library. Eligible studies were identified by two independent investigators. Only studies having a clear distinction between fallers and non-fallers were included and meta-analysed. Odds ratios (ORs) and standard mean differences (SMDs) were calculated and pooled using fixed effect models. Among 115 screened articles, 15 fulfilled criteria for meta-analyses, with a total of 2425 patients included. Proportion of fallers may vary from 30% to 63% in a time frame from 1 to 12 months. No significant publication bias was found, even though 12/15 studies relied on retrospective reports of falls, thus introducing recall biases. Risk factors for falls varied across studies, owing to heterogeneity of populations included and clinical instruments used. The meta-analytic approach found that, compared with non-fallers, fallers had longer disease duration (SMD = 0.14, p = 0.02), progressive course of disease (OR = 2.02, p < 0.0001), assistive device for walking (OR = 3.16, p < 0.0001), greater overall disability level (SMD = 0.74, p < 0.0001), slower walking speed (SMD = 0.45, p = 0.0005), and worse performances in balance tests (Berg Balance Scale: SMD = -0.48, p = 0.002; Timed up-and-go test, SMD = 0.31, p = 0.04), and force-platform measures (postural sway) with eyes opened (SMD = 0.71, p = 0.006) and closed (SMD = 0.83, p = 0.01), respectively. Elucidations regarding risk factors for accidental falls in patients with multiple sclerosis (PwMs) are provided here, with worse disability score, progressive course, use of walking aid, and poorer performances in static and dynamic balance tests strongly associated with fall status. © The Author(s) 2014.

  16. [Information processing speed and influential factors in multiple sclerosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, M L; Xu, E H; Dong, H Q; Zhang, J W

    2016-04-19

    To study the information processing speed and the influential factors in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. A total of 36 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), 21 patients with secondary progressive MS (SPMS), and 50 healthy control subjects from Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between April 2010 and April 2012 were included into this cross-sectional study.Neuropsychological tests was conducted after the disease had been stable for 8 weeks, including information processing speed, memory, executive functions, language and visual perception.Correlation between information processing speed and depression, fatigue, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) were studied. (1)MS patient groups demonstrated cognitive deficits compared to healthy controls.The Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT) (control group 57±12; RRMS group 46±17; SPMS group 35±10, Pinformation processing (Pinformation processing speed, verbal memory and executive functioning are seen in MS patients, especially in SPMS subtype, while visual-spatial function is relatively reserved.Age, white matter change scales, EDSS scores, depression are negatively associated with information processing speed.

  17. KAP Surveys and Dengue Control in Colombia: Disentangling the Effect of Sociodemographic Factors Using Multiple Correspondence Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Rocío Higuera-Mendieta

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available During the last few decades, several studies have analyzed and described knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP of populations regarding dengue. However, few studies have applied geometric data analytic techniques to generate indices from KAP domains. Results of such analyses have not been used to determine the potential effects of sociodemographic variables on the levels of KAP. The objective was to determine the sociodemographic factors related to different levels of KAP regarding dengue in two hyper-endemic cities of Colombia, using a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA technique. In the context of a cluster randomized trial, 3,998 households were surveyed in Arauca and Armenia between 2012 and 2013. To generate KAP indexes, we performed a MCA followed by a hierarchical cluster analysis to classify each score in different groups. A quantile regression for each of the score groups was conducted. KAP indexes explained 56.1%, 79.7%, and 83.2% of the variance, with means of 4.2, 1.4, and 3.2 and values that ranged from 1 to 7, 7 and 11, respectively. The highest values of the index denoted higher levels of knowledge and practices. The attitudes index did not show the same relationship and was excluded from the analysis. In the quantile regression, age (0.06; IC: 0.03, 0.09, years of education (0.14; IC: 0.06, 0.22, and history of dengue in the family (0.21; IC: 0.12, 0.31 were positively related to lower levels of knowledge regarding dengue. The effect of such factors gradually decreased or disappeared when knowledge was higher. The practices indexes did not evidence a correlation with sociodemographic variables. These results suggest that the transformation of categorical variables into a single index by the use of MCA is possible when analyzing knowledge and practices regarding dengue from KAP questionnaires. Additionally, the magnitude of the effect of socioeconomic variables on the knowledge scores varies according to the levels of

  18. System-level determinants of immunization coverage disparities among health districts in Burkina Faso: a multiple case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haddad, Slim; Bicaba, Abel; Feletto, Marta; Taminy, Elie; Kabore, Moussa; Ouédraogo, Boubacar; Contreras, Gisèle; Larocque, Renée; Fournier, Pierre

    2009-10-14

    Despite rapid and tangible progress in vaccine coverage and in premature mortality rates registered in sub-Saharan Africa, inequities to access remain firmly entrenched, large pockets of low vaccination coverage persist, and coverage often varies considerably across regions, districts, and health facilities' areas of responsibility. This paper focuses on system-related factors that can explain disparities in immunization coverage among districts in Burkina Faso. A multiple-case study was conducted of six districts representative of different immunization trends and overall performance. A participative process that involved local experts and key actors led to a focus on key factors that could possibly determine the efficiency and efficacy of district vaccination services: occurrence of disease outbreaks and immunization days, overall district management performance, resources available for vaccination services, and institutional elements. The methodology, geared toward reconstructing the evolution of vaccine services performance from 2000 to 2006, is based on data from documents and from individual and group interviews in each of the six health districts. The process of interpreting results brought together the field personnel and the research team. The districts that perform best are those that assemble a set of favourable conditions. However, the leadership of the district medical officer (DMO) appears to be the main conduit and the rallying point for these conditions. Typically, strong leadership that is recognized by the field teams ensures smooth operation of the vaccination services, promotes the emergence of new initiatives and offers some protection against risks related to outbreaks of epidemics or supplementary activities that can hinder routine functioning. The same is true for the ability of nurse managers and their teams to cope with new situations (epidemics, shortages of certain stocks). The discourse on factors that determine the performance or

  19. Analysis of Product Sampling for New Product Diffusion Incorporating Multiple-Unit Ownership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhineng Hu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Multiple-unit ownership of nondurable products is an important component of sales in many product categories. Based on the Bass model, this paper develops a new model considering the multiple-unit adoptions as a diffusion process under the influence of product sampling. Though the analysis aims to determine the optimal dynamic sampling effort for a firm and the results demonstrate that experience sampling can accelerate the diffusion process, the best time to send free samples is just before the product being launched. Multiple-unit purchasing behavior can increase sales to make more profit for a firm, and it needs more samples to make the product known much better. The local sensitivity analysis shows that the increase of both external coefficients and internal coefficients has a negative influence on the sampling level, but the internal influence on the subsequent multiple-unit adoptions has little significant influence on the sampling. Using the logistic regression along with linear regression, the global sensitivity analysis gives a whole analysis of the interaction of all factors, which manifests the external influence and multiunit purchase rate are two most important factors to influence the sampling level and net present value of the new product, and presents a two-stage method to determine the sampling level.

  20. Adaptation of a Counseling Intervention to Address Multiple Cancer Risk Factors among Overweight/Obese Latino Smokers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Yessenia; Fernández, Maria E.; Strong, Larkin L.; Stewart, Diana W.; Krasny, Sarah; Hernandez Robles, Eden; Heredia, Natalia; Spears, Claire A.; Correa-Fernández, Virmarie; Eakin, Elizabeth; Resnicow, Ken; Basen-Engquist, Karen; Wetter, David W.

    2015-01-01

    More than 60% of cancer-related deaths in the United States are attributable to tobacco use, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity, and these risk factors tend to cluster together. Thus, strategies for cancer risk reduction would benefit from addressing multiple health risk behaviors. We adapted an evidence-based intervention grounded in social…

  1. Effect of boron and gadolinium concentration on the calculated neutron multiplication factor of U(3)O2 fuel pins in optimum geometries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, J.T.

    1984-10-01

    The KENO-Va improved Monte Carlo criticality program is used to calculate the neutron multiplication factor for TMI-U2 fuel compositions in a variety of configurations and to display parametric regions giving rise to maximum reactivity contributions. The lattice pitch of UO 2 fuel pins producing a maximum k/sub eff/ is determined as a function of boron concentrations in the coolant for infinite and finite systems. The characteristics of U 3 O 8 -coolant mixtures of interest to modeling the rubble region of the core are presented. Several disrupted core configurations are calculated and comparisons made. The results should be useful to proposed defueling of the TMI-U2 reactor

  2. Comparison of influencing factors on outcomes of single and multiple road traffic injuries: A regional study in Shanghai, China (2011-2014.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenya Yu

    Full Text Available To identify key intervention factors and reduce road traffic injury (RTI-associated mortality, this study compared outcomes and influencing factors of single and multiple road traffic injuries (RTIs in Shanghai.Based on the design of National Trauma Data Bank, this study collected demographic, injury, and outcome data from RTI patients treated at the four largest trauma centers in Shanghai from January 2011 to January 2015. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, univariate analysis, and hierarchical logistic regression analysis.Among 2397 participants, 59.4% had a single injury, and 40.6% had multiple injuries. Most patients' outcome was cure or improvement. For single-RTI patients, length of stay, body region, central nervous system injury, acute renal failure, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, bacterial infection, and coma were significantly related to outcome. For multiple-RTI patients, age, admission pathway, prehospital time, length of stay, number of body regions, body region, injury condition, injury severity score, and coma were significantly related to outcome.Emergency rescue in road traffic accidents should focus on high-risk groups (the elderly, high-incidence body regions (head, thorax, pelvis and number of injuries, injury condition (central nervous system injury, coma, complications, admission pathway, injury severity (critically injured patients, and time factors (particularly prehospital time.

  3. Multiple spacecraft observations of interplanetary shocks: four spacecraft determination of shock normals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, C.T.; Mellott, M.M.; Smith, E.J.; King, J.H.

    1983-01-01

    ISEE 1,2,3 IMP8, and Prognoz 7 observations of interplanetary shocks in 1978 and 1979 provide five instances where a single shock is observed by four spacecraft. These observations are used to determine best-fit normals for these five shocks. In addition to providing well-documented shocks for furture techniques. When the angle between upstream and downstream magnetic field is greater than 20, magnetic coplanarity can be an accurate single spacecraft method. However, no technique based solely on the magnetic measurements at one or multiple sites was universally accurate. Thus, we recommend using overdetermined shock normal solutions whenever possible, utilizing plasma measurements, separation vectors, and time delays together with magnetic constraints

  4. The Role of Environment and Lifestyle in Determining the Risk of Multiple Sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedström, Anna Karin; Olsson, Tomas; Alfredsson, Lars

    2015-01-01

    MS is a complex disease where both genetic and environmental factors contribute to disease susceptibility. The substantially increased risk of developing MS in relatives of affected individuals gives solid evidence for a genetic base for susceptibility, whereas the modest familial risk, most strikingly demonstrated in the twin studies, is a very strong argument for an important role of lifestyle/environmental factors in determining the risk of MS, sometimes interacting with MS risk genes. Lifestyle factors and environmental exposures are harder to accurately study and quantify than genetic factors. However, it is important to identify these factors since they, as opposed to risk genes, are potentially preventable. We have reviewed the evidence for environmental factors that have been repeatedly shown to influence the risk of MS: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure habits /vitamin D status, and smoking. We have also reviewed a number of additional environmental factors, published in the past 5 years, that have been described to influence MS risk. Independent replication, preferably by a variety of methods, may give still more firm evidence for their involvement.

  5. Using impedance cardiography to detect subclinical cardiovascular disease in women with multiple risk factors: a pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Demarzo, Arthur P

    2009-01-01

    Early detection of cardiovascular disease (CVD) could initiate appropriate treatment and prevent progression. This study used impedance cardiography (ICG) waveform analysis with postural change to detect functional CVD in women older than 40 years with no history of CVD and >or=2 of the following risk factors: cigarette smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, central adiposity, family history of premature CVD, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. A study group of 32 women underwent ICG in standing and supine positions. An age-matched control group had 20 women with an active lifestyle, no risk factors, and no history of CVD. All women in the control group had normal ICG data. All women in the study group had some abnormal ICG data, with 28 (87.5%) having multiple ICG abnormalities. ICG data indicated that 13 (40.6%) had ventricular dysfunction, 14 (43.8%) had high vascular resistive load, and 30 (93.8%) had elevated vascular pulsatile load. The data suggest that subclinical CVD, detectable by ICG, is prevalent in women older than 40 years with multiple risk factors. Abnormal ICG results could expedite the initiation of customized treatment as part of a preventive approach to CVD. (c) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  6. Analysis of different multiplicities and their interference in quasi-elastic cluster knock-out by fast hadrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golovanova, N.F.; Ibraeva, E.T.; Neudatchin, V.G.

    1978-01-01

    Different multiplicities and their interference in hadron scattering have been investigated on the basis of a new dynamic approach to quasi-elastic knock-out of nucleon clusters by fast hadrons from light nuclei. It is shown that in the region of momentum transfer values p, where scattering multiplicities less than b are predominant, the effective numbers and form factors determined in Refs. 1) -- 3) no longer act as pure structural nuclear factors (b means the number of nucleons in the knocked-out cluster). These characteristics are significantly dependent on the process dynamics. Only in the region of values p, where the maximum hadron scattering multiplicity b is realized, the effective numbers and form factors do assume the purely structural meaning. (auth.)

  7. Serum Parathyroid Hormone Is a New Potential Risk Factor in Multiple Myeloma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min-Gu Kang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We hypothesized that serum PTH might be associated with various clinicopathological parameters in multiple myeloma (MM. So we investigated the implications of serum PTH in MM patients and the relationship with other risk factors of MM. A total of 115 patients who were newly diagnosed with MM were enrolled. Serum PTH level was 24.7 ± 34.9 (ranged 0.0–284.1 pg/mL. Serum levels of IgG, IgM, FLC-lambda, albumin, and LDH were in positive correlation with serum PTH. Compared to non-high PTH (<68.3 pg/mL group, the hazard ratio (HR for overall survival was higher for group with high PTH level (≥68.3 pg/mL (HR, 1.710. Furthermore, the patient group with high PTH level showed inferior progression-free survival than non-high PTH group (P=0.056. Interestingly, subgroup analysis showed that serum PTH level at diagnosis was associated with risk factors and clinical outcome in MM patients, especially in complete remission group, transplantation cases, ISS stage II cases, and cases without chromosome abnormality. In conclusion, this study showed that blood PTH level in MM at diagnosis was associated with risk factors and clinical outcome in MM patients.

  8. Discomfort associated with fixed orthodontic appliances: determinant factors and influence on quality of life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro Silva Marques

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To investigate the determinant factors of discomfort attributed to the use of fixed orthodontic appliance and the effect on the quality of life of adolescents. MATERIAL AND METHODS : Two hundred and seventy-two individuals aged between 9 and 18 years old, enrolled in public and private schools and undergoing orthodontic treatment with fixed appliance participated in this cross-sectional study. The participants were randomly selected from a sample comprising 62,496 individuals of the same age group. Data was collected by means of questionnaires and an interview. Discomfort intensity and bio-psychosocial variables were assessed using the Oral Impact on Daily Performance questionnaire. Self-esteem was determined using the Global Negative Self-Evaluation questionnaire. Statistical analysis involved the chi-square test and both simple and multiple Poisson regression analyses. RESULTS: Although most individuals did not present discomfort, there was a prevalence of 15.9% of impact on individuals' daily life exclusively due to the use of fixed orthodontic appliance . Age [PR: 3.2 (95% CI: 1.2-8.5], speech impairment [PR: 2.2 (95% CI: 1.1-4.6], poor oral hygiene [PR: 2.4 (95% CI: 1.2-4.8] and tooth mobility [PR: 3.9 (95% CI: 1.8-8.1] remained independently associated with a greater prevalence of discomfort (P ≤ 0.05. CONCLUSIONS: Discomfort associated with the use of fixed orthodontic appliances exerted a negative influence on the quality of life of the adolescents comprising the present study. The determinants of this association were age, poor oral hygiene, speech impairment and tooth mobility.

  9. Determination of nuclear friction in strongly damped reactions from prescission neutron multiplicities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilczynski, J.; Siwek-Wilczynska, K.; Wilschut, H.W.

    1996-01-01

    Nonfusion, fissionlike reactions in collisions of four heavy systems (well below the fusion extra-push energy threshold), for which Hinde and co-workers had measured the prescission neutron multiplicities, have been analyzed in terms of the deterministic dynamic model of Feldmeier coupled to a time-dependent statistical cascade calculation. In order to reproduce the measured prescission multiplicities and the observed (nearly symmetric) mass divisions, the energy dissipation must be dramatically changed with regard to the standard one-body dissipation: In the entrance channel, in the process of forming a composite system, the energy dissipation has to be reduced to at least half of the one-body dissipation strength (k s in ≤0.5), and in the exit channel (from a mononucleus shape to scission) it must be increased by a factor ranging for the studied reactions from k s out =4 to k s out =12. These results are compared with the temperature dependence of the friction coefficient, recently deduced by Hofman, Back, and Paul from data on the prescission giant dipole resonance emission in fusion-fission reactions. The combined picture of the temperature dependence of the friction coefficient, for both fusion-fission and nonfusion reactions, may indicate the onset of strong two-body dissipation already at a nuclear temperature of about 2 MeV. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  10. A local factorization of the fermion determinant in lattice QCD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ce, Marco [Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa (Italy); INFN, Pisa (Italy); Giusti, Leonardo [Milano-Bicocca Univ. (Italy). Dipartimento di Fisica; INFN, Milano-Bicocca (Italy); Schaefer, Stefan [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Zeuthen (Germany). John von Neumann-Inst. fuer Computing NIC

    2016-09-15

    We introduce a factorization of the fermion determinant in lattice QCD with Wilson-type fermions that leads to a bosonic action which is local in the block fields. The interaction among gauge fields on distant blocks is mediated by multiboson fields located on the boundaries of the blocks. The resultant multiboson domain-decomposed hybrid Monte Carlo passes extensive numerical tests carried out by measuring standard gluonic observables. The combination of the determinant factorization and of the one of the propagator, that we put forward recently, paves the way for multilevel Monte Carlo integration in the presence of fermions. We test this possibility by computing the disconnected correlator of two flavor-diagonal pseudoscalar densities, and we observe a significant increase of the signal-to-noise ratio due to a two-level integration.

  11. How multiplicity determines entropy and the derivation of the maximum entropy principle for complex systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanel, Rudolf; Thurner, Stefan; Gell-Mann, Murray

    2014-05-13

    The maximum entropy principle (MEP) is a method for obtaining the most likely distribution functions of observables from statistical systems by maximizing entropy under constraints. The MEP has found hundreds of applications in ergodic and Markovian systems in statistical mechanics, information theory, and statistics. For several decades there has been an ongoing controversy over whether the notion of the maximum entropy principle can be extended in a meaningful way to nonextensive, nonergodic, and complex statistical systems and processes. In this paper we start by reviewing how Boltzmann-Gibbs-Shannon entropy is related to multiplicities of independent random processes. We then show how the relaxation of independence naturally leads to the most general entropies that are compatible with the first three Shannon-Khinchin axioms, the (c,d)-entropies. We demonstrate that the MEP is a perfectly consistent concept for nonergodic and complex statistical systems if their relative entropy can be factored into a generalized multiplicity and a constraint term. The problem of finding such a factorization reduces to finding an appropriate representation of relative entropy in a linear basis. In a particular example we show that path-dependent random processes with memory naturally require specific generalized entropies. The example is to our knowledge the first exact derivation of a generalized entropy from the microscopic properties of a path-dependent random process.

  12. Determining critical success factor of it project management and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Determining critical success factor of it project management and its influence towards the ... Journal of Fundamental and Applied Sciences ... respondents who have background in IT management in both public and private sector to gain ...

  13. Reciprocal modulation of internal and external factors determines individual movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Jodie; van Moorter, Bram; Revilla, Eloy; Blanchard, Pierrick; Dray, Stéphane; Quenette, Pierre-Yves; Allainé, Dominique; Swenson, Jon E

    2013-03-01

    Movement is fundamental to individual and population dynamics, as it allows individuals to meet their basic requirements. Although movement patterns reflect interactions between internal and external factors, only few studies have examined the effects of these factors on movement simultaneously, and they generally focused on particular biological contexts (e.g. dispersal, foraging). However, the relative importance of these factors in driving individual routine movements might reflect a species' potential flexibility to cope with landscape changes and therefore buffer their potential impact on fitness. We used data from GPS collars on Scandinavian brown bears to investigate the relative role of these factors, as well as an additional factor (period of the year) on routine movements at two spatial scales (hourly and daily relocations). As expected, internal factors played a major role in driving movement, compared to external factors at both scales, but its relative importance was greater at a finer scale. In particular, the interaction between reproductive status and period of the year was one of the most influential variables, females being constrained by the movement capacity of their cubs in the first periods of the year. The effect of human disturbance on movement was also greater for females with cubs than for lone females. This study showed how reciprocal modulation of internal and external factors is shaping space use of brown bears. We stress that these factors should be studied simultaneously to avoid the risk of obtaining context-dependent inferences. Moreover, the study of their relative contribution is also highly relevant in the context of multiple-use landscapes, as human activities generally affect the landscape more than they affect the internal states of an individual. Species or individuals with important internal constraints should be less responsive to changes in their environment as they have less freedom from internal constraints and should

  14. Historical Perspective and Risk of Multiple Neglected Tropical Diseases in Coastal Tanzania: Compositional and Contextual Determinants of Disease Risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armah, Frederick Ato; Quansah, Reginald; Luginaah, Isaac; Chuenpagdee, Ratana; Hambati, Herbert; Campbell, Gwyn

    2015-01-01

    In the past decade, research on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) has intensified in response to the need to enhance community participation in health delivery, establish monitoring and surveillance systems, and integrate existing disease-specific treatment programs to control overlapping NTD burdens and detrimental effects. In this paper, we evaluated the geographical distribution of NTDs in coastal Tanzania. We also assessed the collective (compositional and contextual) factors that currently determine risks to multiple NTDs using a cross sectional survey of 1253 individuals in coastal Tanzania. The results show that the effect size in decreasing order of magnitude for non-binary predictors of NTD risks is as follows: NTD comorbidities > poverty > educational attainment > self-reported household quality of life > ethnicity. The multivariate analysis explained 95% of the variance in the relationship between NTD risks and the theoretically-relevant covariates. Compositional (biosocial and sociocultural) factors explained more variance at the neighbourhood level than at the regional level, whereas contextual factors, such as access to health services and household quality, in districts explained a large proportion of variance at the regional level but individually had modest statistical significance, demonstrating the complex interactions between compositional and contextual factors in generating NTD risks. NTD risks were inequitably distributed over geographic space, which has several important policy implications. First, it suggests that localities of high burden of NTDs are likely to diminish within statistical averages at higher (regional or national) levels. Second, it indicates that curative or preventive interventions will become more efficient provided they can be focused on the localities, particularly as populations in these localities are likely to be burdened by several NTDs simultaneously, further increasing the imperative of multi

  15. Some factors affecting the accuracy of uranium content determined by DNC measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Song Quanxun

    1988-01-01

    Some factors affecting the accuracy of uranium contents determined by delayed neutron counting and methods solving these problems are described. One of the factors is deterioration of the BF 3 proportional counters. This problem is discussed in more detail

  16. Step Complexity Measure for Emergency Operating Procedures - Determining Weighting Factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Jinkyun; Jung, Wondea; Kim, Jaewhan; Ha, Jaejoo

    2003-01-01

    In complex systems, such as nuclear power plants (NPPs) or airplane control systems, human error has been regarded as the primary cause of many events. Therefore, to ensure system safety, extensive effort has been made to identify the significant factors that can cause human error. According to related studies, written manuals or operating procedures are revealed as one of the important factors, and the understandability is pointed out as one of the major reasons for procedure-related human errors.Many qualitative checklists have been suggested to evaluate emergency operating procedures (EOPs) of NPPs so as to minimize procedure-related human errors. However, since qualitative evaluations using checklists have some drawbacks, a quantitative measure that can quantify the complexity of EOPs is indispensable.From this necessity, Park et al. suggested the step complexity (SC) measure to quantify the complexity of procedural steps included in EOPs. To verify the appropriateness of the SC measure, averaged step performance time data obtained from emergency training records of the loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) and the excess steam demand event were compared with estimated SC scores. However, although averaged step performance time data and estimated SC scores show meaningful correlation, some important issues such as determining proper weighting factors have to be clarified to ensure the appropriateness of the SC measure. These were not properly dealt with due to a lack of backup data.In this paper, to resolve one of the important issues, emergency training records are additionally collected and analyzed in order to determine proper weighting factors. The total number of collected records is 66, and the training scenarios cover five emergency conditions including the LOCA, the steam generator tube rupture, the loss of all feedwater, the loss of off-site power, and the station blackout. From these records, average step performance time data are retrieved, and new

  17. Methods for determining radionuclide retardation factors: status report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Relyea, J.F.; Serne, R.J.; Rai, D.

    1980-04-01

    This report identifies a number of mechanisms that retard radionuclide migration, and describes the static and dynamic methods that are used to study such retardation phenomena. Both static and dynamic methods are needed for reliable safety assessments of underground nuclear-waste repositories. This report also evaluates the extent to which the two methods may be used to diagnose radionuclide migration through various types of geologic media, among them unconsolidated, crushed, intact, and fractured rocks. Adsorption is one mechanism that can control radionuclide concentrations in solution and therefore impede radionuclide migration. Other mechanisms that control a solution's radionuclide concentration and radionuclide migration are precipitation of hydroxides and oxides, oxidation-reduction reactions, and the formation of minerals that might include the radionuclide as a structural element. The retardation mechanisms mentioned above are controlled by such factors as surface area, cation exchange capacity, solution pH, chemical composition of the rock and of the solution, oxidation-reduction potential, and radionuclide concentration. Rocks and ground waters used in determining retardation factors should represent the expected equilibrium conditions in the geologic system under investigation. Static test methods can be used to rapidly screen the effects of the factors mentioned above. Dynamic (or column) testing, is needed to assess the effects of hydrodynamics and the interaction of hydrodynamics with the other important parameters. This paper proposes both a standard method for conducting batch Kd determinations, and a standard format for organizing and reporting data. Dynamic testing methods are not presently developed to the point that a standard methodology can be proposed. Normal procedures are outlined for column experimentation and the data that are needed to analyze a column experiment are identified

  18. 19 CFR 103.23 - Factors in determining whether to disclose information pursuant to a demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 19 Customs Duties 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Factors in determining whether to disclose... Disclosure in Federal, State, Local, and Foreign Proceedings § 103.23 Factors in determining whether to... those demands with respect to which any of the following factors exist: (1) Disclosure would violate a...

  19. Identification of Determinants of Sports Skill Level in Badminton Players Using the Multiple Regression Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaworski Janusz

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The aim of the study was to evaluate somatic and functional determinants of sports skill level in badminton players at three consecutive stages of training. Methods. The study examined 96 badminton players aged 11 to 19 years. The scope of the study included somatic characteristics, physical abilities and neurosensory abilities. Thirty nine variables were analysed in each athlete. Coefficients of multiple determination were used to evaluate the effect of structural and functional parameters on sports skill level in badminton players. Results. In the group of younger cadets, quality and effectiveness of playing were mostly determined by the level of physical abilities. In the group of cadets, the most important determinants were physical abilities, followed by somatic characteristics. In this group, coordination abilities were also important. In juniors, the most pronounced was a set of the variables that reflect physical abilities. Conclusions. Models of determination of sports skill level are most noticeable in the group of cadets. In all three groups of badminton players, the dominant effect on the quality of playing is due to a set of the variables that determine physical abilities.

  20. No evidence that polymorphisms of the vanishing white matter disease genes are risk factors in multiple sclerosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pronk, J.C.; Scheper, G.C.; Andel, R.J.; van Berkel, C.G.M.; Polman, C.H.; Uitdehaag, B.M.J.; van der Knaap, M.S.

    2008-01-01

    Febrile infections are known to cause exacerbations in the white matter disorders 'vanishing white matter' (VWM) and multiple sclerosis (MS). We hypothesized that polymorphisms in EIF2B1-5, the genes involved in VWM, might be risk factors for the development of MS or temperature sensitivity in

  1. Use of International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe patient-reported disability in multiple sclerosis and identification of relevant environmental factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Fary; Pallant, Julie F

    2007-01-01

    To use the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to describe patient-reported disability in multiple sclerosis and identify relevant environmental factors. Cross-sectional survey of 101 participants in the community. Their multiple sclerosis-related problems were linked with ICF categories (second level) using a checklist, consensus between health professionals and the "linking rules". The impact of multiple sclerosis on health areas corresponding to 48 ICF categories was also assessed. A total of 170 ICF categories were identified (mean age 49 years, 72 were female). Average number of problems reported was 18. The categories include 48 (42%) for body function, 16 (34%) body structure, 68 (58%) activities and participation and 38 (51%) for environmental factors. Extreme impact in health areas corresponding to ICF categories for activities and participation were reported for mobility, work, everyday home activities, community and social activities. While those for the environmental factors (barriers) included products for mobility, attitudes of extended family, restriction accessing social security and health resources. This study is a first step in the use of the ICF in persons with multiple sclerosis and towards development of the ICF Core set for multiple sclerosis from a broader international perspective.

  2. Prognostic Classification Factors Associated With Development of Multiple Autoantibodies, Dysglycemia, and Type 1 Diabetes-A Recursive Partitioning Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Ping; Krischer, Jeffrey P

    2016-06-01

    To define prognostic classification factors associated with the progression from single to multiple autoantibodies, multiple autoantibodies to dysglycemia, and dysglycemia to type 1 diabetes onset in relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes. Three distinct cohorts of subjects from the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study were investigated separately. A recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to determine the risk classes. Clinical characteristics, including genotype, antibody titers, and metabolic markers were analyzed. Age and GAD65 autoantibody (GAD65Ab) titers defined three risk classes for progression from single to multiple autoantibodies. The 5-year risk was 11% for those subjects >16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, 29% for those ≤16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, and 45% for those subjects with high GAD65Ab titers regardless of age. Progression to dysglycemia was associated with islet antigen 2 Ab titers, and 2-h glucose and fasting C-peptide levels. The 5-year risk is 28%, 39%, and 51% for respective risk classes defined by the three predictors. Progression to type 1 diabetes was associated with the number of positive autoantibodies, peak C-peptide level, HbA1c level, and age. Four risk classes defined by RPA had a 5-year risk of 9%, 33%, 62%, and 80%, respectively. The use of RPA offered a new classification approach that could predict the timing of transitions from one preclinical stage to the next in the development of type 1 diabetes. Using these RPA classes, new prevention techniques can be tailored based on the individual prognostic risk characteristics at different preclinical stages. © 2016 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.

  3. Prognostic Classification Factors Associated With Development of Multiple Autoantibodies, Dysglycemia, and Type 1 Diabetes—A Recursive Partitioning Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krischer, Jeffrey P.

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE To define prognostic classification factors associated with the progression from single to multiple autoantibodies, multiple autoantibodies to dysglycemia, and dysglycemia to type 1 diabetes onset in relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Three distinct cohorts of subjects from the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study were investigated separately. A recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to determine the risk classes. Clinical characteristics, including genotype, antibody titers, and metabolic markers were analyzed. RESULTS Age and GAD65 autoantibody (GAD65Ab) titers defined three risk classes for progression from single to multiple autoantibodies. The 5-year risk was 11% for those subjects >16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, 29% for those ≤16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, and 45% for those subjects with high GAD65Ab titers regardless of age. Progression to dysglycemia was associated with islet antigen 2 Ab titers, and 2-h glucose and fasting C-peptide levels. The 5-year risk is 28%, 39%, and 51% for respective risk classes defined by the three predictors. Progression to type 1 diabetes was associated with the number of positive autoantibodies, peak C-peptide level, HbA1c level, and age. Four risk classes defined by RPA had a 5-year risk of 9%, 33%, 62%, and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The use of RPA offered a new classification approach that could predict the timing of transitions from one preclinical stage to the next in the development of type 1 diabetes. Using these RPA classes, new prevention techniques can be tailored based on the individual prognostic risk characteristics at different preclinical stages. PMID:27208341

  4. Increased determinism in brain electrical activity occurs in association with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrubba, Simona; Minagar, Alireza; Chesson, Andrew L; Frilot, Clifton; Marino, Andrew A

    2012-04-01

    Increased determinism (decreased complexity) of brain electrical activity has been associated with some brain diseases. Our objective was to determine whether a similar association occurred for multiple sclerosis (MS). Ten subjects with a relapsing-remitting course of MS who were in remission were studied; the controls were age- and gender-matched clinically normal subjects. Recurrence plots were calculated using representative electroencephalogram (EEG) epochs (1-7 seconds) from six derivations; the plots were quantified using the nonlinear variables percent recurrence (%R) and percent determinism (%D). The results were averaged over all derivations for each participant, and the means were compared between the groups. As a linear control procedure the groups were also compared using spectral analysis. The mean±SD of %R for the MS subjects was 6·6±1·3%, compared with 5·1±1·3% in the normal group (P = 0·017), indicating that brain activity in the subjects with MS was less complex, as hypothesized. The groups were not distinguishable using %D or spectral analysis. Taken together with our earlier report that %R could be used to discriminate between MS and normal subjects based on the ability to exhibit evoked potentials, the evidence suggests that complexity analysis of the EEG has potential for development as a diagnostic test for MS.

  5. EMPLOYMENT LEVEL ANALYSIS FROM THE DETERMINANT FACTORS PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Diana ŞERB

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Neglecting the human factor as part of the labor market causes losses for society as any activity that is initiated within it, has as a starting point, and also as a finishing point, the human intervention. The starting point of the article is represented by the projections made by the European    Commission in the Population Ageing Report in 2015 underlying assumptions and projections, and also by the projections of the United Nations report in 2015, and this resulted in many conclusions including the one that for the first time in Romania the average aging in 2015 exceeds the values measured by EU till present day, and this is reflected in the employment level (active aging population. The hypothesis behind the article is that the evolution of the population and migrants has repercussions on employment. Structured in three parts: knowledge status, the analysis of employment indicators and information about the intensity and direction of the link between a number of factors and employment level, this article aims to establish the determinant factors of employment through a research focused on the analysis of secondary sources, and also using the regression model. The most important lesson learned as a result of this research is that the labor market works with a variety of factors with a higher or lower influence, and in turn the labor market influences other factors.

  6. The dyad palindromic glutathione transferase P enhancer binds multiple factors including AP1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diccianni, M B; Imagawa, M; Muramatsu, M

    1992-10-11

    Glutathione Transferase P (GST-P) gene expression is dominantly regulated by an upstream enhancer (GPEI) consisting of a dyad of palindromically oriented imperfect TPA (12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate)-responsive elements (TRE). GPEI is active in AP1-lacking F9 cells as well in AP1-containing HeLa cells. Despite GPEI's similarity to a TRE, c-jun co-transfection has only a minimal effect on transactivation. Antisense c-jun and c-fos co-transfection experiments further demonstrate the lack of a role for AP1 in GPEI mediated trans-activation in F9 cells, although endogenously present AP1 can influence GPEI in HeLa cells. Co-transfection of delta fosB with c-jun, which forms an inactive c-Jun/delta FosB heterodimer that binds TRE sequences, inhibits GPEI-mediated transcription in AP1-lacking F9 cells as well as AP1-containing HeLa cells. These data suggest novel factor(s) other than AP1 are influencing GPEI. Binding studies reveal multiple nucleoproteins bind to GPEI. These factors are likely responsible for the high level of GPEI-mediated transcription observed in the absence of AP1 and during hepatocarcinogenesis.

  7. Factors perceived as being related to accidental falls by persons with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nilsagård, Ylva; Denison, Eva; Gunnarsson, Lars-Gunnar; Boström, Katrin

    2009-01-01

    This study explores and describes factors that persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) perceive as being related to accidental falls. A qualitative content analysis with primarily deductive approach was conducted using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Twelve persons with MS, and identified as fallers, were interviewed. Factors perceived to cause accidental falls that had not previously been targeted in MS populations in relation to falls were identified as divided attention, reduced muscular endurance, fatigue and heat sensitivity. Previously reported risk factors such as changed gait pattern, limited walking ability, impaired proprioception, vision and spasticity were supported. Activities involving walking, recreation and leisure, maintaining and changing body position, lifting or carrying, taking care of the home, washing the body, moving around, preparing meals and housekeeping were limited and considered to be risk activities. Supportive persons and assistive device reduced falls, and unsuitable physical environments and climate conditions induced falls. Several preventative strategies were described as partially compensating for the impairments, limitations and restrictions. Investigating accidental falls using the perspective of the patient gave important information about variables not earlier targeted in MS research.

  8. Application of the Constrained Admissible Region Multiple Hypothesis Filter to Initial Orbit Determination of a Break-up

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelecy, Tom; Shoemaker, Michael; Jah, Moriba

    2013-08-01

    A break-up in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is simulated for 10 objects having area-to-mass ratios (AMR's) ranging from 0.1-10.0 m2/kg. The Constrained Admissible Region Multiple Hypothesis Filter (CAR-MHF) is applied to determining and characterizing the orbit and atmospheric drag parameters (CdA/m) simultaneously for each of the 10 objects with no a priori orbit or drag information. The results indicate that CAR-MHF shows promise for accurate, unambiguous and autonomous determination of the orbit and drag states.

  9. A gamma-spectrometer determining equilibrium factor in situ

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Weiheng

    1992-01-01

    The author expounds main function, scientific value and practical significance of Model SY500 gamma-spectrometer, which can determine radioactive factor equilibrium (k p ) in-situ. Accuracy, steadiness and differential of the technology has been proved on the models of Radiometric Measurement Station of China Nuclear Industry Corporation. The author enumerates several examples such as k p survey at gold-bearing glebe, at uranium-bearing glebe, at the ground above ground water and 21 stations of Beijing subway

  10. Java project on periodontal diseases. The natural development of periodontitis: risk factors, risk predictors and risk determinants : risk factors, risk predictors and risk determinants

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van der Velden, U.; Abbas, F.; Armand, S.; Loos, B. G.; Timmerman, M. F.; Van der Weijden, G. A.; Van Winkelhoff, A. J.; Winkel, E. G.

    Objective: To identify risk factors, risk predictors and risk determinants for onset and progression of periodontitis. Material and Methods: For this longitudinal, prospective study all subjects in the age range 15-25 years living in a village of approximately 2000 inhabitants at a tea estate on

  11. A hybrid of fuzzy FMEA-AHP to determine factors affecting alternator failure causes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Kiani Aslani

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a method to determine factors influencing alternator failure causes. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA is one of the first systematic techniques for failure analysis based on three factors including Probability (P, Severity (S and Detection (D. Traditional FMEA method considers equal weights for all three factors, however, in read-world cases; one may wish to consider various weights. The proposed study develops a mathematical model to determine optimal weights based on analytical hierarchy process technique. The implementation of the proposed study has been demonstrated for a read-world case study of alternator failure causes.

  12. The Multiple Life of Nerve Growth Factor: Tribute to Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luigi Aloe

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available At the end of the 19th century, it was envisaged by Santiago Ramon y Cajal, but not, proven, that life at the neuronal level requires trophic support. The proof was obtained in the early 1950's by work initiated by Rita Levi-Montalcini (RLM discovering the nerve growth factor (NGF. Today, NGF and its relatives, collectively designated neurotrophins, are well recognized as mediators of multiple biological phenomena in health and disease, ranging from the neurotrophic through immunotrophic and epitheliotrophic to metabotrophic effects. Consequently, NGF and other neurotrophins are implicated in the pathogenesis of a large spectrum of neuronal and non-neuronal diseases, from Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases to atherosclerosis and other cardiometabolic diseases. Recent studies demonstrated the therapeutic potentials of NGF in these diseases, including ocular and cutaneous diseases. Furthermore, NGF TrkA receptor antagonists emerged as novel drugs for pain, prostate and breast cancer, melanoma, and urinary bladder syndromes. Altogether, NGF's multiple potential in health and disease is briefly described here.

  13. The multiple life of nerve growth factor: tribute to rita levi-montalcini (1909-2012).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aloe, Luigi; Chaldakov, George N

    2013-03-01

    At the end of the 19(th) century, it was envisaged by Santiago Ramon y Cajal, but not, proven, that life at the neuronal level requires trophic support. The proof was obtained in the early 1950's by work initiated by Rita Levi-Montalcini (RLM) discovering the nerve growth factor (NGF). Today, NGF and its relatives, collectively designated neurotrophins, are well recognized as mediators of multiple biological phenomena in health and disease, ranging from the neurotrophic through immunotrophic and epitheliotrophic to metabotrophic effects. Consequently, NGF and other neurotrophins are implicated in the pathogenesis of a large spectrum of neuronal and non-neuronal diseases, from Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases to atherosclerosis and other cardiometabolic diseases. Recent studies demonstrated the therapeutic potentials of NGF in these diseases, including ocular and cutaneous diseases. Furthermore, NGF TrkA receptor antagonists emerged as novel drugs for pain, prostate and breast cancer, melanoma, and urinary bladder syndromes. Altogether, NGF's multiple potential in health and disease is briefly described here.

  14. Multiple Factors Related to the Secretion of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    XingChun Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The glucagon-like peptide-1 is secreted by intestinal L cells in response to nutrient ingestion. It regulates the secretion and sensitivity of insulin while suppressing glucagon secretion and decreasing postprandial glucose levels. It also improves beta-cell proliferation and prevents beta-cell apoptosis induced by cytotoxic agents. Additionally, glucagon-like peptide-1 delays gastric emptying and suppresses appetite. The impaired secretion of glucagon-like peptide-1 has negative influence on diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and insulin resistance related diseases. Thus, glucagon-like peptide-1-based therapies (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors are now well accepted in the management of type 2 diabetes. The levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 are influenced by multiple factors including a variety of nutrients. The component of a meal acts as potent stimulants of glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion. The levels of its secretion change with the intake of different nutrients. Some drugs also have influence on GLP-1 secretion. Bariatric surgery may improve metabolism through the action on GLP-1 levels. In recent years, there has been a great interest in developing effective methods to regulate glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion. This review summarizes the literature on glucagon-like peptide-1 and related factors affecting its levels.

  15. Computed tomography imaging of early coronary artery lesions in stable individuals with multiple cardiovascular risk factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xi Yang

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence, extent, severity, and features of coronary artery lesions in stable patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. METHODS: Seventy-seven patients with more than 3 cardiovascular risk factors were suspected of having coronary artery disease. Patients with high-risk factors and 39 controls with no risk factors were enrolled in the study. The related risk factors included hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, dyslipidemia, smoking history, and overweight. The characteristics of coronary lesions were identified and evaluated by 64-slice coronary computed tomography angiography. RESULTS: The incidence of coronary atherosclerosis was higher in the high-risk group than in the no-risk group. The involved branches of the coronary artery, the diffusivity of the lesion, the degree of stenosis, and the nature of the plaques were significantly more severe in the high-risk group compared with the no-risk group (all p < 0.05. CONCLUSION: Among stable individuals with high-risk factors, early coronary artery lesions are common and severe. Computed tomography has promising value for the early screening of coronary lesions.

  16. Fertility after uterine artery embolization for symptomatic multiple fibroids with no other infertility factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torre, Antoine; Fauconnier, Arnaud; Kahn, Vanessa; Limot, Olivier; Bussierres, Laurence; Pelage, Jean Pierre

    2017-07-01

    To evaluate the fertility of women eligible for surgical multiple myomectomy, but who carefully elected a fertility-sparing uterine artery embolization (UAE). Non-comparative open-label trial, on women ≤40 years, presenting with multiple symptomatic fibroids (at least 3, ≥3 cm), immediate pregnancy wish, and no associated infertility factor. Women had a bilateral limited UAE using tris-acryl gelatin microspheres ≥500 μm. Fertility, ovarian reserve, uterus and fibroid sizes, and quality of life questionnaires (UFS-QoL) were prospectively followed. Fifteen patients, aged 34.8 years (95%CI 32.2-37.5, median 36.0, q1-q3 29.4-39.5) were included from November 2008 to May 2012. During the year following UAE, 9 women actively attempting to conceive experienced 5 live-births (intention-to-treat fertility rate 33.3%, 95%CI 11.8%-61.6%). Markers of ovarian reserve remained stable. The symptoms score was reduced by 66% (95%CI 48%-85%) and the quality of life score was improved by 112% (95%CI 21%-204%). Uterine volume was reduced by 38% (95%CI 24%-52%). Women were followed for 43.1 months (95%CI 32.4-53.9), 10 live-births occurred in 8 patients, and 5 patients required secondary surgeries for fibroids. Women without associated infertility factors demonstrated an encouraging capacity to deliver after UAE. Further randomized controlled trials comparing UAE and myomectomy are warranted. • Women without infertility factors showed an encouraging delivery rate after UAE. • For women choosing UAE over abdominal myomectomy, childbearing may not be impaired. • Data are insufficient to definitively recommend UAE as comparable to myomectomy. • Further randomized trials comparing fertility after UAE or myomectomy are warranted.

  17. Factors determining dengue outbreak in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Rohani; Suzilah, Ismail; Wan Najdah, Wan Mohamad Ali; Topek, Omar; Mustafakamal, Ibrahim; Lee, Han Lim

    2018-01-01

    A large scale study was conducted to elucidate the true relationship among entomological, epidemiological and environmental factors that contributed to dengue outbreak in Malaysia. Two large areas (Selayang and Bandar Baru Bangi) were selected in this study based on five consecutive years of high dengue cases. Entomological data were collected using ovitraps where the number of larvae was used to reflect Aedes mosquito population size; followed by RT-PCR screening to detect and serotype dengue virus in mosquitoes. Notified cases, date of disease onset, and number and type of the interventions were used as epidemiological endpoint, while rainfall, temperature, relative humidity and air pollution index (API) were indicators for environmental data. The field study was conducted during 81 weeks of data collection. Correlation and Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model were used to determine the relationship. The study showed that, notified cases were indirectly related with the environmental data, but shifted one week, i.e. last 3 weeks positive PCR; last 4 weeks rainfall; last 3 weeks maximum relative humidity; last 3 weeks minimum and maximum temperature; and last 4 weeks air pollution index (API), respectively. Notified cases were also related with next week intervention, while conventional intervention only happened 4 weeks after larvae were found, indicating ample time for dengue transmission. Based on a significant relationship among the three factors (epidemiological, entomological and environmental), estimated Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ADL) model for both locations produced high accuracy 84.9% for Selayang and 84.1% for Bandar Baru Bangi in predicting the actual notified cases. Hence, such model can be used in forestalling dengue outbreak and acts as an early warning system. The existence of relationships among the entomological, epidemiological and environmental factors can be used to build an early warning system for the prediction of dengue outbreak so

  18. Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: A multi-campus survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Chen, Weiqi; Wu, Haocheng; Bi, Yongyi; Zhang, Miaoxuan; Li, Shiyue; Braun, Kathryn L

    2009-01-01

    Background China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. Methods Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently. Conclusion A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use. PMID:19698132

  19. Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: a multi-campus survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hong; Chen, Weiqi; Wu, Haocheng; Bi, Yongyi; Zhang, Miaoxuan; Li, Shiyue; Braun, Kathryn L

    2009-08-22

    China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes). To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10%) reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse). Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex) were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently. A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use.

  20. Multiple sex partner behavior in female undergraduate students in China: A multi-campus survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Miaoxuan

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background China is realizing increases in women engaged in premarital sex and multiple sex partner behavior. Our aim was to examine prevalence and determinants of multiple sex partner behavior among female undergraduates in China. Methods Anonymously completed questionnaires were received from 4,769 unmarried female undergraduates, recruited using randomized cluster sampling by type of university and students' major and grade. Items captured demographic, family, peer and work influence, and student factors (major, academic performance, and sex-related knowledge and attitudes. To examine risk factors for sexual behaviors, we used multi-level logistic regression, yielding odds ratios (OR and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI. Results Of 4,769 female students, 863 (18.10% reported ever having sexual intercourse, and 5.31% reported having multiple sex partners (29.32% of all women having sexual intercourse. Several demographic, family, peer and work influences, and student factors (including major, performance, knowledge, and attitude toward sex were risk factors for ever having sex. However, risk factors for multiple sex partners only included working in a place of entertainment, having current close friends that were living with boyfriends, poor academic performance, and positive attitudes toward multiple partners. These women also were more likely to practice masturbation, start having sex at a younger age, have sex with married men and/or men not their "boyfriends" at first coitus, and not use condoms consistently. Conclusion A small but important subset of Chinese female undergraduates is engaged in unprotected sex with multiple sex partners. Interventions need to target at risk women, stressing the importance of consistent condom use.

  1. [Multiple meningiomas].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terrier, L-M; François, P

    2016-06-01

    Multiple meningiomas (MMs) or meningiomatosis are defined by the presence of at least 2 lesions that appear simultaneously or not, at different intracranial locations, without the association of neurofibromatosis. They present 1-9 % of meningiomas with a female predominance. The occurrence of multiple meningiomas is not clear. There are 2 main hypotheses for their development, one that supports the independent evolution of these tumors and the other, completely opposite, that suggests the propagation of tumor cells of a unique clone transformation, through cerebrospinal fluid. NF2 gene mutation is an important intrinsic risk factor in the etiology of multiple meningiomas and some exogenous risk factors have been suspected but only ionizing radiation exposure has been proven. These tumors can grow anywhere in the skull but they are more frequently observed in supratentorial locations. Their histologic types are similar to unique meningiomas of psammomatous, fibroblastic, meningothelial or transitional type and in most cases are benign tumors. The prognosis of these tumors is eventually good and does not differ from the unique tumors except for the cases of radiation-induced multiple meningiomas, in the context of NF2 or when diagnosed in children where the outcome is less favorable. Each meningioma lesion should be dealt with individually and their multiple character should not justify their resection at all costs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  2. Environmental Performance in Countries Worldwide: Determinant Factors and Multivariate Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Gallego-Alvarez

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to analyze the environmental performance of countries and the variables that can influence it. At the same time, we performed a multivariate analysis using the HJ-biplot, an exploratory method that looks for hidden patterns in the data, obtained from the usual singular value decomposition (SVD of the data matrix, to contextualize the countries grouped by geographical areas and the variables relating to environmental indicators included in the environmental performance index. The sample used comprises 149 countries of different geographic areas. The findings obtained from the empirical analysis emphasize that socioeconomic factors, such as economic wealth and education, as well as institutional factors represented by the style of public administration, in particular control of corruption, are determinant factors of environmental performance in the countries analyzed. In contrast, no effect on environmental performance was found for factors relating to the internal characteristics of a country or political factors.

  3. DETERMINATION OF MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTORS FOR ANALYSIS OF HIGHWAY OPERATING CONDITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. Solodkaya

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Traffic circulation on highways is a random process. Therefore automotive damage rate and, respectively, roads on which they are moving is subjected to regularities of random processes. Dynamic processes of vehicle-road interaction are determined to various extents by a host of factors that include road pavement evenness and characteristics of moving vehicles. For this reason the following task has been set: to reveal the most significant factors and mathematically correlate values of vehicle dynamic loads with a quality of road pavement and vehicle speed. Such task statement has not been solved adequately and this situation determines importance and novelty of the investigations in the given direction. While solving the mentioned task the investigations which have been carried out under real-life conditions and with the help of real-life objects are considered as the most reliable ones. However, preparation and execution of such experiments as needed significantly complicates their implementation. In this regard it looks rather expediential to combine a factorial experiment with the tests of a checked model while using ECM with stage-by-stage parameter fixation of working processes passing in “vehicle-road” system, comprehensive assessment pertaining to influence of the selected factors and selection of their optimum combination. Mathematical dependence has been obtained to evaluate influence of several external factors on optimization of vehicle dynamic load on the road. This component makes it possible to attain a simplified and adequate description of element interaction in “vehicle – road” system. While investigating influence of pavement irregularities on maximum dynamic loads on the road influence rate of the selected factors is determined in the following sequence: vehicle weight, pavement evenness and speed of transport facility.

  4. 46 CFR 401.400 - Calculation of pilotage units and determination of weighting factor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... weighting factor. 401.400 Section 401.400 Shipping COAST GUARD (GREAT LAKES PILOTAGE), DEPARTMENT OF... § 401.400 Calculation of pilotage units and determination of weighting factor. The equivalent pilotage... meters) Pilot Unit=(Length×Breadth×Depth)/10,000 (measured in feet) (b) Weighting factor table: Range of...

  5. Variation partitioning of diatom species data matrices: Understanding the influence of multiple factors on benthic diatom communities in tropical streams

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bere, Taurai, E-mail: tbere2015@gmail.com; Mangadze, Tinotenda; Mwedzi, Tongai

    2016-10-01

    Elucidating the confounding influence of multiple environmental factors on benthic diatom communities is important in developing water quality predictive models for better guidance of stream management efforts. The objective of this study was to explore the relative impact of metal pollution and hydromorphological alterations in, addition to nutrient enrichment and organic pollution, on diatom taxonomic composition with the view to improve stream diatom-based water quality inference models. Samples were collected twice at 20 sampling stations in the tropical Manyame Catchment, Zimbabwe. Diatom, macroinvertebrate communities and environmental factors were sampled and analysed. The variations in diatom community composition explained by different categories of environmental factors were analysed using canonical correspondence analysis using variance partitioning (partial CCA). The following variations were explained by the different predictor matrices: nutrient levels and organic pollution - 10.4%, metal pollution - 8.3% and hydromorphological factors - 7.9%. Thus, factors other than nutrient levels and organic pollution explain additional significant variation in these diatom communities. Development of diatom-based stream water quality inference models that incorporate metal pollution and hydromorphological alterations, where these are key issues, is thus deemed necessary. - Highlights: • Confounding influences of multiple environmental factors on diatom communities are elucidated. • Variation explained: nutrients + organic pollution - 10.4%, metals - 8.3% and hydromorphological factors - 7.9%. • Calibration of existing or development of new indices may be necessary.

  6. Variation partitioning of diatom species data matrices: Understanding the influence of multiple factors on benthic diatom communities in tropical streams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bere, Taurai; Mangadze, Tinotenda; Mwedzi, Tongai

    2016-01-01

    Elucidating the confounding influence of multiple environmental factors on benthic diatom communities is important in developing water quality predictive models for better guidance of stream management efforts. The objective of this study was to explore the relative impact of metal pollution and hydromorphological alterations in, addition to nutrient enrichment and organic pollution, on diatom taxonomic composition with the view to improve stream diatom-based water quality inference models. Samples were collected twice at 20 sampling stations in the tropical Manyame Catchment, Zimbabwe. Diatom, macroinvertebrate communities and environmental factors were sampled and analysed. The variations in diatom community composition explained by different categories of environmental factors were analysed using canonical correspondence analysis using variance partitioning (partial CCA). The following variations were explained by the different predictor matrices: nutrient levels and organic pollution - 10.4%, metal pollution - 8.3% and hydromorphological factors - 7.9%. Thus, factors other than nutrient levels and organic pollution explain additional significant variation in these diatom communities. Development of diatom-based stream water quality inference models that incorporate metal pollution and hydromorphological alterations, where these are key issues, is thus deemed necessary. - Highlights: • Confounding influences of multiple environmental factors on diatom communities are elucidated. • Variation explained: nutrients + organic pollution - 10.4%, metals - 8.3% and hydromorphological factors - 7.9%. • Calibration of existing or development of new indices may be necessary.

  7. Recovery from equipment failures in ATC: Determination of contextual factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Subotic, Branka; Ochieng, Washington Y.; Straeter, Oliver

    2007-01-01

    Human reliability assessment (HRA) currently uses various approaches to determine and quantify human error. These approaches are increasingly being employed in various safety-critical domains, such as air traffic management and its ground component air traffic control. HRA research over the years has shown the important role of the context in which human errors take place. Recent techniques now put more emphasis on the definition of key contextual factors and their impact on the reliability of human performance. This paper presents a review of the current understanding of contextual factors in various industries. It uses this together with results from controller interviews to identify the contextual factors relevant to controller recovery from equipment failures in air traffic control. These factors should be used in conjunction with an appropriate method to analyse the performance of a controller during the process of recovery from failures

  8. Secondary components, integral multiplicity factor and coupling coefficients of cosmic rays in the Earth atmosphere and other planets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorman, L.I.; Yanke, V.G.

    1979-01-01

    Integral multiples of cosmic rays in Earth and other planets atmospheres have been determined. Kinetic equations describing the evolution of hadronic cascade in atmosphere using modern accelerating data have been solved with that end in view. Bond coefficients for nucleonic, muonic and electronic components of secondary cosmic radiation have been built using integral multiples. Normalized bond coefficients for three components obtained for maximum solar activity are presented. Integral muon and nucleon generation and bond coefficients have also been given for Mars

  9. The determination of multiple resistance, inheritance and cytochrome P450 activity in bifenthrinresistant Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae)

    OpenAIRE

    AY, Recep; YORULMAZ, Sibel

    2010-01-01

    In this study, multiple resistance, inheritance and cytochrome P450 enzyme activity were determined in Tetranychus urticae Koch (SAK) population after 20 selections for bifenthrin resistance. Selection study and LC50, 60 levels of SAK population of T. urticae were determined by dry film method. LC50 level of the SAK population selected twenty times with bifenthrin was increased from 984.49 to 11914.40 µl l-1 distiled water. Selected population showing 21.84 fold resistances was named ...

  10. Hurdles for sport consumption? Determining factors of household sports expenditure

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erik Thibaut; Steven Vos; Jeroen Scheerder

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to explore the determining factors of household expenditures on sports participation. Due to a relatively large amount of zero-expenditures, simple regression methods are not suited. Because of methodological reasons, the two-step Heckman approach is used over the

  11. Neutron Multiplicity Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frame, Katherine Chiyoko [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-06-28

    Neutron multiplicity measurements are widely used for nondestructive assay (NDA) of special nuclear material (SNM). When combined with isotopic composition information, neutron multiplicity analysis can be used to estimate the spontaneous fission rate and leakage multiplication of SNM. When combined with isotopic information, the total mass of fissile material can also be determined. This presentation provides an overview of this technique.

  12. Historical Perspective and Risk of Multiple Neglected Tropical Diseases in Coastal Tanzania: Compositional and Contextual Determinants of Disease Risk.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frederick Ato Armah

    Full Text Available In the past decade, research on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs has intensified in response to the need to enhance community participation in health delivery, establish monitoring and surveillance systems, and integrate existing disease-specific treatment programs to control overlapping NTD burdens and detrimental effects. In this paper, we evaluated the geographical distribution of NTDs in coastal Tanzania.We also assessed the collective (compositional and contextual factors that currently determine risks to multiple NTDs using a cross sectional survey of 1253 individuals in coastal Tanzania. The results show that the effect size in decreasing order of magnitude for non-binary predictors of NTD risks is as follows: NTD comorbidities > poverty > educational attainment > self-reported household quality of life > ethnicity. The multivariate analysis explained 95% of the variance in the relationship between NTD risks and the theoretically-relevant covariates. Compositional (biosocial and sociocultural factors explained more variance at the neighbourhood level than at the regional level, whereas contextual factors, such as access to health services and household quality, in districts explained a large proportion of variance at the regional level but individually had modest statistical significance, demonstrating the complex interactions between compositional and contextual factors in generating NTD risks.NTD risks were inequitably distributed over geographic space, which has several important policy implications. First, it suggests that localities of high burden of NTDs are likely to diminish within statistical averages at higher (regional or national levels. Second, it indicates that curative or preventive interventions will become more efficient provided they can be focused on the localities, particularly as populations in these localities are likely to be burdened by several NTDs simultaneously, further increasing the imperative of multi

  13. 24 CFR 30.80 - Factors in determining amount of civil money penalty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... civil money penalty. 30.80 Section 30.80 Housing and Urban Development Office of the Secretary, Department of Housing and Urban Development CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES: CERTAIN PROHIBITED CONDUCT Procedures § 30.80 Factors in determining amount of civil money penalty. After determining that a respondent has...

  14. Determinants of Insurance Purchase Decision Making in Lithuania

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ulbinaite, Aurelija; Kucinskiene, Marija; Le Moullec, Yannick

    2013-01-01

    This paper deals with the examination of insurance consumer behaviour in Lithuania. The purpose of the work is to determine the factors that explain the insurance service purchase decision of the Lithuanian citizens. To this end, a structured 5-point Likert scale questionnaire-based survey...... is employed to collect data. A research model composed of two main stages (purchase inclination and decision) is proposed. Factor analysis and multiple regression analysis are used to determine how the factors are formed and what their relative weights are. Five factors are identified: the acceptability...... to decide to actually purchase them; the higher degree or education acquired by the individuals, the fewer factors impact their insurance purchase decision: masters and doctors of science evaluate only the insurance service provider’s competence, while bachelors, besides the insurer’s competence, are also...

  15. Gender difference in sickness absence from work: a multiple mediation analysis of psychosocial factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casini, Annalisa; Godin, Isabelle; Clays, Els; Kittel, France

    2013-08-01

    Previous research has shown that job characteristics, private life and psychosocial factors partially account for gender difference in work absences because of sickness. Most studies have analysed these factors separately. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether these explanatory factors act as mediators when they are considered simultaneously. The evaluated data set comprises the merger of two Belgian longitudinal studies, BELSTRESS III and SOMSTRESS. It includes 3821 workers (1541 men) aged 21-66 years, employed in eight organizations. A multiple mediation analysis was performed to explain the higher prevalence among women. Estimated factors were occupational grade, total number of paid working hours per week, job strain, overcommitment, home-work interference and social support at and outside work. Prospective data concerning duration and frequency of medically justified sickness absence (registered by the organizations) were used as outcomes. Overall, the mediating factors partially account for gender difference in sickness absence. The strongest mediator for both outcomes is job strain. In addition, difference in absence duration is mediated by social support at work, whereas difference in frequency is mediated by professional grade and home-work interference. Our results call attention to the necessity to elaborate actual preventive actions aiming at favouring a better positioning of women on the labour market in term of hierarchical level as well as in terms of quality of work for reducing sickness absence in this group.

  16. Youth suicide attempts and the dose-response relationship to parental risk factors: a population-based study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, E; Goldney, R D; Beautrai, A L

    2011-01-01

    BACKGROUND: There is a lack of specific knowledge about the dose-response effect of multiple parental risk factors for suicide attempts among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the dose-response effect of multiple parental risk factors on an offspring's risk for suic......BACKGROUND: There is a lack of specific knowledge about the dose-response effect of multiple parental risk factors for suicide attempts among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to determine the dose-response effect of multiple parental risk factors on an offspring's risk...... for suicide attempt.MethodWe designed a population-based two-generation nested case-control study and used Danish register data. A population of 403 431 individuals born between 1983 and 1989 was sampled. Among these, 3465 (0.8%) were registered as having had a suicide attempt. Twenty controls were matched...... to each case and a link to the offspring's biological parents was established. RESULTS: There was a dose-response relationship between the number of exposures and the risk of suicide attempts, with the increased risk seeming to be a multiplicative effect. Parental suicide, suicide attempt, psychiatric...

  17. Numerical Determination of Crack Opening and Closure Stress Intensity Factors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ricardo, Luiz Carlos Hernandes

    2009-01-01

    The present work shows the numerical determination of fatigue crack opening and closure stress intensity factors of a C(T) specimen under variable amplitude loading using a finite element method. A half compact tension C(T) specimen, assuming plane stress constraint was used by finite element...

  18. Folic acid supplementation is not the sole factor in determining ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Folic acid supplementation is not the sole factor in determining neural tube defects: The possible role of autoantibodies. Keat Wei Loo, Siew Hua Gan. Abstract. Neural tube defects (NTDs) are severe but common congenital malformations. Neonates who suffer from NTDs may experience long-term complications throughout ...

  19. Organizational Well-Being Factors. Determinants of entrepreneurship in small and medium companies of the defense sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena de Almeida

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available All over the world, the small and medium enterprises are more and more organized in consortia, cooperation networks, joint-ventures and strategical alliances allowing not only the reduction of uncertainty and turbulence of the markets but also the gathering of advantages which may make them more competitive. It is worth considering that the results of these relationships are affected by determinant factors which may inhibit or facilitate the entrepreneurship. Our aim is to evaluate the relationship between some of those determinants, association, inter-company cooperation, innovation in the methods of work and creativity—about the entrepreneurship in 236 small and medium enterprises of the national defence. One of the questions initially posed is if there is a significant relation between corporation, innovative methods of work, creativity and entrepreneurship. Secondly, if being creative is an attribute of the entrepreneur, can it have a mediator effect between innovative methods of work and entrepreneurship? A factorial exploratory analysis was made in main components (varimax rotation and multiple linear regression. The results show the direct relationship of the evaluated determinants and entrepreneurship and the partial mediator effect of the creativity between the innovation in the methods of work and entrepreneurship. These enterprises may expect to develop new methods of work as a high differential component concerning the competition and the more efficient use of knowledge and of the skills of the people who make part of the work team in order to increase their competitiveness.

  20. Exploring Relationships Among Belief in Genetic Determinism, Genetics Knowledge, and Social Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gericke, Niklas; Carver, Rebecca; Castéra, Jérémy; Evangelista, Neima Alice Menezes; Marre, Claire Coiffard; El-Hani, Charbel N.

    2017-12-01

    Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. In this article, we begin by investigating the very nature of belief in genetic determinism. Then, we investigate whether knowledge of genetics and genomics is associated with beliefs in genetic determinism. Finally, we explore the extent to which social factors such as gender, education, and religiosity are associated with genetic determinism. Methodologically, we gathered and analyzed data on beliefs in genetic determinism, knowledge of genetics and genomics, and social variables using the "Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics" (PUGGS) instrument. Our analyses of PUGGS responses from a sample of Brazilian university freshmen undergraduates indicated that (1) belief in genetic determinism was best characterized as a construct built up by two dimensions or belief systems: beliefs concerning social traits and beliefs concerning biological traits; (2) levels of belief in genetic determination of social traits were low, which contradicts prior work; (3) associations between knowledge of genetics and genomics and levels of belief in genetic determinism were low; and (4) social factors such as age and religiosity had stronger associations with beliefs in genetic determinism than knowledge. Although our study design precludes causal inferences, our results raise questions about whether enhancing genetic literacy will decrease or prevent beliefs in genetic determinism.

  1. [Future challenges in multiple sclerosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernández, Óscar

    2014-12-01

    Multiple sclerosis occurs in genetically susceptible individuals, in whom an unknown environmental factor triggers an immune response, giving rise to a chronic and disabling autoimmune disease. Currently, significant progress is being made in our knowledge of the frequency and distribution of multiple sclerosis and its risk factors, genetics, pathology, pathogenesis, diagnostic and prognostic markers, and treatment. This has radically changed patients' and clinicians' expectations of multiple sclerosis and has raised hope that there will soon be a way to control the disease. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  2. Determination of Fracture Parameters for Multiple Cracks of Laminated Composite Finite Plate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Amit Kumar; Arora, P. K.; Srivastava, Sharad Chandra; Kumar, Harish; Lohumi, M. K.

    2018-04-01

    A predictive method for estimation of stress state at zone of crack tip and assessment of remaining component lifetime depend on the stress intensity factor (SIF). This paper discusses the numerical approach for prediction of first ply failure load (FL), progressive failure load, SIF and critical SIF for multiple cracks configurations of laminated composite finite plate using finite element method (FEM). The Hashin and Chang failure criterion are incorporated in ABAQUS using subroutine approach user defined field variables (USDFLD) for prediction of progressive fracture response of laminated composite finite plate, which is not directly available in the software. A tensile experiment on laminated composite finite plate with stress concentration is performed to validate the numerically predicted subroutine results, shows excellent agreement. The typical results are presented to examine effect of changing the crack tip distance (S), crack offset distance (H), and stacking fiber angle (θ) on FL, and SIF .

  3. Treatment Results of Postoperative Radiotherapy on Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity: Coexistence of Multiple Minor Risk Factors Results in Higher Recurrence Rates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan, Kang-Hsing; Wang, Hung-Ming; Kang, Chung-Jan

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment results of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) on squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (OSCC). Materials and Methods: This study included 302 OSCC patients who were treated by radical surgery and PORT. Indications for PORT include Stage III or IV OSCC according to the 2002 criteria of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, the presence of perineural invasion or lymphatic invasion, the depth of tumor invasion, or a close surgical margin. Patients with major risk factors, such as multiple nodal metastases, a positive surgical margin, or extracapsular spreading, were excluded. The prescribed dose of PORT ranged from 59.4 to 66.6Gy (median, 63Gy). Results: The 3-year overall and recurrence-free survival rates were 73% and 70%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that differentiation, perineural invasion, lymphatic invasion, bone invasion, location (hard palate and retromolar trigone), invasion depths ≥10mm, and margin distances ≤4mm were significant prognostic factors. The presence of multiple significant factors of univariate analysis correlated with disease recurrence. The 3-year recurrence-free survival rates were 82%, 76%, and 45% for patients with no risk factors, one or two risk factors, and three or more risk factors, respectively. After multivariate analysis, the number of risk factors and lymphatic invasion were significant prognostic factors. Conclusion: PORT may be an adequate adjuvant therapy for OSCC patients with one or two risk factors of recurrence. The presence of multiple risk factors and lymphatic invasion correlated with poor prognosis, and more aggressive treatment may need to be considered.

  4. Benefits of the Multiple Echo Technique for Ultrasonic Thickness Testing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Elder, J.; Vandekamp, R.

    2011-02-10

    Much effort has been put into determining methods to make accurate thickness measurements, especially at elevated temperatures. An accuracy of +/- 0.001 inches is typically noted for commercial ultrasonic thickness gauges and ultrasonic thickness techniques. Codes and standards put limitations on many inspection factors including equipment, calibration tolerance and temperature variations. These factors are important and should be controlled, but unfortunately do not guarantee accurate and repeatable measurements in the field. Most technicians long for a single technique that is best for every situation, unfortunately, there are no 'silver bullets' when it comes to nondestructive testing. This paper will describe and discuss some of the major contributors to measurement error as well as some advantages and limitations of multiple echo techniques and why multiple echo techniques should be more widely utilized for ultrasonic thickness measurements.

  5. DETERMINANTS OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT: A SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulian CONDRATOV

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The issue of the unemployment concerning the population aged between 15-24 years has represented an important subject of research, due to the multiple implications that such a problem propagates on both social and economic sphere. Through this paper we wanted to achieve an updated synthesis of the results of the studies undertaken at an international level treating the unemployment problem among the young population. For combating efficiently this imbalance it is necessary to know its determinative factors. The studies undertaken along years identified determinative factors of different nature and, also, with a diffrent gravity of influence on the modification of the unemployment rate. Among the most important determinative factors the speciality litterature mentions: the demographic tendencies, the economic environment, the regulations concerning the work market and the educational system.

  6. Multiple risk factors during pregnancy in South Africa: the need for a horizontal approach to perinatal care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomlinson, Mark; O'Connor, Mary J; le Roux, Ingrid M; Stewart, Jacqueline; Mbewu, Nokwanele; Harwood, Jessica; Rotheram-Borus, Mary Jane

    2014-06-01

    South African children's long-term health and well-being is jeopardized during their mothers' pregnancies by the intersecting epidemics of HIV, alcohol use, low birth weight (LBW; alcohol prior to knowing that they were pregnant, and 15 % had a previous childbirth with a LBW infant. Approximately 27 % of women had more than one risk factor: depressed mood was significantly associated with alcohol use and LBW, with a trend to significance with HIV+. In addition, alcohol use was significantly related to HIV+. These results suggest the importance of intervening across multiple risks to maternal and child health, and particularly with depression and alcohol use, to positively impact multiple maternal and infant outcomes.

  7. Circadian Enhancers Coordinate Multiple Phases of Rhythmic Gene Transcription In Vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Bin; Everett, Logan J.; Jager, Jennifer; Briggs, Erika; Armour, Sean M.; Feng, Dan; Roy, Ankur; Gerhart-Hines, Zachary; Sun, Zheng; Lazar, Mitchell A.

    2014-01-01

    SUMMARY Mammalian transcriptomes display complex circadian rhythms with multiple phases of gene expression that cannot be accounted for by current models of the molecular clock. We have determined the underlying mechanisms by measuring nascent RNA transcription around the clock in mouse liver. Unbiased examination of eRNAs that cluster in specific circadian phases identified functional enhancers driven by distinct transcription factors (TFs). We further identify on a global scale the components of the TF cistromes that function to orchestrate circadian gene expression. Integrated genomic analyses also revealed novel mechanisms by which a single circadian factor controls opposing transcriptional phases. These findings shed new light on the diversity and specificity of TF function in the generation of multiple phases of circadian gene transcription in a mammalian organ. PMID:25416951

  8. Integrating the ICF with positive psychology: Factors predicting role participation for mothers with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farber, Ruth S; Kern, Margaret L; Brusilovsky, Eugene

    2015-05-01

    Being a mother has become a realizable life role for women with disabilities and chronic illnesses, including multiple sclerosis (MS). Identifying psychosocial factors that facilitate participation in important life roles-including motherhood-is essential to help women have fuller lives despite the challenge of their illness. By integrating the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) and a positive psychology perspective, this study examined how environmental social factors and positive personal factors contribute to daily role participation and satisfaction with parental participation. One hundred and 11 community-dwelling mothers with MS completed Ryff's Psychological Well-Being Scales, the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey, the Short Form-36, and the Parental Participation Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses examined associations between social support and positive personal factors (environmental mastery, self-acceptance, purpose in life) with daily role participation (physical and emotional) and satisfaction with parental participation. One-way ANOVAs tested synergistic combinations of social support and positive personal factors. Social support predicted daily role participation (fewer limitations) and greater satisfaction with parental participation. Positive personal factors contributed additional unique variance. Positive personal factors and social support synergistically predicted better function and greater satisfaction than either alone. Integrating components of the ICF and positive psychology provides a useful model for understanding how mothers with MS can thrive despite challenge or impairment. Both positive personal factors and environmental social factors were important contributors to positive role functioning. Incorporating these paradigms into treatment may help mothers with MS participate more fully in meaningful life roles. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  9. Multiple POU-binding motifs, recognized by tissue-specific nuclear factors, are important for Dll1 gene expression in neural stem cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakayama, Kohzo; Nagase, Kazuko; Tokutake, Yuriko; Koh, Chang-Sung; Hiratochi, Masahiro; Ohkawara, Takeshi; Nakayama, Noriko

    2004-01-01

    We cloned the 5'-flanking region of the mouse homolog of the Delta gene (Dll1) and demonstrated that the sequence between nucleotide position -514 and -484 in the 5'-flanking region of Dll1 played a critical role in the regulation of its tissue-specific expression in neural stem cells (NSCs). Further, we showed that multiple POU-binding motifs, located within this short sequence of 30 bp, were essential for transcriptional activation of Dll1 and also that multiple tissue-specific nuclear factors recognized these POU-binding motifs in various combinations through differentiation of NSCs. Thus, POU-binding factors may play an important role in Dll1 expression in developing NSCs

  10. Analysis on trust influencing factors and trust model from multiple perspectives of online Auction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wang

    2017-10-01

    Current reputation models lack the research on online auction trading completely so they cannot entirely reflect the reputation status of users and may cause problems on operability. To evaluate the user trust in online auction correctly, a trust computing model based on multiple influencing factors is established. It aims at overcoming the efficiency of current trust computing methods and the limitations of traditional theoretical trust models. The improved model comprehensively considers the trust degree evaluation factors of three types of participants according to different participation modes of online auctioneers, to improve the accuracy, effectiveness and robustness of the trust degree. The experiments test the efficiency and the performance of our model under different scale of malicious user, under environment like eBay and Sporas model. The experimental results analysis show the model proposed in this paper makes up the deficiency of existing model and it also has better feasibility.

  11. Factors determining the choice of a place of delivery among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    85 (60.7%) chose to deliver in the hospital, while 55 (39.3%) opted for home delivery in the index pregnancy. Determinants of choice of delivery place include cost of hospital bill ... thus achieving the millennium development goals (MDGs) 4 and 5. Keywords: Factors, delivery, birth attendants, pregnant women, MDGs ...

  12. Determining chance coincidence, survival factor and decay factor in 220Rn delayed coincidence measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang Derong; Yan Yongjun; Zhou Jianliang; Qiu Shoukang

    2013-01-01

    The method and calculation formulas to determine the chance coincidence in the 220 Rn coincidence measurement are introduced in this paper. The poisson distribution is introduced to correct the chance coincidence. The relative deviation of the true coincidence between the method and the Giffin's is within 5% after the correction of the cohance coincidence. The measurement of 220 Rn is done by comparative measurement with RAD7. The results shows that 220 Rn can be measured by the method with a relative deviation of 14%. Mean while, for the 220 Rn flow regime is difficult to meet the condition of calculation formulas, a solution to solve the survival factor and decay factor is proposed and the error come from the useage of theoretical calculation formula is avoided. (authors)

  13. Action of multiple intra-QTL genes concerted around a co-localized transcription factor underpins a large effect QTL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Shalabh; Kumar Biswal, Akshaya; Min, Aye; Henry, Amelia; Oane, Rowena H.; Raorane, Manish L.; Longkumer, Toshisangba; Pabuayon, Isaiah M.; Mutte, Sumanth K.; Vardarajan, Adithi R.; Miro, Berta; Govindan, Ganesan; Albano-Enriquez, Blesilda; Pueffeld, Mandy; Sreenivasulu, Nese; Slamet-Loedin, Inez; Sundarvelpandian, Kalaipandian; Tsai, Yuan-Ching; Raghuvanshi, Saurabh; Hsing, Yue-Ie C.; Kumar, Arvind; Kohli, Ajay

    2015-01-01

    Sub-QTLs and multiple intra-QTL genes are hypothesized to underpin large-effect QTLs. Known QTLs over gene families, biosynthetic pathways or certain traits represent functional gene-clusters of genes of the same gene ontology (GO). Gene-clusters containing genes of different GO have not been elaborated, except in silico as coexpressed genes within QTLs. Here we demonstrate the requirement of multiple intra-QTL genes for the full impact of QTL qDTY12.1 on rice yield under drought. Multiple evidences are presented for the need of the transcription factor ‘no apical meristem’ (OsNAM12.1) and its co-localized target genes of separate GO categories for qDTY12.1 function, raising a regulon-like model of genetic architecture. The molecular underpinnings of qDTY12.1 support its effectiveness in further improving a drought tolerant genotype and for its validity in multiple genotypes/ecosystems/environments. Resolving the combinatorial value of OsNAM12.1 with individual intra-QTL genes notwithstanding, identification and analyses of qDTY12.1has fast-tracked rice improvement towards food security. PMID:26507552

  14. Using Bayes factors for multi-factor, biometric authentication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giffin, A.; Skufca, J. D.; Lao, P. A.

    2015-01-01

    Multi-factor/multi-modal authentication systems are becoming the de facto industry standard. Traditional methods typically use rates that are point estimates and lack a good measure of uncertainty. Additionally, multiple factors are typically fused together in an ad hoc manner. To be consistent, as well as to establish and make proper use of uncertainties, we use a Bayesian method that will update our estimates and uncertainties as new information presents itself. Our algorithm compares competing classes (such as genuine vs. imposter) using Bayes Factors (BF). The importance of this approach is that we not only accept or reject one model (class), but compare it to others to make a decision. We show using a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve that using BF for determining class will always perform at least as well as the traditional combining of factors, such as a voting algorithm. As the uncertainty decreases, the BF result continues to exceed the traditional methods result.

  15. The NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database: Computational Version 3.00 with Updated Content and the Introduction of Multiple Scaling Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauschlicher, Charles W., Jr.; Ricca, A.; Boersma, C.; Allamandola, L. J.

    2018-02-01

    Version 3.00 of the library of computed spectra in the NASA Ames PAH IR Spectroscopic Database (PAHdb) is described. Version 3.00 introduces the use of multiple scale factors, instead of the single scaling factor used previously, to align the theoretical harmonic frequencies with the experimental fundamentals. The use of multiple scale factors permits the use of a variety of basis sets; this allows new PAH species to be included in the database, such as those containing oxygen, and yields an improved treatment of strained species and those containing nitrogen. In addition, the computed spectra of 2439 new PAH species have been added. The impact of these changes on the analysis of an astronomical spectrum through database-fitting is considered and compared with a fit using Version 2.00 of the library of computed spectra. Finally, astronomical constraints are defined for the PAH spectral libraries in PAHdb.

  16. Risk factors for fecal colonization with multiple distinct strains of Escherichia coli among long-term care facility residents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lautenbach, Ebbing; Tolomeo, Pam; Black, Nicole; Maslow, Joel N

    2009-05-01

    Of 49 long-term care facility residents, 21 (43%) were colonized with 2 or more distinct strains of Escherichia coli. There were no significant risk factors for colonization with multiple strains of E. coli. These results suggest that future efforts to efficiently identify the diversity of colonizing strains will be challenging.

  17. The design, implementation and acceptability of an integrated intervention to address multiple behavioral and psychosocial risk factors among pregnant African American women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rossi Maryann

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background African American women are at increased risk for poor pregnancy outcomes compared to other racial-ethnic groups. Single or multiple psychosocial and behavioral factors may contribute to this risk. Most interventions focus on singular risks. This paper describes the design, implementation, challenges faced, and acceptability of a behavioral counseling intervention for low income, pregnant African American women which integrated multiple targeted risks into a multi-component format. Methods Six academic institutions in Washington, DC collaborated in the development of a community-wide, primary care research study, DC-HOPE, to improve pregnancy outcomes. Cigarette smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, depression and intimate partner violence were the four risks targeted because of their adverse impact on pregnancy. Evidence-based models for addressing each risk were adapted and integrated into a multiple risk behavior intervention format. Pregnant women attending six urban prenatal clinics were screened for eligibility and risks and randomized to intervention or usual care. The 10-session intervention was delivered in conjunction with prenatal and postpartum care visits. Descriptive statistics on risk factor distributions, intervention attendance and length (i.e., with Results Forty-eight percent of women screened were eligible based on presence of targeted risks, 76% of those eligible were enrolled, and 79% of those enrolled were retained postpartum. Most women reported a single risk factor (61%; 39% had multiple risks. Eighty-four percent of intervention women attended at least one session (60% attended ≥ 4 sessions without disruption of clinic scheduling. Specific risk factor content was delivered as prescribed in 80% or more of the sessions; 78% of sessions were fully completed (where all required risk content was covered. Ninety-three percent of the subsample of intervention women had a positive view of their

  18. CHANGES IN TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR ALFA DURING TREATMENT OF PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS BY TRANSIMMUNIZATION METHOD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Kil'dyushevskiy

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the availability of a  large number of treatments for multiple sclerosis with various targets, these treatments are not always effective. According to the literature, experimental studies have shown a  significant decrease in tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α with the use of extracorporeal photochemotherapy. Aim: To assess changes in TNF-α in patients with multiple sclerosis during treatment with transimmunization. Materials and methods: The study recruited 13 adult patients with multiple sclerosis. Serum TNF-α was measured by immunochemiluminescence analysis (IMMULITE 1000, Siemens. The patients were treated by transimmunization, i.e. a  modified photopheresis. Two hours before the procedure, Ammifurin (8-methoxypsoralene was administered to all the patients, then their mononuclear cells were isolated under PBSC protocol with Haemonetics MCS+ cell separator. Thereafter, mononuclear cells were irradiated with ultraviolet for 90  minutes and incubated for 20 hours at 37 °С. The next day the cells were re-infused to the patients. The procedure was performed 2  times per week for 6  months, then once per 4  months. Results: Before transimmunization, mean TNF-α level in adult patients with multiple sclerosis was 9.958±0.812  pg/mL (normal, below 8.1 pg/mL. After transimmunization, its level was 6.992±0.367  pg/mL (р<0.05. Conclusion: Ultraviolet irradiation of peripheral blood monocytes with their subsequent incubation (transimmunization led to a 30% decrease of serum TNF-α in patients with multiple sclerosis. This indicates a suppressive effect of transimmunization on TNF-α. Hence, in patients with multiple sclerosis transimmunization exerts an anti-inflammatory effect.

  19. EXTENDED CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR MODEL FOR MANAGEMENT OF MULTIPLE PROJECTS: AN EMPIRICAL VIEW FROM TRANSNET IN SOUTH AFRICA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.M. Nethathe

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available

    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Transnet Freight Rail in South Africa has faced projects delays in its multi-project environment. This study takes South Africa as representative of developing countries, and develops the Critical Success Factors (CSFs model for multiple projects success, with the goal of expanding the conventional model by adding the demographic characteristics of the business units involved in the multiple projects. The empirical results showing the greatest number of success factors are people-related, with the focus on team selection and team commitment. Two demographic characteristics are of importance when managing multiple projects: the size of the business unit, and the employees’ project experience.

    AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Transnet, ‘n spoorvragentiteit in Suid-Afrika, ondervind gereeld projekvertragings in hul multi-projekomgewing. Suid-Afrika, as ‘n voorbeeld van ontwikkelende lande, word in die studie gebruik en hierdie studie ontwikkel ‘n reeks suksesfaktore vir ‘n multi-projek-omgewing deur ‘n bestaande konvensionele model aan te pas om ook die demografiese eienskappe van die verskillende besigheidseenhede betrokke in die organisasie te inkorpo-reer. Die resultaat van die studie wys dat die grootste aantal suksesfaktore mens-geörienteerd is, met die fokus op die samestelling en toewyding van die betrokke projekspanne. Twee demografiese eienskape is belangrik by die bestuur van multi-projekte, naamlik die grootte van die besigheidseenheid asook projekondervinding van die werknemers.

  20. What Factors Influence States' Capacity to Report Children's Health Care Quality Measures? A Multiple-Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Anna L; Petersen, Dana M; Burton, Rachel A; Forsberg, Vanessa C; Devers, Kelly J

    2017-01-01

    Objectives The objective of this study was to describe factors that influence the ability of state Medicaid agencies to report the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) core set of children's health care quality measures (Child Core Set). Methods We conducted a multiple-case study of four high-performing states participating in the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Quality Demonstration Grant Program: Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, and Oregon. Cases were purposively selected for their diverse measurement approaches and used data from 2010 to 2015, including 154 interviews, semiannual grant progress reports, and annual public reports on Child Core Set measures. We followed Yin's multiple-case study methodology to describe how and why each state increased the number of measures reported to CMS. Results All four states increased the number of Child Core Set measures reported to CMS during the grant period. Each took a different approach to reporting, depending on the available technical, organizational, and behavioral inputs in the state. Reporting capacity was influenced by a state's Medicaid data availability, ability to link to other state data systems, past experience with quality measurement, staff time and technical expertise, and demand for the measures. These factors were enhanced by CHIPRA Quality Demonstration grant funding and other federal capacity building activities, as hypothesized in our conceptual framework. These and other states have made progress reporting the Child Core Set since 2010. Conclusion With financial support and investment in state data systems and organizational factors, states can overcome challenges to reporting most of the Child Core Set measures.

  1. Structural basis for activation of trimeric Gi proteins by multiple growth factor receptors via GIV/Girdin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Changsheng; Ear, Jason; Midde, Krishna; Lopez-Sanchez, Inmaculada; Aznar, Nicolas; Garcia-Marcos, Mikel; Kufareva, Irina; Abagyan, Ruben; Ghosh, Pradipta

    2014-01-01

    A long-standing issue in the field of signal transduction is to understand the cross-talk between receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) and heterotrimeric G proteins, two major and distinct signaling hubs that control eukaryotic cell behavior. Although stimulation of many RTKs leads to activation of trimeric G proteins, the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon remain elusive. We discovered a unifying mechanism that allows GIV/Girdin, a bona fide metastasis-related protein and a guanine-nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) for Gαi, to serve as a direct platform for multiple RTKs to activate Gαi proteins. Using a combination of homology modeling, protein–protein interaction, and kinase assays, we demonstrate that a stretch of ∼110 amino acids within GIV C-terminus displays structural plasticity that allows folding into a SH2-like domain in the presence of phosphotyrosine ligands. Using protein–protein interaction assays, we demonstrated that both SH2 and GEF domains of GIV are required for the formation of a ligand-activated ternary complex between GIV, Gαi, and growth factor receptors and for activation of Gαi after growth factor stimulation. Expression of a SH2-deficient GIV mutant (Arg 1745→Leu) that cannot bind RTKs impaired all previously demonstrated functions of GIV—Akt enhancement, actin remodeling, and cell migration. The mechanistic and structural insights gained here shed light on the long-standing questions surrounding RTK/G protein cross-talk, set a novel paradigm, and characterize a unique pharmacological target for uncoupling GIV-dependent signaling downstream of multiple oncogenic RTKs. PMID:25187647

  2. Determinant factors of cardiorespiratory fitness in Portuguese adolescents of different ethnicities. DOI: 10.5007/1980-0037.2011v13n4p243

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Aguiar Santos

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Cardiorespiratory fitness is an important health indicator in young people. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of age, gender, body adiposity, and ethnicity on cardiorespiratory fitness in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. The sample consisted of 266 adolescents aged 12-18 years [112 boys (80 Caucasians and 32 African-Portuguese, AP and 154 girls (109 Caucasians and 45 AP]. Percent body fat was estimated with a hand-to-hand bioelectrical impedance device (BF300, OMROM. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed by a shuttle run test (Fitnessgram battery. Multiple regression models were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that girls presented lower maximal oxygen consumption and higher percent body fat than boys. Cardiorespiratory fitness was lower in Caucasian than in AP girls. Multiple regression analysis showed that percent body fat, age and the interaction of age with being Caucasian and age with female gender were significant determinants that were negatively associated with cardiorespiratory fitness. The results suggest that maximal oxygen consumption is lower in adolescents with higher adiposity and in older adolescents. The findings highlight the importance of promoting physical fitness in schools across ages, especially in older adolescents, adjusting for determinant factors such as gender and ethnicity

  3. Determining eyeball surface area directly exposed to the effects of external factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juliszewski, Tadeusz; Kadłuczka, Filip; Kiełbasa, Paweł

    2016-01-01

    This article discusses determining the surface area of eyeballs of men and women exposed to the direct effects of external factors in the working environment. For one eye, the mean surface is 172-182 mm(2). The determined surface area can be used in formulas for calculating the exposure of eyeballs to harmful chemical substances in workplace air.

  4. Pelvic fracture in the patient with multiple injuries: factors and lesions associated with mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martínez, Fernando; Alegret, Núria; Carol, Federico; Laso, M Jesús; Zancajo, Juanjo; García, Esteban; Ros, Vanesa

    2018-01-01

    The main objective of this study was to identify demographic, clinical, analytical factors or injuries associated with 30-day mortality in patients with pelvic fractures. Prospective observational study of patients with multiple injuries including pelvic fractures between January 2009 and January 2017. We recorded demographic, clinical, and laboratory data on arrival at the emergency department; type of pelvic fracture; treatments; associated lesions; and 30-day mortality. Univariable and multivariable models were used to analyze the data. A total of 2061 multiple-injury patients were attended; 118 had pelvic fractures. Fifteen of the patients with pelvic fractures (12.7%) died within 30 days. Arterial blood pressure on admission was less than 90 mm Hg in 23.7%, heart rate was over 100 beats per minute in 41.52%, lactic acid level was 20 mg/dL or higher in 67.6%, and base excess of -6 or less was recorded for 26.3%. The mean Injury Severity Score was 20 points. Angiographic embolization was required in 80.6% and preperitoneal packing in 3.4%. The main associated lesions were rib fractures (35.6%), hemo-pneumothorax (31.3%), spinal injuries (35.6%), and head injuries (30%). The 6 independent variables associated with risk of death in multiple-injury patients with pelvic fractures are age, female sex, complex fractures (Tile type C), lactic acid level of 20 mg/dL or more, base excess of -6 or less, and bowel perforation.

  5. Multiple functions of the von Willebrand Factor A domain in matrilins: secretion, assembly, and proteolysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanbe Katsuaki

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The von Willebrand Factor A (vWF A domain is one of the most widely distributed structural modules in cell-matrix adhesive molecules such as intergrins and extracellular matrix proteins. Mutations in the vWF A domain of matrilin-3 cause multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED, however the pathological mechanism remains to be determined. Previously we showed that the vWF A domain in matrilin-1 mediates formation of a filamentous matrix network through metal-ion dependent adhesion sites in the domain. Here we show two new functions of the vWF A domain in cartilage-specific matrilins (1 and 3. First, vWF A domain regulates oligomerization of matrilins. Insertion of a vWF A domain into matrilin-3 converts the formation of a mixture of matrilin-3 tetramer, trimer, and dimer into a tetramer only, while deletion of a vWF A domain from matrilin-1 converts the formation of the native matrilin-1 trimer into a mixture of trimer and dimer. Second, the vWF A domain protects matrilin-1 from proteolysis. We identified a latent proteolytic site next to the vWF A2 domain in matrilin-1, which is sensitive to the inhibitors of matrix proteases. Deletion of the abutting vWF A domain results in degradation of matrilin-1, presumably by exposing the adjacent proteolytic site. In addition, we also confirmed the vWF A domain is vital for the secretion of matrilin-3. Secretion of the mutant matrilin-3 harbouring a point mutation within the vWF A domain, as occurred in MED patients, is markedly reduced and delayed, resulting from intracellular retention of the mutant matrilin-3. Taken together, our data suggest that different mutations/deletions of the vWF A domain in matrilins may lead to distinct pathological mechanisms due to the multiple functions of the vWF A domain.

  6. Multiple interacting factors influence adherence, and outcomes associated with surgical safety checklists: a qualitative study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna R Gagliardi

    Full Text Available The surgical safety checklist (SSC is meant to enhance patient safety but studies of its impact conflict. This study explored factors that influenced SSC adherence to suggest how its impact could be optimized.Participants were recruited purposively by profession, region, hospital type and time using the SSC. They were asked to describe how the SSC was adopted, associated challenges, perceived impact, and suggestions for improving its use. Grounded theory and thematic analysis were used to collect and analyse data. Findings were interpreted using an implementation fidelity conceptual framework.Fifty-one participants were interviewed (29 nurses, 13 surgeons, 9 anaesthetists; 18 small, 14 large and 19 teaching hospitals; 8 regions; 31 had used the SC for ≤12 months, 20 for 13+ months. The SSC was inconsistently reviewed, and often inaccurately documented as complete. Adherence was influenced by multiple issues. Extensive modification to accommodate existing practice patterns eliminated essential interaction at key time points to discuss patient management. Staff were often absent or not paying attention. They did not feel it was relevant to their work given limited evidence of its effectiveness, and because they were not engaged in its implementation. Organizations provided little support for implementation, training, monitoring and feedback, which are needed to overcome these, and other individual and team factors that challenged SSC adherence. Responses were similar across participants with different characteristics.Multiple processes and factors influenced SSC adherence. This may explain why, in studies evaluating SSC impact, outcomes were variable. Recommendations included continuing education, time for pilot-testing, and engaging all staff in SSC review. Others may use the implementation fidelity framework to plan SSC implementation or evaluate SSC adherence. Further research is needed to establish which SSC components can be modified

  7. Determination of risk factors and level of awareness of caprine ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In Oju, goats are the major livestock kept and there is a well established goat market held every five days. This study was aimed at determining the risk factors associated with caprine brucellosis and assessing level of awareness amongst goat owners in Oju Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State using a structured ...

  8. Determining organizational information needs: the Critical Success Factors approach.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Reports on a series of investigations in the UK and Finland, in both academic and business institutions. The Critical Success Factors approach is defined and explored as a means of determining the information needs of organizations, rather than of individuals. Concludes that such use is appropriate and productive, enabling the identification of types of information that may aid the organization in its strategic policy making to achieve competitive advantage.

  9. Induced Systemic Tolerance to Multiple Stresses Including Biotic and Abiotic Factors by Rhizobacteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sung-Je Yoo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Recently, global warming and drastic climate change are the greatest threat to the world. The climate change can affect plant productivity by reducing plant adaptation to diverse environments including frequent high temperature; worsen drought condition and increased pathogen transmission and infection. Plants have to survive in this condition with a variety of biotic (pathogen/pest attack and abiotic stress (salt, high/low temperature, drought. Plants can interact with beneficial microbes including plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, which help plant mitigate biotic and abiotic stress. This overview presents that rhizobacteria plays an important role in induced systemic resistance (ISR to biotic stress or induced systemic tolerance (IST to abiotic stress condition; bacterial determinants related to ISR and/or IST. In addition, we describe effects of rhizobacteria on defense/tolerance related signal pathway in plants. We also review recent information including plant resistance or tolerance against multiple stresses (bioticabiotic. We desire that this review contribute to expand understanding and knowledge on the microbial application in a constantly varying agroecosystem, and suggest beneficial microbes as one of alternative environment-friendly application to alleviate multiple stresses.

  10. Social Support for Changing Multiple Behaviors: Factors Associated with Seeking Support and the Impact of Offered Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greaney, Mary L.; Puleo, Elaine; Sprunck-Harrild, Kim; Haines, Jess; Houghton, Serena C.; Emmons, Karen M.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction: Social support is important for behavior change, and it may be particularly important for the complexities of changing multiple risk behaviors (MRB). Research is needed to determine if participants in an MRB intervention can be encouraged to activate their social network to aid their change efforts. Methods: Healthy Directions 2, a…

  11. Platelet-derived growth factor predicts prolonged relapse-free period in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stampanoni Bassi, Mario; Iezzi, Ennio; Marfia, Girolama A; Simonelli, Ilaria; Musella, Alessandra; Mandolesi, Georgia; Fresegna, Diego; Pasqualetti, Patrizio; Furlan, Roberto; Finardi, Annamaria; Mataluni, Giorgia; Landi, Doriana; Gilio, Luana; Centonze, Diego; Buttari, Fabio

    2018-04-14

    In the early phases of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS), a clear correlation between brain lesion load and clinical disability is often lacking, originating the so-called clinico-radiological paradox. Different factors may contribute to such discrepancy. In particular, synaptic plasticity may reduce the clinical expression of brain damage producing enduring enhancement of synaptic strength largely dependent on neurotrophin-induced protein synthesis. Cytokines released by the immune cells during acute inflammation can alter synaptic transmission and plasticity possibly influencing the clinical course of MS. In addition, immune cells may promote brain repair during the post-acute phases, by secreting different growth factors involved in neuronal and oligodendroglial cell survival. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a neurotrophic factor that could be particularly involved in clinical recovery. Indeed, PDGF promotes long-term potentiation of synaptic activity in vitro and in MS and could therefore represent a key factor improving the clinical compensation of new brain lesions. The aim of the present study is to explore whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) PDGF concentrations at the time of diagnosis may influence the clinical course of RR-MS. At the time of diagnosis, we measured in 100 consecutive early MS patients the CSF concentrations of PDGF, of the main pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and of reliable markers of neuronal damage. Clinical and radiological parameters of disease activity were prospectively collected during follow-up. CSF PDGF levels were positively correlated with prolonged relapse-free survival. Radiological markers of disease activity, biochemical markers of neuronal damage, and clinical parameters of disease progression were instead not influenced by PDGF concentrations. Higher CSF PDGF levels were associated with an anti-inflammatory milieu within the central nervous system. Our results suggest that PDGF could promote a

  12. Relationship between single and multiple perpetrator rape perpetration in South Africa: A comparison of risk factors in a population-based sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    R, Jewkes; Y, Sikweyiya; K, Dunkle; R, Morrell

    2015-07-07

    Studies of rape of women seldom distinguish between men's participation in acts of single and multiple perpetrator rape. Multiple perpetrator rape (MPR) occurs globally with serious consequences for women. In South Africa it is a cultural practice with defined circumstances in which it commonly occurs. Prevention requires an understanding of whether it is a context specific intensification of single perpetrator rape, or a distinctly different practice of different men. This paper aims to address this question. We conducted a cross-sectional household study with a multi-stage, randomly selected sample of 1686 men aged 18-49 who completed a questionnaire administered using an Audio-enhanced Personal Digital Assistant. We attempted to fit an ordered logistic regression model for factors associated with rape perpetration. 27.6 % of men had raped and 8.8 % had perpetrated multiple perpetrator rape (MPR). Thus 31.9 % of men who had ever raped had done so with other perpetrators. An ordered regression model was fitted, showing that the same associated factors, albeit at higher prevalence, are associated with SPR and MPR. Multiple perpetrator rape appears as an intensified form of single perpetrator rape, rather than a different form of rape. Prevention approaches need to be mainstreamed among young men.

  13. Factors determining esthetic outcome after breast cancer conservative treatment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cardoso, Maria J; Cardoso, Jaime; Santos, Ana C

    2007-01-01

    with lower body mass index (BMI) and premenopausal status obtained better cosmetic results. In the group of tumor- and treatment-related factors, larger removed specimens, clearly visible scars, the use of chemotherapy and longer follow-up period were associated with less satisfactory results......The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors that determine esthetic outcome after breast cancer conservative treatment, based on a consensual classification obtained with an international consensus panel. Photographs were taken from 120 women submitted to conservative unilateral breast cancer...... surgery (with or without axillary surgery) and radiotherapy. The images were sent to a panel of observers from 13 different countries and consensus on the classification of esthetic result (recorded as excellent, good, fair or poor) was obtained in 113 cases by means of a Delphi method. For each patient...

  14. Factors affecting the determination of the isotopically exchangeable phosphorus in soils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morales, L.E.M.

    1981-06-01

    In order to evaluate the factors that affect the determination of the isotopically exchangeable phosphorus in soils (L value), various greenhouse experiments were carried out. The following factors were considered: carrier level; plant species; harvest time; nitrogen doses; nitrogen sources; culture conditions and soil type. A radioactive solution with an activity level of approximately 10 μCi 32 p/3 kg soil with different carrier levels was located in layers or mixed completely with the soil depending upon the experiment. (author)

  15. Determination of true coincidence correction factors using Monte-Carlo simulation techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chionis Dionysios A.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim of this work is the numerical calculation of the true coincidence correction factors by means of Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. For this purpose, the Monte Carlo computer code PENELOPE was used and the main program PENMAIN was properly modified in order to include the effect of the true coincidence phenomenon. The modified main program that takes into consideration the true coincidence phenomenon was used for the full energy peak efficiency determination of an XtRa Ge detector with relative efficiency 104% and the results obtained for the 1173 keV and 1332 keV photons of 60Co were found consistent with respective experimental ones. The true coincidence correction factors were calculated as the ratio of the full energy peak efficiencies was determined from the original main program PENMAIN and the modified main program PENMAIN. The developed technique was applied for 57Co, 88Y, and 134Cs and for two source-to-detector geometries. The results obtained were compared with true coincidence correction factors calculated from the "TrueCoinc" program and the relative bias was found to be less than 2%, 4%, and 8% for 57Co, 88Y, and 134Cs, respectively.

  16. Determination of OB/OD/SF Emission Factors Using Unmanned Aerial Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    A presentation to the Demilitarization Symposium. This proposal will present the methods of tethered aerostat and unmanned aerial system for collection of plume samples and determination of emission factors form open burning, open detonation, and static firing for weapon demilita...

  17. [The theory of multiple intelligences: a suitable neurocognitive context for the neuropsychological hypotheses on the factors and mechanisms of superiority].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sierra-Fitzgerald, O; Quevedo-Caicedo, J

    The aim of this article is to relate two theories regarding the structure of the human mind. We suggest that the theory of multiple intelligences, a neurocognitive theory of the psychologist Howard Garnerd provides a suitable context for theoretical understanding and validation of the hypothesis of the pathology of superiority, a neuropsychological hypothesis formulated by the neuropsychologists Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda. Similarly, we show that, apart from being a context, the first theory enriches the second. We review the essential elements of both theories together with the arguments for them so that the reader may judge for himself. Similarly we review the factors determining intelligence; the association between neuropathology and intellectual dysfunction, general and specific, and the new directions in the understanding of human cognition. We propose to consider the first theory as a fertile ambit and broad methodological framework for investigation in neuropsychology. This simultaneously shows the relevance of including neuropsychological investigation in broader cognitive and neuropsychological theories and models.

  18. A method for determining the analytical form of a radionuclide depth distribution using multiple gamma spectrometry measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dewey, Steven Clifford, E-mail: sdewey001@gmail.com [United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Environmental Health Division, Health Physics Branch, Radiation Analysis Laboratories, 2350 Gillingham Drive, Brooks City-Base, TX 78235 (United States); Whetstone, Zachary David, E-mail: zacwhets@umich.edu [Radiological Health Engineering Laboratory, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2355 Bonisteel Boulevard, 1906 Cooley Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2104 (United States); Kearfott, Kimberlee Jane, E-mail: kearfott@umich.edu [Radiological Health Engineering Laboratory, Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences, University of Michigan, 2355 Bonisteel Boulevard, 1906 Cooley Building, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2104 (United States)

    2011-06-15

    When characterizing environmental radioactivity, whether in the soil or within concrete building structures undergoing remediation or decommissioning, it is highly desirable to know the radionuclide depth distribution. This is typically modeled using continuous analytical expressions, whose forms are believed to best represent the true source distributions. In situ gamma ray spectroscopic measurements are combined with these models to fully describe the source. Currently, the choice of analytical expressions is based upon prior experimental core sampling results at similar locations, any known site history, or radionuclide transport models. This paper presents a method, employing multiple in situ measurements at a single site, for determining the analytical form that best represents the true depth distribution present. The measurements can be made using a variety of geometries, each of which has a different sensitivity variation with source spatial distribution. Using non-linear least squares numerical optimization methods, the results can be fit to a collection of analytical models and the parameters of each model determined. The analytical expression that results in the fit with the lowest residual is selected as the most accurate representation. A cursory examination is made of the effects of measurement errors on the method. - Highlights: > A new method for determining radionuclide distribution as a function of depth is presented. > Multiple measurements are used, with enough measurements to determine the unknowns in analytical functions that might describe the distribution. > The measurements must be as independent as possible, which is achieved through special collimation of the detector. > Although the effects of measurements errors may be significant on the results, an improvement over other methods is anticipated.

  19. Association between age at onset of multiple sclerosis and vitamin D level-related factors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Julie Hejgaard; Søndergaard, Helle Bach; Sørensen, Per Soelberg

    2016-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To compare vitamin D level-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GC and CYP2R1, multiple sclerosis (MS) risk SNPs in CYP27B1, CYP24A1, and HLA-DRB1*1501, and adolescent exposure to environmental risk factors for hypovitaminosis D, with MS age at onset. METHODS: This cross......, and the study was approved by the local ethics committee. RESULTS: Younger age at onset was significantly associated with low exposure to summer sun in adolescence, higher body mass index at 20 years of age, and the HLA-DRB1*1501 risk allele in both univariate analyses and in a multivariable regression analysis....... No association was found between age at onset and any of the other SNPs or vitamin D-associated environmental factors. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate an independent effect by HLA-DRB1*1501, adolescent summer sun habits, and body mass index at the age of 20 on age at onset of MS....

  20. Two Proposals for determination of large reactivity of reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaneko, Yoshihiko; Nagao, Yoshiharu; Yamane, Tsuyoshi; Takeuchi, Mituo

    1999-01-01

    Two Proposals for determination of large reactivity of reactors are presented. One is for large positive reactivity. The other is for large negative reactivity. Existing experimental methods for determination of large positive reactivity, the fuel addition method and the neutron adsorption substitution method were analyzed. It is found that both the experimental methods are possibly affected to the substantially large systematic error up to ∼ 20%, when the value of the excess multiplication factor comes into the range close to ∼20%Δk. To cope with this difficulty, a revised method is validly proposed. The revised method evaluates the value of the potential excess multiplication factor as the consecutive increments of the effective multiplication factor in a virtual core, which are converted from those in an actual core by multiplying a conversion factor f to it. The conversion factor f is to be obtained in principle by calculation. Numerical experiments were done on a slab reactor using one group diffusion model. The rod drop experimental method is widely used for determination of large negative negative reactivity values. The decay of the neutron density followed by initiating the insertion of the rod is obliged to be slowed down according to its speed. It is proved by analysis based on the one point reactor kinetics that in such a case the integral counting method hitherto used tend to significantly underestimate the absolute values of negative reactivity, even if the insertion time is in the range of 1-2 s. As for the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), the insertion time will be lengthened up to 4-6 s. In order to overcome the difficulty , the delayed integral counting method is proposed, in which the integration of neutron counting starts after the rod drop has been completed and the counts before is evaluated by calculation using one point reactor kinetics. This is because the influence of the insertion time on the decay of the neutron

  1. A case-control study of risk factors for multiple sclerosis in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso, Alvaro; Cook, Stuart D; Maghzi, Amir-Hadi; Divani, Afshin A

    2011-05-01

    Numerous studies have assessed risk factors for multiple sclerosis (MS), although none have been conducted previously in Iran. The objective of this study was to study lifestyle and environmental risk factors of MS in the Iranian population. A case-control study, including 394 MS cases and 394 matched controls, was conducted in MS clinics in different Iranian cities. Information on lifestyles, environmental exposures, and past medical history was obtained from medical charts and phone interviews. In multivariable analysis, sunlight exposure was associated with a lower risk of MS: the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of MS associated with a 1-h increment in daily sunlight was 0.62 (0.53-0.73). Smoking was associated with MS risk in women (OR: 6.48, 95% CI: 1.46-28.78), but not in men (OR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.31-1.68) (p=0.002 for interaction). Finally, past history of common surgical procedures, infectious disorders, or exposure to pets and farm animals was not associated with MS risk. Different modifiable lifestyles, including sunlight exposure and smoking, were associated with lower MS risk in Iran. Interventions aimed at promoting smoking cessation and, more importantly, at increasing exposure to sunlight might contribute to the prevention of MS.

  2. Determination of seismic performance factors for CLT shear wall systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    M. Omar Amini; John W. van de Lindt; Douglas Rammer; Shiling Pei; Philip Line; Marjan Popovski

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents selected results of connector testing and wall testing which were part of a Forest Products Lab-funded project undertaken at Colorado State University in an effort to determine seismic performance factors for cross laminated timber (CLT) shear walls in the United States. Archetype development, which is required as part of the process, is also...

  3. Experimental determination of the dynamic shape factor of primary sodium peroxide aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barbe, M.

    1985-09-01

    A hypothetical accident in a fast breeeder reactor could cause aerosols to be generated in a sodium fire. The computer codes relative to the modeling of such accidents make it necessary to use various input parameters among which the dynamic shape factor kappa of the aerosols produced. This study concerns the shape factor of sodium peroxide; the discrepancies between the values of this parameter given in the literature justifies the usefulness of our work. We have tried to use the simplest method. The dynamic shape factor is proportional to the ratio of the equivalent volume diameter to the aerodynamic diameter for a given particle. Therefore, these two quantities must be determined. The particles are classified by means of a centrifuge as a function of their aerodynamic diameter; the equivalent volume diameter of the particles thus selected can then be determined by assessing the mass (neutron activation) and the number (electron microscope) on the same sample of particles. Our results show that the dynamic shape factor of sodium peroxide submicronic particles generated by a fire is nearly 1 and the values of this parameter increase with the particles size [fr

  4. Pre and post-natal risk and determination of factors for child obesity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trandafir, L M; Temneanu, O R

    2016-01-01

    Obesity is considered a condition presenting a complex, multi-factorial etiology that implies genetic and non-genetic factors. The way the available information should be efficiently and strategically used in the obesity and overweight prohylaxisprogrammes for children all over the world is still unclear for most of the risk factors. Mothers' pre-conception weight and weight gain during pregnancy are two of the most important prenatal determinants of childhood obesity. Maternal obesity and gestational weight gain are associated with foetal macrosomia and childhood obesity, and this effect extends into adulthood. Obesity and the metabolic syndrome in children originate in intrauterine life. The current obesity epidemic is probably the result of our evolutive inheritance associated with the consumption of highly processed food with an increased calorific value. The determination of risk factors involved in child obesity are: genetic predisposition, diet, sedentary behaviors, socioeconomic position, ethnic origin, microbiota, iatrogenic, endocrine diseases, congenital and acquired hypothalamic defects, usage of medications affecting appetite. However, the vast majority of patients will not have any of these identifiable conditions. Regardless of the aetiology, all the patients should be considered for modifiable lifestyle risk factors and screened for the complications of obesity.

  5. The Determinant Factors of Creative Economy Craftsmen Sustainability in South Sulawesi Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helda Ibrahim

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Creative economy craftsmen have big contribution to regional income and able to sustain in crisis. It can be seen on the average of Gross Domestic Product has employed 5.4 million in average for 2002-2009 with participation level of 5.8%. Therefore, a strategic sustainability is needed especially for the determinant factors of sustainability related to creative economy craftsmen. This research aims to observe the determinant factors of sustainability of creative economy craftsmen in Wajo and Bulukumba Regencies in South Sulawesi Province. Sample for the research was 215 creative economy craftsmen. Data collection is conducted on January to April 2012 consists of primary and secondary data. Research method was using prospective analysis to determine important factors to the sustainability of creative economy craftsmen that predict future alternatives. Result from Rap-UEK simulation for the composite of five dimensions showed a less sustainable status of 48.97%. Research results showed that there are six dominant or main factors in determining business sustainability of creative economy craftsmen, one place sale, coordination with the government and private sectors, capital source, increase in the product of creative economy business, business field and product development Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman

  6. Experimental determination of lattice parameters for 2% enriched uranium heavy water reactor cores

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raisic, N; Takac, S; Markovic, H; Bosevski, T [Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences Vinca, Belgrade (Yugoslavia)

    1963-04-15

    Systematic measurements of the buckling, infinite multiplication factor and the thermal utilization factor were made on a series of lattices for 2% enriched uranium tubular fuel elements in heavy water. This work represents the first phase of experimental verification of standard theoretical methods used for the determination of reactor parameters.

  7. Determinants of iron accumulation in deep grey matter of multiple sclerosis patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ropele, Stefan; Kilsdonk, Iris D; Wattjes, Mike P

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Iron accumulation in deep grey matter (GM) structures is a consistent finding in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. This study focused on the identification of independent determinants of iron accumulation using R2* mapping. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ninety-seven MS patients and 81 healthy...... controls were included in this multicentre study. R2* mapping was performed on 3T MRI systems. R2*in deep GM was corrected for age and was related to disease duration, disability, T2 lesion load and brain volume. RESULTS: Compared to controls, R2* was increased in all deep GM regions of MS patients except...... and the red nucleus. In lesions, R2* was inversely correlated with disease duration and higher total lesion load. CONCLUSION: Iron accumulation in deep GM of MS patients is most strongly and independently associated with duration and severity of the disease. Additional associations between cortical GM atrophy...

  8. Validity and Reliability of the Turkish Version of the Monitoring My Multiple Sclerosis Scale.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Polat, Cansu; Tülek, Zeliha; Kürtüncü, Murat; Eraksoy, Mefkure

    2017-06-01

    This research was conducted to adapt the Monitoring My Multiple Sclerosis (MMMS) scale, which is a scale used for self-evaluation by multiple sclerosis (MS) patients of their own health and quality of life, to Turkish and to determine the psychometric properties of the scale. The methodological research was conducted in the outpatient MS clinic of a university hospital between January and September 2013. The sample in this study consisted of 140 patients aged above 18 who had a diagnosis of definite MS. Patients who experienced attacks in the previous month or had any serious medical problems other than MS were not included in the group. The linguistic validity of MMMS was tested by a backward-forward translation method and an expert panel. Reliability analysis was performed using test-retest correlations, item-total correlations, and internal consistency analysis. Confirmatory factor analysis and concurrent validity were used to determine the construct validity. The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life-54 instrument was used to determine concurrent validity and the Expanded Disability Status Scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, and Mini Mental State Examination were used for further determination of the construct validity. We determined that the scale consisted of four factors with loadings ranging from 0.49 to 0.79. The correlation coefficients of the scale were determined to be between 0.47 and 0.76 for item-total score and between 0.60 and 0.81 for items and subscale scores. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined to be 0.94 for the entire scale and between 0.64 and 0.89 for the subscales. Test-retest correlations were significant. Correlations between MMMS and other scales were also found to be significant. The Turkish MMMS provides adequate validity and reliability for assessing the impact of MS on quality of life and health status in patients.

  9. Experimental Determination of Impurity and Interdiffusion Coefficients in Seven Ti and Zr Binary Systems Using Diffusion Multiples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhangqi; Liu, Zi-Kui; Zhao, Ji-Cheng

    2018-05-01

    Diffusion coefficients of seven binary systems (Ti-Mo, Ti-Nb, Ti-Ta, Ti-Zr, Zr-Mo, Zr-Nb, and Zr-Ta) at 1200 °C, 1000 °C, and 800 °C were experimentally determined using three Ti-Mo-Nb-Ta-Zr diffusion multiples. Electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) was performed to collect concentration profiles at the binary diffusion regions. Forward simulation analysis (FSA) was then applied to extract both impurity and interdiffusion coefficients in Ti-rich and Zr-rich part of the bcc phase. Excellent agreements between our results and most of the literature data validate the high-throughput approach combining FSA with diffusion multiples to obtain a large amount of systematic diffusion data, which will help establish the diffusion (mobility) databases for the design and development of biomedical and structural Ti alloys.

  10. [Sociocultural factors determinants of eating habits of kindergarten schoolchildren in Peru].

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Jiménez, Rocío; León-Larios, Fátima; Lomas-Campos, Mercedes; Albar, María-Jesús

    2016-01-01

    To examine the sociocultural factors that determine the eating habits of children aged less than 5 years who attend kindergarten school in Chachapoyas in Peru, we carried out a qualitative study by means of semi-structured interviews of 18 fathers and mothers. The key factors related to eating habits were as follows: availability and easiness to prepare foods, schedule and work done by parents, intake of coffee in children as a common practice, lack of resources and economic uncertainty for food planning, and the lack of nutritional knowledge. Similarly, beliefs that might explain some eating habits, such as the beneficial effects of eating food as a family, maternal breastfeeding, and others, or the role of nutrition for the appropriate intellectual and physical development of children were identified. Our results provide evidence about the ways parents tackle and understand their children's nutrition while, in turn, determining its quality.

  11. Systems analysis of multiple regulator perturbations allows discovery of virulence factors in Salmonella

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yoon, Hyunjin; Ansong, Charles; McDermott, Jason E.; Gritsenko, Marina A.; Smith, Richard D.; Heffron, Fred; Adkins, Joshua N.

    2011-06-28

    Background: Systemic bacterial infections are highly regulated and complex processes that are orchestrated by numerous virulence factors. Genes that are coordinately controlled by the set of regulators required for systemic infection are potentially required for pathogenicity. Results: In this study we present a systems biology approach in which sample-matched multi-omic measurements of fourteen virulence-essential regulator mutants were coupled with computational network analysis to efficiently identify Salmonella virulence factors. Immunoblot experiments verified network-predicted virulence factors and a subset was determined to be secreted into the host cytoplasm, suggesting that they are virulence factors directly interacting with host cellular components. Two of these, SrfN and PagK2, were required for full mouse virulence and were shown to be translocated independent of either of the type III secretion systems in Salmonella or the type III injectisome-related flagellar mechanism. Conclusions: Integrating multi-omic datasets from Salmonella mutants lacking virulence regulators not only identified novel virulence factors but also defined a new class of translocated effectors involved in pathogenesis. The success of this strategy at discovery of known and novel virulence factors suggests that the approach may have applicability for other bacterial pathogens.

  12. 45 CFR 150.317 - Factors CMS uses to determine the amount of penalty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 45 Public Welfare 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Factors CMS uses to determine the amount of... RELATING TO HEALTH CARE ACCESS CMS ENFORCEMENT IN GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL INSURANCE MARKETS CMS Enforcement With Respect to Issuers and Non-Federal Governmental Plans-Civil Money Penalties § 150.317 Factors CMS...

  13. Factors Affecting University Entrants' Performance in High-Stakes Tests: A Multiple Regression Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uy, Chin; Manalo, Ronaldo A.; Cabauatan, Ronaldo R.

    2015-01-01

    In the Philippines, students seeking admission to a university are usually required to meet certain entrance requirements, including passing the entrance examinations with questions on IQ and English, mathematics, and science. This paper aims to determine the factors that affect the performance of entrants into business programmes in high-stakes…

  14. Determination of tin equilibrium isotope fractionation factors from synchrotron radiation experiments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Polyakov, VB; Mineev, SD; Clayton, RN; Hu, G; Mineev, KS

    2005-01-01

    A method of determination of the reduced isotopic partition function ratio (beta-factor) from the partial density of state (PDOS) obtained by inelastic nuclear resonant X-ray scattering (INRXS) in synchrotron radiation experiments has been established. The method has been demonstrated by the example

  15. Multiple pregnancy, short cervix, part-time worker, steroid use, low educational level and male fetus are risk factors for preterm birth in Japan: a multicenter, prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiozaki, Arihiro; Yoneda, Satoshi; Nakabayashi, Masao; Takeda, Yoshiharu; Takeda, Satoru; Sugimura, Motoi; Yoshida, Koyo; Tajima, Atsushi; Manabe, Mami; Akagi, Kozo; Nakagawa, Shoko; Tada, Katsuhiko; Imafuku, Noriaki; Ogawa, Masanobu; Mizunoe, Tomoya; Kanayama, Naohiro; Itoh, Hiroaki; Minoura, Shigeki; Ogino, Mitsuharu; Saito, Shigeru

    2014-01-01

    To examine the relationship between preterm birth and socioeconomic factors, past history, cervical length, cervical interleukin-8, bacterial vaginosis, underlying diseases, use of medication, employment status, sex of the fetus and multiple pregnancy. In a multicenter, prospective, observational study, 1810 Japanese women registering their future delivery were enrolled at 8⁺⁰ to 12⁺⁶ weeks of gestation. Data on cervical length and delivery were obtained from 1365 pregnant women. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed. Short cervical length, steroid use, multiple pregnancy and male fetus were risk factors for preterm birth before 34 weeks of gestation. Multiple pregnancy, low educational level, short cervical length and part-timer were risk factors for preterm birth before 37 weeks of gestation. Multiple pregnancy and cervical shortening at 20-24 weeks of gestation was a stronger risk factor for preterm birth. Any pregnant woman being part-time employee or low educational level, having a male fetus and requiring steroid treatment should be watched for the development of preterm birth. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2013 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

  16. Development of Multiple Sclerosis in Patients with Optic Neuritis: Analysis of Predictive Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hacer Durmuş

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Optic neuritis (ON is inflammation of the optic nerve that generally leads to transient loss of vision. Unilateral optic neuritis is quite common upon first presentation in multiple sclerosis (MS patients, but it may also remain as a clinically isolated syndrome. In this study we aimed to determine what factors are associated with the development of MS in isolated ON patients. METHODS: Medical charts of patients followed-up at Istanbul University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurology between 1987 and 2003 were screened for patients with isolated ON at first presentation. A cohort of 90 patients was thusly obtained. Clinical and demographic features, visual evoked potential, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF, and magnetic resonance imaging findings, and time to definitive MS according to McDonald’s criteria were recorded. RESULTS: In all, 50% of the patients developed definitive MS after 13 months (95% CI: 4.4-19.6. Two of the patients developed neuromyelitis optica during the course of their follow-up. The development of MS was significantly associated with the presence of a T2 lesion (p= 0.001, oligoclonal bands (OCBs in the CSF (p= 0.002, absence of papilledema (p= 0.027, absence of severe visual impairment (p= 0.016, and subacute (> 1 day visual impairment (p= 0.005, as per log rank testing. According to the Cox proportional hazard regression model, the presence of a T2 lesion (hazard ratio: 4.8; 95% CI: 1.5-15.4 and OCBs (hazard ratio: 3.6; 95% CI: 1.1-11.5 are strongly predictive of the progression to MS. CONCLUSION: As some previous studies have noted, the risk of developing MS after ON is significantly higher in the presence of a T2 lesion and OCBs in the CSF. We think that this should be taken into account before starting early treatment for MS. Recent studies on the pathogenesis of MS have suggested that early treatment of MS reduces neurological disability in the long term. Our results might aid patient selection for early

  17. The determination of beam quality correction factors: Monte Carlo simulations and measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Castaño, D M; Hartmann, G H; Sánchez-Doblado, F; Gómez, F; Kapsch, R-P; Pena, J; Capote, R

    2009-08-07

    Modern dosimetry protocols are based on the use of ionization chambers provided with a calibration factor in terms of absorbed dose to water. The basic formula to determine the absorbed dose at a user's beam contains the well-known beam quality correction factor that is required whenever the quality of radiation used at calibration differs from that of the user's radiation. The dosimetry protocols describe the whole ionization chamber calibration procedure and include tabulated beam quality correction factors which refer to 60Co gamma radiation used as calibration quality. They have been calculated for a series of ionization chambers and radiation qualities based on formulae, which are also described in the protocols. In the case of high-energy photon beams, the relative standard uncertainty of the beam quality correction factor is estimated to amount to 1%. In the present work, two alternative methods to determine beam quality correction factors are prescribed-Monte Carlo simulation using the EGSnrc system and an experimental method based on a comparison with a reference chamber. Both Monte Carlo calculations and ratio measurements were carried out for nine chambers at several radiation beams. Four chamber types are not included in the current dosimetry protocols. Beam quality corrections for the reference chamber at two beam qualities were also measured using a calorimeter at a PTB Primary Standards Dosimetry Laboratory. Good agreement between the Monte Carlo calculated (1% uncertainty) and measured (0.5% uncertainty) beam quality correction factors was obtained. Based on these results we propose that beam quality correction factors can be generated both by measurements and by the Monte Carlo simulations with an uncertainty at least comparable to that given in current dosimetry protocols.

  18. Characterizations of double pulsing in neutron multiplicity and coincidence counting systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koehler, Katrina E., E-mail: kkoehler@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P. O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Henzl, Vladimir [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P. O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States); Croft, Stephen S. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Rd, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States); Henzlova, Daniela; Santi, Peter A. [Los Alamos National Laboratory, P. O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, NM 87545 (United States)

    2016-10-01

    Passive neutron coincidence/multiplicity counters are subject to non-ideal behavior, such as double pulsing and dead time. It has been shown in the past that double-pulsing exhibits a distinct signature in a Rossi-alpha distribution, which is not readily noticed using traditional Multiplicity Shift Register analysis. However, it has been assumed that the use of a pre-delay in shift register analysis removes any effects of double pulsing. In this work, we use high-fidelity simulations accompanied by experimental measurements to study the effects of double pulsing on multiplicity rates. By exploiting the information from the double pulsing signature peak observable in the Rossi-alpha distribution, the double pulsing fraction can be determined. Algebraic correction factors for the multiplicity rates in terms of the double pulsing fraction have been developed. We discuss the role of these corrections across a range of scenarios.

  19. Integrative Analysis of Transcription Factor Combinatorial Interactions Using a Bayesian Tensor Factorization Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ye, Yusen; Gao, Lin; Zhang, Shihua

    2017-01-01

    Transcription factors play a key role in transcriptional regulation of genes and determination of cellular identity through combinatorial interactions. However, current studies about combinatorial regulation is deficient due to lack of experimental data in the same cellular environment and extensive existence of data noise. Here, we adopt a Bayesian CANDECOMP/PARAFAC (CP) factorization approach (BCPF) to integrate multiple datasets in a network paradigm for determining precise TF interaction landscapes. In our first application, we apply BCPF to integrate three networks built based on diverse datasets of multiple cell lines from ENCODE respectively to predict a global and precise TF interaction network. This network gives 38 novel TF interactions with distinct biological functions. In our second application, we apply BCPF to seven types of cell type TF regulatory networks and predict seven cell lineage TF interaction networks, respectively. By further exploring the dynamics and modularity of them, we find cell lineage-specific hub TFs participate in cell type or lineage-specific regulation by interacting with non-specific TFs. Furthermore, we illustrate the biological function of hub TFs by taking those of cancer lineage and blood lineage as examples. Taken together, our integrative analysis can reveal more precise and extensive description about human TF combinatorial interactions. PMID:29033978

  20. Leukemia inhibitory factor tips the immune balance towards regulatory T cells in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janssens, Kris; Van den Haute, Chris; Baekelandt, Veerle; Lucas, Sophie; van Horssen, Jack; Somers, Veerle; Van Wijmeersch, Bart; Stinissen, Piet; Hendriks, Jerome J A; Slaets, Helena; Hellings, Niels

    2015-03-01

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS), for which current treatments are unable to prevent disease progression. Based on its neuroprotective and neuroregenerating properties, leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a member of the interleukin-6 (IL-6) cytokine family, is proposed as a novel candidate for MS therapy. However, its effect on the autoimmune response remains unclear. In this study, we determined how LIF modulates T cell responses that play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of MS. We demonstrate that expression of the LIF receptor was strongly increased on immune cells of MS patients. LIF treatment potently boosted the number of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in CD4(+) T cells isolated from healthy controls and MS patients with low serum levels of IL-6. Moreover, IL-6 signaling was reduced in the donors that responded to LIF treatment in vitro. Our data together with previous findings revealing that IL-6 inhibits Treg development, suggest an opposing function of LIF and IL-6. In a preclinical animal model of MS we shifted the LIF/IL-6 balance in favor of LIF by CNS-targeted overexpression. This increased the number of Tregs in the CNS during active autoimmune responses and reduced disease symptoms. In conclusion, our data show that LIF downregulates the autoimmune response by enhancing Treg numbers, providing further impetus for the use of LIF as a novel treatment for MS and other autoimmune diseases. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Determination of free insulin-like growth factor-I in human serum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Frystyk, J.; Skjærbæk, C.; Ivarsen, P.

    2001-01-01

    Two fundamentally different methods are currently used for the determination of free insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I): ultrafiltration by centrifugation (UF) and direct immunoradiometric assay (IRMA). The aim was to evaluate a commercial IRMA (DSL, Webster, TX, USA) and to compare it with UF....

  2. Neuronal factors determining high intelligence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dicke, Ursula; Roth, Gerhard

    2016-01-05

    Many attempts have been made to correlate degrees of both animal and human intelligence with brain properties. With respect to mammals, a much-discussed trait concerns absolute and relative brain size, either uncorrected or corrected for body size. However, the correlation of both with degrees of intelligence yields large inconsistencies, because although they are regarded as the most intelligent mammals, monkeys and apes, including humans, have neither the absolutely nor the relatively largest brains. The best fit between brain traits and degrees of intelligence among mammals is reached by a combination of the number of cortical neurons, neuron packing density, interneuronal distance and axonal conduction velocity--factors that determine general information processing capacity (IPC), as reflected by general intelligence. The highest IPC is found in humans, followed by the great apes, Old World and New World monkeys. The IPC of cetaceans and elephants is much lower because of a thin cortex, low neuron packing density and low axonal conduction velocity. By contrast, corvid and psittacid birds have very small and densely packed pallial neurons and relatively many neurons, which, despite very small brain volumes, might explain their high intelligence. The evolution of a syntactical and grammatical language in humans most probably has served as an additional intelligence amplifier, which may have happened in songbirds and psittacids in a convergent manner. © 2015 The Author(s).

  3. DETERMINANTS OF WELLBEING IN A SOUTH AFRICAN TOWNSHIP

    OpenAIRE

    Muzindutsi, Paul-François; Sekhu, Tshediso Joseph

    2014-01-01

    Life evaluations capture a reflective assessment on a person’s life or some specific aspects of it. Given the relative lack of empirical work on subjective wellbeing (SWB) amongst residents in South African townships, this paper seeks to fill that gap by exploring the determinants of SWB in a township of Kwakwatsi. This study is based on household data collected through a survey to investigate the factors that might affect wellbeing. A multiple regression model was used to determine the impac...

  4. The role of appraisal and coping style in relation with societal participation in fatigued patients with multiple sclerosis: a cross-sectional multiple mediator analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van den Akker, Lizanne Eva; Beckerman, Heleen; Collette, Emma Hubertine; Bleijenberg, Gijs; Dekker, Joost; Knoop, Hans; de Groot, Vincent

    2016-10-01

    To determine the relationship between appraisal and societal participation in fatigued patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and whether this relation is mediated by coping styles. 265 severely-fatigued MS patients. Appraisal, a latent construct, was created from the General Self-Efficacy Scale and the helplessness and acceptance subscales of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire. Coping styles were assessed using the Coping Inventory Stressful Situations (CISS21) and societal participation was assessed using the Impact on Participation and Autonomy. A multiple mediator model was developed and tested by structural equation modeling on cross-sectional data. We corrected for confounding by disease-related factors. Mediation was determined using a product-of-coefficients approach. A significant relationship existed between appraisal and participation (β = 0.21, 95 % CI 0.04-0.39). The pathways via coping styles were not significant. In patients with severe MS-related fatigue, appraisal and societal participation show a positive relationship that is not mediated by coping styles.

  5. Factors associated with low birth weight in Nepal using multiple imputation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Usha Singh

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Survey data from low income countries on birth weight usually pose a persistent problem. The studies conducted on birth weight have acknowledged missing data on birth weight, but they are not included in the analysis. Furthermore, other missing data presented on determinants of birth weight are not addressed. Thus, this study tries to identify determinants that are associated with low birth weight (LBW using multiple imputation to handle missing data on birth weight and its determinants. Methods The child dataset from Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2011 was utilized in this study. A total of 5,240 children were born between 2006 and 2011, out of which 87% had at least one measured variable missing and 21% had no recorded birth weight. All the analyses were carried out in R version 3.1.3. Transform-then impute method was applied to check for interaction between explanatory variables and imputed missing data. Survey package was applied to each imputed dataset to account for survey design and sampling method. Survey logistic regression was applied to identify the determinants associated with LBW. Results The prevalence of LBW was 15.4% after imputation. Women with the highest autonomy on their own health compared to those with health decisions involving husband or others (adjusted odds ratio (OR 1.87, 95% confidence interval (95% CI = 1.31, 2.67, and husband and women together (adjusted OR 1.57, 95% CI = 1.05, 2.35 were less likely to give birth to LBW infants. Mothers using highly polluting cooking fuels (adjusted OR 1.49, 95% CI = 1.03, 2.22 were more likely to give birth to LBW infants than mothers using non-polluting cooking fuels. Conclusion The findings of this study suggested that obtaining the prevalence of LBW from only the sample of measured birth weight and ignoring missing data results in underestimation.

  6. Supplier selection or collaboration? Determining factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing

    OpenAIRE

    Dabhilkar, Mandar; Bengtsson, Lars; Haartman, Robin von; Åhlström, Pär

    2009-01-01

    An empirical study was designed to determine factors of performance improvement when outsourcing manufacturing. Findings from a survey of 136 manufacturing plants in Sweden show that most of them achieve their outsourcing motives, but not without trade-offs. Factors of performance improvements such as economies of scale or operations in low-cost countries can improve one performance dimension, such as product cost, yet negatively impact volume flexibility, speed or product innovation. The res...

  7. Pre and post-natal risk and determination of factors for child obesity

    OpenAIRE

    Trandafir, LM; Temneanu, OR

    2016-01-01

    Obesity is considered a condition presenting a complex, multi-factorial etiology that implies genetic and non-genetic factors. The way the available information should be efficiently and strategically used in the obesity and overweight prohylaxisprogrammes for children all over the world is still unclear for most of the risk factors. Mothers? pre-conception weight and weight gain during pregnancy are two of the most important prenatal determinants of childhood obesity. Maternal obesity and ge...

  8. Determination of mixing factors for VVER-440 fuel assembly head

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tóth, S., E-mail: toth@reak.bme.hu [Institute of Nuclear Techniques, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 9, H-1111 Budapest (Hungary); Aszódi, A. [Institute of Nuclear Techniques, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Műegyetem rkp. 9, H-1111 Budapest (Hungary)

    2013-11-15

    CFD models have been developed for the heads of the old, the present and the new type VVER-440 fuel assemblies using the experience of a former validation process. With these models temperature distributions are investigated in the heads of some typical assemblies and the in-core thermocouple signals are calculated. The analyses show that the coolant mixing is intensive but not-perfect in the assembly heads. The difference between the thermocouple signal and the cross-sectional average temperature at the measurement level depends on the assembly type. Using the results of these CFD calculations the weight factors of the rod bundle regions for the in-core thermocouple have been determined. With these factors the thermocouple signals are estimated and the results are statistically tested using the registered data of the Hungarian nuclear power plant. This test shows that the deviations between the measured and the calculated temperatures can be significantly decreased and consequently monitoring uncertainties can be reduced with using the weight factors.

  9. Genetic and environmental determinants of 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels in multiple sclerosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, Julie H.; Søndergaard, Helle Bach; Albrechtsen, Anders

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Evidence is accumulating supporting a beneficial effect of vitamin D in multiple sclerosis (MS). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have shown significant associations between 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in key genes in the vitamin D...... discrimination (Life Technologies).RESULTS: We found significant associations between 25(OH)D and SNPs in GC (rs7041, p = 0.01 and rs2282679, p = 0.03) and CYP2R1 (rs10741657, p =1.8 × 10(-4)). Season of blood sampling (p = 2.8 × 10(-31)), sex (p = 1.9 × 10(-5)), BMI (p = 2.3 × 10(-5)), vitamin supplements (p...... = 7.0 × 10(-22)), and fish intake (p = 0.02) also had significant effects on 25(OH)D.CONCLUSION: In this cross-sectional study, we found significant effects of environmental factors and SNPs in GC and CYP2R1 on 25(OH)D in MS patients. Since 25(OH)D might have protective effects in MS, and vitamin D...

  10. Should I stay or should I go? A prospective investigation examining individual factors impacting employment status among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strober, Lauren B; Chiaravalloti, Nancy; DeLuca, John

    2018-01-01

    Rates of unemployment among individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) are as high as 80%. While several factors for such high rates of unemployment have been identified, they do not account for the majority of the variance. This study examines person-specific factors such as personality and coping, which may better account for individuals leaving the workforce. Forty individuals with MS (20 considering reducing work hours or leaving the workforce and 20 remaining employed) were matched on age, gender, education, disease duration, and disease course, and administered a comprehensive survey of factors purported to be related to employment status. Based on multiple, logistic regression analyses certain disease factors and person-specific factors differentiate those who are considering leaving work or reducing work hours and those staying employed. In particular, those expressing the need to reduce work hours or leaving the workforce reported more fatigue, anxiety, depression, and use of behavioral disengagement as a means of coping. In contrast, those staying employed reported greater levels of extraversion, self-efficacy, and use of humor as a means of coping. Together, fatigue, use of humor, and use of behavioral disengagement as a means of coping were the most significant factors, accounting for 44% of the variance. Findings suggest that greater consideration be given to these factors and that interventions tailored to address these factors may assist individuals with MS staying employed and/or making appropriate accommodations.

  11. A Review of Multiple Hypothesis Testing in Otolaryngology Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkham, Erin M.; Weaver, Edward M.

    2018-01-01

    Objective Multiple hypothesis testing (or multiple testing) refers to testing more than one hypothesis within a single analysis, and can inflate the Type I error rate (false positives) within a study. The aim of this review was to quantify multiple testing in recent large clinical studies in the otolaryngology literature and to discuss strategies to address this potential problem. Data sources Original clinical research articles with >100 subjects published in 2012 in the four general otolaryngology journals with the highest Journal Citation Reports 5-year impact factors. Review methods Articles were reviewed to determine whether the authors tested greater than five hypotheses in at least one family of inferences. For the articles meeting this criterion for multiple testing, Type I error rates were calculated and statistical correction was applied to the reported results. Results Of the 195 original clinical research articles reviewed, 72% met the criterion for multiple testing. Within these studies, there was a mean 41% chance of a Type I error and, on average, 18% of significant results were likely to be false positives. After the Bonferroni correction was applied, only 57% of significant results reported within the articles remained significant. Conclusion Multiple testing is common in recent large clinical studies in otolaryngology and deserves closer attention from researchers, reviewers and editors. Strategies for adjusting for multiple testing are discussed. PMID:25111574

  12. Determination of digitised radiograph magnification factors for pre-operative templating in hip prosthesis surgery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Descamps, Stephane [Hopital Gabriel Montpied, CHU de Clermont Ferrand, BP 69, Service de Chirurgie Orthopedique et Traumatologique, Clermont Ferrand Cedex 01 (France); Livesey, Christine; Learmonth, Ian Douglas [Southmead Hospital, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol Implant Research Centre, Avon Orthopaedic Centre, Bristol (United Kingdom)

    2010-03-15

    With digital radiography development, information technology (IT) companies have developed specific software for templating procedures, requiring individual magnification assessments for each patient. The aim of this study was to determine the mean magnification factor of digital radiographs and to evaluate the possibility of using the mean magnification factor or clinical information in templating. We retrospectively evaluated 100 primary total hip arthroplasty digital radiographs using the femoral head prosthesis as a calliper to determinate the mean magnification factor. Working on the assumption that altitude of the hip during radiograph is decisive in modification of magnification factors, we also looked for a correlation between weight, body mass index (BMI), altitude and magnification factor. The magnification factor was 126% (121-130%). A relationship was found between magnification factor (Mf) and weight (Mf = 7.10{sup -4} x weight (kg) + 1.21), but not BMI. In 98% of cases, if the weight-correlated formula is used, the sizing is correct or the error is {+-} 1 mm. With the mean method the sizing is correct or within 1 mm in only 78.2% of cases. Levels of accuracy for the mean magnification factor and the weight-correlated formula are not as high as individual assessments using a calliper; however, they could be used in everyday practice where individual magnification factors have not been calculated. (orig.)

  13. Various Determinant Factors of Production Technology Adoption in Creative Souvenir Micro Enterprise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dumasari Dumasari

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to examine the existence of several factors that determine the power of the adoption of production technology on micro souvenirs creative enterprise. The location of the research was determined purposely in Purbalingga Wetan Subdistrict, Purbalingga District, Central Java Province, Indonesia. Research respondents numbered 28 people. The results showed that the various determinants of the adoption of production technology have economic, social and environmental motives. The power of influence of each factor is also distinct. The adoption of different craftsmen resulted in the quality of souvenir products from coconut waste being unequal. Some have a motif design according to market trend. Product price level is feasible. However, some products are only produced semi-finished. The price of this product is relatively lower. The economic feasibility of craftsmen is closely related to the rate of adoption of production technology. There are small number (<25 percent of craftsmen use mechanical technology. The rest is still aided on the traditional manual techniques in processing waste coconut into souvenirs or creative handicraft.

  14. Ideality factor of GaN-based light-emitting diodes determined by the measurement of photovoltaic characteristics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hyun-Joong; Ryu, Geun-Hwan; Yang, Won-Bo; Ryu, Han-Youl [Inha University, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-11-15

    We present a method for determining the ideality factor of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by using the measured photovoltaic characteristics. The relation between the short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage is obtained as the incident power of a laser diode emitting at 405 nm is varied, which is used to determine the ideality factor of the LED. From the photovoltaic measurements, the ideality factors of a blue and a green LED are determined to be 1.16 and 1.78, respectively. The ideality factors obtained by using the photovoltaic measurement are found to be much smaller than those obtained by using the I - V curve without illumination, which is believed to result from the different carrier generation and transport mechanisms. Investigating the photovoltaic characteristics of GaN-based LEDs is expected to provide insight into the origin of the high diode ideality factor in GaN-based devices.

  15. Ideality factor of GaN-based light-emitting diodes determined by the measurement of photovoltaic characteristics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun-Joong; Ryu, Geun-Hwan; Yang, Won-Bo; Ryu, Han-Youl

    2014-01-01

    We present a method for determining the ideality factor of GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs) by using the measured photovoltaic characteristics. The relation between the short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage is obtained as the incident power of a laser diode emitting at 405 nm is varied, which is used to determine the ideality factor of the LED. From the photovoltaic measurements, the ideality factors of a blue and a green LED are determined to be 1.16 and 1.78, respectively. The ideality factors obtained by using the photovoltaic measurement are found to be much smaller than those obtained by using the I - V curve without illumination, which is believed to result from the different carrier generation and transport mechanisms. Investigating the photovoltaic characteristics of GaN-based LEDs is expected to provide insight into the origin of the high diode ideality factor in GaN-based devices.

  16. Factors influencing the implementation of a lifestyle counseling program in patients with venous leg ulcers: a multiple case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    van de Glind Irene M

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Implementation of lifestyle interventions in patient care is a major challenge. Understanding factors that influence implementation is a first step in programs to enhance uptake of these interventions. A lifestyle-counseling intervention, Lively Legs, delivered by trained nurses, can effectively improve the lifestyle in patients with venous leg ulcers. The aim of this study was to identify factors that hindered or facilitated implementation of this intervention in outpatient dermatology clinics and in home care. Methods A mixed-methods multiple case study in five purposefully selected healthcare settings in the Netherlands was conducted. Measurements to identify influencing factors before and after implementation of Lively Legs included interviews, focus groups, questionnaires, and nurses’ registration. Analyses focused on qualitative data as the main data source. All data were compared across multiple cases to draw conclusions from the study as a whole. Results A total of 53 patients enrolled in the Lively Legs program, which was delivered by 12 trained nurses. Barriers for implementation were mainly organizational. It was difficult to effectively organize reaching and recruiting patients for the program, especially in home care. Main barriers were a lack of a standardized healthcare delivery process, insufficient nursing time, and a lack of motivated nurses to deliver the program. Facilitating factors were nurse-driven coordination of care and a standardized care process to tie Lively Legs into, as this resulted in better patient recruitment and better program implementation. Conclusions This study identified a range of factors influencing the implementation of a lifestyle-counseling program, mainly related to the organization of healthcare. Using a case study method proved valuable in obtaining insight into influencing factors for implementation. This study also shed light on a more general issue, which is that leg ulcer

  17. Novel Drosophila receptor that binds multiple growth factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosner, M.R.; Thompson, K.L.; Garcia, V.; Decker, S.J.

    1986-01-01

    The authors have recently reported the identification of a novel growth factor receptor from Drosophila cell cultures that has dual binding specificity for both insulin and epidermal growth factor (EGF). This 100 kDa protein is also antigenically related to the cytoplasmic region of the mammalian EGF receptor-tyrosine kinase. They now report that this protein binds to mammalian nerve growth factor and human transforming growth factor alpha as well as insulin and EGF with apparent dissociation constants ranging from 10 -6 to 10 -8 M. The 100 kDa protein can be affinity-labeled with these 125 I-labeled growth factors after immunoprecipitation with anti-EGF receptor antiserum. These four growth factors appear to share a common binding site, as evidenced by their ability to block affinity labelling by 125 I-insulin. No significant binding to the 100 kDa protein was observed with platelet-derived growth factor, transforming growth factor beta, or glucagon. The 100 kDa Drosophila protein has a unique ligand-binding spectrum with no direct counterpart in mammalian cells and may represent an evolutionary precursor of the mammalian receptors for these growth factors

  18. Determining the Covering Factor of Compton-Thick Active Galactic Nuclei with NuSTAR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brightman, M.; Balokovic, M.; Stern, D.; Arevalo, P.; Ballantyne, D. R.; Bauer, F. E.; Boggs, S. E.; Craig, W. W.; Christensen, F. E.; Zhang, W. W.

    2015-01-01

    The covering factor of Compton-thick (CT) obscuring material associated with the torus in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) is at present best understood through the fraction of sources exhibiting CT absorption along the line of sight (N(sub H) greater than 1.5 x 10(exp 24) cm(exp -2)) in the X-ray band, which reveals the average covering factor. Determining this CT fraction is difficult, however, due to the extreme obscuration. With its spectral coverage at hard X-rays (greater than 10 keV), Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) is sensitive to the AGNs covering factor since Compton scattering of X-rays off optically thick material dominates at these energies. We present a spectral analysis of 10 AGNs observed with NuSTAR where the obscuring medium is optically thick to Compton scattering, so-called CT AGNs. We use the torus models of Brightman and Nandra that predict the X-ray spectrum from reprocessing in a torus and include the torus opening angle as a free parameter and aim to determine the covering factor of the CT gas in these sources individually. Across the sample we find mild to heavy CT columns, with N(sub H) measured from 10(exp 24) to 10(exp 26) cm(exp -2), and a wide range of covering factors, where individual measurements range from 0.2 to 0.9. We find that the covering factor, f(sub c), is a strongly decreasing function of the intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity, L(sub X), where f(sub c) = (-0.41 +/- 0.13)log(sub 10)(L(sub X)/erg s(exp -1))+18.31 +/- 5.33, across more than two orders of magnitude in L(sub X) (10(exp 41.5) - 10(exp 44) erg s(exp -1)). The covering factors measured here agree well with the obscured fraction as a function of LX as determined by studies of local AGNs with L(sub X) greater than 10(exp 42.5) erg s(exp -1).

  19. Determination of vibration amplitudes and neutron-mechanical scale factors in the PWR nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kostic, Lj.; Heidemann, P.; Runkel, J.

    1997-01-01

    Displacements of vibrating reactor components which can not be measured by other means during normal reactor operation can be determined through the scale factors from the neutron spectra of signals measured by the standard in-core neutron instrumentation. Neutron-mechanical scale factors are determined for the vibrations of fuel assemblies and reactor pressure vessel/core barrel system using the signals of in-core neutron detectors and accelerometers. (author)

  20. Some Factors Effected Student's Calculus Learning Outcome

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rajagukguk, Wamington

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to determine the factors effected calculus learning outcome of the student. This study was conducted with 176 respondents, which were selected randomly. The data were obtained by questionnaire, and then analyzed by using multiple regressions, and correlation, at level of a = 0.05. The findings showed there is the…

  1. Carotenoid Biosynthetic Pathways Are Regulated by a Network of Multiple Cascades of Alternative Sigma Factors in Azospirillum brasilense Sp7.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rai, Ashutosh Kumar; Dubey, Ashutosh Prakash; Kumar, Santosh; Dutta, Debashis; Mishra, Mukti Nath; Singh, Bhupendra Narain; Tripathi, Anil Kumar

    2016-11-01

    Carotenoids constitute an important component of the defense system against photooxidative stress in bacteria. In Azospirillum brasilense Sp7, a nonphotosynthetic rhizobacterium, carotenoid synthesis is controlled by a pair of extracytoplasmic function sigma factors (RpoEs) and their cognate zinc-binding anti-sigma factors (ChrRs). Its genome harbors two copies of the gene encoding geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase (CrtE), the first critical step in the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway in bacteria. Inactivation of each of two crtE paralogs found in A. brasilense caused reduction in carotenoid content, suggesting their involvement in carotenoid synthesis. However, the effect of crtE1 deletion was more pronounced than that of crtE2 deletion. Out of the five paralogs of rpoH in A. brasilense, overexpression of rpoH1 and rpoH2 enhanced carotenoid synthesis. Promoters of crtE2 and rpoH2 were found to be dependent on RpoH2 and RpoE1, respectively. Using a two-plasmid system in Escherichia coli, we have shown that the crtE2 gene of A. brasilense Sp7 is regulated by two cascades of sigma factors: one consisting of RpoE1and RpoH2 and the other consisting of RpoE2 and RpoH1. In addition, expression of crtE1 was upregulated indirectly by RpoE1 and RpoE2. This study shows, for the first time in any carotenoid-producing bacterium, that the regulation of carotenoid biosynthetic pathway involves a network of multiple cascades of alternative sigma factors. Carotenoids play a very important role in coping with photooxidative stress in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Although extracytoplasmic function (ECF) sigma factors are known to directly regulate the expression of carotenoid biosynthetic genes in bacteria, regulation of carotenoid biosynthesis by one or multiple cascades of sigma factors had not been reported. This study provides the first evidence of the involvement of multiple cascades of sigma factors in the regulation of carotenoid synthesis in any bacterium by showing the

  2. Micro and macrolevel determinants of women's employment in six Arab countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spierings, N.; Smits, J.P.J.M.; Verloo, M.M.T.

    2010-01-01

    We analyzed determinants of women's employment with data for 40,792 women living in 103 districts of 6 Arab countries. We tested a new theoretical framework that addresses the roles of needs, opportunities, and values at multiple levels. At the microlevel (individual, family), socioeconomic factors,

  3. Experiments and Simulations of the Use of Time-Correlated Thermal Neutron Counting to Determine the Multiplication of an Assembly of Highly Enriched Uranium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    David L. Chichester; Mathew T. Kinlaw; Scott M. Watson; Jeffrey M. Kalter; Eric C. Miller; William A. Noonan

    2014-11-01

    A series of experiments and numerical simulations using thermal-neutron time-correlated measurements has been performed to determine the neutron multiplication, M, of assemblies of highly enriched uranium available at Idaho National Laboratory. The experiments used up to 14.4 kg of highly-enriched uranium, including bare assemblies and assemblies reflected with high-density polyethylene, carbon steel, and tungsten. A small 252Cf source was used to initiate fission chains within the assembly. Both the experiments and the simulations used 6-channel and 8-channel detector systems, each consisting of 3He proportional counters moderated with polyethylene; data was recorded in list mode for analysis. 'True' multiplication values for each assembly were empirically derived using basic neutron production and loss values determined through simulation. A total of one-hundred and sixteen separate measurements were performed using fifty-seven unique measurement scenarios, the multiplication varied from 1.75 to 10.90. This paper presents the results of these comparisons and discusses differences among the various cases.

  4. Liquidity Determinants of the Selected Banking Sectors and their Size Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jana Laštůvková

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article focuses on the factors affecting the liquidity of selected bank sectors, as well as their size groups, using panel regression analysis. For higher complexity of the results, multiple dependent variables are used: liquidity creation, outflow and net change. The values are calculated based on the specific method of liquidity risk measurement – gross liquidity flows. The results indicate both multiple effects of some factors on the given variables, as well as isolated influence of factors on a single liquidity form or size group. Thus, when looking for determinants using just one form of liquidity, such as creation, the results need not necessarily comprehensively show the influence of the given factors, and can lead to erroneous conclusions. The results also point to the differing behaviours of the size groups and their different sensitivity on the factors; smaller banks have shown higher sensitivity on macroeconomic variables. Higher flexibility in regulation could lead to higher optimization.

  5. MULTIPLE OBJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Bosov

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The development of complicated techniques of production and management processes, information systems, computer science, applied objects of systems theory and others requires improvement of mathematical methods, new approaches for researches of application systems. And the variety and diversity of subject systems makes necessary the development of a model that generalizes the classical sets and their development – sets of sets. Multiple objects unlike sets are constructed by multiple structures and represented by the structure and content. The aim of the work is the analysis of multiple structures, generating multiple objects, the further development of operations on these objects in application systems. Methodology. To achieve the objectives of the researches, the structure of multiple objects represents as constructive trio, consisting of media, signatures and axiomatic. Multiple object is determined by the structure and content, as well as represented by hybrid superposition, composed of sets, multi-sets, ordered sets (lists and heterogeneous sets (sequences, corteges. Findings. In this paper we study the properties and characteristics of the components of hybrid multiple objects of complex systems, proposed assessments of their complexity, shown the rules of internal and external operations on objects of implementation. We introduce the relation of arbitrary order over multiple objects, we define the description of functions and display on objects of multiple structures. Originality.In this paper we consider the development of multiple structures, generating multiple objects.Practical value. The transition from the abstract to the subject of multiple structures requires the transformation of the system and multiple objects. Transformation involves three successive stages: specification (binding to the domain, interpretation (multiple sites and particularization (goals. The proposed describe systems approach based on hybrid sets

  6. Gender as a prognostic factor and its impact on the incidence of multiple sclerosis in Lorraine, France.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debouverie, M

    2009-11-15

    We sought to identify (a) the change of incidence rates among gender from 1990 to 2002 from the LORSEP (Lorraine Multiple Sclerosis) population-based cohort, and (b) the role of gender as a predictive demographic factor of disability during the initial course of the disease among multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The incidence rates of multiple sclerosis (MS) in Lorraine, France, have significantly increased in women, but not in men, from 1990 to 2002 but this increase in incidence of MS was not related to a better ascertainment of patients with mild disability. A total of 2871 MS patients were analyzed. For relapsing-remitting (RR) patients, a multivariate analysis showed that a shorter time to the assignment of an EDSS score of 3 and 4 was associated with the late onset MS, incomplete recovery from the first relapse and a high number of relapses during the first 5 years after the MS onset. Median times were not influenced by gender or by time between the first two relapses. The data were very different for the time between the assignment of scores of 4 and 6, since the median times were not influenced by any of the predicting variables.

  7. Determination of Important Topographic Factors for Landslide Mapping Analysis Using MLP Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mutasem Sh. Alkhasawneh

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Landslide is one of the natural disasters that occur in Malaysia. Topographic factors such as elevation, slope angle, slope aspect, general curvature, plan curvature, and profile curvature are considered as the main causes of landslides. In order to determine the dominant topographic factors in landslide mapping analysis, a study was conducted and presented in this paper. There are three main stages involved in this study. The first stage is the extraction of extra topographic factors. Previous landslide studies had identified mainly six topographic factors. Seven new additional factors have been proposed in this study. They are longitude curvature, tangential curvature, cross section curvature, surface area, diagonal line length, surface roughness, and rugosity. The second stage is the specification of the weight of each factor using two methods. The methods are multilayer perceptron (MLP network classification accuracy and Zhou's algorithm. At the third stage, the factors with higher weights were used to improve the MLP performance. Out of the thirteen factors, eight factors were considered as important factors, which are surface area, longitude curvature, diagonal length, slope angle, elevation, slope aspect, rugosity, and profile curvature. The classification accuracy of multilayer perceptron neural network has increased by 3% after the elimination of five less important factors.

  8. Determinant factors in the integration of information and communication technologies in teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric A. Bordios

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Binary Logistic Regression and Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA were employed to determine factors that can influence teachers’ decision whether or not to integrate Information and communication technology (ICT in teaching and also to uncover ABC (Attitudes, Beliefs, Confidence as the factors to be considered which subsequently came out as predictors of the study along with age and grade level taught. Results implied that along with the efforts of the government to provide physical resources to implement the Department of Education Computerization Program, teachers as the main drivers of this initiative must be engaged in conceptual change regarding their ABC toward ICTintegration.

  9. Behavioral determinants of cardiovascular diseases risk factors: A qualitative directed content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabzmakan, Leila; Morowatisharifabad, Mohammad Ali; Mohammadi, Eesa; Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad, Seid Saied; Rabiei, Katayoun; Naseri, Mohammad Hassan; Shakibazadeh, Elham; Mirzaei, Masoud

    2014-03-01

    The PRECEDE model is a useful tool for planers to assess health problems, the behavioral and environmental causes of the problems, and their determinants. This study aims to understand the experiences of patients and health care providers about the behavioral causes of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) risk factors and their determinants. This qualitative study utilized content analysis approach based on the PRECEDE model. The study was conducted for over 6 months in 2012 at the diabetes units of health centers associated with Alborz University of Medical Sciences, which is located in Karaj, Iran. Data were collected using individual semi-structured interviews with 50 patients and 12 health care providers. Data analysis was performed simultaneously with data collection using the content analysis directed method. Stress, unhealthy eating, and physical inactivity were the behaviors, which predict the risk factors for CVD. Most of the patients considered stress as the most important underlying cause of their illness. In this study, 110 of the primary codes were categorized into seven subcategories, including knowledge, attitude, perceived susceptibility, severity, perceived benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy, which were located in the predisposing category of the PRECEDE model. Among these determinants, perceived barriers and self-efficacy for the mentioned behaviors seemed to be of great importance. Identifying behavioral determinants will help the planners design future programs and select the most appropriate methods and applications to address these determinants in order to reduce risky behaviors.

  10. MACROECONOMIC DETERMINANTS OF TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY: NEW GENERATION PANEL DATA ANALYSIS ON OECD COUNTRIES (1996-2015

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ÖMER YALÇINKAYA

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Determining the factors which are effective on total factor productivity (TFP increments include the productivity of all factors in the production process and making improvements for these factors via policies have importance concerning speed the potential growth rate up in the long term and making this sustainable. The mediumlong term determinants of TFP are examined in this research for the 1994-2015 period as econometric within the scope of new generation panel data analysis on the OECD countries who are classified as OECD-1 and OECD-2 by their income levels. From this aspect, purposed in this research that to reveal the primary determinants which cause the differentiations between OECD-1 and OECD-2 countries in terms of their long-term economic growth performances and/or income levels. Determined as a result of the research that the effect of the variables which are used to determine the medium-long term determinants of the TFP on OECD-1 and OECD-2 groups parallelly increased and decreased as long as enhancing the representation degree of the knowledge, innovation and technological development level of the variables. These results show that the differentiation of countries in OECD-1 and OECD-2 groups in terms of long-term economic growth and/or income levels is majorly rooted in indicators which are used on behalf of knowledge, innovation, and technological development.

  11. The strategy of fusion genes construction determines efficient expression of introduced transcription factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamus, Tomasz; Konieczny, Paweł; Sekuła, Małgorzata; Sułkowski, Maciej; Majka, Marcin

    2014-01-01

    The main goal in gene therapy and biomedical research is an efficient transcription factors (TFs) delivery system. SNAIL, a zinc finger transcription factor, is strongly involved in tumor, what makes its signaling pathways an interesting research subject. The necessity of tracking activation of intracellular pathways has prompted fluorescent proteins usage as localization markers. Advanced molecular cloning techniques allow to generate fusion proteins from fluorescent markers and transcription factors. Depending on fusion strategy, the protein expression levels and nuclear transport ability are significantly different. The P2A self-cleavage motif through its cleavage ability allows two single proteins to be simultaneously expressed. The aim of this study was to compare two strategies for introducing a pair of genes using expression vector system. We have examined GFP and SNAI1 gene fusions by comprising common nucleotide polylinker (multiple cloning site) or P2A motif in between them, resulting in one fusion or two independent protein expressions respectively. In each case transgene expression levels and translation efficiency as well as nuclear localization of expressed protein have been analyzed. Our data showed that usage of P2A motif provides more effective nuclear transport of SNAIL transcription factor than conventional genes linker. At the same time the fluorescent marker spreads evenly in subcellular space.

  12. Determining factors influencing survival of breast cancer by fuzzy logistic regression model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikbakht, Roya; Bahrampour, Abbas

    2017-01-01

    Fuzzy logistic regression model can be used for determining influential factors of disease. This study explores the important factors of actual predictive survival factors of breast cancer's patients. We used breast cancer data which collected by cancer registry of Kerman University of Medical Sciences during the period of 2000-2007. The variables such as morphology, grade, age, and treatments (surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy) were applied in the fuzzy logistic regression model. Performance of model was determined in terms of mean degree of membership (MDM). The study results showed that almost 41% of patients were in neoplasm and malignant group and more than two-third of them were still alive after 5-year follow-up. Based on the fuzzy logistic model, the most important factors influencing survival were chemotherapy, morphology, and radiotherapy, respectively. Furthermore, the MDM criteria show that the fuzzy logistic regression have a good fit on the data (MDM = 0.86). Fuzzy logistic regression model showed that chemotherapy is more important than radiotherapy in survival of patients with breast cancer. In addition, another ability of this model is calculating possibilistic odds of survival in cancer patients. The results of this study can be applied in clinical research. Furthermore, there are few studies which applied the fuzzy logistic models. Furthermore, we recommend using this model in various research areas.

  13. [Gender-determinant factors in contraception: design and validation of a questionnaire].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yago Simón, Teresa; Tomás Aznar, Concepción

    2013-10-01

    To design and validate a questionnaire for young women on gender-determinant factors in contraception. A questionnaire was developed from conversations with young women attending contraception clinic in the Health Promotion Municpal Centre, Zaragoza. A total of 200 young women between the ages of 13 and 24 self-completed the questionnaire, with only one no response. Several items were analysed: reliability, using Cronbach's alpha coefficient, and construct validity by analysis of the main components with eigenvalues above 1, and Quartimax rotation with Kaiser normalisation. The questionnaire contained 36 items and took 10minutes to self-complete. There was good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha 0,853. Twelve factors were established with an explanation of 61.42% variance, and three descriptive lines: relationship dimension («submissive attitude», «blind attitude», «let go due to affection», «dominant partner»), gender identity («maternity as identity», «non-idealised maternity», «traditional role», «insecurity», «shame») and caring. This questionnaire enabled gender determinant-factors that take part in contraception to be identified, and will be useful to find out how the different ways of relating between the sexes influence the problems of sexual and reproductive health in young women in our environment. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L. All rights reserved.

  14. Vitamin-D Deficiency As a Potential Environmental Risk Factor in Multiple Sclerosis, Schizophrenia, and Autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kočovská, Eva; Gaughran, Fiona; Krivoy, Amir; Meier, Ute-Christiane

    2017-01-01

    In this short review, we want to summarize the current findings on the role of vitamin-D in multiple sclerosis (MS), schizophrenia, and autism. Many studies have highlighted hypovitaminosis-D as a potential environmental risk factor for a variety of conditions such as MS, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and, more recently, psychiatric diseases. However, whether hypovitaminosis-D is a potential causative factor for the development or activity in these conditions or whether hypovitaminosis-D may be due to increased vitamin-D consumption by an activated immune system (reverse causation) is the focus of intense research. Here, we will discuss current evidence exploring the role of vitamin-D in MS, schizophrenia, and autism and its impact on adaptive and innate immunity, antimicrobial defense, the microbiome, neuroinflammation, behavior, and neurogenesis. More work is needed to gain insight into its role in the underlying pathophysiology of these conditions as it may offer attractive means of intervention and prevention.

  15. Determination of factors through Monte Carlo method for Fricke dosimetry from 192Ir sources for brachytherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    David, Mariano Gazineu; Salata, Camila; Almeida, Carlos Eduardo

    2014-01-01

    The Laboratorio de Ciencias Radiologicas develops a methodology for the determination of the absorbed dose to water by Fricke chemical dosimetry method for brachytherapy sources of 192 Ir high dose rate and have compared their results with the laboratory of the National Research Council Canada. This paper describes the determination of the correction factors by Monte Carlo method, with the Penelope code. Values for all factors are presented, with a maximum difference of 0.22% for their determination by an alternative way. (author)

  16. The genetics of multiple sclerosis: review of current and emerging candidates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muñoz-Culla M

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Maider Muñoz-Culla,1,2 Haritz Irizar,1,2 David Otaegui1,2 1Multiple Sclerosis Unit, Instituto Biodonostia, San Sebastián, Spain; 2Red Española de Esclerosis Múltiple (REEM, Barcelona, Spain Abstract: Multiple sclerosis (MS is a complex disease in which environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors determine the risk of developing the disease. The human leukocyte antigen region is the strongest susceptibility locus linked to MS, but it does not explain the whole heritability of the disease. To find other non-human leukocyte antigen loci associated with the disease, high-throughput genotyping, sequencing, and gene-expression studies have been performed, producing a valuable quantity of information. An overview of the genomic and expression studies is provided in this review, as well as microRNA-expression studies, highlighting the importance of combining all the layers of information in order to elucidate the causes or pathological mechanisms occurring in the disease. Genetics in MS is a promising field that is presumably going to be very productive in the next decade understanding the cross talk between all the factors contributing to the development of MS. Keywords: multiple sclerosis, genetics, gene expression, microRNA

  17. Determination of photon conversion factors relating exposure and dose for several extremity phantom designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roberson, P.L.; Eichner, F.N.; Reece, W.D.

    1986-09-01

    This report presents the results of measurements of dosimetric properties of simple extremity phantoms suitable for use in extremity dosimeter performance testing. Two sizes of phantoms were used in this study. One size represented the forearm or lower leg and the other size represented the finger or toe. For both phantom sizes, measurements were performed on solid plastic phantoms and on phantoms containing simulated bone material to determine the effect of backscattered radiations from the bone on the surface dose. Exposure-to-dose conversion factors (C/sub x/ factors) were determined for photon energies ranging from 16 to 1250 keV (average for 60 Co). The effect of the presence of a phantom was also measured for a 90 Sr/ 90 Y source. Significant differences in the measured C/sub x/ factors were found among the phantoms investigated. The factors for the finger-sized phantoms were uniformly less than for the arm-sized phantoms

  18. Multiscale Spatial Assessment of Determinant Factors of Land Use Change: Study at Urban Area of Yogyakarta

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susilo, Bowo

    2017-12-01

    Studies of land use change have been undertaken by different researchers using various methods. Among those methods, modelling is widely utilized. Modelling land use change required several components remarked as model variables. Those represent any conditions or factors which considered relevant or have some degree of correlation to the changes of land use. Variables which have significant correlation to land use change are referred as determinant factors or driving forces. Those factors as well as changes of land use are distributed across space and therefore referred as spatial determinant factors. The main objective of the research was to examine land use change and its determinant factors. Area and location of land use change were analysed based on three different years of land use maps, which are 1993, 2000 and 2007. Spatial and temporal analysis were performed which emphasize to the influence of scale to both of analysis’s. Urban area of Yogyakarta was selected as study area. Study area covered three different districts (kabupaten), involving 20 sub districts and totally consists of 74 villages. Result of this study shows that during 14 years periods (1993 to 2007), there were about 1,460 hectares of land use change had been taken place. Dominant type of land use change is agricultural to residential. The uses of different spatial and temporal scale in analysis were able to reveal different factors related to land use change. In general, factors influencing the quantities of land use change in the study area were population growth and the availability of land. The use of data with different spatial resolution can reveal the presence of various factors associated with the location of the change. Locations of land use change were influenced or determined by accessibility factors.

  19. SU-E-T-469: A Practical Approach for the Determination of Small Field Output Factors Using Published Monte Carlo Derived Correction Factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calderon, E; Siergiej, D

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Output factor determination for small fields (less than 20 mm) presents significant challenges due to ion chamber volume averaging and diode over-response. Measured output factor values between detectors are known to have large deviations as field sizes are decreased. No set standard to resolve this difference in measurement exists. We observed differences between measured output factors of up to 14% using two different detectors. Published Monte Carlo derived correction factors were used to address this challenge and decrease the output factor deviation between detectors. Methods: Output factors for Elekta's linac-based stereotactic cone system were measured using the EDGE detector (Sun Nuclear) and the A16 ion chamber (Standard Imaging). Measurements conditions were 100 cm SSD (source to surface distance) and 1.5 cm depth. Output factors were first normalized to a 10.4 cm × 10.4 cm field size using a daisy-chaining technique to minimize the dependence of field size on detector response. An equation expressing the relation between published Monte Carlo correction factors as a function of field size for each detector was derived. The measured output factors were then multiplied by the calculated correction factors. EBT3 gafchromic film dosimetry was used to independently validate the corrected output factors. Results: Without correction, the deviation in output factors between the EDGE and A16 detectors ranged from 1.3 to 14.8%, depending on cone size. After applying the calculated correction factors, this deviation fell to 0 to 3.4%. Output factors determined with film agree within 3.5% of the corrected output factors. Conclusion: We present a practical approach to applying published Monte Carlo derived correction factors to measured small field output factors for the EDGE and A16 detectors. Using this method, we were able to decrease the percent deviation between both detectors from 14.8% to 3.4% agreement

  20. Multiple reflection Michelson interferometer with picometer resolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pisani, Marco

    2008-12-22

    A Michelson interferometer based on an optical set-up allowing multiple reflection between two plane mirrors performs the multiplication of the optical path by a factor N, proportionally increasing the resolution of the measurement. A multiplication factor of almost two orders of magnitude has been demonstrated with a simple set-up. The technique can be applied to any interferometric measurement where the classical interferometer limits due to fringe nonlinearities and quantum noise are an issue. Applications in precision engineering, vibration analysis, nanometrology, and spectroscopy are foreseen.

  1. Falls in multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuda, Patricia N; Shumway-Cook, Anne; Bamer, Alyssa M; Johnson, Shana L; Amtmann, Dagmar; Kraft, George H

    2011-07-01

    To examine incidence, associated factors, and health care provider (HCP) response to falls in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Cross-sectional retrospective design. Community setting. Four hundred seventy-four persons with MS. Mailed survey questionnaire examined incidence, risk factors, and HCP response to falls in persons with MS who were dwelling in the community. Univariate and multiple ordinal regression analysis identified variables associated with single and multiple falls. Falls, causes and perceived reasons for falls, and HCP response. A total of 265 participants (58.2%) reported one or more falls in the previous 6 months, and 58.5% of falls were medically injurious. Trips/slips while walking accounted for 48% of falls. Factors associated with falls included use of a cane or walker (odds ratio [OR] 2.62; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66-4.14), income falls; recommended strategies included safety strategies (53.2%), use of gait assistive devices (42.1%), exercise/balance training (22.2%), and home modifications (16.6%). Factors associated with falls in persons with MS are similar to those in other populations with neurologic diseases. Despite the high incidence of falls, fewer than 50% of people with MS receive information about prevention of falls from an HCP. Copyright © 2011 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Great Lakes water quality initiative technical support document for the procedure to determine bioaccumulation factors. Draft report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    The purpose of the document is to provide the technical information and rationale in support of the proposed procedures to determine bioaccumulation factors. Bioaccumulation factors, together with the quantity of aquatic organisms eaten, determine the extent to which people and wildlife are exposed to chemicals through the consumption of aquatic organisms. The more bioaccumulative a pollutant is, the more important the consumption of aquatic organisms becomes as a potential source of contaminants to humans and wildlife. Bioaccumulation factors are needed to determine both human health and wildlife tier I water quality criteria and tier II values. Also, they are used to define Bioaccumulative Chemicals of Concern among the Great Lakes Initiative universe of pollutants. Bioaccumulation factors range from less than one to several million

  3. Determining Factors for Fast Corneal Sensitivity Recovery After Pterygium Excision

    OpenAIRE

    Julio Morán, Gemma; Campos, Pamela; Pujol Vives, Pere; Munguia, Aitana; Mas Aixalà, Enric

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To establish determining factors for fast corneal sensitivity (CS) recovery after pterygium excision. Methods: Thirty-two eyes of 14 males and 18 females with primary nasal pterygium were recruited. Differences in CS (in the 4 quadrants and the center using a Cochet–Bonnet esthesiometer), pterygium corneal area (PCA), tear osmolarity, tear break-up time, Schirmer test, and ocular symptoms were analyzed before and 1 month after lesion excision. The relationship between CS recovery...

  4. Having multiple sexual partners among Iranian Injection Drug Users

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shervin eAssari

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Background: Transmission of HIV from intra-venous drug users (IDUs to the community occurs predominantly through high-risk sexual behaviors. Limited information exists regarding the high-risk sexual behaviors of IDUs in Iran. Aim. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with having multiple sexual partners among Iranian IDUs. Methods. This is a national survey on drug-dependent adults. Participants were sampled from medical centers, prisons, and streets of capitals of 29 provinces in Iran, between May 2007 and February 2008. We analyzed data of 1,416 current IDUs. Socio-demographics and drug use characteristics were entered into a binary logistic regression model to determine predictors of having multiple sexual partners. Results. Having multiple sexual partners in the past or at the time of survey was reported by 56.4% of Iranian IDUs. Multivariate analysis showed that the likelihood of having multiple sexual partners in IDUs decreased by being married (odds ratio [OR], 0.38; P < .001 and increased by female gender (OR, 13.44; P = .02, having illegal income (OR, 1.72; P = .003, higher monthly family income (OR, 1.01; P = .003, pleasure, curiosity, and recreation as cause of first drug use (OR, 1.37; P = .04, ruins as usual place for injection (OR, 1.89; P = .001, and history of syringe sharing (OR, 1.50; P = .02. Conclusions. Having multiple sexual partners was reported by majority of Iranian IDUs, and this was linked to socio-demographics, initiation data, and other risk behaviors. This information should be considered in prevention efforts to reduce sexual transmission of HIV infection in Iran.

  5. Determination of the cell parameters of β-quartz at 1003 K by neutron multiple diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campos, Luiz Carlos de

    2002-01-01

    In this work, neutron multiple diffraction (NMD) data was employed for the determination of the parameters a and c of the β-quartz hexagonal cell at 1003 K. An experimental 00.1 β-quartz NMD 'Umweg' pattern has been used for the determinations. During the indexing of the β-quartz pattern it was verified that most of the peaks could be classified as either 'good for the determination of the parameter a' or 'good for the determination of the parameter c'. With such a classification, it became possible to employ an iterative process for the determination of both parameters. To attain this purpose, two methods were developed. The first one, named 'absolute method', used angular azimuthal positions of the peaks, related to the origin of the experimental diagram. The second method, named 'relative method', used azimuthal angular differences between two selected peaks. The values obtained for both parameters, in the two methods employed, were found by applying the angular azimuthal positions, for the first method, and the azimuthal angular differences, for the second method, upon appropriate theoretical indexing diagrams. An iterative process was applied in order to obtain the values of the parameters. In this process, the value obtained for one of the parameters was used in the determination of the other parameter. The process continues until both parameters converge. The iterative process was used in both methods. The relative method proved to be better than the absolute method. The best values of the parameters obtained by the relative method were: a 4.99638 ± 0.00057 angstrom and c = 5.46119 ± 0.00044 angstrom. (author)

  6. Factors determining the success of public private partnership projects in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Afeez Olalekan Sanni

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The implementation of public private partnership (PPP procurement method is expected to help governments in the development of infrastructures and provides an opportunity for the reduction in the governments’ debt profiles. This method has been adopted in Nigeria for more than a decade and with these years of implementation, few infrastructural projects have been developed using this method while some have been unsuccessful. This study aims to examine the PPP projects implementation in Nigeria and identify the most critical factors that could determine the success of such projects. A total of 184 questionnaires were received from public and private sectors’ participants in the implementation of PPP projects. An exploratory factor analysis identified seven critical success factors as projects feedback, leadership focus, risk allocation and economic policy, good governance and political support, short construction period, favourable socio-economic factors, and delivering publicly needed service. This study shows that more developmental projects could be delivered through PPP if the government could focus on these main factors in the implementation process. The result will influence policy development towards PPP and guide the partners in the development of PPP projects.

  7. Dynamics of multiple-goal pursuit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Louro, Maria J; Pieters, Rik; Zeelenberg, Marcel

    2007-08-01

    The authors propose and test a model of multiple-goal pursuit that specifies how individuals allocate effort among multiple goals over time. The model predicts that whether individuals decide to step up effort, coast, abandon the current goal, or switch to pursue another goal is determined jointly by the emotions that flow from prior goal progress and the proximity to future goal attainment, and proximally determined by changes in expectancies about goal attainment. Results from a longitudinal diary study and 2 experiments show that positive and negative goal-related emotions can have diametrically opposing effects on goal-directed behavior, depending on the individual's proximity to goal attainment. The findings resolve contrasting predictions about the influence of positive and negative emotions in volitional behavior, critically amend the goal gradient hypothesis, and provide new insights into the dynamics and determinants of multiple-goal pursuit.

  8. Determination of the deuterium separation factor between ammonia and hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ravoire, J.; Grandcollot, P.; Dirian, G.; Montel, J.

    1963-01-01

    The separation factors between hydrogen and gaseous ammonia (α g ) and between hydrogen and liquid ammonia (α l ) have been determined by experimental measurements and by calculations from spectrographic data, using existing data concerning the separation factor between liquid ammonia and gaseous ammonia (α v ). The values of α v , α g and α l are given in a table for a temperature range between - 70 deg C and + 40 deg C. The following equations have been established: log α g = 218 ± 1/T - 0.1841, from - 70 deg. C to + 40 deg. C. log α g = 216 ± 1/T + Q, valid at every temperature, Q being known as a function of temperature. log α l = 233 ± 1/T - 0.2283, from - 70 deg. C a -25 deg. C. (authors) [fr

  9. Prehospital factors determining regional variation in thrombolytic therapy in acute ischemic stroke

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lahr, Maarten M.H.; Vroomen, P.C.A.J.; Luijckx, Gert-Jan; van der Zee, Durk-Jouke; de Vos, Ronald; Buskens, Erik

    2014-01-01

    Background Treatment rates with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator vary by region, which can be partially explained by organizational models of stroke care. A recent study demonstrated that prehospital factors determine a higher thrombolysis rate in a centralized vs. decentralized model in the

  10. [Determining factors of job-satisfaction: presence of work-family conflict in a sample of Italian nurses].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortese, C G; Ghislieri, Chiara; Colombo, Lara

    2008-01-01

    Organization research has shown increasing interest in the dynamics of work-family conflict (w.f.c.). The NEXT study highlights that w.f.c. significantly influences satisfaction for one's job and the decision to quit the nursing profession. This study analyzes w.f.c. in a sample of Italian nurses, with the aim of examining the main differences in relation to personal variables, and understanding the degree to which w.f.c. explains job satisfaction. A self-reporting questionnaire was administered to 325 nurses in different hospitals of Northern Italy. Descriptive, reliability and Anova data analysis was performed. The relationships between variables were analyzed through correlations (Pearson's r); the role of w.f.c. in explaining job satisfaction was estimated via multiple regression. W.f.c. appeared to be more critical in subjects who had care responsibilities and in those who had more demanding work assignments. W.f.c. contributed to explaining job satisfaction, even if it was not its principal determining factor. This area of research appears to be important in that it leads to a better comprehension of the dynamics involved in work satisfaction and can suggest possible initiatives for support and development.

  11. Incidence of upper tract abnormalities in patients with neurovesical dysfunction secondary to multiple sclerosis: analysis of risk factors at initial urologic evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemack, Gary E; Hawker, Kathleen; Frohman, Elliot

    2005-05-01

    To determine the incidence of upper tract abnormalities on renal ultrasonography in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) referred for urologic evaluation, as well as to identify any risk factors present on the basis of the historical information and urodynamic findings. Data were derived from all patients with MS referred to the neurourology clinic during a 4-year period. The database was specifically queried for patients found to have upper tract abnormalities on screening renal ultrasonography. Demographic parameters, as well as laboratory values (creatinine) and urodynamic results, were evaluated for risk factors associated with abnormal upper tract findings. Of the 113 patients referred and evaluated, 66 completed both urodynamic testing and renal ultrasonography. Eleven (16.7%) had abnormal ultrasound findings, with focal caliectasis the most common finding. No demographic parameter (age, sex, time since MS diagnosis, MS pattern) was associated with a greater likelihood of abnormal renal ultrasonography on univariate analysis. Neither serum creatinine nor any urodynamic finding (including the presence of dyssynergia or the threshold and amplitude of detrusor overactivity) was associated with abnormal renal ultrasound findings. No patients in our series had any indication of obstructive uropathy more severe than mild hydronephrosis. Of the 16.7% of patients with any abnormal findings, most were noted to have minor caliectasis, likely to be of little clinical significance. Although no factors identifying patients at risk of renal abnormalities at presentation were found, ongoing evaluation of patients with baseline findings will serve to identify those at risk of progression.

  12. Sexual practices in Malaysia: determinants of sexual intercourse among unmarried youths.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zulkifli, S N; Low, W Y

    2000-10-01

    This paper describes findings on selected determinants of sexual intercourse among 468 unmarried adolescents from a survey in Malaysia. Data on respondents' background, sexual experience, contraceptive use, and sexual attitudes are provided. Based on multiple logistic regressions, factors significantly predictive of sexual experience are gender, employment, and sexual attitudes.

  13. Determinants of job satisfaction among radiation therapy faculty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Swafford, Larry G; Legg, Jeffrey S

    2009-01-01

    Job satisfaction is one of the most significant predictors of employee retention in a variety of occupational settings, including health care and education. A national survey of radiation therapy educators (n = 90) has indicated that respondents are not satisfied with their jobs based on data collected using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ). To predict the factors associated with job satisfaction or dissatisfaction, the authors used a nine-item questionnaire derived from the MSQ. Educators were grouped according to their job satisfaction scores, and multiple discriminant analysis was used to determine which factors were predictive of satisfaction among groups of educators. Statistical results indicate that ability utilization, institutional support, compensation, personnel, and job characteristics were key determinants of job satisfaction among radiation therapy educators. These results may better inform faculty and administration of important factors that can promote job satisfaction and retain faculty in radiation therapy education programs.

  14. AN ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS THAT DETERMINE THE LISTING OFSMALL TO MEDIUM ENTERPRISES(SMEsON THEZIMBABWEANALTERNATIVE SECURITIESMARKET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zvendi Chitekuteku

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The study was motivated by the lack of research on this phenomenon inZimbabwe, as it sought to investigate the factors that may influence SMEs toregister on the ASM. To achieve this objective, the study adopted a quantitativeapproach. Data was collectedfrom a sample size of three hundred and thirty (330whichwere selected through stratified random sampling.Factor analysis was usedto identify the factors which determine the listing of SMEs on the ASM. The four factorswhichemergedwerefactor 1 (information accessibility, factor 2(regulatory requirements, factor 3 (corporate governance, andfactor 4 (SMEssupport platforms.The findings indicated that information accessibility,regulatory requirements, corporate governance,andSMEs support platforms areimportant in determining SMEs listing on the ASM.The research article presentsboth the academic contribution and managerial implications of the findingsandopportunities for future research are provided.

  15. [Volunteering in psychiatry: determining factors of attitude and actual commitment].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauber, C; Nordt, C; Falcato, L; Rössler, W

    2000-10-01

    To assess public attitude, actual working commitment and the respective influence of demographic, psychological and sociological variables on voluntary help in psychiatry. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the results of a representative population survey in Switzerland. Public attitude is mostly positive, but the respective working commitment is small. Attitude depends on gender, psychological factors (social distance, stereotypes), and on attitude to community psychiatry. For the working commitment, clearly distinct predictors are found: age, emotions, participation, and perceived discrimination to the mentally ill. For both attitude and commitment, having a social profession and interest in mass media are predictors. Internationally compared, Switzerland has a positive attitude and a big commitment in lay helping in psychiatry. But attitude is different from actual commitment. Lay helpers' work must be limited to realizable tasks and they need professional recruitment, instruction, and supervision otherwise they tend to be over-burden. The unused potential of voluntary helpers has to be opened specifically, e.g. by involving mass media and opinion-makers.

  16. The determination of a continuous radon daughter equilibrium factor in an operating uranium mine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Billingsley, D.

    1992-01-01

    Radon daughter exposures to workers at the Olympic Dam Operations copper and uranium mine are calculated from a series of grab samples obtained from various work locations around the mine. Currently under consideration is the introduction of personal passive radon dosimeters to determine the workers' radon daughter exposures. The study reported in this paper involved the determination of long-term equilibrium factors using real-time monitoring of radon and radon daughters. Consequently, variation in equilibrium factor for different tasks can be identified. In practice, the equilibrium factor varies with location and task; however, a conservative over-estimate of 0.28 can be confidently applied to all tasks. The error due to over-estimation remains minimal for all workers. This real-time monitoring method will reduce potential errors in dose assessment compared with the grab sampling technique. 5 refs., 1 tab., 4 figs

  17. EMPIRICAL STUDY REGARDING THE DETERMINING FACTORS OF THE ROMANIAN COMPANIES COMPETITIVENESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MOLDOVAN Nicoleta-Claudia

    2013-07-01

    This study is focused on the concept of company competitiveness, on the relevant factors in order to analyze and explain the advantage of competitiveness for a company in regard to another, as well as the dimension and intensity which it uses the sponsors’ capital, the organizational capital, the human capital, the innovational capital and the capital represented by the customers portfolio. Secondly, using the questionnaire method as a research method, the objective of this paper is to provide some empirical evidences designed to assess the factors determining the Romanian company competitiveness on the competitive market. By using an initial dataset of 300 companies, which are part of the 14 fields of activity provided in the activity classification of the national economy, Reviewed NACE 2, we have made their classification on size classes, taking into account as classification criteria the number of employees, the annual net turnover and the value of the total assets held, then testing the opinions of the managers from the selected sample concerning the factors determining the competitiveness of the companies they manage. According to the results, the analysis of the sample structure reflects the control of microenterprises followed by the small and medium sized enterprises. The manner of administration and organization and the quality of the employed human factor are influenced by the company dimension and position held on the market. We consider that the managers of the small size companies, as well as the ones from the provided sample, rely on a preponderant intuitive management, they deal the administered businesses based on the spur of the moment inspiration, make decisions subjectively not starting from objective economic criteria, being concerned only with the management of the current problems. Since they aren’t the beneficiaries of a managerial education, they don’t possess the necessary competences to focus on the elaboration of certain strategies

  18. Meditation as an Adjunct to the Management of Multiple Sclerosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam B. Levin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS disease course is known to be adversely affected by several factors including stress. A proposed mechanism for decreasing stress and therefore decreasing MS morbidity and improving quality of life is meditation. This review aims to critically analyse the current literature regarding meditation and MS. Methods. Four major databases were used to search for English language papers published before March 2014 with the terms MS, multiple sclerosis, meditation, and mindfulness. Results. 12 pieces of primary literature fitting the selection criteria were selected: two were randomised controlled studies, four were cohort studies, and six were surveys. The current literature varies in quality; however common positive effects of meditation include improved quality of life (QOL and improved coping skills. Conclusion. All studies suggest possible benefit to the use of meditation as an adjunct to the management of multiple sclerosis. Additional rigorous clinical trials are required to validate the existing findings and determine if meditation has an impact on disease course over time.

  19. Multiple Factors Affect Socioeconomics and Wellbeing of Artisanal Sea Cucumber Fishers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngaluafe, Poasi; Foale, Simon J.; Cocks, Nicole; Cullis, Brian R.; Lalavanua, Watisoni

    2016-01-01

    Small-scale fisheries are important to livelihoods and subsistence seafood consumption of millions of fishers. Sea cucumbers are fished worldwide for export to Asia, yet few studies have assessed factors affecting socioeconomics and wellbeing among fishers. We interviewed 476 men and women sea cucumber fishers at multiple villages within multiple locations in Fiji, Kiribati, Tonga and New Caledonia using structured questionnaires. Low rates of subsistence consumption confirmed a primary role of sea cucumbers in income security. Prices of sea cucumbers sold by fishers varied greatly among countries, depending on the species. Gender variation in landing prices could be due to women catching smaller sea cucumbers or because some traders take advantage of them. Dissatisfaction with fishery income was common (44% of fishers), especially for i-Kiribati fishers, male fishers, and fishers experiencing difficulty selling their catch, but was uncorrelated with sale prices. Income dissatisfaction worsened with age. The number of livelihood activities averaged 2.2–2.5 across countries, and varied significantly among locations. Sea cucumbers were often a primary source of income to fishers, especially in Tonga. Other common livelihood activities were fishing other marine resources, copra production in Kiribati, agriculture in Fiji, and salaried jobs in New Caledonia. Fishing other coastal and coral reef resources was the most common fall-back livelihood option if fishers were forced to exit the fishery. Our data highlight large disparities in subsistence consumption, gender-related price equity, and livelihood diversity among parallel artisanal fisheries. Improvement of supply chains in dispersed small-scale fisheries appears as a critical need for enhancing income and wellbeing of fishers. Strong evidence for co-dependence among small-scale fisheries, through fall-back livelihood preferences of fishers, suggests that resource managers must mitigate concomitant effects on

  20. Performance related factors are the main determinants of the von Willebrand factor response to exhaustive physical exercise.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janine E van Loon

    Full Text Available Physical stress triggers the endothelium to release von Willebrand Factor (VWF from the Weibel Palade bodies. Since VWF is a risk factor for arterial thrombosis, it is of great interest to discover determinants of VWF response to physical stress. We aimed to determine the main mediators of the VWF increase by exhaustive physical exercise.105 healthy individuals (18-35 years were included in this study. Each participant performed an incremental exhaustive exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Respiratory gas exchange measurements were obtained while cardiac function was continuously monitored. Blood was collected at baseline and directly after exhaustion. VWF antigen (VWF:Ag levels, VWF collagen binding (VWF:CB levels, ADAMTS13 activity and common variations in Syntaxin Binding Protein-5 (STXBP5, rs1039084 and rs9399599, Syntaxin-2 (STX2, rs7978987 and VWF (promoter, rs7965413 were determined.The median VWF:Ag level at baseline was 0.94 IU/mL [IQR 0.8-1.1] and increased with 47% [IQR 25-73] after exhaustive exercise to a median maximum VWF:Ag of 1.38 IU/mL [IQR 1.1-1.8] (p<0.0001. VWF:CB levels and ADAMTS13 activity both also increased after exhaustive exercise (median increase 43% and 12%, both p<0.0001. The strongest determinants of the VWF:Ag level increase are performance related (p<0.0001. We observed a gender difference in VWF:Ag response to exercise (females 1.2 IU/mL; males 1.7 IU/mL, p = 0.001, which was associated by a difference in performance. Genetic variations in STXBP5, STX2 and the VWF promoter were not associated with VWF:Ag levels at baseline nor with the VWF:Ag increase.VWF:Ag levels strongly increase upon exhaustive exercise and this increase is strongly determined by physical fitness level and the intensity of the exercise, while there is no clear effect of genetic variation in STXBP5, STX2 and the VWF promoter.

  1. The clinical significance of determination of adrenal medulla in patients with chronic cor pulmonale and analysis of its relevant factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tian Yingchun; Zha Jinshun

    2002-01-01

    In order to find the function of adrenal medulla in the development of chronic cor pulmonale and the effect of smoking, anoxia and lung's work on adrenal medulla, the authors determined adrenal medulla in 63 patients with acute cor pulmonale (Group A) and 60 controls (Group B). The authors tried to find out the effect of the patients' age, course of disease, history of smoking, malfunction of lung on adrenal medulla by multiple regressive analysis. Adrenal medulla is significantly higher in Group A than that of in Group B (P 2 both contribute to the conclusion that smoking is an independent factor to affect the adrenal medulla. The study shows that the adrenal medulla in patients with cor pulmonale is higher than that of normal people, and that the level of adrenal medulla is dependent on the degree of seriousness of the disease, obstructive ventilatory disturbance and anoxia

  2. Determining success factors for effective strategic change: Role of middle managers' strategic involvement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Minhajul Islam Ukil

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Middle managers are believed to play most crucial part in strategic change that in consequence leads to organizational success. The present study seeks to identify the underlying success factors for effective strategic change and, to investigate the relationship between middle management strategic involvement and effective strategic change. Data were collected following a survey administered among a group of mid-level managers (N=144 serving in twenty different private commercial banks in Bangladesh, and analyzed using various statistical tests including descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation, and simple and multiple regressions in STATA. Results uncovers that factors like relation with top management, strategy, role and skills are essential for effective strategic change. This study also reveals significant relationship between middle management strategic involvement and effective strategic change. Findings of this research suggest that organizations shall involve mid-level managers to formulate and implement strategy since middle mangers work as a bridge between top management and ground level workers.

  3. Comparison of drug treatment histories of single and multiple drug abusers in detox.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greberman, S B; Jasinski, D

    2001-01-01

    This study was undertaken to determine differences in previous treatment patterns in individuals currently using different numbers of substances. Medical records of 1198 inpatient detoxification (detox) admissions were analyzed. Numbers of past admissions to completed detox, methadone, or other types of drug abuse treatment were totaled and ranked to determine most frequent type. Within gender, treatment histories of single and multiple drug abusers usually do not differ. The one exception is male multiple drug abusers ages 26-30, who show increased admissions. Possible explanations are that men do not seek treatment before developing medical complications of addiction or until external factors influence admission. There were differences in treatment histories between genders in multiple drug abusers only. Before age 30, women reported increased treatment of certain types. Possible explanations are that treatment priority is given to women who are, or may be, pregnant. Also, younger men may not enter or complete treatment. Previous treatment history may influence many behaviors. The results of this study delineate several valuable indicators for assessing past history.

  4. Simultaneous determination of free and total glycerol in biodiesel by capillary electrophoresis using multiple short-end injection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spudeit, Daniel Alfonso; Piovezan, Marcel; Dolzan, Maressa D; Vistuba, Jacqueline Pereira; Azevedo, Mônia Stremel; Vitali, Luciano; Leal Oliveira, Marcone Augusto; Oliveira Costa, Ana Carolina; Micke, Gustavo Amadeu

    2013-12-01

    A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of free glycerol (FG) and total glycerol (TG) in biodiesel by CE using a short-end multiple injection (SE/MI) configuration system is described. The sample preparation for FG involves the extraction of glycerol with water and for TG a saponification reaction is carried out followed by extraction as in the case of FG. The glycerol extracted in both cases is submitted to periodate oxidation and the iodate ions formed are measured on a CE-SE/MI system. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that no analytical procedure has been previously reported for the determination of TG (or of FG and TG simultaneously) by CE. The optimum conditions for the saponification/extraction process were 1.25% KOH and 25°C, with a time of only 5 min, and biodiesel mass in the range of 50.0-200.0 mg can be used. Multiple injections were performed hydrodynamically with negative pressure as follows: 50 mbar/3s (FG sample); 50 mbar/6s (electrolyte spacer); 50 mbar/3s (TG sample). The linear range obtained was 1.55-46.5 mg/L with R(2) > 0.99. The LOD and LOQ were 0.16 mg/L and 0.47 mg/L, respectively for TG. The method provides acceptable throughput for application in quality control and monitoring biodiesel synthesis process. In addition, it offers simple sample preparation (saponification process), it can be applied to a variety biodiesel samples (soybean, castor, and waste cooking oils) and it can be used for the determination of two key parameters related to the biodiesel quality with a fast separation (less than 30 s) using an optimized CE-SE/MI system. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Some remarks about engineering factor determination

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svarny, J.

    2010-01-01

    The problem of the power distribution uncertainties is in general a multidimensional problem of random vector and problem of multidimensional Probability Density Function. The standard methodology of derivation WWER engineering factors is based on representation of analyzed power peaking in the linear form of random factors and on presumption about their normal Probability Density Function. In this paper is presented the derivation of locally defined engineering factors and for mechanical factors has been performed their reformulation. Final formulation of engineering factors as a statistics of relative deviations involves new parameter-mean. Engineering factors definition from so called endpoints of uncertainty tolerance interval is recommended. Approach (95%/95%) for normal Probability Density Function is discussed in detail, the relation to present standard uncertainty methodology of power distribution is found and problem of optimality in tolerance factor finding including limitation of sample size is discussed. On the bases of statistically based uncertainty kinf analysis for linear model has been shown that multivariate outputs vector of power peaking has nearly normal Probability Density Function independently on the Probability Density Function character of input multivariate vector from under its small dimension (lower than number of fuel assemblies in 1/6 core symmetry). Finally the development of the methodological part of the engineering factors for WWER-1000 design macrocode MOBY-DICK is described and their calculation direct on the bases of self-powered detector experimental data of Temelin NPP and Volgodonsk NPP has been performed with inclusion the variability of detector (self-powered detector). (Author)

  6. Performance related factors are the main determinants of the von Willebrand factor response to exhaustive physical exercise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Loon, Janine E; Sonneveld, Michelle A H; Praet, Stephan F E; de Maat, Moniek P M; Leebeek, Frank W G

    2014-01-01

    Physical stress triggers the endothelium to release von Willebrand Factor (VWF) from the Weibel Palade bodies. Since VWF is a risk factor for arterial thrombosis, it is of great interest to discover determinants of VWF response to physical stress. We aimed to determine the main mediators of the VWF increase by exhaustive physical exercise. 105 healthy individuals (18-35 years) were included in this study. Each participant performed an incremental exhaustive exercise test on a cycle ergometer. Respiratory gas exchange measurements were obtained while cardiac function was continuously monitored. Blood was collected at baseline and directly after exhaustion. VWF antigen (VWF:Ag) levels, VWF collagen binding (VWF:CB) levels, ADAMTS13 activity and common variations in Syntaxin Binding Protein-5 (STXBP5, rs1039084 and rs9399599), Syntaxin-2 (STX2, rs7978987) and VWF (promoter, rs7965413) were determined. The median VWF:Ag level at baseline was 0.94 IU/mL [IQR 0.8-1.1] and increased with 47% [IQR 25-73] after exhaustive exercise to a median maximum VWF:Ag of 1.38 IU/mL [IQR 1.1-1.8] (pexercise (median increase 43% and 12%, both pexercise (females 1.2 IU/mL; males 1.7 IU/mL, p = 0.001), which was associated by a difference in performance. Genetic variations in STXBP5, STX2 and the VWF promoter were not associated with VWF:Ag levels at baseline nor with the VWF:Ag increase. VWF:Ag levels strongly increase upon exhaustive exercise and this increase is strongly determined by physical fitness level and the intensity of the exercise, while there is no clear effect of genetic variation in STXBP5, STX2 and the VWF promoter.

  7. Consumers’ view on determinants to food satisfaction

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Barbara Vad; Hyldig, Grethe

    2015-01-01

    The objective of this study was to gain a better understanding of the multiple determinants to food satisfaction from a consumer perspective. The study includes two focus groups with a total of 20 consumers varying in gender, age, employment and food interest. The results were divided into sections...... based on the main themes that arose from analysing the focus groups; i) sensory properties, ii) physical wellbeing, iii) expectations and desires, iv) the food context and v) comparison of the importance of the various determinants to satisfaction. Factors important for food satisfaction appear before...... as well as during and after intake. Before intake, the important factors are; expectations and desires based on memories about previous food experiences and the context in which the food is perceived. Physical wellbeing was mentioned important for the feeling of satisfaction, included in physical...

  8. Efficiency and attenuation correction factors determination in gamma spectrometric assay of bulk samples using self radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddad, Kh.

    2009-02-01

    Gamma spectrometry forms the most important and capable tool for measuring radioactive materials. Determination of the efficiency and attenuation correction factors is the most tedious problem in the gamma spectrometric assay of bulk samples. A new experimental and easy method for these correction factors determination using self radiation was proposed in this work. An experimental study of the correlation between self attenuation correction factor and sample thickness and its practical application was also introduced. The work was performed on NORM and uranyl nitrate bulk sample. The results of proposed methods agreed with those of traditional ones.(author)

  9. Liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry and dynamic multiple reaction monitoring method for determining multiple pesticide residues in tomato.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrade, G C R M; Monteiro, S H; Francisco, J G; Figueiredo, L A; Botelho, R G; Tornisielo, V L

    2015-05-15

    A quick and sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method, using dynamic multiple reaction monitoring and a 1.8-μm particle size analytical column, was developed to determine 57 pesticides in tomato in a 13-min run. QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) method for samples preparations and validations was carried out in compliance with EU SANCO guidelines. The method was applied to 58 tomato samples. More than 84% of the compounds investigated showed limits of detection equal to or lower than 5 mg kg(-1). A mild (50%) matrix effect was observed for 72%, 25%, and 3% of the pesticides studied, respectively. Eighty-one percent of the pesticides showed recoveries ranging between 70% and 120%. Twelve pesticides were detected in 35 samples, all below the maximum residue levels permitted in the Brazilian legislation; 15 samples exceeded the maximum residue levels established by the EU legislation for methamidophos; and 10 exceeded limits for acephate and four for bromuconazole. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Endoplasmic reticulum stress-responsive transcription factor ATF6α directs recruitment of the Mediator of RNA polymerase II transcription and multiple histone acetyltransferase complexes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sela, Dotan; Chen, Lu; Martin-Brown, Skylar; Washburn, Michael P; Florens, Laurence; Conaway, Joan Weliky; Conaway, Ronald C

    2012-06-29

    The basic leucine zipper transcription factor ATF6α functions as a master regulator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response genes. Previous studies have established that, in response to ER stress, ATF6α translocates to the nucleus and activates transcription of ER stress response genes upon binding sequence specifically to ER stress response enhancer elements in their promoters. In this study, we investigate the biochemical mechanism by which ATF6α activates transcription. By exploiting a combination of biochemical and multidimensional protein identification technology-based mass spectrometry approaches, we have obtained evidence that ATF6α functions at least in part by recruiting to the ER stress response enhancer elements of ER stress response genes a collection of RNA polymerase II coregulatory complexes, including the Mediator and multiple histone acetyltransferase complexes, among which are the Spt-Ada-Gcn5 acetyltransferase (SAGA) and Ada-Two-A-containing (ATAC) complexes. Our findings shed new light on the mechanism of action of ATF6α, and they outline a straightforward strategy for applying multidimensional protein identification technology mass spectrometry to determine which RNA polymerase II transcription factors and coregulators are recruited to promoters and other regulatory elements to control transcription.

  11. Determination of shell correction energies at saddle point using pre-scission neutron multiplicities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Golda, K.S.; Saxena, A.; Mittal, V.K.; Mahata, K.; Sugathan, P.; Jhingan, A.; Singh, V.; Sandal, R.; Goyal, S.; Gehlot, J.; Dhal, A.; Behera, B.R.; Bhowmik, R.K.; Kailas, S.

    2013-01-01

    Pre-scission neutron multiplicities have been measured for 12 C + 194, 198 Pt systems at matching excitation energies at near Coulomb barrier region. Statistical model analysis with a modified fission barrier and level density prescription have been carried out to fit the measured pre-scission neutron multiplicities and the available evaporation residue and fission cross sections simultaneously to constrain statistical model parameters. Simultaneous fitting of the pre-scission neutron multiplicities and cross section data requires shell correction at the saddle point

  12. The Prevalence of High-Risk HPV Types and Factors Determining Infection in Female Colombian Adolescents.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luisa Del Río-Ospina

    Full Text Available This study reports six HR-HPV types' infection prevalence discriminated by species and multiple infection in unvaccinated Colombian female adolescents, as well as some factors modulating the risk of infection. HPV DNA for six high-risk viral types was identified in cervical samples taken from 2,134 12-19 year-old females using conventional generic and type-specific PCR. Binomial logistical regression analysis was used for modelling HR-HPV infection and multiple infection risk. The interaction between variables in a stepwise model was also included in such analysis. Viral DNA was detected in 48.97% of the females; 28.52% of them had multiple infections, HPV-16 being the most frequently occurring type (37.44%. Cytological abnormality prevalence was 15.61%. Being over 16 years-old (1.66: 1.01-2.71 95%CI, white ethnicity (4.40: 1.16-16.73 95%CI, having had 3 or more sexual partners (1.77: 1.11-2.81 95%CI and prior sexually-transmitted infections (STI (1.65: 1.17-2.32 95%CI were associated with a greater risk of HPV infection. Having given birth was related to a higher risk of infection by A7 species and antecedent of abortion to less risk of coinfection. Where the females in this study came from also influenced the risk of infection by A7 species as female adolescents from the Andean region had a lower risk of infection (0.42: 0.18-0.99 95%CI. The presence of factors related to risky sexual behaviour in the study population indicated that public health services should pay special attention to female adolescents to modify the risk of infection by high-risk HPV types and decrease their impact on this age group.

  13. 78 FR 59949 - Annual Factors for Determining Public Housing Agency Administrative Fees for the Section 8...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT [Docket No. FR-5724-N-02] Annual Factors for... Web site of the annual factors for determining the on-going administrative fee for housing agencies... Relay Service during business hours at 1-800-877-8337. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The annual factors for...

  14. A new method to improve multiplication factor in micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with high pixel density

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadygov, Z. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Ahmadov, F. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Khorev, S. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada); Sadigov, A., E-mail: saazik@yandex.ru [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Suleymanov, S. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Madatov, R.; Mehdiyeva, R. [Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Zerrouk, F. [Zecotek Photonics Inc., Vancouver (Canada)

    2016-07-11

    Presented is a new model describing development of the avalanche process in time, taking into account the dynamics of electric field within the depleted region of the diode and the effect of parasitic capacitance shunting individual quenching micro-resistors on device parameters. Simulations show that the effective capacitance of a single pixel, which defines the multiplication factor, is the sum of the pixel capacitance and a parasitic capacitance shunting its quenching micro-resistor. Conclusions obtained as a result of modeling open possibilities of improving the pixel gain in micropixel avalanche photodiodes with high pixel density (or low pixel capacitance).

  15. Multiple chemical sensitivity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tran, Marie Thi Dao; Arendt-Nielsen, Lars; Kupers, Ron

    2013-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a chronic condition characterized by recurrent, non-specific symptoms in response to chemically unrelated exposures in non-toxic concentrations. Although the pathophysiology of MCS remains unknown, central sensitization may be an important factor...

  16. Multiple sclerosis in women having children by multiple partners. A population-based study in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Basso, Olga; Campi, Rita; Frydenberg, Morten

    2004-01-01

    We investigated whether having children with multiple men is a risk factor for being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). We studied a cohort of 151,328 women, of whom 64,704 had different men fathering their children and 86,624 the same partner for all births. Women were included if they had ...

  17. Factors that determine the fees for audit NGOs financial statements in Kosovo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bahtijar Berisha

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to identify, analyze and evaluate the potential factors that influence the determinants of the fee/price of the NGOs financial statements audit in Kosovo based and tested, generally, traditional determinants and known in economic literature on this issue. In our study, we have chosen the NGO sector in Kosovo to investigate the factors that determine the fee/price of their financial statements, because the non-governmental organizations are among the first organizations that have gone through the audit process after war disintegration of former Yugoslavia, and to our knowledge no similar research was undertaken. The study is generally based on data collected through a questionnaire, sector financial audit of NGOs in Kosovo’s reality, focusing on the group of respondents who are professional in this field as statutory auditors, certified auditors and certified accountants. By the results of this analysis related to the importance variables of the model, it was found that the size, complexity, audit risk, NGO audit market, competition, international character and the number of donors who fund NGOs and the number of projects they develop, have a significant impact on the fee/price of the financial audit of NGOs Kosovo.

  18. Validation of patient determined disease steps (PDDS) scale scores in persons with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Learmonth, Yvonne C; Motl, Robert W; Sandroff, Brian M; Pula, John H; Cadavid, Diego

    2013-04-25

    The Patient Determined Disease Steps (PDDS) is a promising patient-reported outcome (PRO) of disability in multiple sclerosis (MS). To date, there is limited evidence regarding the validity of PDDS scores, despite its sound conceptual development and broad inclusion in MS research. This study examined the validity of the PDDS based on (1) the association with Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores and (2) the pattern of associations between PDDS and EDSS scores with Functional System (FS) scores as well as ambulatory and other outcomes. 96 persons with MS provided demographic/clinical information, completed the PDDS and other PROs including the Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale-12 (MSWS-12), and underwent a neurological examination for generating FS and EDSS scores. Participants completed assessments of cognition, ambulation including the 6-minute walk (6 MW), and wore an accelerometer during waking hours over seven days. There was a strong correlation between EDSS and PDDS scores (ρ = .783). PDDS and EDSS scores were strongly correlated with Pyramidal (ρ = .578 &ρ = .647, respectively) and Cerebellar (ρ = .501 &ρ = .528, respectively) FS scores as well as 6 MW distance (ρ = .704 &ρ = .805, respectively), MSWS-12 scores (ρ = .801 &ρ = .729, respectively), and accelerometer steps/day (ρ = -.740 &ρ = -.717, respectively). This study provides novel evidence supporting the PDDS as valid PRO of disability in MS.

  19. Mean associative multiplicities in deep inelastic processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dzhaparidze, G.Sh.; Kiselev, A.V.; Petrov, V.A.

    1981-01-01

    The associative hadron multiplicities in deep inelastic and Drell--Yan processes are studied. In particular the mean multiplicities in different hard processes in QCD are found to be determined by the mean multiplicity in parton jet [ru

  20. Determinants of job stress in chemical process industry: A factor analysis approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menon, Balagopal G; Praveensal, C J; Madhu, G

    2015-01-01

    Job stress is one of the active research domains in industrial safety research. The job stress can result in accidents and health related issues in workers in chemical process industries. Hence it is important to measure the level of job stress in workers so as to mitigate the same to avoid the worker's safety related problems in the industries. The objective of this study is to determine the job stress factors in the chemical process industry in Kerala state, India. This study also aims to propose a comprehensive model and an instrument framework for measuring job stress levels in the chemical process industries in Kerala, India. The data is collected through a questionnaire survey conducted in chemical process industries in Kerala. The collected data out of 1197 surveys is subjected to principal component and confirmatory factor analysis to develop the job stress factor structure. The factor analysis revealed 8 factors that influence the job stress in process industries. It is also found that the job stress in employees is most influenced by role ambiguity and the least by work environment. The study has developed an instrument framework towards measuring job stress utilizing exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling.

  1. Factors determining conversion of laparoscopic to open cholecystectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tapash Kumar Maitra

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Background and objectives:Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC has virtually replaced conventional open cholecystectomy (OC as the standard procedure of treatment for cholelithiasis and cholecystitis. However, OC sometimes becomes a necessity considering the feasibility and safety of the surgical procedure. But the factors that demand conversion from LC to OC differ widely. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of conversion from LC to OC and to assess the causes of conversion and risk factors related to conversion. Methods: The study was conducted in a referral hospital – ‘Bangladesh Institute of Research and Rehabilitation in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metabolic Disorder (BIRDEM’ from September 2014 to September 2016. Cases of cholelithiasis with or without cholecystitis, and other gall bladder pathology were included in the study. A team of experienced surgeon performed LC of all selected cases. The causes of conversion to OC were systematically recorded by the surgical team and the risk factors (age, sex, obesity, history of previous abdominal surgery, gallbladder thickness related to conversion from LC to OC was investigated. Results: A total of 261 (M / F = 87 /174 patients were considered eligible for the study. The mean age of all patients was 43 (±1.75 years. For the male and female groups the mean ages were 44±1.9 and 42±1.6 years respectively. Of the total 261 cases, 210 (80.5% patients had cholelithiasis with chronic cholecystitis, 47 (18.0% had gallbladder stone plus acute cholecystitis and 4 (1.5% had gallbladder polyp. Open conversion was required in case of 19 patients. Thus, overall conversion rate was 7.3%. The common causes of conversion were a difficulty in defining Calot’s triangle (42.1%, b injury to cystic artery (21.1% and c injury to bile duct (15.8%. Both male and female had equal risk for conversion. The investigated risk factors like history of previous abdominal surgery, preoperative ERCP, acute

  2. Determination of quality factors by microdosimetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Affan, I.A.M.; Watt, D.E.

    1987-01-01

    The application of microdose parameters for the specification of a revised scale of quality factors which would be applicable at low doses and dose rates is examined in terms of an original proposal by Rossi. Two important modifications are suggested to enable an absolute scale of quality factors to be constructed. Allowance should be made to allow for the dependence of the saturation threshold of lineal energy on the type of heavy charged particle. Also, an artificial saturation threshold should be introduced for electron tracks as a means of modifying the measurements made in the microdosimeter to the more realistic site sizes of nanometer dimensions. The proposed absolute scale of quality factors nicely encompasses the high RBEs of around 3 observed at low doses for tritium β rays and is consistent with the recent recommendation of the ICRP that the quality factor for fast neutrons be increased by a factor of two, assuming that there is no biological repair for the reference radiation. (orig.)

  3. Determination of quality factors by microdosimetry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Al-Affan, I.A.M.; Watt, D.E.

    1987-03-15

    The application of microdose parameters for the specification of a revised scale of quality factors which would be applicable at low doses and dose rates is examined in terms of an original proposal by Rossi. Two important modifications are suggested to enable an absolute scale of quality factors to be constructed. Allowance should be made to allow for the dependence of the saturation threshold of lineal energy on the type of heavy charged particle. Also, an artificial saturation threshold should be introduced for electron tracks as a means of modifying the measurements made in the microdosimeter to the more realistic site sizes of nanometer dimensions. The proposed absolute scale of quality factors nicely encompasses the high RBEs of around 3 observed at low doses for tritium ..beta.. rays and is consistent with the recent recommendation of the ICRP that the quality factor for fast neutrons be increased by a factor of two, assuming that there is no biological repair for the reference radiation.

  4. Micro- and Macrolevel Determinants of Women's Employment in Six Arab Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spierings, Niels; Smits, Jeroen; Verloo, Mieke

    2010-01-01

    We analyzed determinants of women's employment with data for 40,792 women living in 103 districts of 6 Arab countries. We tested a new theoretical framework that addresses the roles of needs, opportunities, and values at multiple levels. At the microlevel (individual, family), socioeconomic factors, care duties, and traditionalism were important;…

  5. Does the Assessment of Recovery Capital scale reflect a single or multiple domains?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arndt, Stephan; Sahker, Ethan; Hedden, Suzy

    2017-01-01

    The goal of this study was to determine whether the 50-item Assessment of Recovery Capital scale represents a single general measure or whether multiple domains might be psychometrically useful for research or clinical applications. Data are from a cross-sectional de-identified existing program evaluation information data set with 1,138 clients entering substance use disorder treatment. Principal components and iterated factor analysis were used on the domain scores. Multiple group factor analysis provided a quasi-confirmatory factor analysis. The solution accounted for 75.24% of the total variance, suggesting that 10 factors provide a reasonably good fit. However, Tucker's congruence coefficients between the factor structure and defining weights (0.41-0.52) suggested a poor fit to the hypothesized 10-domain structure. Principal components of the 10-domain scores yielded one factor whose eigenvalue was greater than one (5.93), accounting for 75.8% of the common variance. A few domains had perceptible but small unique variance components suggesting that a few of the domains may warrant enrichment. Our findings suggest that there is one general factor, with a caveat. Using the 10 measures inflates the chance for Type I errors. Using one general measure avoids this issue, is simple to interpret, and could reduce the number of items. However, those seeking to maximally predict later recovery success may need to use the full instrument and all 10 domains.

  6. Factors affecting farm diversification in rice-wheat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashfaq, M.; Hassan, S.; Naseer, M.Z.; Baig, I.A.; Asma, J.

    2008-01-01

    The risk in agriculture sector is due to various factors like weather and market conditions, particularly the demand of the commodities. This uncertainty can result in variable returns (farm income) to the decisions that farmers make in a particular season. Diversification is a frequently used risk management strategy that involves participation in more than one activity. It has the added advantage of mitigating price risk as well as fluctuations in outputs. The main purpose of this paper was to determine the factors affecting crop diversification. For determining the effect of different factors on diversification a multiple regression model was used. The values of Entropy index computed for measuring horizontal diversification were taken as dependent variable and different factors affecting diversification were taken as independent variables. The results showed that the main factors affecting diversification were size of land holding, age of respondent, education level of respondent, farming experience of respondent, off farm income of respondent, distance of farm from main road, distance of farm from main market and farm machinery. (author)

  7. Job-Specific Factors and Prevalence of Multiple and Disabling Musculoskeletal Pain Among Office Workers, Nurses, and Caregivers in Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merisalu Eda

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The aims of this study were to describe job-specific factors and prevalence of musculoskeletal pains (MSPs by the occupation and body regions in the past 12 months and past month, to analyse multisite and disabling pain and sick leave among office workers (OW, nurses and caregivers (CG; and to find relationships between the observed indicators. The study groups were selected by random sample method. Questionnaire responses on demographic parameters, job-specific factors, and MSPs by body parts in the past 12 months (MSP-12 and past month (MSP-1 were analysed. A questionnaire was sent to 1291 participants. The response rate was 54%. Most of the participants were women, with mean age 41.2 (±11.5 years, working on average 42.8 (±6.7 hours per week and had service length more than five years. Repetitive movements of wrist/hands and working under time pressure were more often reported risk factors by the nurses. Lifting weights 25 kg and more, climbing up and down, kneeling more than one hour a day and piecework finished in the work shift were the most often reported job-related risk factors for the CGs. Use of a keyboard was the same frequent work-related risk factor for the OWs. The most prevalent MSP-12 was low back pain for CGs (66.3% and nurses (56.1% and neck pain for OWs (51.5%. The most often reported MSP-1 was shoulder pain for nurses and OWs (84.4% and 65.7%, correspondingly, and elbow pain for CGs (74.9%. In the the entire sampled group, low back pain (53.9% in the past 12 months and shoulder pain (70.9% in the past month were the most often reported pain regions. A higher prevalence of multiple and disabling MSP and sickness absence were reported by CGs, compared to other occupation groups (p < 0.05. Correlation analysis showed positive relationships between job-related risk factors, like repetitive movements, physical load, and time demands, and MSPs and sick leave, especially among CGs (p < 0.05. Job-specific factors need more

  8. Anesthesia in the patient with multiple drug allergies: are all allergies the same?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewachter, Pascale; Mouton-Faivre, Claudie; Castells, Mariana C; Hepner, David L

    2011-06-01

    During the preoperative evaluation, patients frequently indicate 'multiple drug allergies', most of which have not been validated. Potential allergic cross-reactivity between drugs and foods is frequently considered as a risk factor for perioperative hypersensitivity. The aim of this review is to facilitate the recognition of risk factors for perioperative anaphylaxis and help the management of patients with 'multiple drug allergies' during the perioperative period. Neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) and antibiotics are the most common drugs triggering perioperative anaphylaxis. Quaternary ammonium ions have been suggested to be the allergenic determinant of NMBAs. Even though the 'pholcodine hypothesis' has been suggested to explain the occurrence of NMBA-induced allergy, this concept remains unclear. Although many practitioners believe that certain food allergies present an issue with the use of propofol, there is no role to contraindicate propofol in egg-allergic, soy-allergic or peanut-allergic patients. IgE-mediated hypersensitivity has been reported with seafood and iodinated drugs, IgE-mediated hypersensitivity has been reported with seafood and iodinated drugs, but there is no cross-reactivity between them. The allergenic determinants have been characterized for fish, shellfish and povidone iodine and remain unknown for contrast agents. There are many false assumptions regarding drug allergies. The main goal of this article is to review the potential cross-reactivity among specific families of drugs and foods in order to facilitate the anesthetic management of patients with 'multiple drug allergies'.

  9. Factors of Attrition in Cohort Doctoral Education: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Linda Ann

    2013-01-01

    Attrition rates, completion rates, and time to degree are the key areas researchers have sought to examine influencing factors and patterns of behavior that describe the departure process of students in doctoral study. Through the lens of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), the purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was…

  10. Connecting the Dots: State Health Department Approaches to Addressing Shared Risk and Protective Factors Across Multiple Forms of Violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, Natalie; Myers, Lindsey; Kuehl, Tomei; Bauman, Alice; Hertz, Marci

    Violence takes many forms, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, bullying, suicidal behavior, and elder abuse and neglect. These forms of violence are interconnected and often share the same root causes. They can also co-occur together in families and communities and can happen at the same time or at different stages of life. Often, due to a variety of factors, separate, "siloed" approaches are used to address each form of violence. However, understanding and implementing approaches that prevent and address the overlapping root causes of violence (risk factors) and promote factors that increase the resilience of people and communities (protective factors) can help practitioners more effectively and efficiently use limited resources to prevent multiple forms of violence and save lives. This article presents approaches used by 2 state health departments, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, to integrate a shared risk and protective factor approach into their violence prevention work and identifies key lessons learned that may serve to inform crosscutting violence prevention efforts in other states.

  11. 75 FR 69591 - Medicaid Program; Withdrawal of Determination of Average Manufacturer Price, Multiple Source Drug...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-15

    ..., Multiple Source Drug Definition, and Upper Limits for Multiple Source Drugs AGENCY: Centers for Medicare... withdrawing the definition of ``multiple source drug'' as it was revised in the ``Medicaid Program; Multiple Source Drug Definition'' final rule published in the October 7, 2008 Federal Register. DATES: Effective...

  12. Service Quality: A Main Determinant Factor for Health Information System Success in Low-resource Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tilahun, Binyam; Fritz, Fleur

    2015-01-01

    With the increasing implementation of different health information systems in developing countries, there is a growing need to measure the main determinants of their success. The results of this evaluation study on the determinants of HIS success in five low resource setting hospitals show that service quality is the main determinant factor for information system success in those kind of settings.

  13. Informal social networks of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities : Relationship with age, communicative abilities and current living arrangements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kamstra, A.; van der Putten, A.A.J.; Post, W.J.; Vlaskamp, C.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: People with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD) have limited informal social contacts. Research to determine the factors which can positively influence establishing sound informal social contacts is required. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Regression analysis for 200 people

  14. Effect of Internal Factors and External Factors on Learning Achievement Intermediate Financial Accounting Course I

    OpenAIRE

    Huda, Syamsul; Diana, Nana

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of internal and external factors of students on the achievement of intermediate financial accounting courses 1 partially and simultaneously. This type of research is quantitative, while the data used in this study is primary data in the form of questionnaires and secondary data in the form of midterm semester exam on intermediate financial accounting 1 semester odd academic year 2016/2017. Hypothesis testing using multiple regression analy...

  15. Fluorophotometric determination of uranium: an automated sintering furnace and factors affecting precision

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strain, J.E.

    1978-07-01

    The fusion furnace consists of four individually controlled, slotted-tube furnaces that automatically dry, sinter and anneal the fluoride or carbonate pellet used in the fluorometric determination of uranium. The furnace operates in air and prepares approximately 90 pellets per hour for fluorometric measurement. The factors that were thought to affect the precision of the method were investigated. The two factors that seem to be the most influential are (1) the manner in which the sample is loaded onto the pellet; and (2) the surface characteristics of the platinum dish in which the pellet is sintered and measured fluorometrically

  16. EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTION AS A DETERMINING FACTOR IN SOCIETY DEVELOPMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tetiana Vlasyuk

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available A new paradigm for economic development of higher educational institutions of Ukraine requires appropriate institutional support. The reality of domestic transients is the imperfection of institutions, which corresponds to the mixed economy of market type and adequately represents the norms and stereotypes of behavior in the spheres of income distribution regulation, employment, social security, health, education. The purpose of the paper is to study the role of educational production as a determining factor in economic development of society. Methodology. In the researching process general scientific and special methods of the studying processes and facts were used in their correlation and development. Among them: monographic – in the forming of the research subject and object; induction and deduction – in the determining of the means, objects of the labour and factor of educational production; the method of the systematic studying the business processes – in the determining of the interaction of the main components of the educational production. Results. The cause of any production is needs availability. To meet his needs the person should enter into business relations with other people that is the basis of market relations. A key resource of the economy, the main engine of development perform is the knowledge which is also an important criterion for successful adaptation of a man in society. Accordingly, in society, the role of education as a sphere of production, exchange, consumption of knowledge is increasing. The received knowledge, skills and other competences by the individual is the end result of educational process. Knowledge is one of the main elements of intellectual property and intellectual capital, and it contributes to the development of the macroenvironment, namely, labor and scientific potential of the state. Each high school, its scientific and innovative activity, its financial bases of development, depends on the

  17. Multiple births associated with assisted human reproduction in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Jocelynn L; Geran, Leslie; Rotermann, Michelle

    2011-06-01

    Assisted human reproduction has been associated with increased rates of multiple births. Data suggest that twins and higher order multiple pregnancies are at risk for pre- and postnatal health complications that contribute to stress on both the family and the Canadian health care system. No published Canadian data estimate the contribution of assisted human reproduction to multiple birth rates. This study was designed to determine the contributions of age and assisted human reproduction to multiple birth rates in Canada. We performed analyses of existing Canadian databases, using a mathematical model from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More specifically, data from the Canadian Vital Statistics: Births and Stillbirths database were combined with data from the Canadian Assisted Reproductive Technologies Register collected by the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society. Datasets were standardized to age distributions of mothers in 1978. RESULTS suggest that in vitro fertilization, ovulation induction, and age each contribute more to the rates of triplets than to twins. As expected, the contribution of natural factors was higher to twins than to triplets. These are the first Canadian data analyzed to separate and measure the contributions of age and assisted reproductive technologies to multiple birth rates. Our findings are important for guiding physician and patient education and informing the development of treatment protocols that will result in lower-risk pregnancies and improved long-term health for women and their offspring.

  18. DETERMINANTS OF BUSINESS LOAN DEFAULT IN GHANA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Akwaa-Sekyi, Ellis Kofi

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The initiation, funding, servicing and monitoring of loans by financial intermediaries has been done without regard to some critical factors which could have averted the likelihood of default. The study aimed at measuring the extent that owner-specific, borrower-specific, loan and lender-specific characteristics could determine the probability of loan default. The study used logistic regression for 224 business customers of a bank in Ghana from its nation-wide branches. The study found that owner’s extra income (ownership characteristics, multiple borrowing, diversion of loan purpose (borrower characteristics, loan price, loan purpose, loan age, repayment plan (loan characteristics and underfunding (lender characteristics significantly determined the probability of business loan default. The overall model predicted up to 78.5% of variations in the likelihood of default. The hierarchy of strong determinants given by their odd ratios were loan purpose (47.9 times, underfunding (19.2 times, diversion of loan purpose (11.7 times multiple borrowing (9.4 times and owner’s extra income (8.2 times. The study can conclude that financial intermediaries should be wary of the credit granting process taking cognisance of ownership, borrower, loan and lender characteristics especially the significant predictors. Combining quantitative and qualitative variables as determinants of default could be considered in future.

  19. Intrinsic motivation factors based on the self-determinant theory for regular breast cancer screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Su Mi; Jo, Heui-Sug

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify factors of intrinsic motivation that affect regular breast cancer screening and contribute to development of a program for strategies to improve effective breast cancer screening. Subjects were residing in South Korea Gangwon-Province and were female over 40 and under 69 years of age. For the investigation, the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) was modified to the situation of cancer screening and was used to survey 905 inhabitants. Multinominal logistic regression analyses were conducted for regular breast cancer screening (RS), one-time breast cancer screening (OS) and non-breast cancer screening (NS). For statistical analysis, IBM SPSS 20.0 was utilized. The determinant factors between RS and NS were "perceived effort and choice" and "stress and strain" - internal motivations related to regular breast cancer screening. Also, determinant factors between RS and OS are "age" and "perceived effort and choice" for internal motivation related to cancer screening. To increase regular screening, strategies that address individual perceived effort and choice are recommended.

  20. DETERMINATION OF THE ISSUE CONCERNING THE LIFT RESISTANCE FACTOR OF LIGHTWEIGHT CAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. O. Shvets

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose. The analytical study of the connection between the longitudinal force, acting on the light-weight car, lateral and vertical forces of interaction in the contact zone «wheel – rail» with the lift resistance factor value is to provide a simple relationships between them. Methodology. Research was conducted by the method of mathematical modeling of loading the freight car when driving at different speeds on straight and curved sections of a track. Findings. Even in the absence of «lift» accordingly the classical train stability theory, as the hinge-rod system, the presence of the longitudinal compressive forces may become a factor provoking cars derailment. The main reason of wheel climbing on rails is the combination of processes of dynamic interaction between the hunting vehicle and the track with simultaneous action of longitudinal compressive forces, and not the destabilization of train as a hingedrod system. To assess the impact of the longitudinal forces value on the lift resistance factor there are presented the calculation results for the empty gondola car motion, model No. 12-532, on 250 m radius curve with 150 mm rise and cross starting of car underframe relating to the track axis in 50 mm guiding section. The calculations were made in such a curve excluding the inertial forces from outstanding acceleration and taking into account the unbalanced acceleration with the permissible speed of 65 km/h. Originality. This study provides the technique of determining the lift resistance factor by longitudinal forces, which is somewhat different from the standard one, as well as evaluates impact of rolling stock speed on this factor. Practical value. The authors clarify the current method of determining the lift resistance factor by longitudinal forces and assess the impact of rolling stock speed on the value of this factor. From these studies one can conclude that because of cars hunting their lift is possible even when the train as

  1. Sensitivity of Microstructural Factors Influencing the Impact Toughness of Hypoeutectoid Steels with Ferrite-Pearlite Structure using Multiple Regression Analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Seung-Yong; Lee, Sang-In; Hwang, Byoung-chul

    2016-01-01

    In this study, the effect of microstructural factors on the impact toughness of hypoeutectoid steels with ferrite-pearlite structure was quantitatively investigated using multiple regression analysis. Microstructural analysis results showed that the pearlite fraction increased with increasing austenitizing temperature and decreasing transformation temperature which substantially decreased the pearlite interlamellar spacing and cementite thickness depending on carbon content. The impact toughness of hypoeutectoid steels usually increased as interlamellar spacing or cementite thickness decreased, although the impact toughness was largely associated with pearlite fraction. Based on these results, multiple regression analysis was performed to understand the individual effect of pearlite fraction, interlamellar spacing, and cementite thickness on the impact toughness. The regression analysis results revealed that pearlite fraction significantly affected impact toughness at room temperature, while cementite thickness did at low temperature.

  2. Multiple post-translational modifications in hepatocyte nuclear factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yokoyama, Atsushi; Katsura, Shogo; Ito, Ryo; Hashiba, Waka; Sekine, Hiroki; Fujiki, Ryoji; Kato, Shigeaki

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We performed comprehensive PTM analysis for HNF4α protein. → We identified 8 PTMs in HNF4α protein including newly identified PTMs. → Among them, we found acetylation at lysine 458 was one of the prime PTMs for HNF4α function. → Acetylation at lysine 458 was inhibitory for HNF4α transcription function. → This modification fluctuated in response to extracellular condition. -- Abstract: To investigate the role of post-translational modifications (PTMs) in the hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α)-mediated transcription, we took a comprehensive survey of PTMs in HNF4α protein by massspectrometry and identified totally 8 PTM sites including newly identified ubiquitilation and acetylation sites. To assess the impact of identified PTMs in HNF4α-function, we introduced point mutations at the identified PTM sites and, tested transcriptional activity of the HNF4α. Among the point-mutations, an acetylation site at lysine 458 was found significant in the HNF4α-mediated transcriptional control. An acetylation negative mutant at lysine 458 showed an increased transcriptional activity by about 2-fold, while an acetylation mimic mutant had a lowered transcriptional activation. Furthermore, this acetylation appeared to be fluctuated in response to extracellular nutrient conditions. Thus, by applying an comprehensive analysis of PTMs, multiple PTMs were newly identified in HNF4α and unexpected role of an HNF4α acetylation could be uncovered.

  3. Sensitivity Analysis of the USLE Soil Erodibility Factor to Its Determining Parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitova, Milena; Rousseva, Svetla

    2014-05-01

    Soil erosion is recognized as one of the most serious soil threats worldwide. Soil erosion prediction is the first step in soil conservation planning. The Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) is one of the most widely used models for soil erosion predictions. One of the five USLE predictors is the soil erodibility factor (K-factor), which evaluates the impact of soil characteristics on soil erosion rates. Soil erodibility nomograph defines K-factor depending on soil characteristics, such as: particle size distribution (fractions finer that 0.002 mm and from 0.1 to 0.002 mm), organic matter content, soil structure and soil profile water permeability. Identifying the soil characteristics, which mostly influence the K-factor would give an opportunity to control the soil loss through erosion by controlling the parameters, which reduce the K-factor value. The aim of the report is to present the results of analysis of the relative weight of these soil characteristics in the K-factor values. The relative impact of the soil characteristics on K-factor was studied through a series of statistical analyses of data from the geographic database for soil erosion risk assessments in Bulgaria. Degree of correlation between K-factor values and the parameters that determine it was studied by correlation analysis. The sensitivity of the K-factor was determined by studying the variance of each parameter within the range between minimum and maximum possible values considering average value of the other factors. Normalizing transformation of data sets was applied because of the different dimensions and the orders of variation of the values of the various parameters. The results show that the content of particles finer than 0.002 mm has the most significant relative impact on the soil erodibility, followed by the content of particles with size from 0.1 mm to 0.002 mm, the class of the water permeability of the soil profile, the content of organic matter and the aggregation class. The

  4. Determinant Factors for Managing Innovation in the Malaysian Public Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ab Rahman Zety Norhaiza

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Since 1991, the government has started the forces to encourage public sector to innovate in order to strengthen the capability and solve problems at workplace for the benefit of organization and its people. The focuses of this forces is to create value creation, encourage cost reduction, and provide services that meet aspirations and people's expectations through high impact ideas. However, to achieve these focuses, public sector faces few challenges that affect the management of innovation; which includes lack of leadership skills and poor innovative culture to stimulate innovation. Although there are various initiatives conducted to enhance the management innovation, the innovative performance is still less satisfactory. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss the determinant factors that affect managing innovation in the selected public sectors which consist of two categories; patron and executor agencies. Thematic approach was used to analyse the interview data. Findings from the interview suggested that in the organization, an employee especially a leader should show his full commitment towards innovative culture, he needs to be committed and supportive and communicate well with the employees and he also should provide attractive rewards to encourage the innovative culture for an effective management innovation. These determinant factors need to be considered as high significant for the public sector to develop new strategies or approaches in managing innovation towards sustaining their competitive advantages in a long term for the benefit of public.

  5. Sonographically determined clues to the symptomatic or silent cholelithiasis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saba, S.; Iqbal, Z.

    2007-01-01

    To determine an association between sonographically determined contractility with the symptomatic or silent nature of gallstone. Adult gallstone patients without (group I) and with biliary symptoms (group II) were compared with age and gender-matched controls. Demographic data, body mass index, risk factors, size, number and mobility of gallstone, gallbladder wall thickness (GBWT), volume and Ejection Fraction (EF) were determined on ultrasound before and after a standardized fatty meal (BFM and AFM). Demographic data, risk factors and gallstone characteristics were analyzed by Pearson Chi-square test and the gallbladder characteristics were analyzed by One-way ANOVA and Post Hoc tests by multiple comparisons on SPSS 11 with significance p=0.05. The gallbladder contractility as measured by changes in wall thickness and volume changes BFM and AFM, and ejection fraction was similar in controls and asymptomatic cholelithiasis groups and significantly reduced in symptomatic patients (p<.001). Multiparity (p=0.002), female gender (p=0.018), age less than 50 years (0.05), impacted calculi (p=0.001), multiple calculi (<.001) and calculi 5 mm (p<0.001) were associated with pain. A sluggishly emptying gallbladder was more significantly associated with symptomatic cholelithiasis compared to controls and asymptomatic cholelithiasis state in this series. Consideration of age, gender, impaction of calculi, number and size of calculi is important in causing symptom state and management options. (author)

  6. Neural Stem Cell Differentiation Using Microfluidic Device-Generated Growth Factor Gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ji Hyeon; Sim, Jiyeon; Kim, Hyun-Jung

    2018-04-11

    Neural stem cells (NSCs) have the ability to self-renew and differentiate into multiple nervous system cell types. During embryonic development, the concentrations of soluble biological molecules have a critical role in controlling cell proliferation, migration, differentiation and apoptosis. In an effort to find optimal culture conditions for the generation of desired cell types in vitro , we used a microfluidic chip-generated growth factor gradient system. In the current study, NSCs in the microfluidic device remained healthy during the entire period of cell culture, and proliferated and differentiated in response to the concentration gradient of growth factors (epithermal growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor). We also showed that overexpression of ASCL1 in NSCs increased neuronal differentiation depending on the concentration gradient of growth factors generated in the microfluidic gradient chip. The microfluidic system allowed us to study concentration-dependent effects of growth factors within a single device, while a traditional system requires multiple independent cultures using fixed growth factor concentrations. Our study suggests that the microfluidic gradient-generating chip is a powerful tool for determining the optimal culture conditions.

  7. Outcomes of multiple wire localization for larger breast cancers: when can mastectomy be avoided?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirstein, Laurie J; Rafferty, Elizabeth; Specht, Michelle C; Moore, Richard H; Taghian, Alphonse G; Hughes, Kevin S; Gadd, Michele A; Smith, Barbara L

    2008-09-01

    Mastectomy is often recommended when mammography shows a breast cancer with extensive calcifications. We wished to determine whether the use of multiple localizing wires to guide lumpectomy in this setting was associated with increased rates of breast conservation. We also wanted to identify factors that predicted a poor chance of successful lumpectomy, to avoid multiple lumpectomy attempts in a patient who would ultimately require mastectomy. Records of 153 women with breast cancer who underwent lumpectomy for larger lesions that required multiple wire localization and 196 controls who required only single wire localization were reviewed retrospectively. The number of localizing wires, specimen volume, largest specimen dimension, number of surgical procedures, and rates of breast conservation were scored. Seventy-seven percent of patients requiring multiple wire localization had successful breast conservation, compared with 90% of those needing only single wire localization. Only 28% of multiple wire patients required more than 1 excision to achieve clear margins, compared with 36% of single wire patients (p localizing wires for excision. The use of multiple wires can decrease the number of procedures required to obtain clear lumpectomy margins.

  8. Gas-multiplication factor of a proportional counter operated at low temperature described with the Diethorn, Rose-Korff and townsend expressions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fukumura, Kazuko; Nakanishi, Akio; Kobayashi, Takayuki [Shiga Univ. of Medical Science, Otsu (Japan)

    1996-07-01

    In the present work, the gas-multiplication factor is expressed with the Rose-Korff and Townsend methods as well as with the Diethorn method. A proportional counter with helium or neon works only at low temperature. This is discussed in terms of the number of electrons emitted when an ion is neutralized at the cathode of the counter. (J.P.N.)

  9. Multiple splenic abscesses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harish Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Splenic abscess is a rare clinical entity with poor prognosis. But owing to imaging technique, diagnosis and prognosis have improved nowadays. Most patients who are presented with splenic abscess are immunocompromised due to predisposing risk factors like diabetes mellitus, intravenous drug abuse, trauma, bacterial endocarditis, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV, chemotherapy, or steroids. Here, we are presenting a rarer case of multiple splenic abscesses with its complication in an immunocompetent healthy adult male without any risk factor.

  10. The Determinant Factors of Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT’s Performance: Evidence from Asian REITs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nor Edi Azhar Binti Mohamad

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} This paper investigates the factors that can influence the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT’s performance, paying particular attention to the listed REIT’s in Asian.  Samples of 45 Asian listed REITs are selected from five different countries namely Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore for 5 years basis from 2007 to 2011 with 225 observations. Study used Net Asset value (NAV and Return as the proxy for REITs performance while risk, dividend yield, net income and size to represent the determinants variable. Applying correlations and multiple regression analysis, the results provide evidence on the association between NAV and return with risk, dividend yield, net income and size of REITs. Results of this study are hoped to help the investors and portfolio managers to deepen their understanding of the dependence factors that might influence the performance of REITs in Asian. Keywords: Net asset value (NAV, Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs, Risk and Dividend Yield.

  11. Critical consideration of the multiplicity of experimental and organismic determinants of pyrethroid neurotoxicity: a proof of concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolansky, M J; Tornero-Velez, R

    2013-01-01

    Pyrethroids (PYR) are pesticides with high insecticidal activity that may disrupt neuronal excitability in target and nontarget species. The accumulated evidence consistently showed that this neurophysiologic action is followed by alterations in motor, sensorimotor, neuromuscular, and thermoregulatory responses. Nevertheless, there are some equivocal results regarding the potency of PYR in lab animals. The estimation of potency is an important step in pesticide chemical risk assessment. In order to identify the variables influencing neurobehavioral findings across PYR studies, evidence on experimental and organismic determinants of acute PYR-induced neurotoxicity was reviewed in rodents. A comprehensive analysis of these studies was conducted focusing on test material and dosing conditions, testing conditions, animal models, and other determinants such as testing room temperature. Variations in the severity of the neurotoxicity, under lab-controlled conditions, was explained based upon factors including influence of animal species and age, test material features such as chemical structure and stereochemistry, and dosing conditions such as vehicle, route of exposure, and dose volume. If not controlled, the interplay of these factors may lead to large variance in potency estimation. This review examined the scope of acute toxicological data required to determine the safety of pesticide products, and factors and covariates that need to be controlled in order to ensure that predictivity and precaution are balanced in a risk assessment process within a reasonable time-frame, using acute PYR-induced neurotoxicity in rodents as an exemplar.

  12. Genetic variants and multiple myeloma risk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martino, Alessandro; Campa, Daniele; Jurczyszyn, Artur

    2014-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Genetic background plays a role in multiple myeloma susceptibility. Several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) associated with genetic susceptibility to multiple myeloma were identified in the last years, but only a few of them were validated in independent studies. METHODS...... with multiple myeloma risk (P value range, 0.055-0.981), possibly with the exception of the SNP rs2227667 (SERPINE1) in women. CONCLUSIONS: We can exclude that the selected polymorphisms are major multiple myeloma risk factors. IMPACT: Independent validation studies are crucial to identify true genetic risk...

  13. Confounding factors in determining causal soil moisture-precipitation feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuttle, Samuel E.; Salvucci, Guido D.

    2017-07-01

    Identification of causal links in the land-atmosphere system is important for construction and testing of land surface and general circulation models. However, the land and atmosphere are highly coupled and linked by a vast number of complex, interdependent processes. Statistical methods, such as Granger causality, can help to identify feedbacks from observational data, independent of the different parameterizations of physical processes and spatiotemporal resolution effects that influence feedbacks in models. However, statistical causal identification methods can easily be misapplied, leading to erroneous conclusions about feedback strength and sign. Here, we discuss three factors that must be accounted for in determination of causal soil moisture-precipitation feedback in observations and model output: seasonal and interannual variability, precipitation persistence, and endogeneity. The effect of neglecting these factors is demonstrated in simulated and observational data. The results show that long-timescale variability and precipitation persistence can have a substantial effect on detected soil moisture-precipitation feedback strength, while endogeneity has a smaller effect that is often masked by measurement error and thus is more likely to be an issue when analyzing model data or highly accurate observational data.

  14. Regional Disparities in Online Map User Access Volume and Determining Factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, R.; Yang, N.; Li, R.; Huang, W.; Wu, H.

    2017-09-01

    The regional disparities of online map user access volume (use `user access volume' in this paper to indicate briefly) is a topic of growing interest with the increment of popularity in public users, which helps to target the construction of geographic information services for different areas. At first place we statistically analysed the online map user access logs and quantified these regional access disparities on different scales. The results show that the volume of user access is decreasing from east to the west in China as a whole, while East China produces the most access volume; these cities are also the crucial economic and transport centres. Then Principal Component Regression (PCR) is applied to explore the regional disparities of user access volume. A determining model for Online Map access volume is proposed afterwards, which indicates that area scale is the primary determining factor for regional disparities, followed by public transport development level and public service development level. Other factors like user quality index and financial index have very limited influence on the user access volume. According to the study of regional disparities in user access volume, map providers can reasonably dispatch and allocate the data resources and service resources in each area and improve the operational efficiency of the Online Map server cluster.

  15. The Prevalence of Fibromyalgia in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women and to Determination of Related Risk Factors (Preliminary Study)

    OpenAIRE

    Şule Şahin Onat; Sibel Ünsal Delialioğlu; Sibel Özbudak Demir; Sumru Özel

    2014-01-01

    Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of fibromyalgia in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and to determine the associated factors with fibromyalgia. Materials and Methods: Hundred thirty-seven postmenopausal women with osteoporosis admitted to our outpatient clinic were included in the study. A questionnaire that was including patients’age, marital status, education level, occupation, height, weight was completed. Risk factors of osteoporosis we...

  16. Genetic variations in multiple myeloma I

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vangsted, A.; Klausen, T.W.; Vogel, Ulla Birgitte

    2012-01-01

    Few risk factors have been established for the plasma cell disorder multiple myeloma, but some of these like African American ethnicity and a family history of B-cell lymphoproliferative diseases suggest a genetic component for the disease. Genetic variation represents the genetic basis of variab......Few risk factors have been established for the plasma cell disorder multiple myeloma, but some of these like African American ethnicity and a family history of B-cell lymphoproliferative diseases suggest a genetic component for the disease. Genetic variation represents the genetic basis...

  17. The Prevalence of Fibromyalgia in Postmenopausal Osteoporotic Women and to Determination of Related Risk Factors (Preliminary Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Şule Şahin Onat

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of fibromyalgia in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis and to determine the associated factors with fibromyalgia. Materials and Methods: Hundred thirty-seven postmenopausal women with osteoporosis admitted to our outpatient clinic were included in the study. A questionnaire that was including patients’age, marital status, education level, occupation, height, weight was completed. Risk factors of osteoporosis were recorded. major and minor risk factors were determined according to Canadian diagnosis and treatment guideline. DXA was used to determine bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and femoral neck. Thoracal and lumbar compression fractures were evaulated with thoracal and lumbar radiography. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia was according to the 1990 American College of Rheumatology (ACR criteria. Results: Twenty-six (19% of 137 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis had fibromyalgia. Ninety-four (68.6% of all patients were married and 43 (31.4% of all patients were not married, 63 (46% of all patients were literate, 74 (54% of all patients were illiterate. The average age of patients was 73.56±6.17. According to the results of logistic regression analysis, advanced age, to be married, the number of major risk factors and the decrease of lomber and femur bone mineral density were found to be risk factors for fibromyalgia. Educational level, BMI and the number of minor risk factors were not found to be a risk factors for fibromyalgia. Conclusion: It is importatnt to be careful for fibromyalgia not only in premenopousal women but also in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. (Turkish Journal of Osteoporosis 2014;20: 1-5

  18. Integral emission factors for methane determined using urban flux measurements and local-scale inverse models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christen, Andreas; Johnson, Mark; Molodovskaya, Marina; Ketler, Rick; Nesic, Zoran; Crawford, Ben; Giometto, Marco; van der Laan, Mike

    2013-04-01

    The most important long-lived greenhouse gas (LLGHG) emitted during combustion of fuels is carbon dioxide (CO2), however also traces of the LLGHGs methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are released, the quantities of which depend largely on the conditions of the combustion process. Emission factors determine the mass of LLGHGs emitted per energy used (or kilometre driven for cars) and are key inputs for bottom-up emission modelling. Emission factors for CH4 are typically determined in the laboratory or on a test stand for a given combustion system using a small number of samples (vehicles, furnaces), yet associated with larger uncertainties when scaled to entire fleets. We propose an alternative, different approach - Can integrated emission factors be independently determined using direct micrometeorological flux measurements over an urban surface? If so, do emission factors determined from flux measurements (top-down) agree with up-scaled emission factors of relevant combustion systems (heating, vehicles) in the source area of the flux measurement? Direct flux measurements of CH4 were carried out between February and May, 2012 over a relatively densely populated, urban surface in Vancouver, Canada by means of eddy covariance (EC). The EC-system consisted of an ultrasonic anemometer (CSAT-3, Campbell Scientific Inc.) and two open-path infrared gas analyzers (Li7500 and Li7700, Licor Inc.) on a tower at 30m above the surface. The source area of the EC system is characterised by a relative homogeneous morphometry (5.3m average building height), but spatially and temporally varying emission sources, including two major intersecting arterial roads (70.000 cars drive through the 50% source area per day) and seasonal heating in predominantly single-family houses (natural gas). An inverse dispersion model (turbulent source area model), validated against large eddy simulations (LES) of the urban roughness sublayer, allows the determination of the spatial area that

  19. 41 CFR 101-25.202 - Factors to be used to determine assignment of purchase responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... experience of agency purchasing and contracting officials and their operating units with due regard to... determine assignment of purchase responsibility. 101-25.202 Section 101-25.202 Public Contracts and Property... PROCUREMENT 25-GENERAL 25.2-Interagency Purchase Assignments § 101-25.202 Factors to be used to determine...

  20. Interactions between lower urinary tract symptoms and cardiovascular risk factors determine distinct patterns of erectile dysfunction: a latent class analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barbosa, João A B A; Muracca, Eduardo; Nakano, Élcio; Assalin, Adriana R; Cordeiro, Paulo; Paranhos, Mario; Cury, José; Srougi, Miguel; Antunes, Alberto A

    2013-12-01

    An epidemiological association between lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction is well established. However, interactions among multiple risk factors and the role of each in pathological mechanisms are not fully elucidated We enrolled 898 men undergoing prostate cancer screening for evaluation with the International Prostate Symptom Score (I-PSS) and simplified International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) questionnaires. Age, race, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, serum hormones and anthropometric parameters were also evaluated. Risk factors for erectile dysfunction were identified by logistic regression. The 333 men with at least mild to moderate erectile dysfunction (IIEF 16 or less) were included in a latent class model to identify relationships across erectile dysfunction risk factors. Age, hypertension, diabetes, lower urinary tract symptoms and cardiovascular event were independent predictors of erectile dysfunction (pclasses of patients with erectile dysfunction (R2 entropy=0.82). Latent class 1 had younger men at low cardiovascular risk and a moderate/high prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms. Latent class 2 had the oldest patients at moderate cardiovascular risk with an increased prevalence of lower urinary tract symptoms. Latent class 3 had men of intermediate age with the highest prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and lower urinary tract symptoms. Erectile dysfunction severity and lower urinary tract symptoms increased from latent class 1 to 3. Risk factor interactions determined different severities of lower urinary tract symptoms and erectile dysfunction. The effect of lower urinary tract symptoms and cardiovascular risk outweighed that of age. While in the youngest patients lower urinary tract symptoms acted as a single risk factor for erectile dysfunction, the contribution of vascular disease resulted in significantly more severe dysfunction. Applying a risk factor

  1. Clustering of Multiple Lifestyle Behaviours and Its Association to Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Children

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bel-Serrat, Silvia; Mouratidou, Theodora; Santaliestra-Pasías, Alba María

    2013-01-01

    ratio, triglycerides, sum of two skinfolds and systolic blood pressure (SBP) z-scores were summed to compute a CVD risk score. Cluster analyses stratified by sex and age groups (2 to ...) consumption, PA performance and television video/DVD viewing. RESULTS: Five clusters were identified. Associations between CVD risk factors and score, and clusters were obtained by multiple linear regression using cluster 5 (‘low beverages consumption and low sedentary’) as the reference cluster. SBP...... association was observed between CVD risk score and clusters 2 (β=0.60; 95% CI: 0.20, 1.01), 3 (β=0.55; 95% CI: 0.14, 0.97) and 4 (β=0.60, 95% CI: 0.18, 1.02) in older boys. CONCLUSIONS: Low television/video/DVD viewing levels and low SSB consumption may result in a healthier CVD profile rather than having...

  2. Suicidal Ideation, Attempt, and Determining Factors among HIV/AIDS Patients, Ethiopia

    OpenAIRE

    Bitew, Huluagresh; Andargie, Gashaw; Tadesse, Agitu; Belete, Amsalu; Fekadu, Wubalem; Mekonen, Tesfa

    2016-01-01

    Background. Suicide is a serious cause of mortality worldwide and is considered as a psychiatric emergency. Suicide is more frequent in peoples living with HIV/AIDS than in general population. Objective. To assess the proportion and determining factors of suicidal ideation and attempt among peoples living with HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia. Methods. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted from May to June 2015 by selecting 393 participants using systematic random sampling technique. Su...

  3. Interface circuit for a multiple-beam tuning-fork gyroscope with high quality factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ren

    This research work presents the design, theoretical analysis, fabrication, interface electronics, and experimental results of a Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) based Multiple-Beam Tuning-Fork Gyroscope (MB-TFG). Based on a numerical model of Thermo-Elastic Damping (TED), a Multiple-Beam Tuning-Fork Structure (MB-TFS) is designed with high Quality factors (Qs) in its two operation modes. A comprehensive theoretical analysis of the MB-TFG design is conducted to relate the design parameters to its operation parameters and further performance parameters. In conjunction with a mask that defines the device through trenches to alleviate severe fabrication effect on anchor loss, a simple one-mask fabrication process is employed to implement this MB-TFG design on SOI wafers. The fabricated MB-TFGs are tested with PCB-level interface electronics and a thorough comparison between the experimental results and a theoretical analysis is conducted to verify the MB-TFG design and accurately interpret the measured performance. The highest measured Qs of the fabricated MB-TFGs in vacuum are 255,000 in the drive-mode and 103,000 in the sense-mode, at a frequency of 15.7kHz. Under a frequency difference of 4Hz between the two modes (operation frequency is 16.8kHz) and a drive-mode vibration amplitude of 3.0um, the measured rate sensitivity is 80mVpp/°/s with an equivalent impedance of 6MQ. The calculated overall rate resolution of this device is 0.37/hrhiElz, while the measured Angle Random Walk (ARW) and bias instability are 6.67°/'vhr and 95°/hr, respectively.

  4. Running multiple marathons is not a risk factor for premature subclinical vascular impairment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pressler, Axel; Suchy, Christiane; Friedrichs, Tasja; Dallinger, Sophia; Grabs, Viola; Haller, Bernhard; Halle, Martin; Scherr, Johannes

    2017-08-01

    Background In contrast to the well-accepted benefits of moderate exercise, recent research has suggested potential deleterious effects of repeated marathon running on the cardiovascular system. We thus performed a comprehensive analysis of markers of subclinical vascular damage in a cohort of runners having finished multiple marathon races successfully. Design This was a prospective, observational study. Methods A total of 97 healthy male Munich marathon participants (mean age 44 ± 10 years) underwent detailed training history, cardiopulmonary exercise testing for assessment of peak oxygen uptake, ultrasound for assessment of intima-media-thickness as well as non-invasive assessments of ankle-brachial index, augmentation index, pulse wave velocity and reactive hyperaemia index. Results Runners had previously completed a median of eight (range 1-500) half marathons, six (1-100) full marathons and three (1-40) ultramarathons; mean weekly and annual training volumes were 59 ± 23 and 1639 ± 979 km. Mean peak oxygen uptake was 50 ± 8 ml/min/kg, and the Munich marathon was finished in 3:45 ± 0:32 h. Runners showed normal mean values for intima-media-thickness (0.60 ± 0.14 mm), ankle-brachial index (1.2 ± 0.1), augmentation index (17 ± 13%), pulse wave velocity (8.7 ± 1.4 cm/s) and reactive hyperaemia index (1.96 ± 0.50). Age was significantly and independently associated with intima-media-thickness ( r = 0.531; p running multiple marathon races did not pose an additional risk factor for premature subclinical vascular impairment beyond age.

  5. Experiment of neutron multiplication in lead

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang Wenmian; Chen Yuan; Liu Rong; Guo Haiping; Shen Jian

    1994-01-01

    The experiments of neutron multiplication in bulk lead have been performed with a total absorption detector (TAD). A hollow polyethylene sphere is used as neutron moderator and absorber of the TAD, which inner and outer diameters are 56 cm and 138 cm respectively. Slow neutron density in TAD is detected with a 6 Li glass scintillator. For Pb thicknesses of 5, 10, 15, 19.6 and 23.1 cm, the neutron multiplications are 1.301, 1.492, 1.599, 1.713 and 1.745 respectively. Overall experimental error is 2.7%. The calculational neutron multiplications with the 1-D ANISN code and ENDF/B-VI file are agreed with experimental ones within experimental error. Moreover, some factors of systematic error of TAD were investigated experimentally, but obvious factors have not been observed yet. (author)

  6. From genomes to societies: a holistic view of determinants of human health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yuyan; Zhong, Sheng

    2014-08-01

    Both biological and social sciences have identified contributing factors to human health. However, health outcomes are unlikely to equal a simple sum of these identified factors. This article makes an attempt to put together the information, methods, and technologies that relate to health outcomes from biological, behavioral, and social disciplines. Much of this information was obtained by controlling for the variations of the factors in 'other' disciplines. For example, genetic factors were controlled for in identifying the behavioral determinants of health. Looking forward, better understandings of health outcomes may require exploiting the interactions of health determinants that were identified from different disciplines. We propose the concept of 'systems health' studies, which take health outcomes as the outputs of a system, where the inputs and their interactions from multiple disciplines are considered. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Determination of overall decontamination factors for common impurity elements in PHWR spent fuel reprocessing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pant, D.K.; Bhalerao, B.A.; Gupta, K.K.; Kulkarni, P.G.; Gurba, P.B.; Janardan, P.; Changrani, R.D.; Dey, P.K.

    2009-01-01

    An attempt has been made to determine overall decontamination factors for elemental impurities normally encountered in the U 3 O 8 product obtained by reprocessing of PHWR spent fuel. The solution obtained by dissolution of spent fuel and corresponding U 3 O 8 product were analyzed for 24 elemental impurities by ICP-AES for this purpose. Decontamination factors achieved for major neutron poisons are in the range of 200-400. (author)

  8. The biophysical model for accuracy of cellular sensing spatial gradients of multiple chemoattractants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Qiang; Zuo, Li

    2013-01-01

    Spatial gradients of surrounding chemoattractants are the key factors in determining the directionality of eukaryotic cell movement. Thus, it is important for cells to accurately measure the spatial gradients of surrounding chemoattractants. Here, we study the precision of sensing the spatial gradients of multiple chemoattractants using cooperative receptor clusters. Cooperative receptors on cells are modeled as an Ising chain of Monod–Wyman–Changeux clusters subject to multiple chemical-gradient fields to study the physical limits of multiple chemoattractants spatial gradients sensing. We found that eukaryotic cells cannot sense each chemoattractant gradient individually. Instead, cells can only sense a weighted sum of surrounding chemical gradients. Moreover, the precision of sensing one chemical gradient is signicantly affected by coexisting chemoattractant concentrations. These findings can provide a further insight into the role of chemoattractants in immune response and help develop novel treatments for inflammatory diseases. (paper)

  9. Multiple regression as a preventive tool for determining the risk of Legionella spp.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enrique Gea-Izquierdo

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available To determine the interrelationship between health & hygiene conditions for prevention of legionellosis, the compositionof materials used in water distribution systems, the water origin and Legionella pneumophila risk. Material and methods. Include adescriptive study and multiple regression analysis on a sample of golf course sprinkler irrigation systems (n=31 pertaining to hotelslocated on the Costa del Sol (Malaga, Spain. The study was carried out in 2009. Results. Presented a significant lineal relation, withall the independent variables contributing significantly (p<0.05 to the model’s fit. The relationship between water type and the risk ofLegionella, as well as the material composition and the latter, is lineal and positive. In contrast, the relationship between health-hygieneconditions and Legionella risk is lineal and negative. Conclusion. The characterization of Legionella pneumophila concentration, asdefined by the risk in water and through use of the predictive method, can contribute to the consideration of new influence variables inthe development of the agent, resulting in improved control and prevention of the disease.

  10. On intersectoral allocations, factors substitutability and multiple long-run growth paths

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Odile; Drugeon, Jean-Pierre; Venditti, Alain

    2003-01-01

    This article considers a two-sector model of economic growth with "labour-augmenting" intersectoral external effects stemming from the aggregate capital stock. It is shown that equilibrium balanced growth paths with a non-trivial labour allocation scheme become available. A set of sufficient...... conditions for the existence of multiple equilibrium growth rays is provided and their determinacy properties are then characterised. Finally, examination of a parameterised C.E.S. economy illustrates the central role of non-unitary values for the elasticity of substitution in the multiplicity issue...

  11. Effect of multiple stress factors (thermal, nutritional and pregnancy type) on adaptive capability of native ewes under semi-arid environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dias E Silva, Tairon Pannunzio; Costa Torreão, Jacira Neves da; Torreão Marques, Carlo Aldrovandi; de Araújo, Marcos Jácome; Bezerra, Leílson Rocha; Kumar Dhanasekaran, Dinesh; Sejian, Veerasamy

    2016-07-01

    This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of multiple stress factors (thermal, nutritional and pregnancy type) on two different native track breeds of ewes as reflected by their adaptive capability under semi-arid environment. The multiple stressor experiment was conducted in twenty-four ewes (12 Santa Inês and 12 Morada Nova ewes). Both heat stress and pregnancy stress was common to all four groups. However, the animals were divided into further two groups within each breed on the basis of nutrition regimen. According the groupings were: Group 1 (Six Santa Ines ewes; heat stress; nutrition at 0.5% of BW; single pregnancy); Group 2 (Six Santa Ines ewes; heat stress; nutrition at 1.5% BW; twin pregnancy); groups Group 3 (Six Morada Nova ewes; heat stress; nutrition at 0.5% of BW; single pregnancy); Group 4 (Six Morada Nova ewes; heat stress; nutrition at 1.5% BW; twin pregnancy). All the animals in the experiment were pregnant. Heat stress was induced by exposing all animals to summer heat stress in outside environment while the nutritional regimen followed was at 0.5% and 1.5% level of body weight (BW) respectively in each breed. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with two breeds, two nutritional treatments and two pregnancy types, 10 repetitions for physiological parameters and six for blood parameters, with repeated measures over time. Physiological parameters (respiratory rate, pulse rate and rectal temperature) were measured with the animals at rest in the morning and afternoon, 0600-0700 and 1300-1400h, respectively, every seven days. Blood samples were collected every 14d for determination of serum glucose, triglycerides, cholesterol, urea and creatinine. We found interaction effect between breed and pregnancy type on respiratory rate and rectal temperature with greater values in Santa Inês ewes than Morada Nova ewes. However, there was no significant fixed effect of pregnancy type and supplementation level on physiological

  12. Associations of Lifestyle, Medication, and Socio-Demographic Factors with Disability in People with Multiple Sclerosis: An International Cross-Sectional Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George A Jelinek

    Full Text Available Emerging evidence links modifiable lifestyle risk factors to disease progression in multiple sclerosis (MS. We sought further evidence around this hypothesis through detailed analysis of the association with disability of lifestyle behaviours of a large international sample of people with MS.A total of 2469 people with MS from 57 countries provided self-reported data via cross-sectional online survey on lifestyle (mostly with validated tools and the primary outcome measure, disability (Patient Determined Disease Steps, categorised from 8 steps into 3 categories, mild, moderate and major disability. Multinomial logistic regression modelling derived relative risk ratios (RRRs for disability categories.RRRs of having moderate vs mild disability were: diet (per 30 points on 100 point scale 0.72 (95%CI 0.52-0.98, ever smoking 1.32 (1.06-1.65, exercise (moderate/high vs low 0.35 (0.28-0.44, latitude (per degree from the equator 1.02 (1.01-1.04, and number of comorbidities (2 vs none 1.43 (1.04-1.95, (3 vs none 1.56 (1.13-2.16. RRRs of having major vs mild disability were: exercise (moderate/high vs low 0.07 (0.04-0.11, alcohol consumption (moderate vs low 0.45 (0.30-0.68, plant-based omega 3 supplementation 0.39 (0.18-0.86, and disease-modifying medication use 0.45 (0.29-0.70.Healthier lifestyle has strong associations with disability in our large international sample of people with MS, supporting further investigation into the role of lifestyle risk factors in MS disease progression.

  13. Multiple Family Group Therapy: An Interpersonal/Postmodern Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thorngren, Jill M.; Kleist, David M.

    2002-01-01

    Multiple Family Group Therapy has been identified as a viable treatment model for a variety of client populations. A combination of family systems theories and therapeutic group factors provide the opportunity to explore multiple levels of intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships between families. This article depicts a Multiple Family Group…

  14. Beam-scanning system for determination of beam profiles and form factors in merged-beam experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keyser, C.J.; Froelich, H.R.; Mitchell, J.B.A.; McGowan, J.W.

    1979-01-01

    A beam-scanning system for a merged electron-ion beam experiment is described. This system is used to determine the horizontal and vertical beam profiles and the form factors at three different locations along the axis of the beams. Design details of the wedge-shaped scanners and the electronic circuit for obtaining beam profiles and form factors are described. The form factor derivation for merged beams is given and an expression in terms of measured quantities is derived. (author)

  15. Multiplicity in supervision relationships: A factor in improving ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Supervision has been identified as an important factor in the success of postgraduate students, even as the most significant variable and a large number of studies have been conducted to identify factors that contribute to supervision success. However the dependent variable in these studies – supervision success – has ...

  16. Climate change, livelihoods and the multiple determinants of water adequacy: two approaches at regional to global scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lissner, Tabea; Reusser, Dominik

    2015-04-01

    Inadequate access to water is already a problem in many regions of the world and processes of global change are expected to further exacerbate the situation. Many aspects determine the adequacy of water resources: beside actual physical water stress, where the resource itself is limited, economic and social water stress can be experienced if access to resource is limited by inadequate infrastructure, political or financial constraints. To assess the adequacy of water availability for human use, integrated approaches are needed that allow to view the multiple determinants in conjunction and provide sound results as a basis for informed decisions. This contribution proposes two parts of an integrated approach to look at the multiple dimensions of water scarcity at regional to global scale. These were developed in a joint project with the German Development Agency (GIZ). It first outlines the AHEAD approach to measure Adequate Human livelihood conditions for wEll-being And Development, implemented at global scale and at national resolution. This first approach allows viewing impacts of climate change, e.g. changes in water availability, within the wider context of AHEAD conditions. A specific focus lies on the uncertainties in projections of climate change and future water availability. As adequate water access is not determined by water availability alone, in a second step we develop an approach to assess the water requirements for different sectors in more detail, including aspects of quantity, quality as well as access, in an integrated way. This more detailed approach is exemplified at region-scale in Indonesia and South Africa. Our results show that in many regions of the world, water scarcity is a limitation to AHEAD conditions in many countries, regardless of differing modelling output. The more detailed assessments highlight the relevance of additional aspects to assess the adequacy of water for human use, showing that in many regions, quality and

  17. Connecting the Dots: State Health Department Approaches to Addressing Shared Risk and Protective Factors Across Multiple Forms of Violence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, Natalie; Myers, Lindsey; Kuehl, Tomei; Bauman, Alice; Hertz, Marci

    2018-01-01

    Violence takes many forms, including intimate partner violence, sexual violence, child abuse and neglect, bullying, suicidal behavior, and elder abuse and neglect. These forms of violence are interconnected and often share the same root causes. They can also co-occur together in families and communities and can happen at the same time or at different stages of life. Often, due to a variety of factors, separate, “siloed” approaches are used to address each form of violence. However, understanding and implementing approaches that prevent and address the overlapping root causes of violence (risk factors) and promote factors that increase the resilience of people and communities (protective factors) can help practitioners more effectively and efficiently use limited resources to prevent multiple forms of violence and save lives. This article presents approaches used by 2 state health departments, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, to integrate a shared risk and protective factor approach into their violence prevention work and identifies key lessons learned that may serve to inform crosscutting violence prevention efforts in other states. PMID:29189502

  18. Determinants of Oral Health: Does Oral Health Literacy Matter?

    OpenAIRE

    Naghibi Sistani, Mohammad Mehdi; Yazdani, Reza; Virtanen, Jorma; Pakdaman, Afsaneh; Murtomaa, Heikki

    2013-01-01

    Objective. To evaluate oral health literacy, independent of other oral health determinants, as a risk indicator for self-reported oral health. Methods. A cross-sectional population-based survey conducted in Tehran, Iran. Multiple logistic regression analysis served to estimate the predictive effect of oral health literacy on self-reported oral health status (good versus poor) controlling for socioeconomic and demographic factors and tooth-brushing behavior. Results. In all, among 1031 partici...

  19. Factors determining the viability of radiation processing in developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Linde, H.J. van der

    1988-01-01

    In the fifteen years since the introduction of radiation processing to South Africa, four commercial irradiation facilities have been established. These are involved in the processing of a large variety of products, from syringes and prostheses to strawberries and sugar yeast. Three of the facilities are devoted mainly to food irradiation and several thousand tonnes are now processed annually. During this period it was repeatedly experienced that the successful introduction of radiation processing in general, and food radurization in particular, on a commercial scale was critically dependent on the following factors: acceptance by the producer, industry and consumer; initial capital expenditure; running costs and overheads in general; and continuous throughput. All of these factors contribute to the processing cost which is the ultimate factor in determining the value/price ratio for the potential entrepreneur and customer of this new technology. After a market survey had identified the need for a new food irradiation facility to cope with the growing interest in commercial food radurization in the Western Cape, the above-mentioned factors were of cardinal importance in the design and manufacture of a new irradiator. The resulting batch-pallet facility which was commissioned in August 1986, is rather inefficient as far as energy utilization is concerned but this shortcoming is compensated for by its low cost, versatility and low hold-up. Although the facility has limitations as far as the processing of really large volumes of produce is concerned, it is particularly suitable not only for developing countries, but for developed countries in the introductory phase of commercial food radurization. (author)

  20. Study on direct determination of uranium and efficient equilibrium factor by gamma-ray spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Chunkui

    1990-01-01

    The test principle, test set and surveying methods for conducting gamma-ray spectrometry on conveyer are presented. The conversion coefficient of the spectrometer has been found by using duallinear regression analysis of uranium and radon and their higher and lower bands of gamma-ray spectra. The efficient equilibrium factor can be quickly determined, and the direct determination of uranium in the non-equilibrium condition of uranium and radium can be made