Final focus system for TLC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oide, K.

1988-11-01

A limit of the chromaticity correction for the final focus system of a TeV Linear Collider (TLC) is investigated. As the result, it becomes possible to increase the aperture of the final doublet with a small increase of the horizontal β function. The new optics design uses a final doublet of 0.5 mm half-aperture and 1.4 T pole-tip field. The length of the system is reduced from 400 m to 200 m by several optics changes. Tolerances for various machine errors with this optics are also studied. 5 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

Population and antenatal-based HIV prevalence estimates in a high contracepting female population in rural South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barnighausen Till

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To present and compare population-based and antenatal-care (ANC sentinel surveillance HIV prevalence estimates among women in a rural South African population where both provision of ANC services and family planning is prevalent and fertility is declining. With a need, in such settings, to understand how to appropriately adjust ANC sentinel surveillance estimates to represent HIV prevalence in general populations, and with evidence of possible biases inherent to both surveillance systems, we explore differences between the two systems. There is particular emphasis on unrepresentative selection of ANC clinics and unrepresentative testing in the population. Methods HIV sero-prevalence amongst blood samples collected from women consenting to test during the 2005 annual longitudinal population-based serological survey was compared to anonymous unlinked HIV sero-prevalence amongst women attending antenatal care (ANC first visits in six clinics (January to May 2005. Both surveillance systems were conducted as part of the Africa Centre Demographic Information System. Results Population-based HIV prevalence estimates for all women (25.2% and pregnant women (23.7% were significantly lower than that for ANC attendees (37.7%. A large proportion of women attending urban or peri-urban clinics would be predicted to be resident within rural areas. Although overall estimates remained significantly different, presenting and standardising estimates by age and location (clinic for ANC-based estimates and individual-residence for population-based estimates made some group-specific estimates from the two surveillance systems more predictive of one another. Conclusion It is likely that where ANC coverage and contraceptive use is widespread and fertility is low, population-based surveillance under-estimates HIV prevalence due to unrepresentative testing by age, residence and also probably by HIV status, and that ANC sentinel surveillance over

Final focus systems for linear colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erickson, R.A.

1987-11-01

The final focus system of a linear collider must perform two primary functions, it must focus the two opposing beams so that their transverse dimensions at the interaction point are small enough to yield acceptable luminosity, and it must steer the beams together to maintain collisions. In addition, the final focus system must transport the outgoing beams to a location where they can be recycled or safely dumped. Elementary optical considerations for linear collider final focus systems are discussed, followed by chromatic aberrations. The design of the final focus system of the SLAC Linear Collider (SLC) is described. Tuning and diagnostics and steering to collision are discussed. Most of the examples illustrating the concepts covered are drawn from the SLC, but the principles and conclusions are said to be generally applicable to other linear collider designs as well. 26 refs., 17 figs

SatisFactory Final System Evaluation Report

OpenAIRE

Sunlight SA

2018-01-01

The present document is a deliverable of the SatisFactory project, funded by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), under its Horizon 2020 Research and innovation programme (H2020). The main objective of this deliverable is to report on the SatisFactory Final System Evaluation, with regards to the industrial pilots at COMAU and SUNLIGHT. The evaluation of SatisFactory platform is based on the implementation of the business scenarios where each tool...

Beam-based alignment and tuning procedures for e+e- collider final focus systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulos, F.; Burke, D.; Helm, R.; Irwin, J.; Odian, A.; Roy, G.; Ruth, R.; Yamamoto

1991-01-01

For future linear colliders, with very small emittances and beam sizes and demanding tolerances on final focus system alignment and magnet errors, it becomes increasingly important to use the beam as a diagnostic tool. The authors report here procedures they have identified and will be implemented in the Final Focus Test Beam at SLAC incorporating (1) quadrupole strength changes, (2) central orbit modifications, (3) spot size measurements, and (4) beam stability monitoring

FINAL IMPLEMENTATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THE LHC COLLIMATOR CONTROL SYSTEM

CERN Document Server

Redaelli, S; Masi, A; Losito, R

2009-01-01

The 2008 collimation system of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) included 80 movable collimators for a total of 316 degrees of freedom. Before beam operation, the final controls implementation was deployed and commissioned. The control system enabled remote control and appropriate diagnostics of the relevant parameters. The collimator motion is driven with time-functions, synchronized with other accelerator systems, which allows controlling the collimator jaw positions with a micrometer accuracy during all machine phases. The machine protection functionality of the system, which also relies on function-based tolerance windows, was also fully validated. The collimator control challenges are reviewed and the final system architecture is presented. The results of the remote system commissioning and the overall performance are discussed.

An Updating System for the Gridded Population Database of China Based on Remote Sensing, GIS and Spatial Database Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohuan Yang

2009-02-01

Full Text Available The spatial distribution of population is closely related to land use and land cover (LULC patterns on both regional and global scales. Population can be redistributed onto geo-referenced square grids according to this relation. In the past decades, various approaches to monitoring LULC using remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS have been developed, which makes it possible for efficient updating of geo-referenced population data. A Spatial Population Updating System (SPUS is developed for updating the gridded population database of China based on remote sensing, GIS and spatial database technologies, with a spatial resolution of 1 km by 1 km. The SPUS can process standard Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS L1B data integrated with a Pattern Decomposition Method (PDM and an LULC-Conversion Model to obtain patterns of land use and land cover, and provide input parameters for a Population Spatialization Model (PSM. The PSM embedded in SPUS is used for generating 1 km by 1 km gridded population data in each population distribution region based on natural and socio-economic variables. Validation results from finer township-level census data of Yishui County suggest that the gridded population database produced by the SPUS is reliable.

An Updating System for the Gridded Population Database of China Based on Remote Sensing, GIS and Spatial Database Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohuan; Huang, Yaohuan; Dong, Pinliang; Jiang, Dong; Liu, Honghui

2009-01-01

The spatial distribution of population is closely related to land use and land cover (LULC) patterns on both regional and global scales. Population can be redistributed onto geo-referenced square grids according to this relation. In the past decades, various approaches to monitoring LULC using remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been developed, which makes it possible for efficient updating of geo-referenced population data. A Spatial Population Updating System (SPUS) is developed for updating the gridded population database of China based on remote sensing, GIS and spatial database technologies, with a spatial resolution of 1 km by 1 km. The SPUS can process standard Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS L1B) data integrated with a Pattern Decomposition Method (PDM) and an LULC-Conversion Model to obtain patterns of land use and land cover, and provide input parameters for a Population Spatialization Model (PSM). The PSM embedded in SPUS is used for generating 1 km by 1 km gridded population data in each population distribution region based on natural and socio-economic variables. Validation results from finer township-level census data of Yishui County suggest that the gridded population database produced by the SPUS is reliable. PMID:22399959

FRED (a Framework for Reconstructing Epidemic Dynamics): an open-source software system for modeling infectious diseases and control strategies using census-based populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Grefenstette, John J; Brown, Shawn T; Rosenfeld, Roni; DePasse, Jay; Stone, Nathan T B; Cooley, Phillip C; Wheaton, William D; Fyshe, Alona; Galloway, David D; Sriram, Anuroop; Guclu, Hasan; Abraham, Thomas; Burke, Donald S

2013-10-08

Mathematical and computational models provide valuable tools that help public health planners to evaluate competing health interventions, especially for novel circumstances that cannot be examined through observational or controlled studies, such as pandemic influenza. The spread of diseases like influenza depends on the mixing patterns within the population, and these mixing patterns depend in part on local factors including the spatial distribution and age structure of the population, the distribution of size and composition of households, employment status and commuting patterns of adults, and the size and age structure of schools. Finally, public health planners must take into account the health behavior patterns of the population, patterns that often vary according to socioeconomic factors such as race, household income, and education levels. FRED (a Framework for Reconstructing Epidemic Dynamics) is a freely available open-source agent-based modeling system based closely on models used in previously published studies of pandemic influenza. This version of FRED uses open-access census-based synthetic populations that capture the demographic and geographic heterogeneities of the population, including realistic household, school, and workplace social networks. FRED epidemic models are currently available for every state and county in the United States, and for selected international locations. State and county public health planners can use FRED to explore the effects of possible influenza epidemics in specific geographic regions of interest and to help evaluate the effect of interventions such as vaccination programs and school closure policies. FRED is available under a free open source license in order to contribute to the development of better modeling tools and to encourage open discussion of modeling tools being used to evaluate public health policies. We also welcome participation by other researchers in the further development of FRED.

Beam-based alignment and tuning procedures for e+e- collider final focus systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulos, F.; Burke, D.; Helm, R.; Irwin, J.; Odian, A.; Roy, G.; Ruth, R.; Yamamoto, N.

1991-05-01

For future linear colliders, with very small emittances and beam sizes and demanding tolerances on final focus system alignment and magnet errors, it becomes increasingly important to use the beam as a diagnostic tool. We report here procedures we have identified and will be implemented in the Final Focus Test Beam at SLAC incorporating (1) quadrupole strength changes, (2) central orbit modifications, (3) spot size measurements, and (4) beam stability monitoring. 3 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

Background and Data Configuration Process of a Nationwide Population-Based Study Using the Korean National Health Insurance System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sun Ok Song

2014-10-01

Full Text Available BackgroundThe National Health Insurance Service (NHIS recently signed an agreement to provide limited open access to the databases within the Korean Diabetes Association for the benefit of Korean subjects with diabetes. Here, we present the history, structure, contents, and way to use data procurement in the Korean National Health Insurance (NHI system for the benefit of Korean researchers.MethodsThe NHIS in Korea is a single-payer program and is mandatory for all residents in Korea. The three main healthcare programs of the NHI, Medical Aid, and long-term care insurance (LTCI provide 100% coverage for the Korean population. The NHIS in Korea has adopted a fee-for-service system to pay health providers. Researchers can obtain health information from the four databases of the insured that contain data on health insurance claims, health check-ups and LTCI.ResultsMetabolic disease as chronic disease is increasing with aging society. NHIS data is based on mandatory, serial population data, so, this might show the time course of disease and predict some disease progress, and also be used in primary and secondary prevention of disease after data mining.ConclusionThe NHIS database represents the entire Korean population and can be used as a population-based database. The integrated information technology of the NHIS database makes it a world-leading population-based epidemiology and disease research platform.

Research and development on super heat pump energy accumulation system. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-06-01

This is the final report on research and development of super heat pump energy accumulation system, which has been carried out from FY 1985 to 1992. It describes outline of the research and development program, R and D results, final evaluation methodology, evaluation of the R and D, proposals for the commercialization, and so on. The super high performance compression heat pumps are technically evaluated for highly efficient type (for heating, and cooling and heating), high temperature type (utilizing high temperature heat source, and low temperature heat source), working fluids (alcohol-based and nonalcohol-based), stainless steel plate fin type heat exchanger, EHD heat exchanger, and so on. The other techniques evaluated include those for chemical heat storage, combined systems, plant simulation, and systemization. The evaluation works are also directed to the economic and environmental aspects. Finally, the R and D themes are proposed to leap over various hurdles, e.g., reliability and economic viability, for the eventual commercialization of the energy accumulation system. (NEDO)

Designing a Web Spam Classifier Based on Feature Fusion in the Layered Multi-Population Genetic Programming Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Hosein KEYHANIPOUR

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, Web spam pages are a critical challenge for Web retrieval systems which have drastic influence on the performance of such systems. Although these systems try to combat the impact of spam pages on their final results list, spammers increasingly use more sophisticated techniques to increase the number of views for their intended pages in order to have more commercial success. This paper employs the recently proposed Layered Multi-population Genetic Programming model for Web spam detection task as well application of correlation coefficient analysis for feature space reduction. Based on our tentative results, the designed classifier, which is based on a combination of easy to compute features, has a very reasonable performance in comparison with similar methods.

Neural Population Dynamics during Reaching Are Better Explained by a Dynamical System than Representational Tuning.

Science.gov (United States)

Michaels, Jonathan A; Dann, Benjamin; Scherberger, Hansjörg

2016-11-01

Recent models of movement generation in motor cortex have sought to explain neural activity not as a function of movement parameters, known as representational models, but as a dynamical system acting at the level of the population. Despite evidence supporting this framework, the evaluation of representational models and their integration with dynamical systems is incomplete in the literature. Using a representational velocity-tuning based simulation of center-out reaching, we show that incorporating variable latency offsets between neural activity and kinematics is sufficient to generate rotational dynamics at the level of neural populations, a phenomenon observed in motor cortex. However, we developed a covariance-matched permutation test (CMPT) that reassigns neural data between task conditions independently for each neuron while maintaining overall neuron-to-neuron relationships, revealing that rotations based on the representational model did not uniquely depend on the underlying condition structure. In contrast, rotations based on either a dynamical model or motor cortex data depend on this relationship, providing evidence that the dynamical model more readily explains motor cortex activity. Importantly, implementing a recurrent neural network we demonstrate that both representational tuning properties and rotational dynamics emerge, providing evidence that a dynamical system can reproduce previous findings of representational tuning. Finally, using motor cortex data in combination with the CMPT, we show that results based on small numbers of neurons or conditions should be interpreted cautiously, potentially informing future experimental design. Together, our findings reinforce the view that representational models lack the explanatory power to describe complex aspects of single neuron and population level activity.

A new approach on seismic mortality estimations based on average population density

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xiaoxin; Sun, Baiqing; Jin, Zhanyong

2016-12-01

This study examines a new methodology to predict the final seismic mortality from earthquakes in China. Most studies established the association between mortality estimation and seismic intensity without considering the population density. In China, however, the data are not always available, especially when it comes to the very urgent relief situation in the disaster. And the population density varies greatly from region to region. This motivates the development of empirical models that use historical death data to provide the path to analyze the death tolls for earthquakes. The present paper employs the average population density to predict the final death tolls in earthquakes using a case-based reasoning model from realistic perspective. To validate the forecasting results, historical data from 18 large-scale earthquakes occurred in China are used to estimate the seismic morality of each case. And a typical earthquake case occurred in the northwest of Sichuan Province is employed to demonstrate the estimation of final death toll. The strength of this paper is that it provides scientific methods with overall forecast errors lower than 20 %, and opens the door for conducting final death forecasts with a qualitative and quantitative approach. Limitations and future research are also analyzed and discussed in the conclusion.

Numeric, Agent-based or System dynamics model? Which modeling approach is the best for vast population simulation?

Science.gov (United States)

Cimler, Richard; Tomaskova, Hana; Kuhnova, Jitka; Dolezal, Ondrej; Pscheidl, Pavel; Kuca, Kamil

2018-02-01

Alzheimer's disease is one of the most common mental illnesses. It is posited that more than 25 % of the population is affected by some mental disease during their lifetime. Treatment of each patient draws resources from the economy concerned. Therefore, it is important to quantify the potential economic impact. Agent-based, system dynamics and numerical approaches to dynamic modeling of the population of the European Union and its patients with Alzheimer's disease are presented in this article. Simulations, their characteristics, and the results from different modeling tools are compared. The results of these approaches are compared with EU population growth predictions from the statistical office of the EU by Eurostat. The methodology of a creation of the models is described and all three modeling approaches are compared. The suitability of each modeling approach for the population modeling is discussed. In this case study, all three approaches gave us the results corresponding with the EU population prediction. Moreover, we were able to predict the number of patients with AD and, based on the modeling method, we were also able to monitor different characteristics of the population. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Computer-aided system of evaluation for population-based all-in-one service screening (CASE-PASS): from study design to outcome analysis with bias adjustment.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Li-Sheng; Yen, Amy Ming-Fang; Duffy, Stephen W; Tabar, Laszlo; Lin, Wen-Chou; Chen, Hsiu-Hsi

2010-10-01

Population-based routine service screening has gained popularity following an era of randomized controlled trials. The evaluation of these service screening programs is subject to study design, data availability, and the precise data analysis for adjusting bias. We developed a computer-aided system that allows the evaluation of population-based service screening to unify these aspects and facilitate and guide the program assessor to efficiently perform an evaluation. This system underpins two experimental designs: the posttest-only non-equivalent design and the one-group pretest-posttest design and demonstrates the type of data required at both the population and individual levels. Three major analyses were developed that included a cumulative mortality analysis, survival analysis with lead-time adjustment, and self-selection bias adjustment. We used SAS AF software to develop a graphic interface system with a pull-down menu style. We demonstrate the application of this system with data obtained from a Swedish population-based service screen and a population-based randomized controlled trial for the screening of breast, colorectal, and prostate cancer, and one service screening program for cervical cancer with Pap smears. The system provided automated descriptive results based on the various sources of available data and cumulative mortality curves corresponding to the study designs. The comparison of cumulative survival between clinically and screen-detected cases without a lead-time adjustment are also demonstrated. The intention-to-treat and noncompliance analysis with self-selection bias adjustments are also shown to assess the effectiveness of the population-based service screening program. Model validation was composed of a comparison between our adjusted self-selection bias estimates and the empirical results on effectiveness reported in the literature. We demonstrate a computer-aided system allowing the evaluation of population-based service screening

Medicare Program; Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) and Alternative Payment Model (APM) Incentive Under the Physician Fee Schedule, and Criteria for Physician-Focused Payment Models. Final rule with comment period.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-04

The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 (MACRA) repeals the Medicare sustainable growth rate (SGR) methodology for updates to the physician fee schedule (PFS) and replaces it with a new approach to payment called the Quality Payment Program that rewards the delivery of high-quality patient care through two avenues: Advanced Alternative Payment Models (Advanced APMs) and the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) for eligible clinicians or groups under the PFS. This final rule with comment period establishes incentives for participation in certain alternative payment models (APMs) and includes the criteria for use by the Physician-Focused Payment Model Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC) in making comments and recommendations on physician-focused payment models (PFPMs). Alternative Payment Models are payment approaches, developed in partnership with the clinician community, that provide added incentives to deliver high-quality and cost-efficient care. APMs can apply to a specific clinical condition, a care episode, or a population. This final rule with comment period also establishes the MIPS, a new program for certain Medicare-enrolled practitioners. MIPS will consolidate components of three existing programs, the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS), the Physician Value-based Payment Modifier (VM), and the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program for Eligible Professionals (EPs), and will continue the focus on quality, cost, and use of certified EHR technology (CEHRT) in a cohesive program that avoids redundancies. In this final rule with comment period we have rebranded key terminology based on feedback from stakeholders, with the goal of selecting terms that will be more easily identified and understood by our stakeholders.

Inner and inter population structure construction of Chinese Jiangsu Han population based on Y23 STR system.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huipin Wang

Full Text Available In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of 23 Y-STR loci from PowerPlex® Y23 system in 916 unrelated healthy male individuals from Chinese Jiangsu Han, and observed 912 different haplotypes including 908 unique haplotypes and 4 duplicate haplotypes. The haplotype diversity reached 0.99999 and the discrimination capacity and match probability were 0.9956 and 0.0011, respectively. The gene diversity values ranged from 0.3942 at DYS438 to 0.9607 at DYS385a/b. Population differentiation within 10 Jiangsu Han subpopulations were evaluated by RST values and visualized in Neighbor-Joining trees and Multi-Dimensional Scaling plots as well as population relationships between the Jiangsu Han population and other 18 Eastern Asian populations. Such results indicated that the 23 Y-STR loci were highly polymorphic in Jiangsu Han population and played crucial roles in forensic application as well as population genetics. For the first time, we reported the genetic diversity of male lineages in Jiangsu Han population at a high-resolution level of 23 Y-STR set and consequently contributed to familial searching, offender tracking, and anthropology analysis of Jiangsu Han population.

Inner and inter population structure construction of Chinese Jiangsu Han population based on Y23 STR system

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Chun; Zhang, Jianqiu

2017-01-01

In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphisms of 23 Y-STR loci from PowerPlex® Y23 system in 916 unrelated healthy male individuals from Chinese Jiangsu Han, and observed 912 different haplotypes including 908 unique haplotypes and 4 duplicate haplotypes. The haplotype diversity reached 0.99999 and the discrimination capacity and match probability were 0.9956 and 0.0011, respectively. The gene diversity values ranged from 0.3942 at DYS438 to 0.9607 at DYS385a/b. Population differentiation within 10 Jiangsu Han subpopulations were evaluated by RST values and visualized in Neighbor-Joining trees and Multi-Dimensional Scaling plots as well as population relationships between the Jiangsu Han population and other 18 Eastern Asian populations. Such results indicated that the 23 Y-STR loci were highly polymorphic in Jiangsu Han population and played crucial roles in forensic application as well as population genetics. For the first time, we reported the genetic diversity of male lineages in Jiangsu Han population at a high-resolution level of 23 Y-STR set and consequently contributed to familial searching, offender tracking, and anthropology analysis of Jiangsu Han population. PMID:28704439

Geometry-based populated chessboard recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Youye; Tang, Gongguo; Hoff, William

2018-04-01

Chessboards are commonly used to calibrate cameras, and many robust methods have been developed to recognize the unoccupied boards. However, when the chessboard is populated with chess pieces, such as during an actual game, the problem of recognizing the board is much harder. Challenges include occlusion caused by the chess pieces, the presence of outlier lines and low viewing angles of the chessboard. In this paper, we present a novel approach to address the above challenges and recognize the chessboard. The Canny edge detector and Hough transform are used to capture all possible lines in the scene. The k-means clustering and a k-nearest-neighbors inspired algorithm are applied to cluster and reject the outlier lines based on their Euclidean distances to the nearest neighbors in a scaled Hough transform space. Finally, based on prior knowledge of the chessboard structure, a geometric constraint is used to find the correspondences between image lines and the lines on the chessboard through the homography transformation. The proposed algorithm works for a wide range of the operating angles and achieves high accuracy in experiments.

A Danish population-based twin study on autism spectrum disorders

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordenbaek, Claudia; Jorgensen, Meta; Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm

2014-01-01

Genetic epidemiological studies of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) based on twin pairs ascertained from the population and thoroughly assessed to obtain a high degree of diagnostic validity are few. All twin pairs aged 3-14 years in the nationwide Danish Twin Registry were approached. A three......-step procedure was used. Five items from the "Child Behaviour Checklist" (CBCL) were used in the first screening phase, while screening in the second phase included the "Social and Communication Questionnaire" and the "Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire". The final clinical assessment was based on "gold...

BSim: an agent-based tool for modeling bacterial populations in systems and synthetic biology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas E Gorochowski

Full Text Available Large-scale collective behaviors such as synchronization and coordination spontaneously arise in many bacterial populations. With systems biology attempting to understand these phenomena, and synthetic biology opening up the possibility of engineering them for our own benefit, there is growing interest in how bacterial populations are best modeled. Here we introduce BSim, a highly flexible agent-based computational tool for analyzing the relationships between single-cell dynamics and population level features. BSim includes reference implementations of many bacterial traits to enable the quick development of new models partially built from existing ones. Unlike existing modeling tools, BSim fully considers spatial aspects of a model allowing for the description of intricate micro-scale structures, enabling the modeling of bacterial behavior in more realistic three-dimensional, complex environments. The new opportunities that BSim opens are illustrated through several diverse examples covering: spatial multicellular computing, modeling complex environments, population dynamics of the lac operon, and the synchronization of genetic oscillators. BSim is open source software that is freely available from http://bsim-bccs.sf.net and distributed under the Open Source Initiative (OSI recognized MIT license. Developer documentation and a wide range of example simulations are also available from the website. BSim requires Java version 1.6 or higher.

Developing a systems-based framework of the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe - a DEDIPAC study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Holdsworth, Michelle; Nicolaou, Mary; Langøien, Lars Jørun; Osei-Kwasi, Hibbah Araba; Chastin, Sebastien F. M.; Stok, F. Marijn; Capranica, Laura; Lien, Nanna; Terragni, Laura; Monsivais, Pablo; Mazzocchi, Mario; Maes, Lea; Roos, Gun; Mejean, Caroline; Powell, Katie; Stronks, Karien

2017-01-01

Some ethnic minority populations have a higher risk of non-communicable diseases than the majority European population. Diet and physical activity behaviours contribute to this risk, shaped by a system of inter-related factors. This study mapped a systems-based framework of the factors influencing

SOME IMPORTANT FACTORS AFFECTING EVOLUTION OF ACTIVITY BASED COSTING (ABC) SYSTEM IN EGYPTIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMS

OpenAIRE

Karim MAMDOUH ABBAS

2014-01-01

The present investigation aims to determine the factors affecting evolution of Activity Based Costing (ABC) system in Egyptian case. The study used the survey method to describe and analyze these factors in some Egyptian firms. The population of the study is Egyptian manufacturing firms. Accordingly, the number of received questionnaires was 392 (23 Egyptian manufacturing firms) in the first half of 2013. Finally, the study stated some influencing factors for evolution this system (ABC) in Eg...

Phase-controlled all-optical switching based on coherent population oscillation in a two-level system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liao, Ping; Yu, Song; Luo, Bin; Shen, Jing; Gu, Wanyi; Guo, Hong

2011-01-01

We theoretically propose a scheme of phase-controlled all-optical switching due to the effect of degenerate four-wave mixing (FWM) and coherent population oscillation (CPO) in a two-level system driven by a strong coupling field and two weak symmetrically detuned fields. The results show that the phase of the FWM field can be utilized to switch between constructive and destructive interference, which can lead to the transmission or attenuation of the probe field and thus switch the field on or off. We also find the intensity of the coupling field and the propagation distance have great influence on the performance of the switching. In our scheme, due to the quick response in semiconductor systems, a fast all-optical switching can be realized at low light level. -- Highlights: ► We study a new all-optical switching based on coherent population oscillation. ► The phase of the FWM field can be utilized to switch the probe field on or off. ► A fast and low-light-level switching can be realized in semiconductors.

Developing a systems-based framework of the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe - a DEDIPAC study.

Science.gov (United States)

Holdsworth, Michelle; Nicolaou, Mary; Langøien, Lars Jørun; Osei-Kwasi, Hibbah Araba; Chastin, Sebastien F M; Stok, F Marijn; Capranica, Laura; Lien, Nanna; Terragni, Laura; Monsivais, Pablo; Mazzocchi, Mario; Maes, Lea; Roos, Gun; Mejean, Caroline; Powell, Katie; Stronks, Karien

2017-11-07

Some ethnic minority populations have a higher risk of non-communicable diseases than the majority European population. Diet and physical activity behaviours contribute to this risk, shaped by a system of inter-related factors. This study mapped a systems-based framework of the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe, to inform research prioritisation and intervention development. A concept mapping approach guided by systems thinking was used: i. Preparation (protocol and terminology); ii. Generating a list of factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority populations living in Europe from evidence (systematic mapping reviews) and 'eminence' (89 participants from 24 academic disciplines via brainstorming, an international symposium and expert review) and; iii. Seeking consensus on structuring, rating and clustering factors, based on how they relate to each other; and iv. Interpreting/utilising the framework for research and interventions. Similar steps were undertaken for frameworks developed for the majority European population. Seven distinct clusters emerged for dietary behaviour (containing 85 factors) and 8 for physical activity behaviours (containing 183 factors). Four clusters were similar across behaviours: Social and cultural environment; Social and material resources; Psychosocial; and Migration context. Similar clusters of factors emerged in the frameworks for diet and physical activity behaviours of the majority European population, except for 'migration context'. The importance of factors across all clusters was acknowledged, but their relative importance differed for ethnic minority populations compared with the majority population. This systems-based framework integrates evidence from both expert opinion and published literature, to map the factors influencing dietary and physical activity behaviours in ethnic minority groups. Our findings illustrate

Analysis of Fat Intake Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1994-96, 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII, Final Report)

Science.gov (United States)

EPA released the final report, Analysis of Fat Intake Based on USDA’s 1994-1996, 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII, Final Report). For this report, the EPA conducted an analysis of fat consumption across the U.S. population based on data derived...

SOME IMPORTANT FACTORS AFFECTING EVOLUTION OF ACTIVITY BASED COSTING (ABC SYSTEM IN EGYPTIAN MANUFACTURING FIRMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karim MAMDOUH ABBAS

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The present investigation aims to determine the factors affecting evolution of Activity Based Costing (ABC system in Egyptian case. The study used the survey method to describe and analyze these factors in some Egyptian firms. The population of the study is Egyptian manufacturing firms. Accordingly, the number of received questionnaires was 392 (23 Egyptian manufacturing firms in the first half of 2013. Finally, the study stated some influencing factors for evolution this system (ABC in Egyptian manufacturing firms.

78 FR 32427 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Multifunctional Digital Imaging Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-30

... multifunctional digital imaging systems for purposes of U.S. Government procurement. DATES: The final... Determination Concerning Multifunctional Digital Imaging Systems AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection... country of origin of certain multifunctional digital imaging systems. Based upon the facts presented, CBP...

GIS-Based Population Model Applied to Nevada Transportation Routes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mills, G.S.; Neuhauser, K.S.

1999-01-01

Recently, a model based on geographic information system (GIS) processing of US Census Block data has made high-resolution population analysis for transportation risk analysis technically and economically feasible. Population density bordering each kilometer of a route may be tabulated with specific route sections falling into each of three categories (Rural, Suburban or Urban) identified for separate risk analysis. In addition to the improvement in resolution of Urban areas along a route, the model provides a statistically-based correction to population densities in Rural and Suburban areas where Census Block dimensions may greatly exceed the 800-meter scale of interest. A semi-automated application of the GIS model to a subset of routes in Nevada (related to the Yucca Mountain project) are presented, and the results compared to previous models including a model based on published Census and other data. These comparisons demonstrate that meaningful improvement in accuracy and specificity of transportation risk analyses is dependent on correspondingly accurate and geographically-specific population density data

The impacts of DRG-based payments on health care provider behaviors under a universal coverage system: a population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Shou-Hsia; Chen, Chi-Chen; Tsai, Shu-Ling

2012-10-01

To examine the impacts of diagnosis-related group (DRG) payments on health care provider's behavior under a universal coverage system in Taiwan. This study employed a population-based natural experiment study design. Patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, which were incorporated in the Taiwan version of DRG payments in 2010, were defined as the intervention group. The comparison group consisted of patients who underwent cardiovascular procedures which were paid for by fee-for-services schemes and were selected by propensity score matching from patients treated by the same group of surgeons. The generalized estimating equations model and difference-in-difference analysis was used in this study. The introduction of DRG payment resulted in a 10% decrease (pDRG-based payment resulted in reduced intensity of care and shortened length of stay. The findings might be valuable to other countries that are developing or reforming their payment system under a universal coverage system. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Applying operations research to optimize a novel population management system for cancer screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Zai, Adrian H; Kim, Seokjin; Kamis, Arnold; Hung, Ken; Ronquillo, Jeremiah G; Chueh, Henry C; Atlas, Steven J

2014-02-01

To optimize a new visit-independent, population-based cancer screening system (TopCare) by using operations research techniques to simulate changes in patient outreach staffing levels (delegates, navigators), modifications to user workflow within the information technology (IT) system, and changes in cancer screening recommendations. TopCare was modeled as a multiserver, multiphase queueing system. Simulation experiments implemented the queueing network model following a next-event time-advance mechanism, in which systematic adjustments were made to staffing levels, IT workflow settings, and cancer screening frequency in order to assess their impact on overdue screenings per patient. TopCare reduced the average number of overdue screenings per patient from 1.17 at inception to 0.86 during simulation to 0.23 at steady state. Increases in the workforce improved the effectiveness of TopCare. In particular, increasing the delegate or navigator staff level by one person improved screening completion rates by 1.3% or 12.2%, respectively. In contrast, changes in the amount of time a patient entry stays on delegate and navigator lists had little impact on overdue screenings. Finally, lengthening the screening interval increased efficiency within TopCare by decreasing overdue screenings at the patient level, resulting in a smaller number of overdue patients needing delegates for screening and a higher fraction of screenings completed by delegates. Simulating the impact of changes in staffing, system parameters, and clinical inputs on the effectiveness and efficiency of care can inform the allocation of limited resources in population management.

Automated personnel data base system specifications, Task V. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartley, H.J.; Bocast, A.K.; Deppner, F.O.; Harrison, O.J.; Kraas, I.W.

1978-11-01

The full title of this study is 'Development of Qualification Requirements, Training Programs, Career Plans, and Methodologies for Effective Management and Training of Inspection and Enforcement Personnel.' Task V required the development of an automated personnel data base system for NRC/IE. This system is identified as the NRC/IE Personnel, Assignment, Qualifications, and Training System (PAQTS). This Task V report provides the documentation for PAQTS including the Functional Requirements Document (FRD), the Data Requirements Document (DRD), the Hardware and Software Capabilities Assessment, and the Detailed Implementation Schedule. Specific recommendations to facilitate implementation of PAQTS are also included

Population-based contracting (population health): part II.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacofsky, D J

2017-11-01

Modern healthcare contracting is shifting the responsibility for improving quality, enhancing community health and controlling the total cost of care for patient populations from payers to providers. Population-based contracting involves capitated risk taken across an entire population, such that any included services within the contract are paid for by the risk-bearing entity throughout the term of the agreement. Under such contracts, a risk-bearing entity, which may be a provider group, a hospital or another payer, administers the contract and assumes risk for contractually defined services. These contracts can be structured in various ways, from professional fee capitation to full global per member per month diagnosis-based risk. The entity contracting with the payer must have downstream network contracts to provide the care and facilities that it has agreed to provide. Population health is a very powerful model to reduce waste and costs. It requires a deep understanding of the nuances of such contracting and the appropriate infrastructure to manage both networks and risk. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2017;99-B:1431-4. ©2017 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Plutonium Protection System (PPS). Volume 2. Hardware description. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyoshi, D.S.

1979-05-01

The Plutonium Protection System (PPS) is an integrated safeguards system developed by Sandia Laboratories for the Department of Energy, Office of Safeguards and Security. The system is designed to demonstrate and test concepts for the improved safeguarding of plutonium. Volume 2 of the PPS final report describes the hardware elements of the system. The major areas containing hardware elements are the vault, where plutonium is stored, the packaging room, where plutonium is packaged into Container Modules, the Security Operations Center, which controls movement of personnel, the Material Accountability Center, which maintains the system data base, and the Material Operations Center, which monitors the operating procedures in the system. References are made to documents in which details of the hardware items can be found

Query Health: standards-based, cross-platform population health surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Klann, Jeffrey G; Buck, Michael D; Brown, Jeffrey; Hadley, Marc; Elmore, Richard; Weber, Griffin M; Murphy, Shawn N

2014-01-01

Understanding population-level health trends is essential to effectively monitor and improve public health. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) Query Health initiative is a collaboration to develop a national architecture for distributed, population-level health queries across diverse clinical systems with disparate data models. Here we review Query Health activities, including a standards-based methodology, an open-source reference implementation, and three pilot projects. Query Health defined a standards-based approach for distributed population health queries, using an ontology based on the Quality Data Model and Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture, Health Quality Measures Format (HQMF) as the query language, the Query Envelope as the secure transport layer, and the Quality Reporting Document Architecture as the result language. We implemented this approach using Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) and hQuery for data analytics and PopMedNet for access control, secure query distribution, and response. We deployed the reference implementation at three pilot sites: two public health departments (New York City and Massachusetts) and one pilot designed to support Food and Drug Administration post-market safety surveillance activities. The pilots were successful, although improved cross-platform data normalization is needed. This initiative resulted in a standards-based methodology for population health queries, a reference implementation, and revision of the HQMF standard. It also informed future directions regarding interoperability and data access for ONC's Data Access Framework initiative. Query Health was a test of the learning health system that supplied a functional methodology and reference implementation for distributed population health queries that has been validated at three sites. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under

The completed design of the SLC Final Focus System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murray, J.J.; Brown, K.L.; Fieguth, T.

1987-02-01

The design of the SLC Final Focus System has evolved from its initial conceptual design into its final form. This final design is described including a review of the critical decisions influencing the adoption of particular features. The creation of a feasible design has required that these decisions be tempered by practical considerations such as site constraints, correction of optical errors caused by imperfections, and accommodations requested by engineers and particle detector physicists. As this is the first such system to be built, it is hoped that the experience gained will be useful for the design of future systems

ASPECTS OF OBSTACLES FOR APPLYING ACTIVITY BASED COSTING (ABC SYSTEM IN EGYPTIAN FIRMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Petru STEFEA

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The following investigation aims to determine the aspects of obstacles for applying Activity Based Costing (ABC system in the Egyptian case and the significant differences among the effects of such obstacles . The Study used the survey method to describe and analyze the obstacles in some Egyptian firms. The population of the study is Egyptian manufacturing firms. This survey used the number of 392 questionnaires that were used throughout the total of 23 Egyptian manufacturing firms, during the first half of 2013. Finally, the study found some influencing obstacles for applying this system (ABC and there were significant differences among the aspects of obstacles for applying ABC system in the Egyptian manufacturing firms.

Periodic solutions of nonautonomous differential systems modeling obesity population

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arenas, Abraham J.; Gonzalez-Parra, Gilberto; Jodar, Lucas

2009-01-01

In this paper we study the periodic behaviour of the solutions of a nonautonomous model for obesity population. The mathematical model represented by a nonautonomous system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is used to model the dynamics of obese populations. Numerical simulations suggest periodic behaviour of subpopulations solutions. Sufficient conditions which guarantee the existence of a periodic positive solution are obtained using a continuation theorem based on coincidence degree theory.

Periodic solutions of nonautonomous differential systems modeling obesity population

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arenas, Abraham J. [Departamento de Matematicas y Estadistica, Universidad de Cordoba Monteria (Colombia)], E-mail: aarenas@sinu.unicordoba.edu.co; Gonzalez-Parra, Gilberto [Departamento de Calculo, Universidad de los Andes, Merida (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of)], E-mail: gcarlos@ula.ve; Jodar, Lucas [Instituto de Matematica Multidisciplinar, Universidad Politecnica de Valencia Edificio 8G, 2o, 46022 Valencia (Spain)], E-mail: ljodar@imm.upv.es

2009-10-30

In this paper we study the periodic behaviour of the solutions of a nonautonomous model for obesity population. The mathematical model represented by a nonautonomous system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations is used to model the dynamics of obese populations. Numerical simulations suggest periodic behaviour of subpopulations solutions. Sufficient conditions which guarantee the existence of a periodic positive solution are obtained using a continuation theorem based on coincidence degree theory.

Case-Based FCTF Reasoning System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Lu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Case-based reasoning uses old information to infer the answer of new problems. In case-based reasoning, a reasoner firstly records the previous cases, then searches the previous case list that is similar to the current one and uses that to solve the new case. Case-based reasoning means adapting old solving solutions to new situations. This paper proposes a reasoning system based on the case-based reasoning method. To begin, we show the theoretical structure and algorithm of from coarse to fine (FCTF reasoning system, and then demonstrate that it is possible to successfully learn and reason new information. Finally, we use our system to predict practical weather conditions based on previous ones and experiments show that the prediction accuracy increases with further learning of the FCTF reasoning system.

Population-based screening versus case detection.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Ravi

2002-01-01

Full Text Available India has a large burden of blindness and population-based screening is a strategy commonly employed to detect disease and prevent morbidity. However, not all diseases are amenable to screening. This communication examines the issue of "population-based screening" versus "case detection" in the Indian scenario. Using the example of glaucoma, it demonstrates that given the poor infrastructure, for a "rare" disease, case detection is more effective than population-based screening.

Building the Evidence Base for Population-Level Interventions: Barriers and Opportunities

Science.gov (United States)

Lifsey, Sarah; Cash, Amanda; Anthony, Jodi; Mathis, Sheryl; Silva, Sandra

2015-01-01

Population-level interventions focused on policy, systems, and environmental change strategies are increasingly being used to affect and improve the health of populations. At the same time, emphasis on implementing evidence-based public health practices and programming is increasing, particularly at the federal level. Valuing strategies in the…

Development of Final Running Test System for Digital Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kwang-Dae; Lee, Eui-Jong; Lim, Hee-Taek; Kim, Min-Seok [KHNP Central Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

In nuclear industry, the newly designed systems to upgrade are qualified to meet IEEE standards and the regulatory guidelines for their functions, performance and reliability requirements. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Hazard Analysis have been used to improve the reliability of the control system. To ensure the completeness of the software, the verification and validation processes are carried out during the development process. In spite of the many efforts depending on the analysis and procedures, there are limitations to improve the reliability. The lessons learned from the currently installed system failures show the incompleteness of the final integration test. The current point-to-point and logic-to-logic separate test procedures manually performed by the engineers can cause some procedures missed and have effects on the critical functions. The design processes of the digital systems are met in accordance with the international standards and regulatory guidelines. The lessons learned from the failures of the running digital systems showed the limitations of the current verification and validation efforts. The various improvements and attempts have been considered including the expert review processes and the completeness of the test. In this paper, the Final Running Test Method evaluating the completeness of the digital system using the control patterns and the Test System Architecture are proposed.

Development of Final Running Test System for Digital Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kwang-Dae; Lee, Eui-Jong; Lim, Hee-Taek; Kim, Min-Seok

2016-01-01

In nuclear industry, the newly designed systems to upgrade are qualified to meet IEEE standards and the regulatory guidelines for their functions, performance and reliability requirements. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, and Hazard Analysis have been used to improve the reliability of the control system. To ensure the completeness of the software, the verification and validation processes are carried out during the development process. In spite of the many efforts depending on the analysis and procedures, there are limitations to improve the reliability. The lessons learned from the currently installed system failures show the incompleteness of the final integration test. The current point-to-point and logic-to-logic separate test procedures manually performed by the engineers can cause some procedures missed and have effects on the critical functions. The design processes of the digital systems are met in accordance with the international standards and regulatory guidelines. The lessons learned from the failures of the running digital systems showed the limitations of the current verification and validation efforts. The various improvements and attempts have been considered including the expert review processes and the completeness of the test. In this paper, the Final Running Test Method evaluating the completeness of the digital system using the control patterns and the Test System Architecture are proposed

Applying operations research to optimize a novel population management system for cancer screening

Science.gov (United States)

Zai, Adrian H; Kim, Seokjin; Kamis, Arnold; Hung, Ken; Ronquillo, Jeremiah G; Chueh, Henry C; Atlas, Steven J

2014-01-01

Objective To optimize a new visit-independent, population-based cancer screening system (TopCare) by using operations research techniques to simulate changes in patient outreach staffing levels (delegates, navigators), modifications to user workflow within the information technology (IT) system, and changes in cancer screening recommendations. Materials and methods TopCare was modeled as a multiserver, multiphase queueing system. Simulation experiments implemented the queueing network model following a next-event time-advance mechanism, in which systematic adjustments were made to staffing levels, IT workflow settings, and cancer screening frequency in order to assess their impact on overdue screenings per patient. Results TopCare reduced the average number of overdue screenings per patient from 1.17 at inception to 0.86 during simulation to 0.23 at steady state. Increases in the workforce improved the effectiveness of TopCare. In particular, increasing the delegate or navigator staff level by one person improved screening completion rates by 1.3% or 12.2%, respectively. In contrast, changes in the amount of time a patient entry stays on delegate and navigator lists had little impact on overdue screenings. Finally, lengthening the screening interval increased efficiency within TopCare by decreasing overdue screenings at the patient level, resulting in a smaller number of overdue patients needing delegates for screening and a higher fraction of screenings completed by delegates. Conclusions Simulating the impact of changes in staffing, system parameters, and clinical inputs on the effectiveness and efficiency of care can inform the allocation of limited resources in population management. PMID:24043318

Adjustable, short focal length permanent-magnet quadrupole based electron beam final focus system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. K. Lim

2005-07-01

Full Text Available Advanced high-brightness beam applications such as inverse-Compton scattering (ICS depend on achieving of ultrasmall spot sizes in high current beams. Modern injectors and compressors enable the production of high-brightness beams having needed short bunch lengths and small emittances. Along with these beam properties comes the need to produce tighter foci, using stronger, shorter focal length optics. An approach to creating such strong focusing systems using high-field, small-bore permanent-magnet quadrupoles (PMQs is reported here. A final-focus system employing three PMQs, each composed of 16 neodymium iron boride sectors in a Halbach geometry has been installed in the PLEIADES ICS experiment. The field gradient in these PMQs is 560   T/m, the highest ever reported in a magnetic optics system. As the magnets are of a fixed field strength, the focusing system is tuned by adjusting the position of the three magnets along the beam line axis, in analogy to familiar camera optics. This paper discusses the details of the focusing system, simulation, design, fabrication, and experimental procedure in creating ultrasmall beams at PLEIADES.

Entry control system for large populations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merillat, P.D.

1982-01-01

An Entry Control System has been developed which is appropriate for use at an installation with a large population requiring access over a large area. This is accomplished by centralizing the data base management and enrollment functions and decentralizing the guard-assisted, positive personnel identification and access functions. Current information pertaining to all enrollees is maintained through user-friendly enrollment stations. These stations may be used to enroll individuals, alter their area access authorizations, change expiration dates, and other similar functions. An audit trail of data base alterations is provided to the System Manager. Decentrailized systems exist at each area to which access is controlled. The central system provides these systems with the necessary entry control information to allow them to operate microprocessor-driven entry control devices. The system is comprised of commercially available entry control components and is structured such that it will be able to incorporate improved devices as technology porogresses. Currently, access is granted to individuals who possess a valid credential, have current access authorization, can supply a memorized personal identification number, and whose physical hand dimensions match their profile obtained during enrollment. The entry control devices report misuses as security violations to a Guard Alarm Display and Assessment System

Multi-Point Combustion System: Final Report

Science.gov (United States)

Goeke, Jerry; Pack, Spencer; Zink, Gregory; Ryon, Jason

2014-01-01

A low-NOx emission combustor concept has been developed for NASA's Environmentally Responsible Aircraft (ERA) program to meet N+2 emissions goals for a 70,000 lb thrust engine application. These goals include 75 percent reduction of LTO NOx from CAEP6 standards without increasing CO, UHC, or smoke from that of current state of the art. An additional key factor in this work is to improve lean combustion stability over that of previous work performed on similar technology in the early 2000s. The purpose of this paper is to present the final report for the NASA contract. This work included the design, analysis, and test of a multi-point combustion system. All design work was based on the results of Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling with the end results tested on a medium pressure combustion rig at the UC and a medium pressure combustion rig at GRC. The theories behind the designs, results of analysis, and experimental test data will be discussed in this report. The combustion system consists of five radially staged rows of injectors, where ten small scale injectors are used in place of a single traditional nozzle. Major accomplishments of the current work include the design of a Multipoint Lean Direct Injection (MLDI) array and associated air blast and pilot fuel injectors, which is expected to meet or exceed the goal of a 75 percent reduction in LTO NOx from CAEP6 standards. This design incorporates a reduced number of injectors over previous multipoint designs, simplified and lightweight components, and a very compact combustor section. Additional outcomes of the program are validation that the design of these combustion systems can be aided by the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics to predict and reduce emissions. Furthermore, the staging of fuel through the individually controlled radially staged injector rows successfully demonstrated improved low power operability as well as improvements in emissions over previous multipoint designs. Additional comparison

[Designing and implementation of a web-based quality monitoring system for plasma glucose measurement in multicenter population study].

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yong; Wang, Limin; Pang, Richard; Mo, Nanxun; Hu, Yan; Deng, Qian; Hu, Zhaohui

2015-05-01

The aim of this paper is to describe the designing and implementation of a web-based plasma glucose measurement quality monitoring system to assess the analytical quality of plasma glucose measurements in multicenter population study and provide evidence for the future studies. In the chronic non-communicable disease and related factor surveillance in China, a web based quality monitoring system for plasma glucose measurement was established to conduct evaluation on plasma glucose monitoring quality and effectiveness in 302 surveillance centers, including quality control data entry, transmission and feedback. The majority of the surveillance centers met the quality requirements and passed the evaluation of reproducibility and precision of plasma glucose measurement, only a few centers required intensive training and re-assessment. In order to ensure the completeness and reliability of plasma glucose measurement in the surveillance centers, the establishment of web-based plasma glucose measurement quality control system can facilitate the identification of the qualified surveillance centers and evaluation of plasma glucose measurement quality in different regions. Communication and training are important in ensuring plasma glucose measurement quality. It is necessary to further improve this web-based plasma glucose measurement quality monitoring system in the future to reduce the method specific plasma glucose measurement bias.

General method for final focus system design for circular colliders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Riccardo de Maria

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Colliders use final focus systems to reduce the transverse beam sizes at the interaction point in order to increase collision event rates. The maximum focal strength (gradient of the quadrupoles, and the maximum beam size in them, together limit the beam size reduction that is possible. The goal of a final focus system design is to find the best compromise between quadrupole aperture and quadrupole gradient, for the magnet technology that is used. This paper develops a design method that identifies the intrinsic limitations of a final focus system, validates the results of the method against realistic designs, and reports its application to the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider final focus.

Modeling Dynamic Systems with Efficient Ensembles of Process-Based Models.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nikola Simidjievski

Full Text Available Ensembles are a well established machine learning paradigm, leading to accurate and robust models, predominantly applied to predictive modeling tasks. Ensemble models comprise a finite set of diverse predictive models whose combined output is expected to yield an improved predictive performance as compared to an individual model. In this paper, we propose a new method for learning ensembles of process-based models of dynamic systems. The process-based modeling paradigm employs domain-specific knowledge to automatically learn models of dynamic systems from time-series observational data. Previous work has shown that ensembles based on sampling observational data (i.e., bagging and boosting, significantly improve predictive performance of process-based models. However, this improvement comes at the cost of a substantial increase of the computational time needed for learning. To address this problem, the paper proposes a method that aims at efficiently learning ensembles of process-based models, while maintaining their accurate long-term predictive performance. This is achieved by constructing ensembles with sampling domain-specific knowledge instead of sampling data. We apply the proposed method to and evaluate its performance on a set of problems of automated predictive modeling in three lake ecosystems using a library of process-based knowledge for modeling population dynamics. The experimental results identify the optimal design decisions regarding the learning algorithm. The results also show that the proposed ensembles yield significantly more accurate predictions of population dynamics as compared to individual process-based models. Finally, while their predictive performance is comparable to the one of ensembles obtained with the state-of-the-art methods of bagging and boosting, they are substantially more efficient.

The stabilisation of final focus system

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The StaFF (stabilisation of final focus) system will use interferometers to monitor the relative ... quadrupole magnets will be the most demanding application, where mutual and beam- ... interferometers to measure lines of a geodetic network to record relative motion between two beam ... coupled interferometer design.

Real-time Position Based Population Data Analysis and Visualization Using Heatmap for Hazard Emergency Response

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, R.; He, T.

2017-12-01

With the increased popularity in mobile applications and services, there has been a growing demand for more advanced mobile technologies that utilize real-time Location Based Services (LBS) data to support natural hazard response efforts. Compared to traditional sources like the census bureau that often can only provide historical and static data, an LBS service can provide more current data to drive a real-time natural hazard response system to more accurately process and assess issues such as population density in areas impacted by a hazard. However, manually preparing or preprocessing the data to suit the needs of the particular application would be time-consuming. This research aims to implement a population heatmap visual analytics system based on real-time data for natural disaster emergency management. System comprised of a three-layered architecture, including data collection, data processing, and visual analysis layers. Real-time, location-based data meeting certain polymerization conditions are collected from multiple sources across the Internet, then processed and stored in a cloud-based data store. Parallel computing is utilized to provide fast and accurate access to the pre-processed population data based on criteria such as the disaster event and to generate a location-based population heatmap as well as other types of visual digital outputs using auxiliary analysis tools. At present, a prototype system, which geographically covers the entire region of China and combines population heat map based on data from the Earthquake Catalogs database has been developed. It Preliminary results indicate that the generation of dynamic population density heatmaps based on the prototype system has effectively supported rapid earthquake emergency rescue and evacuation efforts as well as helping responders and decision makers to evaluate and assess earthquake damage. Correlation analyses that were conducted revealed that the aggregation and movement of people

Plant Mating Systems Often Vary Widely Among Populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael R. Whitehead

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Most flowering plants are hermaphroditic, yet the proportion of seeds fertilized by self and outcross pollen varies widely among species, ranging from predominant self-fertilization to exclusive outcrossing. A population's rate of outcrossing has important evolutionary outcomes as it influences genetic structure, effective population size, and offspring fitness. Because most mating system studies have quantified outcrossing rates for just one or two populations, past reviews of mating system diversity have not been able to characterize the extent of variation among populations. Here we present a new database of more than 30 years of mating system studies that report outcrossing rates for three or more populations per species. This survey, which includes 741 populations from 105 species, illustrates substantial and prevalent among-population variation in the mating system. Intermediate outcrossing rates (mixed mating are common; 63% of species had at least one mixed mating population. The variance among populations and within species was not significantly correlated with pollination mode or phylogeny. Our review underscores the need for studies exploring variation in the relative influence of ecological and genetic factors on the mating system, and how this varies among populations. We conclude that estimates of outcrossing rates from single populations are often highly unreliable indicators of the mating system of an entire species.

Development and Implementation of Team-Based Panel Management Tools: Filling the Gap between Patient and Population Information Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Brook; Lawrence, Renée H; Drawz, Paul; Carter, Cameron; Shumaker, Amy Hirsch; Kern, Elizabeth F

2016-08-01

Effective team-based models of care, such as the Patient-Centered Medical Home, require electronic tools to support proactive population management strategies that emphasize care coordination and quality improvement. Despite the spread of electronic health records (EHRs) and vendors marketing population health tools, clinical practices still may lack the ability to have: (1) local control over types of data collected/reports generated, (2) timely data (eg, up-to-date data, not several months old), and accordingly (3) the ability to efficiently monitor and improve patient outcomes. This article describes a quality improvement project at the hospital system level to develop and implement a flexible panel management (PM) tool to improve care of subpopulations of patients (eg, panels of patients with diabetes) by clinical teams. An in-depth case analysis approach is used to explore barriers and facilitators in building a PM registry tool for team-based management needs using standard data elements (eg, laboratory values, pharmacy records) found in EHRs. Also described are factors that may contribute to sustainability; to date the tool has been adapted to 6 disease-focused subpopulations encompassing more than 200,000 patients. Two key lessons emerged from this initiative: (1) though challenging, team-based clinical end users and information technology needed to work together consistently to refine the product, and (2) locally developed population management tools can provide efficient data tracking for frontline clinical teams and leadership. The preliminary work identified critical gaps that were successfully addressed by building local PM registry tools from EHR-derived data and offers lessons learned for others engaged in similar work. (Population Health Management 2016;19:232-239).

Web-based computer-aided-diagnosis (CAD) system for bone age assessment (BAA) of children

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Aifeng; Uyeda, Joshua; Tsao, Sinchai; Ma, Kevin; Vachon, Linda A.; Liu, Brent J.; Huang, H. K.

2008-03-01

Bone age assessment (BAA) of children is a clinical procedure frequently performed in pediatric radiology to evaluate the stage of skeletal maturation based on a left hand and wrist radiograph. The most commonly used standard: Greulich and Pyle (G&P) Hand Atlas was developed 50 years ago and exclusively based on Caucasian population. Moreover, inter- & intra-observer discrepancies using this method create a need of an objective and automatic BAA method. A digital hand atlas (DHA) has been collected with 1,400 hand images of normal children from Asian, African American, Caucasian and Hispanic descends. Based on DHA, a fully automatic, objective computer-aided-diagnosis (CAD) method was developed and it was adapted to specific population. To bring DHA and CAD method to the clinical environment as a useful tool in assisting radiologist to achieve higher accuracy in BAA, a web-based system with direct connection to a clinical site is designed as a novel clinical implementation approach for online and real time BAA. The core of the system, a CAD server receives the image from clinical site, processes it by the CAD method and finally, generates report. A web service publishes the results and radiologists at the clinical site can review it online within minutes. This prototype can be easily extended to multiple clinical sites and will provide the foundation for broader use of the CAD system for BAA.

On estimation of time-dependent attributable fraction from population-based case-control studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Wei; Chen, Ying Qing; Hsu, Li

2017-09-01

Population attributable fraction (PAF) is widely used to quantify the disease burden associated with a modifiable exposure in a population. It has been extended to a time-varying measure that provides additional information on when and how the exposure's impact varies over time for cohort studies. However, there is no estimation procedure for PAF using data that are collected from population-based case-control studies, which, because of time and cost efficiency, are commonly used for studying genetic and environmental risk factors of disease incidences. In this article, we show that time-varying PAF is identifiable from a case-control study and develop a novel estimator of PAF. Our estimator combines odds ratio estimates from logistic regression models and density estimates of the risk factor distribution conditional on failure times in cases from a kernel smoother. The proposed estimator is shown to be consistent and asymptotically normal with asymptotic variance that can be estimated empirically from the data. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed estimator performs well in finite sample sizes. Finally, the method is illustrated by a population-based case-control study of colorectal cancer. © 2017, The International Biometric Society.

Practice-based systems engineering programme

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Goncalves, D

2010-08-01

Full Text Available the required system engineering competencies is introduced. A practice-based approach is presented as part of the solution, including the roles of universities, students and industry within this approach. Finally we elaborate on a proposed curriculum for a...

Using systems science for population health management in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yan; Kong, Nan; Lawley, Mark A; Pagán, José A

2014-10-01

Population health management is becoming increasingly important to organizations managing and providing primary care services given ongoing changes in health care delivery and payment systems. The objective of this study is to show how systems science methodologies could be incorporated into population health management to compare different interventions and improve health outcomes. The New York Academy of Medicine Cardiovascular Health Simulation model (an agent-based model) and data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to evaluate a lifestyle program that could be implemented in primary care practice settings. The program targeted Medicare-age adults and focused on improving diet and exercise and reducing weight. The simulation results suggest that there would be significant reductions projected in the proportion of the Medicare-age population with diabetes after the implementation of the proposed lifestyle program for a relatively long term (3 and 5 years). Similar results were found for the subpopulations with high cholesterol, but the proposed intervention would not have a significant effect in the proportion of the population with hypertension over a time period of Systems science methodologies can be useful to compare the health outcomes of different interventions. These tools can become an important component of population health management because they can help managers and other decision makers evaluate alternative programs in primary care settings. © The Author(s) 2014.

PC based system for absolute neutron flux-spectrum measurements. Final report for the period 1 April 1994 - 15 December 1997

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dobrea, D.

1998-01-01

When measuring absolute neutron flux-spectra, thin detector foils are irradiated in a neutron field. The absolute activity of isotopes generated by activation or fission reactions (fission products) is then measured, using an efficiency calibrated high resolution gamma-ray spectroscopy system, and the absolute reaction rates for their production is determined. Finally the flux-spectrum is determined based upon the reaction rate values. A general method to obtain flux-spectra from the reaction rate is the unfolding method. The above process involves computations of photopeak area, reaction rate, flux perturbation corrections and flux-spectrum. The PC's are well suited for the data processing system outlined above. Using available interfaces, the PC's can be involved even in the data acquisition. Graphical facilities allow decision upon the data processing flow

Population genetics of Setaria viridis, a new model system.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Pu; Feldman, Maximilian; Schroder, Stephan; Bahri, Bochra A; Diao, Xianmin; Zhi, Hui; Estep, Matt; Baxter, Ivan; Devos, Katrien M; Kellogg, Elizabeth A

2014-10-01

An extensive survey of the standing genetic variation in natural populations is among the priority steps in developing a species into a model system. In recent years, green foxtail (Setaria viridis), along with its domesticated form foxtail millet (S. italica), has rapidly become a promising new model system for C4 grasses and bioenergy crops, due to its rapid life cycle, large amount of seed production and small diploid genome, among other characters. However, remarkably little is known about the genetic diversity in natural populations of this species. In this study, we survey the genetic diversity of a worldwide sample of more than 200 S. viridis accessions, using the genotyping-by-sequencing technique. Two distinct genetic groups in S. viridis and a third group resembling S. italica were identified, with considerable admixture among the three groups. We find the genetic variation of North American S. viridis correlates with both geography and climate and is representative of the total genetic diversity in this species. This pattern may reflect several introduction/dispersal events of S. viridis into North America. We also modelled demographic history and show signal of recent population decline in one subgroup. Finally, we show linkage disequilibrium decay is rapid (<45 kb) in our total sample and slow in genetic subgroups. These results together provide an in-depth understanding of the pattern of genetic diversity of this new model species on a broad geographic scale. They also provide key guidelines for on-going and future work including germplasm preservation, local adaptation, crossing designs and genomewide association studies. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Representativeness in population-based studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Drivsholm, Thomas Bo; Eplov, Lene Falgaard; Davidsen, Michael

2006-01-01

Decreasing rates of participation in population-based studies increasingly challenge the interpretation of study results, in both analytic and descriptive epidemiology. Consequently, estimates of possible differences between participants and non-participants are increasingly important...... for the interpretation of study results and generalization to the background population....

Risk of infective endocarditis in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus in Taiwan: a nationwide population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Y S; Chang, C C; Chen, Y H; Chen, W S; Chen, J H

2017-10-01

Objectives Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus are considered vulnerable to infective endocarditis and prophylactic antibiotics are recommended before an invasive dental procedure. However, the evidence is insufficient. This nationwide population-based study evaluated the risk and related factors of infective endocarditis in systemic lupus erythematosus. Methods We identified 12,102 systemic lupus erythematosus patients from the National Health Insurance research-oriented database, and compared the incidence rate of infective endocarditis with that among 48,408 non-systemic lupus erythematosus controls. A Cox multivariable proportional hazards model was employed to evaluate the risk of infective endocarditis in the systemic lupus erythematosus cohort. Results After a mean follow-up of more than six years, the systemic lupus erythematosus cohort had a significantly higher incidence rate of infective endocarditis (42.58 vs 4.32 per 100,000 person-years, incidence rate ratio = 9.86, p endocarditis in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Conclusions A higher risk of infective endocarditis was observed in systemic lupus erythematosus patients. Risk factors for infective endocarditis in the systemic lupus erythematosus cohort included heart disease, chronic kidney disease, steroid pulse therapy within 30 days, and a recent invasive dental procedure within 30 days.

Non-visit-based cancer screening using a novel population management system.

Science.gov (United States)

Atlas, Steven J; Zai, Adrian H; Ashburner, Jeffrey M; Chang, Yuchiao; Percac-Lima, Sanja; Levy, Douglas E; Chueh, Henry C; Grant, Richard W

2014-01-01

Advances in information technology (IT) now permit population-based preventive screening, but the best methods remain uncertain. We evaluated whether involving primary care providers (PCPs) in a visit-independent population management IT application led to more effective cancer screening. We conducted a cluster-randomized trial involving 18 primary care practice sites and 169 PCPs from June 15, 2011, to June 14, 2012. Participants included adults eligible for breast, cervical, and/or colorectal cancer screening. In practices randomized to the intervention group, PCPs reviewed real-time rosters of their patients overdue for screening and provided individualized contact (via a letter, practice delegate, or patient navigator) or deferred screening (temporarily or permanently). In practices randomized to the comparison group, overdue patients were automatically sent reminder letters and transferred to practice delegate lists for follow-up. Intervention patients without PCP action within 8 weeks defaulted to the automated control version. The primary outcome was adjusted average cancer screening completion rates over 1-year follow-up, accounting for clustering by physician or practice. Baseline cancer screening rates (80.8% vs 80.3%) were similar among patients in the intervention (n = 51,071) and comparison group (n = 52,799). Most intervention providers used the IT application (88 of 101, 87%) and users reviewed 7984 patients overdue for at least 1 cancer screening (73% sent reminder letter, 6% referred directly to a practice delegate or patient navigator, and 21% deferred screening). In addition, 6128 letters were automatically sent to patients in the intervention group (total of 12,002 letters vs 16,378 letters in comparison practices; P management IT application resulted in similar cancer screening rates compared with an automated reminder system, but fewer patients were sent reminder letters. This suggests that PCPs were able to identify and exclude from contact

Expert system for web based collaborative CAE

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Liang; Lin, Zusheng

2006-11-01

An expert system for web based collaborative CAE was developed based on knowledge engineering, relational database and commercial FEA (Finite element analysis) software. The architecture of the system was illustrated. In this system, the experts' experiences, theories and typical examples and other related knowledge, which will be used in the stage of pre-process in FEA, were categorized into analysis process and object knowledge. Then, the integrated knowledge model based on object-oriented method and rule based method was described. The integrated reasoning process based on CBR (case based reasoning) and rule based reasoning was presented. Finally, the analysis process of this expert system in web based CAE application was illustrated, and an analysis example of a machine tool's column was illustrated to prove the validity of the system.

Preventable trauma deaths: from panel review to population based-studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesconi Sergio

2006-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Preventable trauma deaths are defined as deaths which could be avoided if optimal care has been delivered. Studies on preventable trauma deaths have been accomplished initially with panel reviews of pre-hospital and hospital charts. However, several investigators questioned the reliability and validity of this method because of low reproducibility of implicit judgments when they are made by different experts. Nevertheless, number of studies were published all around the world and ultimately gained some credibility, particularly in regions where comparisons were made before and after trauma system implementation with a resultant fall in mortality. During the last decade of century the method of comparing observed survival with probability of survival calculated from large trauma registries has obtained popularity. Preventable trauma deaths were identified as deaths occurred notwithstanding a high calculated probability of survival. In recent years, preventable trauma deaths studies have been replaced by population-based studies, which use databases representative of overall population, therefore with high epidemiologic value. These databases contain readily available information which carry out the advantage of objectivity and large numbers. Nowadays, population-based researches provide the strongest evidence regarding the effectiveness of trauma systems and trauma centers on patient outcomes.

The Research of Spatial-Temporal Analysis and Decision-Making Assistant System for Disabled Person Affairs Based on Mapworld

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, J. H.; Yang, J.; Sun, Y. S.

2015-06-01

This system combines the Mapworld platform and informationization of disabled person affairs, uses the basic information of disabled person as center frame. Based on the disabled person population database, the affairs management system and the statistical account system, the data were effectively integrated and the united information resource database was built. Though the data analysis and mining, the system provides powerful data support to the decision making, the affairs managing and the public serving. It finally realizes the rationalization, normalization and scientization of disabled person affairs management. It also makes significant contributions to the great-leap-forward development of the informationization of China Disabled Person's Federation.

[Comparison of differentiated thyroid carcinoma staging systems in a Spanish population].

Science.gov (United States)

Andía Melero, Víctor Manuel; Martín de Santa-Olalla Llanes, María; Sambo Salas, Marcel; Percovich Hualpa, Juan Carlos; Motilla de la Cámara, Marta; Collado Yurrita, Luis

2015-04-01

Differentiated thyroid carcinoma staging is increasingly important due to the current trends to a less intensive therapy in low-risk patients. The TNM system is most widely used, but other systems based on follow-up of several patient cohorts have been developed. When these systems have been applied to other populations, results have been discordant. Our study evaluates the suitability of several differentiated thyroid carcinoma staging systems in a Spanish population. 729 patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma and staging data available were enrolled. Mean follow-up time was 10.8 years. The TNM, EORTC, AMES, Clinical class, MACIS, Ohio, NTCTCS, and Spanish systems were applied to all histological types. The Kaplan-Meier survival curves for each system were analyzed, and compared using the proportion of explained variation (PEV). The demographic and clinical characteristics of our population were similar to those of other Spanish and international cohorts reported. The best systems were NTCTCS, with 74.7% PEV, and TNM (68.3%), followed by the Ohio, MACIS, EORTC, and AMES systems with minimal differences between them, while the least adequate were the Spanish (55.2%) and Clinical class (47.1%) systems. The NTCTCS staging system was found to be better than TNM in our population but, because of its simplicity and greater dissemination, the TNM appears to be recommended for staging of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Copyright © 2014 SEEN. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Comparing population and incident data for optimal air ambulance base locations in Norway.

Science.gov (United States)

Røislien, Jo; van den Berg, Pieter L; Lindner, Thomas; Zakariassen, Erik; Uleberg, Oddvar; Aardal, Karen; van Essen, J Theresia

2018-05-24

Helicopter emergency medical services are important in many health care systems. Norway has a nationwide physician manned air ambulance service servicing a country with large geographical variations in population density and incident frequencies. The aim of the study was to compare optimal air ambulance base locations using both population and incident data. We used municipality population and incident data for Norway from 2015. The 428 municipalities had a median (5-95 percentile) of 4675 (940-36,264) inhabitants and 10 (2-38) incidents. Optimal helicopter base locations were estimated using the Maximal Covering Location Problem (MCLP) optimization model, exploring the number and location of bases needed to cover various fractions of the population for time thresholds 30 and 45 min, in green field scenarios and conditioned on the existing base structure. The existing bases covered 96.90% of the population and 91.86% of the incidents for time threshold 45 min. Correlation between municipality population and incident frequencies was -0.0027, and optimal base locations varied markedly between the two data types, particularly when lowering the target time. The optimal solution using population density data put focus on the greater Oslo area, where one third of Norwegians live, while using incident data put focus on low population high incident areas, such as northern Norway and winter sport resorts. Using population density data as a proxy for incident frequency is not recommended, as the two data types lead to different optimal base locations. Lowering the target time increases the sensitivity to choice of data.

Design optimization of the International Linear Collider Final Focus System with a long L*

CERN Document Server

Plassard, Fabien

This Master's Thesis work has been done in the Aerospace Engineering master's programme framework and carried out at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). It was conducted under the 500 GeV e-e+ International Linear Collider (ILC) study and focused on the design and performance optimization of the Final Focus System (FFS). The purpose of the final focus system of the future linear colliders (ILC and CLIC) is to demagnify the beam to the required transverse size at the interaction point (IP). The FFS is designed for a flat-beam in a compact way based on a local chromaticity correction which corrects both horizontal and vertical chromaticities simultaneously. An alternative FFS configuration based on the traditional scheme with two dedicated chromatic correction sections for horizontal and vertical chromaticities and a long L * option has been developed. A longer free space between the last quadrupole and the IP allows to place the last quadrupole on a stable ground, with fewer engineering ...

Population-based strategies to control manufacturing epidemics.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorini, Giuseppe

2017-01-01

"The multinational corporations producing tobacco, alcohol, soft drinks, and processed foods have a role of vectors in the increase of chronic diseases, so that one can speak of manufacturing epidemics. The main aim of this paper is to conduct a literature review on different approaches in population-based interventions to stem the rise in consumption of unhealthy products. Different approaches were found: • command-and-control regulations: the route is definitely more advanced for tobacco with the implementation of an international treaty, which requires 180 ratifying states to implement a series of tobacco control policies. Similar regulations have been partially adopted to reduce alcohol use and to increase taxes of sugar-sweetened beverages; • multinational corporations in few Countries can voluntarily adopt recommendations on media campaigns and on labelling of soft drinks and processed foods; • in order to reduce salt in foods, many Countries developed voluntary agreements with industries with monitoring systems to assess compliance. Population-based interventions to try to align the interests of multinational corporations with those of public health are described in literature: • the "Health Footprint" programme; • the performance-based regulation which could oblige industry to take responsibility to reduce the harmful consequences of the use of their unhealthy commodities; • the price-cap regulation, usually applied to the utilities sector, would set a cap on the price of the tobacco industry, raising the tobacco taxes by 500 million euros per year. In order to reduce the burden of chronic disease, one of the objectives of the Italian National Prevention Plan, a working group including non-governmental organizations and experts in communication, social marketing, and lifestyles should be organized by the Ministry of Health in order to identify which population-based interventions could be implemented in Italy in next years to stem the rise of

Spheroidal Populated Star Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Angeletti, Lucio; Giannone, Pietro

2008-10-01

Globular clusters and low-ellipticity early-type galaxies can be treated as systems populated by a large number of stars and whose structures can be schematized as spherically symmetric. Their studies profit from the synthesis of stellar populations. The computation of synthetic models makes use of various contributions from star evolution and stellar dynamics. In the first sections of the paper we present a short review of our results on the occurrence of galactic winds in star systems ranging from globular clusters to elliptical galaxies, and the dynamical evolution of a typical massive globular cluster. In the subsequent sections we describe our approach to the problem of the stellar populations in elliptical galaxies. The projected radial behaviours of spectro-photometric indices for a sample of eleven galaxies are compared with preliminary model results. The best agreement between observation and theory shows that our galaxies share a certain degree of heterogeneity. The gas energy dissipation varies from moderate to large, the metal yield ranges from solar to significantly oversolar, the dispersion of velocities is isotropic in most of the cases and anisotropic in the remaining instances.

The implementation of DRG-based hospital reimbursement in Switzerland: A population-based perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Busato, André; von Below, Georg

2010-10-16

Switzerland introduces a DRG (Diagnosis Related Groups) based system for hospital financing in 2012 in order to increase efficiency and transparency of Swiss health care. DRG-based hospital reimbursement is not simultaneously realized in all Swiss cantons and several cantons already implemented DRG-based financing irrespective of the national agenda, a setting that provides an opportunity to compare the situation in different cantons. Effects of introducing DRGs anticipated for providers and insurers are relatively well known but it remains less clear what effects DRGs will have on served populations. The objective of the study is therefore to analyze differences of volume and major quality indicators of care between areas with or without DRG-based hospital reimbursement from a population based perspective. Small area analysis of all hospitalizations in acute care hospitals and of all consultations reimbursed by mandatory basic health insurance for physicians in own practice during 2003-2007. The results show fewer hospitalizations and a relocation of resources to outpatient care in areas with DRG reimbursement. Overall burden of disease expressed as per capita DRG cost weights was almost identical between the two types of hospital reimbursement and no distinct temporal differences were detected in this respect. But the results show considerably higher 90-day rehospitalization rates in DRG areas. The study provides evidence of both desired and harmful effects related to the implementation of DRGs. Systematic monitoring of outcomes and quality of care are therefore essential elements to maintain in the Swiss health system after DRG's are implemented on a nationwide basis in 2012.

Knowledge Based Systems: A Critical Survey of Major Concepts, Issues, and Techniques. M.S. Thesis Final Report, 1 Jul. 1985 - 31 Dec. 1987

Science.gov (United States)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Kavi, Srinu

1984-01-01

This Working Paper Series entry presents a detailed survey of knowledge based systems. After being in a relatively dormant state for many years, only recently is Artificial Intelligence (AI) - that branch of computer science that attempts to have machines emulate intelligent behavior - accomplishing practical results. Most of these results can be attributed to the design and use of Knowledge-Based Systems, KBSs (or ecpert systems) - problem solving computer programs that can reach a level of performance comparable to that of a human expert in some specialized problem domain. These systems can act as a consultant for various requirements like medical diagnosis, military threat analysis, project risk assessment, etc. These systems possess knowledge to enable them to make intelligent desisions. They are, however, not meant to replace the human specialists in any particular domain. A critical survey of recent work in interactive KBSs is reported. A case study (MYCIN) of a KBS, a list of existing KBSs, and an introduction to the Japanese Fifth Generation Computer Project are provided as appendices. Finally, an extensive set of KBS-related references is provided at the end of the report.

A new ODE tumor growth modeling based on tumor population dynamics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oroji, Amin; Omar, Mohd bin [Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia amin.oroji@siswa.um.edu.my, mohd@um.edu.my (Malaysia); Yarahmadian, Shantia [Mathematics Department Mississippi State University, USA Syarahmadian@math.msstate.edu (United States)

2015-10-22

In this paper a new mathematical model for the population of tumor growth treated by radiation is proposed. The cells dynamics population in each state and the dynamics of whole tumor population are studied. Furthermore, a new definition of tumor lifespan is presented. Finally, the effects of two main parameters, treatment parameter (q), and repair mechanism parameter (r) on tumor lifespan are probed, and it is showed that the change in treatment parameter (q) highly affects the tumor lifespan.

A new ODE tumor growth modeling based on tumor population dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oroji, Amin; Omar, Mohd bin; Yarahmadian, Shantia

2015-01-01

In this paper a new mathematical model for the population of tumor growth treated by radiation is proposed. The cells dynamics population in each state and the dynamics of whole tumor population are studied. Furthermore, a new definition of tumor lifespan is presented. Finally, the effects of two main parameters, treatment parameter (q), and repair mechanism parameter (r) on tumor lifespan are probed, and it is showed that the change in treatment parameter (q) highly affects the tumor lifespan

Population Pharmacokinetics of Hydroxychloroquine in Japanese Patients With Cutaneous or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Science.gov (United States)

Morita, Shigemichi; Takahashi, Toshiya; Yoshida, Yasushi; Yokota, Naohisa

2016-04-01

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an effective treatment for patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) or systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and has been used for these patients in more than 70 nations. However, in Japan, HCQ has not been approved for CLE or SLE. To establish an appropriate therapeutic regimen and to clarify the pharmacokinetics (PK) of HCQ in Japanese patients with CLE with or without SLE (CLE/SLE), a population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) analysis was performed. In a clinical study of Japanese patients with a diagnosis of CLE irrespective of the presence of SLE, blood and plasma drug concentration-time data receiving multiple oral doses of HCQ sulfate (200-400 mg daily) were analyzed using nonlinear mixed-effects model software. The blood and plasma concentrations of HCQ were analyzed using a high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method. Model evaluation and validation were performed using goodness-of-fit (GOF) plots, visual predictive check, and a bootstrap. The PopPKs of HCQ in the blood and plasma of 90 Japanese patients with CLE/SLE were well described by a 1-compartment model with first-order absorption and absorption lag time. Body weight was a significant (P < 0.001) covariate of oral clearance of HCQ. The final model was assessed using GOF plots, a bootstrap, and visual predictive check, and this model was appropriate. Simulations based on the final model suggested that the recommended daily doses of HCQ sulfate (200-400 mg) based on the ideal body weight in Japanese patients with CLE/SLE were in the similar concentration ranges. The PopPK models derived from both blood and plasma HCQ concentrations of Japanese patients with CLE/SLE were developed and validated. Based on this study, the dosage regimens of HCQ sulfate for Japanese patients with CLE/SLE should be calculated using the individual ideal body weight.

FOCUS: a fire management planning system -- final report

Science.gov (United States)

Frederick W. Bratten; James B. Davis; George T. Flatman; Jerold W. Keith; Stanley R. Rapp; Theodore G. Storey

1981-01-01

FOCUS (Fire Operational Characteristics Using Simulation) is a computer simulation model for evaluating alternative fire management plans. This final report provides a broad overview of the FOCUS system, describes two major modules-fire suppression and cost, explains the role in the system of gaming large fires, and outlines the support programs and ways of...

Monitoring the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines into West Africa: design and implementation of a population-based surveillance system.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Grant A Mackenzie

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Routine use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs in developing countries is expected to lead to a significant reduction in childhood deaths. However, PCVs have been associated with replacement disease with non-vaccine serotypes. We established a population-based surveillance system to document the direct and indirect impact of PCVs on the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD and radiological pneumonia in those aged 2 months and older in The Gambia, and to monitor changes in serotype-specific IPD. Here we describe how this surveillance system was set up and is being operated as a partnership between the Medical Research Council Unit and the Gambian Government. This surveillance system is expected to provide crucial information for immunisation policy and serves as a potential model for those introducing routine PCV vaccination in diverse settings.

Forging a Frailty-Ready Healthcare System to Meet Population Ageing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Wee Shiong; Wong, Sweet Fun; Leong, Ian; Choo, Philip; Pang, Weng Sun

2017-11-24

The beginning of the 21st century has seen health systems worldwide struggling to deliver quality healthcare amidst challenges posed by ageing populations. The increasing prevalence of frailty with older age and accompanying complexities in physical, cognitive, social and psychological dimensions renders the present modus operandi of fragmented, facility-centric, doctor-based, and illness-centered care delivery as clearly unsustainable. In line with the public health framework for action in the World Health Organization's World Health and Ageing Report, meeting these challenges will require a systemic reform of healthcare delivery that is integrated, patient-centric, team-based, and health-centered. These reforms can be achieved through building partnerships and relationships that engage, empower, and activate patients and their support systems. To meet the challenges of population ageing, Singapore has reorganised its public healthcare into regional healthcare systems (RHSs) aimed at improving population health and the experience of care, and reducing costs. This paper will describe initiatives within the RHS frameworks of the National Health Group (NHG) and the Alexandra Health System (AHS) to forge a frailty-ready healthcare system across the spectrum, which includes the well healthy ("living well"), the well unhealthy ("living with illness"), the unwell unhealthy ("living with frailty"), and the end-of-life (EoL) ("dying well"). For instance, the AHS has adopted a community-centered population health management strategy in older housing estates such as Yishun to build a geographically-based care ecosystem to support the self-management of chronic disease through projects such as "wellness kampungs" and "share-a-pot". A joint initiative by the Lien Foundation and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital aims to launch dementia-friendly communities across the island by building a network comprising community partners, businesses, and members of the public. At the National

Drainage facility management system : final report, June 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

This research project identified requirements for a drainage facility management system for the Oregon Department of Transportation. It also estimated the personnel resources needed to collect the inventory to populate such a system with data. A tota...

A two-stage cluster sampling method using gridded population data, a GIS, and Google EarthTM imagery in a population-based mortality survey in Iraq

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Galway LP

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Mortality estimates can measure and monitor the impacts of conflict on a population, guide humanitarian efforts, and help to better understand the public health impacts of conflict. Vital statistics registration and surveillance systems are rarely functional in conflict settings, posing a challenge of estimating mortality using retrospective population-based surveys. Results We present a two-stage cluster sampling method for application in population-based mortality surveys. The sampling method utilizes gridded population data and a geographic information system (GIS to select clusters in the first sampling stage and Google Earth TM imagery and sampling grids to select households in the second sampling stage. The sampling method is implemented in a household mortality study in Iraq in 2011. Factors affecting feasibility and methodological quality are described. Conclusion Sampling is a challenge in retrospective population-based mortality studies and alternatives that improve on the conventional approaches are needed. The sampling strategy presented here was designed to generate a representative sample of the Iraqi population while reducing the potential for bias and considering the context specific challenges of the study setting. This sampling strategy, or variations on it, are adaptable and should be considered and tested in other conflict settings.

DYNAMICS OF Cercospora zeina POPULATIONS IN MAIZE-BASED ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ACSS

DYNAMICS OFCercospora zeina POPULATIONS IN MAIZE-BASED AGRO- ..... Population differentiation of Cercospora zeina in three districts of Uganda based on analysis of molecular variance ..... interactions: The example of the Erysiphe.

Population data and mutation rates of 19 STR loci in seven provinces from China based on Goldeneye™ DNA ID System 20A.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qiu-Ling; Chen, Ye-Fei; Huang, Xiao-Ling; Liu, Kai-Yan; Zhao, Hu; Lu, De-Jian

2017-05-01

Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is a primary tool in forensic casework. Population data and mutation rates of STRs are very important for paternity testing and forensic genetics. However, the population data and mutation rates of STRs in Han nationality based on large samples have still not been fully described in China. In this study, the allelic frequencies, forensic parameters, and mutation rate of 19 STR loci (D19S433, D5S818, D21S11, D18S51, D6S1043, D3S1358, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSFIPO, PentaD, vWA, D8S1179, TPOX, Penta E, TH01, D12S391, D2S1338, and FGA) based on the Goldeneye™ DNA ID System 20A in Southern China Han nationality among seven provinces were investigated. Furthermore, population stratification of Southern China Han nationality among seven provinces was established. The multidimensional scaling (MDS) plot based on genetic distances (Fst) showed that the studied populations can be clustered into two major groups. However, relationships among populations were weak (Fst < 0.0043). A total of 376 cases of mutation were detected from the 19 selected loci in 15,396 meioses. The average mutation rate for the 19 loci was estimated to be 1.3 × 10 -3 per meiosis. The mutation was mainly single step; the paternal mutation rate was higher than the maternal; and paternal mutation rate increases with paternal age.

Planning a World Wide Web based design computer system supporting a collaborative design process

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Lars Schiøtt

1996-01-01

An early planning of a WWW-based CAD-system is the major of this publication. Different approaches are discussed and the final "solution" for the system is described in a general way.......An early planning of a WWW-based CAD-system is the major of this publication. Different approaches are discussed and the final "solution" for the system is described in a general way....

Designing the central knowledge base for the purposes of final works in architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksić Ljiljana

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The solution for many issues related to the selection of construction products, currently present on the market, could be a Central knowledge base, consisting of verified and reliable data of construction products. Beside previous participants: investor, architect and contractor, that were involved in the processes of design and construction, herein is equally introduced manufacturer construction materials and products. The Central knowledge base consists of: a catalog sheets of the graphics base, alphanumeric base and base with textual data, and represents a flexible system that is subject to amendments. It is built to support architects during processes design and construction, as well as for education of students attending subject Final works at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica.

QTL mapping for combining ability in different population-based ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2013-12-13

Dec 13, 2013 ... ability and for geneticists to research the genetic basis of combining ability. [Li L., Sun C., ... population-based NCII designs by a simulation study. J. Genet. ... combining ability could also be applied to other population- based NCII ... was to estimate how different base populations, sample sizes, heritability ...

Managing incidental findings in population based biobank research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Berge Solberg

2012-04-01

Full Text Available With the introduction of whole genome sequencing in medical research, the debate on how to handle incidental findings is becoming omnipresent. Much of the literature on the topic so far, seems to defend the researcher’s duty to inform, the participant’s right to know combined with a thorough informed consent in order to protect and secure high ethical standards in research. In this paper, we argue that this ethical response to incidental findings and whole genome sequencing is appropriate in a clinical context, in what we call therapeutic research. However, we further argue, that it is rather inappropriate in basic research, like the research going on in public health oriented population based biobanks. Our argument is based on two premises: First, in population based biobank research the duties and rights involved are radically different from a clinical based setting. Second, to introduce the ethical framework from the clinical setting into population based basic research, is not only wrong, but it may lead to unethical consequences. A Norwegian population based biobank and the research-ethical debate in Norway on the regulation of whole genome sequencing is used as an illustrative case to demonstrate the pitfalls when approaching the debate on incidental findings in population based biobank research.

An Artificial Intelligence-Based Environment Quality Analysis System

OpenAIRE

Oprea , Mihaela; Iliadis , Lazaros

2011-01-01

Part 20: Informatics and Intelligent Systems Applications for Quality of Life information Services (ISQLIS) Workshop; International audience; The paper describes an environment quality analysis system based on a combination of some artificial intelligence techniques, artificial neural networks and rule-based expert systems. Two case studies of the system use are discussed: air pollution analysis and flood forecasting with their impact on the environment and on the population health. The syste...

Teletactile System Based on Mechanical Properties Estimation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mauro M. Sette

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Tactile feedback is a major missing feature in minimally invasive procedures; it is an essential means of diagnosis and orientation during surgical procedures. Previous works have presented a remote palpation feedback system based on the coupling between a pressure sensor and a general haptic interface. Here a new approach is presented based on the direct estimation of the tissue mechanical properties and finally their presentation to the operator by means of a haptic interface. The approach presents different technical difficulties and some solutions are proposed: the implementation of a fast Young’s modulus estimation algorithm, the implementation of a real time finite element model, and finally the implementation of a stiffness estimation approach in order to guarantee the system’s stability. The work is concluded with an experimental evaluation of the whole system.

Implementing a Childhood Cancer Outcomes Surveillance System Within a Population-Based Cancer Registry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oscar Ramirez

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Approximately 80% of cases of childhood cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries and are associated with high mortality rates. Assessing outcomes is essential for designing effective strategies to improve outcomes equally worldwide. We implemented a real-time surveillance system, VIGICANCER, embedded in a population-based cancer registry (PBCR to assess childhood cancer outcomes. Methods: VIGICANCER was established in 2009 as an integral part of Cali’s PBCR to collect real-time data on outcomes of patients (age < 19 years with a new diagnosis of cancer treated in pediatric oncology units in Cali, Colombia. Baseline and follow-up data (death, relapse, treatment abandonment, second neoplasms were collected from medical records, hospital discharge logs, pathology reports, death certificates, and the National Public Health Insurance database. A quality assurance process was implemented for the system. Results: From 2009 to 2013, data from 1,242 patients were included in VIGICANCER: 32% of patients were younger than 5 years, 55% were male, and 15% were Afro-descendants. International Classification of Childhood Cancer group I diagnoses predominated in all age groups except children younger than 1 year old, in whom CNS tumors predominated. Five-year overall survival for all cancers was 51.7% (95% CI, 47.9% to 55.4% for children (< 15 years, and 39.4% (95% CI, 29.8% to 50.5% for adolescents (15 to 18.9 years. Five-year overall survival for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was 55.6% (95% CI, 48.5% to 62.2%. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates the feasibility of implementing a real-time childhood cancer outcomes surveillance system embedded in a PBCR that can guide interventions to improve clinical outcomes in low- and middle-income countries.

A embedded Linux system based on PowerPC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Mei; Zhao Jingwei; Chu Yuanping

2006-01-01

The authors will introduce a Embedded Linux System based on PowerPC as well as the base method on how to establish the system. The goal of the system is to build a test system of VMEbus device. It also can be used to setup the small data acquisition and control system. Two types of compiler are provided by the developer system according to the features of the system and the Power PC. At the top of the article some typical embedded Operation system will be introduced and the features of different system will be provided. And then the method on how to build a embedded Linux system as well as the key technique will be discussed in detail. Finally a successful read-write example will be given based on the test system. (authors)

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2016 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; and Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-05

This final rule will update Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor under the Medicare prospective payment system for home health agencies (HHAs), effective for episodes ending on or after January 1, 2016. As required by the Affordable Care Act, this rule implements the 3rd year of the 4-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates. This rule updates the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking and provides a clarification regarding the use of the "initial encounter'' seventh character applicable to certain ICD-10-CM code categories. This final rule will also finalize reductions to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rate in CY 2016, CY 2017, and CY 2018 of 0.97 percent in each year to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (nominal case-mix growth) between CY 2012 and CY 2014. In addition, this rule implements a HH value-based purchasing (HHVBP) model, beginning January 1, 2016, in which all Medicare-certified HHAs in selected states will be required to participate. Finally, this rule finalizes minor changes to the home health quality reporting program and minor technical regulations text changes.

Anomalous dependence of population growth on the birth rate in the plant-herbivore system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cui, Xue M.; Han, Seung K.; Chung, Jean S.

2010-01-01

We performed a simulation of the two-species plant-herbivore system by using the agent-based NetLogo program and constructed a dynamic model of populations consistent with the simulation results. The dynamic model is a three-dimensional system including the mean energy of the herbivore in addition to two variables denoting the populations of plants and herbivores. A steady-state analysis of the dynamic model shows that the dependence of the herbivore population on the birth and the death rates observed from the agent model is consistent with the prediction of the dynamic model. Especially, the anomalous dependence of the herbivore population on the birth rate, where the population decreases with the birth rate for small death rate, is consistently explained by a phase plane analysis of the dynamic model.

The first stage of BFS integrated system for nuclear materials control and accounting. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-09-01

The BFS computerized accounting system is a network-based one. It runs in a client/server mode. The equipment used in the system includes a computer network consisting of: One server computer system, including peripheral hardware and three client computer systems. The server is located near the control room of the BFS-2 facility outside of the 'stone sack' to ensure access during operation of the critical assemblies. Two of the client computer systems are located near the assembly tables of the BFS-1 and BFS-2 facilities while the third one being the Fissile Material Storage. This final report details the following topics: Computerized nuclear material accounting methods; The portal monitoring system; Test and evaluation of item control technology; Test and evaluation of radiation based nuclear material measurement equipment; and The integrated demonstration of nuclear material control and accounting methods

Operations-oriented performance measures for freeway management systems : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-12-01

This report describes the second and final year activities of the project titled Using Operations-Oriented Performance Measures to Support Freeway Management Systems. Work activities included developing a prototype system architecture for testi...

Drift compression and final focus systems for heavy ion inertial fusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

de Hoon, Michiel Jan Laurens [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2001-01-01

Longitudinal compression of space-charge dominated beams can be achieved by imposing a head-to-tail velocity tilt on the beam. This tilt has to be carefully tailored, such that it is removed by the longitudinal space-charge repulsion by the time the beam reaches the end of the drift compression section. The transverse focusing lattice should be designed such that all parts of the beam stay approximately matched, while the beam smoothly expands transversely to the larger beam radius needed in the final focus system following drift compression. In this thesis, several drift compression systems were designed within these constraints, based on a given desired pulse shape at the end of drift compression systems were designed within these constraints, based on a given desired pulse shape at the end of drift compression. The occurrence of mismatches due to a rapidly increasing current was analyzed. In addition, the sensitivity of drift compression to errors in the initial velocity tilt and current profile was studied. These calculations were done using a new computer code that accurately calculates the longitudinal electric field in the space-charge dominated regime.

Comment Response on the Final Report: Peer Review of the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pendleton, M. W.

1999-01-01

The Management and Operating Contractor established a Performance Assessment Peer Review Panel (hereinafter ''the Panel'') at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Office. The objectives of the peer review were to provide: (1) A formal, independent evaluation and critique of Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain: Total System Performance Assessment, Volume 3 (DOE 1998a; hereinafter ''Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment'') that was conducted in support of the Viability Assessment of a Repository at Yucca Mountain (DOE 1998b). (2) Suggestions for improvements as the U.S. Department of Energy prepares to develop the documentation for a Total System Performance Assessment to support a potential License Application. The Panel conducted a phased review over a two-year period to observe the development and, ultimately, to review the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a). During the development of the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a), the Panel submitted three Interim Reports (Whipple et al., 1997a, 1997b, and 1998) to the Management and Operating Contractor with recommendations and comments on the process models, model abstractions, and draft documentation for the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a). The Panel's Final Report Total System Performance Assessment Peer Review Panel (Whipple et al. 1999; hereinafter ''Final Report'') on the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a) is based primarily on the completed Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (DOE 1998a), the Total System Performance Assessment-Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) Analyses Technical Basis Document (CRWMS M and O 1998), and the cited references. The Final Report (Whipple et al. 1999) includes the major points from the three Interim Reports (Whipple et al. 1997a, 1997b, and 1998

Delay differential systems for tick population dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Guihong; Thieme, Horst R; Zhu, Huaiping

2015-11-01

Ticks play a critical role as vectors in the transmission and spread of Lyme disease, an emerging infectious disease which can cause severe illness in humans or animals. To understand the transmission dynamics of Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases, it is necessary to investigate the population dynamics of ticks. Here, we formulate a system of delay differential equations which models the stage structure of the tick population. Temperature can alter the length of time delays in each developmental stage, and so the time delays can vary geographically (and seasonally which we do not consider). We define the basic reproduction number [Formula: see text] of stage structured tick populations. The tick population is uniformly persistent if [Formula: see text] and dies out if [Formula: see text]. We present sufficient conditions under which the unique positive equilibrium point is globally asymptotically stable. In general, the positive equilibrium can be unstable and the system show oscillatory behavior. These oscillations are primarily due to negative feedback within the tick system, but can be enhanced by the time delays of the different developmental stages.

ASBESTOS PIPE-INSULATION REMOVAL ROBOT SYSTEM; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Unknown

2000-01-01

This final topical report details the development, experimentation and field-testing activities for a robotic asbestos pipe-insulation removal robot system developed for use within the DOE's weapon complex as part of their ER and WM program, as well as in industrial abatement. The engineering development, regulatory compliance, cost-benefit and field-trial experiences gathered through this program are summarized

The Final Focus Test Beam laser referene system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bressler, V.E.; Ruland, R.E.

1993-05-01

The original design for the SLAC linac included an alignment reference system with 270 diffraction gratings situated along the 3000 meter linac. These gratings have provided SLAC with a global reference line repeatable to within 200 micro meters. For the Final Focus Test Beam, this laser system has been extended and 13 new diffraction gratings have been installed. Improvements targets and the availability of new instruments allows us to evaluate the performance of the laser reference system at the 510 micro meter level. An explanation of the system and the results of our evaluation are presented

Planning Support Systems (PSS-Based Spatial Plan Alternatives and Environmental Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hee-Sun Choi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Spatial planning is at the core of national land and urban development. Many countries and cities seek sustainable development through various means such as coordinated environmental planning, environmental assessment, and internalization of environmental analysis and planning. A Planning Support System (PSS is a GIS (Geographic Information System-based, spatial decision-making support system that incorporates a variety of theories and pertinent models. This study adopted the “What if?” model to design an alternative spatial plan that includes generation of predictive scenarios and is relatively easy to use. In the cities studied, we identified a total of six scenarios based on the main drivers of development—namely, population and spatial policies. Subsequently, we assessed the alternatives for their environmental impact, preparing sensitivity maps for each major environmental issue in the target area (natural ecosystem, air and microclimate, natural disasters. One projected advantage of the “What if?” model is that its digital visualization of proposed plans may improve public awareness and involvement. Furthermore, the tool is expected to be highly useful in ensuring the objectivity of quantitative analyses. However, it is necessary to develop a PSS that is both standardized and tailored to the particular needs of each area. Finally, the development of an e-governance system will be beneficial in ensuring public access to the decision making process.

Cosmological Final Focus Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, J

2004-01-01

We develop the many striking parallels between the dynamics of light streams from distant galaxies and particle beams in accelerator final focus systems. Notably the deflections of light by mass clumps are identical to the kicks arising from the long-range beam-beam interactions of two counter-rotating particle beams (known as parasitic crossings). These deflections have sextupolar as well as quadrupolar components. We estimate the strength of such distortions for a variety of circumstances and argue that the sextupolar distortions from clumping within clusters may be observable. This possibility is enhanced by the facts that (1) the sextupolar distortions of background galaxies is a factor of 5 smaller than the quadrupolar distortion, (2) the angular orientation of the sextupolar and quadrupolar distortions from a mass distribution would be correlated, appearing as a slightly curved image, (3) these effects should be spatially clumped on the sky

Prediction of population with Alzheimer's disease in the European Union using a system dynamics model.

Science.gov (United States)

Tomaskova, Hana; Kuhnova, Jitka; Cimler, Richard; Dolezal, Ondrej; Kuca, Kamil

2016-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a slowly progressing neurodegenerative brain disease with irreversible brain effects; it is the most common cause of dementia. With increasing age, the probability of suffering from AD increases. In this research, population growth of the European Union (EU) until the year 2080 and the number of patients with AD are modeled. The aim of this research is to predict the spread of AD in the EU population until year 2080 using a computer simulation. For the simulation of the EU population and the occurrence of AD in this population, a system dynamics modeling approach has been used. System dynamics is a useful and effective method for the investigation of complex social systems. Over the past decades, its applicability has been demonstrated in a wide variety of applications. In this research, this method has been used to investigate the growth of the EU population and predict the number of patients with AD. The model has been calibrated on the population prediction data created by Eurostat. Based on data from Eurostat, the EU population until year 2080 has been modeled. In 2013, the population of the EU was 508 million and the number of patients with AD was 7.5 million. Based on the prediction, in 2040, the population of the EU will be 524 million and the number of patients with AD will be 13.1 million. By the year 2080, the EU population will be 520 million and the number of patients with AD will be 13.7 million. System dynamics modeling approach has been used for the prediction of the number of patients with AD in the EU population till the year 2080. These results can be used to determine the economic burden of the treatment of these patients. With different input data, the simulation can be used also for the different regions as well as for different noncontagious disease predictions.

Automation of GIS-Based Population Data-Collection for Transportation Risk Analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MILLS, G. SCOTT; NEUHAUSER, SIEGLINDE

1999-01-01

Estimation of the potential radiological risks associated with highway transport of radioactive materials (RAM) requires input data describing population densities adjacent to all portions of the route to be traveled. Previously, aggregated risks for entire multi-state routes were adequately estimated from population data with low geographic resolution. Current demands for geographically-specific risk estimates require similar increases in resolution of population density adjacent to route segments. With the advent of commercial geographic information systems (GISs) and databases describing highways, U.S. Census Blocks, and other information that is geographically distributed, it became feasible to determine and tabulate population characteristics along transportation routes with 1-kilometer resolution. This report describes an automated method of collecting population data adjacent to route segments (for calculation of incident-free doses) based on a commercial GIS. It also describes a statistical method of resolving remaining resolution issues, and an adaptation of the automation method to collection of data on population under a hypothetical plume of contamination resulting from a potential transportation accident

Dynamical systems in population biology

CERN Document Server

Zhao, Xiao-Qiang

2017-01-01

This research monograph provides an introduction to the theory of nonautonomous semiflows with applications to population dynamics. It develops dynamical system approaches to various evolutionary equations such as difference, ordinary, functional, and partial differential equations, and pays more attention to periodic and almost periodic phenomena. The presentation includes persistence theory, monotone dynamics, periodic and almost periodic semiflows, basic reproduction ratios, traveling waves, and global analysis of prototypical population models in ecology and epidemiology. Research mathematicians working with nonlinear dynamics, particularly those interested in applications to biology, will find this book useful. It may also be used as a textbook or as supplementary reading for a graduate special topics course on the theory and applications of dynamical systems. Dr. Xiao-Qiang Zhao is a University Research Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. His main research interests involve applied...

Anxiety disorders in young people: a population-based study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaíse Campos Mondin

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To assess the prevalence of anxiety disorders and associated factors in young adults. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 years randomly selected from 89 census-based sectors to ensure an adequate sample size. Household selection within the sectors was performed according to a systematic sampling process. Anxiety disorders were assessed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI. The final sample comprised 1,560 young adults. Results: Of the participants who were diagnosed with anxiety disorders, 12.3% had agoraphobia, 9.7% had generalised anxiety disorder, 4.0% had social phobia, 3.3% had obsessive-compulsive disorder, 2.5% had panic disorder, and 2.1% had post-traumatic stress disorder; only 23.8% had received any previous treatment. Anxiety disorders were associated with sex, socioeconomic status, psychiatric problems in parents, alcohol abuse, and tobacco use. Conclusions: The identification of factors associated with anxiety disorders in young people enables us to develop intervention strategies. Anxiety disorders are not only highly prevalent but are also associated with significant functional impairment, significant reductions in quality of life, lower productivity, and higher rates of comorbidities.

Are individual based models a suitable approach to estimate population vulnerability? - a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eva Maria Griebeler

2011-04-01

Full Text Available European populations of the Large Blue Butterfly Maculinea arion have experienced severe declines in the last decades, especially in the northern part of the species range. This endangered lycaenid butterfly needs two resources for development: flower buds of specific plants (Thymus spp., Origanum vulgare, on which young caterpillars briefly feed, and red ants of the genus Myrmica, whose nests support caterpillars during a prolonged final instar. I present an analytically solvable deterministic model to estimate the vulnerability of populations of M. arion. Results obtained from the sensitivity analysis of this mathematical model (MM are contrasted to the respective results that had been derived from a spatially explicit individual based model (IBM for this butterfly. I demonstrate that details in landscape configuration which are neglected by the MM but are easily taken into consideration by the IBM result in a different degree of intraspecific competition of caterpillars on flower buds and within host ant nests. The resulting differences in mortalities of caterpillars lead to erroneous estimates of the extinction risk of a butterfly population living in habitat with low food plant coverage and low abundance in host ant nests. This observation favors the use of an individual based modeling approach over the deterministic approach at least for the management of this threatened butterfly.

Expanded studies of linear collider final focus systems at the Final Focus Test Beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tenenbaum, P.G.

1995-12-01

In order to meet their luminosity goals, linear colliders operating in the center-of-mass energy range from 3,50 to 1,500 GeV will need to deliver beams which are as small as a few Manometers tall, with x:y aspect ratios as large as 100. The Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) is a prototype for the final focus demanded by these colliders: its purpose is to provide demagnification equivalent to those in the future linear collider, which corresponds to a focused spot size in the FFTB of 1.7 microns (horizontal) by 60 manometers (vertical). In order to achieve the desired spot sizes, the FFTB beam optics must be tuned to eliminate aberrations and other errors, and to ensure that the optics conform to the desired final conditions and the measured initial conditions of the beam. Using a combination of incoming-beam diagnostics. beam-based local diagnostics, and global tuning algorithms, the FFTB beam size has been reduced to a stable final size of 1.7 microns by 70 manometers. In addition, the chromatic properties of the FFTB have been studied using two techniques and found to be acceptable. Descriptions of the hardware and techniques used in these studies are presented, along with results and suggestions for future research

Expanded studies of linear collider final focus systems at the Final Focus Test Beam

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tenenbaum, Peter Gregory [Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

1995-12-01

In order to meet their luminosity goals, linear colliders operating in the center-of-mass energy range from 3,50 to 1,500 GeV will need to deliver beams which are as small as a few Manometers tall, with x:y aspect ratios as large as 100. The Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) is a prototype for the final focus demanded by these colliders: its purpose is to provide demagnification equivalent to those in the future linear collider, which corresponds to a focused spot size in the FFTB of 1.7 microns (horizontal) by 60 manometers (vertical). In order to achieve the desired spot sizes, the FFTB beam optics must be tuned to eliminate aberrations and other errors, and to ensure that the optics conform to the desired final conditions and the measured initial conditions of the beam. Using a combination of incoming-beam diagnostics. beam-based local diagnostics, and global tuning algorithms, the FFTB beam size has been reduced to a stable final size of 1.7 microns by 70 manometers. In addition, the chromatic properties of the FFTB have been studied using two techniques and found to be acceptable. Descriptions of the hardware and techniques used in these studies are presented, along with results and suggestions for future research.

Dynamic Mechanism of Population Transfer and its Effect on Food Industries Credit Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhang Yanli

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Population transfer is a complicated social phenomenon which concerns the development of national welfare and people's livelihood and the credit system of the food production and processing industry. This study investigated the dynamic mechanism of population transfer and its effect on the food processing industry, applying theories like urbanization theory, regional imbalanced development theory, regional balanced development theory, comprehensive and coordinated development of urban and rural areas theory. Based on the practical situation of Henan province, the study offered some countermeasure suggestions for the existing problems in the credit systems of the food industry in Henan and discussed how to establish appropriate credit systems, thus to help food security and sustainable development of Henan.

Experience-based utility and own health state valuation for a health state classification system: why and how to do it.

Science.gov (United States)

Brazier, John; Rowen, Donna; Karimi, Milad; Peasgood, Tessa; Tsuchiya, Aki; Ratcliffe, Julie

2017-10-11

In the estimation of population value sets for health state classification systems such as the EuroQOL five dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D), there is increasing interest in asking respondents to value their own health state, sometimes referred to as "experience-based utility values" or, more correctly, own rather than hypothetical health states. Own health state values differ to hypothetical health state values, and this may be attributable to many reasons. This paper critically examines whose values matter; why there is a difference between own and hypothetical values; how to measure own health state values; and why to use own health state values. Finally, the paper examines other ways that own health state values can be taken into account, such as including the use of informed general population preferences that may better take into account experience-based values.

Scenario-based analyses of energy system development and its environmental implications in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrestha, Ram M.; Malla, Sunil; Liyanage, Migara H.

2007-01-01

Thailand is one of the fastest growing energy-intensive economies in Southeast Asia. To formulate sound energy policies in the country, it is important to understand the impact of energy use on the environment over the long-period. This study examines energy system development and its associated greenhouse gas and local air pollutant emissions under four scenarios in Thailand through the year 2050. The four scenarios involve different growth paths for economy, population, energy efficiency and penetration of renewable energy technologies. The paper assesses the changes in primary energy supply mix, sector-wise final energy demand, energy import dependency and CO 2 , SO 2 and NO x emissions under four scenarios using end-use based Asia-Pacific Integrated Assessment Model (AIM/Enduse) of Thailand. (author)

Beam based alignment of the SLC final focus sextupoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emma, P.; Irwin, J.; Phinney, N.; Raimondi, P.; Toge, N.; Walker, N.J.; Ziemann, V.

1993-05-01

The strong demagnification inherent in final focus systems requires local cancellation of the resulting chromaticty. Strong sextupole pair separated by a -I transform are positioned π/2 in the betatron phase away from the Interaction Point (IP) in order to cancel chromatic aberrations primarily due to the final quadrupoles. Sextupole alignment is critical in order to provide orthogonal tuning of the chromaticty and, in the case of the SLC, to limit the third and higher order optical aberrations generated from misaligned and 'nested' horizontal and vertical sextupole pairs. Reported here is a novel technique for aligning the beam centroid to the sextupole centers, which uses measurements of the criticality dependent parameter - the beam size at the IP. Results for the SLC final focus sextupoles are presented, where a resolution of <50 μm is achieved

Total System Performance Assessment Sensitivity Analyses for Final Nuclear Regulatory Commission Regulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bechtel SAIC Company

2001-01-01

This Letter Report presents the results of supplemental evaluations and analyses designed to assess long-term performance of the potential repository at Yucca Mountain. The evaluations were developed in the context of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) final public regulation, or rule, 10 CFR Part 63 (66 FR 55732 [DIRS 156671]), which was issued on November 2, 2001. This Letter Report addresses the issues identified in the Department of Energy (DOE) technical direction letter dated October 2, 2001 (Adams 2001 [DIRS 156708]). The main objective of this Letter Report is to evaluate performance of the potential Yucca Mountain repository using assumptions consistent with performance-assessment-related provisions of 10 CFR Part 63. The incorporation of the final Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard, 40 CFR Part 197 (66 FR 32074 [DIRS 155216]), and the analysis of the effect of the 40 CFR Part 197 EPA final rule on long-term repository performance are presented in the Total System Performance Assessment--Analyses for Disposal of Commercial and DOE Waste Inventories at Yucca Mountain--Input to Final Environmental Impact Statement and Site Suitability Evaluation (BSC 2001 [DIRS 156460]), referred to hereafter as the FEIS/SSE Letter Report. The Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) analyses conducted and documented prior to promulgation of the NRC final rule 10 CFR Part 63 (66 FR 55732 [DIRS 156671]), were based on the NRC proposed rule (64 FR 8640 [DIRS 101680]). Slight differences exist between the NRC's proposed and final rules which were not within the scope of the FEIS/SSE Letter Report (BSC 2001 [DIRS 156460]), the Preliminary Site Suitability Evaluation (PSSE) (DOE 2001 [DIRS 155743]), and supporting documents for these reports. These differences include (1) the possible treatment of ''unlikely'' features, events and processes (FEPs) in evaluation of both the groundwater protection standard and the human-intrusion scenario of the individual

Investigating immune system aging: system dynamics and agent-based modeling

OpenAIRE

Figueredo, Grazziela; Aickelin, Uwe

2010-01-01

System dynamics and agent based simulation models can\\ud both be used to model and understand interactions of entities within a population. Our modeling work presented here is concerned with understanding the suitability of the different types of simulation for the immune system aging problems and comparing their results. We are trying to answer questions such as: How fit is the immune system given a certain age? Would an immune boost be of therapeutic value, e.g. to improve the effectiveness...

Computer-based instruction system DIDAK and its application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gvozdjak, L.; Hanulova, L.; Jankovicova, A.; Scepanek, L.

1983-01-01

The DIDAK system has been developed for the instruction and training of specialized personnel of nuclear power plants. The structure of the instruction system comprises three processes: the author process, the instruction process and the administration process. Author processes provide the didactic data structure with instruction texts. In the text data base the instruction material is stored in 6 direct access nonformatted files. The instruction system receives information from the text data base and presents it to the student. According to the student's response it creates the preconditions for the further operation of the system which it stores in the data base for administration of instruction. This base contains data on the identification of students, on the instruction process of the individual and the instruction process as a whole. Administrative processes take place in the final stage. They provide information on the general course of instruction and make final evaluations. From the data base of products of the instruction process the said administrative processes produce output information for the teacher. The subject matter of each subject is divided into a finite number of elementary units of subject matter. Each elementary unit provides basic information on the explained subject matter and is followed by a check of the student's knowledge. In dependence on the results of this check the student either advances to a higher level elementary unit or proceeds to an alternative branch of the initial unit. (E.S.)

Portable atomic frequency standard based on coherent population trapping

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Fan; Yang, Renfu; Nian, Feng; Zhang, Zhenwei; Cui, Yongshun; Zhao, Huan; Wang, Nuanrang; Feng, Keming

2015-05-01

In this work, a portable atomic frequency standard based on coherent population trapping is designed and demonstrated. To achieve a portable prototype, in the system, a single transverse mode 795nm VCSEL modulated by a 3.4GHz RF source is used as a pump laser which generates coherent light fields. The pump beams pass through a vapor cell containing atom gas and buffer gas. This vapor cell is surrounded by a magnetic shield and placed inside a solenoid which applies a longitudinal magnetic field to lift the Zeeman energy levels' degeneracy and to separate the resonance signal, which has no first-order magnetic field dependence, from the field-dependent resonances. The electrical control system comprises two control loops. The first one locks the laser wavelength to the minimum of the absorption spectrum; the second one locks the modulation frequency and output standard frequency. Furthermore, we designed the micro physical package and realized the locking of a coherent population trapping atomic frequency standard portable prototype successfully. The short-term frequency stability of the whole system is measured to be 6×10-11 for averaging times of 1s, and reaches 5×10-12 at an averaging time of 1000s.

Clinical informatics to improve quality of care: a population-based system for patients with diabetes mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajeev Chaudhry

2009-06-01

Conclusions A clinical informatics system, used to deliver proactive, co-ordinated care to a population of patients with diabetes mellitus, can improve process and also quality outcome measures. Larger studies are needed to confirm these early findings.

Comparative Study of the Tuning Performances of the Nominal and Long L* CLIC Final Focus System at √s = 380 GeV

CERN Document Server

Plassard, F; Marin, E; Tomás, R

2017-01-01

Mitigation of static imperfections for emittance preservation is one of the most important and challenging tasks faced by the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) beam delivery system. A simulation campaign has been performed to recover the nominal luminosity by means of different alignment procedures. The state of the art of the tuning studies is drawn up. Comparative studies of the tuning performances and a tuning-based final focus system design optimization for two L options are presented. The effectiveness of the tuning techniques applied to these different lattices will be decisive for the final layout of the CLIC final focus system at √s = 380 GeV.

Computer simulation games in population and education.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreland, R S

1988-01-01

Computer-based simulation games are effective training tools that have several advantages. They enable players to learn in a nonthreatening manner and develop strategies to achieve goals in a dynamic environment. They also provide visual feedback on the effects of players' decisions, encourage players to explore and experiment with options before making final decisions, and develop players' skills in analysis, decision making, and cooperation. 2 games have been developed by the Research Triangle Institute for public-sector planning agencies interested in or dealing with developing countries. The UN Population and Development Game teaches players about the interaction between population variables and the national economy and how population policies complement other national policies, such as education. The BRIDGES Education Planning Game focuses on the effects education has on national policies. In both games, the computer simulates the reactions of a fictional country's socioeconomic system to players' decisions. Players can change decisions after seeing their effects on a computer screen and thus can improve their performance in achieving goals.

Estimation of Potential Population Level Effects of Contaminants on Wildlife; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loar, J.M.

2001-01-01

an d development of new scaling models; (2) development of dose-response models for toxicity data presented in the literature; and (3) development of matrix-based population models that were coupled with dose-response models to provide realistic estimation of population-level effects for individual responses

Omega version 2.2: Rule-based deterioration identification and management system. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kataoka, S.; Kojima, T.; Pavinich, W.A.; Andrews, J.D.

1996-06-01

This report presents the Omega Version 2.2 (Ωs) rule-based computer program for identifying material deteriorations in the metallic structures, systems and components of LWR nuclear power units. The basis of Us is that understanding what material deteriorations might occur as a function of service life is fundamental to: (1) the development and optimization of preventive maintenance programs, (2) ensuring that current maintenance programs recognize applicable degradations, and (3) demonstrating the adequacy of deterioration management to safety regulatory authorities. The system was developed to assist utility engineers in determining which aging degradation mechanisms are acting on specific components. Direction is also provided to extend this system to manage deterioration and evaluate the efficacy of existing age-related degradation mitigation programs. This system can provide support for justification for continued operation and license renewal. It provides traceability to the data sources used in the logic development. A tiered approach is used to quickly isolate potential age-related degradation for components in a particular location. A potential degradation mechanism is then screened by additional rules to establish its plausibility. Ωs includes a user-friendly system interface and provides default environmental data and materials in the event they are unknown to the user. Ωs produces a report, with references, that validates the elimination of a degradation mechanism from further consideration or the determination that a specific degradation mechanism is acting on a specific material. This report also describes logic for identifying deterioration caused by intrusions and inspection-based deteriorations, along with future plans to program and integrate these features with Ωs

PopHR: a knowledge-based platform to support integration, analysis, and visualization of population health data.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaban-Nejad, Arash; Lavigne, Maxime; Okhmatovskaia, Anya; Buckeridge, David L

2017-01-01

Population health decision makers must consider complex relationships between multiple concepts measured with differential accuracy from heterogeneous data sources. Population health information systems are currently limited in their ability to integrate data and present a coherent portrait of population health. Consequentially, these systems can provide only basic support for decision makers. The Population Health Record (PopHR) is a semantic web application that automates the integration and extraction of massive amounts of heterogeneous data from multiple distributed sources (e.g., administrative data, clinical records, and survey responses) to support the measurement and monitoring of population health and health system performance for a defined population. The design of the PopHR draws on the theories of the determinants of health and evidence-based public health to harmonize and explicitly link information about a population with evidence about the epidemiology and control of chronic diseases. Organizing information in this manner and linking it explicitly to evidence is expected to improve decision making related to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of population health and health system interventions. In this paper, we describe the PopHR platform and discuss the architecture, design, key modules, and its implementation and use. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

GDSCalc: A Web-Based Application for Evaluating Discrete Graph Dynamical Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Elmeligy Abdelhamid, Sherif H; Kuhlman, Chris J; Marathe, Madhav V; Mortveit, Henning S; Ravi, S S

2015-01-01

Discrete dynamical systems are used to model various realistic systems in network science, from social unrest in human populations to regulation in biological networks. A common approach is to model the agents of a system as vertices of a graph, and the pairwise interactions between agents as edges. Agents are in one of a finite set of states at each discrete time step and are assigned functions that describe how their states change based on neighborhood relations. Full characterization of state transitions of one system can give insights into fundamental behaviors of other dynamical systems. In this paper, we describe a discrete graph dynamical systems (GDSs) application called GDSCalc for computing and characterizing system dynamics. It is an open access system that is used through a web interface. We provide an overview of GDS theory. This theory is the basis of the web application; i.e., an understanding of GDS provides an understanding of the software features, while abstracting away implementation details. We present a set of illustrative examples to demonstrate its use in education and research. Finally, we compare GDSCalc with other discrete dynamical system software tools. Our perspective is that no single software tool will perform all computations that may be required by all users; tools typically have particular features that are more suitable for some tasks. We situate GDSCalc within this space of software tools.

Proper Antibiotic Use in a Home-Based Primary Care Population Treated for Urinary Tract Infections.

Science.gov (United States)

Gee, Megan E; Ford, James; Conway, Erin L; Ott, Michael C; Sellick, John A; Mergenhagen, Kari A

2018-02-01

To evaluate the trends associated with diagnosis and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTI) in a home-based primary care population of Veterans Health System patients from 2006 to 2015. Retrospective cohort study. Veterans Healthcare System. Home-based primary care patients treated for UTI from 2006 to 2015. None. Appropriate therapy was determined based on the McGeer criteria. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine factors leading to appropriate UTI treatment. Of 366 available patients, 68 (18.6%) were tested for a UTI. Appropriate therapy occurred in 26% of patients. Allergy to any antibiotic increased the odds of appropriate treatment (odds ratio [OR] = 5.6, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5-23.2). Flank pain and increased urinary frequency also increased the likelihood of being treated appropriately (OR = 25.9, 95% CI 2.9-584.0 and OR = 4.49, 95% CI 0.99-21.2, respectively). Antibiotics were overused for treating UTIs in the homebound population. Patients with flank pain, increased urinary frequency, and antibiotic allergy were more likely to receive appropriate treatment. Pharmacists, therefore, have a viable opportunity to increase appropriate antibiotic prescribing in the home-based primary care population.

Collection, use, and protection of population-based birth defects surveillance data in the united states.

Science.gov (United States)

Mai, Cara T; Law, David J; Mason, Craig A; McDowell, Bradley D; Meyer, Robert E; Musa, Debra

2007-12-01

Birth defects surveillance systems collect population-based birth defects data from multiple sources to track trends in prevalence, identify risk factors, refer affected families to services, and evaluate prevention efforts. Strong state and federal public health and legal mandates are in place to govern the collection and use of these data. Despite the prima facie appeal of "opt-in" and similar strategies to those who view data collection as a threat to privacy, the use of these strategies in lieu of population-based surveillance can severely limit the ability of public health agencies to accurately access the health status of a group within a defined geographical area. With the need for population-based data central to their mission, birth defects programs around the country take their data stewardship role seriously, recognizing both moral and legal obligations to protect the data by employing numerous safeguards. Birth defects surveillance systems are shaped by the needs of the community they are designed to serve, with the goal of preventing birth defects or alleviating the burdens associated with them. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Beam dynamics in the SLC final focus system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bambade, P.S.

1987-06-01

The SLC luminosity is reached by colliding beams focused to about 2 μm transverse sizes. The Final Focus System (FFS) must enable, beyond its basic optical design, the detection and correction of errors accumulated in the system. In this paper, after summarizing the design, we review the sensitivity to such errors and the ability to correct them. The overall tuning strategy involves three phases: single beam spot minimization, steering the beams in collision and luminosity optimization with beam-beam effects

Acidic deposition: State of science and technology. Report 9. Current status of surface-water acid-base chemistry. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, L.A.; Kaufmann, P.R.; Brakke, D.F.; Herlihy, A.T.; Eilers, J.M.

1990-09-01

The report is based largely upon the National Surface Water Survey (NSWS), augmented by numerous smaller state and university surveys and many detailed watershed studies. In describing the current status of surface waters, the authors go far beyond the description of population statistics, although some of this is necessary, and direct their attention to the interpretation of these data. They address the question of the sources of acidity to surface waters in order to determine the relative importance of acidic deposition compared with other sources, such as naturally produced organic acids and acid mine drainage. They also examine in some detail what they call 'high interest' populations-the specific groups of lakes and streams most likely to be impacted by acidic deposition. The authors then turn to the general question of uncertainty, and finally examine low alkalinity surface waters in several other parts of the world to develop further inferences about the acid-base status of surface waters in the United States

Y-Chromosome Haplogroups in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Population Based on 23 Y-STR Loci.

Science.gov (United States)

Doğan, Serkan; Ašić, Adna; Doğan, Gulsen; Besic, Larisa; Marjanovic, Damir

2016-07-01

In a study of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian (B&H) population, Y-chromosome marker frequencies for 100 individuals, generated using the PowerPlex Y23 kit, were used to perform Y-chromosome haplogroup assignment via Whit Athey's Haplogroup Predictor. This algorithm determines Y-chromosome haplogroups from Y-chromosome short tandem repeat (Y-STR) data using a Bayesian probability-based approach. The most frequent haplogroup appeared to be I2a, with a prevalence of 49%, followed by R1a and E1b1b, each accounting for 17% of all haplogroups within the population. Remaining haplogroups were J2a (5%), I1 (4%), R1b (4%), J2b (2%), G2a (1%), and N (1%). These results confirm previously published preliminary B&H population data published over 10 years ago, especially the prediction about the B&H population being a part of the Western Balkan area, which served as the Last Glacial Maximum refuge for the Paleolithic human European population. Furthermore, the results corroborate the hypothesis that this area was a significant stopping point on the "Middle East-Europe highway" during the Neolithic farmer migrations. Finally, since these results are almost completely in accordance with previously published data on B&H and neighboring populations generated by Y-chromosome single nucleotide polymorphism analysis, it can be concluded that in silico analysis of Y-STRs is a reliable method for approximation of the Y-chromosome haplogroup diversity of an examined population.

A High-Level Functional Architecture for GNSS-Based Road Charging Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zabic, Martina

2011-01-01

, a short introduction is provided followed by a presentation of the system engineering methodology to illustrate how and why system architectures can be beneficial for GNSS-based road charging systems. Hereafter, a basic set of system functions is determined based on functional system requirements, which...... charging systems, it is important to highlight the overall system architecture which is the framework that defines the basic functions and important concepts of the system. This paper presents a functional architecture for GNSS-based road charging systems based on the concepts of system engineering. First...... defines the necessary tasks that these systems must accomplish. Finally, this paper defines the system functionalities; and provides a generic high-level functional architecture for GNSS-based road charging systems....

Systemic Medication and Intraocular Pressure in a British Population

Science.gov (United States)

Khawaja, Anthony P.; Chan, Michelle P.Y.; Broadway, David C.; Garway-Heath, David F.; Luben, Robert; Yip, Jennifer L.Y.; Hayat, Shabina; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Foster, Paul J.

2014-01-01

Objective To determine the association between systemic medication use and intraocular pressure (IOP) in a population of older British men and women. Design Population-based, cross-sectional study. Participants We included 7093 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer–Norfolk Eye Study. Exclusion criteria were a history of glaucoma therapy (medical, laser, or surgical), IOP asymmetry between eyes of >5 mmHg, and missing data for any covariables. The mean age of participants was 68 years (range, 48–92) and 56% were women. Methods We measured IOP using the Ocular Response Analyzer. Three readings were taken per eye and the best signal value of the Goldmann-correlated IOP value considered. Participants were asked to bring all their medications and related documentation to the health examination, and these were recorded by the research nurse using an electronic case record form. The medication classes examined were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, α-blockers, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, nitrates, statins, insulin, biguanides, sulfonylureas, aspirin, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We examined associations between medication use and IOP using multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Models containing diabetic medication were further adjusted for glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Main Outcome Measures Mean IOP of the right and left eyes. Results Use of systemic β-blockers (−0.92 mmHg; 95% CI, −1.19, −0.65; Pnitrates (−0.63 mmHg; 95% CI, −1.12, −0.14; P = 0.011) were independently associated with lower IOP. The observed associations between statin or aspirin use with IOP were no longer significant after adjustment for β-blocker use. Conclusions This is the first population-based study to demonstrate and quantify clinically significant differences in IOP among participants using systemic β-blockers or

Speech Intelligibility Potential of General and Specialized Deep Neural Network Based Speech Enhancement Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kolbæk, Morten; Tan, Zheng-Hua; Jensen, Jesper

2017-01-01

In this paper, we study aspects of single microphone speech enhancement (SE) based on deep neural networks (DNNs). Specifically, we explore the generalizability capabilities of state-of-the-art DNN-based SE systems with respect to the background noise type, the gender of the target speaker...... general. Finally, we compare how a DNN-based SE system trained to be noise type general, speaker general, and SNR general performs relative to a state-of-the-art short-time spectral amplitude minimum mean square error (STSA-MMSE) based SE algorithm. We show that DNN-based SE systems, when trained...... a state-of-the-art STSA-MMSE based SE method, when tested using a range of unseen speakers and noise types. Finally, a listening test using several DNN-based SE systems tested in unseen speaker conditions show that these systems can improve SI for some SNR and noise type configurations but degrade SI...

Risk-based rules for crane safety systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ruud, Stian [Section for Control Systems, DNV Maritime, 1322 Hovik (Norway)], E-mail: Stian.Ruud@dnv.com; Mikkelsen, Age [Section for Lifting Appliances, DNV Maritime, 1322 Hovik (Norway)], E-mail: Age.Mikkelsen@dnv.com

2008-09-15

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recommended a method called formal safety assessment (FSA) for future development of rules and regulations. The FSA method has been applied in a pilot research project for development of risk-based rules and functional requirements for systems and components for offshore crane systems. This paper reports some developments in the project. A method for estimating target reliability for the risk-control options (safety functions) by means of the cost/benefit decision criterion has been developed in the project and is presented in this paper. Finally, a structure for risk-based rules is proposed and presented.

Risk-based rules for crane safety systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruud, Stian; Mikkelsen, Age

2008-01-01

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has recommended a method called formal safety assessment (FSA) for future development of rules and regulations. The FSA method has been applied in a pilot research project for development of risk-based rules and functional requirements for systems and components for offshore crane systems. This paper reports some developments in the project. A method for estimating target reliability for the risk-control options (safety functions) by means of the cost/benefit decision criterion has been developed in the project and is presented in this paper. Finally, a structure for risk-based rules is proposed and presented

Probing LINEAR Collider Final Focus Systems in SuperKEKB

CERN Document Server

Thrane, Paul Conrad Vaagen

2017-01-01

A challenge for future linear collider final focus systems is the large chromaticity produced by the final quadrupoles. SuperKEKB will be correcting high levels of chromaticity using the traditional scheme which has been also proposed for the CLIC FFS. We present early simulation results indicating that lowering β*у in the SuperKEKB Low Energy Ring might be possible given on-axis injection and low bunch current, opening the possibility of testing chromaticity correction beyond FFTB level, similar to ILC and approaching that of CLIC. CLIC – Note – 1077

A RECIPE FOR LINEAR COLLIDER FINAL FOCUS SYSTEM DESIGN

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seryi, Andrei

2003-01-01

The design of Final Focus systems for linear colliders is challenging because of the large demagnifications needed to produce nanometer-sized beams at the interaction point. Simple first- and second-order matrix matching have proven insufficient for this task, and minimization of third- and higher-order aberrations is essential. An appropriate strategy is required for the latter to be successful. A recipe for Final Focus design, and a set of computational tools used to implement this approach, are described herein. An example of the use of this procedure is given

Diversity requirements for safety critical software-based automation systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korhonen, J.; Pulkkinen, U.; Haapanen, P.

1998-03-01

System vendors nowadays propose software-based systems even for the most critical safety functions in nuclear power plants. Due to the nature and mechanisms of influence of software faults new methods are needed for the safety and reliability evaluation of these systems. In the research project 'Programmable automation systems in nuclear power plants (OHA)' various safety assessment methods and tools for software based systems are developed and evaluated. This report first discusses the (common cause) failure mechanisms in software-based systems, then defines fault-tolerant system architectures to avoid common cause failures, then studies the various alternatives to apply diversity and their influence on system reliability. Finally, a method for the assessment of diversity is described. Other recently published reports in OHA-report series handles the statistical reliability assessment of software based (STUK-YTO-TR 119), usage models in reliability assessment of software-based systems (STUK-YTO-TR 128) and handling of programmable automation in plant PSA-studies (STUK-YTO-TR 129)

Rationale for and protocol of a multi-national population-based bacteremia surveillance collaborative

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Church Deirdre L

2009-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Bloodstream infections are frequent causes of human illness and cause major morbidity and death. In order to best define the epidemiology of these infections and to track changes in occurrence, adverse outcome, and resistance rates over time, population based methodologies are optimal. However, few population-based surveillance systems exist worldwide, and because of differences in methodology inter-regional comparisons are limited. In this report we describe the rationale and propose first practical steps for developing an international collaborative approach to the epidemiologic study and surveillance for bacteremia. Findings The founding collaborative participants represent six regions in four countries in three continents with a combined annual surveillance population of more than 8 million residents. Conclusion Future studies from this collaborative should lead to a better understanding of the epidemiology of bloodstream infections.

The Epidemiology of Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders in Mexico: A Population-Based Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurelio López-Colombo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Aims. The frequency of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs in the general population of Mexico is unknown. Methods. To determine the prevalence of FGIDs, associated depression, and health care utilization, a population-based sampling strategy was used to select 500 households in the State of Tlaxcala, in central Mexico. Household interviews were conducted by two trained physicians using the Rome II Modular Questionnaire, a health-care and medication used questionnaire and the CES-D depression scale. Results. The most common FGIDs were IBS: 16.0% (95% CI: 12.9–19.5; functional bloating: 10.8% (8.2–13.9; unspecified functional bowel disorder: 10.6% (8.0–13.6; and functional constipation (FC: 7.4% (5.3–10.1. Uninvestigated heartburn was common: 19.6% (16.2–23.4. All FGIDs were equally prevalent among both genders, except for IBS (P=0.001, IBS-C (P<0.001, IBS-A/M (P=0.049, and FC (P=0.039 which were more frequent in women. Subjects with FGIDs reported higher frequencies of medical visits: 34.6 versus 16.8%; use of medications: 40.7 versus 21.6%; (both P<0.001; and reported depression: 26.7 versus 6.7%, (P<0.001. Conclusion. In this first population-based study of FGIDs in Mexico, heartburn, IBS, functional distension, and FC were common. Only IBS, IBS-C, IBS-A/M, and FC were more frequent in women. Finally, FGIDs in Mexico had an increased burden of health care utilization and depression.

Georeferenced Population Datasets of Mexico (GEO-MEX): Raster Based GIS Coverage of Mexican Population

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The Raster Based GIS Coverage of Mexican Population is a gridded coverage (1 x 1 km) of Mexican population. The data were converted from vector into raster. The...

Optimal control of quantum systems: a projection approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, C.-J.; Hwang, C.-C.; Liao, T.-L.; Chou, G.-L.

2005-01-01

This paper considers the optimal control of quantum systems. The controlled quantum systems are described by the probability-density-matrix-based Liouville-von Neumann equation. Using projection operators, the states of the quantum system are decomposed into two sub-spaces, namely the 'main state' space and the 'remaining state' space. Since the control energy is limited, a solution for optimizing the external control force is proposed in which the main state is brought to the desired main state at a certain target time, while the population of the remaining state is simultaneously suppressed in order to diminish its effects on the final population of the main state. The optimization problem is formulated by maximizing a general cost functional of states and control force. An efficient algorithm is developed to solve the optimization problem. Finally, using the hydrogen fluoride (HF) molecular population transfer problem as an illustrative example, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme for a quantum system initially in a mixed state or in a pure state is investigated through numerical simulations

Nationwide and population-based prescription patterns in bipolar disorder

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kessing, Lars Vedel; Vradi, Eleni; Andersen, Per Kragh

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the present study was to describe prescription patterns and changes in these patterns over the last decade for patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder in mental healthcare, using population-based and nationwide data, and to relate the findings to recommendations from...... international guidelines. METHODS: A population-based, nationwide study was carried out. It included register-based longitudinal data on all patients with a first-ever contact with mental healthcare with a diagnosis of mania/bipolar disorder from the entire Danish population, and all prescription data...

Fetal size monitoring and birth-weight prediction: a new population-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Gjessing, H K; Grøttum, P; Økland, I; Eik-Nes, S H

2017-04-01

To develop a complete, population-based system for ultrasound-based fetal size monitoring and birth-weight prediction for use in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Using 31 516 ultrasound examinations from a population-based Norwegian clinical database, we constructed fetal size charts for biparietal diameter, femur length and abdominal circumference from 24 to 42 weeks' gestation. A reference curve of median birth weight for gestational age was estimated using 45 037 birth weights. We determined how individual deviations from the expected ultrasound measures predicted individual percentage deviations from expected birth weight. The predictive quality was assessed by explained variance of birth weight and receiver-operating characteristics curves for prediction of small-for-gestational age. A curve for intrauterine estimated fetal weight was constructed. Charts were smoothed using the gamlss non-linear regression method. The population-based approach, using bias-free ultrasound gestational age, produces stable estimates of size-for-age and weight-for-age curves in the range 24-42 weeks' gestation. There is a close correspondence between percentage deviations and percentiles of birth weight by gestational age, making it easy to convert between the two. The variance of birth weight that can be 'explained' by ultrasound increases from 8% at 20 weeks up to 67% around term. Intrauterine estimated fetal weight is 0-106 g higher than median birth weight in the preterm period. The new population-based birth-weight prediction model provides a simple summary measure, the 'percentage birth-weight deviation', to be used for fetal size monitoring throughout the third trimester. Predictive quality of the model can be measured directly from the population data. The model computes both median observed birth weight and intrauterine estimated fetal weight. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Copyright © 2016 ISUOG. Published by John

Agent-Based Modeling in Systems Pharmacology.

Science.gov (United States)

Cosgrove, J; Butler, J; Alden, K; Read, M; Kumar, V; Cucurull-Sanchez, L; Timmis, J; Coles, M

2015-11-01

Modeling and simulation (M&S) techniques provide a platform for knowledge integration and hypothesis testing to gain insights into biological systems that would not be possible a priori. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is an M&S technique that focuses on describing individual components rather than homogenous populations. This tutorial introduces ABM to systems pharmacologists, using relevant case studies to highlight how ABM-specific strengths have yielded success in the area of preclinical mechanistic modeling.

Population-Based Analysis of Histologically Confirmed Melanocytic Proliferations Using Natural Language Processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Lott, Jason P; Boudreau, Denise M; Barnhill, Ray L; Weinstock, Martin A; Knopp, Eleanor; Piepkorn, Michael W; Elder, David E; Knezevich, Steven R; Baer, Andrew; Tosteson, Anna N A; Elmore, Joann G

2018-01-01

Population-based information on the distribution of histologic diagnoses associated with skin biopsies is unknown. Electronic medical records (EMRs) enable automated extraction of pathology report data to improve our epidemiologic understanding of skin biopsy outcomes, specifically those of melanocytic origin. To determine population-based frequencies and distribution of histologically confirmed melanocytic lesions. A natural language processing (NLP)-based analysis of EMR pathology reports of adult patients who underwent skin biopsies at a large integrated health care delivery system in the US Pacific Northwest from January 1, 2007, through December 31, 2012. Skin biopsy procedure. The primary outcome was histopathologic diagnosis, obtained using an NLP-based system to process EMR pathology reports. We determined the percentage of diagnoses classified as melanocytic vs nonmelanocytic lesions. Diagnoses classified as melanocytic were further subclassified using the Melanocytic Pathology Assessment Tool and Hierarchy for Diagnosis (MPATH-Dx) reporting schema into the following categories: class I (nevi and other benign proliferations such as mildly dysplastic lesions typically requiring no further treatment), class II (moderately dysplastic and other low-risk lesions that may merit narrow reexcision with skin biopsies, performed on 47 529 patients, were examined. Nearly 1 in 4 skin biopsies were of melanocytic lesions (23%; n = 18 715), which were distributed according to MPATH-Dx categories as follows: class I, 83.1% (n = 15 558); class II, 8.3% (n = 1548); class III, 4.5% (n = 842); class IV, 2.2% (n = 405); and class V, 1.9% (n = 362). Approximately one-quarter of skin biopsies resulted in diagnoses of melanocytic proliferations. These data provide the first population-based estimates across the spectrum of melanocytic lesions ranging from benign through dysplastic to malignant. These results may serve as a foundation for future

A geographic information system-based 3D city estate modeling and simulation system

Science.gov (United States)

Chong, Xiaoli; Li, Sha

2015-12-01

This paper introduces a 3D city simulation system which is based on geographic information system (GIS), covering all commercial housings of the city. A regional- scale, GIS-based approach is used to capture, describe, and track the geographical attributes of each house in the city. A sorting algorithm of "Benchmark + Parity Rate" is developed to cluster houses with similar spatial and construction attributes. This system is applicable for digital city modeling, city planning, housing evaluation, housing monitoring, and visualizing housing transaction. Finally, taking Jingtian area of Shenzhen as an example, the each unit of 35,997 houses in the area could be displayed, tagged, and easily tracked by the GIS-based city modeling and simulation system. The match market real conditions well and can be provided to house buyers as reference.

Analysis of batteries for use in photovoltaic systems. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Podder, A; Kapner, M

1981-02-01

An evaluation of 11 types of secondary batteries for energy storage in photovoltaic electric power systems is given. The evaluation was based on six specific application scenarios which were selected to represent the diverse requirements of various photovoltaic systems. Electrical load characteristics and solar insulation data were first obtained for each application scenario. A computer-based simulation program, SOLSIM, was then developed to determine optimal sizes for battery, solar array, and power conditioning systems. Projected service lives and battery costs were used to estimate life-cycle costs for each candidate battery type. The evaluation considered battery life-cycle cost, safety and health effects associated with battery operation, and reliability/maintainability. The 11 battery types were: lead-acid, nickel-zinc, nickel-iron, nickel-hydrogen, lithium-iron sulfide, calcium-iron sulfide, sodium-sulfur, zinc-chlorine, zinc-bromine, Redox, and zinc-ferricyanide. The six application scenarios were: (1) a single-family house in Denver, Colorado (photovoltaic system connected to the utility line); (2) a remote village in equatorial Africa (stand-alone power system); (3) a dairy farm in Howard County, Maryland (onsite generator for backup power); (4) a 50,000 square foot office building in Washington, DC (onsite generator backup); (5) a community in central Arizona with a population of 10,000 (battery to be used for dedicated energy storage for a utility grid-connected photovoltaic power plant); and (6) a military field telephone office with a constant 300 W load (trailer-mounted auxiliary generator backup). Recommendations for a research and development program on battery energy storage for photovoltaic applications are given, and a discussion of electrical interfacing problems for utility line-connected photovoltaic power systems is included. (WHK)

CMAC-based adaptive backstepping synchronization of uncertain chaotic systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, C.-M.; Peng, Y.-F.; Lin, M.-H.

2009-01-01

This study proposes an adaptive backstepping control system for synchronizing uncertain chaotic system by using cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC). CMAC is a nonlinear network with simple computation, good generalization capability and fast learning property. The proposed CMAC-based adaptive backstepping control (CABC) system uses backstepping method and adaptive cerebellar model articulation controller (ACMAC) for synchronizing uncertain chaotic system. Finally, simulation results for the Genesio system are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control system.

Field Demonstration of Active Desiccant-Based Outdoor Air Preconditioning Systems, Final Report: Phase 3; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, J.

2001-01-01

This report summarizes an investigation of the performance of two active desiccant cooling systems that were installed as pilot systems in two locations-a college dormitory and a research laboratory-during the fall of 1999. The laboratory system was assembled in the field from commercially available Trane air-handling modules combined with a standard total energy recovery module and a customized active desiccant wheel, both produced by SEMCO. The dormitory system was a factory-built, integrated system produced by SEMCO that included both active desiccant and sensible-only recovery wheels, a direct-fired gas regeneration section, and a pre-piped Trane heat pump condensing section. Both systems were equipped with direct digital control systems, complete with full instrumentation and remote monitoring capabilities. This report includes detailed descriptions of these two systems, installation details, samples of actual performance, and estimations of the energy savings realized. These pi lot sites represent a continuation of previous active desiccant product development research (Fischer, Hallstrom, and Sand 2000; Fischer 2000). Both systems performed as anticipated, were reliable, and required minimal maintenance. The dehumidification/total-energy-recovery hybrid approach was particularly effective in all respects. System performance showed remarkable improvement in latent load handling capability and operating efficiency compared with the original conventional cooling system and with the conventional system that remained in another, identical wing of the facility. The dehumidification capacity of the pilot systems was very high, the cost of operation was very low, and the system was cost-effective, offering a simple payback for these retrofit installations of approximately 5 to 6 years. Most important, the dormitory system resolved numerous indoor air quality problems in the dormitory by providing effective humidity control and increased, continuous ventilation air

Thin-plate spline analysis of the cranial base in African, Asian and European populations and its relationship with different malocclusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosas, Antonio; Bastir, Markus; Alarcón, Jose Antonio; Kuroe, Kazuto

2008-09-01

To test the hypothesis that midline basicranial orientation and posterior cranial base length are discriminating factors between adults of different populations and its potential maxillo/mandibular disharmonies. Twenty-nine 2D landmarks of the midline cranial base, the face and the mandible of dry skull X-rays from three major populations (45 Asians, 34 Africans, 64 Europeans) were digitized and analysed by geometric morphometrics. We used, first, MANOVA to test for mean shape differences between populations; then, principal components analysis (PCA) to assess the overall variation in the sample and finally, canonical variate analysis (CVA) with jack-knife validations (N=1000) to analyse the anatomical features that best distinguished among populations. Significant mean shapes differences were shown between populations (P<0.001). CVA revealed two significant axes of discrimination (P<0.001). Jack-knife validation correctly identified 92% of 15,000 unknowns. In Africans the whole cranial base is rotated into a forward-downward position, while in Asians it is rotated in the opposite way. The Europeans occupied an intermediate position. African and Asian samples showed a maxillo/mandibular prognathism. African prognathism was produced by an anterior positioned maxilla, Asian prognathism by retruded anterior cranial base and increase of the posterior cranial base length. Europeans showed a trend towards retracted mandibles with relatively shorter posterior cranial bases. The results supported the hypothesis that basicranial orientation and posterior cranial base length are valid factors to distinguish between geographic groups. The whole craniofacial configuration underlying a particular maxillo-facial disharmony must be considered in diagnosis, growth predictions and resulting treatment planning.

A new intuitionistic fuzzy rule-based decision-making system for an operating system process scheduler.

Science.gov (United States)

Butt, Muhammad Arif; Akram, Muhammad

2016-01-01

We present a new intuitionistic fuzzy rule-based decision-making system based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets for a process scheduler of a batch operating system. Our proposed intuitionistic fuzzy scheduling algorithm, inputs the nice value and burst time of all available processes in the ready queue, intuitionistically fuzzify the input values, triggers appropriate rules of our intuitionistic fuzzy inference engine and finally calculates the dynamic priority (dp) of all the processes in the ready queue. Once the dp of every process is calculated the ready queue is sorted in decreasing order of dp of every process. The process with maximum dp value is sent to the central processing unit for execution. Finally, we show complete working of our algorithm on two different data sets and give comparisons with some standard non-preemptive process schedulers.

Development of Articulated Competency-Based Curriculum in Automated Systems/Robotics Technology. Final Report.

Science.gov (United States)

Luzerne County Community Coll., Nanticoke, PA.

The project described in this report was conducted at the Community College of Luzerne County (Pennsylvania) to develop, in conjunction with area vocational-technical schools, the second year of a competency-based curriculum in automated systems/robotics technology. During the project, a task force of teachers from the area schools and the college…

MMAS vs. Population-based EA on a family of dynamic fitness functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lissovoi, Andrei; Witt, Carsten

2014-01-01

We study the behavior of a population-based EA and the Max-Min Ant System (MMAS) on a family of deterministically-changing fitness functions, where, in order to find the global optimum, the algorithms have to find specific local optima within each of a series of phases. In particular, we prove...... a Maze function extended over a finite alphabet of μ symbols, whereas population size μ-1 is not sufficient. Furthermore, we show that MMAS does not require additional modifications to track the optimum of the finite-alphabet Maze functions, and, using a novel drift statement to simplify the analysis...

MMAS Versus Population-Based EA on a Family of Dynamic Fitness Functions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lissovoi, Andrei; Witt, Carsten

2015-01-01

We study the behavior of a population-based EA and the Max–Min Ant System (MMAS) on a family of deterministically-changing fitness functions, where, in order to find the global optimum, the algorithms have to find specific local optima within each of a series of phases. In particular, we prove...... function extended over a finite alphabet of μ symbols, whereas population size μ−1 is not sufficient. Furthermore, we show that MMAS does not require additional modifications to track the optimum of the finite-alphabet Maze functions, and, using a novel drift statement to simplify the analysis, reduce...

Use of a Web-based physical activity record system to analyze behavior in a large population: cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Namba, Hideyuki; Yamada, Yosuke; Ishida, Mika; Takase, Hideto; Kimura, Misaka

2015-03-19

The use of Web-based physical activity systems has been proposed as an easy method for collecting physical activity data. We have developed a system that has exhibited high accuracy as assessed by the doubly labeled water method. The purpose of this study was to collect behavioral data from a large population using our Web-based physical activity record system and assess the physical activity of the population based on these data. In this paper, we address the difference in physical activity for each urban scale. In total, 2046 participants (aged 30-59 years; 1105 men and 941 women) participated in the study. They were asked to complete data entry before bedtime using their personal computer on 1 weekday and 1 weekend day. Their residential information was categorized as urban, urban-rural, or rural. Participant responses expressed the intensity of each activity at 15-minute increments and were recorded on a Web server. Residential areas were compared and multiple regression analysis was performed. Most participants had a metabolic equivalent (MET) ranging from 1.4 to 1.8, and the mean MET was 1.60 (SD 0.28). The median value of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA, ≥3 MET) was 7.92 MET-hours/day. A 1-way ANCOVA showed that total physical activity differed depending on the type of residential area (F2,2027=5.19, P=.006). The urban areas (n=950) had the lowest MET-hours/day (mean 37.8, SD, 6.0), followed by urban-rural areas (n=432; mean 38.6, SD 6.5; P=.04), and rural areas (n=664; mean 38.8, SD 7.4; P=.002). Two-way ANCOVA showed a significant interaction between sex and area of residence on the urban scale (F2,2036=4.53, P=.01). Men in urban areas had the lowest MET-hours/day (MVPA, ≥3 MET) at mean 7.9 (SD 8.7); men in rural areas had a MET-hours/day (MVPA, ≥3 MET) of mean 10.8 (SD 12.1, P=.002). No significant difference was noted in women among the 3 residential areas. Multiple regression analysis showed that physical activity consisting of

Population-based estimates of whiplash injury using nass cds data - biomed 2009.

Science.gov (United States)

Storvik, Steven G; Stemper, Brian D; Yoganandan, Narayan; Pintar, Frank A

2009-01-01

Clinical investigations identified occupant-related factors that may predispose specific populations to increased whiplash injury susceptibility. However, clinical studies represent a specific patient population and are not representative of the population at large. The present objective was to analyze nationally-representative data to assess the association between gender and whiplash in motor vehicle rear-end impacts. A cohort of front-seat occupants in rear impacts (5-7 o'clock) from 1998-2007 were acquired using the National Automotive Sampling System (NASS) Crashworthiness Data System database. Outcome measure was "cervical spine strain" without fracture or dislocation, coded as 640278.1. Differences between injured population proportions were analyzed using Chi-Square test of independence. 1,973 rear impacts were selected, representing 936,439 weighted crashes from across the United States. Females accounted for 69% of the weighted whiplash injuries, and the proportion of females sustaining whiplash was 10% higher than males. Furthermore, gender was associated with acquiring whiplash in rear impacts (odds ratio for females: 2.16; 95% confidence interval: 1.5-3.1). Although NASS data is inherently weighted toward more severe impacts (i.e., tow-away collisions), this population-based study has demonstrated increased female susceptibility to whiplash injury. The importance of gender suggests that specific safety measures for female front-seat occupants should be addressed separately from males.

Brayton isotope power system, phase I. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

The Phase I program resulted in the development and ground demonstration of a dynamic power conversion system. The two key contractual objectives of 25% conversion efficiency and 1000 h of endurance testing were successfully met. As a result of the Phase I effort, the BIPS is a viable candidate for further development into a flight system capable of sustained operation in space. It represents the only known dynamic space power system to demonstrate the performance and endurance coupled with the simplicity necessary for reliable operation. This final report follows thirty-five monthly reports. For expediency, it makes liberal use of referenced documents which have been submitted to DOE during the course of the program

Evolutionary stellar population synthesis with MILES : I. The base models and a new line index system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vazdekis, A.; Sanchez-Blazquez, P.; Falcon-Barroso, J.; Cenarro, A. J.; Beasley, M. A.; Cardiel, N.; Gorgas, J.; Peletier, R. F.

2010-01-01

We present synthetic spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for single-age, single-metallicity stellar populations (SSPs) covering the full optical spectral range at moderately high resolution [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) = 2.3Å]. These SEDs constitute our base models, as they combine

Electron beam final focus system for Thomson scattering at ELBE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Krämer, J.M., E-mail: jmkr@danfysik.dk [Danfysik A/S, Gregersensvej 8, 2630 Taastrup (Denmark); Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiation Physics, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden (Germany); Budde, M.; Bødker, F. [Danfysik A/S, Gregersensvej 8, 2630 Taastrup (Denmark); Irman, A.; Jochmann, A. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiation Physics, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Kristensen, J.P. [Danfysik A/S, Gregersensvej 8, 2630 Taastrup (Denmark); Lehnert, U.; Michel, P. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiation Physics, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Schramm, U. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiation Physics, Bautzner Landstrasse 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

2016-09-11

The design of an electron beam final focus system (FFS) aiming for high-flux laser-Thomson backscattering X-ray sources at ELBE is presented. A telescope system consisting of four permanent magnet based quadrupoles was found to have significantly less chromatic aberrations than a quadrupole doublet or triplet as commonly used. Focusing properties like the position of the focal plane and the spot size are retained for electron beam energies between 20 and 30 MeV by adjusting the position of the quadrupoles individually on a motorized stage. The desired ultra-short electron bunches require an increased relative energy spread up to a few percent and, thus, second order chromatic effects must be taken into account. We also present the design and test results of the permanent magnet quadrupoles. Adjustable shunts allow for correction of the field strength and compensation of deviations in the permanent magnet material. For a beam emittance of 13 mm mrad, we predict focal spot sizes of about 40 μm (rms) and divergences of about 10 mrad using the FFS.

Electron beam final focus system for Thomson scattering at ELBE

CERN Document Server

Krämer, J.M.; Bødker, F.; Irman, A.; .Jochmann A.; Kristensen, J.P.; Lehnert U., HZDR; Michel, P.; Schrammb, U.; 10.1016/j.nima.2015.10.067

2016-01-01

The design of an electron beam final focus system (FFS) aiming for high-flux laser-Thomson backscattering X-ray sources at ELBE is presented. A telescope system consisting of four permanent magnet based quadrupoles was found to have significantly less chromatic aberrations than a quadrupole doublet or triplet as commonly used. Focusing properties like the position of the focal plane and the spot size are retained for electron beam energies between 20 and 30 MeV by adjusting the position of the quadrupoles individually on a motorized stage. The desired ultra-short electron bunches require an increased relative energy spread up to a few percent and, thus, second order chromatic effects must be taken into account. We also present the design and test results of the permanent magnet quadrupoles. Adjustable shunts allow for correction of the field strength and compensation of deviations in the permanent magnet material. For a beam emittance of 13 mm mrad, we predict focal spot sizes of about 40 μm (rms) and diverg...

Electron Beam Final Focus System For Thomson Scattering At Elbe

CERN Document Server

Krämer, J.M.; Bødkera, F.; Irman, A.; Jochmann, A.; Kristensena, J.P.; Lehnert, U.; Michel, P.; Schramm, U.; 10.1016/j.nima.2015.10.067

2016-01-01

The design of an electron beam final focus system (FFS) aiming for high-flux laser-Thomson backscattering X-ray sources at ELBE is presented. A telescope system consisting of four permanent magnet based quadrupoles was found to have significantly less chromatic aberrations than a quadrupole doublet or triplet as commonly used. Focusing properties like the position of the focal plane and the spot size are retained for electron beam energies between 20 and 30 MeV by adjusting the position of the quadrupoles individually on a motorized stage. The desired ultra-short electron bunches require an increased relative energy spread up to a few percent and, thus, second order chromatic effects must be taken into account. We also present the design and test results of the permanent magnet quadrupoles. Adjustable shunts allow for correction of the field strength and compensation of deviations in the permanent magnet material. For a beam emittance of 13 mm mrad, we predict focal spot sizes of about 40 μm (rms) and diverg...

Final focus system tuning studies towards Compact Linear Collider feasibility

Science.gov (United States)

Marin, E.; Latina, A.; Tomás, R.; Schulte, D.

2018-01-01

In this paper we present the latest results regarding the tuning study of the baseline design of the final focus system of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC-FFS). CLIC aims to provide collisions to the experiments at a luminosity above 1034 c m-2 s-1 . In order to deliver such luminosity in a single pass machine, the vertical beam size at the interaction point (IP) is reduced to about 1 nm, which imposes unprecedented tuning difficulties to the system. In previous studies, 90% of the machines reached 90% of the nominal luminosity at the expense of 18 000 luminosity measurements, when considering beam position monitor errors and transverse misalignments of magnets for a single beam case. In the present study, additional static imperfections as, roll misalignments, strength v2.epss are included. Moreover both e- and e+ beamlines are properly simulated. A new tuning procedure based on linear and nonlinear knobs is implemented to effectively cure the most relevant beam size aberrations at the IP. The obtained results for single and double beam studies under solely static imperfections are presented.

Practical reliability and uncertainty quantification in complex systems : final report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grace, Matthew D.; Ringland, James T.; Marzouk, Youssef M. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA); Boggs, Paul T.; Zurn, Rena M.; Diegert, Kathleen V. (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM); Pebay, Philippe Pierre; Red-Horse, John Robert (Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM)

2009-09-01

The purpose of this project was to investigate the use of Bayesian methods for the estimation of the reliability of complex systems. The goals were to find methods for dealing with continuous data, rather than simple pass/fail data; to avoid assumptions of specific probability distributions, especially Gaussian, or normal, distributions; to compute not only an estimate of the reliability of the system, but also a measure of the confidence in that estimate; to develop procedures to address time-dependent or aging aspects in such systems, and to use these models and results to derive optimal testing strategies. The system is assumed to be a system of systems, i.e., a system with discrete components that are themselves systems. Furthermore, the system is 'engineered' in the sense that each node is designed to do something and that we have a mathematical description of that process. In the time-dependent case, the assumption is that we have a general, nonlinear, time-dependent function describing the process. The major results of the project are described in this report. In summary, we developed a sophisticated mathematical framework based on modern probability theory and Bayesian analysis. This framework encompasses all aspects of epistemic uncertainty and easily incorporates steady-state and time-dependent systems. Based on Markov chain, Monte Carlo methods, we devised a computational strategy for general probability density estimation in the steady-state case. This enabled us to compute a distribution of the reliability from which many questions, including confidence, could be addressed. We then extended this to the time domain and implemented procedures to estimate the reliability over time, including the use of the method to predict the reliability at a future time. Finally, we used certain aspects of Bayesian decision analysis to create a novel method for determining an optimal testing strategy, e.g., we can estimate the 'best' location to

Temperatura base, plastocrono e número final de nós no malmequer-do-campo Base temperature, plastochron and final node number in yellow calendula

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joelma Dutra Fagundes

2008-12-01

Full Text Available O malmequer-do-campo (Aspilia montevidensis é uma planta herbácea perene, nativa do Sul e Sudeste do Brasil, cuja biologia tem sido pouco estudada. O objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar a temperatura base, o plastocrono e o número final de nós de A. montevidensis. Para tanto, foi conduzido um experimento em Santa Maria, RS, com seis épocas de cultivo (20/12/2005, 14/02/2006, 06/03/2006, 04/04/2006, 05/05/2006 e 08/06/2006 no delineamento inteiramente casualizado. A unidade experimental foi uma planta cultivada em vasos preenchidos com substrato comercial. O número de nós visíveis foi registrado na haste principal e nas hastes laterais de primeira e segunda ordem. A temperatura base de emissão de nós foi estimada pela metodologia do menor Quadrado Médio do Erro. A soma térmica diária foi calculada a partir do transplante e o plastocrono foi estimado para cada haste. A temperatura base estimada para emissão de nós de A. montevidensis foi de 0°C. O plastocrono e o número final de nós variam entre hastes e épocas de cultivo, com os menores valores de plastocrono e maiores valores de número final de nós observados na haste principal.Yellow calendula (Aspilia montevidensis is a perenium herbaceous plant native of South and Southeast Brazil that has been little studied about its biology. The objective of this study was to determine the base temperature, the plastochron and the final node number in A. montevidensis. An experiment was conducted in Santa Maria, RS, with six planting dates (12/20/2005, 02/14/2006, 03/06/2006, 04/04/2006, 05/05/2006 and 06/08/2006. The experimental design was completely randomized and the experimental unit was one plant grown in pots filled with commercial substratum. The number of visible nodes were measured on the maim stem and on first and second order lateral branches. The base temperature for node appearance was estimated with the mean square error approach. The daily thermal unit was calculated

Application of Gaussian cubature to model two-dimensional population balances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bałdyga Jerzy

2017-09-01

Full Text Available In many systems of engineering interest the moment transformation of population balance is applied. One of the methods to solve the transformed population balance equations is the quadrature method of moments. It is based on the approximation of the density function in the source term by the Gaussian quadrature so that it preserves the moments of the original distribution. In this work we propose another method to be applied to the multivariate population problem in chemical engineering, namely a Gaussian cubature (GC technique that applies linear programming for the approximation of the multivariate distribution. Examples of the application of the Gaussian cubature (GC are presented for four processes typical for chemical engineering applications. The first and second ones are devoted to crystallization modeling with direction-dependent two-dimensional and three-dimensional growth rates, the third one represents drop dispersion accompanied by mass transfer in liquid-liquid dispersions and finally the fourth case regards the aggregation and sintering of particle populations.

LANL environmental restoration site ranking system: System description. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merkhofer, L.; Kann, A.; Voth, M.

1992-01-01

The basic structure of the LANL Environmental Restoration (ER) Site Ranking System and its use are described in this document. A related document, Instructions for Generating Inputs for the LANL ER Site Ranking System, contains detailed descriptions of the methods by which necessary inputs for the system will be generated. LANL has long recognized the need to provide a consistent basis for comparing the risks and other adverse consequences associated with the various waste problems at the Lab. The LANL ER Site Ranking System is being developed to help address this need. The specific purpose of the system is to help improve, defend, and explain prioritization decisions at the Potential Release Site (PRS) and Operable Unit (OU) level. The precise relationship of the Site Ranking System to the planning and overall budget processes is yet to be determined, as the system is still evolving. Generally speaking, the Site Ranking System will be used as a decision aid. That is, the system will be used to aid in the planning and budgetary decision-making process. It will never be used alone to make decisions. Like all models, the system can provide only a partial and approximate accounting of the factors important to budget and planning decisions. Decision makers at LANL will have to consider factors outside of the formal system when making final choices. Some of these other factors are regulatory requirements, DOE policy, and public concern. The main value of the site ranking system, therefore, is not the precise numbers it generates, but rather the general insights it provides

LANL environmental restoration site ranking system: System description. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Merkhofer, L.; Kann, A.; Voth, M. [Applied Decision Analysis, Inc., Menlo Park, CA (United States)

1992-10-13

The basic structure of the LANL Environmental Restoration (ER) Site Ranking System and its use are described in this document. A related document, Instructions for Generating Inputs for the LANL ER Site Ranking System, contains detailed descriptions of the methods by which necessary inputs for the system will be generated. LANL has long recognized the need to provide a consistent basis for comparing the risks and other adverse consequences associated with the various waste problems at the Lab. The LANL ER Site Ranking System is being developed to help address this need. The specific purpose of the system is to help improve, defend, and explain prioritization decisions at the Potential Release Site (PRS) and Operable Unit (OU) level. The precise relationship of the Site Ranking System to the planning and overall budget processes is yet to be determined, as the system is still evolving. Generally speaking, the Site Ranking System will be used as a decision aid. That is, the system will be used to aid in the planning and budgetary decision-making process. It will never be used alone to make decisions. Like all models, the system can provide only a partial and approximate accounting of the factors important to budget and planning decisions. Decision makers at LANL will have to consider factors outside of the formal system when making final choices. Some of these other factors are regulatory requirements, DOE policy, and public concern. The main value of the site ranking system, therefore, is not the precise numbers it generates, but rather the general insights it provides.

Association between Floods and Acute Cardiovascular Diseases: A Population-Based Cohort Study Using a Geographic Information System Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Vanasse, Alain; Cohen, Alan; Courteau, Josiane; Bergeron, Patrick; Dault, Roxanne; Gosselin, Pierre; Blais, Claudia; Bélanger, Diane; Rochette, Louis; Chebana, Fateh

2016-01-28

Floods represent a serious threat to human health beyond the immediate risk of drowning. There is few data on the potential link between floods and direct consequences on health such as on cardiovascular health. This study aimed to explore the impact of one of the worst floods in the history of Quebec, Canada on acute cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A cohort study with a time series design with multiple control groups was built with the adult population identified in the Quebec Integrated Chronic Disease Surveillance System. A geographic information system approach was used to define the study areas. Logistic regressions were performed to compare the occurrence of CVD between groups. The results showed a 25%-27% increase in the odds in the flooded population in spring 2011 when compared with the population in the same area in springs 2010 and 2012. Besides, an increase up to 69% was observed in individuals with a medical history of CVD. Despite interesting results, the association was not statistically significant. A possible explanation to this result can be that the population affected by the flood was probably too small to provide the statistical power to answer the question, and leaves open a substantial possibility for a real and large effect.

SOFC/TEG hybrid mCHP system. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2012-03-15

The starting point for this project have been the challenge has been to develop a cost effective solution with long term stability. This is where a focused effort in a strong consortium covering material research, module development and manufacture as well as device design and optimization can make a real difference. In March 2010 the SOFTEG phase II project was initiated and a cooperation organization was established to implement the project as a development and demonstration project involving the staff from all project partners. The project is now completed with excellent and documented outcome. The final results by Alpcon have been demonstration as a TEG-based mCHP system calls CHP Dual Engine Power System, which will be applicable as both a standalone TEG-CHP hybrid system, but also as an auxiliary power unit and power booster for the SOFC system. However the SOFC system cannot cover the household's heat demand alone so it is necessary to combine a SOFC system together with a water heater/boiler system to cover the peak heat demand of a residential house or a complex building. The SOFTEG project partners achieved significant results that mainly can be outlined as following: 1) University of Aarhus has improved the thermal stability of ZnSb by optimizing the concentration of Nano composite material. 2) The grain size and its influence on the sintering process by spark plasma method are investigated by Aarhus University, but further work seems to be necessary. 3) The TE material is going to commercialization by Aarhus University. 4) Aalborg University has prepared simulation tools for complex thermoelectric simulation in non-steady state condition. 5) The new type DCDC interleaved converter using the MPPT system for optimal power tracing is designed, build and tested by Aalborg University in cooperation with Alpcon. This task is included overall system design, control system implementation and power electronic control design. 6) Full scale practical

Simulated coal gas MCFC power plant system verification. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-07-30

The objective of the main project is to identify the current developmental status of MCFC systems and address those technical issues that need to be resolved to move the technology from its current status to the demonstration stage in the shortest possible time. The specific objectives are separated into five major tasks as follows: Stack research; Power plant development; Test facilities development; Manufacturing facilities development; and Commercialization. This Final Report discusses the M-C power Corporation effort which is part of a general program for the development of commercial MCFC systems. This final report covers the entire subject of the Unocal 250-cell stack. Certain project activities have been funded by organizations other than DOE and are included in this report to provide a comprehensive overview of the work accomplished.

Honey-Based Mixtures Used in Home Medicine by Nonindigenous Population of Misiones, Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monika Kujawska

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Honey-based mixtures used in home medicine by nonindigenous population of Misiones, Argentina. Medicinal mixtures are an underinvestigated issue in ethnomedical literature concerning Misiones, one of the most bioculturally diverse province of Argentina. The new culturally sensitive politics of the Provincial Health System is a response to cultural practices based on the medicinal use of plant and animal products in the home medicine of the local population. Honey-based medicinal formulas were investigated through interviews with 39 farmers of mixed cultural (Criollos and Polish origins in northern Misiones. Fifty plant species and 8 animal products are employed in honey-based medicines. Plants are the most dominant and variable elements of mixtures. Most of the mixtures are food medicines. The role of honey in more than 90% of formulas is perceived as therapeutic. The ecological distribution of taxa and the cultural aspects of mixtures are discussed, particularly the European and American influences that have shaped the character of multispecies medicinal recipes.

Systematic review of the prevalence of bipolar disorder and bipolar spectrum disorders in population-based studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Caetano Dell'Aglio Jr.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the findings of a systematic literature review aimed at providing an overview of the lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder and bipolar spectrum disorders in population-based studies. Databases MEDLINE, ProQuest, Psychnet, and Web of Science were browsed for papers published in English between 1999 and May 2012 using the following search string: bipolar disorders OR bipolar spectrum disorders AND prevalence OR cross-sectional OR epidemiology AND population-based OR non-clinical OR community based. The search yielded a total of 434 papers, but only those published in peer-reviewed journals and with samples aged ≥ 18 years were included, resulting in a final sample of 18 papers. Results revealed rather heterogeneous findings concerning the prevalence of bipolar disorders and bipolar spectrum disorders. Lifetime prevalence of bipolar disorder ranged from 0.1 to 7.5%, whereas lifetime prevalence of bipolar spectrum disorders ranged from 2.4 to 15.1%. Differences in the rates of bipolar disorder and bipolar spectrum disorders may be related to the consideration of subthreshold criteria upon diagnosis. Differences in the prevalence of different subtypes of the disorder are discussed in light of diagnostic criteria and instruments applied.

Web-based Core Design System Development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moon, So Young; Kim, Hyung Jin; Yang, Sung Tae; Hong, Sun Kwan

2011-01-01

The selection of a loading pattern is one of core design processes in the operation of a nuclear power plant. A potential new loading pattern is identified by selecting fuels that to not exceed the major limiting factors of the design and that satisfy the core design conditions for employing fuel data from the existing loading pattern of the current operating cycle. The selection of a loading pattern is also related to the cycle plan of an operating nuclear power plant and must meet safety and economic requirements. In selecting an appropriate loading pattern, all aspects, such as input creation, code runs and result processes are processed as text forms manually by a designer, all of which may be subject to human error, such as syntax or running errors. Time-consuming results analysis and decision-making processes are the most significant inefficiencies to avoid. A web-based nuclear plant core design system was developed here to remedy the shortcomings of an existing core design system. The proposed system adopts the general methodology of OPR1000 (Korea Standard Nuclear Power Plants) and Westinghouse-type plants. Additionally, it offers a GUI (Graphic User Interface)-based core design environment with a user-friendly interface for operators. It reduces human errors related to design model creation, computation, final reload core model selection, final output confirmation, and result data validation and verification. Most significantly, it reduces the core design time by more than 75% compared to its predecessor

Microbial Character Related Sulfur Cycle under Dynamic Environmental Factors Based on the Microbial Population Analysis in Sewerage System.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Qian; Shi, Hanchang; Liu, Yanchen

2017-01-01

The undesired sulfur cycle derived by microbial population can ultimately causes the serious problems of sewerage systems. However, the microbial community characters under dynamic environment factors in actual sewerage system is still not enough. This current study aimed to character the distributions and compositions of microbial communities that participate in the sulfur cycle under the dynamic environmental conditions in a local sewerage system. To accomplish this, microbial community compositions were assessed using 454 high-throughput sequencing (16S rDNA) combined with dsrB gene-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. The results indicated that a higher diversity of microbial species was present at locations in sewers with high concentrations of H 2 S. Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were dominant in the sewerage system, while Actinobacteria alone were dominant in regions with high concentrations of H 2 S. Specifically, the unique operational taxonomic units could aid to characterize the distinct microbial communities within a sewerage manhole. The proportion of sulfate-reducing bacteria, each sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB) were strongly correlated with the liquid parameters (DO, ORP, COD, Sulfide, NH 3 -N), while the Mycobacterium and Acidophilic SOB (M&A) was strongly correlated with gaseous factors within the sewer, such as H 2 S, CH 4 , and CO. Identifying the distributions and proportions of critical microbial communities within sewerage systems could provide insights into how the microbial sulfur cycle is affected by the dynamic environmental conditions that exist in sewers and might be useful for explaining the potential sewerage problems.

Model validation studies of solar systems, Phase III. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lantz, L.J.; Winn, C.B.

1978-12-01

Results obtained from a validation study of the TRNSYS, SIMSHAC, and SOLCOST solar system simulation and design are presented. Also included are comparisons between the FCHART and SOLCOST solar system design programs and some changes that were made to the SOLCOST program. Finally, results obtained from the analysis of several solar radiation models are presented. Separate abstracts were prepared for ten papers.

48 CFR 1852.235-73 - Final Scientific and Technical Reports.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 true Final Scientific and Technical Reports. 1852.235-73 Section 1852.235-73 Federal Acquisition Regulations System NATIONAL..., including recommendations and conclusions based on the experience and results obtained. The final report...

Optimal Model-Based Control in HVAC Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Komareji, Mohammad; Stoustrup, Jakob; Rasmussen, Henrik

2008-01-01

is developed. Then the optimal control structure is designed and implemented. The HVAC system is splitted into two subsystems. By selecting the right set-points and appropriate cost functions for each subsystem controller the optimal control strategy is respected to gaurantee the minimum thermal and electrical......This paper presents optimal model-based control of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system. This HVAC system is made of two heat exchangers: an air-to-air heat exchanger (a rotary wheel heat recovery) and a water-to- air heat exchanger. First dynamic model of the HVAC system...... energy consumption. Finally, the controller is applied to control the mentioned HVAC system and the results show that the expected goals are fulfilled....

Genetic structure of natural populations: Final technical report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayala, F.J.

1987-01-01

We determined the LD 50 for individuals with any one of four genetic constitutions. The LD 50 was in kR units (S and F refer to the two common alleles found in natural populations and N is a mull allele) S/S 5.31, F/F 4.61, S/F 4.19, N/N 3.16. These results are as expected under the hypothesis the SOD is involved in radio-resistance and the degree of protection is a function of SOD specific activity. S codes for an allozyme that has the highest in vitro specific activity while N reduces the amount of enzyme to 3.5% of the normal level. Natural selection experiments in population cages were carried out for 13 generations. In control populations, the frequency of the S allele decreases from the initial frequency of 0.50 to an equilibrium value 0.1 to 0.2 in about 10 generations. In populations with the larvae receiving 4 KR in each generation, s reaches an equilibrium frequency of 0.6; when the irradiation was no longer applied, the frequency of S started declining, eventually reaching 0.1 to 0.2. These results corroborate the hypothesis that SOD protects against irradiation and that the degree of protection is correlated by the in vitro specific activity of the allozymes. 29 refs., 4 tabs

Increased risk of thyroid diseases in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A nationwide population-based Study in Korea.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae-Seung Yun

Full Text Available We investigated the association between autoimmune thyroid disease and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE using nationwide insurance claims data for the entire Korean population. Claims data for the period 2009-2013 were retrieved from the National Health Insurance System database. SLE and thyroid disease were identified using the International Classification of Diseases codes and medication information. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the association between SLE and thyroid disease. The study used records from 17,495 patients with SLE and 52,485 age- and sex-matched control subjects. A greater prevalence of Graves' disease (0.94% vs. 0.46%, P < 0.001, Hashimoto's thyroiditis (2.68% vs. 0.80%, P < 0.001, and thyroid cancer (1.81% vs. 1.30%, P < 0.001 was observed in SLE patients than in control subjects. Multivariate regression analyses demonstrated that SLE was significantly associated with an increased risk of both autoimmune thyroid disease and thyroid cancer (Graves' disease: odds ratio [OR] 2.07, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70-2.53; Hashimoto's thyroiditis: OR 3.42, 95% CI 3.00-3.91; thyroid cancer: OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.22-1.60. Age- and sex- stratified analyses revealed that the risk of autoimmune thyroid disease in SLE patients was increased for all age groups and the female group. An association between thyroid cancer and SLE was identified only in the 20- to 59-year-old age group and in the female group. Using a large population-based study, we demonstrated that patients with SLE are at a greater risk of developing thyroid disease than matched control individuals.

Inverse Association of Parkinson Disease With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Nationwide Population-based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Feng-Cheng; Huang, Wen-Yen; Lin, Te-Yu; Shen, Chih-Hao; Chou, Yu-Ching; Lin, Cheng-Li; Lin, Kuen-Tze; Kao, Chia-Hung

2015-11-01

The effects of the inflammatory mediators involved in systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) on subsequent Parkinson disease have been reported, but no relevant studies have focused on the association between the 2 diseases. This nationwide population-based study evaluated the risk of Parkinson disease in patients with SLE.We identified 12,817 patients in the Taiwan National Health Insurance database diagnosed with SLE between 2000 and 2010 and compared the incidence rate of Parkinson disease among these patients with that among 51,268 randomly selected age and sex-matched non-SLE patients. A Cox multivariable proportional-hazards model was used to evaluate the risk factors of Parkinson disease in the SLE cohort.We observed an inverse association between a diagnosis of SLE and the risk of subsequent Parkinson disease, with the crude hazard ratio (HR) being 0.60 (95% confidence interval 0.45-0.79) and adjusted HR being 0.68 (95% confidence interval 0.51-0.90). The cumulative incidence of Parkinson disease was 0.83% lower in the SLE cohort than in the non-SLE cohort. The adjusted HR of Parkinson disease decreased as the follow-up duration increased and was decreased among older lupus patients with comorbidity.We determined that patients with SLE had a decreased risk of subsequent Parkinson disease. Further research is required to elucidate the underlying mechanism.

Maintenance of algal endosymbionts in Paramecium bursaria: a simple model based on population dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Iwai, Sosuke; Fujiwara, Kenji; Tamura, Takuro

2016-09-01

Algal endosymbiosis is widely distributed in eukaryotes including many protists and metazoans, and plays important roles in aquatic ecosystems, combining phagotrophy and phototrophy. To maintain a stable symbiotic relationship, endosymbiont population size in the host must be properly regulated and maintained at a constant level; however, the mechanisms underlying the maintenance of algal endosymbionts are still largely unknown. Here we investigate the population dynamics of the unicellular ciliate Paramecium bursaria and its Chlorella-like algal endosymbiont under various experimental conditions in a simple culture system. Our results suggest that endosymbiont population size in P. bursaria was not regulated by active processes such as cell division coupling between the two organisms, or partitioning of the endosymbionts at host cell division. Regardless, endosymbiont population size was eventually adjusted to a nearly constant level once cells were grown with light and nutrients. To explain this apparent regulation of population size, we propose a simple mechanism based on the different growth properties (specifically the nutrient requirements) of the two organisms, and based from this develop a mathematical model to describe the population dynamics of host and endosymbiont. The proposed mechanism and model may provide a basis for understanding the maintenance of algal endosymbionts. © 2015 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Opioid system manipulation during testicular development: results on sperm production and sertoli cells population - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v33i2.5940 Opioid system manipulation during testicular development: results on sperm production and sertoli cells population - doi: 10.4025/actascibiolsci.v33i2.5940

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valdemiro Amaro Silva Júnior

2011-05-01

Full Text Available The Sertoli cell has fundamental importance to the development and maintenance of spermatogenesis, as well as it has a directly proportional numerical relationship to sperm production. The proliferative period of this cell in rats occurs between 13 days pre-natal and 21 days pos-natal, when is established the final population in adult animals. The Leydig cell can modulate the Sertoli cell proliferation during fetal and neonatal period through β-endorphin. The manipulation of opioidergic system can promote changes in parameters related to development of nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems. By the way, the main purpose of this present work was to compare the effects of the blockade of opioid receptor blocking in Sertoli cells using naltrexone (50 mg kg-1 during fetal and neonatal period in Wistar rats. According to the results, the manipulation of opioidergic system during pre-natal period reduced the total length of seminiferous tubule and Sertoli cell population in adult rats, but sperm production was normal because this cell has had a compensatory response for spermatozoids support capacity.The Sertoli cell has fundamental importance to the development and maintenance of spermatogenesis, as well as it has a directly proportional numerical relationship to sperm production. The proliferative period of this cell in rats occurs between 13 days pre-natal and 21 days pos-natal, when is established the final population in adult animals. The Leydig cell can modulate the Sertoli cell proliferation during fetal and neonatal period through β-endorphin. The manipulation of opioidergic system can promote changes in parameters related to development of nervous, endocrine and reproductive systems. By the way, the main purpose of this present work was to compare the effects of the blockade of opioid receptor blocking in Sertoli cells using naltrexone (50 mg kg-1 during fetal and neonatal period in Wistar rats. According to the results

A population-based job exposure matrix for power-frequency magnetic fields.

Science.gov (United States)

Bowman, Joseph D; Touchstone, Jennifer A; Yost, Michael G

2007-09-01

A population-based job exposure matrix (JEM) was developed to assess personal exposures to power-frequency magnetic fields (MF) for epidemiologic studies. The JEM compiled 2,317 MF measurements taken on or near workers by 10 studies in the United States, Sweden, New Zealand, Finland, and Italy. A database was assembled from the original data for six studies plus summary statistics grouped by occupation from four other published studies. The job descriptions were coded into the 1980 Standard Occupational Classification system (SOC) and then translated to the 1980 job categories of the U.S. Bureau of the Census (BOC). For each job category, the JEM database calculated the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, geometric mean, and geometric standard deviation of the workday-average MF magnitude from the combined data. Analysis of variance demonstrated that the combining of MF data from the different sources was justified, and that the homogeneity of MF exposures in the SOC occupations was comparable to JEMs for solvents and particulates. BOC occupation accounted for 30% of the MF variance (p job variance to the total of within- and between-job variances) was 88%. Jobs lacking data had their exposures inferred from measurements on similar occupations. The JEM provided MF exposures for 97% of the person-months in a population-based case-control study and 95% of the jobs on death certificates in a registry study covering 22 states. Therefore, we expect this JEM to be useful in other population-based epidemiologic studies.

Testicular cancer risk and maternal parity: a population-based cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Westergaard, T; Andersen, P K; Pedersen, J B; Frisch, M; Olsen, J H; Melbye, M

1998-04-01

The aim was to study, in a population-based cohort design, whether first-born sons run a higher risk of testicular cancer than later born sons; to investigate whether this difference in risk was affected by birth cohort, age of the son, maternal age, interval to previous delivery and other reproductive factors; and, finally, to evaluate to what extent changes in women's parity over time might explain the increasing incidence of testicular cancer. By using data from the Civil Registration System, a database was established of all women born in Denmark since 1935 and all their children alive in 1968 or born later. Sons with testicular cancer were identified in the Danish Cancer Registry. Among 1015994 sons followed for 15981 967 person-years, 626 developed testicular cancer (443 non-seminomas, 183 seminomas). Later born sons had a decreased risk of testicular cancer (RR = 0.80, 95% CI = 0.67-0.95) compared with first-born sons. The RR was 0.79 (95% CI = 0.64-0.98) for non-seminomas and 0.81 (95% CI = 0.58-1.13) for seminomas. There was no association between testicular cancer risk and overall parity of the mother, maternal or paternal age at the birth of the son, or maternal age at first birth. The decreased risk of testicular cancer among later born sons was not modified by age, birth cohort, interval to the previous birth, sex of the first-born child, or maternal age at birth of the son or at first birth. The increased proportion of first-borns from birth cohort 1946 to birth cohort 1969 only explained around 3% of an approximated two-fold increase in incidence between the cohorts. Our data document a distinctly higher risk of testicular cancer in first-born compared with later born sons and suggest that the most likely explanation should be sought among exposures in utero. The increase in the proportion of first-borns in the population has only contributed marginally to the increase in testicular cancer incidence.

Universality in exact quantum state population dynamics and control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Lian-Ao; Segal, Dvira; Brumer, Paul; Egusquiza, Inigo L.

2010-01-01

We consider an exact population transition, defined as the probability of finding a state at a final time that is exactly equal to the probability of another state at the initial time. We prove that, given a Hamiltonian, there always exists a complete set of orthogonal states that can be employed as time-zero states for which this exact population transition occurs. The result is general: It holds for arbitrary systems, arbitrary pairs of initial and final states, and for any time interval. The proposition is illustrated with several analytic models. In particular, we demonstrate that in some cases, by tuning the control parameters, a complete transition might occur, where a target state, vacant at t=0, is fully populated at time τ.

Observer-Based Robust Control for Hydraulic Velocity Control System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Shen

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the problems of robust stabilization and robust control for the secondary component speed control system with parameters uncertainty and load disturbance. The aim is to enhance the control performance of hydraulic system based on Common Pressure Rail (CPR. Firstly, a mathematical model is presented to describe the hydraulic control system. Then a novel observer is proposed, and an observed-based control strategy is designed such that the closed-loop system is asymptotically stable and satisfies the disturbance attenuation level. The condition for the existence of the developed controller can by efficiently solved by using the MATLAB software. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: A Population Based Study

OpenAIRE

Nwokediuko, Sylvester

2009-01-01

Background The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease varies in different parts of the world. There are no population based studies in Nigeria. The main objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and risk factors for gastroesophageal reflux disease in a population of Nigerian medical students. Methods The Carlsson-Dent questionnaire was administered to medical students in the clinical phase of their training at the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus. Some putative risk ...

Population Health and Tailored Medical Care in the Home: the Roles of Home-Based Primary Care and Home-Based Palliative Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, Christine S; Leff, Bruce

2018-03-01

With the growth of value-based care, payers and health systems have begun to appreciate the need to provide enhanced services to homebound adults. Recent studies have shown that home-based medical services for this high-cost, high-need population reduce costs and improve outcomes. Home-based medical care services have two flavors that are related to historical context and specialty background-home-based primary care (HBPC) and home-based palliative care (HBPalC). Although the type of services provided by HBPC and HBPalC (together termed "home-based medical care") overlap, HBPC tends to encompass longitudinal and preventive care, while HBPalC often provides services for shorter durations focused more on distress management and goals of care clarification. Given workforce constraints and growing demand, both HBPC and HBPalC will benefit from working together within a population health framework-where HBPC provides care to all patients who have trouble accessing traditional office practices and where HBPalC offers adjunctive care to patients with high symptom burden and those who need assistance with goals clarification. Policy changes that support provision of medical care in the home, population health strategies that tailor home-based medical care to the specific needs of the patients and their caregivers, and educational initiatives to assure basic palliative care competence for all home-based medical providers will improve access and reduce illness burden to this important and underrecognized population. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Shifting the lens: the introduction of population-based funding in Alberta.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Neale; Church, John

2008-01-01

This paper offers a detailed historical description of the development of Alberta's population-based funding model for Regional Health Authorities (RHAs). It focuses on key political factors that may have facilitated this transition--in particular, the role of institutions, organized interests, and ideas and values. Understanding the politics of policy change as exemplified in this case can be useful in assessing future prospects for health system reform in Canada and laying the groundwork for further comparative study.

SCPR: Secure Crowdsourcing-Based Parking Reservation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changsheng Wan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The crowdsourcing-based parking reservation system is a new computing paradigm, where private owners can rent their parking spots out. Security is the main concern for parking reservation systems. However, current schemes cannot provide user privacy protection for drivers and have no key agreement functions, resulting in a lot of security problems. Moreover, current schemes are typically based on the time-consuming bilinear pairing and not suitable for real-time applications. To solve these security and efficiency problems, we present a novel security protocol with user privacy called SCPR. Similar to protocols of this field, SCPR can authenticate drivers involved in the parking reservation system. However, different from other well-known approaches, SCPR uses pseudonyms instead of real identities for providing user privacy protection for drivers and designs a novel pseudonym-based key agreement protocol. Finally, to reduce the time cost, SCPR designs several novel cryptographic algorithms based on the algebraic signature technique. By doing so, SCPR can satisfy a number of security requirements and enjoy high efficiency. Experimental results show SCPR is feasible for real world applications.

Designing and evaluating risk-based surveillance systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Willeberg, Preben; Nielsen, Liza Rosenbaum; Salman, Mo

2012-01-01

Risk-based surveillance systems reveal occurrence of disease or infection in a sample of population units, which are selected on the basis of risk factors for the condition under study. The purpose of such systems for supporting practical animal disease policy formulations and management decisions...... with prudent use of resources while maintaining acceptable system performance. High-risk category units are selected for testing by identification of the presence of specific high-risk factor(s), while disregarding other factors that might also influence the risk. On this basis we argue that the most...... applicable risk estimate for use in designing and evaluating a risk-based surveillance system would be a crude (unadjusted) relative risk, odds ratio or apparent prevalence. Risk estimates found in the published literature, however, are often the results of multivariable analyses implicitly adjusting...

Community-Level Impacts Projection System (CLIPS). Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Monts, J.K.; Bareiss, E.R.

1979-02-01

The Community-Level Impacts Projection System includes a set of techniques for providing detailed advance information required for rational planning. The computerized system generates reports which enable the user: to describe the energy development activity in terms of its employment demands and spatial location; to estimate how many in-migrating workers will be required; to estimate the demographic characteristics of the in-migrating workers (e.g., how many elementary school children they will bring); to estimate how many additional secondary employment opportunities (e.g., employment in eating and drinking establishments and grocery stores) will be generated; to estimate what the local area's population levels in various age groups would be both with the project and without it; to estimate community population levels for both the impact case and the baseline case; and to estimate the approximate resource requirements and costs for providing additional municipal facilities and services (e.g., water treatment and distribution, wastewater treatment and collection, gas and electric distribution, police and fire protection, etc.)

Hydrological Monitoring System Design and Implementation Based on IOT

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Kun; Zhang, Dacheng; Bo, Jingyi; Zhang, Zhiguang

In this article, an embedded system development platform based on GSM communication is proposed. Through its application in hydrology monitoring management, the author makes discussion about communication reliability and lightning protection, suggests detail solutions, and also analyzes design and realization of upper computer software. Finally, communication program is given. Hydrology monitoring system from wireless communication network is a typical practical application of embedded system, which has realized intelligence, modernization, high-efficiency and networking of hydrology monitoring management.

Investigation of the Nonlinear Model of the Cellular Population System Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. S. Vinogradova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available An isolated population system is considered which consists of two types of human stem cells: normal cells and cells with chromosomal anomalies (abnormal. In the paper the nonlinear dynamic model which describes dynamics of cell populations developing in vitro is elaborated. The model allows to investigate the processes of the formation of the abnormal cells population from the abnormal cells population of normal cells as well as joint development of these populations. The model takes into account the limited resources.An important feature of the developed model is the use of biological characteristics of processes in the cell population system, such as the proportion of cells, divided over a specified time, the proportion of cells whish are not divided, and which are "lost" and which are passed in the population of abnormal cells from the normal population. This approach allows a more detailed analysis of the impact of various "primary" parameters on the evolution of the population system.Under cultivation of cell populations in vitro a struggle for resources primarily affects the processes of the cell reproduction. This is reflected in the existence of the dividing cells frequency dependence of the total population of normal and abnormal cells. For the account of such dependencies different non-linear functions are typically used. However, the use of such non-linear relationships leads to the difficulties in finding confidence intervals for the estimates of the model parameters at subsequent stages of research. At the same time, the problem of the system parameters estimating and finding of the corresponding confidence intervals for estimates can be solved easy in case when the nonlinear system is linear with respect to the unknown parameters. In the paper it is achieved due to the piecewise linear approximation of nonlinear dependencies.An important feature of the model is a different view of the right part of the differential equations system

Energy-Based Controller Design of Stochastic Magnetic Levitation System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Sun

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates the control problem of magnetic levitation system, in which velocity feedback signal is influenced by stochastic disturbance. Firstly, single-degree-freedom magnetic levitation is regarded as an energy-transform action device. From the view of energy-balance relation, the magnetic levitation system is transformed into port-controlled Hamiltonian system model. Next, based on the Hamiltonian structure, the control law of magnetic levitation system is designed by applying Lyapunov theory. Finally, the simulation verifies the correctness of the proposed results.

Oncogenic human papillomavirus genital infection in southern Iranian women: population-based study versus clinic-based data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eghbali Seyed

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Epidemiological studies on genital human papilloma viruses infection (HPVs in general population are crucial for the implementation of health policy guidelines for developing the strategies to prevent the primary and secondary cervical cancer. In different parts of Iran, there is a lack of population-based studies to determine the prevalence of HPV in the general population. The aim of this population-based study is to compare the prevalence rate of genital HPV infection among reproductive women with our previous clinic-based data, which showed a prevalence rate of 5% in women in southern Iran. Results Using general primers for all genotypes of HPV, of 799 randomly selected women, five (0.63%, 95% CI 0.23-1.55% tested positive for HPV DNA. Overall, seven different HPV genotypes were detected: six types (16, 18, 31, 33, 51 and 56 were carcinogenic, or “high risk genotypes” and one genotype (HPV-66 was “probably carcinogenic.” Conclusions In a population-based study, the prevalence of HPV infection among southern Iranian women was lower than that observed worldwide. However, our gynaecological clinic-based study on the prevalence of HPV infection showed results comparable with other studies in the Middle East and Persian Gulf countries. Since gynaecological clinic-based data may generally overestimate HPV prevalence, estimates of prevalence according to clinic-based data should be adjusted downward by the population-based survey estimates.

Comprehensive target populations for current active safety systems using national crash databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Kusano, Kristofer D; Gabler, Hampton C

2014-01-01

The objective of active safety systems is to prevent or mitigate collisions. A critical component in the design of active safety systems is the identification of the target population for a proposed system. The target population for an active safety system is that set of crashes that a proposed system could prevent or mitigate. Target crashes have scenarios in which the sensors and algorithms would likely activate. For example, the rear-end crash scenario, where the front of one vehicle contacts another vehicle traveling in the same direction and in the same lane as the striking vehicle, is one scenario for which forward collision warning (FCW) would be most effective in mitigating or preventing. This article presents a novel set of precrash scenarios based on coded variables from NHTSA's nationally representative crash databases in the United States. Using 4 databases (National Automotive Sampling System-General Estimates System [NASS-GES], NASS Crashworthiness Data System [NASS-CDS], Fatality Analysis Reporting System [FARS], and National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey [NMVCCS]) the scenarios developed in this study can be used to quantify the number of police-reported crashes, seriously injured occupants, and fatalities that are applicable to proposed active safety systems. In this article, we use the precrash scenarios to identify the target populations for FCW, pedestrian crash avoidance systems (PCAS), lane departure warning (LDW), and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) systems. Crash scenarios were derived using precrash variables (critical event, accident type, precrash movement) present in all 4 data sources. This study found that these active safety systems could potentially mitigate approximately 1 in 5 of all severity and serious injury crashes in the United States and 26 percent of fatal crashes. Annually, this corresponds to 1.2 million all severity, 14,353 serious injury (MAIS 3+), and 7412 fatal crashes. In addition

Model-based estimation of finite population total in stratified sampling

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The work presented in this paper concerns the estimation of finite population total under model – based framework. Nonparametric regression approach as a method of estimating finite population total is explored. The asymptotic properties of the estimators based on nonparametric regression are also developed under ...

Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy (ARS) Munition Classification System enhancements. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vela, O.A.; Huggard, J.C.

1997-09-18

Acoustic Resonance Spectroscopy (ARS) is a non-destructive evaluation technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). This technology has resulted in three generations of instrumentation, funded by the Defense Special Weapons Agency (DSWA), specifically designed for field identification of chemical weapon (CW) munitions. Each generation of ARS instrumentation was developed with a specific user in mind. The ARS1OO was built for use by the U.N. Inspection Teams going into Iraq immediately after the Persian Gulf War. The ARS200 was built for use in the US-Russia Bilateral Chemical Weapons Treaty (the primary users for this system are the US Onsite Inspection Agency (OSIA) and their Russian counterparts). The ARS300 was built with the requirements of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in mind. Each successive system is an improved version of the previous system based on learning the weaknesses of each and, coincidentally, on the fact that more time was available to do a requirements analysis and the necessary engineering development. The ARS300 is at a level of development that warrants transferring the technology to a commercial vendor. Since LANL will supply the computer software to the selected vendor, it is possible for LANL to continue to improve the decision algorithms, add features where necessary, and adjust the user interface before the final transfer occurs. This paper describes the current system, ARS system enhancements, and software enhancements. Appendices contain the Operations Manual (software Version 3.01), and two earlier reports on enhancements.

Commercial thermal distribution systems, Final report for CIEE/CEC

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Tengfang; Bechu, Olivier; Carrie, Remi; Dickerhoff, Darryl; Fisk, William; Franconi, Ellen; Kristiansen, Oyvind; Levinson, Ronnen; McWilliams, Jennifer; Wang, Duo; Modera, Mark; Webster, Tom; Ring, Erik; Zhang, Qiang; Huizenga, Charlie; Bauman, Fred; Arens, Ed

1999-12-01

According to the California Energy Commission (CEC 1998a), California commercial buildings account for 35% of statewide electricity consumption, and 16% of statewide gas consumption. Space conditioning accounts for roughly 16,000 GWh of electricity and 800 million therms of natural gas annually, and the vast majority of this space conditioning energy passes through thermal distribution systems in these buildings. In addition, 8600 GWh per year is consumed by fans and pumps in commercial buildings, most of which is used to move the thermal energy through these systems. Research work at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been ongoing over the past five years to investigate the energy efficiency of these thermal distribution systems, and to explore possibilities for improving that energy efficiency. Based upon that work, annual savings estimates of 1 kWh/ft{sup 2} for light commercial buildings, and 1-2 kWh/ft{sup 2} in large commercial buildings have been developed for the particular aspects of thermal distribution system performance being addressed by this project. Those savings estimates, combined with a distribution of the building stock based upon an extensive stock characterization study (Modera et al. 1999a), and technical penetration estimates, translate into statewide saving potentials of 2000 GWh/year and 75 million thermal/year, as well as an electricity peak reduction potential of 0.7 GW. The overall goal of this research program is to provide new technology and application knowledge that will allow the design, construction, and energy services industries to reduce the energy waste associated with thermal distribution systems in California commercial buildings. The specific goals of the LBNL efforts over the past year were: (1) to advance the state of knowledge about system performance and energy losses in commercial-building thermal distribution systems; (2) to evaluate the potential of reducing thermal losses through duct sealing, duct

Medicaid program; state plan home and community-based services, 5-year period for waivers, provider payment reassignment, and home and community-based setting requirements for Community First Choice and home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-16

This final rule amends the Medicaid regulations to define and describe state plan section 1915(i) home and community-based services (HCBS) under the Social Security Act (the Act) amended by the Affordable Care Act. This rule offers states new flexibilities in providing necessary and appropriate services to elderly and disabled populations. This rule describes Medicaid coverage of the optional state plan benefit to furnish home and community based-services and draw federal matching funds. This rule also provides for a 5-year duration for certain demonstration projects or waivers at the discretion of the Secretary, when they provide medical assistance for individuals dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare benefits, includes payment reassignment provisions because state Medicaid programs often operate as the primary or only payer for the class of practitioners that includes HCBS providers, and amends Medicaid regulations to provide home and community-based setting requirements related to the Affordable Care Act for Community First Choice State plan option. This final rule also makes several important changes to the regulations implementing Medicaid 1915(c) HCBS waivers.

On the development of the system of risk-based supervision in the field of sanitary and epidemiological welfare of the population and consumer protection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A.Y. Popova

2015-12-01

Full Text Available In order to fulfill the legal requirements for the transition to the new risk-based model of the state control (supervision in the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare, the methodical approaches to the classification of economic entities and activities of potential risk of injury have been developed. The risk assessment takes into account the frequency of violations of sanitary legislation, the severity of the consequences of these violations for the health and extent of negative effects, which is estimated in terms of population under the influence of the economic entity. Algorithms and methods for calculating the exposed population: workers, consumers, including consumer food products, non-food products and services; residents of settlements under the negative impact of air pollution, water and soil, have been developed. Regional and federal registries of objects for sanitary and epidemiological supervision are formed. Testing of the risk-based approaches in the regions allowed excluding the low risk harm objects when forming the audit plans for 2016, due to what the number of planned inspections all over country was reduces by more than 20 %. The basic directions of further improvement of the risk-based model of sanitary and epidemiological surveillance: its extension to the system of technical regulation and consumer protection; scientific substantiation of its volume, content and laboratory support of the scheduled inspections of objects belonging to different classes of health risk; improving procedures and methods for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of risk-based supervisory activities; creation of an effective system of risk communication between the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance, economic entities, public organizations and associations and civil society.

Costs of detection bias in index-based population monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, C.T.; Kendall, W.L.

2004-01-01

Managers of wildlife populations commonly rely on indirect, count-based measures of the population in making decisions regarding conservation, harvest, or control. The main appeal in the use of such counts is their low material expense compared to methods that directly measure the population. However, their correct use rests on the rarely-tested but often-assumed premise that they proportionately reflect population size, i.e., that they constitute a population index. This study investigates forest management for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) and the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge in central Georgia, U.S.A. Optimal decision policies for a joint species objective were derived for two alternative models of Wood Thrush population dynamics. Policies were simulated under scenarios of unbiasedness, consistent negative bias, and habitat-dependent negative bias in observed Wood Thrush densities. Differences in simulation outcomes between biased and unbiased detection scenarios indicated the expected loss in resource objectives (here, forest habitat and birds) through decision-making based on biased population counts. Given the models and objective function used in our analysis, expected losses were as great as 11%, a degree of loss perhaps not trivial for applications such as endangered species management. Our analysis demonstrates that costs of uncertainty about the relationship between the population and its observation can be measured in units of the resource, costs which may offset apparent savings achieved by collecting uncorrected population counts.

[An interesting experience on the use of information and population data bases].

Science.gov (United States)

Expósito, J; Johnson, A P

2012-01-01

In order to support decisions and analyze outcomes, the Spanish Health System has shown a great interest in developing data bases and high quality information systems. Nevertheless the use of these data bases are limited, not very systematized and, some times, their accessibility may be difficult. We describe in this review the experience in using the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science (ICES, Ontario, Canada) as an efficient model to improve the usefulness of these data bases. Under restrictive conditions of confidentiality and privacy, the ICES has the legal capacity to use several population based data bases, for research projects and reports. ICES's functional structure (with an administrative and scientific level) is an interesting framework since it guarantees its independent and economic assessment. To date, its scientific production has been high in many areas of knowledge and open to those interested, with points of view of many health care professionals (including management), for whom the quality of research is of the ultimate importance, to be able to access these resources. Copyright © 2011 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

A population-based approach to background discrimination in particle physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colecchia, Federico

2012-01-01

Background properties in experimental particle physics are typically estimated from control samples corresponding to large numbers of events. This can provide precise knowledge of average background distributions, but typically does not take into account statistical fluctuations in a data set of interest. A novel approach based on mixture model decomposition is presented, as a way to extract additional information about statistical fluctuations from a given data set with a view to improving on knowledge of background distributions obtained from control samples. Events are treated as heterogeneous populations comprising particles originating from different processes, and individual particles are mapped to a process of interest on a probabilistic basis. The proposed approach makes it possible to estimate features of the background distributions from the data, and to extract information about statistical fluctuations that would otherwise be lost using traditional supervised classifiers trained on high-statistics control samples. A feasibility study on Monte Carlo is presented, together with a comparison with existing techniques. Finally, the prospects for the development of tools for intensive offline analysis of individual interesting events at the Large Hadron Collider are discussed.

Friendship-based partner switching promotes cooperation in heterogeneous populations

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Wu, Te; Li, Zhiwu; Wang, Long

2016-02-01

The forming of human social ties tends to be with similar individuals. This study concentrates on the emergence of cooperation among heterogeneous populations. A simple model is proposed by considering the impact of interplay between the evolution of strategies and that of social partnerships on cooperation dynamics. Whenever two individuals acquire the rewards by playing prisoner's dilemma game with each other, the friendship (friendship is quantified as the weight of a link) between the two individuals deepens. Individuals can switch off the social ties with the partners who are unfriendly and rewire to similar new ones. Under this partner switching mechanism, population structure is divided into several groups and cooperation can prevail. It is observed that the frequent tendency of partner switching can lead to the enhancement of cooperative behavior under the enormous temptation to defect. Moreover, the influence of discounting the relationship between different individuals is also investigated. Meanwhile, the cooperation prevails when the adjustment of friendships mainly depends on the incomes of selected individuals rather than that of their partners. Finally, it is found that too similar population fail to maximize the cooperation and there exists a moderate similarity that can optimize cooperation.

Big-Data Based Decision-Support Systems to Improve Clinicians' Cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Roosan, Don; Samore, Matthew; Jones, Makoto; Livnat, Yarden; Clutter, Justin

2016-01-01

Complex clinical decision-making could be facilitated by using population health data to inform clinicians. In two previous studies, we interviewed 16 infectious disease experts to understand complex clinical reasoning. For this study, we focused on answers from the experts on how clinical reasoning can be supported by population-based Big-Data. We found cognitive strategies such as trajectory tracking, perspective taking, and metacognition has the potential to improve clinicians' cognition to deal with complex problems. These cognitive strategies could be supported by population health data, and all have important implications for the design of Big-Data based decision-support tools that could be embedded in electronic health records. Our findings provide directions for task allocation and design of decision-support applications for health care industry development of Big data based decision-support systems.

Development of a "Myeloma Risk Score" using a population-based registry on paraproteinemia and myeloma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ong, F; Hermans, J; Noordijk, E M; De Kieviet, W; Seelen, P J; Wijermans, P W; Kluin-Nelemans, J C

1997-01-01

Diagnostic systems for monoclonal gammopathies use bone marrow and X-ray examinations to exclude multiple myeloma (MM). Data from a population-based registry of unselected patients with paraproteinemia indicate that these tests are often done only when MM is suspected. We used 441 randomly selected

Non-Selective Evolution of Growing Populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karl Wienand

Full Text Available Non-selective effects, like genetic drift, are an important factor in modern conceptions of evolution, and have been extensively studied for constant population sizes (Kimura, 1955; Otto and Whitlock, 1997. Here, we consider non-selective evolution in the case of growing populations that are of small size and have varying trait compositions (e.g. after a population bottleneck. We find that, in these conditions, populations never fixate to a trait, but tend to a random limit composition, and that the distribution of compositions "freezes" to a steady state. This final state is crucially influenced by the initial conditions. We obtain these findings from a combined theoretical and experimental approach, using multiple mixed subpopulations of two Pseudomonas putida strains in non-selective growth conditions (Matthijs et al, 2009 as model system. The experimental results for the population dynamics match the theoretical predictions based on the Pólya urn model (Eggenberger and Pólya, 1923 for all analyzed parameter regimes. In summary, we show that exponential growth stops genetic drift. This result contrasts with previous theoretical analyses of non-selective evolution (e.g. genetic drift, which investigated how traits spread and eventually take over populations (fixate (Kimura, 1955; Otto and Whitlock, 1997. Moreover, our work highlights how deeply growth influences non-selective evolution, and how it plays a key role in maintaining genetic variability. Consequently, it is of particular importance in life-cycles models (Melbinger et al, 2010; Cremer et al, 2011; Cremer et al, 2012 of periodically shrinking and expanding populations.

Quality is the key for emerging issues of population-based colonoscopy screening

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Young Yoon

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Colonoscopy is currently regarded as the gold standard and preferred method of screening for colorectal cancer (CRC. However, the benefit of colonoscopy screening may be blunted by low participation rates in population-based screening programs. Harmful effects of population-based colonoscopy screening may include complications induced by colonoscopy itself and by sedation, psychosocial distress, potential over-diagnosis, and socioeconomic burden. In addition, harmful effects of colonoscopy may increase with age and comorbidities. As the risk of adverse events in population-based colonoscopy screening may offset the benefit, the adverse events should be managed and monitored. To adopt population-based colonoscopy screening, consensus on the risks and benefits should be developed, focusing on potential harm, patient preference, socioeconomic considerations, and quality improvement of colonoscopy, as well as efficacy for CRC prevention. As suboptimal colonoscopy quality is a major pitfall of population-based screening, adequate training and regulation of screening colonoscopists should be the first step in minimizing variations in quality. Gastroenterologists should promote quality improvement, auditing, and training for colonoscopy in a population-based screening program.

MEMS-based Circuits and Systems for Wireless Communication

CERN Document Server

Kaiser, Andreas

2013-01-01

MEMS-based Circuits and Systems for Wireless Communication provides comprehensive coverage of RF-MEMS technology from device to system level. This edited volume places emphasis on how system performance for radio frequency applications can be leveraged by Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS). Coverage also extends to innovative MEMS-aware radio architectures that push the potential of MEMS technology further ahead.  This work presents a broad overview of the technology from MEMS devices (mainly BAW and Si MEMS resonators) to basic circuits, such as oscillators and filters, and finally complete systems such as ultra-low-power MEMS-based radios. Contributions from leading experts around the world are organized in three parts. Part I introduces RF-MEMS technology, devices and modeling and includes a prospective outlook on ongoing developments towards Nano-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NEMS) and phononic crystals. Device properties and models are presented in a circuit oriented perspective. Part II focusses on ...

Application of System Dynamics Methodology in Population Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

August Turina

2009-09-01

Full Text Available The goal of this work is to present the application of system dynamics and system thinking, as well as the advantages and possible defects of this analytic approach, in order to improve the analysis of complex systems such as population and, thereby, to monitor more effectively the underlying causes of migrations. This methodology has long been present in interdisciplinary scientific circles, but its scientific contribution has not been sufficiently applied in analysis practice in Croatia. Namely, the major part of system analysis is focused on detailed complexity rather than on dynamic complexity. Generally, the science of complexity deals with emergence, innovation, learning and adaptation. Complexity is viewed according to the number of system components, or through a number of combinations that must be continually analyzed in order to understand and consequently provide adequate decisions. Simulations containing thousands of variables and complex arrays of details distract overall attention from the basic cause patterns and key inter-relations emerging and prevailing within an analyzed population. Systems thinking offers a holistic and integral perspective for observation of the world.

Municipal water-based heat pump heating and/or cooling systems: Findings and recommendations. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bloomquist, R.G. [Washington, State Univ., Pullman, WA (United States); Wegman, S. [South Dakota Utilities Commission (United States)

1998-04-01

The purpose of the present work was to determine if existing heat pump systems based on municipal water systems meet existing water quality standards, to analyze water that has passed through a heat pump or heat exchanger to determine if corrosion products can be detected, to determine residual chlorine levels in municipal waters on the inlet as well as the outlet side of such installations, to analyses for bacterial contaminants and/or regrowth due to the presence of a heat pump or heat exchanger, to develop and suggest criteria for system design and construction, to provide recommendations and specifications for material and fluid selection, and to develop model rules and regulations for the installation, operation, and monitoring of new and existing systems. In addition, the Washington State University (WSU) has evaluated availability of computer models that would allow for water system mapping, water quality modeling and system operation.

Coherent population transfer in multilevel systems with magnetic sublevels. II. Algebraic analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martin, J.; Shore, B.W.; Bergmann, K.

1995-01-01

We extend previous theoretical work on coherent population transfer by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage for states involving nonzero angular momentum. The pump and Stokes fields are either copropagating or counterpropagating with the corresponding linearly polarized electric-field vectors lying in a common plane with the magnetic-field direction. Zeeman splitting lifts the magnetic sublevel degeneracy. We present an algebraic analysis of dressed-state properties to explain the behavior noted in numerical studies. In particular, we discuss conditions which are likely to lead to a failure of complete population transfer. The applied strategy, based on simple methods of linear algebra, will also be successful for other types of discrete multilevel systems, provided the rotating-wave and adiabatic approximation are valid

Coherent population transfer in multilevel systems with magnetic sublevels. II. Algebraic analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, J.; Shore, B. W.; Bergmann, K.

1995-07-01

We extend previous theoretical work on coherent population transfer by stimulated Raman adiabatic passage for states involving nonzero angular momentum. The pump and Stokes fields are either copropagating or counterpropagating with the corresponding linearly polarized electric-field vectors lying in a common plane with the magnetic-field direction. Zeeman splitting lifts the magnetic sublevel degeneracy. We present an algebraic analysis of dressed-state properties to explain the behavior noted in numerical studies. In particular, we discuss conditions which are likely to lead to a failure of complete population transfer. The applied strategy, based on simple methods of linear algebra, will also be successful for other types of discrete multilevel systems, provided the rotating-wave and adiabatic approximation are valid.

A construction scheme of web page comment information extraction system based on frequent subtree mining

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xiaowen; Chen, Bingfeng

2017-08-01

Based on the frequent sub-tree mining algorithm, this paper proposes a construction scheme of web page comment information extraction system based on frequent subtree mining, referred to as FSM system. The entire system architecture and the various modules to do a brief introduction, and then the core of the system to do a detailed description, and finally give the system prototype.

Regression Discontinuity Designs Based on Population Thresholds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eggers, Andrew C.; Freier, Ronny; Grembi, Veronica

In many countries, important features of municipal government (such as the electoral system, mayors' salaries, and the number of councillors) depend on whether the municipality is above or below arbitrary population thresholds. Several papers have used a regression discontinuity design (RDD...

The evaluation of a population based diffusion tensor image atlas using a ground truth method

Science.gov (United States)

Van Hecke, Wim; Leemans, Alexander; D'Agostino, Emiliano; De Backer, Steve; Vandervliet, Evert; Parizel, Paul M.; Sijbers, Jan

2008-03-01

Purpose: Voxel based morphometry (VBM) is increasingly being used to detect diffusion tensor (DT) image abnormalities in patients for different pathologies. An important requisite for these VBM studies is the use of a high-dimensional, non-rigid coregistration technique, which is able to align both the spatial and the orientational information. Recent studies furthermore indicate that high-dimensional DT information should be included during coregistration for an optimal alignment. In this context, a population based DTI atlas is created that preserves the orientational DT information robustly and contains a minimal bias towards any specific individual data set. Methods: A ground truth evaluation method is developed using a single subject DT image that is deformed with 20 deformation fields. Thereafter, an atlas is constructed based on these 20 resulting images. Thereby, the non-rigid coregistration algorithm is based on a viscous fluid model and on mutual information. The fractional anisotropy (FA) maps as well as the DT elements are used as DT image information during the coregistration algorithm, in order to minimize the orientational alignment inaccuracies. Results: The population based DT atlas is compared with the ground truth image using accuracy and precision measures of spatial and orientational dependent metrics. Results indicate that the population based atlas preserves the orientational information in a robust way. Conclusion: A subject independent population based DT atlas is constructed and evaluated with a ground truth method. This atlas contains all available orientational information and can be used in future VBM studies as a reference system.

Population based reference intervals for common blood ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Population based reference intervals for common blood haematological and biochemical parameters in the Akuapem north district. K.A Koram, M.M Addae, J.C Ocran, S Adu-amankwah, W.O Rogers, F.K Nkrumah ...

Modeling of memristor-based chaotic systems using nonlinear Wiener adaptive filters based on backslash operator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Yibo; Jiang, Yi; Feng, Jiuchao; Wu, Lifu

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A novel nonlinear Wiener adaptive filters based on the backslash operator are proposed. • The identification approach to the memristor-based chaotic systems using the proposed adaptive filters. • The weight update algorithm and convergence characteristics for the proposed adaptive filters are derived. - Abstract: Memristor-based chaotic systems have complex dynamical behaviors, which are characterized as nonlinear and hysteresis characteristics. Modeling and identification of their nonlinear model is an important premise for analyzing the dynamical behavior of the memristor-based chaotic systems. This paper presents a novel nonlinear Wiener adaptive filtering identification approach to the memristor-based chaotic systems. The linear part of Wiener model consists of the linear transversal adaptive filters, the nonlinear part consists of nonlinear adaptive filters based on the backslash operator for the hysteresis characteristics of the memristor. The weight update algorithms for the linear and nonlinear adaptive filters are derived. Final computer simulation results show the effectiveness as well as fast convergence characteristics. Comparing with the adaptive nonlinear polynomial filters, the proposed nonlinear adaptive filters have less identification error.

Radiology information system: a workflow-based approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Jinyan; Lu, Xudong; Nie, Hongchao; Huang, Zhengxing; Aalst, W.M.P. van der

2009-01-01

Introducing workflow management technology in healthcare seems to be prospective in dealing with the problem that the current healthcare Information Systems cannot provide sufficient support for the process management, although several challenges still exist. The purpose of this paper is to study the method of developing workflow-based information system in radiology department as a use case. First, a workflow model of typical radiology process was established. Second, based on the model, the system could be designed and implemented as a group of loosely coupled components. Each component corresponded to one task in the process and could be assembled by the workflow management system. The legacy systems could be taken as special components, which also corresponded to the tasks and were integrated through transferring non-work- flow-aware interfaces to the standard ones. Finally, a workflow dashboard was designed and implemented to provide an integral view of radiology processes. The workflow-based Radiology Information System was deployed in the radiology department of Zhejiang Chinese Medicine Hospital in China. The results showed that it could be adjusted flexibly in response to the needs of changing process, and enhance the process management in the department. It can also provide a more workflow-aware integration method, comparing with other methods such as IHE-based ones. The workflow-based approach is a new method of developing radiology information system with more flexibility, more functionalities of process management and more workflow-aware integration. The work of this paper is an initial endeavor for introducing workflow management technology in healthcare. (orig.)

Reliability Based Optimization of Structural Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Dalsgaard

1987-01-01

The optimization problem to design structural systems such that the reliability is satisfactory during the whole lifetime of the structure is considered in this paper. Some of the quantities modelling the loads and the strength of the structure are modelled as random variables. The reliability...... is estimated using first. order reliability methods ( FORM ). The design problem is formulated as the optimization problem to minimize a given cost function such that the reliability of the single elements satisfies given requirements or such that the systems reliability satisfies a given requirement....... For these optimization problems it is described how a sensitivity analysis can be performed. Next, new optimization procedures to solve the optimization problems are presented. Two of these procedures solve the system reliability based optimization problem sequentially using quasi-analytical derivatives. Finally...

Population-based estimate of urinary stones from Ballabgarh, northern India.

Science.gov (United States)

Lohiya, Ayush; Kant, Shashi; Kapil, Arti; Gupta, Sanjeev Kumar; Misra, Puneet; Rai, Sanjay K

2017-01-01

Stones in the urinary tract are a common condition but there is paucity of data on their population-based estimates in India. We describe our findings of the burden of urinary stones during a cross-sectional study with another primary goal. We conducted the study at Ballabgarh Health and Demographic Surveillance System, Haryana, among residents aged 18 years or above. We used simple random sampling to enrol participants. Self-reported history of urinary stones was elicited through an interview schedule. Results of the descriptive analysis were described as proportions with 95% confidence intervals (CI) or as mean wherever applicable. Bivariate analysis was done using t-test and chi-square test as applicable. The response rate for our study was 86.6%; lifetime prevalence (95% CI) of urinary stones was 7.9% (5.7, 10.8). In a majority of participants, urinary stones were diagnosed at an age of 20-40 years (55.9%), mostly by an ultrasonography examination (94.1%). A high burden of urinary stones is indicated in the working-age population in northern India at the community level. Untreated urinary stones can lead to an acute emergency (colic) or may have long-term adverse consequences, e.g. hydronephrosis, which have implications for the healthcare delivery system.

Human Detection System by Fusing Depth Map-Based Method and Convolutional Neural Network-Based Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anh Vu Le

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the depth images and the colour images provided by Kinect sensors are used to enhance the accuracy of human detection. The depth-based human detection method is fast but less accurate. On the other hand, the faster region convolutional neural network-based human detection method is accurate but requires a rather complex hardware configuration. To simultaneously leverage the advantages and relieve the drawbacks of each method, one master and one client system is proposed. The final goal is to make a novel Robot Operation System (ROS-based Perception Sensor Network (PSN system, which is more accurate and ready for the real time application. The experimental results demonstrate the outperforming of the proposed method compared with other conventional methods in the challenging scenarios.

Innovative Approach to Implementation of FPGA-based NPP Instrumentation and Control Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrashov, Anton; Kharchenko, Vyacheslav; Sklyar, Volodymir [Centre for Safety Infrastructure-Oriented Research and Analysis, Kharkov (Ukraine); SIORA Alexander [Research and Production Corporation Radiy, Kirovograd (Ukraine)

2011-08-15

Advantages of application of Field Programmable Gates Arrays (FPGA) technology for implementation of Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems for Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) are outlined. Specific features of FPGA technology in the context of cyber security threats for NPPs I and C systems are analyzed. Description of FPGA-based platform used for implementation of different safety I and C systems for NPPs is presented. Typical architecture of NPPs safety I and C system based on the platform, as well as approach to implementation of I and C systems using FPGA-based platform are discussed. Data on implementation experience of application of the platform for NPP safety I and C systems modernization projects are finalizing the paper.

Innovative approach to implementation of FPGA-based NPP instrumentation and control systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrashov, Anton; Kharchenko, Vyacheslav; Sklyar, Volodymir; Siora, Alexander

2011-01-01

Advantages of application of Field Programmable Gates Arrays (FPGA) technology for implementation of Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems for Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) are outlined. Specific features of FPGA technology in the context of cyber security threats for NPPs I and C systems are analyzed. Description of FPGA-based platform used for implementation of different safety I and C systems for NPPs is presented. Typical architecture of NPPs safety I and C system based on the platform, as well as approach to implementation of I and C systems using FPGA-based platform are discussed. Data on implementation experience of application of the platform for NPP safety I and C systems modernization projects are finalizing the paper. (author)

Innovative Approach to Implementation of FPGA-based NPP Instrumentation and Control Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrashov, Anton; Kharchenko, Vyacheslav; Sklyar, Volodymir; SIORA Alexander

2011-01-01

Advantages of application of Field Programmable Gates Arrays (FPGA) technology for implementation of Instrumentation and Control (I and C) systems for Nuclear Power Plants (NPP) are outlined. Specific features of FPGA technology in the context of cyber security threats for NPPs I and C systems are analyzed. Description of FPGA-based platform used for implementation of different safety I and C systems for NPPs is presented. Typical architecture of NPPs safety I and C system based on the platform, as well as approach to implementation of I and C systems using FPGA-based platform are discussed. Data on implementation experience of application of the platform for NPP safety I and C systems modernization projects are finalizing the paper

Analysing the Influence of the Spontaneous Aneuploidy Frequency on the Cell Population System Cultivation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

G. A. Nefedov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The paper provides a qualitative analysis of M.S. Vinogradova's nonlinear model for dynamics of the cell population system. This system describes the stem cells cultivation in vitro under resource constraints. The system consists of two populations, namely: population of normal cells and population of abnormal cells. Resource constraints are considered as linear dependences of mitosis parameters on the normalized densities of each population.One of the key parameters that effects on the realization of the system evolution scenarios is a parameter that determines a share of the normal cells, which pass, when dividing, into population of the abnormal cells. The paper analyses both the existence conditions of the rest points and the changes of the evolution scenarios of population system with changing abovementioned parameter and other system parameters held fixed. It is shown that there is a saddle-node bifurcation in the system; the bifurcation value of the parameter is found. The paper shows the interval of parameter values in which the favorable scenarios of population system evolution are implemented. It also presents results of mathematical modeling.

Web-Based Honorarium Confirmation System Prototype

Science.gov (United States)

Wisswani, N. W.; Catur Bawa, I. G. N. B.

2018-01-01

Improving services in academic environment can be applied by regulating salary payment process for all employees. As a form of control to maintain financial transparency, employees should have information concerning salary payment process. Currently, notification process of committee honorarium will be accepted by the employees in a manual manner. The salary will be received by the employee bank account and to know its details, they should go to the accounting unit to find out further information. Though there are some employees entering the accounting unit, they still find difficulty to obtain information about detailed honor information that they received in their accounts. This can be caused by many data collected and to be managed. Based on this issue, this research will design a prototype of web-based system for accounting unit system in order to provide detailed financial transaction confirmation to employee bank accounts that have been informed through mobile banking system. This prototype will be developed with Waterfall method through testing on final users after it is developed through PHP program with MySQL as DBMS

Planning for risk-informed/performance-based fire protection at nuclear power plants. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Najafi, B.; Parkinson, W.J.; Lee, J.A.

1997-12-01

This document presents a framework for discussing issues and building consensus towards use of fire modeling and risk technology in nuclear power plant fire protection program implementation. The plan describes a three-phase approach: development of core technologies, implementation of methods, and finally, case studies and pilot applications to verify viability of such methods. The core technologies are defined as fire modeling, fire and system tests, use of operational data, and system and risk techniques. The implementation phase addresses the programmatic issues involved in implementing a risk-informed/performance-based approach in an integrated approach with risk/performance measures. The programmatic elements include: (1) a relationship with fire codes and standards development as defined by the ongoing effort of NFPA for development of performance-based standards; (2) the ability for NRC to undertake inspection and enforcement; and (3) the benefit to utilities in terms of cost versus safety. The case studies are intended to demonstrate applicability of single issue resolution while pilot applications are intended to check the applicability of the integrated program as a whole

Utility rate equations of group population dynamics in biological and social systems.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vyacheslav I Yukalov

Full Text Available We present a novel system of equations to describe the evolution of self-organized structured societies (biological or human composed of several trait groups. The suggested approach is based on the combination of ideas employed in the theory of biological populations, system theory, and utility theory. The evolution equations are defined as utility rate equations, whose parameters are characterized by the utility of each group with respect to the society as a whole and by the mutual utilities of groups with respect to each other. We analyze in detail the cases of two groups (cooperators and defectors and of three groups (cooperators, defectors, and regulators and find that, in a self-organized society, neither defectors nor regulators can overpass the maximal fractions of about [Formula: see text] each. This is in agreement with the data for bee and ant colonies. The classification of societies by their distance from equilibrium is proposed. We apply the formalism to rank the countries according to the introduced metric quantifying their relative stability, which depends on the cost of defectors and regulators as well as their respective population fractions. We find a remarkable concordance with more standard economic ranking based, for instance, on GDP per capita.

Utility Rate Equations of Group Population Dynamics in Biological and Social Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Yukalov, Vyacheslav I.; Yukalova, Elizaveta P.; Sornette, Didier

2013-01-01

We present a novel system of equations to describe the evolution of self-organized structured societies (biological or human) composed of several trait groups. The suggested approach is based on the combination of ideas employed in the theory of biological populations, system theory, and utility theory. The evolution equations are defined as utility rate equations, whose parameters are characterized by the utility of each group with respect to the society as a whole and by the mutual utilities of groups with respect to each other. We analyze in detail the cases of two groups (cooperators and defectors) and of three groups (cooperators, defectors, and regulators) and find that, in a self-organized society, neither defectors nor regulators can overpass the maximal fractions of about each. This is in agreement with the data for bee and ant colonies. The classification of societies by their distance from equilibrium is proposed. We apply the formalism to rank the countries according to the introduced metric quantifying their relative stability, which depends on the cost of defectors and regulators as well as their respective population fractions. We find a remarkable concordance with more standard economic ranking based, for instance, on GDP per capita. PMID:24386163

Generation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Using RNA-Based Sendai Virus System and Pluripotency Validation of the Resulting Cell Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Chichagova, Valeria; Sanchez-Vera, Irene; Armstrong, Lyle; Steel, David; Lako, Majlinda

2016-01-01

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a platform for studying human disease in vitro, increase our understanding of human embryonic development, and provide clinically relevant cell types for transplantation, drug testing, and toxicology studies. Since their discovery, numerous advances have been made in order to eliminate issues such as vector integration into the host genome, low reprogramming efficiency, incomplete reprogramming and acquisition of genomic instabilities. One of the ways to achieve integration-free reprogramming is by using RNA-based Sendai virus. Here we describe a method to generate hiPSCs with Sendai virus in both feeder-free and feeder-dependent culture systems. Additionally, we illustrate methods by which to validate pluripotency of the resulting stem cell population.

Big-Data Based Decision-Support Systems to Improve Clinicians’ Cognition

Science.gov (United States)

Roosan, Don; Samore, Matthew; Jones, Makoto; Livnat, Yarden; Clutter, Justin

2016-01-01

Complex clinical decision-making could be facilitated by using population health data to inform clinicians. In two previous studies, we interviewed 16 infectious disease experts to understand complex clinical reasoning. For this study, we focused on answers from the experts on how clinical reasoning can be supported by population-based Big-Data. We found cognitive strategies such as trajectory tracking, perspective taking, and metacognition has the potential to improve clinicians’ cognition to deal with complex problems. These cognitive strategies could be supported by population health data, and all have important implications for the design of Big-Data based decision-support tools that could be embedded in electronic health records. Our findings provide directions for task allocation and design of decision-support applications for health care industry development of Big data based decision-support systems. PMID:27990498

A population-based study of homicide deaths in Ontario, Canada using linked death records.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachaud, James; Donnelly, Peter D; Henry, David; Kornas, Kathy; Calzavara, Andrew; Bornbaum, Catherine; Rosella, Laura

2017-07-24

Homicide - a lethal expression of violence - has garnered little attention from public health researchers and health policy makers, despite the fact that homicides are a cause of preventable and premature death. Identifying populations at risk and the upstream determinants of homicide are important for addressing inequalities that hinder population health. This population-based study investigates the public health significance of homicides in Ontario, Canada, over the period of 1999-2012. We quantified the relative burden of homicides by comparing the socioeconomic gradient in homicides with the leading causes of death, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and neoplasm, and estimated the potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to homicide. We linked vital statistics from the Office of the Registrar General Deaths register (ORG-D) with Census and administrative data for all Ontario residents. We extracted all homicide, neoplasm, and cardiovascular deaths from 1999 to 2012, using International Classification of Diseases codes. For socioeconomic status (SES), we used two dimensions of the Ontario Marginalization Index (ON-Marg): material deprivation and residential instability. Trends were summarized across deprivation indices using age-specific rates, rate ratios, and PYLL. Young males, 15-29 years old, were the main victims of homicide with a rate of 3.85 [IC 95%: 3.56; 4.13] per 100,000 population and experienced an upward trend over the study period. The socioeconomic neighbourhood gradient was substantial and higher than the gradient for both cardiovascular and neoplasms. Finally, the PYLL due to homicide were 63,512 and 24,066 years for males and females, respectively. Homicides are an important cause of death among young males, and populations living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Our findings raise concerns about the burden of homicides in the Canadian population and the importance of addressing social determinants to address these premature deaths.

Measuring limitations in activities of daily living: a population-based validation of a short questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Elfering, Achim; Cronenberg, Sonja; Grebner, Simone; Tamcan, Oezguer; Müller, Urs

2017-12-01

A newly developed questionnaire assessing limitations in activity of daily living (LADL-Q) that should improve assessment of LADL is tested in a large population-based validation study. This survey was paper-based. Overall, 16,634 individuals who were representative of the working population in the German-speaking part of Switzerland participated in the study. Item analysis was used the final version of the LADL-Q to four items per subscale that correspond to potential problems in three body regions (back and neck, upper extremities, lower extremities). Analysis included tests for reliability, internal consistency, dimensionality and convergent validity. Test-retest reliability coefficients after 2 weeks ranged from 0.82 to 0.99 (Mdn = 0.87), with no item having a coefficient below 0.60. The median item-total coefficients ranged between moderate and good. Correlation coefficients between LADL-Q subscales and three validated clinical instruments (Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index, shoulder pain disability index, Oswestry) ranged from 0.63 to 0.81. In structural equation modeling the three subscales were significantly related with two important outcomes in occupational rehabilitation: self-reported general health and daily task performance. The new LADL-Q is a brief, reliable and valid tool for assessment of LADL in studies on musculoskeletal health.

Integration of priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems: systematic review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adeyi Olusoji

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Objective of the study was to assess the effects of strategies to integrate targeted priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems on patient health outcomes and health system effectiveness and thus to compare integrated and non-integrated health programmes. Methods Systematic review using Cochrane methodology of analysing randomised trials, controlled before-and-after and interrupted time series studies. We defined specific strategies to search PubMed, CENTRAL and the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group register, considered studies published from January 1998 until September 2008, and tracked references and citations. Two reviewers independently agreed on eligibility, with an additional arbiter as needed, and extracted information on outcomes: primary (improved health, financial protection, and user satisfaction and secondary (improved population coverage, access to health services, efficiency, and quality using standardised, pre-piloted forms. Two reviewers in the final stage of selection jointly assessed quality of all selected studies using the GRADE criteria. Results Of 8,274 citations identified 12 studies met inclusion criteria. Four studies compared the benefits of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses in Tanzania and Bangladesh, showing improved care management and higher utilisation of health facilities at no additional cost. Eight studies focused on integrated delivery of mental health and substance abuse services in the United Kingdom and United States of America. Integrated service delivery resulted in better clinical outcomes and greater reduction of substance abuse in specific sub-groups of patients, with no significant difference found overall. Quality of care, patient satisfaction, and treatment engagement were higher in integrated delivery models. Conclusions Targeted priority population health interventions we identified led to improved health

Integration of priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems: systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Atun, Rifat; de Jongh, Thyra E; Secci, Federica V; Ohiri, Kelechi; Adeyi, Olusoji; Car, Josip

2011-10-10

Objective of the study was to assess the effects of strategies to integrate targeted priority population, health and nutrition interventions into health systems on patient health outcomes and health system effectiveness and thus to compare integrated and non-integrated health programmes. Systematic review using Cochrane methodology of analysing randomised trials, controlled before-and-after and interrupted time series studies. We defined specific strategies to search PubMed, CENTRAL and the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group register, considered studies published from January 1998 until September 2008, and tracked references and citations. Two reviewers independently agreed on eligibility, with an additional arbiter as needed, and extracted information on outcomes: primary (improved health, financial protection, and user satisfaction) and secondary (improved population coverage, access to health services, efficiency, and quality) using standardised, pre-piloted forms. Two reviewers in the final stage of selection jointly assessed quality of all selected studies using the GRADE criteria. Of 8,274 citations identified 12 studies met inclusion criteria. Four studies compared the benefits of Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses in Tanzania and Bangladesh, showing improved care management and higher utilisation of health facilities at no additional cost. Eight studies focused on integrated delivery of mental health and substance abuse services in the United Kingdom and United States of America. Integrated service delivery resulted in better clinical outcomes and greater reduction of substance abuse in specific sub-groups of patients, with no significant difference found overall. Quality of care, patient satisfaction, and treatment engagement were higher in integrated delivery models. Targeted priority population health interventions we identified led to improved health outcomes, quality of care, patient satisfaction and access to care

Analysis of Total Food Intake and Composition of Individual's Diet Based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's 1994-96, 1998 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) (2005, Final Report)

Science.gov (United States)

EPA released the final report, Analysis of Total Food Intake and Composition of Individual’s Diet Based on USDA’s 1994-1996, 98 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII). The consumption of food by the general population is a significant route of potential ...

Commercialization of PV-powered pumping systems for use in utility PV service programs. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

The project described in this report was a commercialization effort focused on cost-effective remote water pumping systems for use in utility-based photovoltaic (PV) service programs. The project combined a commercialization strategy tailored specifically for electric utilities with the development of a PV-powered pumping system that operates conventional ac pumps rather than relying on the more expensive and less reliable PV pumps on the market. By combining these two attributes, a project goal was established of creating sustained utility purchases of 250 PV-powered water pumping systems per year. The results of each of these tasks are presented in two parts contained in this Final Summary Report. The first part summarizes the results of the Photovoltaic Services Network (PSN) as a new business venture, while the second part summarizes the results of the Golden Photon system installations. Specifically, results and photographs from each of the system installations are presented in this latter part.

A conceptual design of Final Focus Systems for linear colliders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, K.L.

1987-06-01

Linear colliders are a relatively recent development in the evolution of particle accelerators. This report discusses some of the approaches that have been considered for the design of Final Focus Systems to demagnify the beam exiting from a linac to the small size suitable for collisions at the interaction point. The system receiving the most attention is the one adopted for the SLAC Linear Collider. However, the theory and optical techniques discussed should be applicable to the design efforts for future machines

The International Adoption Project: population-based surveillance of Minnesota parents who adopted children internationally.

Science.gov (United States)

Hellerstedt, Wendy L; Madsen, Nikki J; Gunnar, Megan R; Grotevant, Harold D; Lee, Richard M; Johnson, Dana E

2008-03-01

To conduct the first population-based surveillance in the United States of parents who adopted children from countries outside of the United States. A 556-item survey was mailed to 2,977 parents who finalized an international adoption in Minnesota between January 1990 and December 1998; 1,834 (62%) parents returned a survey. Eighty-eight percent of the parents reported transracial adoptions (97% of the parents were white); 57% of the adopted children were Asian; 60% were female; and on average, the children were 18 months-old at the time of placement. Only 15% of the parents reported household annual incomes less than $50,000 and 71% reported they had college educations. Sixty-one percent traveled to their child's country of birth prior to the adoption. Almost three-quarters involved their children in experiences related to their birth countries and 98% would recommend international adoption. Three-quarters of the parents believe that parental leave was an issue for them as they adopted. This is the first population-based survey of U.S. parents who have adopted internationally. The adoptive parents were socioeconomically different than birth parents in Minnesota and their families are most likely to be transracial. Because international adoption has become more prevalent, it is important to understand the strengths and needs of families that are created through this unique form of migration.

Data Analytic Process of a Nationwide Population-Based Study Using National Health Information Database Established by National Health Insurance Service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong-ho Lee

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In 2014, the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS signed a memorandum of understanding with the Korean Diabetes Association to provide limited open access to its databases for investigating the past and current status of diabetes and its management. NHIS databases include the entire Korean population; therefore, it can be used as a population-based nationwide study for various diseases, including diabetes and its complications. This report presents how we established the analytic system of nation-wide population-based studies using the NHIS database as follows: the selection of database study population and its distribution and operational definition of diabetes and patients of currently ongoing collaboration projects.

SIIA: a knowledge-based assistant for the SAFT ultrasonic inspection system(a)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melton, R.B.; Doctor, S.R.; Taylor, T.T.; Badalamente, R.V.

1987-01-01

SIIA(b) is a knowledge-based system designed to assist in making the operation of the Synthetic Aperture Focussing Technique (SAFT) Ultrasonic Inspection System more reliable and efficient. This paper reports on their effort to develop a prototype version of SIIA to demonstrate the feasibility of using knowledge-based systems in nondestructive evaluation (NDE). The first section of the paper describes the structure of the problem and their conceptual design of the knowledge-based system. The next section describes the current state of the prototype SIIA system and relates some of their experiences in developing the system. The final section discusses their plans for future development of SIIA and the implications of this type of system for other NDE techniques and applications

UNIX-based operating systems robustness evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Yu-Ming

1996-01-01

Robust operating systems are required for reliable computing. Techniques for robustness evaluation of operating systems not only enhance the understanding of the reliability of computer systems, but also provide valuable feed- back to system designers. This thesis presents results from robustness evaluation experiments on five UNIX-based operating systems, which include Digital Equipment's OSF/l, Hewlett Packard's HP-UX, Sun Microsystems' Solaris and SunOS, and Silicon Graphics' IRIX. Three sets of experiments were performed. The methodology for evaluation tested (1) the exception handling mechanism, (2) system resource management, and (3) system capacity under high workload stress. An exception generator was used to evaluate the exception handling mechanism of the operating systems. Results included exit status of the exception generator and the system state. Resource management techniques used by individual operating systems were tested using programs designed to usurp system resources such as physical memory and process slots. Finally, the workload stress testing evaluated the effect of the workload on system performance by running a synthetic workload and recording the response time of local and remote user requests. Moderate to severe performance degradations were observed on the systems under stress.

The evaluation of a web-based incident reporting system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuo, Ya-Hui; Lee, Ting-Ting; Mills, Mary Etta; Lin, Kuan-Chia

2012-07-01

A Web-based reporting system is essential to report incident events anonymously and confidentially. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a Web-based reporting system in Taiwan. User satisfaction and impact of system use were evaluated through a survey answered by 249 nurses. Incident events reported in paper and electronic systems were collected for comparison purposes. Study variables included system user satisfaction, willingness to report, number of reports, severity of the events, and efficiency of the reporting process. Results revealed that senior nurses were less willing to report events, nurses on internal medicine units had higher satisfaction than others, and lowest satisfaction was related to the time it took to file a report. In addition, the Web-based reporting system was used more often than the paper system. The percentages of events reported were significantly higher in the Web-based system in laboratory, environment/device, and incidents occurring in other units, whereas the proportions of reports involving bedsores and dislocation of endotracheal tubes were decreased. Finally, moderate injury event reporting decreased, whereas minor or minimal injury event reporting increased. The study recommends that the data entry process be simplified and the network system be improved to increase user satisfaction and reporting rates.

The Establishment of an e-Learning System Based on SDT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mihyang Bang

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This study established an elementary-school English e-learning system on the basis of theory-based motivation strategies, and verified the effectiveness of the motivation strategies through educational practice and the applicability of traditional motivation theories in e-learning environments. Six motivation strategies were deducted, two from each of the three psychological needs (Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness presupposed as preconditions that increase human motivation based on the Self-Determination Theory. Next, the e-learning system intended to increase intrinsic motivation for English learning was established based on the motivation strategies. Then, this system was used for year-long educational practice in 115 private educational institutes nationwide. Finally, a survey was conducted with 2,300 students to determine whether the e-learning system applying the motivation strategies satisfied the three psychological needs of elementary-school English learners, and whether it improved intrinsic motivation for English studies. Moreover, this study analysed the correlation among motivation strategies, three psychological needs, and five motivation groups. The results revealed that the motivation strategies applied to the e-learning system had a significant influence on the three psychological needs, and those needs had a significant influence on the five motivation groups. This proved the effectiveness of motivation strategies applied to the e-learning system. It was found that SDT, the traditional motivation theory that has been applied to face-to-face classes, is also effective in the e-learning environment. Finally, even in the e-learning environment focusing on individual learning, learners were found to value relationships with others, in addition to competence, which has been studied relatively often in the past. The significance of this study is that it established a theory-based e-learning system and that it is an empirical study

Consolidity: Stack-based systems change pathway theory elaborated

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hassen Taher Dorrah

2014-06-01

, programming and hardware representations of each stack layering type to serve in reducing tremendously any repetitive research efforts in future handling of similar or analogous problems of real life systems. Finally, a new global inter-related stack-based configuration in multi-stacking networks is proposed incorporating conceptually the mutual stack-based changes balancing process through assumed ideal case of lossless bi-directional transfer piping systems.

SLC Final Performance and Lessons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phinney, Nan

2000-01-01

The Stanford Linear Collider (SLC) was the first prototype of a new type of accelerator, the electron-positron linear collider. Many years of dedicated effort were required to understand the physics of this new technology and to develop the techniques for maximizing performance. Key issues were emittance dilution, stability, final beam optimization and background control. Precision, non-invasive diagnostics were required to measure and monitor the beams throughout the machine. Beam-based feedback systems were needed to stabilize energy, trajectory, intensity and the final beam size at the interaction point. variety of new tuning techniques were developed to correct for residual optical or alignment errors. The final focus system underwent a series of refinements in order to deliver sub-micron size beams. It also took many iterations to understand the sources of backgrounds and develop the methods to control them. The benefit from this accumulated experience was seen in the performance of the SLC during its final run in 1997-98. The luminosity increased by a factor of three to 3*10 30 and the 350,000 Z data sample delivered was nearly double that from all previous runs combined

Los Angeles-Gateway Freight Advanced Traveler Information System : final system design and architecture for FRATIS prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-01

This Final Architecture and Design report has been prepared to describe the structure and design of all the system : components for the LA-Gateway FRATIS Demonstration Project. More specifically, this document provides: : Detailed descriptions of...

Hierarchical distance-based fuzzy approach to evaluate urban water supply systems in a semi-arid region.

Science.gov (United States)

Yekta, Tahereh Sadeghi; Khazaei, Mohammad; Nabizadeh, Ramin; Mahvi, Amir Hossein; Nasseri, Simin; Yari, Ahmad Reza

2015-01-01

Hierarchical distance-based fuzzy multi-criteria group decision making was served as a tool to evaluate the drinking water supply systems of Qom, a semi-arid city located in central part of Iran. A list of aspects consisting of 6 criteria and 35 sub-criteria were evaluated based on a linguistic term set by five decision-makers. Four water supply alternatives including "Public desalinated distribution system", "PET Bottled Drinking Water", "Private desalinated water suppliers" and "Household desalinated water units" were assessed based on criteria and sub-criteria. Data were aggregated and normalized to apply Performance Ratings of Alternatives. Also, the Performance Ratings of Alternatives were aggregated again to achieve the Aggregate Performance Ratings. The weighted distances from ideal solution and anti-ideal solution were calculated after secondary normalization. The proximity of each alternative to the ideal solution was determined as the final step. The alternatives were ranked based on the magnitude of ideal solutions. Results showed that "Public desalinated distribution system" was the most appropriate alternative to supply the drinking needs of Qom population. Also, "PET Bottled Drinking Water" was the second acceptable option. A novel classification of alternatives to satisfy the drinking water requirements was proposed which is applicable for the other cities located in semi-arid regions of Iran. The health issues were considered as independent criterion, distinct from the environmental issues. The constraints of high-tech alternatives were also considered regarding to the level of dependency on overseas.

Final Report: Hydrogen Storage System Cost Analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

James, Brian David [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Houchins, Cassidy [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); Huya-Kouadio, Jennie Moton [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States); DeSantis, Daniel A. [Strategic Analysis Inc., Arlington, VA (United States)

2016-09-30

The Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO) has identified hydrogen storage as a key enabling technology for advancing hydrogen and fuel cell power technologies in transportation, stationary, and portable applications. Consequently, FCTO has established targets to chart the progress of developing and demonstrating viable hydrogen storage technologies for transportation and stationary applications. This cost assessment project supports the overall FCTO goals by identifying the current technology system components, performance levels, and manufacturing/assembly techniques most likely to lead to the lowest system storage cost. Furthermore, the project forecasts the cost of these systems at a variety of annual manufacturing rates to allow comparison to the overall 2017 and “Ultimate” DOE cost targets. The cost breakdown of the system components and manufacturing steps can then be used to guide future research and development (R&D) decisions. The project was led by Strategic Analysis Inc. (SA) and aided by Rajesh Ahluwalia and Thanh Hua from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and Lin Simpson at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Since SA coordinated the project activities of all three organizations, this report includes a technical description of all project activity. This report represents a summary of contract activities and findings under SA’s five year contract to the US Department of Energy (Award No. DE-EE0005253) and constitutes the “Final Scientific Report” deliverable. Project publications and presentations are listed in the Appendix.

46-Year Trends in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Mortality in the United States, 1968 to 2013: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Eric Y; Shaheen, Magda; Woo, Jennifer M P; Mercer, Neil; Li, Ning; McCurdy, Deborah K; Karlamangla, Arun; Singh, Ram R

2017-12-05

No large population-based studies have been done on systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) mortality trends in the United States. To identify secular trends and population characteristics associated with SLE mortality. Population-based study using a national mortality database and census data. United States. All U.S. residents, 1968 through 2013. Joinpoint trend analysis of annual age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) for SLE and non-SLE causes by sex, race/ethnicity, and geographic region; multiple logistic regression analysis to determine independent associations of demographic variables and period with SLE mortality. There were 50 249 SLE deaths and 100 851 288 non-SLE deaths from 1968 through 2013. Over this period, the SLE ASMR decreased less than the non-SLE ASMR, with a 34.6% cumulative increase in the ratio of the former to the latter. The non-SLE ASMR decreased every year starting in 1968, whereas the SLE ASMR decreased between 1968 and 1975, increased between 1975 and 1999, and decreased thereafter. Similar patterns were seen in both sexes, among black persons, and in the South. However, statistically significant increases in the SLE ASMR did not occur among white persons over the 46-year period. Females, black persons, and residents of the South had higher SLE ASMRs and larger cumulative increases in the ratio of the SLE to the non-SLE ASMR (31.4%, 62.5%, and 58.6%, respectively) than males, other racial/ethnic groups, and residents of other regions, respectively. Multiple logistic regression showed independent associations of sex, race, and region with SLE mortality risk and revealed significant racial/ethnic differences in associations of SLE mortality with sex and region. Underreporting of SLE on death certificates may have resulted in underestimates of SLE ASMRs. Accuracy of coding on death certificates is difficult to ascertain. Rates of SLE mortality have decreased since 1968 but remain high relative to non-SLE mortality, and significant sex

A Dynamic Alignment System for the Final Focus Test Beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruland, R.E.; Bressler, V.E.; Fischer, G.; Plouffe, D.; SLAC

2005-01-01

The Final Focus Test Beam (FFTB) was conceived as a technological stepping stone on the way to the next linear collider. Nowhere is this more evident than with the alignment subsystems. Alignment tolerances for components prior to beam turn are almost an order of magnitude smaller than for previous projects at SLAC. Position monitoring systems which operate independent of the beam are employed to monitor motions of the components locally and globally with unprecedented precision. An overview of the FFTB alignment system is presented herein

Progress in triboluminescence-based smart optical sensor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olawale, David O.; Dickens, Tarik; Sullivan, William G.; Okoli, Okenwa I.; Sobanjo, John O.; Wang, Ben

2011-01-01

Extensive research work has been done in recent times to apply the triboluminescence (TL) phenomenon for damage detection in engineering structures. Of particular note are the various attempts to apply it in the detection of impact damages in composites and aerospace structures. This is because TL-based sensor systems have a great potential for wireless, in-situ and distributed (WID) structural health monitoring when fully developed. This review article highlights development and the current state-of-the-art in the application of TL-based sensor systems. The underlying mechanisms believed to be responsible for triboluminescence, particularly in zinc sulfide manganese, a highly triboluminescent material, are discussed. The challenges militating against the full exploitation and field application of TL sensor systems are also identified. Finally, viable solutions and approaches to address these challenges are enumerated. - Highlights: → The underlying mechanisms believed to be responsible for triboluminescence. → State-of-the-art in the development and application of TL-based sensor systems. → The challenges militating against the full exploitation and field application of TL sensor systems are identified. → Viable solutions and approaches to address these challenges are enumerated.

Productivity losses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a population-based survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Erdal, Marta; Johannessen, Ane; Askildsen, Jan Erik; Eagan, Tomas; Gulsvik, Amund; Grønseth, Rune

2014-01-01

We aimed to estimate incremental productivity losses (sick leave and disability) of spirometry-defined chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in a population-based sample and in hospital-recruited patients with COPD. Furthermore, we examined predictors of productivity losses by multivariate analyses. We performed four quarterly telephone interviews of 53 and 107 population-based patients with COPD and controls, as well as 102 hospital-recruited patients with COPD below retirement age. Information was gathered regarding annual productivity loss, exacerbations of respiratory symptoms and comorbidities. Incremental productivity losses were estimated by multivariate quantile median regression according to the human capital approach, adjusting for sex, age, smoking habits, education and lung function. Main effect variables were COPD/control status, number of comorbidities and exacerbations of respiratory symptoms. Altogether 55%, 87% and 31% of population-based COPD cases, controls and hospital patients, respectively, had a paid job at baseline. The annual incremental productivity losses were 5.8 (95% CI 1.4 to 10.1) and 330.6 (95% CI 327.8 to 333.3) days, comparing population-recruited and hospital-recruited patients with COPD to controls, respectively. There were significantly higher productivity losses associated with female sex and less education. Additional adjustments for comorbidities, exacerbations and FEV1% predicted explained all productivity losses in the population-based sample, as well as nearly 40% of the productivity losses in hospital-recruited patients. Annual incremental productivity losses were more than 50 times higher in hospital-recruited patients with COPD than that of population-recruited patients with COPD. To ensure a precise estimation of societal burden, studies on patients with COPD should be population-based.

Mapping population-based structural connectomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhengwu; Descoteaux, Maxime; Zhang, Jingwen; Girard, Gabriel; Chamberland, Maxime; Dunson, David; Srivastava, Anuj; Zhu, Hongtu

2018-05-15

Advances in understanding the structural connectomes of human brain require improved approaches for the construction, comparison and integration of high-dimensional whole-brain tractography data from a large number of individuals. This article develops a population-based structural connectome (PSC) mapping framework to address these challenges. PSC simultaneously characterizes a large number of white matter bundles within and across different subjects by registering different subjects' brains based on coarse cortical parcellations, compressing the bundles of each connection, and extracting novel connection weights. A robust tractography algorithm and streamline post-processing techniques, including dilation of gray matter regions, streamline cutting, and outlier streamline removal are applied to improve the robustness of the extracted structural connectomes. The developed PSC framework can be used to reproducibly extract binary networks, weighted networks and streamline-based brain connectomes. We apply the PSC to Human Connectome Project data to illustrate its application in characterizing normal variations and heritability of structural connectomes in healthy subjects. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Investigating the potential of an autodissemination system for managing populations of vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) with entomopathogenic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Tom W; Hough, Gemma; Arbona, Charlotte; Roberts, Harriet; Bennison, Jude; Buxton, John; Prince, Gill; Chandler, Dave

2018-05-01

Vine weevil, also known as black vine weevil, (Otiorhynchus sulcatus) is an economically important pest affecting soft fruit and nursery stock in temperate regions. We used laboratory and polytunnel experiments to investigate a novel control system based on autodissemination of spores of an entomopathogenic fungus to populations of adult vine weevils. The fungus was applied as a conidial powder, used on its own or formulated with talc, to a simple plastic refuge for vine weevils. The potential for adult weevils to disseminate the fungus was investigated first in polytunnel experiments using fluorescent powders applied to the refuge in lieu of fungal conidia. In this system, 88% of adult weevils came in contact with the powder within 48 h. When the powder was applied to five adult weevils that were then placed within a population of 35 potential recipients, it was transmitted on average to 75% of the recipient population within 7 days. Three isolates of entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana isolate codes 433.99 and 1749.11 and Metarhizium brunneum isolate code 275.86), selected from a laboratory virulence screen. These three isolates were then investigated for efficacy when applied as conidial powders in artificial refuges placed among populations of adult weevils held in experimental boxes in the laboratory at 20 °C. Under this regime, the fungal isolates caused 70-90% mortality of adult weevils over 28 days. A final polytunnel experiment tested the efficacy of conidial powders of M. brunneum 275.86 placed in artificial refuges to increase vine weevil mortality. Overall weevil mortality was relatively low (26-41%) but was significantly higher in cages in which the conidial powders were placed in refuge traps than in cages with control traps. The lower weevil mortality recorded in the polytunnel experiment compared to the laboratory test was most likely a consequence of the greater amounts of inoculum required to kill adult weevils when conditions

Research of negotiation in network trade system based on multi-agent

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Jun; Wang, Guozheng; Wu, Haiyan

2009-07-01

A construction and implementation technology of network trade based on multi-agent is described in this paper. First, we researched the technology of multi-agent, then we discussed the consumer's behaviors and the negotiation between purchaser and bargainer which emerges in the traditional business mode and analysed the key technology to implement the network trade system. Finally, we implement the system.

Sustainability Logistics Basing - Science and Technology Objective - Demonstration; Industry Assessment and Demonstration Final Report

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-14

TECHNICAL REPORT AD ________________ NATICK/TR-17/019 SUSTAINABILITY ...LOGISTICS BASING – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY OBJECTIVE – DEMONSTRATION; INDUSTRY ASSESSMENT AND DEMONSTRATION FINAL REPORT by Elizabeth D. Swisher and...Benjamin J. Campbell August 2017 Final Report December 2014 – February 2016 Approved for public release; distribution is

Understanding Risk and Protective Factors for Child Maltreatment: The Value of Integrated, Population-Based Data

Science.gov (United States)

Putnam-Hornstein, Emily; Needell, Barbara; Rhodes, Anne E.

2013-01-01

In this article, we argue for expanded efforts to integrate administrative data systems as a "practical strategy" for developing a richer understanding of child abuse and neglect. Although the study of child maltreatment is often critiqued for being atheoretical, we believe that a more pressing concern is the absence of population-based and…

Occupational risk and chronic kidney disease: a population-based study in the United States adult population.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubinstein, Sofia; Wang, Chengwei; Qu, Wenchun

2013-01-01

Previous studies on occupational risk for chronic kidney disease (CKD) have analyzed a limited range of occupations and focused on nephrotoxins. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relative risk for the occurrence of CKD between different occupations in the US adult population. This was a population-based survey study of 91,340 participants in the US, who completed the National Health Interview Survey, 2004 through 2008. The outcome variable, CKD, was defined as having weakening/failing kidneys in the past 12 months, as diagnosed by a physician. The predictor variable, occupation, was obtained using the census occupational codes, regrouped according to North American Industrial Classification System. After controlling for age, gender, hypertension, and education, and with the category Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations as a reference group, the likelihood of developing CKD was 4.3 times higher in respondents working in Building, Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations, 4.4 times higher in Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations, 4.7 times higher in Transportation and Material Moving Occupations and in Computer and Mathematical Occupations, 4.8 times higher in Production Occupations, 5.3 times higher in Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations, and 6.1 times higher in Healthcare Support Occupations and in Legal Occupations. This study identified occupation groups in US adult population with increased risk for CKD. Alleviation of workplace stress is suggested as a goal for behavioral intervention in high-risk occupations.

Feasibility study on commercialized fast reactor cycle systems. Phase II final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ieda, Yoshiaki; Uchikawa, Sadao; Okubo, Tsutomu; Ono, Kiyoshi; Kato, Atsushi; Kurisaka, Kenichi; Sakamoto, Yoshihiko; Sato, Kazujiro; Sato, Koji; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka; Nakai, Ryodai; Nakabayashi, Hiroki; Nakamura, Hirofumi; Namekawa, Takashi; Niwa, Hajime; Nomura, Kazunori; Hayashi, Hideyuki; Hayafune, Hiroki; Hirao, Kazunori; Mizuno, Tomoyasu; Muramatsu, Toshiharu; Ando, Masato; Ono, Katsumi; Ogata, Takanari; Kubo, Shigenobu; Kotake, Shoji; Sagayama, Yutaka; Takakuma, Katsuyuki; Tanaka, Toshihiko; Namba, Takashi; Fujii, Sumio; Muramatsu, Kazuyoshi

2006-06-01

A joint project team of Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the Japan Atomic Power Company (as the representative of the electric utilities) started the feasibility study on commercialized fast reactor cycle systems (F/S) in July 1999 in cooperation with Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry and vendors. On the major premise of safety assurance, F/S aims to present an appropriate picture of commercialization of fast reactor (FR) cycle system which has economic competitiveness with light water reactor cycle systems and other electricity base load systems, and to establish FR cycle technologies for the future major energy supply. In the period from Japanese fiscal year (JFY) 1999 to 2000, the phase-I of F/S was carried out to screen our representative FR, reprocessing and fuel fabrication technologies. In the phase-II (JFY 2001-2005), the design study of FR cycle concepts, the development of significant technologies necessary for the feasibility evaluation, and the confirmation of key technical issues were performed to clarify the promising candidate concepts toward the commercialization. In this final phase-II report clarified the most promising concept, the R and D plan until around 2015, and the key issues for the commercialization. Based on the comprehensive evaluation in F/S, the combination of the sodium-cooled FR with MOX fuel core, the advanced-aqueous reprocessing process and the simplified-pelletizing fuel fabrication process was recommended as the mainline choice for the most promising concept. The concept exceeds in technical advancement, and the conformity to the development targets was higher compared with that of the others. Alternative technologies are prepared to be decrease the development risk of innovative technologies in the mainline choice. (author)

Estimating population size in wastewater-based epidemiology. Valencia metropolitan area as a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Rico, María; Andrés-Costa, María Jesús; Picó, Yolanda

2017-02-05

Wastewater can provide a wealth of epidemiologic data on common drugs consumed and on health and nutritional problems based on the biomarkers excreted into community sewage systems. One of the biggest uncertainties of these studies is the estimation of the number of inhabitants served by the treatment plants. Twelve human urine biomarkers -5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), acesulfame, atenolol, caffeine, carbamazepine, codeine, cotinine, creatinine, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), naproxen, salicylic acid (SA) and hydroxycotinine (OHCOT)- were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to estimate population size. The results reveal that populations calculated from cotinine, 5-HIAA and caffeine are commonly in agreement with those calculated by the hydrochemical parameters. Creatinine is too unstable to be applicable. HCTZ, naproxen, codeine, OHCOT and carbamazepine, under or overestimate the population compared to the hydrochemical population estimates but showed constant results through the weekdays. The consumption of cannabis, cocaine, heroin and bufotenine in Valencia was estimated for a week using different population calculations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Population-based treatment and outcomes of Stage I uterine serous carcinoma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Putten, L.J.M. van der; Hoskins, P.; Tinker, A.; Lim, P.; Aquino-Parsons, C.; Kwon, J.S.

2014-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Uterine serous carcinoma (USC) is a rare type of endometrial cancer that often recurs in patients with Stage I disease. Our objective was to evaluate treatment and outcomes in Stage I USC in the context of a population-based study. METHODS: This was a population-based retrospective cohort

Community-based population-level interventions for promoting child oral health.

OpenAIRE

de Silva, AM; Hegde, S; Akudo Nwagbara, B; Calache, H; Gussy, MG; Nasser, M; Morrice, HR; Riggs, E; Leong, PM; Meyenn, LK; Yousefi-Nooraie, R

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Dental caries and gingival and periodontal disease are commonly occurring, preventable chronic conditions. Even though much is known about how to treat oral disease, currently we do not know which community-based population-level interventions are most effective and equitable in preventing poor oral health. OBJECTIVES: Primary • To determine the effectiveness of community-based population-level oral health promotion interventions in preventing dental caries and gingival and period...

An IBeacon-Based Location System for Smart Home Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Qinghe; Yang, Xinshuang; Deng, Lizhen

2018-06-11

Indoor location and intelligent control system can bring convenience to people’s daily life. In this paper, an indoor control system is designed to achieve equipment remote control by using low-energy Bluetooth (BLE) beacon and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. The proposed system consists of five parts: web server, home gateway, smart terminal, smartphone app and BLE beacons. In the web server, fingerprint matching based on RSSI stochastic characteristic and posture recognition model based on geomagnetic sensing are used to establish a more efficient equipment control system, combined with Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) technology to improve the accuracy of location. A personalized menu of remote “one-click” control is finally offered to users in a smartphone app. This smart home control system has been implemented by hardware, and precision and stability tests have been conducted, which proved the practicability and good user experience of this solution.

SSR and morphological trait based population structure analysis of 130 diverse flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) accessions.

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, Shashi Bhushan; Sharma, Hariom Kumar; Kumar, Arroju Anil; Maruthi, Rangappa Thimmaiah; Mitra, Jiban; Chowdhury, Isholeena; Singh, Binay Kumar; Karmakar, Pran Gobinda

2017-02-01

A total of 130 flax accessions of diverse morphotypes and worldwide origin were assessed for genetic diversity and population structure using 11 morphological traits and microsatellite markers (15 gSSRs and 7 EST-SSRs). Analysis performed after classifying these accessions on the basis of plant height, branching pattern, seed size, Indian/foreign origin into six categories called sub-populations viz. fibre type exotic, fibre type indigenous, intermediate type exotic, intermediate type indigenous, linseed type exotic and linseed type indigenous. The study assessed different diversity indices, AMOVA, population structure and included a principal coordinate analysis based on different marker systems. The highest diversity was exhibited by gSSR markers (SI=0.46; He=0.31; P=85.11). AMOVA based on all markers explained significant difference among fibre type, intermediate type and linseed type populations of flax. In terms of variation explained by different markers, EST-SSR markers (12%) better differentiated flax populations compared to morphological (9%) and gSSR (6%) markers at P=0.01. The maximum Nei's unbiased genetic distance (D=0.11) was observed between fibre type and linseed type exotic sub-populations based on EST-SSR markers. The combined structure analysis by using all markers grouped Indian fibre type accessions (63.4%) in a separate cluster along with the Indian intermediate type (48.7%), whereas Indian accessions (82.16%) of linseed type constituted an independent cluster. These findings were supported by the results of the principal coordinate analysis. Morphological markers employed in the study found complementary with microsatellite based markers in deciphering genetic diversity and population structure of the flax germplasm. Copyright © 2016 Académie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Hopf bifurcation of a ratio-dependent predator-prey system with time delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celik, Canan

2009-01-01

In this paper, we consider a ratio dependent predator-prey system with time delay where the dynamics is logistic with the carrying capacity proportional to prey population. By considering the time delay as bifurcation parameter, we analyze the stability and the Hopf bifurcation of the system based on the normal form approach and the center manifold theory. Finally, we illustrate our theoretical results by numerical simulations.

Adaptive Observer-Based Fault-Tolerant Control Design for Uncertain Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huaming Qian

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study focuses on the design of the robust fault-tolerant control (FTC system based on adaptive observer for uncertain linear time invariant (LTI systems. In order to improve robustness, rapidity, and accuracy of traditional fault estimation algorithm, an adaptive fault estimation algorithm (AFEA using an augmented observer is presented. By utilizing a new fault estimator model, an improved AFEA based on linear matrix inequality (LMI technique is proposed to increase the performance. Furthermore, an observer-based state feedback fault-tolerant control strategy is designed, which guarantees the stability and performance of the faulty system. Moreover, the adaptive observer and the fault-tolerant controller are designed separately, whose performance can be considered, respectively. Finally, simulation results of an aircraft application are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design methods.

Entrainment and Control of Bacterial Populations: An in Silico Study over a Spatially Extended Agent Based Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Mina, Petros; Tsaneva-Atanasova, Krasimira; Bernardo, Mario di

2016-07-15

We extend a spatially explicit agent based model (ABM) developed previously to investigate entrainment and control of the emergent behavior of a population of synchronized oscillating cells in a microfluidic chamber. Unlike most of the work in models of control of cellular systems which focus on temporal changes, we model individual cells with spatial dependencies which may contribute to certain behavioral responses. We use the model to investigate the response of both open loop and closed loop strategies, such as proportional control (P-control), proportional-integral control (PI-control) and proportional-integral-derivative control (PID-control), to heterogeinities and growth in the cell population, variations of the control parameters and spatial effects such as diffusion in the spatially explicit setting of a microfluidic chamber setup. We show that, as expected from the theory of phase locking in dynamical systems, open loop control can only entrain the cell population in a subset of forcing periods, with a wide variety of dynamical behaviors obtained outside these regions of entrainment. Closed-loop control is shown instead to guarantee entrainment in a much wider region of control parameter space although presenting limitations when the population size increases over a certain threshold. In silico tracking experiments are also performed to validate the ability of classical control approaches to achieve other reference behaviors such as a desired constant output or a linearly varying one. All simulations are carried out in BSim, an advanced agent-based simulator of microbial population which is here extended ad hoc to include the effects of control strategies acting onto the population.

Investigating Measures of Social Context on 2 Population-Based Health Surveys, Hawaii, 2010-2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Pobutsky, Ann M; Baker, Kathleen Kromer; Reyes-Salvail, Florentina

2015-12-17

Measures from the Social Context Module of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used on 2 population-based health surveys in Hawaii to explicate the role of the nonmedical and social determinants of health; these measures were also compared with conventional socioeconomic status (SES) variables. Results showed that the self-reported SES vulnerabilities of food and housing insecurity are both linked to demographic factors and physical and mental health status and significant when controlling for the conventional measures of SES. The social context module indicators should be increasingly used so results can inform appropriate interventions for vulnerable populations.

Urban Optimum Population Size and Development Pattern Based on Ecological Footprint Model: Case of Zhoushan, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan LU

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The agglomeration of population in the city can reflect the prosperity in the economy, society and culture. However, it has also brought a series of problems like environmental pollution, traffic congestion, housing shortage and jobs crisis. The results can be shown as the failure of urban comprehensive function, the decline of city benefits, and the contradiction between socioeconomic circumstance and ecosystem. Therefore, a reasonable population capacity, which is influenced by ecological resources, urban environment, geographical elements, social and economic factors, etc., is objectively needed. How to deal with the relationship between the utilization of natural capital and development of the city is extremely essential. This paper takes Zhoushan Island as an example, which is the fourth largest island off the coast of China. Firstly, the interactively influencing factors of urban optimal population are illustrated. And method is chosen to study the optimal population size. Secondly, based on the model of ecological footprint (EP, the paper calculates and analyzes the ecological footprint and ecological capacity of the Zhoushan Island, in order to explore the optimal population size of the city. Thirdly, analysis and evaluation of the resources and urban environment carrying capacity is made. Finally, the solution of the existing population problems and the suggestion for the future development pattern of the city are proposed in the urban eco-planning of Zhoushan Island. The main strategies can be summarized in two aspects: one is to reduce the ecological footprint, the other is to increase the ecological supply. The conclusion is that the current population of Zhoushan Island is far beyond the optimum population size calculated by the ecological footprint model. Therefore, sustainable development should be the guidance for urban planning in Zhoushan Island, and a low-carbon development pattern for the city is advocated.

Itinerant ferromagnetism in an atomic Fermi gas: Influence of population imbalance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conduit, G. J.; Simons, B. D.

2009-01-01

We investigate ferromagnetic ordering in an itinerant ultracold atomic Fermi gas with repulsive interactions and population imbalance. In a spatially uniform system, we show that at zero temperature the transition to the itinerant magnetic phase transforms from first to second order with increasing population imbalance. Drawing on these results, we elucidate the phases present in a trapped geometry, finding three characteristic types of behavior with changing population imbalance. Finally, we outline the potential experimental implications of the findings.

A geographical information system-based analysis of cancer mortality and population exposure to coal mining activities in West Virginia, United States of America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Hendryx

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Cancer incidence and mortality rates are high in West Virginia compared to the rest of the United States of America. Previous research has suggested that exposure to activities of the coal mining industry may contribute to elevated cancer mortality, although exposure measures have been limited. This study tests alternative specifications of exposure to mining activity to determine whether a measure based on location of mines, processing plants, coal slurry impoundments and underground slurry injection sites relative to population levels is superior to a previously-reported measure of exposure based on tons mined at the county level, in the prediction of age-adjusted cancer mortality rates. To this end, we utilize two geographical information system (GIS techniques – exploratory spatial data analysis and inverse distance mapping – to construct new statistical analyses. Total, respiratory and “other” age-adjusted cancer mortality rates in West Virginia were found to be more highly associated with the GIS-exposure measure than the tonnage measure, before and after statistical control for smoking rates. The superior performance of the GIS measure, based on where people in the state live relative to mining activity, suggests that activities of the industry contribute to cancer mortality. Further confirmation of observed phenomena is necessary with person-level studies, but the results add to the body of evidence that coal mining poses environmental risks to population health in West Virginia.

Design and realization of tourism spatial decision support system based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Zhangbao; Qi, Qingwen; Xu, Li

2008-10-01

In this paper, the existing problems of current tourism management information system are analyzed. GIS, tourism as well as spatial decision support system are introduced, and the application of geographic information system technology and spatial decision support system to tourism management and the establishment of tourism spatial decision support system based on GIS are proposed. System total structure, system hardware and software environment, database design and structure module design of this system are introduced. Finally, realization methods of this systemic core functions are elaborated.

Global Existence Analysis of Cross-Diffusion Population Systems for Multiple Species

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiuqing; Daus, Esther S.; Jüngel, Ansgar

2018-02-01

The existence of global-in-time weak solutions to reaction-cross-diffusion systems for an arbitrary number of competing population species is proved. The equations can be derived from an on-lattice random-walk model with general transition rates. In the case of linear transition rates, it extends the two-species population model of Shigesada, Kawasaki, and Teramoto. The equations are considered in a bounded domain with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. The existence proof is based on a refined entropy method and a new approximation scheme. Global existence follows under a detailed balance or weak cross-diffusion condition. The detailed balance condition is related to the symmetry of the mobility matrix, which mirrors Onsager's principle in thermodynamics. Under detailed balance (and without reaction) the entropy is nonincreasing in time, but counter-examples show that the entropy may increase initially if detailed balance does not hold.

Columbia River system operation review. Final environmental impact statement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-11-01

This Appendix C of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Columbia River System discusses impacts on andromous fish and juvenile fish transportation. The principal andromous fish in the Columbia basin include salmonid species (Chinook, coho, and sockeye salmon, and steelhead) and nonsalmoinid andromous species (sturgeon, lamprey, and shad). Major sections in this document include the following: background, scope and process; affected environment for salmon and steelhead, shaded, lamprey, sturgeon; study methods; description of alternatives: qualitative and quantitative findings

An investigation into the efficacy of avatar-based systems for student advice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Currie

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Student support is an important function in all universities. Most students expect access to support 24/7, but support staff cannot be available at all times of day. This paper addresses this problem, describing the development of an avatar-based system to guide students through the materials provided by a university student employability service. Firstly, students and staff were surveyed to establish the demand for such a system. The system was then constructed. Finally, the system was evaluated by students and staff, which led to a clearer understanding of the optimal role for avatar-based systems and consequent improvements to the system’s functionality.

Synchronization approach for chaotic time-varying delay system based on Wirtinger inequality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhanshan Zhao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available A novel control approach based on Wirtinger inequality is designed for nonlinear chaos synchronization time delay system. In order to reduce the conservatism for the stability criterion, a Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional with triple-integral term is constructed. The improved Wirtinger inequality is used to reduce the conservative which is caused by Jensen inequality, and a stability criterion is proposed by reciprocally convex method. Furthermore, a state feedback controller is designed to synchronize the master-slave systems based on the proposed criteria through cone complementary linearization approach. Finally, a simulation for Lorenz chaos time delay system is given to prove the validity based on the proposed synchronization control approach.

Crop Evaluation System Optimization: Attribute Weights Determination Based on Rough Sets Theory

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruihong Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The present study is mainly a continuation of our previous study, which is about a crop evaluation system development that is based on grey relational analysis. In that system, the attribute weight determination affects the evaluation result directly. Attribute weight is usually ascertained by decision-makers experience knowledge. In this paper, we utilize rough sets theory to calculate attribute significance and then combine it with weight given by decision-maker. This method is a comprehensive consideration of subjective experience knowledge and objective situation; thus it can acquire much more ideal results. Finally, based on this method, we improve the system based on ASP.NET technology.

TARGET 2 and Settlement Finality

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Ivan MANGATCHEV

2011-03-01

Full Text Available This article examines how TARGET 2 as system implements the idea of settlement finality regulated by Directive 98/26 EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems (Settlement Finality Directive and Directive 2009/44/EC of the European parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 amending Directive 98/26/EC on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems and Directive 2002/47/EC on financial collateral arrangements as regards linked systems and credit claims (Directive 2009/44/EC. As the title of the arti and finality of the settlement in this system.

NNWSI project information management system concepts evaluation report. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-08-01

This report is intended as a first step in developing detailed information management system specifications for the Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigations (NNWSI) Project. The current state of information management at the NNWSI Project level is investigated and an information management system (IMS) is proposed. The IMS as it relates to aspects of Project and records management is discussed. Information management concepts and prospective IMS system components are investigated. Concepts and system components include: indexing, searching, retrieval, data base management system technology, computers, storage media, computer-assisted retrieval (CAR) of microfilm, electronic imaging-based systems, optical character recognition, and communications. Performance criteria and desirable system attributes applicable to the IMS are discussed. Six conceptual system approaches capable of satisfying the performance criteria are defined. System approaches include: fully centralized microfilm system based on CAR retrieval (Approach 1), partially distributed microfilm system based on CAR retrieval (Approach 2), fully distributed microfilm system based on CAR retrieval (Approach 3), fully centralized optical disk system based on electronic image and full-text retrieval (Approach 4), partially distributed optical system based on electron image and full-text retrieval (Approach 5), and fully distributed optical disk system based on electronic image and full-text retrieval (Approach 6). Technical and cost considerations associated with the six conceptual approaches are evaluated. Technical evaluation results indicate Approach 4 is the best conceptual approach, and cost evaluation results show no significant differences among approaches. On the basis of the evaluation, Approach 4 is recommended

Multiple Stellar Populations of Globular Clusters from Homogeneous Ca-CN Photometry. II. M5 (NGC 5904) and a New Filter System

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae-Woo

2017-07-01

Using our ingeniously designed new filter systems, we investigate multiple stellar populations of the red giant branch (RGB) and the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) in the globular cluster (GC) M5. Our results are the following. (1) Our {{cn}}{JWL} index accurately traces nitrogen abundances in M5, while other color indices fail to do so. (2) We find bimodal CN distributions in both RGB and AGB sequences, with number ratios between CN-weak (CN-w) and CN-strong (CN-s) of n(CN-w):n(CN-s) = 29:71 (±2) and 21:79 (±7), respectively. (3) We also find a bimodal photometric [N/Fe] distribution for M5 RGB stars. (4) Our {{cn}}{JWL}-[O/Fe] and {{cn}}{JWL}-[Na/Fe] relations show clear discontinuities between the two RGB populations. (5) Although small, the RGB bump of CN-s is slightly brighter, {{Δ }}{V}{bump} = 0.07 ± 0.04 mag. If real, the difference in the helium abundance becomes {{Δ }}Y = 0.028 ± 0.016, in the sense that CN-s is more helium enhanced. (6) Very similar radial but different spatial distributions with comparable center positions are found for the two RGB populations. The CN-s RGB and AGB stars are more elongated along the NW-SE direction. (7) The CN-s population shows a substantial net projected rotation, while that of the CN-w population is nil. (8) Our results confirm the deficiency of CN-w AGB stars previously noted by others. We show that it is most likely due to stochastic truncation in the outer part of the cluster. Finally, we discuss the formation scenario of M5. Based on observations made with the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) 1 m telescope, which is operated by the SMARTS consortium.

ND-REAP/DOE cooperative project: final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-01-01

The impacts of energy-related developments in North Dakota are having profound effects on the state. Among the most significant of these effects are those on the state's economy and its population. Knowledge of the total environmental effects of development is a necessary prerequisite for effective planning and decision making. This final report addresses the conceptual design and functional evolution of the Regional Environmental Assessment Program, the results of the REAP/DOE Cooperative Effort, as well as evolution of the REAP/DOE effort and recommendations for future directions. The Economic Demographic (E-D) Model was developed to give North Dakota decision makers a tool with which to evaluate the impacts of coal development. It projects social, economic, and characteristics of North Dakota. Refinements and expansion of the model are discussed in Section 1. Section 2 provides an evaluation of the model as applied to other states. Section 3 identifies and evaluates the use of REAP data and capabilities to date. The REAP Resources Reference System R/sup 3/S was developed to provide access to information systems and to past research and present studies about aspects of North Dakota. It is a computer-based library reference system. Its status and expansion potential is covered in Section 4. Section 5 makes recommendations for future efforts.

The final fate of planetary systems

Science.gov (United States)

Gaensicke, Boris

2015-12-01

The discovery of the first extra-solar planet around a main-sequence star in 1995 has changed the way we think about the Universe: our solar system is not unique. Twenty years later, we know that planetary systems are ubiquitous, orbit stars spanning a wide range in mass, and form in an astonishing variety of architectures. Yet, one fascinating aspect of planetary systems has received relatively little attention so far: their ultimate fate.Most planet hosts will eventually evolve into white dwarfs, Earth-sized stellar embers, and the outer parts of their planetary systems (in the solar system, Mars and beyond) can survive largely intact for billions of years. While scattered and tidally disrupted planetesimals are directly detected at a small number of white dwarfs in the form infrared excess, the most powerful probe for detecting evolved planetary systems is metal pollution of the otherwise pristine H/He atmospheres.I will present the results of a multi-cycle HST survey that has obtained COS observations of 136 white dwarfs. These ultraviolet spectra are exquisitely sensitive to the presence of metals contaminating the white atmosphere. Our sophisticated model atmosphere analysis demonstrates that at least 27% of all targets are currently accreting planetary debris, and an additional 29% have very likely done so in the past. These numbers suggest that planet formation around A-stars (the dominant progenitors of today's white dwarf population) is similarly efficient as around FGK stars.In addition to post-main sequence planetary system demographics, spectroscopy of the debris-polluted white dwarf atmospheres provides a direct window into the bulk composition of exo-planetesimals, analogous to the way we use of meteorites to determine solar-system abundances. Our ultraviolet spectroscopy is particularly sensitive to the detection of Si, a dominant rock-forming species, and we identify up to ten additional volatile and refractory elements in the most strongly

Final Environmental Assessment for the Beddown and Flight Operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

2008-08-01

southwest border and assisted in 3,065 apprehensions and the seizure of 14,240 pounds of marijuana . Four Predator B UASs now operate out of Sierra Vista...Sustainable design concepts emphasize state-of-the-art strategies for site development, efficient water and energy use and improved indoor environmental...improved indoor environmental quality. EA for the Beddown and Flight Operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems at GFAFB, North Dakota Final 6-1 August

Elderly population in the prison system: a look behind bars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hércules de Oliveira Carmo

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This work is a present reality in this century, and that is demanding attention, especially in the context of public health and human rights - the elderly-con. A complex problem that arose for our consideration is that the person who, besides being old, and the inmate is most often in pain, due to a pathological condition related to organic factors, mental or subjective, in old age, worsens. Without being accompanied by public policies, these realities are not provided before, we now gain a greater complexity in the prison context, reveal an increase of HIV / AIDS, the presence of sexually transmitted disease, increased depression and neuropsychiatric diseases. The questions posed in this research, which attempted to answer here may well be subsumed: - How to think the nursing practices before the issue of the growing aging population with its pathologies further complexizadas in prison? The objective, therefore, this study: (i to investigate the growing presence of the elderly Brazilian penitentiary system, based on existing literature, (ii verify the potential risk factors on the health of the elderly population in the Brazilian prison system, and the weight the presence of a nursing team in this context. Urgent attention, therefore, it is required of health professionals, authorities and civil society to the complexity of aging silenced behind bars.

Multi-spectral band selection for satellite-based systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clodius, W.B.; Weber, P.G.; Borel, C.C.; Smith, B.W.

1998-01-01

The design of satellite based multispectral imaging systems requires the consideration of a number of tradeoffs between cost and performance. The authors have recently been involved in the design and evaluation of a satellite based multispectral sensor operating from the visible through the long wavelength IR. The criteria that led to some of the proposed designs and the modeling used to evaluate and fine tune the designs will both be discussed. These criteria emphasized the use of bands for surface temperature retrieval and the correction of atmospheric effects. The impact of cost estimate changes on the final design will also be discussed

Lunar power systems. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1986-12-01

The findings of a study on the feasibility of several methods of providing electrical power for a permanently manned lunar base are provided. Two fundamentally different methods for lunar electrical power generation are considered. One is the use of a small nuclear reactor and the other is the conversion of solar energy to electricity. The baseline goal was to initially provide 300 kW of power with growth capability to one megawatt and eventually to 10 megawatts. A detailed, day by day scenario for the establishment, build-up, and operational activity of the lunar base is presented. Also presented is a conceptual approach to a supporting transportation system which identifies the number, type, and deployment of transportation vehicles required to support the base. An approach to the use of solar cells in the lunar environment was developed. There are a number of heat engines which are applicable to solar/electric conversions, and these are examined. Several approaches to energy storage which were used by the electric power utilities were examined and those which could be used at a lunar base were identified

GaN-Based Laser Wireless Power Transfer System

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Carlo De Santi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of this work is to present a potential application of gallium nitride-based optoelectronic devices. By using a laser diode and a photodetector, we designed and demonstrated a free-space compact and lightweight wireless power transfer system, whose efficiency is limited by the efficiency of the receiver. We analyzed the effect of the electrical load, temperature, partial absorption and optical excitation distribution on the efficiency, by identifying heating and band-filling as the most impactful processes. By comparing the final demonstrator with a commercial RF-based Qi system, we conclude that the efficiency is still low at close range, but is promising in medium to long range applications. Efficiency may not be a limiting factor, since this concept can enable entirely new possibilities and designs, especially relevant for space applications.

Imbalanced geodemographical structures in Târnave regional system. Case study: population ageing.

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H.-V. CONȚIU

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The demographic prospects of a regional system, the natural dynamics of the population, the potential of manpower resources, planning and forecast of its use, show a high degree of dependence on the demographical structure by age, the identified imbalances involving an increase in the vulnerability of the regional system and therefore an enhancement of geodemographical risks (acceleration of population ageing, decreasing population trend, disappearance of some rural settlements, socio-economic failures etc.. In this study, a special attention is paid to the analysis of ageing index and demographical dependency ratio, and the share of young and old people to the Târnave regional system, taking into account as milestones, the population censuses from 1910, 1992 2002 and 2011.

Reliability of steam-turbine rotors. Task 1. Lifetime prediction analysis system. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nair, P.K.; Pennick, H.G.; Peters, J.E.; Wells, C.H.

1982-12-01

Task 1 of RP 502, Reliability of Steam Turbine Rotors, resulted in the development of a computerized lifetime prediction analysis system (STRAP) for the automatic evaluation of rotor integrity based upon the results of a boresonic examination of near-bore defects. Concurrently an advanced boresonic examination system (TREES), designed to acquire data automatically for lifetime analysis, was developed and delivered to the maintenance shop of a major utility. This system and a semi-automated, state-of-the-art system (BUCS) were evaluated on two retired rotors as part of the Task 2 effort. A modified nonproprietary version of STRAP, called SAFER, is now available for rotor lifetime prediction analysis. STRAP and SAFER share a common fracture analysis postprocessor for rapid evaluation of either conventional boresonic amplitude data or TREES cell data. The final version of this postprocessor contains general stress intensity correlations for elliptical cracks in a radial stress gradient and provision for elastic-plastic instability of the ligament between an imbedded crack and the bore surface. Both linear elastic and ligament rupture models were developed for rapid analysis of linkup within three-dimensional clusters of defects. Bore stress-rupture criteria are included, but a creep-fatigue crack growth data base is not available. Physical and mechanical properties of air-melt 1CrMoV forgings are built into the program; however, only bounding values of fracture toughness versus temperature are available. Owing to the lack of data regarding the probability of flaw detection for the boresonic systems and of quantitative verification of the flaw linkup analysis, automatic evlauation of boresonic results is not recommended, and the lifetime prediction system is currently restricted to conservative, deterministic analysis of specified flaw geometries

A real-time photogrammetry system based on embedded architecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Y. Zheng

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In order to meet the demand of real-time spatial data processing and improve the online processing capability of photogrammetric system, a kind of real-time photogrammetry method is proposed in this paper. According to the proposed method, system based on embedded architecture is then designed: using FPGA, ARM+DSP and other embedded computing technology to build specialized hardware operating environment, transplanting and optimizing the existing photogrammetric algorithm to the embedded system, and finally real-time photogrammetric data processing is realized. At last, aerial photogrammetric experiment shows that the method can achieve high-speed and stable on-line processing of photogrammetric data. And the experiment also verifies the feasibility of the proposed real-time photogrammetric system based on embedded architecture. It is the first time to realize real-time aerial photogrammetric system, which can improve the online processing efficiency of photogrammetry to a higher level and broaden the application field of photogrammetry.

78 FR 21389 - Notice of Issuance of Final Determination Concerning Certain Ultrasound Systems

Science.gov (United States)

2013-04-10

... following series of tests and system adjustments are performed: Electrical safety testing of the components... devices (printer etc.). An electrical safety test is then performed on the system's final configuration... boards assembled in Malaysia were important to the function of the oscilloscopes and the U.S. firmware...

Microbial populations causing off-flavour in recirculated aquaculture systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lukassen, Mie Bech; Schramm, Edward; Nielsen, Jeppe Lund

the distribution of geoA in more than 50 European and Brazilian aquaculture systems has allowed us to identify the diversity among geosmin-producing bacteria. The different populations of geosmin-producers were evaluated relative to plant design, environmental and operational parameters in full-scale aquaculture...... systems using multivariate statistics. The influencing parameters identified were subsequently validated by testing their gene expressions in well-controlled pilot scale aquaculture systems. The results show that the geoA gene is a relative well-conserved gene with limited horizontal gene transfer events...... phase. Furthermore, the gene expressions of the individual groups show positive correlations to the organic loading and presence of oxygen. The current study reveals the presence of important populations involved in geosmin production and which parameters are of importance for their presence...

Stochastic population dynamics in spatially extended predator-prey systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dobramysl, Ulrich; Mobilia, Mauro; Pleimling, Michel; Täuber, Uwe C.

2018-02-01

Spatially extended population dynamics models that incorporate demographic noise serve as case studies for the crucial role of fluctuations and correlations in biological systems. Numerical and analytic tools from non-equilibrium statistical physics capture the stochastic kinetics of these complex interacting many-particle systems beyond rate equation approximations. Including spatial structure and stochastic noise in models for predator-prey competition invalidates the neutral Lotka-Volterra population cycles. Stochastic models yield long-lived erratic oscillations stemming from a resonant amplification mechanism. Spatially extended predator-prey systems display noise-stabilized activity fronts that generate persistent correlations. Fluctuation-induced renormalizations of the oscillation parameters can be analyzed perturbatively via a Doi-Peliti field theory mapping of the master equation; related tools allow detailed characterization of extinction pathways. The critical steady-state and non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics at the predator extinction threshold are governed by the directed percolation universality class. Spatial predation rate variability results in more localized clusters, enhancing both competing species’ population densities. Affixing variable interaction rates to individual particles and allowing for trait inheritance subject to mutations induces fast evolutionary dynamics for the rate distributions. Stochastic spatial variants of three-species competition with ‘rock-paper-scissors’ interactions metaphorically describe cyclic dominance. These models illustrate intimate connections between population dynamics and evolutionary game theory, underscore the role of fluctuations to drive populations toward extinction, and demonstrate how space can support species diversity. Two-dimensional cyclic three-species May-Leonard models are characterized by the emergence of spiraling patterns whose properties are elucidated by a mapping onto a complex

Structure and functioning of the acid-base system in the Baltic Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Kuliński, Karol; Schneider, Bernd; Szymczycha, Beata; Stokowski, Marcin

2017-12-01

The marine acid-base system is relatively well understood for oceanic waters. Its structure and functioning is less obvious for the coastal and shelf seas due to a number of regionally specific anomalies. In this review article we collect and integrate existing knowledge of the acid-base system in the Baltic Sea. Hydrographical and biogeochemical characteristics of the Baltic Sea, as manifested in horizontal and vertical salinity gradients, permanent stratification of the water column, eutrophication, high organic-matter concentrations and high anthropogenic pressure, make the acid-base system complex. In this study, we summarize the general knowledge of the marine acid-base system as well as describe the peculiarities identified and reported for the Baltic Sea specifically. In this context we discuss issues such as dissociation constants in brackish water, different chemical alkalinity models including contributions by organic acid-base systems, long-term changes in total alkalinity, anomalies of borate alkalinity, and the acid-base effects of biomass production and mineralization. Finally, we identify research gaps and specify limitations concerning the Baltic Sea acid-base system.

DEVELOPING FINAL COURSE MONOGRAPHS USING A TEAM-BASED LEARNING METHODOLOGY

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Ani Mari Hartz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This article describes an experience with the Team-Based Learning (TBL methodology in courses designed to support the planning and execution of final course monographs. It contains both professors’ and students’ perceptions, through observation and assessment. A qualitative approach using observation techniques and desk research was used in conjunction with a quantitative approach based on a questionnaire. The sample consisted of 49 students from a higher education institution, 27 of them in a Communication Course and the remaining 22 in a Business Administration course. Qualitative data analysis was performed through simple categorization with back-defined categories, while the quantitative data analysis employed descriptive statistics and cluster analysis using Minitab 17.1 software. The main findings include the identification of: three student profiles (designated as traditional, collaborative and practical; a preference for guidance and feedback from the professor rather than other students; and a need for a professor-led closing discussion when applying the TBL method. As regards the main benefits to students, they recognized that discussion in groups allowed them to realize how much they really know about the subject studied. Finally, most students seemed to like the TBL approach.

Glass fibre sensors for medical applications - fibre-optical dosimeter system. Cooperation project 1991-1994. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

The final report summarizes the results of a cooperation project on the applications of fibre-optical sensors in medical technology. The FADOS dosimeter system is presented which comprises an implantable glass fibre dosimeter. It can be applied in radiotherapy for online dose metering directly at the tumour or in the surrounding healthy tissue. The dosimeter is placed in a tissue-compatible flexible catheter tube and remains inside the body during the radiotherapy treatiment. The measuring principle is based on the effect of radiation-induced damping inside a glass fibre. (DG) [de

Population-based versus practice-based recall for childhood immunizations: a randomized controlled comparative effectiveness trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kempe, Allison; Saville, Alison; Dickinson, L Miriam; Eisert, Sheri; Reynolds, Joni; Herrero, Diana; Beaty, Brenda; Albright, Karen; Dibert, Eva; Koehler, Vicky; Lockhart, Steven; Calonge, Ned

2013-06-01

We compared the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of population-based recall (Pop-recall) versus practice-based recall (PCP-recall) at increasing immunizations among preschool children. This cluster-randomized trial involved children aged 19 to 35 months needing immunizations in 8 rural and 6 urban Colorado counties. In Pop-recall counties, recall was conducted centrally using the Colorado Immunization Information System (CIIS). In PCP-recall counties, practices were invited to attend webinar training using CIIS and offered financial support for mailings. The percentage of up-to-date (UTD) and vaccine documentation were compared 6 months after recall. A mixed-effects model assessed the association between intervention and whether a child became UTD. Ten of 195 practices (5%) implemented recall in PCP-recall counties. Among children needing immunizations, 18.7% became UTD in Pop-recall versus 12.8% in PCP-recall counties (P immunization rates in preschool children.

SMA-Based System for Environmental Sensors Released from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenzo Pellone

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the work at hand, a shape memory alloy (SMA-based system is presented. The system, conceived for releasing environmental sensors from ground or small unmanned aerial vehicles, UAV (often named UAS, unmanned aerial system, is made of a door, integrated into the bottom of the fuselage, a device distributor, operated by a couple of antagonistic SMA springs, and a kinematic chain, to synchronize the deployment operation with the system movement. On the basis of the specifications (weight, available space, energy supply, sensors size, etc., the system design was addressed. After having identified the main system characteristics, a representative mock-up was manufactured, featuring the bottom part of the reference fuselage. Functionality tests were performed to prove the system capability to release the sensors; a detailed characterization was finally carried out, mainly finalized at correlating the kinematic chain displacement with the SMA spring temperature and the supplied electrical power. A comparison between theoretical predictions and experimental outcomes showed good agreement.

C-Band Airport Surface Communications System Standards Development. Phase II Final Report. Volume 2: Test Bed Performance Evaluation and Final AeroMACS Recommendations

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Edward; Magner, James

2011-01-01

This report is provided as part of ITT s NASA Glenn Research Center Aerospace Communication Systems Technical Support (ACSTS) contract NNC05CA85C, Task 7: New ATM Requirements-Future Communications, C-Band and L-Band Communications Standard Development and was based on direction provided by FAA project-level agreements for New ATM Requirements-Future Communications. Task 7 included two subtasks. Subtask 7-1 addressed C-band (5091- to 5150-MHz) airport surface data communications standards development, systems engineering, test bed and prototype development, and tests and demonstrations to establish operational capability for the Aeronautical Mobile Airport Communications System (AeroMACS). Subtask 7-2 focused on systems engineering and development support of the L-band digital aeronautical communications system (L-DACS). Subtask 7-1 consisted of two phases. Phase I included development of AeroMACS concepts of use, requirements, architecture, and initial high-level safety risk assessment. Phase II builds on Phase I results and is presented in two volumes. Volume I is devoted to concepts of use, system requirements, and architecture, including AeroMACS design considerations. Volume II (this document) describes an AeroMACS prototype evaluation and presents final AeroMACS recommendations. This report also describes airport categorization and channelization methodologies. The purposes of the airport categorization task were (1) to facilitate initial AeroMACS architecture designs and enable budgetary projections by creating a set of airport categories based on common airport characteristics and design objectives, and (2) to offer high-level guidance to potential AeroMACS technology and policy development sponsors and service providers. A channelization plan methodology was developed because a common global methodology is needed to assure seamless interoperability among diverse AeroMACS services potentially supplied by multiple service providers.

Final Research Report: Administrative and Legal Issues Associated with a Multi-State VMT-Based Charge System

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-01

In May 2009, the I-95 Coalition convened a workshop of experts to discuss how the Coalition could best contribute to the national dialogue regarding VMT-based charge systems. Following the recommendations of the National Surface Transportation Policy...

A biometric identification system based on eigenpalm and eigenfinger features.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribaric, Slobodan; Fratric, Ivan

2005-11-01

This paper presents a multimodal biometric identification system based on the features of the human hand. We describe a new biometric approach to personal identification using eigenfinger and eigenpalm features, with fusion applied at the matching-score level. The identification process can be divided into the following phases: capturing the image; preprocessing; extracting and normalizing the palm and strip-like finger subimages; extracting the eigenpalm and eigenfinger features based on the K-L transform; matching and fusion; and, finally, a decision based on the (k, l)-NN classifier and thresholding. The system was tested on a database of 237 people (1,820 hand images). The experimental results showed the effectiveness of the system in terms of the recognition rate (100 percent), the equal error rate (EER = 0.58 percent), and the total error rate (TER = 0.72 percent).

Population based estimates of non-fatal injuries in the capital of Iran.

Science.gov (United States)

Saadat, Soheil; Mafi, Mostafa; Sharif-Alhoseini, Mahdi

2011-07-31

Fatal injuries are at the top of the injury pyramid; however, non-fatal injuries are quite common and impose huge medical expenses on the population. Relying on hospital data will underestimate the incidence of non-fatal injuries. The aim of this study was to estimate the annual incidence and out of pocket medical expenses of all injuries in urban population of Tehran (the capital city of Iran). Using the cluster random sampling approach, a household survey of residents of greater Tehran was performed on April 2008. At randomly selected residential locations, interviewers asked one adult person to report all injuries which have occurred during the past year for all household members, as well as the type of injury, place of occurrence, the activity, cause of accidents resulting in injuries, the amount of out of pocket medical expenses for injury, and whether they referred to hospital. This study included 2,450 households residing in Tehran during 2007-8. The annual incidence of all injuries was 188.7 (180.7-196.9), significant injuries needing any medical care was 68.8 (63.7-74.2), fractures was 19.3 (16.6 - 22.4), and injuries resulted in hospitalization was 16.7 (14.2 - 19.6) per 1000 population. The annual incidence of fatal injuries was 33 (7-96) per 100,000 Population. In children aged 15 or less, the annual incidence of all injuries was 137.2 (120.0 - 155.9), significant injuries needing any medical care was 64.2 (52.2 - 78.0), fractures was 21.8 (15.0 - 30.7), and injuries resulted in hospitalization was 6.8 (3.3 - 12.5) per 1000 population. The mean out of pocket medical expense for injuries was 19.9 USD. This population based study showed that the real incidence of non-fatal injuries in the capital of Iran is more than the formal hospital-based estimates. These injuries impose non trivial medical and indirect cost on the community. The out of pocket medical expense of non-fatal injuries to Tehran population is estimated as 27 million USD per year. Effective

Modeling Sustainability: Population, Inequality, Consumption, and Bidirectional Coupling of the Earth and Human Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Motesharrei, Safa; Rivas, Jorge; Kalnay, Eugenia; Asrar, Ghassem R.; Busalacchi, Antonio J.; Cahalan, Robert F.; Cane, Mark A.; Colwell, Rita R.; Feng, Kuishuang; Franklin, Rachel S.;

Modeling Sustainability: Population, Inequality, Consumption, and Bidirectional Coupling of the Earth and Human Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Motesharrei, Safa; Rivas, Jorge; Kalnay, Eugenia; Asrar, Ghassem R.; Busalacchi, Antonio J.; Cahalan, Robert F.; Cane, Mark A.; Colwell, Rita R.; Feng, Kuishuang; Franklin, Rachel S.; Hubacek, Klaus; Miralles-Wilhelm, Fernando; Miyoshi, Takemasa; Ruth, Matthias; Sagdeev, Roald; Shirmohammadi, Adel; Shukla, Jagadish; Srebric, Jelena; Yakovenko, Victor M.; Zeng, Ning

2016-12-11

Over the last two centuries, the impact of the Human System has grown dramatically, becoming strongly dominant within the Earth System in many different ways. Consumption, inequality, and population have increased extremely fast, especially since about 1950, threatening to overwhelm the many critical functions and ecosystems of the Earth System. Changes in the Earth System, in turn, have important feedback effects on the Human System, with costly and potentially serious consequences. However, current models do not incorporate these critical feedbacks. We argue that in order to understand the dynamics of either system, Earth System Models must be coupled with Human System Models through bidirectional couplings representing the positive, negative, and delayed feedbacks that exist in the real systems. In particular, key Human System variables, such as demographics, inequality, economic growth, and migration, are not coupled with the Earth System but are instead driven by exogenous estimates, such as United Nations population projections. This makes current models likely to miss important feedbacks in the real Earth–Human system, especially those that may result in unexpected or counterintuitive outcomes, and thus requiring different policy interventions from current models. The importance and imminence of sustainability challenges, the dominant role of the Human System in the Earth System, and the essential roles the Earth System plays for the Human System, all call for collaboration of natural scientists, social scientists, and engineers in multidisciplinary research and modeling to develop coupled Earth–Human system models for devising effective science-based policies and measures to benefit current and future generations.

A system dynamics optimization framework to achieve population desired of average weight target

Science.gov (United States)

Abidin, Norhaslinda Zainal; Zulkepli, Jafri Haji; Zaibidi, Nerda Zura

2017-11-01

Obesity is becoming a serious problem in Malaysia as it has been rated as the highest among Asian countries. The aim of the paper is to propose a system dynamics (SD) optimization framework to achieve population desired weight target based on the changes in physical activity behavior and its association to weight and obesity. The system dynamics approach of stocks and flows diagram was used to quantitatively model the impact of both behavior on the population's weight and obesity trends. This work seems to bring this idea together and highlighting the interdependence of the various aspects of eating and physical activity behavior on the complex of human weight regulation system. The model was used as an experimentation vehicle to investigate the impacts of changes in physical activity on weight and prevalence of obesity implications. This framework paper provides evidence on the usefulness of SD optimization as a strategic decision making approach to assist in decision making related to obesity prevention. SD applied in this research is relatively new in Malaysia and has a high potential to apply to any feedback models that address the behavior cause to obesity.

Biomaterial-based drug delivery systems for the controlled release of neurotrophic factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohtaram, Nima Khadem; Montgomery, Amy; Willerth, Stephanie M

2013-01-01

This review highlights recent work on the use of biomaterial-based drug delivery systems to control the release of neurotrophic factors as a potential strategy for the treatment of neurological disorders. Examples of neurotrophic factors include the nerve growth factor, the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor and neurotrophin-3. In particular, this review focuses on two methods of drug delivery: affinity-based and reservoir-based systems. We review the advantages and challenges associated with both types of drug delivery system and how these systems can be applied to neurological diseases and disorders. While a limited number of affinity-based delivery systems have been developed for the delivery of neurotrophic factors, we also examine the broad spectrum of reservoir-based delivery systems, including microspheres, electrospun nanofibers, hydrogels and combinations of these systems. Finally, conclusions are drawn about the current state of such drug delivery systems as applied to neural tissue engineering along with some thoughts on the future direction of the field. (topical review)

Epidemiology of Benign External Hydrocephalus in Norway-A Population-Based Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiig, Ulrikke S; Zahl, Sverre M; Egge, Arild; Helseth, Eirik; Wester, Knut

2017-08-01

Benign external hydrocephalus is defined as a rapidly increasing head circumference (occipitofrontal circumference) with characteristic radiological findings of increased subarachnoid cerebrospinal fluid spaces on neuroimaging. The incidence of benign external hydrocephalus has not been previously reported, and there is no available information on the ratio of benign external hydrocephalus in the population of hydrocephalic children. This study is retrospective and population-based study, geographically covering two health regions in the southern half of Norway with a total mean population of 3.34 million in the ten-year study period, constituting approximately 75% of the Norwegian population. Children with a head circumference crossing two percentiles, or greater than the 97.5th percentile, and with typical imaging findings of enlarged frontal subarachnoid spaces with or without enlarged ventricles were included. Children were excluded if they had a history of head trauma, intracranial hemorrhage, central nervous system infection, other known causes of hydrocephalus, or were born preterm defined as birth before 37 weeks of gestation. A total of 176 children fitting the criteria were identified, giving an incidence of 0.4 per 1000 live births. One hundred fifty-two (86.4%) of the patients were male, and mean age at referral was 7.3 months. Increasing head circumference was the main reason for referral in 158 (89.8%) patients and the only finding in 60 (34.1%) patients. Thirty-seven (21%) children had normal ventricles on imaging; the remainder had increased ventricular size. The incidence of pediatric hydrocephalus in Norway is reported to be 0.75 per 1000 live births, thus benign external hydrocephalus accounts for approximately 50% of hydrocephalic conditions in this population. The incidence of benign external hydrocephalus was found to be 0.4 per 1000 live births in this population. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights

Final Technical Report on the Genome Sequence DataBase (GSDB): DE-FG03 95 ER 62062 September 1997-September 1999; FINAL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Harger, Carol A.

1999-01-01

Since September 1997 NCGR has produced two web-based tools for researchers to use to access and analyze data in the Genome Sequence DataBase (GSDB). These tools are: Sequence Viewer, a nucleotide sequence and annotation visualization tool, and MAR-Finder, a tool that predicts, base upon statistical inferences, the location of matrix attachment regions (MARS) within a nucleotide sequence.[The annual report for June 1996 to August 1997 is included as an attachment to this final report.

Healthcare system and the wealth-health gradient: a comparative study of older populations in six countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Maskileyson, Dina

2014-10-01

The present study provides a comparative analysis of the association between wealth and health in six healthcare systems (Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Czech Republic, Israel, the United States). National samples of individuals fifty years and over reveal considerable cross-country variations in health outcomes. In all six countries wealth and health are positively associated. The findings also show that state-based healthcare systems produce better population health outcomes than private-based healthcare systems. The results indicate that in five out of the six countries studied, the wealth-health gradients were remarkably similar, despite significant variations in healthcare system type. Only in the United States was the association between wealth and health substantially different from, and much greater than that in the other five countries. The findings suggest that private-based healthcare system in the U.S. is likely to promote stronger positive associations between wealth and health. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of a research prototype expert system for endemic populations of mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine forests

Science.gov (United States)

Dale L. Bartos; Kent B. Downing

1989-01-01

A knowledge acquisition program was written to aid in obtaining knowledge from the experts concerning endemic populations of mountain pine beetle in lodgepole pine forest. An application expert system is then automatically generated by the knowledge acquisition program that contains the codified base of expert knowledge. Data can then be entered into the expert system...

De novo assembly of highly diverse viral populations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yang Xiao

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Extensive genetic diversity in viral populations within infected hosts and the divergence of variants from existing reference genomes impede the analysis of deep viral sequencing data. A de novo population consensus assembly is valuable both as a single linear representation of the population and as a backbone on which intra-host variants can be accurately mapped. The availability of consensus assemblies and robustly mapped variants are crucial to the genetic study of viral disease progression, transmission dynamics, and viral evolution. Existing de novo assembly techniques fail to robustly assemble ultra-deep sequence data from genetically heterogeneous populations such as viruses into full-length genomes due to the presence of extensive genetic variability, contaminants, and variable sequence coverage. Results We present VICUNA, a de novo assembly algorithm suitable for generating consensus assemblies from genetically heterogeneous populations. We demonstrate its effectiveness on Dengue, Human Immunodeficiency and West Nile viral populations, representing a range of intra-host diversity. Compared to state-of-the-art assemblers designed for haploid or diploid systems, VICUNA recovers full-length consensus and captures insertion/deletion polymorphisms in diverse samples. Final assemblies maintain a high base calling accuracy. VICUNA program is publicly available at: http://www.broadinstitute.org/scientific-community/science/projects/viral-genomics/ viral-genomics-analysis-software. Conclusions We developed VICUNA, a publicly available software tool, that enables consensus assembly of ultra-deep sequence derived from diverse viral populations. While VICUNA was developed for the analysis of viral populations, its application to other heterogeneous sequence data sets such as metagenomic or tumor cell population samples may prove beneficial in these fields of research.

Efficient Generation and Selection of Virtual Populations in Quantitative Systems Pharmacology Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, R J; Rieger, T R; Musante, C J

2016-03-01

Quantitative systems pharmacology models mechanistically describe a biological system and the effect of drug treatment on system behavior. Because these models rarely are identifiable from the available data, the uncertainty in physiological parameters may be sampled to create alternative parameterizations of the model, sometimes termed "virtual patients." In order to reproduce the statistics of a clinical population, virtual patients are often weighted to form a virtual population that reflects the baseline characteristics of the clinical cohort. Here we introduce a novel technique to efficiently generate virtual patients and, from this ensemble, demonstrate how to select a virtual population that matches the observed data without the need for weighting. This approach improves confidence in model predictions by mitigating the risk that spurious virtual patients become overrepresented in virtual populations.

Embedded 3D Graphics Core for FPGA-based System-on-Chip Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holten-Lund, Hans Erik

2005-01-01

This paper presents a 3D graphics accelerator core for an FPGA based system, and illustrates how to build a System-on-Chip containing a Xilinx MicroBlaze soft-core CPU and our 3D graphics accelerator core. The system is capable of running uClinux and hardware accelerated 3D graphics applications......, and the video display which periodically reads from memory to display the final rendered graphics. The graphics core uses internal scratch-pad memory to reduce its external bandwidth requirement, this is achieved by implementing a tile-based rendering algorithm. Reduced external bandwidth means that the power...

Implementation of a Web-Based Collaborative Process Planning System

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Huifen; Liu, Tingting; Qiao, Li; Huang, Shuangxi

Under the networked manufacturing environment, all phases of product manufacturing involving design, process planning, machining and assembling may be accomplished collaboratively by different enterprises, even different manufacturing stages of the same part may be finished collaboratively by different enterprises. Based on the self-developed networked manufacturing platform eCWS(e-Cooperative Work System), a multi-agent-based system framework for collaborative process planning is proposed. In accordance with requirements of collaborative process planning, share resources provided by cooperative enterprises in the course of collaboration are classified into seven classes. Then a reconfigurable and extendable resource object model is built. Decision-making strategy is also studied in this paper. Finally a collaborative process planning system e-CAPP is developed and applied. It provides strong support for distributed designers to collaboratively plan and optimize product process though network.

Strong evidence for a genetic contribution to late-onset Alzheimer's disease mortality: a population-based study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John S K Kauwe

Full Text Available Alzheimer's disease (AD is an international health concern that has a devastating effect on patients and families. While several genetic risk factors for AD have been identified much of the genetic variance in AD remains unexplained. There are limited published assessments of the familiality of Alzheimer's disease. Here we present the largest genealogy-based analysis of AD to date.We assessed the familiality of AD in The Utah Population Database (UPDB, a population-based resource linking electronic health data repositories for the state with the computerized genealogy of the Utah settlers and their descendants. We searched UPDB for significant familial clustering of AD to evaluate the genetic contribution to disease. We compared the Genealogical Index of Familiality (GIF between AD individuals and randomly selected controls and estimated the Relative Risk (RR for a range of family relationships. Finally, we identified pedigrees with a significant excess of AD deaths.The GIF analysis showed that pairs of individuals dying from AD were significantly more related than expected. This excess of relatedness was observed for both close and distant relationships. RRs for death from AD among relatives of individuals dying from AD were significantly increased for both close and more distant relatives. Multiple pedigrees had a significant excess of AD deaths.These data strongly support a genetic contribution to the observed clustering of individuals dying from AD. This report is the first large population-based assessment of the familiality of AD mortality and provides the only reported estimates of relative risk of AD mortality in extended relatives to date. The high-risk pedigrees identified show a true excess of AD mortality (not just multiple cases and are greater in depth and width than published AD pedigrees. The presence of these high-risk pedigrees strongly supports the possibility of rare predisposition variants not yet identified.

Mating System and Effective Population Size of the Overexploited Neotropical Tree (Myroxylon peruiferum L.f.) and Their Impact on Seedling Production.

Science.gov (United States)

Silvestre, Ellida de Aguiar; Schwarcz, Kaiser Dias; Grando, Carolina; de Campos, Jaqueline Bueno; Sujii, Patricia Sanae; Tambarussi, Evandro Vagner; Macrini, Camila Menezes Trindade; Pinheiro, José Baldin; Brancalion, Pedro Henrique Santin; Zucchi, Maria Imaculada

2018-03-16

The reproductive system of a tree species has substantial impact on genetic diversity and structure within and among natural populations. Such information, should be considered when planning tree planting for forest restoration. Here, we describe the mating system and genetic diversity of an overexploited Neotropical tree, Myroxylon peruiferum L.f. (Fabaceae) sampled from a forest remnant (10 seed trees and 200 seeds) and assess whether the effective population size of nursery-grown seedlings (148 seedlings) is sufficient to prevent inbreeding depression in reintroduced populations. Genetic analyses were performed based on 8 microsatellite loci. M. peruiferum presented a mixed mating system with evidence of biparental inbreeding (t^m-t^s = 0.118). We found low levels of genetic diversity for M. peruiferum species (allelic richness: 1.40 to 4.82; expected heterozygosity: 0.29 to 0.52). Based on Ne(v) within progeny, we suggest a sample size of 47 seed trees to achieve an effective population size of 100. The effective population sizes for the nursery-grown seedlings were much smaller Ne = 27.54-34.86) than that recommended for short term Ne ≥ 100) population conservation. Therefore, to obtain a reasonable genetic representation of native tree species and prevent problems associated with inbreeding depression, seedling production for restoration purposes may require a much larger sampling effort than is currently used, a problem that is further complicated by species with a mixed mating system. This study emphasizes the need to integrate species reproductive biology into seedling production programs and connect conservation genetics with ecological restoration.

Model-based fault diagnosis in PEM fuel cell systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escobet, T; de Lira, S; Puig, V; Quevedo, J [Automatic Control Department (ESAII), Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC), Rambla Sant Nebridi 10, 08222 Terrassa (Spain); Feroldi, D; Riera, J; Serra, M [Institut de Robotica i Informatica Industrial (IRI), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya (UPC) Parc Tecnologic de Barcelona, Edifici U, Carrer Llorens i Artigas, 4-6, Planta 2, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2009-07-01

In this work, a model-based fault diagnosis methodology for PEM fuel cell systems is presented. The methodology is based on computing residuals, indicators that are obtained comparing measured inputs and outputs with analytical relationships, which are obtained by system modelling. The innovation of this methodology is based on the characterization of the relative residual fault sensitivity. To illustrate the results, a non-linear fuel cell simulator proposed in the literature is used, with modifications, to include a set of fault scenarios proposed in this work. Finally, it is presented the diagnosis results corresponding to these fault scenarios. It is remarkable that with this methodology it is possible to diagnose and isolate all the faults in the proposed set in contrast with other well known methodologies which use the binary signature matrix of analytical residuals and faults. (author)

77 FR 50153 - Special Purpose Permit Application; Hawaii-Based Shallow-Set Longline Fishery; Final...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-20

...-FF01M01000] Special Purpose Permit Application; Hawaii-Based Shallow-Set Longline Fishery; Final... of the Hawaii-based shallow-set longline fishery, which targets swordfish. After evaluating several... take of seabirds in the shallow-set longline fishery based in Hawaii. The analysis of alternatives is...

Genetic affinities of north and northeastern populations of India: inference from HLA-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Agrawal, S; Srivastava, S K; Borkar, M; Chaudhuri, T K

2008-08-01

India is like a microcosm of the world in terms of its diversity; religion, climate and ethnicity which leads to genetic variations in the populations. As a highly polymorphic marker, the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system plays an important role in the genetic differentiation studies. To assess the genetic diversity of HLA class II loci, we studied a total of 1336 individuals from north India using DNA-based techniques. The study included four endogamous castes (Kayastha, Mathurs, Rastogies and Vaishyas), two inbreeding Muslim populations (Shias and Sunnis) from north India and three northeast Indian populations (Lachung, Mech and Rajbanshi). A total of 36 alleles were observed at DRB1 locus in both Hindu castes and Muslims from north, while 21 alleles were seen in northeast Indians. At the DQA1 locus, the number of alleles ranged from 11 to 17 in the studied populations. The total number of alleles at DQB1 was 19, 12 and 20 in the studied castes, Muslims and northeastern populations, respectively. The most frequent haplotypes observed in all the studied populations were DRB1*0701-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0201 and DRB1*1501-DQA1*0103-DQB1*0601. Upon comparing our results with other world populations, we observed the presence of Caucasoid element in north Indian population. However, differential admixturing among Sunnis and Shias with the other north Indians was evident. Northeastern populations showed genetic affinity with Mongoloids from southeast Asia. When genetic distances were calculated, we found the north Indians and northeastern populations to be markedly unrelated.

Model-Free Coordinated Control for MHTGR-Based Nuclear Steam Supply Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhe Dong

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The modular high temperature gas-cooled reactor (MHTGR is a typical small modular reactor (SMR that offers simpler, standardized and safer modular design by being factory built, requiring smaller initial capital investment, and having a shorter construction period. Thanks to its small size, the MHTGRs could be beneficial in providing electric power to remote areas that are deficient in transmission or distribution and in generating local power for large population centers. Based on the multi-modular operation scheme, the inherent safety feature of the MHTGRs can be applicable to large nuclear plants of any desired power rating. The MHTGR-based nuclear steam supplying system (NSSS is constituted by an MHTGR, a side-by-side arranged helical-coil once-through steam generator (OTSG and some connecting pipes. Due to the side-by-side arrangement, there is a tight coupling effect between the MHTGR and OTSG. Moreover, there always exists the parameter perturbation of the NSSSs. Thus, it is meaningful to study the model-free coordinated control of MHTGR-based NSSSs for safe, stable, robust and efficient operation. In this paper, a new model-free coordinated control strategy that regulates the nuclear power, MHTGR outlet helium temperature and OTSG outlet overheated steam temperature by properly adjusting the control rod position, helium flowrate and feed-water flowrate is established for the MHTGR-based NSSSs. Sufficient conditions for the globally asymptotic closed-loop stability is given. Finally, numerical simulation results in the cases of large range power decrease and increase illustrate the satisfactory performance of this newly-developed model-free coordinated NSSS control law.

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - final presentations & prototype expo

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2015-01-01

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - Final presentations & prototype expo Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) is a six-month project course, where multidisciplinary student teams and their instructors collaborate with researchers at CERN to discover novel solutions for the future of humankind. The projects are an elaborate mixture, where societal, human-driven needs meet research at CERN. More info about CBI from the course website, cbi-course.com The Gala on 10.12. will introduce the proof-of concept prototypes the four student teams have developed to answer a wide range of societal challenges, inspired by people and research at CERN.   Dress code: a suit / dress  is not required - come as you are! Register for live attendance & CERN access for external visitors. Webcast and/or recorded presentations will be available here in the Indico page for anyone interested.  The space is limited to 50 participants, so act quickly! &...

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - final presentations & prototype expo

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Challenge Based Innovation @ mediterranean - Final presentations & prototype expo Note - presentation location has been changed to the council chamber (503-1-001) due to the large amount of signups. External participants are guided from the main reception (building 33), more information over email on Wednesday. Prototype presentations are still at IdeaSquare (3179) 18.00 - 19.30, guided walking from the presentations.  Challenge Based Innovation (CBI) is a four month project course, where multidisciplinary student teams and their instructors collaborate with researchers at CERN to discover novel solutions for the future of humankind. The projects are an elaborate mixture, where societal, human-driven needs meet research at CERN. More info about CBI from the course website, cbi-course.com The Gala on 1.12. will introduce the proof-of concept prototypes the five student teams have developed to answer a wide range of societal challenges, inspired by people and r...

Morphing Wing Structural Optimization Using Opposite-Based Population-Based Incremental Learning and Multigrid Ground Elements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Sleesongsom

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper has twin aims. Firstly, a multigrid design approach for optimization of an unconventional morphing wing is proposed. The structural design problem is assigned to optimize wing mass, lift effectiveness, and buckling factor subject to structural safety requirements. Design variables consist of partial topology, nodal positions, and component sizes of a wing internal structure. Such a design process can be accomplished by using multiple resolutions of ground elements, which is called a multigrid approach. Secondly, an opposite-based multiobjective population-based incremental learning (OMPBIL is proposed for comparison with the original multiobjective population-based incremental learning (MPBIL. Multiobjective design problems with single-grid and multigrid design variables are then posed and tackled by OMPBIL and MPBIL. The results show that using OMPBIL in combination with a multigrid design approach is the best design strategy. OMPBIL is superior to MPBIL since the former provides better population diversity. Aeroelastic trim for an elastic morphing wing is also presented.

Transgender Population Size in the United States: a Meta-Regression of Population-Based Probability Samples

Science.gov (United States)

Sevelius, Jae M.

2017-01-01

Background. Transgender individuals have a gender identity that differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. The population size of transgender individuals in the United States is not well-known, in part because official records, including the US Census, do not include data on gender identity. Population surveys today more often collect transgender-inclusive gender-identity data, and secular trends in culture and the media have created a somewhat more favorable environment for transgender people. Objectives. To estimate the current population size of transgender individuals in the United States and evaluate any trend over time. Search methods. In June and July 2016, we searched PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Web of Science for national surveys, as well as “gray” literature, through an Internet search. We limited the search to 2006 through 2016. Selection criteria. We selected population-based surveys that used probability sampling and included self-reported transgender-identity data. Data collection and analysis. We used random-effects meta-analysis to pool eligible surveys and used meta-regression to address our hypothesis that the transgender population size estimate would increase over time. We used subsample and leave-one-out analysis to assess for bias. Main results. Our meta-regression model, based on 12 surveys covering 2007 to 2015, explained 62.5% of model heterogeneity, with a significant effect for each unit increase in survey year (F = 17.122; df = 1,10; b = 0.026%; P = .002). Extrapolating these results to 2016 suggested a current US population size of 390 adults per 100 000, or almost 1 million adults nationally. This estimate may be more indicative for younger adults, who represented more than 50% of the respondents in our analysis. Authors’ conclusions. Future national surveys are likely to observe higher numbers of transgender people. The large variety in questions used to ask

Recipient Age and Mortality Risk after Liver Transplantation: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Hsiu-Pin; Tsai, Yung-Fong; Lin, Jr-Rung; Liu, Fu-Chao; Yu, Huang-Ping

2016-01-01

The aim of the present large population-based cohort study is to explore the risk factors of age-related mortality in liver transplant recipients in Taiwan. Basic information and data on medical comorbidities for 2938 patients who received liver transplants between July 1, 1998, and December 31, 2012, were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database on the basis of ICD-9-codes. Mortality risks were analyzed after adjusting for preoperative comorbidities and compared among age cohorts. All patients were followed up until the study endpoint or death. This study finally included 2588 adults and 350 children [2068 (70.4%) male and 870 (29.6%) female patients]. The median age at transplantation was 52 (interquartile range, 43-58) years. Recipients were categorized into the following age cohorts: recipients (≥60 years), especially dialysis patients, have a higher mortality rate, possibly because they have more medical comorbidities. Our findings should make clinicians aware of the need for better risk stratification among elderly liver transplantation candidates.

GaitaBase: Web-based repository system for gait analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Tirosh, Oren; Baker, Richard; McGinley, Jenny

2010-02-01

The need to share gait analysis data to improve clinical decision support has been recognised since the early 1990s. GaitaBase has been established to provide a web-accessible repository system of gait analysis data to improve the sharing of data across local and international clinical and research community. It is used by several clinical and research groups across the world providing cross-group access permissions to retrieve and analyse the data. The system is useful for bench-marking and quality assurance, clinical consultation, and collaborative research. It has the capacity to increase the population sample size and improve the quality of 'normative' gait data. In addition the accumulated stored data may facilitate clinicians in comparing their own gait data with others, and give a valuable insight into how effective specific interventions have been for others. 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fuzzy logic based control system for fresh water aquaculture: A MATLAB based simulation approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rana Dinesh Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Fuzzy control is regarded as the most widely used application of fuzzy logic. Fuzzy logic is an innovative technology to design solutions for multiparameter and non-linear control problems. One of the greatest advantages of fuzzy control is that it uses human experience and process information obtained from operator rather than a mathematical model for the definition of a control strategy. As a result, it often delivers solutions faster than conventional control design techniques. The proposed system is an attempt to apply fuzzy logic techniques to predict the stress factor on the fish, based on line data and rule base generated using domain expert. The proposed work includes a use of Data acquisition system, an interfacing device for on line parameter acquisition and analysis, fuzzy logic controller (FLC for inferring the stress factor. The system takes stress parameters on the fish as inputs, fuzzified by using FLC with knowledge base rules and finally provides single output. All the parameters are controlled and calibrated by the fuzzy logic toolbox and MATLAB programming.

An Efficient User Authentication and User Anonymity Scheme with Provably Security for IoT-Based Medical Care System.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chun-Ta; Wu, Tsu-Yang; Chen, Chin-Ling; Lee, Cheng-Chi; Chen, Chien-Ming

2017-06-23

In recent years, with the increase in degenerative diseases and the aging population in advanced countries, demands for medical care of older or solitary people have increased continually in hospitals and healthcare institutions. Applying wireless sensor networks for the IoT-based telemedicine system enables doctors, caregivers or families to monitor patients' physiological conditions at anytime and anyplace according to the acquired information. However, transmitting physiological data through the Internet concerns the personal privacy of patients. Therefore, before users can access medical care services in IoT-based medical care system, they must be authenticated. Typically, user authentication and data encryption are most critical for securing network communications over a public channel between two or more participants. In 2016, Liu and Chung proposed a bilinear pairing-based password authentication scheme for wireless healthcare sensor networks. They claimed their authentication scheme cannot only secure sensor data transmission, but also resist various well-known security attacks. In this paper, we demonstrate that Liu-Chung's scheme has some security weaknesses, and we further present an improved secure authentication and data encryption scheme for the IoT-based medical care system, which can provide user anonymity and prevent the security threats of replay and password/sensed data disclosure attacks. Moreover, we modify the authentication process to reduce redundancy in protocol design, and the proposed scheme is more efficient in performance compared with previous related schemes. Finally, the proposed scheme is provably secure in the random oracle model under ECDHP.

Implementation of Wireless Communications Systems on FPGA-Based Platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Voros NS

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Wireless communications are a very popular application domain. The efficient implementation of their components (access points and mobile terminals/network interface cards in terms of hardware cost and design time is of great importance. This paper describes the design and implementation of the HIPERLAN/2 WLAN system on a platform including general purpose microprocessors and FPGAs. Detailed implementation results (performance, code size, and FPGA resources utilization are presented. The main goal of the design case presented is to provide insight into the design aspects of a complex system based on FPGAs. The results prove that an implementation based on microprocessors and FPGAs is adequate for the access point part of the system where the expected volumes are rather small. At the same time, such an implementation serves as a prototyping of an integrated implementation (System-on-Chip, which is necessary for the mobile terminals of a HIPERLAN/2 system. Finally, firmware upgrades were developed allowing the implementation of an outdoor wireless communication system on the same platform.

Social Network Analysis of the Caste-Based Reservation System in India

OpenAIRE

Iyengar, S. R. S.; Parasuram, Aishwarya; Saini, Jaspal Singh

2015-01-01

It has been argued that the reservation system in India, which has existed since the time of Indian Independence (1947), has caused more havoc and degradation than progress. This being a popular public opinion, these notions have not been based on any rigorous scientific study or research. In this paper, we revisit the cultural divide among the Indian population from a purely social networks based approach. We study the reservation system in detail, starting from its past and observing its ef...

Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2017 Home Health Prospective Payment System Rate Update; Home Health Value-Based Purchasing Model; and Home Health Quality Reporting Requirements. Final rule.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-03

This final rule updates the Home Health Prospective Payment System (HH PPS) payment rates, including the national, standardized 60-day episode payment rates, the national per-visit rates, and the non-routine medical supply (NRS) conversion factor; effective for home health episodes of care ending on or after January 1, 2017. This rule also: Implements the last year of the 4-year phase-in of the rebasing adjustments to the HH PPS payment rates; updates the HH PPS case-mix weights using the most current, complete data available at the time of rulemaking; implements the 2nd-year of a 3-year phase-in of a reduction to the national, standardized 60-day episode payment to account for estimated case-mix growth unrelated to increases in patient acuity (that is, nominal case-mix growth) between CY 2012 and CY 2014; finalizes changes to the methodology used to calculate payments made under the HH PPS for high-cost "outlier" episodes of care; implements changes in payment for furnishing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) using a disposable device for patients under a home health plan of care; discusses our efforts to monitor the potential impacts of the rebasing adjustments; includes an update on subsequent research and analysis as a result of the findings from the home health study; and finalizes changes to the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which was implemented on January 1, 2016; and updates to the Home Health Quality Reporting Program (HH QRP).

TWO-DIMENSIONAL LOCALIZATION OF ATOMIC POPULATIONS IN FOUR-LEVEL QUANTUM SYSTEMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. A. Efremova

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with investigation of one aspect of fundamental problem of laser radiation interaction with the matter. This problem is spatial localization of atomic populations due to fields impact of few running waves. We are the first to propose in our work two–dimensional spatial localization of atomic populations in medium with tripod–like configuration of levels under the field influence of running waves only. Three running waves, propagating along one plane 120o angle-wise to each other, form the system of standing waves in this plane. Atomic populations can be localized in the field of these standing waves. Moreover, the degree of such localization can make up hundredth parts of the wavelength of the incident optical radiation. It is shown that an excitation of the central transition of the tripod-like system using a field of multidirectional linearly polarized running waves is the necessary condition of the population dependence from spatial coordinates in the XY – plane. The two–dimensional shapes that appear in this system can have very complicated structure such as “double – craters”.

System composition and operation of exposure dose registration and control system (Final report)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1978-01-01

Since November, 1976, the committee concerning the investigation of exposure dose registration and control system for employees in nuclear industries has discussed on the exposure dose registration and control system, issued the interim report (outline) in April, 1977, and continued to investigate the details organizing the working group. Here, the final report is presented. It describes first on the definition of the terms used and the basic concept of the exposure dose registration and control system, in which the name of that organization is decided as ''Central Registration Office for Radiation Works'', Radiation Influence Association, the foundational juridical person. Next, the works to be performed in the Center and nuclear energy enterprises are explained. The items concerning the business management at the time of practical execution are the major part of the report, and are over 22 items. These include the registration business, the official reporting business, inquiry and answer business about career, change and revision, and computer processing system. As the temporary measures for transfer ring to the new system, 10 items are also provided. Supplementary explanation of 9 important items is given in the appendix. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Using dynamic stochastic modelling to estimate population risk factors in infectious disease: the example of FIV in 15 cat populations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Fouchet

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In natural cat populations, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV is transmitted through bites between individuals. Factors such as the density of cats within the population or the sex-ratio can have potentially strong effects on the frequency of fight between individuals and hence appear as important population risk factors for FIV. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To study such population risk factors, we present data on FIV prevalence in 15 cat populations in northeastern France. We investigate five key social factors of cat populations; the density of cats, the sex-ratio, the number of males and the mean age of males and females within the population. We overcome the problem of dependence in the infective status data using sexually-structured dynamic stochastic models. Only the age of males and females had an effect (p = 0.043 and p = 0.02, respectively on the male-to-female transmission rate. Due to multiple tests, it is even likely that these effects are, in reality, not significant. Finally we show that, in our study area, the data can be explained by a very simple model that does not invoke any risk factor. CONCLUSION: Our conclusion is that, in host-parasite systems in general, fluctuations due to stochasticity in the transmission process are naturally very large and may alone explain a larger part of the variability in observed disease prevalence between populations than previously expected. Finally, we determined confidence intervals for the simple model parameters that can be used to further aid in management of the disease.

Intelligent Luminance Control of Lighting Systems Based on Imaging Sensor Feedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haoting Liu

2017-02-01

Full Text Available An imaging sensor-based intelligent Light Emitting Diode (LED lighting system for desk use is proposed. In contrast to the traditional intelligent lighting system, such as the photosensitive resistance sensor-based or the infrared sensor-based system, the imaging sensor can realize a finer perception of the environmental light; thus it can guide a more precise lighting control. Before this system works, first lots of typical imaging lighting data of the desk application are accumulated. Second, a series of subjective and objective Lighting Effect Evaluation Metrics (LEEMs are defined and assessed for these datasets above. Then the cluster benchmarks of these objective LEEMs can be obtained. Third, both a single LEEM-based control and a multiple LEEMs-based control are developed to realize a kind of optimal luminance tuning. When this system works, first it captures the lighting image using a wearable camera. Then it computes the objective LEEMs of the captured image and compares them with the cluster benchmarks of the objective LEEMs. Finally, the single LEEM-based or the multiple LEEMs-based control can be implemented to get a kind of optimal lighting effect. Many experiment results have shown the proposed system can tune the LED lamp automatically according to environment luminance changes.

Final Environmental Assessment for the California Space Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-02

rooted , mesophylic plant species that Chapter 3. Affected Environment Final Environmental Assessment - California Space Center, Vandenberg Air...Chapter 3. Affected Environment 3-12 Final Environmental Assessment - California Space Center, Vandenberg Air Force Base the root and debris zone of the...protruding objects, slippery soils or mud, and biological hazards including vegetation (i.e. poison oak and stinging nettle ), animals (i.e. insects

Scleroderma prevalence: demographic variations in a population-based sample.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernatsky, S; Joseph, L; Pineau, C A; Belisle, P; Hudson, M; Clarke, A E

2009-03-15

To estimate the prevalence of systemic sclerosis (SSc) using population-based administrative data, and to assess the sensitivity of case ascertainment approaches. We ascertained SSc cases from Quebec physician billing and hospitalization databases (covering approximately 7.5 million individuals). Three case definition algorithms were compared, and statistical methods accounting for imperfect case ascertainment were used to estimate SSc prevalence and case ascertainment sensitivity. A hierarchical Bayesian latent class regression model that accounted for possible between-test dependence conditional on disease status estimated the effect of patient characteristics on SSc prevalence and the sensitivity of the 3 ascertainment algorithms. Accounting for error inherent in both the billing and the hospitalization data, we estimated SSc prevalence in 2003 at 74.4 cases per 100,000 women (95% credible interval [95% CrI] 69.3-79.7) and 13.3 cases per 100,000 men (95% CrI 11.1-16.1). Prevalence was higher for older individuals, particularly in urban women (161.2 cases per 100,000, 95% CrI 148.6-175.0). Prevalence was lowest in young men (in rural areas, as low as 2.8 cases per 100,000, 95% CrI 1.4-4.8). In general, no single algorithm was very sensitive, with point estimates for sensitivity ranging from 20-73%. We found marked differences in SSc prevalence according to age, sex, and region. In general, no single case ascertainment approach was very sensitive for SSc. Therefore, using data from multiple sources, with adjustment for the imperfect nature of each, is an important strategy in population-based studies of SSc and similar conditions.

75 FR 11002 - Hazardous Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Final Rule

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-10

... Waste Management System; Identification and Listing of Hazardous Waste; Final Rule AGENCY: Environmental... and specific types of management of the petitioned waste, the quantities of waste generated, and waste... wastes. This final rule responds to a petition submitted by Valero to delist F037 waste. The F037 waste...

Final design and status of the NSLS vacuum system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuchman, J.C.

1982-01-01

We describe the final system, as built, reasons for changes and the general status of the NSLS. The NSLS is a dedicated facility for the purpose of producing synchrotron radiation. It consists of an electron linac-booster injector system, and two storage rings, one for uv research and the other for x-ray research. (Synchrotron radiation is produced by accelerating electrons in the storage rings.) The design current and energies are 1000 ma at 700 MeV for the vuv ring and 500 ma at 2.5 GeV for the x-ray ring. A total of 44 experimental beam ports are available for use. Since each beam port may be divided into two or more experimentall beam lines, it is quite plausible to have upward of 100 simultaneously operating beam lines

Strategies to work with HLA data in human populations for histocompatibility, clinical transplantation, epidemiology and population genetics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanchez-Mazas, A; Vidan-Jeras, B; Nunes, J M

2012-01-01

QUESTIONNAIRE' has been finalized and is available for the whole HLA community. WG2 (HLA typing standards for population genetics analyses) recommends retaining maximal information when reporting HLA typing results. Rather than using the National Marrow Donor Program coding system, all ambiguities should...... and fundamental research. Such improvements involve finding consensual strategies to characterize human populations and samples and report HLA molecular typings and ambiguities; proposing user-friendly access to databases and computer tools and defining minimal requirements related to ethical aspects. The overall......-Weinberg equilibrium and selective neutrality on data containing any number and kind of ambiguities. WG4 (Ethical issues) proposes to adopt thorough general principles for any HLA population study to ensure that it conforms to (inter)national legislation or recommendations/guidelines. All HLA-NET guidelines and tools...

A small Unix-based data acquisition system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engberg, D.; Glanzman, T.

1993-06-01

The proposed SLAC B Factory detector plans to use Unix-based machines for all aspects of computing, including real-time data acquisition and experimental control. An R ampersand D program has been established to investigate the use of Unix in the various aspects of experimental computation. Earlier R ampersand D work investigated the basic real-time aspects of the IBM RS/6000 workstation running AIX. The next step in this R ampersand D is the construction of prototype data acquisition system which attempts to exercise many of the features needed in the final on-line system in a realistic situation. For this project, we have combined efforts with a team studying the use of novel cell designs and gas mixtures in a new prototype drift chamber

Acoustic Biometric System Based on Preprocessing Techniques and Linear Support Vector Machines.

Science.gov (United States)

del Val, Lara; Izquierdo-Fuente, Alberto; Villacorta, Juan J; Raboso, Mariano

2015-06-17

Drawing on the results of an acoustic biometric system based on a MSE classifier, a new biometric system has been implemented. This new system preprocesses acoustic images, extracts several parameters and finally classifies them, based on Support Vector Machine (SVM). The preprocessing techniques used are spatial filtering, segmentation-based on a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) to separate the person from the background, masking-to reduce the dimensions of images-and binarization-to reduce the size of each image. An analysis of classification error and a study of the sensitivity of the error versus the computational burden of each implemented algorithm are presented. This allows the selection of the most relevant algorithms, according to the benefits required by the system. A significant improvement of the biometric system has been achieved by reducing the classification error, the computational burden and the storage requirements.

Thermodynamics and Human Population

Science.gov (United States)

Cordry, Sean M.

2010-09-01

This paper discusses a Fermi-problem exercise through which I take students in several of my college courses. Students work in teams, determining the average daily Caloric needs per person. Then they use insolation values to determine the size of a collection area needed to absorb the previously determined daily energy requirements. Adjustments to the size of the collection area are made based on energy absorption per biological trophic level, as well as the consideration that most diets are a mixture of plant- and animal-derived elements. Finally, using the total amount of farmland available on the planet, students calculate a maximum population value. Although the maximum population values derived herewith should not be considered authoritative, the exercise has three beneficial purposes: 1) a chance to talk about the modeling process and extrapolations, 2) an unexpected application of physics to social contexts, and 3) raising student awareness of population and energy issues.

High-level PC-based laser system modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Michael S.

1991-05-01

Since the inception of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) there have been a multitude of comparison studies done in an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness and relative sizes of complementary, and sometimes competitive, laser weapon systems. It became more and more apparent that what the systems analyst needed was not only a fast, but a cost effective way to perform high-level trade studies. In the present investigation, a general procedure is presented for the development of PC-based algorithmic systems models for laser systems. This procedure points out all of the major issues that should be addressed in the design and development of such a model. Issues addressed include defining the problem to be modeled, defining a strategy for development, and finally, effective use of the model once developed. Being a general procedure, it will allow a systems analyst to develop a model to meet specific needs. To illustrate this method of model development, a description of the Strategic Defense Simulation - Design To (SDS-DT) model developed and used by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) is presented. SDS-DT is a menu-driven, fast executing, PC-based program that can be used to either calculate performance, weight, volume, and cost values for a particular design or, alternatively, to run parametrics on particular system parameters to perhaps optimize a design.

Systemic medication and intraocular pressure in a British population: the EPIC-Norfolk Eye Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Khawaja, Anthony P; Chan, Michelle P Y; Broadway, David C; Garway-Heath, David F; Luben, Robert; Yip, Jennifer L Y; Hayat, Shabina; Wareham, Nicholas J; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Foster, Paul J

2014-08-01

To determine the association between systemic medication use and intraocular pressure (IOP) in a population of older British men and women. Population-based, cross-sectional study. We included 7093 participants from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer-Norfolk Eye Study. Exclusion criteria were a history of glaucoma therapy (medical, laser, or surgical), IOP asymmetry between eyes of >5 mmHg, and missing data for any covariables. The mean age of participants was 68 years (range, 48-92) and 56% were women. We measured IOP using the Ocular Response Analyzer. Three readings were taken per eye and the best signal value of the Goldmann-correlated IOP value considered. Participants were asked to bring all their medications and related documentation to the health examination, and these were recorded by the research nurse using an electronic case record form. The medication classes examined were angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, α-blockers, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers, diuretics, nitrates, statins, insulin, biguanides, sulfonylureas, aspirin, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. We examined associations between medication use and IOP using multivariable linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Models containing diabetic medication were further adjusted for glycosylated hemoglobin levels. Mean IOP of the right and left eyes. Use of systemic β-blockers (-0.92 mmHg; 95% CI, -1.19, -0.65; Pnitrates (-0.63 mmHg; 95% CI, -1.12, -0.14; P = 0.011) were independently associated with lower IOP. The observed associations between statin or aspirin use with IOP were no longer significant after adjustment for β-blocker use. This is the first population-based study to demonstrate and quantify clinically significant differences in IOP among participants using systemic β-blockers or nitrates. Lower IOP observed in participants using statins or aspirin was explained by concurrent

Pharmacogenetics in the Brazilian population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guilherme eSuarez-Kurtz

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and its present population, in excess of 190 million, is highly heterogeneous, as a result of centuries of admixture between Amerindians, Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans. The estimated individual proportions of biogeographical ancestry vary widely and continuously among Brazilians, most individuals - irrespective of self-identification as White, Brown or Black, the major categories of the Brazilian Census race/color system - having significant degrees of European and African ancestry, while a sizeable number display also Amerindian ancestry. These features have important pharmacogenetic (PGx implications: first, extrapolation of PGx data from relatively well-defined ethnic groups is clearly not applicable to the majority of Brazilians; second, the frequency distribution of polymorphisms in pharmacogenes (e.g. CYP3A5, CYP2C9, GSTM1, ABCB1, GSTM3, VKORC, etc varies continuously among Brazilians and is not captured by race/color self-identification; third, the intrinsic heterogeneity of the Brazilian population must be acknowledged in the design and interpretation of PGx studies in order to avoid spurious conclusions based on improper matching of study cohorts. The peculiarities of PGx in Brazilians are illustrated with data for different therapeutic groups, such as anticoagulants, HIV-protease inhibitors and nonsteroidal antinflammatory drugs, and the challenges and advantages created by population admixture for the study and implementation of PGx are discussed. PGx data for Amerindian groups and Brazilian-born, first generation Japanese are presented to illustrate the rich diversity of the Brazilian population. Finally, I introduce the reader to the Brazilian Pharmacogenetic Network or Refargen (www.refargen.org.br, a nationwide consortium of research groups, with the mission to provide leadership in PGx research and education in Brazil, with a population health impact.

Cost effectiveness of population based BRCA1 founder mutation testing in Sephardi Jewish women.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Shreeya; Legood, Rosa; Evans, D Gareth; Turnbull, Clare; Antoniou, Antonis C; Menon, Usha; Jacobs, Ian; Manchanda, Ranjit

2018-04-01

Population-based BRCA1/BRCA2 founder-mutation testing has been demonstrated as cost effective compared with family history based testing in Ashkenazi Jewish women. However, only 1 of the 3 Ashkenazi Jewish BRCA1/BRCA2 founder mutations (185delAG[c.68_69delAG]), 5382insC[c.5266dupC]), and 6174delT[c.5946delT]) is found in the Sephardi Jewish population (185delAG[c.68_69delAG]), and the overall prevalence of BRCA mutations in the Sephardi Jewish population is accordingly lower (0.7% compared with 2.5% in the Ashkenazi Jewish population). Cost-effectiveness analyses of BRCA testing have not previously been performed at these lower BRCA prevalence levels seen in the Sephardi Jewish population. Here we present a cost-effectiveness analysis for UK and US populations comparing population testing with clinical criteria/family history-based testing in Sephardi Jewish women. A Markov model was built comparing the lifetime costs and effects of population-based BRCA1 testing, with testing using family history-based clinical criteria in Sephardi Jewish women aged ≥30 years. BRCA1 carriers identified were offered magnetic resonance imaging/mammograms and risk-reducing surgery. Costs are reported at 2015 prices. Outcomes include breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and excess deaths from heart disease. All costs and outcomes are discounted at 3.5%. The time horizon is lifetime, and perspective is payer. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio per quality-adjusted life-year was calculated. Parameter uncertainty was evaluated through 1-way and probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Population testing resulted in gain in life expectancy of 12 months (quality-adjusted life-year = 1.00). The baseline discounted incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for UK population-based testing was £67.04/quality-adjusted life-year and for US population was $308.42/quality-adjusted life-year. Results were robust in the 1-way sensitivity analysis. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis showed 100% of

A role based coordination model in agent systems

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHANG Ya-ying; YOU Jin-yuan

2005-01-01

Coordination technology addresses the construction of open, flexible systems from active and independent software agents in concurrent and distributed systems. In most open distributed applications, multiple agents need interaction and communication to achieve their overall goal. Coordination technologies for the Internet typically are concerned with enabling interaction among agents and helping them cooperate with each other.At the same time, access control should also be considered to constrain interaction to make it harmless. Access control should be regarded as the security counterpart of coordination. At present, the combination of coordination and access control remains an open problem. Thus, we propose a role based coordination model with policy enforcement in agent application systems. In this model, coordination is combined with access control so as to fully characterize the interactions in agent systems. A set of agents interacting with each other for a common global system task constitutes a coordination group. Role based access control is applied in this model to prevent unauthorized accesses. Coordination policy is enforced in a distributed manner so that the model can be applied to the open distributed systems such as Intemet. An Internet online auction system is presented as a case study to illustrate the proposed coordination model and finally the performance analysis of the model is introduced.

Assessment of military population-based psychological resilience programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Morgan, Brenda J; Bibb, Sandra C Garmon

2011-09-01

Active duty service members' (ADSMs) seemingly poor adaptability to traumatic stressors is a risk to force health. Enhancing the psychological resilience of ADSMs has become a key focus of Department of Defense (DoD) leaders and the numbers of military programs for enhancing psychological resilience have increased. The purpose of this article is to describe the results of an assessment conducted to determine comprehensiveness of current psychological resilience building programs that target ADSMs. A modified six-step, population-based needs assessment was used to evaluate resilience programs designed to meet the psychological needs of the ADSM population. The assessment results revealed a gap in published literature regarding program outcomes. DoD leaders may benefit from targeted predictive research that assesses program effectiveness outcomes. The necessity of including preventive, evidence-based interventions in new programs, such as positive emotion interventions shown to enhance psychological resilience in civilian samples, is also recommended.

LEGOS: Object-based software components for mission-critical systems. Final report, June 1, 1995--December 31, 1997

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-08-01

An estimated 85% of the installed base of software is a custom application with a production quantity of one. In practice, almost 100% of military software systems are custom software. Paradoxically, the marginal costs of producing additional units are near zero. So why hasn`t the software market, a market with high design costs and low productions costs evolved like other similar custom widget industries, such as automobiles and hardware chips? The military software industry seems immune to market pressures that have motivated a multilevel supply chain structure in other widget industries: design cost recovery, improve quality through specialization, and enable rapid assembly from purchased components. The primary goal of the ComponentWare Consortium (CWC) technology plan was to overcome barriers to building and deploying mission-critical information systems by using verified, reusable software components (Component Ware). The adoption of the ComponentWare infrastructure is predicated upon a critical mass of the leading platform vendors` inevitable adoption of adopting emerging, object-based, distributed computing frameworks--initially CORBA and COM/OLE. The long-range goal of this work is to build and deploy military systems from verified reusable architectures. The promise of component-based applications is to enable developers to snap together new applications by mixing and matching prefabricated software components. A key result of this effort is the concept of reusable software architectures. A second important contribution is the notion that a software architecture is something that can be captured in a formal language and reused across multiple applications. The formalization and reuse of software architectures provide major cost and schedule improvements. The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is fast becoming the industry standard for object-oriented analysis and design notation for object-based systems. However, the lack of a standard real-time distributed

Design and implementation of safety traceability system for candied fruits based on two-dimension code technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHAO Kun

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Traceability is the basic principle of food safety.A food safety traceability system based on QR code and cloud computing technology was introduced in this paper.First of all we introduced the QR code technology and the concept of traceability.And then through the field investigation,we analyzed the traceability process.At the same time,we designed the system and database were found,and the consumer experiencing technology is studied.Finally we expounded the traceability information collection,transmission and final presentation style and expected the future development of traceability system.

Evaluation of a complex, population-based injury claims management intervention for improving injury outcomes: study protocol

Science.gov (United States)

Collie, Alex; Gabbe, Belinda; Fitzharris, Michael

2015-01-01

Introduction Injuries resulting from road traffic crashes are a substantial cause of disability and death worldwide. Injured persons receiving compensation have poorer recovery and return to work than those with non-compensable injury. Case or claims management is a critical component of injury compensation systems, and there is now evidence that claims management can have powerful positive impacts on recovery, but can also impede recovery or exacerbate mental health concerns in some injured people. This study seeks to evaluate the impact of a population-based injury claims management intervention in the State of Victoria, Australia, on the health of those injured in motor vehicle crashes, their experience of the compensation process, and the financial viability of the compensation system. Methods and analysis Evaluation of this complex intervention involves a series of linked but stand-alone research projects to assess the anticipated process changes, impacts and outcomes of the intervention over a 5-year time frame. Linkage and analysis of routine administrative and health system data is supplemented with a series of primary studies collecting new information. Additionally, a series of ‘action’ research projects will be undertaken to inform the implementation of the intervention. A program logic model designed by the state government Transport Accident Commission in conjunction with the research team provides the evaluation framework. Ethics and dissemination Relatively few studies have comprehensively examined the impact of compensation system processes on the health of injured persons, their satisfaction with systems processes, and impacts on the financial performance of the compensation scheme itself. The wholesale, population-based transformation of an injury claims management model is a rare opportunity to document impacts of system-level policy change on outcomes of injured persons. Findings will contribute to the evidence base of information on the

A new extranodal scoring system based on the prognostically relevant extranodal sites in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, not otherwise specified treated with chemoimmunotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Hee Sang; Yoon, Dok Hyun; Suh, Cheolwon; Huh, Jooryung

2016-08-01

Extranodal involvement is a well-known prognostic factor in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL). Nevertheless, the prognostic impact of the extranodal scoring system included in the conventional international prognostic index (IPI) has been questioned in an era where rituximab treatment has become widespread. We investigated the prognostic impacts of individual sites of extranodal involvement in 761 patients with DLBCL who received rituximab-based chemoimmunotherapy. Subsequently, we established a new extranodal scoring system based on extranodal sites, showing significant prognostic correlation, and compared this system with conventional scoring systems, such as the IPI and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-IPI (NCCN-IPI). An internal validation procedure, using bootstrapped samples, was also performed for both univariate and multivariate models. Using multivariate analysis with a backward variable selection, we found nine extranodal sites (the liver, lung, spleen, central nervous system, bone marrow, kidney, skin, adrenal glands, and peritoneum) that remained significant for use in the final model. Our newly established extranodal scoring system, based on these sites, was better correlated with patient survival than standard scoring systems, such as the IPI and the NCCN-IPI. Internal validation by bootstrapping demonstrated an improvement in model performance of our modified extranodal scoring system. Our new extranodal scoring system, based on the prognostically relevant sites, may improve the performance of conventional prognostic models of DLBCL in the rituximab era and warrants further external validation using large study populations.

Neurons to algorithms LDRD final report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rothganger, Fredrick H.; Aimone, James Bradley; Warrender, Christina E.; Trumbo, Derek

2013-09-01

Over the last three years the Neurons to Algorithms (N2A) LDRD project teams has built infrastructure to discover computational structures in the brain. This consists of a modeling language, a tool that enables model development and simulation in that language, and initial connections with the Neuroinformatics community, a group working toward similar goals. The approach of N2A is to express large complex systems like the brain as populations of a discrete part types that have specific structural relationships with each other, along with internal and structural dynamics. Such an evolving mathematical system may be able to capture the essence of neural processing, and ultimately of thought itself. This final report is a cover for the actual products of the project: the N2A Language Specification, the N2A Application, and a journal paper summarizing our methods.

Patient Populations, Clinical Associations, and System Efficiency in Healthcare Delivery System

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yazhuo

The efforts to improve health care delivery usually involve studies and analysis of patient populations and healthcare systems. In this dissertation, I present the research conducted in the following areas: identifying patient groups, improving treatments for specific conditions by using statistical as well as data mining techniques, and developing new operation research models to increase system efficiency from the health institutes' perspective. The results provide better understanding of high risk patient groups, more accuracy in detecting disease' correlations and practical scheduling tools that consider uncertain operation durations and real-life constraints.

Proximity sensor system development. CRADA final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haley, D.C. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States); Pigoski, T.M. [Merrit Systems, Inc. (United States)

1998-01-01

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMERC) and Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI) entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development and demonstration of a compact, modular proximity sensing system suitable for application to a wide class of manipulator systems operated in support of environmental restoration and waste management activities. In teleoperated modes, proximity sensing provides the manipulator operator continuous information regarding the proximity of the manipulator to objects in the workspace. In teleoperated and robotic modes, proximity sensing provides added safety through the implementation of active whole arm collision avoidance capabilities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by LMERC for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), has developed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for the electronics required to support a modular whole arm proximity sensing system based on the use of capacitive sensors developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The use of ASIC technology greatly reduces the size of the electronics required to support the selected sensor types allowing deployment of many small sensor nodes over a large area of the manipulator surface to provide maximum sensor coverage. The ASIC design also provides a communication interface to support sensor commands from and sensor data transmission to a distributed processing system which allows modular implementation and operation of the sensor system. MSI is a commercial small business specializing in proximity sensing systems based upon infrared and acoustic sensors.

Proximity sensor system development. CRADA final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haley, D.C.; Pigoski, T.M.

1998-01-01

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMERC) and Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI) entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development and demonstration of a compact, modular proximity sensing system suitable for application to a wide class of manipulator systems operated in support of environmental restoration and waste management activities. In teleoperated modes, proximity sensing provides the manipulator operator continuous information regarding the proximity of the manipulator to objects in the workspace. In teleoperated and robotic modes, proximity sensing provides added safety through the implementation of active whole arm collision avoidance capabilities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by LMERC for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), has developed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for the electronics required to support a modular whole arm proximity sensing system based on the use of capacitive sensors developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The use of ASIC technology greatly reduces the size of the electronics required to support the selected sensor types allowing deployment of many small sensor nodes over a large area of the manipulator surface to provide maximum sensor coverage. The ASIC design also provides a communication interface to support sensor commands from and sensor data transmission to a distributed processing system which allows modular implementation and operation of the sensor system. MSI is a commercial small business specializing in proximity sensing systems based upon infrared and acoustic sensors

Impact of abdominal obesity and systemic hypertension on risk of coronary heart disease in men and women: the EPIC-Norfolk Population Study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rhéaume, Caroline; Arsenault, Benoit J.; Després, Jean-Pierre; Faha, N. N.; Boekholdt, S. Matthijs; Wareham, Nicholas J.; Khaw, Kay-Tee; Chir, Mbb

2014-01-01

The objective of our study was to determine the respective contributions of waist circumference and systemic hypertension (HTN) to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk in a large population-based cohort representative of a contemporary European population. A total of 9580 men and 12 250 women aged

Diagnosis, prevalence estimation and burden measurement in population surveys of headache

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steiner, Timothy J; Gururaj, Gopalakrishna; Andrée, Colette

2014-01-01

in population-based studies in China, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Zambia and 10 countries in the European Union. The resultant evolution of this instrument was reviewed by an expert consensus group drawn from all world regions. The final output was the Headache-Attributed Restriction......The global burden of headache is very large, but knowledge of it is far from complete and needs still to be gathered. Published population-based studies have used variable methodology, which has influenced findings and made comparisons difficult. The Global Campaign against Headache is undertaking...

Young people's attitudes towards illicit drugs: A population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Friis, Karina; Østergaard, Jeanette; Reese, Sidsel; Lasgaard, Mathias

2017-12-01

Previous studies indicate that young people who have positive attitudes towards illicit drugs are more inclined to experiment with them. The first aim of our study was to identify the sociodemographic and risk behaviour characteristics of young people (16-24 years) with positive attitudes towards illicit drug use. The second aim was to identify the characteristics of young people with positive attitudes towards illicit drugs among those who had never tried drugs, those who had tried cannabis but no other illicit drugs, and those who regularly used cannabis and/or had tried other illicit drugs. The analysis was based on a population-based survey from 2013 ( N = 3812). Multiple logistic regression was used to analyse the association between sociodemographic and risk behaviour characteristics and positive attitudes towards illicit drugs. Young men had twice the odds of having positive attitudes towards illicit drug use compared with young women (AOR = 2.1). Also, young age, being single, being employed, smoking tobacco, practising unprotected sex, and experimental cannabis use were associated with positive attitudes towards illicit drug use. Finally, use of cannabis at least 10 times during the previous year and/or use of other illicit drugs had the strongest association with positive attitudes to illicit drug use (AOR = 6.0). Young people who have positive attitudes towards illicit drug use are characterized by a broad range of risky behaviours. These findings may help to identify young people at risk of initiating illicit drug use and thereby support the development and implementation of prevention programmes.

Effective size of density-dependent two-sex populations: the effect of mating systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Myhre, A M; Engen, S; SAEther, B-E

2017-08-01

Density dependence in vital rates is a key feature affecting temporal fluctuations of natural populations. This has important implications for the rate of random genetic drift. Mating systems also greatly affect effective population sizes, but knowledge of how mating system and density regulation interact to affect random genetic drift is poor. Using theoretical models and simulations, we compare N e in short-lived, density-dependent animal populations with different mating systems. We study the impact of a fluctuating, density-dependent sex ratio and consider both a stable and a fluctuating environment. We find a negative relationship between annual N e /N and adult population size N due to density dependence, suggesting that loss of genetic variation is reduced at small densities. The magnitude of this decrease was affected by mating system and life history. A male-biased, density-dependent sex ratio reduces the rate of genetic drift compared to an equal, density-independent sex ratio, but a stochastic change towards male bias reduces the N e /N ratio. Environmental stochasticity amplifies temporal fluctuations in population size and is thus vital to consider in estimation of effective population sizes over longer time periods. Our results on the reduced loss of genetic variation at small densities, particularly in polygamous populations, indicate that density regulation may facilitate adaptive evolution at small population sizes. © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2017 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

System for Malicious Node Detection in IPv6-Based Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kresimir Grgic

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The trend of implementing the IPv6 into wireless sensor networks (WSNs has recently occurred as a consequence of a tendency of their integration with other types of IP-based networks. The paper deals with the security aspects of these IPv6-based WSNs. A brief analysis of security threats and attacks which are present in the IPv6-based WSN is given. The solution to an adaptive distributed system for malicious node detection in the IPv6-based WSN is proposed. The proposed intrusion detection system is based on distributed algorithms and a collective decision-making process. It introduces an innovative concept of probability estimation for malicious behaviour of sensor nodes. The proposed system is implemented and tested through several different scenarios in three different network topologies. Finally, the performed analysis showed that the proposed system is energy efficient and has a good capability to detect malicious nodes.

Development and validation of a web-based questionnaire for surveying the health and working conditions of high-performance marine craft populations.

Science.gov (United States)

de Alwis, Manudul Pahansen; Lo Martire, Riccardo; Äng, Björn O; Garme, Karl

2016-06-20

High-performance marine craft crews are susceptible to various adverse health conditions caused by multiple interactive factors. However, there are limited epidemiological data available for assessment of working conditions at sea. Although questionnaire surveys are widely used for identifying exposures, outcomes and associated risks with high accuracy levels, until now, no validated epidemiological tool exists for surveying occupational health and performance in these populations. To develop and validate a web-based questionnaire for epidemiological assessment of occupational and individual risk exposure pertinent to the musculoskeletal health conditions and performance in high-performance marine craft populations. A questionnaire for investigating the association between work-related exposure, performance and health was initially developed by a consensus panel under four subdomains, viz. demography, lifestyle, work exposure and health and systematically validated by expert raters for content relevance and simplicity in three consecutive stages, each iteratively followed by a consensus panel revision. The item content validity index (I-CVI) was determined as the proportion of experts giving a rating of 3 or 4. The scale content validity index (S-CVI/Ave) was computed by averaging the I-CVIs for the assessment of the questionnaire as a tool. Finally, the questionnaire was pilot tested. The S-CVI/Ave increased from 0.89 to 0.96 for relevance and from 0.76 to 0.94 for simplicity, resulting in 36 items in the final questionnaire. The pilot test confirmed the feasibility of the questionnaire. The present study shows that the web-based questionnaire fulfils previously published validity acceptance criteria and is therefore considered valid and feasible for the empirical surveying of epidemiological aspects among high-performance marine craft crews and similar populations. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted

Modelling and Simulation of SVPWM Based Vector Controlled HVDC Light Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajay Kumar MOODADLA

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Recent upgrades in power electronics technology have lead to the improvements of insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT based Voltage source converter High voltage direct current (VSC HVDC transmission systems. These are also commercially known as HVDC Light systems, which are popular in renewable, micro grid, and electric power systems. Out of different pulse width modulation (PWM schemes, Space vector PWM (SVPWM control scheme finds growing importance in power system applications because of its better dc bus utilization. In this paper, modelling of the converter is described, and SVPWM scheme is utilized to control the HVDC Light system in order to achieve better DC bus utilization, harmonic reduction, and for reduced power fluctuations. The simulations are carried out in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment and the results are provided for steady state and dynamic conditions. Finally, the performance of SVPWM based vector controlled HVDC Light transmission system is compared with sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM based HVDC Light system in terms of output voltage and total harmonic distortion (THD.

Service- and population-based exemptions: are these the way forward for equity and efficiency in health financing in low-income countries?

Science.gov (United States)

Witter, Sophie

2009-01-01

The first wave of experiences of exemptions policies suggested that poverty-based exemptions, using individual targeting, were not effective, for practical and political economic reasons. In response, many countries have changed their approach in recent years--while maintaining user fees as a necessary source of revenue for facilities, they have been switching to categorical targeting, offering exemptions based on high-priority services or population groups. This chapter aims to examine the impact and conditions for effectiveness of this recent health finance modality. The chapter is based on a literature review and on data from two complex evaluations of national fee exemption policies for delivery care in West Africa (Ghana and Senegal). A conceptual framework for analysing the impact of exemption policies is developed and used. Although the analysis focuses on exemption for deliveries, the framework and findings are likely to be generalisable to other service- or population-based exemptions. The chapter presents background information on the nature of delivery exemptions, the drivers for their use, their scale and common modalities in low-income countries. It then looks at evidence of their impact, on utilisation, quality of care and equity and investigates their cost-effectiveness. The final section presents lessons on implementation and implications for policy-makers, including the acceptability and sustainability of exemptions and how they compare to other possible mechanisms. The chapter concludes that funded service- or group-based exemptions offer a simple, potentially effective route to mitigating inequity and inefficiency in the health systems of low-income countries. However, there are a number of key constraints. One is the fungibility of resources at health facility level. The second is the difficulty of sustaining a separate funding stream over the medium to long term. The third is the arbitrary basis for selecting high-priority services for

Impact of different policies on unhealthy dietary behaviors in an urban adult population: an agent-based simulation model.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Donglan; Giabbanelli, Philippe J; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Zimmerman, Frederick J

2014-07-01

Unhealthy eating is a complex-system problem. We used agent-based modeling to examine the effects of different policies on unhealthy eating behaviors. We developed an agent-based simulation model to represent a synthetic population of adults in Pasadena, CA, and how they make dietary decisions. Data from the 2007 Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey and other empirical studies were used to calibrate the parameters of the model. Simulations were performed to contrast the potential effects of various policies on the evolution of dietary decisions. Our model showed that a 20% increase in taxes on fast foods would lower the probability of fast-food consumption by 3 percentage points, whereas improving the visibility of positive social norms by 10%, either through community-based or mass-media campaigns, could improve the consumption of fruits and vegetables by 7 percentage points and lower fast-food consumption by 6 percentage points. Zoning policies had no significant impact. Interventions emphasizing healthy eating norms may be more effective than directly targeting food prices or regulating local food outlets. Agent-based modeling may be a useful tool for testing the population-level effects of various policies within complex systems.

Fuzzy model-based servo and model following control for nonlinear systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohtake, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Kazuo; Wang, Hua O

2009-12-01

This correspondence presents servo and nonlinear model following controls for a class of nonlinear systems using the Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy model-based control approach. First, the construction method of the augmented fuzzy system for continuous-time nonlinear systems is proposed by differentiating the original nonlinear system. Second, the dynamic fuzzy servo controller and the dynamic fuzzy model following controller, which can make outputs of the nonlinear system converge to target points and to outputs of the reference system, respectively, are introduced. Finally, the servo and model following controller design conditions are given in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Design examples illustrate the utility of this approach.

The cultural evolution of human communication systems in different sized populations: usability trumps learnability.

Science.gov (United States)

Fay, Nicolas; Ellison, T Mark

2013-01-01

This study examines the intergenerational transfer of human communication systems. It tests if human communication systems evolve to be easy to learn or easy to use (or both), and how population size affects learnability and usability. Using an experimental-semiotic task, we find that human communication systems evolve to be easier to use (production efficiency and reproduction fidelity), but harder to learn (identification accuracy) for a second generation of naïve participants. Thus, usability trumps learnability. In addition, the communication systems that evolve in larger populations exhibit distinct advantages over those that evolve in smaller populations: the learnability loss (from the Initial signs) is more muted and the usability benefits are more pronounced. The usability benefits for human communication systems that evolve in a small and large population is explained through guided variation reducing sign complexity. The enhanced performance of the communication systems that evolve in larger populations is explained by the operation of a content bias acting on the larger pool of competing signs. The content bias selects for information-efficient iconic signs that aid learnability and enhance usability.

Costing of a State-Wide Population Based Cancer Awareness and Early Detection Campaign in a 2.67 Million Population of Punjab State in Northern India.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Js; Prinja, Shankar; Jeet, Gursimer; Bhatnagar, Nidhi

2016-01-01

Punjab state is particularly reporting a rising burden of cancer. A 'door to door cancer awareness and early detection campaign' was therefore launched in the Punjab covering about 2.67 million population, wherein after initial training accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and other health staff conducted a survey for early detection of cancer cases based on a twelve point clinical algorithm. To ascertain unit cost for undertaking a population-based cancer awareness and early detection campaign. Data were collected using bottom-up costing methods. Full economic costs of implementing the campaign from the health system perspective were calculated. Options to meet the likely demand for project activities were further evaluated to examine their worth from the point of view of long-term sustainability. The campaign covered 97% of the state population. A total of 24,659 cases were suspected to have cancer and were referred to health facilities. At the state level, incidence and prevalence of cancer were found to be 90 and 216 per 100,000, respectively. Full economic cost of implementing the campaign in pilot district was USD 117,524. However, the financial cost was approximately USD 6,301. Start-up phase of campaign was more resource intensive (63% of total) than the implementation phase. The economic cost per person contacted and suspected by clinical algorithm was found to be USD 0.20 and USD 40 respectively. Cost per confirmed case under the campaign was 7,043 USD. The campaign was able to screen a reasonably large population. High to high economic cost points towards the fact that the opportunity cost of campaign put a significant burden on health system and other programs. However, generating awareness and early detection strategy adopted in this campaign seems promising in light of fact that organized screening is not in place in India and in many developing countries.

Comparison of emergency medical services systems across Pan-Asian countries: a Web-based survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Sang Do; Ong, Marcus Eng Hock; Tanaka, Hideharu; Ma, Matthew Huei-Ming; Nishiuchi, Tatsuya; Alsakaf, Omer; Karim, Sarah Abdul; Khunkhlai, Nalinas; Lin, Chih-Hao; Song, Kyoung Jun; Ryoo, Hyun Wook; Ryu, Hyun Ho; Tham, Lai Peng; Cone, David C

2012-01-01

There are great variations in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival outcomes among different countries and different emergency medical services (EMS) systems. The impact of different systems and their contribution to enhanced survival are poorly understood. This paper compares the EMS systems of several Asian sites making up the Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS) network. Some preliminary cardiac arrest outcomes are also reported. This is a cross-sectional descriptive survey study addressing population demographics, service levels, provider characteristics, system operations, budget and finance, medical direction (leadership), and oversight. Most of the systems are single-tiered. Fire-based EMS systems are predominant. Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur have hospital-based systems. Service level is relatively low, from basic to intermediate in most of the communities. Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Bangkok have intermediate emergency medical technician (EMT) service levels, while Taiwan and Dubai have paramedic service levels. Medical direction and oversight have not been systemically established, except in some communities. Systems are mostly dependent on public funding. We found variations in available resources in terms of ambulances and providers. The number of ambulances is 0.3 to 3.2 per 100,000 population, and most ambulances are basic life support (BLS) vehicles. The number of human resources ranges from 4.0 per 100,000 population in Singapore to 55.7 per 100,000 population in Taipei. Average response times vary between 5.1 minutes (Tainan) and 22.5 minutes (Kuala Lumpur). We found substantial variation in 11 communities across the PAROS EMS systems. This study will provide the foundation for understanding subsequent studies arising from the PAROS effort.

Consequences of population topology for studying gene flow using link-based landscape genetic methods.

Science.gov (United States)

van Strien, Maarten J

2017-07-01

Many landscape genetic studies aim to determine the effect of landscape on gene flow between populations. These studies frequently employ link-based methods that relate pairwise measures of historical gene flow to measures of the landscape and the geographical distance between populations. However, apart from landscape and distance, there is a third important factor that can influence historical gene flow, that is, population topology (i.e., the arrangement of populations throughout a landscape). As the population topology is determined in part by the landscape configuration, I argue that it should play a more prominent role in landscape genetics. Making use of existing literature and theoretical examples, I discuss how population topology can influence results in landscape genetic studies and how it can be taken into account to improve the accuracy of these results. In support of my arguments, I have performed a literature review of landscape genetic studies published during the first half of 2015 as well as several computer simulations of gene flow between populations. First, I argue why one should carefully consider which population pairs should be included in link-based analyses. Second, I discuss several ways in which the population topology can be incorporated in response and explanatory variables. Third, I outline why it is important to sample populations in such a way that a good representation of the population topology is obtained. Fourth, I discuss how statistical testing for link-based approaches could be influenced by the population topology. I conclude the article with six recommendations geared toward better incorporating population topology in link-based landscape genetic studies.