75 FR 67303 - Determinations of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-02

... of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur/Douglas PM 10... proposes to determine that the Hayden, Nogales, and Paul Spur/Douglas nonattainment areas in Arizona... Hayden, Nogales and Paul Spur/Douglas nonattainment areas are not currently attaining the PM 10 standard...

Shallow groundwater quality and associated non-cancer health risk in agricultural areas (Poyang Lake basin, China).

Science.gov (United States)

Soldatova, Evgeniya; Sun, Zhanxue; Maier, Sofya; Drebot, Valeriia; Gao, Bai

2018-03-24

Owing to their accessibility, shallow groundwater is an essential source of drinking water in rural areas while usually being used without control by authorities. At the same time, this type of water resource is one of the most vulnerable to pollution, especially in regions with extensive agricultural activity. These factors increase the probability of adverse health effects in the population as a result of the consumption of shallow groundwater. In the present research, shallow groundwater quality in the agricultural areas of Poyang Lake basin was assessed according to world and national standards for drinking water quality. To evaluate non-cancer health risk from drinking groundwater, the hazard quotient from exposure to individual chemicals and hazard index from exposure to multiple chemicals were applied. It was found that, in shallow groundwater, the concentrations of 11 components (NO 3 - , NH 4 + , Fe, Mn, As, Al, rare NO 2 - , Se, Hg, Tl and Pb) exceed the limits referenced in the standards for drinking water. According to the health risk assessment, only five components (NO 3 - , Fe, As, rare NO 2 - and Mn) likely provoke non-cancer effects. The attempt to evaluate the spatial distribution of human health risk from exposure to multiple chemicals shows that the most vulnerable area is associated with territory characterised by low altitude where reducing or near-neutral conditions are formed (lower reaches of Xiushui and Ganjiang Rivers). The largest health risk is associated with the immune system and adverse dermal effects.

Maternal role attainment with medically fragile infants: Part 2. relationship to the quality of parenting.

Science.gov (United States)

Holditch-Davis, Diane; Miles, Margaret Shandor; Burchinal, Margaret R; Goldman, Barbara Davis

2011-02-01

We examined which components of maternal role attainment (identity, presence, competence) influenced quality of parenting for 72 medically fragile infants, controlling for maternal education and infant illness severity. Maternal competence was related to responsiveness. Maternal presence and technology dependence were inversely related to participation. Greater competence and maternal education were associated with better normal caregiving. Presence was negatively related although competence was positively related to illness-related caregiving. Mothers with lower competence and more technology dependent children perceived their children as more vulnerable and child cues as more difficult to read. Maternal role attainment influenced parenting quality for these infants more than did child illness severity; thus interventions are needed to help mothers develop their maternal role during hospitalization and after discharge. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 34:35-48, 2011. Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measuring the Quality of Service in the Financial Area of a Public University: Development and Validation of the Instrument

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Víctor Manuel Alcantar Enríquez

2014-12-01

Full Text Available This research, consisting of a descriptive study with a non-experimental design, involved an analysis to determine the validity and reliability of an instrument composed of seventeen items aimed at assessing the quality of service in the financial area of a public university by means of four variables: tangibility, reliability, responsiveness and empathy. The methodological strategy included the design of the measuring instrument; verification of the validity of content and construct; and analysis of internal consistency by means of Cronbach’s alpha. The instrument was applied to 152 users of the service, attaining a reliability coefficient of 0.943. The results show that with respect to specific concepts, the questions were clear; nevertheless we found it necessary to relocate items and rename variables, which resulted in a valid and reliable instrument for measuring the quality of service in the context under study.

76 FR 1532 - Determinations of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-11

... of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur/Douglas PM 10... making final determinations that the Hayden, Nogales, and Paul Spur/Douglas nonattainment areas in... the Clean Air Act, that three Arizona ``moderate'' PM 10 nonattainment areas (Hayden, Nogales, and...

Environmental Monitoring, Water Quality - Lakes Assessments - Attaining

Data.gov (United States)

NSGIC Education | GIS Inventory — This layer shows only attaining lakes of the Integrated List. The Lakes Integrated List represents lake assessments in an integrated format for the Clean Water Act...

Baseline non-traditional resource use in the Aurora Mine EIA local study area and the Syncrude/Suncor regional study area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-01-01

As part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the regional and local study area of Syncrude's proposed Aurora Mine, the use of natural resources by non-aboriginal residents and non-residents in the area was documented. The objective of the study was to determine what specific resources are being used, how much, when, where and why. The topics included hunting, fishing, camping and canoeing. Public opinion regarding opportunities for resource use was also documented. The report focused on the dynamic nature of resource use, secondary economies (tourist accommodations) and quality of life. A telephone survey was conducted in which 17 respondents from recreational organizations answered a resource use questionnaire which contained 38 questions on consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife, fish, berries, timber, non-resident use and resource management policies. The three environmentally significant areas of the local study area included the Muskeg River, Kearl Lake and East Jackpine Creek. The regional study are contained the Horse River Diversity area, La Saline Natural area, Schultz's Bog Diversity area, Athabasca Tar Sands Reach, Clearwater River, McClelland Lake Patterned Fens, McClelland Lake, and the Fort Hills. Agriculture in both areas is limited because of unfavourable climate and generally low-quality soil. 13 refs., 7 tabs., 6 figs

Baseline non-traditional resource use in the Aurora Mine EIA local study area and the Syncrude/Suncor regional study area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1996-12-31

As part of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the regional and local study area of Syncrude`s proposed Aurora Mine, the use of natural resources by non-aboriginal residents and non-residents in the area was documented. The objective of the study was to determine what specific resources are being used, how much, when, where and why. The topics included hunting, fishing, camping and canoeing. Public opinion regarding opportunities for resource use was also documented. The report focused on the dynamic nature of resource use, secondary economies (tourist accommodations) and quality of life. A telephone survey was conducted in which 17 respondents from recreational organizations answered a resource use questionnaire which contained 38 questions on consumptive and non-consumptive uses of wildlife, fish, berries, timber, non-resident use and resource management policies. The three environmentally significant areas of the local study area included the Muskeg River, Kearl Lake and East Jackpine Creek. The regional study are contained the Horse River Diversity area, La Saline Natural area, Schultz`s Bog Diversity area, Athabasca Tar Sands Reach, Clearwater River, McClelland Lake Patterned Fens, McClelland Lake, and the Fort Hills. Agriculture in both areas is limited because of unfavourable climate and generally low-quality soil. 13 refs., 7 tabs., 6 figs.

75 FR 75656 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; New Hampshire; Determination of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-06

... 51.902(a)), EPA is proposing to determine that this area has attained the 1997 ozone NAAQS by its... implementation rule (see 40 CFR 51.902(a)), EPA is proposing to determine that this area has attained the 1997... 1997 8-hour ozone nonattainment area continues to attain the 1997 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality...

Analysis of soil quality in some areas of Jharia coal field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tripathy, D.P.; Singh, Gurdeep; Panigrahi, D.C.

1998-01-01

This paper presents the results of the studies carried out on soil quality parameters in seven mining sites divided in to three zones viz. non-fire, intermediate fire and fire zones, located in the eastern part of Jharia coalfield. It has been observed that the soil quality in fire areas have relatively low pH, low moisture content, low organic carbon, high conductivity and low levels of macro-nutrients than those of non-fire and intermediate fire zones. (author)

Analysis of Louisiana vehicular input data for MOBILE 6 : technical summary report.

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAAA) of 1990 require that non-attainment and air quality : maintenance areas regularly conduct regional emissions analyses. In Louisiana, Baton Rouge : and Lake Charles are ozone non-attainment areas while New Orleans i...

76 FR 67640 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Pennsylvania; Attainment Plan for...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-11-02

... cubic meter ([micro]g/m\\3\\) based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations and a 24-hour (or daily) standard of 65 [micro]g/m\\3\\ based on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour... Philadelphia area's attainment demonstration used a resource intensive photochemical grid model, EPA accepts...

75 FR 67220 - Determinations of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-02

... of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur/Douglas PM 10...: EPA has determined that the Hayden, Nogales, and Paul Spur/ Douglas nonattainment areas in Arizona... of a review of more recent ambient monitoring data, EPA has determined that the Hayden, Nogales, and...

Indigenous Educational Attainment in Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine E. Gordon

2014-06-01

Full Text Available In this article, the educational attainment of Indigenous peoples of working age (25 to 64 years in Canada is examined. This diverse population has typically had lower educational levels than the general population in Canada. Results indicate that, while on the positive side there are a greater number of highly educated Indigenous peoples, there is also a continuing gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Data also indicate that the proportion with less than high school education declined, which corresponds with a rise of those with a PSE; the reverse was true in 1996. Despite these gains, however, the large and increasing absolute numbers of those without a high school education is alarming. There are intra-Indigenous differences: First Nations with Indian Status and the Inuit are not doing as well as non-Status and Métis peoples. Comparisons between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations reveal that the documented gap in post-secondary educational attainment is at best stagnant. Out of the data analysis, and based on the history of educational policy, we comment on the current reform proposed by the Government of Canada, announced in February of 2014, and propose several policy recommendations to move educational attainment forward.

Contactless Opto-electronic Area and Their Attainable Measuring Accuracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Ricny

2001-06-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the problems of the contactless areameasurement on the principle of video signal processing. This videosignal generates TV camera, which scans the measured object. Basicprinciple of these meters is explained and attainable measurementaccuracy and factors influencing this accuracy are analyzed.

Nonattainment Area - Particulate Matter - 10 (1990)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

Nonattainment Area - Particulate Matter - 10 (1987)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

North Putrajaya Catchment Area Putrajaya, Malaysia-Challenges in Water Quality Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Zamri Daud; Pereira, J.J.; Mazlin Mokhtar

2011-01-01

The Putrajaya Administrative area covers 70 % of the Putrajaya Lake catchment area. Development work carried out within the Putrajaya area abides by the rules and regulations set by the Putrajaya Corporation to ensure that the quality of the lake water and wetland within the Putrajaya area meets the stipulated benchmark standards. However, 30 % of the Putrajaya lake and wetland catchment area is located outside of administration and prerogative of the Putrajaya Corporation. The North Putrajaya catchment area which originates from the Sg. Chuau River contributes the bulk of the water that flows into the lake and wetlands of Putrajaya. Water quality data collected by the Putrajaya Corporation for the period of 2002 to 2005 has been analysed to identify major issues in the Putrajaya Wetland North Catchment area. Data from 2002 shows average percentage parameter of non-compliance Putrajaya Standard for ammoniacal nitrogen (NH 3 -N) at 43.7 %, E. coli at 31.3 % and TSS at 12.5 % while the DO and COD are both 6.2 %. For 2003, the average percentage parameter of non compliance for NH 3 -N was at 23.7 %, E. coli at 18.4 %, total coliform at 18.4 %, TSS at 2.6 %, DO at 13.2 %, COD at 13.2 % and BOD at 10.5 %. For 2004, the average percentage parameter of non complying for NH 3 -N was at 35.5 %, E. coli at 22.6 %, total coliform at 12.9 %, TSS at 9.7 %, COD at 3.2 % and BOD at 16.1 %. For 2005, the average percentage parameter of non compliance were at is 36.4 % for E. coli, 22.7 % for NH 3 -N, 18.2 % for total coliform, 13.6 % for BOD and 4.5 % for both DO and COD. In conclusion the analysed data within the four year period showed that the NH 3 -N and E. coli discharge from the north catchment area did not comply with the Putrajaya Standard. The main factors of water quality issues in the Putrajaya Wetland North Catchment area include the failure of integrating the management of the catchment areas and the stake holders attitude of total disregard of the management and

Exposure to tobacco secondhand smoke and its associated factors among non-smoking adults in smoking-restricted and non-restricted areas: findings from a nationwide study in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Kuang Hock; Teh, Chien Huey; Nik Mohamed, Mohamad Haniki; Pan, Sayan; Ling, Miaw Yn; Mohd Yusoff, Muhammad Fadhli; Hassan, Noraryana; Baharom, Nizam; Dawam, Netty Darwina; Ismail, Norliana; Ghazali, Sumarni Mohd; Cheong, Kee Chee; Chong, Kar Hon; Lim, Hui Li

2018-01-08

Secondhand smoke (SHS) has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the aims of the paper are to assess SHS exposure among non-smoking adults in Malaysia attending various smoking-restricted and non-restricted public areas according to the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations (CTPR) as well as its relationship with various sociodemographic variables. Data were extracted from a cross-sectional study, the Global Adults Tobacco Survey (GATS) 2011 which involved 3269 non-smokers in Malaysia. Data was obtained through face-to-face interviews using a validated pre-tested questionnaire. Factors associated with exposure to SHS were identified via multivariable analysis. The study revealed that almost two-thirds of respondents were exposed to SHS in at least one public area in the past 1 month, with a significantly higher exposure among males (70.6%), those with higher educational attainment (81.4%) and higher income (quintile 1%-73.9%). Besides, the exposure to SHS was almost four times higher in non-restricted areas compared with restricted areas under the CTPR (81.9% vs 22.9). Multivariable analysis revealed that males and younger adults at non-restricted areas were more likely to be exposed to SHS while no significant associated factors of SHS exposure was observed in restricted areas. The study revealed the prevalence of SHS exposure was higher among Malaysian adults. Although smoke-free laws offer protection to non-smokers from exposure to SHS, enforcement activities in restricted areas should be enhanced to ensure strict public abidance. In addition, legislation of restricted areas should also be extended to greatly reduce the SHS exposure among non-smokers in Malaysia. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Nonattainment Area - Sulfur Dioxide (SO2 - 1971)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

Nonattainment Area - Sulfur Dioxide (SO2 - 2010)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

Nonattainment Area - Sulfur Dioxide (SO2 - 1978)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

Quality of life in non-melanoma skin cancer--the skin cancer quality of life (SCQoL) questionnaire

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vinding, Gabrielle Randskov; Christensen, Karl Bang; Esmann, Solveig

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Disease-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaires are increasingly used to provide patient-reported out-come measures in both malignant and non-malignant disease. OBJECTIVE: To create, validate and test the psychometrics of the Skin Cancer Quality of Life (SCQoL), which was designed...... to measure health-related QoL in patients with non-melanoma skin cancer affecting any area and undergoing any therapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The SCQoL was developed in a stepwise approach. Three pilot studies (testing content and face validity) and psychometric testing (scale structure, reliability, domains...

Role of renal function in risk assessment of target non-attainment after standard dosing of meropenem in critically ill patients: a prospective observational study.

Science.gov (United States)

Ehmann, Lisa; Zoller, Michael; Minichmayr, Iris K; Scharf, Christina; Maier, Barbara; Schmitt, Maximilian V; Hartung, Niklas; Huisinga, Wilhelm; Vogeser, Michael; Frey, Lorenz; Zander, Johannes; Kloft, Charlotte

2017-10-21

Severe bacterial infections remain a major challenge in intensive care units because of their high prevalence and mortality. Adequate antibiotic exposure has been associated with clinical success in critically ill patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the target attainment of standard meropenem dosing in a heterogeneous critically ill population, to quantify the impact of the full renal function spectrum on meropenem exposure and target attainment, and ultimately to translate the findings into a tool for practical application. A prospective observational single-centre study was performed with critically ill patients with severe infections receiving standard dosing of meropenem. Serial blood samples were drawn over 4 study days to determine meropenem serum concentrations. Renal function was assessed by creatinine clearance according to the Cockcroft and Gault equation (CLCR CG ). Variability in meropenem serum concentrations was quantified at the middle and end of each monitored dosing interval. The attainment of two pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets (100%T >MIC , 50%T >4×MIC ) was evaluated for minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 2 mg/L and 8 mg/L and standard meropenem dosing (1000 mg, 30-minute infusion, every 8 h). Furthermore, we assessed the impact of CLCR CG on meropenem concentrations and target attainment and developed a tool for risk assessment of target non-attainment. Large inter- and intra-patient variability in meropenem concentrations was observed in the critically ill population (n = 48). Attainment of the target 100%T >MIC was merely 48.4% and 20.6%, given MIC values of 2 mg/L and 8 mg/L, respectively, and similar for the target 50%T >4×MIC . A hyperbolic relationship between CLCR CG (25-255 ml/minute) and meropenem serum concentrations at the end of the dosing interval (C 8h ) was derived. For infections with pathogens of MIC 2 mg/L, mild renal impairment up to augmented renal function was

NO{sub 2} and CO nonattainment areas: a pragmatic approach to source reduction assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cernuschi, S.; Giugliano, M.; Marzolo, F. [D.I.I.A.R. - Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Environmental Section

1995-12-31

Many Italian large conurbations have CO and NO{sub 2} air quality standards exceeded and, consequently, require control enforcement plans to attain and maintain regulations not respected. In planning the interventions to be undertaken a fundamental issue is represented by the relationships between active emission sources and air quality, commonly described through mathematical models for evaluating the expected effects of the different reduction scenarios. This approach, relatively feasible for slightly or non reactive pollutants like CO, becomes not as easy to be applied for secondary pollutants, like NO{sub 2}, mainly for the complex photo chemical reaction systems involved in their atmospheric presence and the consequent modeling difficulties related either to the description of the system itself than to the detail in input data required. A practicable alternative in this framework relies in the utilization of statistical models for deriving, through the empirical description of the relationships between the parameters of interest, the reduction levels required for complying with the standards. Following an approach already applied with useful results to the same area, present work reports on the development and application to Milan urban area of statistical models for describing the relationships between CO and NO{sub x} annual concentration averages and the corresponding air quality standard parameters (number of standard exceedances for CO and 98th percentile of hourly concentrations for NO{sub 2}). The models are utilised upstream to simple roll-back models for the assessment of the reduction in emissions strength required for attaining air quality standards for the area. (author)

NO{sub 2} and CO nonattainment areas: a pragmatic approach to source reduction assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cernuschi, S; Giugliano, M; Marzolo, F [D.I.I.A.R. - Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Environmental Section

1996-12-31

Many Italian large conurbations have CO and NO{sub 2} air quality standards exceeded and, consequently, require control enforcement plans to attain and maintain regulations not respected. In planning the interventions to be undertaken a fundamental issue is represented by the relationships between active emission sources and air quality, commonly described through mathematical models for evaluating the expected effects of the different reduction scenarios. This approach, relatively feasible for slightly or non reactive pollutants like CO, becomes not as easy to be applied for secondary pollutants, like NO{sub 2}, mainly for the complex photo chemical reaction systems involved in their atmospheric presence and the consequent modeling difficulties related either to the description of the system itself than to the detail in input data required. A practicable alternative in this framework relies in the utilization of statistical models for deriving, through the empirical description of the relationships between the parameters of interest, the reduction levels required for complying with the standards. Following an approach already applied with useful results to the same area, present work reports on the development and application to Milan urban area of statistical models for describing the relationships between CO and NO{sub x} annual concentration averages and the corresponding air quality standard parameters (number of standard exceedances for CO and 98th percentile of hourly concentrations for NO{sub 2}). The models are utilised upstream to simple roll-back models for the assessment of the reduction in emissions strength required for attaining air quality standards for the area. (author)

Rural migration: what attracts new residents to non-metropolitan areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, L J; Kelsey, T W; Thee, R J; Fousekis, P

1997-01-01

"This study uses the experience of three non-metropolitan counties in Pennsylvania to explore which community characteristics have the greatest influence on people's decisions to move to rural areas. Personal characteristics affected how in-migrants evaluated prospective rural residential locations. Higher income in-migrants placed a high priority on job opportunities, housing quality, a short commute to work, quality of schools, and low local taxes. Lower income in-migrants were more likely to value a location near family and friends. Ability to own a home, housing costs, and local taxes were also important." excerpt

Aging and quality of life of elderly people in rural areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Ladeira Garbaccio

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the quality of life and health of elderly in rural areas of Minas Gerais State’s center-west. Method: Cross-sectional study, in four municipalities of Minas Gerais State, by interviewing elderly people. Associations between socio-demographic and quality of life variables were tested, separated into “satisfactory”/“unsatisfactory” with values from the median of positive answers. It was used the chi-square test, Fisher’s test and regression. Results: 182 elderly answered the questions and showed a relation with the “satisfactory” quality of life - bivariate (p < 0.05: age by 69 years (61.6%, married (61.7%, living by 54 years in rural areas (68%, with no financial support (59.5%, living with someone else (61%, non-smoker (60%, presenting good health (76.7%, satisfied with life (69.6%; regression: not having financial support, living with someone else and not smoking. Conclusion: Elderly people in rural areas present good quality of life/health in the cognitive aspect, access to services, goods, habits, but awareness must be constant due to their weakness.

Nonattainment Area - Particulate Matter - 2.5 Annual (1997)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

INFUSING INDUSTRY PRACTICES INTO AN ENGINEERING CAPTSONE PROJECT: A LEARNING OUTCOME ATTAINMENT CASE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

SATESH NAMASIVAYAM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available A capstone project in current engineering education is often introduced to enable the holistic attainment of engineering knowledge by an engineering undergraduate. Essentially project-based in nature, there exists a need to ensure that part of the attainment process involves key industry practices – such practices being necessary in attaining the status of a professional engineer. Herein lies the synergy that can be made use of between industry and academia. By exposing engineering undergraduates to a project which addresses an engineering challenge and providing them with the opportunity to learn from professional engineers who are experts in the fields of safety, sustainability, quality management, ethics and project management, this culminates in the implementation of a prototype design which incorporates the amalgamation of knowledge from industry and academia. This paper presents the unique curriculum developed in a capstone project module, incorporating learning sessions from professional engineers in the five (5 key areas of industry practice highlighted above and how these have contributed to significantly enhancing the learning outcome and hence programme outcome attainment of the engineering undergraduates who have experienced the module.

Decision Support Tool for Nighttime Construction and Air Quality - User’s Guide

Science.gov (United States)

2017-11-01

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Research Project 0-6864 Investigate the Air Quality Benefits of Nighttime Construction in Non-attainment Counties investigated the potential air quality benefits of shifting construction/maintenance acti...

Nonattainment Area - Particulate Matter - 2.5 24 hr (2006)

Data.gov (United States)

Department of Transportation — Non-attainment and maintenance areas for the United States and its territories (NTAD). For more detailed information on this dataset, see the Overview Description in...

The relationship between dietary quality and the local food environment differs according to level of educational attainment: A cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogel, Christina; Lewis, Daniel; Ntani, Georgia; Cummins, Steven; Cooper, Cyrus; Moon, Graham; Baird, Janis

2017-01-01

There is evidence that food outlet access differs according to level of neighbourhood deprivation but little is known about how individual circumstances affect associations between food outlet access and diet. This study explored the relationship between dietary quality and a measure of overall food environment, representing the balance between healthy and unhealthy food outlet access in individualised activity spaces. Furthermore, this study is the first to assess effect modification of level of educational attainment on this relationship. A total of 839 mothers with young children from Hampshire, United Kingdom (UK) completed a cross-sectional survey including a 20-item food frequency questionnaire to measure diet and questions about demographic characteristics and frequently visited locations including home, children's centre, general practitioner, work, main food shop and physical activity location. Dietary information was used to calculate a standardised dietary quality score for each mother. Individualised activity spaces were produced by creating a 1000m buffer around frequently visited locations using ArcGIS. Cross-sectional observational food outlet data were overlaid onto activity spaces to derive an overall food environment score for each mother. These scores represented the balance between healthy and unhealthy food outlets using weightings to characterise the proportion of healthy or unhealthy foods sold in each outlet type. Food outlet access was dominated by the presence of unhealthy food outlets; only 1% of mothers were exposed to a healthy overall food environment in their daily activities. Level of educational attainment moderated the relationship between overall food environment and diet (mid vs low, p = 0.06; high vs low, p = 0.04). Adjusted stratified linear regression analyses showed poorer food environments were associated with better dietary quality among mothers with degrees (β = -0.02; 95%CI: -0.03, -0.001) and a tendency toward poorer

The use and evaluation of self-regulation techniques can predict health goal attainment in adults: an explorative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jolien Plaete

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Background. Self-regulation tools are not always used optimally, and implementation intention plans often lack quality. Therefore, this study explored participants’ use and evaluation of self-regulation techniques and their impact on goal attainment. Methods. Data were obtained from 452 adults in a proof of concept (POC intervention of ‘MyPlan’, an eHealth intervention using self-regulation techniques to promote three healthy behaviours (physical activity (PA, fruit intake, or vegetable intake. Participants applied self-regulation techniques to a self-selected health behaviour, and evaluated the self-regulation techniques. The quality of implementation intentions was rated by the authors as a function of instrumentality (instrumental and non-instrumental and specificity (non-specific and medium to highly specific. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict goal attainment. Results. Goal attainment was significantly predicted by the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:1.86, by the specificity of the implementation intentions (OR:3.5, by the motivational value of the action plan (OR:1.86, and by making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:4.10. Interaction-effects with behaviour showed that the specificity score of the implementation intention plans (OR:4.59, the motivational value of the personal advice (OR:2.38, selecting hindering factors and solutions(OR:2.00 and making a new action plan at follow-up (OR:7.54 were predictive of goal attainment only for fruit or vegetable intake. Also, when participants in the fruit and vegetable group made more than three plans, they were more likely to attain their goal (OR:1.73, whereas the reverse was the case in the PA group (OR:0.34. Discussion. The chance that adults reach fruit and vegetable goals can be increased by including motivating personal advice, self-formulated action plans, and instructions/strategies to make specific implementation intentions into e

The use of multiple tracers to evaluate the impact of sewered and non-sewered development on coastal water quality in a rural area of Florida.

Science.gov (United States)

Meeroff, Daniel E; Bloetscher, Frederick; Long, Sharon C; Bocca, Thais

2014-05-01

When onsite wastewater treatment and disposal systems (OSTDS) are not sited appropriately or installed properly, wastewater constituents can be a source of adverse environmental impacts to soil and groundwater, which can lead to potential public health risks. A paired monitoring design developed to compare water quality in sewered and non-sewered areas is presented here. It is suggested as a possible monitoring scheme for assessing the impact of sewer installation projects. As such, two sets of single-family, rural residential Florida neighborhoods were evaluated over a two-year period to gain insight into the effects of small-community use of OSTDS on coastal water quality. One set of two neighborhoods were connected to the sanitary sewer network and the other set of two were served exclusively by OSTDS. Water quality sampling was conducted at the paired sites during seasonal high water table (SHWT) and seasonal low water table (SLWT) events. Measured surface water quality during the SHWT showed indications of environmental impacts from OSTDS in terms of nutrients, microbial pathogen indicators, and other water quality measures, such as turbidity and conductivity. However, during the SLWT events, no obvious impacts attributable to OSTDS were detected. The water quality results indicate that OSTDS impacts may be measureable in rural areas. Other factors, such as microbial indicator survival and regrowth potential, may confound the understanding of water quality impacts of sewer projects. For example, the microbial indicators Escherichia coli and enterococci were found to persist over time and therefore did not always represent true comparisons of OSTDS and sewered areas between seasons. The timeframe for evaluating the effects of sewer projects may be longer than anticipated because of this survival and regrowth phenomenon.

adult and non-formal education as a veritable tool for attaining ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abasiama A. Akpan

www.globaljournalseries.com; Info@globaljournalseries.com ... TOOL FOR ATTAINING MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOAL ... However, new variants have continued to emerge as ... process, whatever the content, level and ... formal education system that is consciously .... employment creation through effective teaching.

Assessment of the quality of life in families with children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities in Slovenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Cagran, B; Schmidt, M; Brown, I

2011-12-01

Research was conducted, within the framework of the International Family Quality of Life Project, on the quality of life of families with a member who has a disability. We concentrated on the nine specific domains that the family life measure used, and recorded data from five of its six measurement dimensions: Importance, Opportunities, Initiative, Attainment and Satisfaction. The sample consisted of 20 families from Slovenia with children who have intellectual or developmental disabilities. The data were collected using the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006. Except for Community Interaction, the other domains (Health, Financial Well-Being, Family Relations, Support from Others, Support Services, Influence of Values, Careers, Leisure and Recreation) show statistically significant differences among the five dimensions measured. Importance was rated highest, and Attainment and Opportunities were rated lowest, while Initiative and Satisfaction were evaluated lower than Importance but higher than Attainment and Opportunities. Among the domains of family life, Family Relations was evaluated the highest from the perspective of all five dimensions. The family members rated Importance high for all of the quality of family life domains, but it appears from the lower Opportunities scores that their opportunities are limited; this may result in fewer possibilities for attaining a better quality of life. The results of our research are useful to Slovene researchers who work in the areas of special pedagogy and rehabilitation, politicians, non-governmental organisations and social services. The quality of life of families with children with disabilities, their empowerment and their inclusion into community life should be significantly enhanced when consideration is given to all the family members' support and service needs. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Disparity in disability between native-born non-Hispanic white and foreign-born Asian older adults in the United States: effects of educational attainment and age at immigration.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Min-Ah

2011-04-01

It is widely known that educational attainment has considerable influence on the prevalence of disability among native-born non-Hispanic older adults in the US. However, few studies have examined whether educational attainment has a similar effect on disability among foreign-born Asian older adults. If it does not have a similar effect on these adults, why not, and is its effect influenced by the age at which they immigrated to the US? This study addresses these questions by using the 2006 American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample (ACS PUMS). Logistic regression analyses reveal that education has differential effects on the two racial groups. Education protects foreign-born Asians less than native-born non-Hispanic whites. In addition, Asian adults who immigrated earlier are less likely to experience disability. Interestingly, the interaction between age at immigration and educational attainment for foreign-born Asian older adults indicates that less educated Asians are more likely to benefit from early immigration. Heterogeneity within the Asian group is also examined. The findings suggest that educational attainment has differential effects not only on the two racial groups but also on the foreign-born Asian group depending on age at immigration. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

77 FR 74372 - Revisions to the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District

Science.gov (United States)

2012-12-14

... the California State Implementation Plan, South Coast Air Quality Management District AGENCY... of South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) Rule 317, ``Clean Air Act Non- Attainment Fee... of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. South Coast Air Quality Management District v. EPA...

Fertility Differentials and Educational Attainment in Portugal: A Non-Linear Relationship

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiago de Oliveira, Isabel

2009-01-01

Full Text Available AbstractThis analysis of the Portuguese case shows a non-linear relationship betweenthe number of children and education in recent years. Using the data from tenyears before this hypothesis was confirmed, and we can see that the generaldecline in Portuguese fertility within the last decade was due to the fertilitydecrease of the less educated people, although partly attenuated by the fertilityincrease of the upper social groups. The reasons for a non-linear relationshipare discussed within the context of female employment rates and salarydifferentials by educational attainment. The main hypothesis is that differencesin fertility are related to an ‘education-work’ effect amongst those in the lesseducated groups and to an ‘education-income’ effect amongst the moreeducated.RésuméL’analyse de cas de la situation au Portugal démontre une relation non linéaireentre le nombre d’enfants et le niveau de scolarité au cours des dernièresannées. Les données recueillies pendant les dix dernières années ont étéétudiées avant de confirmer cette hypothèse ; nous avons pu voir que le déclingénéral dans le taux de fécondité au Portugal pendant la dernière décade étaitcausé par un déclin de fécondité chez les personnes moins éduquées ; ceci a étépartiellement atténué par une hausse dans le taux de fécondité dans les classessupérieures. Les raisons de cette relation non linéaire sont discutées dans lecontexte des taux d’emploi des femmes et les différentiels de salaire selon lesniveaux de scolarité. L’hypothèse majeure est que les différences dans les tauxde fécondité sont reliés à un effet « scolarité-travail » parmi les groupes moinséduqués et à un effet « scolarité-salaire » parmi les classes mieux éduqués.

Lead State Implementation Plan (SIP) Checklist Guide

Science.gov (United States)

Guidance documents and examples to assist air quality agencies of non-attainment areas in developing plans to implement national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), including the lead air emissions standard.

Nonattainment Areas in Louisiana, Geographic NAD83, EPA (2006) [Nonattainment_LA_EPA_2006

Data.gov (United States)

Louisiana Geographic Information Center — EPA Region 6 NonAttainment Areas in Louisiana, current as of May 2006. This shapefile contains parish boundaries and attributes that determine whether the parishes...

From Quality Assurance to Quality Enhancement in the European Higher Education Area

Science.gov (United States)

Gvaramadze, Irakli

2008-01-01

This article focuses on recent trends in quality assurance initiatives, analyses how the European Higher Education Area promotes quality enhancement mechanisms and their implications for quality cultures in universities. It presents and discusses two approaches towards quality enhancement both at the institutional and programme level: 1. Quality…

Mixing quality characterization in separations process tanks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, N.M.

1995-01-01

An experimental study has been performed on distribution of a dilute immiscible organic liquid dispersed in an aqueous phase contained baffled, paddle-agitated vessel, fitted with cooling coils. Acceptable total liquid levels in the vessel and minimum impeller speed were established for plant scale operation. Axial and radial distributions of the dispersed organic phase as functions of total liquid height, impeller speed, and the number of impellers were examined and some recurring trends were identified. Four stages of dispersion of organic phase in predominantly aqueous phase were identified with increasing rotational speed of impeller(s). The stages were: (1) non-dispersion stage in which the organic layer was undisturbed, (2) the organic layer was decreasing with impeller speed until complete but nonuniform dispersion was attained, (3) the non-uniformity of the completely dispersed mixture decreased with increasing rotational speed of impeller(s), and (4) a grossly uniform dispersion in which the local volume fraction of dispersed phase (organic) in mixture was the same throughout the vessel. Scale-up relations were developed for reproducing a defined mixing quality on two geometrically similar scales of operation, for the attainable condition of complete but non-uniform dispersion. The mixing quality was observed to decrease with increasing liquid depth over acceptable range, but variations in the overall concentration of organic liquid appeared to have only slight effect on the mixing quality

ASPECTS REGARDING AIR QUALITY IN DEVA AREA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

CARMEN DRAGOTA

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Aspects regarding air quality in Deva area. The attenuation of air quality in the urban environment is determined by artificial warming, a result of the radiation emitted by constructions, economic activities, as well as the climatic elements characteristics. In the survey regarding air quality in Deva we will analyse the concentrations of NO2, O3, SO2 and their implications on air quality.

Commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells for transportation applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wismer, L.

1996-04-01

Environmental concerns with air quality and global warming have triggered strict federal ambient ozone air quality standards. Areas on non-attainment of these standards exist across the United States. Because it contains several of the most difficult attainment areas, the State of California has adopted low emission standards including a zero emission vehicle mandate that has given rise to development of hybrid electric vehicles, both battery-powered and fuel-cell powered. Fuel cell powered vehicles, using on-board hydrogen as a fuel, share the non-polluting advantage of the battery electric vehicle while offering at least three times the range today`s battery technology.

78 FR 37118 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-20

... the core maintenance area exists; c. alternative fuel vehicle programs to include compressed natural... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham and Winston-Salem Carbon Monoxide... (CO), showing continued attainment of the 8-hour CO national ambient air quality standard for the...

76 FR 12302 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Missouri; Saint Louis...

Science.gov (United States)

2011-03-07

... monitoring period. However, the historical certified data recorded at the monitors that were discontinued... data available to date as an indication of whether the area continues to attain the standard. EPA... based upon complete, quality assured, quality controlled, and certified ambient air monitoring data...

Quality assurance and quality control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1987-01-01

The practice of nuclear diagnostic imaging requires an appropriate quality assurance program to attain high standards of efficiency and reliability. The International Atomic Energy Agency defines the term quality assurance as ''the closeness with which the outcome of a given procedure approaches some ideal, free from all errors and artifacts.'' The term quality control is used in reference to the specific measures taken to ensure that one particular aspect of the procedure is satisfactory. Therefore, quality assurance is a hospital-wide concept that should involve all aspects of clinical practice. Quality control is concerned with the submission of requests for procedures; the scheduling of patients; the preparation and dispensing of radiopharmaceuticals; the protection of patients, staff, and the general public against radiation hazards and accidents caused by radioactive materials or by faulty equipment; the setting up, use, and maintenance of electronic instruments; the methodology of the actual procedures; the analysis and interpretation of data; the reporting of results; and, finally, the keeping of records. The chapter discusses each of these areas

NON-QUALITY COSTS AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES IN THE ORGANIZATION

OpenAIRE

ANDREI DIAMANDESCU

2013-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and analyze non-quality costs. This approach can be best based on the definition and understanding of the quality costs and then passing to the study of the effects of failures on the quality and the costs of these failures. Finally the paper will suggest several ways to improve the control costs of non-quality.

Assessment of Soil Environmental Quality in Huangguoshu Waterfalls Scenic Area

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Rongbin; Feng, Kaiyu; Gu, Bo; Xu, Chengcheng

2018-03-01

This paper concentrates on five major heavy metal pollutants as soil environmental quality evaluation factors, respectively Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As), Chromium (Cr), based on the National Soil Environmental Quality Standards (GB15618 - 1995), we used single factor index evaluation model of soil environmental quality and comprehensive index evaluation model to analyze surface soil environmental quality in the Huangguoshu Waterfalls scenic area. Based on surface soil analysis, our results showed that the individual contamination index, Pb, Hg, As and Cr in the Huangguoshu Waterfalls scenic area met class I according to requirements of National Soil Environmental Quality Standards, which indicated that Pb, Hg, As and Cr were not main heavy metal pollutants in this area, but the individual contamination index of Cd in soil was seriously exceeded National Soil Environmental Quality Standards’ requirement. Soil environmental quality in Shitouzhai, Luoshitan, Langgong Hongyan Power Plant have exceeded the requirement of National Soil Environmental Quality Standards “0.7soils had been slightly polluted; the classification of soil environmental quality assessment in Longgong downstream area was above “Alert Level”, it indicated that soil in this area was not polluted. Above all, relevant measures for soil remediation are put forward.

Using Maslow's pyramid and the national database of nursing quality indicators(R) to attain a healthier work environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Groff-Paris, Lisa; Terhaar, Mary

2010-12-07

The strongest predictor of nurse job dissatisfaction and intent to leave is that of stress in the practice environment. Good communication, control over practice, decision making at the bedside, teamwork, and nurse empowerment have been found to increase nurse satisfaction and decrease turnover. In this article we share our experience of developing a rapid-design process to change the approach to performance improvement so as to increase engagement, empowerment, effectiveness, and the quality of the professional practice environment. Meal and non-meal breaks were identified as the target area for improvement. Qualitative and quantitative data support the success of this project. We begin this article with a review of literature related to work environment and retention and a presentation of the frameworks used to improve the work environment, specifically Maslow's theory of the Hierarchy of Inborn Needs and the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators Survey. We then describe our performance improvement project and share our conclusion and recommendations.

Scholastic Attainment Following Severe Early Institutional Deprivation: A Study of Children Adopted from Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Beckett, Celia; Maughan, Barbara; Rutter, Michael; Castle, Jenny; Colvert, Emma; Groothues, Christine; Hawkins, Amanda; Kreppner, Jana; O'Connor, Thomas G.; Stevens, Suzanne; Sonuga-Barke, Edmund J. S.

2007-01-01

The relationship between severe early institutional deprivation and scholastic attainment at age 11 in 127 children (68 girls and 59 boys) adopted from institutions in Romania was compared to the attainment of 49 children (17 girls and 32 boys) adopted within the UK from a non-institutional background. Overall, children adopted from Romania had…

Estimation of biogenic emissions with satellite-derived land use and land cover data for air quality modeling of Houston-Galveston ozone nonattainment area.

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Daewon W; Kim, Soontae; Czader, Beata; Nowak, David; Stetson, Stephen; Estes, Mark

2005-06-01

The Houston-Galveston Area (HGA) is one of the most severe ozone non-attainment regions in the US. To study the effectiveness of controlling anthropogenic emissions to mitigate regional ozone nonattainment problems, it is necessary to utilize adequate datasets describing the environmental conditions that influence the photochemical reactivity of the ambient atmosphere. Compared to the anthropogenic emissions from point and mobile sources, there are large uncertainties in the locations and amounts of biogenic emissions. For regional air quality modeling applications, biogenic emissions are not directly measured but are usually estimated with meteorological data such as photo-synthetically active solar radiation, surface temperature, land type, and vegetation database. In this paper, we characterize these meteorological input parameters and two different land use land cover datasets available for HGA: the conventional biogenic vegetation/land use data and satellite-derived high-resolution land cover data. We describe the procedures used for the estimation of biogenic emissions with the satellite derived land cover data and leaf mass density information. Air quality model simulations were performed using both the original and the new biogenic emissions estimates. The results showed that there were considerable uncertainties in biogenic emissions inputs. Subsequently, ozone predictions were affected up to 10 ppb, but the magnitudes and locations of peak ozone varied each day depending on the upwind or downwind positions of the biogenic emission sources relative to the anthropogenic NOx and VOC sources. Although the assessment had limitations such as heterogeneity in the spatial resolutions, the study highlighted the significance of biogenic emissions uncertainty on air quality predictions. However, the study did not allow extrapolation of the directional changes in air quality corresponding to the changes in LULC because the two datasets were based on vastly different

Ethnicity, Gender, Deprivation and Low Educational Attainment in England: Political Arithmetic, Ideological Stances and the Deficient Society

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Carl

2016-01-01

Attainment data on England's school pupils are more extensive in coverage, detail, quantity, accessibility and of higher quality than monitoring statistics routinely available in other European countries. These data facilitate investigation of low attainment in England's schools and its relationship to ethnicity, gender and poverty. This article…

Intergenerational transmission of educational attainment: Three levels of parent-child communication as mediators.

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Liping

2013-04-01

Although the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment has been confirmed by many researchers, its mechanism still remains controversial. Parent-child communication has been regarded as one of the important mediators. The present study primarily aimed to examine the potentially mediating role of parent-child communication in the transmission of educational attainment, based on a sample of 366 Chinese fifth and sixth graders. Parent-child communication was measured against the three levels of the parents' communication ability, the quality of the father-child and mother-child communications, and the relation between the two dyadic communications. The results duplicated the positive effect of parents' educational attainment on children's academic achievement. Moreover, it was found that parents' communication ability alone played a mediating role, and that the three levels of parent-child communication constructed a "mediator chain" between the parents' educational attainment and the children's academic achievement. Finally, the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment in China and the mediating role of the three levels of parent-child communication were discussed. © 2012 The Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Patients with tattoo reactions have reduced quality of life and suffer from itch

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hutton Carlsen, K; Serup, J

2015-01-01

Life Quality Index (DLQI) scoring system and Itch Severity Scale (ISS). METHODS: Patients attending the 'Tattoo Clinic' at Bispebjerg University Hospital, Denmark with tattoo problems spanning more than 3 months were invited. Forty patients participated during September-November 2012. Patients...... attending their routine consultations completed the ISS and DLQI questionnaires. RESULTS: Patients with tattoo reactions experienced reduced quality of life, DLQI score 7.4 and were burdened by itch, ISS score 7.2. Both DLQI and ISS results attained the level of discomfort of known skin diseases...... such as psoriasis, pruritus and eczema albeit the typical tattooed affected areas are smaller. CONCLUSION/DISCUSSION: Sufferers of tattoo reactions have reduced quality of life and are often burdened by itching attaining the level of other cumbersome afflictions recognized as dermatological diseases associated...

[Professional quality of life in workers of the Toledo primary care health area].

Science.gov (United States)

Villarín Castro, A; Méndez García, T; Zuzuárregui Gironés, M S; Sánchez Serrano, S; Conejo Ocaña, R

2015-01-01

To determine the professional quality of life in the workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area and to analyse its components. Descriptive, cross-sectional study, performed on workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area with an online self-administered questionnaire. age, sex, health centre, professional group, seniority, management experience, collaboration in working groups, employment situation, and the PQL-35 professional quality of life questionnaire. A total of 430 completed questionnaires were received (45.3%), of which 68.4% were women. The mean age was 47.7±8.6 years old. Mean seniority was 21.5±9.7 years. PQL-35 results were: perception of management support 4.8±1.5; perception of workload 6.2±1.3; intrinsic motivation 7.9±1.1; job disconnection capacity 6.3±2.6; and professional quality of life 5.2±2.1. Gender differences were found in perception of management support (4.5±1.5 in males vs 4.9±1.5 in females; P=.031) and professional quality of life (4.9±2.0 vs 5.3±2.1; p=.044). Depending on the professional group, differences were found in the perception of workload (6.4±1.1 in physicians, 6.3±1.3 in nurses, 5.9±1.6 in non-sanitary professionals, and 5.3±1.2 in support units professionals; Pquality of life in the workers of the Toledo Primary Care Health Area is similar to that of other Spanish Health Areas, even in a time of economic crisis. The intrinsic motivation of the professionals is very high, in contrast with their high perception of workload and their low perception of management support. Copyright © 2014 SECA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Characterization of non equilibrium effects on high quality critical flows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camelo, E.; Lemonnier, H.; Ochterbeck, J.

1995-01-01

The appropriate design of various pieces of safety equipment such as relief systems, relies on the accurate description of critical flow phenomena. Most of the systems of industrial interest are willing to be described by one-dimensional area-averaged models and a large fraction of them involves multi-component high gas quality flows. Within these circumstances, the flow is very likely to be of an annular dispersed nature and its description by two-fluid models requires various closure relations. Among the most sensitive closures, there is the interfacial area and the liquid entrained fraction. The critical flowrate depends tremendously on the accurate description of the non equilibrium which results from the correctness of the closure equations. In this study, two-component flows are emphasized and non equilibrium results mainly form the differences in the phase velocities. It is therefore of the utmost importance to have reliable data to characterize non equilibrium phenomena and to assess the validity of the closure models. A comprehensive description of air-water nozzle flows, with emphasis on the effect of the nozzle geometry, has been undertaken and some of the results are presented here which helps understanding the overall flow dynamics. Besides the critical flowrate, the presented material includes pressure profiles, droplet size and velocity, liquid film flowrate and liquid film thickness

Characterization of non equilibrium effects on high quality critical flows

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camelo, E.; Lemonnier, H.; Ochterbeck, J. [Commissariat a l Energie Atomique, Grenoble (France)] [and others

1995-09-01

The appropriate design of various pieces of safety equipment such as relief systems, relies on the accurate description of critical flow phenomena. Most of the systems of industrial interest are willing to be described by one-dimensional area-averaged models and a large fraction of them involves multi-component high gas quality flows. Within these circumstances, the flow is very likely to be of an annular dispersed nature and its description by two-fluid models requires various closure relations. Among the most sensitive closures, there is the interfacial area and the liquid entrained fraction. The critical flowrate depends tremendously on the accurate description of the non equilibrium which results from the correctness of the closure equations. In this study, two-component flows are emphasized and non equilibrium results mainly form the differences in the phase velocities. It is therefore of the utmost importance to have reliable data to characterize non equilibrium phenomena and to assess the validity of the closure models. A comprehensive description of air-water nozzle flows, with emphasis on the effect of the nozzle geometry, has been undertaken and some of the results are presented here which helps understanding the overall flow dynamics. Besides the critical flowrate, the presented material includes pressure profiles, droplet size and velocity, liquid film flowrate and liquid film thickness.

Environmental protection management by monitoring the surface water quality in Semenic area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dana SÂMBOTIN

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Environment seems to have been the war against all. In fact recently most people polluted the environment and those few are cared for his cleaning. Today, the relationship evolvedas societies have changed in favour of ensuring environmental protection. With modern technology, performance, monitoring the environment becomes part of human activity ever more necessary, more possible and more efficient. The quality of the environment, its components: air, water, soil, plants, vegetable and animal products, is a condition "sine qua non" for the life of the modern man. The consequences of environmental pollution areso dangerous that modern man cannot afford considering them. Through this paper I will study the environmental quality by monitoring the surfaces waters from the Semenic- Gărâna area.

The role of rural libraries in the attainment of rural development ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The paper examines the role that rural libraries could play in the attainment of rural development with a view to accelerate growth in all areas of human endeavors in rural areas of Nigeria. The study took cognizance of inherent problems that undermine the establishment of rural libraries such as funding, illiteracy, clientele ...

Quality assurance in non-interventional studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Theobald, Karlheinz; Capan, Müge; Herbold, Marlis; Schinzel, Stefan; Hundt, Ferdinand

2009-11-09

Nowadays, drug research and surveillance after authorisation becomes more and more important for several reasons. Non-interventional studies (NIS) investigate various aspects of drug use including efficacy and safety under real life conditions. Such kind of health services research should be on a high scientific, methodological and organisational level. Therefore accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality are highly recommended. The aim of quality management is: first to avoid bias of results by using an appropriate study design and an adequate data analysis, second to assure authenticity, completeness and validity of the data and third to identify and resolve deficiencies at an early stage. Basic principles are laid down in corresponding guidelines and recommendations of authorities, institutes and societies. Various guidelines for good epidemiological practice (GEP) were published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and international and regional societies for epidemiology. In addition in Germany the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) together with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA) have published respectively recommendations dealing with quality aspects of non-interventional observational studies. Key points are the advanced publishing of information about the project, developing of a study plan/protocol containing the scientific objectives, a sample size justification and a description of the planned analyses and the publishing of a summary of the results timely after completion of the study. The quality of the data can be improved by using standardized case report forms (CRF) and the CRF should be reviewed and tested before start of study by some participants. A source data verification (SDV) should be performed in randomly selected centres - in between 2% and 5% of the centres depending on the number of participating centres. Before start of

Quality assurance in non-interventional studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Capan, Müge

2009-11-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, drug research and surveillance after authorisation becomes more and more important for several reasons. Non-interventional studies (NIS investigate various aspects of drug use including efficacy and safety under real life conditions. Such kind of health services research should be on a high scientific, methodological and organisational level. Therefore accompanying measures to improve or to keep the quality are highly recommended. The aim of quality management is: first to avoid bias of results by using an appropriate study design and an adequate data analysis, second to assure authenticity, completeness and validity of the data and third to identify and resolve deficiencies at an early stage. Basic principles are laid down in corresponding guidelines and recommendations of authorities, institutes and societies. Various guidelines for good epidemiological practice (GEP were published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA and international and regional societies for epidemiology. In addition in Germany the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM together with the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI and the German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (VFA have published respectively recommendations dealing with quality aspects of non-interventional observational studies. Key points are the advanced publishing of information about the project, developing of a study plan/protocol containing the scientific objectives, a sample size justification and a description of the planned analyses and the publishing of a summary of the results timely after completion of the study. The quality of the data can be improved by using standardized case report forms (CRF and the CRF should be reviewed and tested before start of study by some participants. A source data verification (SDV should be performed in randomly selected centres – in between 2% and 5% of the centres depending on the number of participating centres

Results from non-accelerator experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilkerson, J.F.

1992-01-01

The diversity of non-accelerator experiments is at first look both dazzling and even daunting. However, nearly all of these experiments strive to attain the same goal, to search for new physics, beyond the current Standard Model. These measurements are also unified in the fact that their results are often dominated by systematic uncertainties. This review necessarily covers only a limited subset of non-accelerator experiments, and will concentrate on the experimental areas where there has been significant recent progress. The topics reviewed include neutrino mazes, double beta decay, solar neutrino, and long-baseline neutrino oscillation measurements

Nonmedical prescription drug use among US young adults by educational attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Martins, Silvia S; Kim, June H; Chen, Lian-Yu; Levin, Deysia; Keyes, Katherine M; Cerdá, Magdalena; Storr, Carla L

2015-05-01

Little is known about nonmedical use of prescription drugs among non-college-attending young adults in the United States. Data were drawn from 36,781 young adults (ages 18-22 years) from the 2008-2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health public use files. The adjusted main effects for current educational attainment, along with its interaction with gender and race/ethnicity, were considered. Compared to those attending college, non-college-attending young adults with at least and less than a HS degree had a higher prevalence of past-year nonmedical use of prescription opioids [NMUPO 13.1 and 13.2 %, respectively, vs. 11.3 %, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) 1.21 (1.11-1.33) and 1.25 (1.12-1.40)], yet lower prevalence of prescription stimulant use. Among users, regardless of drug type, non-college-attending youth were more likely to have past-year disorder secondary to use [e.g., NMUPO 17.4 and 19.1 %, respectively, vs. 11.7 %, aORs 1.55 (1.22-1.98) and 1.75 (1.35-2.28)]. Educational attainment interacted with gender and race: (1) among nonmedical users of prescription opioids, females who completed high school but were not enrolled in college had a significantly greater risk of opioid disorder (compared to female college students) than the same comparison for men; and (2) the risk for nonmedical use of prescription opioids was negligible across educational attainment groups for Hispanics, which was significantly different than the increased risk shown for non-Hispanic whites. There is a need for young adult prevention and intervention programs to target nonmedical prescription drug use beyond college campuses.

Mexican Ancestry, Immigrant Generation, and Educational Attainment in the United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen L. Morgan

2014-09-01

Full Text Available After introducing alternative perspectives on assimilation and acculturation, we use the 2002-2012 waves of the Education Longitudinal Study to model differences in educational attainment for students sampled as high school sophomores in 2002. We focus on patterns observed for the growing Mexican immigrant population, analyzing separately the trajectories of 1st, 1.5th, 2nd, and 3rd+ generation Mexican immigrant students, in comparison to 3rd+ generation students who self-identify as non-Hispanic whites and students who self-identify as non-Hispanic blacks or African Americans. The results suggest that the dissonant acculturation mechanism associated with the segmented assimilation perspective is mostly unhelpful for explaining patterns of educational attainment, especially for the crucial groups of 1.5th and 2nd generation Mexican immigrant students. Instead, standard measures of family background can account for large portions of group differences in bachelor’s degree attainment, with or without additional adjustments for behavioral commitment to schooling, occupational plans, and educational expectations. The broad structure of inequality in the United States, as well as the rising costs of bachelor’s degrees, should be the primary source of concern when considering the prospects for the incorporation of the children of recent Mexican immigrants into the mainstream.

Investigation of Prescribed Fires Impacts on Air Quality in the Pacific Northwest

Science.gov (United States)

Ravi, V.; Chung, S. H.; Vaughan, J. K.; Lamb, B. K.

2014-12-01

Emissions from wildland and prescribed fires cause significant aerosol loading in the atmospheric environment. Using 2011 NEI-Fire emission inventory, we investigate the impacts of prescribed fire emissions on the air quality of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) for a month long period in October-November 2011. This study utilizes the AIRAPCT-4 regional air quality forecasting system, which is based on the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ framework. We simulate three different emission scenarios - 1) emissions with prescribed fires, 2) emissions without prescribed fires and 3) a scenario where prescribed fire emissions are reduced by 60%. AIRPACT-4 results are examined for impacts of prescribed fire emissions on ambient levels of PM2.5 and Ozone for entire PNW. We also look at the contribution of prescribed fire emissions to ambient PM2.5 concentrations for selected non-attainment areas in the PNW. This work supports the analysis of using woody residue as a feedstock for an aviation biofuel supply chain through the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance (NARA).

Women of lower educational attainment have lower food involvement and eat less fruit and vegetables

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barker, M.; Lawrence, W.; Woadden, J.

2008-01-01

Women who leave school with few or no educational qualifications are less likely to have diets that meet current recommendations than women who attain more qualifications at school. We hypothesise that lower 'food involvement', meaning that food has a lower level of importance in their lives......, explains the poorer quality diets of women of lower educational attainment. We administered Bell and Marshall [(2003). The construct of food involvement in behavioral research: Scale development and validation. Appetite, 40, 235-244.] Food Involvement scale to 242 women of varied educational attainment......, of whom 127 were also asked how often they ate fruit and vegetables. Women's food involvement decreased with decreasing educational attainment. Forty-two percent of women who had no educational qualifications were in the lowest quarter of the food involvement score, compared with 12% of women with degrees...

Air Quality of Beijing and Impacts of the New Ambient Air Quality Standard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Chen

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Beijing has been publishing daily reports on its air quality since 2000, and while the air pollution index (API shows that the air quality has improved greatly since 2000, this is not the perception of Beijing’s residents. The new national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS-2012, which includes the monitoring of PM2.5, has posed stricter standards for evaluating air quality. With the new national standard, the air quality in Beijing is calculated using both NAAQS-2012 and the previous standard. The annual attainment rate has dropped from 75.5% to 50.7%. The spatial analysis of air quality shows that only a background station could attain the national standard, while urban and suburban stations exceed the national standard. Among the six pollutants included in the NAAQS-2012, PM2.5 is the major contributor to the air quality index (AQI comparing with the five other pollutants. The results indicate that under previous NAAQS without PM2.5 monitoring, the air quality has improved greatly in the past decade.  By considering PM2.5, the air quality attainment has dropped greatly. Furthermore, a great effort is needed for local government to bring down the PM2.5 concentration.

Non-Academic Service Quality: Comparative Analysis of Students and Faculty as Users

Science.gov (United States)

Sharif, Khurram; Kassim, Norizan Mohd

2012-01-01

The research focus was a non-academic service quality assessment within higher education. In particular, non-academic service quality perceptions of faculty and students were evaluated using a service profit chain. This enabled a comparison which helped understanding of non-academic service quality orientation from a key users' perspective. Data…

Personality and the Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment: Evidence from Germany

Science.gov (United States)

Ryberg, Renee; Bauldry, Shawn; Schultz, Michael A.; Steinhoff, Annekatrin; Shanahan, Michael

2018-01-01

Research based in the United States, with its relatively open educational system, has found that personality mediates the relationship between parents’ and child’s educational attainment and this meditational pattern is especially beneficial to students from less-educated households. Yet in highly structured, competitive educational systems, personal characteristics may not predict attainment or may be more or less consequential at different points in the educational career. We examine the salience of personality in the educational attainment process in the German educational system. Data come from a longitudinal sample of 682 seventeen to twenty-five year-olds (54% female) from the 2005 and 2015 German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Results show that adolescent personality traits — openness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness — are associated with educational attainment, but personality plays a negligible role in the intergenerational transmission of education. Personality is influential before the decision about the type of secondary degree that a student will pursue (during adolescence). After that turning point, when students have entered different pathways through the system, personality is less salient. Cross-national comparisons in a life course framework broaden the scope of current research on non-cognitive skills and processes of socioeconomic attainment, alerting the analyst to the importance of both institutional structures and the changing importance of these skills at different points in the life course. PMID:28707154

Personality and the Intergenerational Transmission of Educational Attainment: Evidence from Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryberg, Renee; Bauldry, Shawn; Schultz, Michael A; Steinhoff, Annekatrin; Shanahan, Michael

2017-10-01

Research based in the United States, with its relatively open educational system, has found that personality mediates the relationship between parents' and child's educational attainment and this mediational pattern is especially beneficial to students from less-educated households. Yet in highly structured, competitive educational systems, personality characteristics may not predict attainment or may be more or less consequential at different points in the educational career. We examine the salience of personality in the educational attainment process in the German educational system. Data come from a longitudinal sample of 682 17 to 25 year-olds (54% female) from the 2005 and 2015 German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). Results show that adolescent personality traits-openness, neuroticism, and conscientiousness-are associated with educational attainment, but personality plays a negligible role in the intergenerational transmission of education. Personality is influential before the decision about the type of secondary degree that a student will pursue (during adolescence). After that turning point, when students have entered different pathways through the system, personality is less salient. Cross-national comparisons in a life course framework broaden the scope of current research on non-cognitive skills and processes of socioeconomic attainment, alerting the analyst to the importance of both institutional structures and the changing importance of these skills at different points in the life course.

Performance-based quality assurance: the regulatory viewpoint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajaroff, Pedro M.

2000-01-01

This paper complements and upgrades a previous one recently presented, the aim is a further contribution to a wide dissemination of this new methodology and way of thinking. Modern quality management techniques emphasizes errors prevention instead of finding and correcting them, in line with the new generation of ISO-9000 documents. Performance-based QA is coherent with this 'right-first-time' attitude, resting on the managerial role (establishing and applying policies and instructions allowing to integrate quality objectives to everyday work) and on the responsibility of every single involved person (the attainment of such objectives). The contents of the final draft of the revised IAEA NUSS Code on QA -namely 'Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and other Nuclear Facilities', is based on that approach, so it is not perspective. The text only contains ten basic requirements, where the objective is improving nuclear safety through an improvement in the methods applied for attaining quality during design, construction, commissioning, operation and decommissioning of nuclear installations. These requirements are assigned to: 'Management' (QA programme; training and qualification; non-conformance control and corrective actions; document control and records); 'Performance' (work; design; procurement; inspection and testing for acceptance) and 'Assessment' (management self-assessment; independent assessment). The management is responsible for planning, organization, direction, control and support; the line groups are responsible for attaining quality; and the assessment group is responsible for analyzing the management's and the line groups' effectiveness. From the regulatory point of view in the performance context, operating organizations will have to demonstrate the effective fulfillment of QA requirements to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities. This is not a novel mechanism, it is usual within the regulatory performance approach. The Code is

Kentucky Department for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection permit application for air contaminant source: SRC-I demonstration plant, Newman, Kentucky. Appendix D. Impact assessment. [Demonstration plant at Newman, KY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

1980-11-21

In appendix D, the air quality condition for various pollutants in the areas surrounding the proposed demonstration plant site is given with respect to attainment or non-attainment of US EPA regulations. The minimum pollutant emission rates for these regulated and for several other pollutants are given. Then the estimated emission rates from the proposed plant are given for a dozen pollutants which exceed these limits and therefore require an ambient air quality analysis. This involves taking into account the estimated emission of these pollutants from the proposed plant and from other sources in the surrounding area. Finally, background data from the surrounding area including meteorological data and sampling of regulated pollutants are given. (LTN)

75 FR 64675 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-20

...'s Approval of the El Paso Section 110(a)(1) Maintenance Plan for the 1997 8-Hour Ozone Standard... BPA State Implementation Plan (SIP), a 1997 8-hour ozone maintenance plan that includes a 2021 Motor... the 1997 8-hour ozone standard for the El Paso 1997 8-hour attainment area. DATES: Effective Date...

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Closure of the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and Land Application Area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lewis, Michael G.

2016-01-01

This quality assurance project plan describes the technical requirements and quality assurance activities of the environmental data collection/analyses operations to close Central Facilities Area Sewage treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and the land application area. It describes the organization and persons involved, the data quality objectives, the analytical procedures, and the specific quality control measures to be employed. All quality assurance project plan activities are implemented to determine whether the results of the sampling and monitoring performed are of the right type, quantity, and quality to satisfy the requirements for closing Lagoon 3 and the land application area.

Quality Assurance Project Plan for Closure of the Central Facilities Area Sewage Treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and Land Application Area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lewis, Michael G. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2016-10-01

This quality assurance project plan describes the technical requirements and quality assurance activities of the environmental data collection/analyses operations to close Central Facilities Area Sewage treatment Plant Lagoon 3 and the land application area. It describes the organization and persons involved, the data quality objectives, the analytical procedures, and the specific quality control measures to be employed. All quality assurance project plan activities are implemented to determine whether the results of the sampling and monitoring performed are of the right type, quantity, and quality to satisfy the requirements for closing Lagoon 3 and the land application area.

Patients with tattoo reactions have reduced quality of life and suffer from itch: Dermatology Life Quality Index and Itch Severity Score measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Hutton Carlsen, K; Serup, J

2015-02-01

Tattoos are a trend with increasing side-effects. The burden of local reaction with swelling, itching and discomfort may impel sufferers to consult medical assistance. To assess tattoo reactions and their influence on quality of life and itching by utilizing the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scoring system and Itch Severity Scale (ISS). Patients attending the 'Tattoo Clinic' at Bispebjerg University Hospital, Denmark with tattoo problems spanning more than 3 months were invited. Forty patients participated during September-November 2012. Patients attending their routine consultations completed the ISS and DLQI questionnaires. Patients with tattoo reactions experienced reduced quality of life, DLQI score 7.4 and were burdened by itch, ISS score 7.2. Both DLQI and ISS results attained the level of discomfort of known skin diseases such as psoriasis, pruritus and eczema albeit the typical tattooed affected areas are smaller. Sufferers of tattoo reactions have reduced quality of life and are often burdened by itching attaining the level of other cumbersome afflictions recognized as dermatological diseases associated with itch. Tattoo reactions warrant diagnosis and treatment with same professional intent shared with other skin diseases. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Soil Quality in Mining Areas Undergoing Ecological Restoration

Science.gov (United States)

Dinarowski, Marcela; Casagrande, José Carlos; Bizuti, Denise T. G.; Silva, Luiz Gabriel; Soares, Marcio Roberto; Brancalion, Pedro H. S.

2014-05-01

Mining is one of the anthropogenic activities most impactful to natural resources, and can profoundly affect the resilience of ecosystems depending on the level of soil degradation. Ecological restoration has generated promising results even in situations of degradation as intense as those of mining. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of the soil in areas explored by the bauxite extraction undergoing restoration: recently mined, seven years, 20 years and native forest. The studied areas are located in the municipality of Poços de Caldas-MG, belonging to ALCOA Alumínio. The mined-out areas for seven and twenty years were uncompressed and received topsoil, liming and fertilization with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Samples for chemical analyses of soil fertility were carried out at depths of 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-40 and 40-60 cm. Soil quality was evaluated by pondered additive model. The parameters were considered organic matter (0.6) and bases saturation (0.4) for soil fertility function (0.6) and calcium (0.5) and aluminum saturation (0.5) for the function root development (0.4) - (the numbers in parentheses represent the weights attributed). Despite the high content, only the organic matter was not a parameter enough to classify the soil quality, once the native forest has very low base saturation (7%). The soil quality index(SQI) obtained allowed to classify the areas, being the first restored 20 years ago with SQI equal to 0.7 followed of the restored 7 years ago, native forest and newly mined with SQIs equal to 0.6, 04 and 0.3, respectively. The native tropical forests have low soil fertility, keeping by the cycling of nutrients. This demonstrates the need for the degraded areas, especially the mined, are uncompressed to allow storage of water and root development, in addition to the replacement of nutrients and soil acidity correction, especially high levels of aluminum saturation (66%) and low calcium (3 mmolcdm-3).

Obesity and Skill Attainment in Early Childhood

OpenAIRE

John Cawley; C. Katharina Spiess

2008-01-01

This paper investigates the association between obesity and skill attainment in early childhood (aged 2-4 years). Data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study are used to estimate models of developmental functioning in four critical areas (verbal skills, activities of daily living, motor skills, and social skills) as a function of various measures of weight (including body mass index and obesity) controlling for a rich set of child, parent, and family characteristics. The findings indicate...

Time Use and Educational Attainment: A Study of Undergraduate Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Etcheverry, Emily J.; And Others

1993-01-01

A Canadian university study of 308 students' time use in academic areas used a model relating variables of social background, social psychological characteristics, time use, and educational attainment. Findings suggested that, taking into account these other variables, the time students spend on academic activities and paid employment has little…

Improving the Postsecondary Educational Attainment of Youth in Foster Care

Science.gov (United States)

Dworsky, Amy

2018-01-01

This chapter examines what we know about the disparity in postsecondary educational attainment between youth in foster care and their non-foster care peers, the reasons for it, and the policies and programs that have been developed to address that disparity. It also discusses the unique role that community colleges can play in reducing this…

The application of the drug user quality of life scale (DUQOL in Australia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zubaran Carlos

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The concept of quality of life relates to the perceptions of individuals about their mental and physical health as well as non-health related areas. The evaluation of quality of life in the context of substance abuse has been conducted using generic instruments. The Drug Users Quality of Life Scale (DUQOL is a specific assessment tool in which the most pertinent and salient areas to drug abusers are taken into consideration. In this study, the authors report the results of a validation study in which the DUQOL was used for the first time in Australia. Methods A sample of 120 participants from inpatient and outpatient treatment facilities completed a series of questionnaires, including the DUQOL and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF. Parameters investigated in this study included the demographic characteristics of the sample, internal structure, and convergent validity. Correlations between the DUQOL scale scores and the scores of the WHOQOL-Bref test were investigated via Pearson product-moment correlation analyses. Results The English version of the DUQOL attained a significant overall Cronbach's alpha of 0.868. The factorial analysis of the DUQOL identified one principal factor that accounted for 28.499% of the variance. Convergent validity analyses demonstrate significant correlations (p Conclusions This study demonstrates that the DUQOL constitutes a reliable research instrument for evaluating quality of life of substance users in Australia.

77 FR 50966 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Maryland; Attainment Demonstration...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-23

..., especially for children and adults who are active outdoors, and individuals with a pre-existing respiratory disease, such as asthma. On April 30, 2004 (69 FR 23951), EPA finalized its attainment/ nonattainment... or preempt tribal law. List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 Environmental protection, Air pollution...

Lot quality assurance sampling for monitoring coverage and quality of a targeted condom social marketing programme in traditional and non-traditional outlets in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Piot, Bram; Mukherjee, Amajit; Navin, Deepa; Krishnan, Nattu; Bhardwaj, Ashish; Sharma, Vivek; Marjara, Pritpal

2010-02-01

This study reports on the results of a large-scale targeted condom social marketing campaign in and around areas where female sex workers are present. The paper also describes the method that was used for the routine monitoring of condom availability in these sites. The lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method was used for the assessment of the geographical coverage and quality of coverage of condoms in target areas in four states and along selected national highways in India, as part of Avahan, the India AIDS initiative. A significant general increase in condom availability was observed in the intervention area between 2005 and 2008. High coverage rates were gradually achieved through an extensive network of pharmacies and particularly of non-traditional outlets, whereas traditional outlets were instrumental in providing large volumes of condoms. LQAS is seen as a valuable tool for the routine monitoring of the geographical coverage and of the quality of delivery systems of condoms and of health products and services in general. With a relatively small sample size, easy data collection procedures and simple analytical methods, it was possible to inform decision-makers regularly on progress towards coverage targets.

The fiscal consequences of ADHD in Germany: a quantitative analysis based on differences in educational attainment and lifetime earnings.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotsopoulos, Nikolaos; Connolly, Mark P; Sobanski, Esther; Postma, Maarten J

2013-03-01

To estimate the long-term fiscal consequences of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the German government and social insurance system based on differences in educational attainment and the resulting differences in lifetime earnings compared with non-ADHD cohorts. Differences in educational attainment between ADHD and non-ADHD cohorts were linked to education-specific earnings data. Direct and indirect tax rates and social insurance contributions were linked to differences in lifetime, education-specific earnings to derive lost tax revenue in Germany associated with ADHD. For ADHD and non-ADHD cohorts we derived the age-specific discounted net taxes paid by deducting lifetime transfers from lifetime gross taxes paid. The lifetime net tax revenue for a non-ADHD individual was approximately EUR 80,000 higher compared to an untreated ADHD individual. The fiscal burden of untreated ADHD, based on a cohort of n=31,844 born in 2010, was estimated at EUR 2.5 billion in net tax revenue losses compared with an equally-sized non-ADHD cohort. ADHD interventions providing a small improvement in educational attainment resulted in fiscal benefits from increases in lifetime tax gains. ADHD results in long-term financial loss due to lower education attainment and lifetime reduced earnings and resulting lifetime taxes and social contributions paid. Investments in ADHD interventions allowing more children to achieve their educational potential may offer fiscal benefits generating a positive rate of return.

QUALITY OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION SERVICES IN URBAN AREA OF ORADEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silaghi Simona

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Intensification of public transport in urban areas due to increased mobility at regional and national levels, discrepancies among urban areas with same population and lack of statistical data related to performance and quality of public transport services are the main determinants of this paper. A separation line must be drawn between quality of services and performance indicators of public transport system. Service quality is a multi subjective outcome of an array of intangible variables. Service quality can be approached from four directions: consumer, vehicle performance (including the human operator, specialized company in passenger transport, and the Government (local Councils. Availability, comfort and convenience are the two main indicators that must be evaluated by citizens as being with high grades for a good quality of urban transport services. The instrument used to gather data is the preference survey.

Relationships Between Agritourism and Certified Quality Food in Italian Rural Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

NICOLA GALLUZZO

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Since the early 1960, farms are one of the alternatively forms of hospitality in few Italian regions located predominately in the north and in the centre of peninsula. In 1985, Italian government promulgated a law in order to regulate this non-conventional form of tourism, by delegating to the regions the direct management of administrative procedures and inspections in farms. Nowadays, Italian agritourist farms represent a good chance to give value in favour of farm by the diversification of agrarian activities and also by holistically promoting local food in a direct connection to local gastronomy, rural heritage and tradition, with positive effects on the endogenous development in rural areas. The aim of the paper was to assess the role of agritourism in raising the socio-economic development of rural space by the diffusion of certified quality food using a quantitative approach and to assess if agritourist and certified quality food were tools able to implement the living conditions in the countryside. The findings have disclosed that tourists from abroad have increased the level of farmer income giving value towards high quality food and farm holidays farms. Instead, the impact of Italian agritourists has been relatively poor because of the economic crisis.

Effects of land use patterns on stream water quality: a case study of a small-scale watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Zhilin; Han, Liyang; Zeng, Lixiong; Xiao, Wenfa; Tian, Yaowu

2016-02-01

In this study, we have considered the relationship between the spatial configuration of land use and water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Using land use types, landscape metrics, and long-term water quality data, as well as statistical and spatial analysis, we determined that most water quality parameters were negatively correlated with non-wood forest and urban areas but were strongly positively correlated with the proportion of forest area. Landscape indices such as patch density, contagion, and the Shannon diversity index were able to predict some water quality indicators, but the mean shape index was not significantly related to the proportions of farmland and water in the study area. Regression relationships were stronger in spring and fall than in summer, and relationships with nitrogen were stronger than those of the other water quality parameters (R(2) > 0.80) in all three seasons. Redundancy analysis showed that declining stream water quality was closely associated with configurations of urban, agricultural, and forest areas and with landscape fragmentation (PD) caused by urbanization and agricultural activities. Thus, a rational land use plan of adjusting the land use type, controlling landscape fragmentation, and increasing the proportion of forest area would help to achieve a healthier river ecosystem in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA).

[Ecological hygienic assessment of soils quality in urban areas].

Science.gov (United States)

Vodyanova, M A; Kriatov, I A; Donerian, L G; Evseeva, I S; Ushakov, D I; Sbitnev, A V

Assessment of the soil quality is ofprime importance essential for the characterization of the ecological and hygienic condition of the territory, as the soil is the first link of the food chain, the source of secondary air and water pollution, as well as an integral index of ecological well-being of the environment. Herewith the qualitative analysis of soil complicated by the specifics of the soil genesis in the urban environment, in which an important role is played by manmade land bulk and alluvial soils; the inclusion of construction of material debris and household garbage in upper horizons; the growing up of the profile due to the perpetual introduction of different materials and intensive aeolian deposition. It is advisable to consider the currently neglected question of the study of soil vapor containing volatile chemicals. These pollutants penetrate into the building through cracks in the foundation and openings for utilities. Soil evaporation may accumulate in residential areas or in the soil under the building. Because of this, it is necessary to pay attention to the remediation of areas allocated for the built-up area, possessing a large-scale underground parking. Soil contamination is the result of significant anthropogenic impacts on the environment components. In general, about 89.1 million people (62.6% of the population of the country) live in terms of complex chemical load, determined by contamination offood, drinking water, air and soil. The list of microbiological and sanitary-chemical indices of the assessment of soils of urban areas may vary in dependence on the data obtained in pilot studies due to changes and additions to the assigned tasks. Timely forecast for the possibility of the usage of released lands of urban territories for the construction and the creation of new objects for different purposes should become the prevention of chronic non-infectious diseases in the population residing in urban areas.

The Impact of Total Quality Management Practices on Non-Financial Performance Perceptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fetullah EVLİYAOĞLU

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This study examines the effect of total quality management applications on non-financial performance perceptions of employees. The research applied by surveys on employees in quality departments of five companies which have businesses in the field of tourism, transportation, construction, food and technology. “Leadership and continuous improvement”, “costumer focused” and “stakeholder participation” dimensions for total quality management and “customer perspective”, “innovation and learning perspective” and “internal processes perspective” dimensions for non-financial performance are derived from factor analysis. Customer focus, one of the total quality management, has significant relationship with customer perspective and innovation and learning perspective of non-financial performance. Customer focus dimension of total quality management has a significant negative effect on innovation and learning perspective of non-financial performance. There are no relationships between the rests of the dimensions.

Stuttering Severity and Educational Attainment

Science.gov (United States)

O'Brian, Sue; Jones, Mark; Packman, Ann; Menzies, Ross; Onslow, Mark

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between self-reported stuttering severity ratings and educational attainment. Method: Participants were 147 adults seeking treatment for stuttering. At pretreatment assessment, each participant reported the highest educational level they had attained and rated their typical and worst stuttering…

Ways and means of attaining minimal deterrence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boden, D.

1993-01-01

Means for attaining minimum nuclear deterrence include negotiations, unilateral measures, changes of doctrines, priorities with respect to armaments concerned, co-management of deterrence. Deterrence is a positive relationship related to non-proliferation. It is helpful because it has to be seen in the context of overall international security. Nuclear weapons have a significance which is real. The treat they pose should be dealt with in order to develop a better and safer world, and in that context the security needs of the nations should be provided, meaning truly improved security situation

Soil Quality of Bauxite Mining Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Terezinha Gonçalves Bizuti, Denise; Dinarowski, Marcela; Casagrande, José Carlos; Silva, Luiz Gabriel; Soares, Marcio Roberto; Henrique Santin Brancalion, Pedro

2015-04-01

The study on soil quality index (SQI) aims to assess the current state of the soil after use and estimating its recovery through sustainable management practices This type of study is being used in this work in order to check the efficiency of forest recovery techniques in areas that have been deeply degraded by bauxite mining process, and compare them with the area of native forest, through the determination of SQI. Treatments were newly mined areas, areas undergoing restoration (topsoil use with planting of native forest species), areas in rehabilitation (employment of the green carpet with topsoil and planting of native forest species) and areas of native forests, with six repetitions, in areas of ALCOA, in the municipality of Poços de Caldas/MG. To this end, we used the additive pondered model, establishing three functions: Fertility, water movement and root development, based on chemical parameters (organic matter, base saturation, aluminum saturation and calcium content); physical (macroporosity, soil density and clay content); and microbiological testing (basal respiration by the emission of CO2 ). The SQIs obtained for each treatment was 41%, 56%, 63% and 71% for newly mined areas, native forest, areas in restoration and rehabilitation, respectively. The recovering technique that most approximates the degraded soil to the soil of reference is the restoration, where there was no statistically significant difference of areas restored with native forest. It was found that for the comparison of the studied areas must take into account the nutrient cycling, that disappear with plant removal in mining areas, once the soil of native forest features low fertility and high saturation by aluminum, also taking in account recovering time.

200 Area Liquid Effluent Facilities -- Quality assurance program plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandez, L.

1995-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) describes the quality assurance and management controls used by the 200 Area Liquid Effluent Facilities (LEF) to perform its activities in accordance with DOE Order 5700.6C. The 200 Area LEF consists of the following facilities: Effluent Treatment Facility (ETF); Treated Effluent Disposal Facility (TEDF); Liquid Effluent Retention facility (LERF); and Truck Loading Facility -- (Project W291). The intent is to ensure that all activities such as collection of effluents, treatment, concentration of secondary wastes, verification, sampling and disposal of treated effluents and solids related with the LEF operations, conform to established requirements

Quality control related to total quality: why not to nuclear area too?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vasques, R.J.

1992-01-01

We're living in a new economical age, where quality, productivity, competence, competitiveness and costumer satisfaction are necessary. We must develop our capacity more and more, daily, for could survive and to excel in this new age. Only through Total Quality Control (TQC) is that we'll go to achieve these requirements. TQC is expanding all over the world and is already, the new universal language. Why not get the TQC's benefits to nuclear area too? We must stay within this reality. With our quality assurance systems turned to TQC, certainly we'll get best results. This is the intention of this paper: to call the nuclear professionals attention to knowledge, application and commitment to TQC's philosophy. (author)

Quality of life of users of psychoactive substances, relatives, and non-users assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taís de Campos Moreira

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Quality of life is related to one of the basic human desires, which is to live well and feel good. The scope of this study was to evaluate the quality of life of psychoactive substance users and relatives, compared to non-users, analyzed by socioeconomic strata. A cross-sectional study with users of psychoactive substances, relatives, and other individuals who called the Information and Orientation Service regarding drug abuse. Data collection took place between November 2009 and December 2010. Data was collected from users, relatives, and non-users, including socioeconomic characteristics and data regarding substance consumption when appropriate. In addition to this the abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was given to 347 individuals. Among the 138 users (70% used alcohol, 76 (39%, marijuana, 111 (57% tobacco, 78 (40% cocaine and 70 (36% crack. Control subjects had higher, scores than the relatives of users and users in all areas of the questionnaire (p < 0.05. Psychoactive substance users scored lower in almost all domains and overall score in the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire in comparison with the sample of non-drug users. These findings reflect poor quality of life of patients and their relatives.

Non-susceptible landslide areas in Italy and in the Mediterranean region

Science.gov (United States)

Marchesini, I.; Ardizzone, F.; Alvioli, M.; Rossi, M.; Guzzetti, F.

2014-08-01

We used landslide information for 13 study areas in Italy and morphometric information obtained from the 3-arcseconds shuttle radar topography mission digital elevation model (SRTM DEM) to determine areas where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible in Italy and in the landmasses surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. The morphometric information consisted of the local terrain slope which was computed in a square 3 × 3-cell moving window, and in the regional relative relief computed in a circular 15 × 15-cell moving window. We tested three different models to classify the "non-susceptible" landslide areas, including a linear model (LNR), a quantile linear model (QLR), and a quantile, non-linear model (QNL). We tested the performance of the three models using independent landslide information presented by the Italian Landslide Inventory (Inventario Fenomeni Franosi in Italia - IFFI). Best results were obtained using the QNL model. The corresponding zonation of non-susceptible landslide areas was intersected in a geographic information system (GIS) with geographical census data for Italy. The result determined that 57.5% of the population of Italy (in 2001) was located in areas where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible. We applied the QNL model to the landmasses surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and we tested the synoptic non-susceptibility zonation using independent landslide information for three study areas in Spain. Results showed that the QNL model was capable of determining where landslide susceptibility is expected to be negligible in the validation areas in Spain. We expect our results to be applicable in similar study areas, facilitating the identification of non-susceptible landslide areas, at the synoptic scale.

Relationship between water quality of deep-groundwater and geology in non-volcanic areas in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyama, Yoichi; Takahashi, Masaaki; Tsukamoto, Hitoshi; Kazahaya, Kohei; Yasuhara, Masaya; Takahashi, Hiroshi; Morikawa, Noritoshi; Ohwada, Michiko; Shibahara, Akihiko; Inamura, Akihiko

2011-01-01

Geochemical characteristics in groundwater such as groundwater chemistry and physicochemical parameters are affected by their source and the interaction with rocks and minerals. We observed the relationships between groundwater chemistry of the deep-groundwater and the geology in non-volcanic areas in Japan using about 9300 of deep-groundwater data. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to extract data in non-volcanic areas and numbers of water data are about 5200. The data were further classified into four types of geology (sedimentary rock, accretionary complex, volcanic rock and plutonic rock). The pH, temperature and major ion concentrations among deep-groundwaters in each geology have been statistically analysed. Result shows that the total cation concentration of deep-groundwaters are significantly different between geology, and the average values are decreased in the order of the sedimentary rock (66.7 meq l -1 ), volcanic rock (43.0 meq l -1 ), accretionary complex (24.6 meq l -1 ), and plutonic rock (11.0 meq l -1 ). The average pH does not show the major difference between geology whereas the highest average temperature is found in volcanic rock. In addition, the all four major cations (Na, K, Mg, and Ca) show the highest average concentrations in sedimentary rock, within the highest average concentrations of major anions for Cl, SO 4 , and HCO 3 are found in sedimentary rock, volcanic rock and accretionary complex, respectively, indicating the difference of the influence on the anions varied with geology. The distribution of deep-groundwater that are dominated by each major anions implied that SO 4 -type groundwater in volcanic rocks are formed by the influence of Neogene volcanic rock (Green tuff). In addition, HCO 3 -type groundwater in accretionary complex found from Kinki to Shikoku regions are formed by the addition of CO 2 gases supplying not only from surface soil and carbonate minerals but from deep underground. (author)

Influence of oil and gas emissions on ambient atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons in residential areas of Northeastern Colorado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chelsea R. Thompson

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract The Northern Front Range (NFR region of Colorado has experienced rapid expansion of oil and gas extraction from shale and tight sands reservoirs in recent years due to advances in hydraulic fracturing technology, with over 25,000 wells currently in operation. This region has also been designated as a federal ozone non-attainment area by the U.S. EPA. High ozone levels are a significant health concern, as are potential health impacts from chronic exposure to primary emissions of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC for residents living near wells. From measurements of ambient atmospheric NMHC present in residential areas located in close proximity to wells in Erie, Colorado, we find that mean mole fractions of the C2–C5 alkanes are enhanced by a factor of 18–77 relative to the regional background, and present at higher levels than typically found in large urban centers. When combined with NMHC observations from downtown Denver and Platteville, it is apparent that these compounds are elevated across the NFR, with highest levels within the Greater Wattenberg Gas Field. This represents a large area source for ozone precursors in the NFR. The BTEX aromatic compounds in Erie were comparable to (e.g., benzene or lower than (e.g., toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene in large urban centers, however, benzene was significantly higher in Platteville, and within the range of chronic health-based exposure levels. An initial look at comparisons with data sets from previous years reveal that ambient levels for oil and gas-related NMHC in Erie, as well as further downwind in Boulder, have not decreased, but appear to have been increasing, despite tightening of emissions standards for the oil and gas industries in 2008.

Assessment of air quality benefits from national air pollution control policies in China. Part II: Evaluation of air quality predictions and air quality benefits assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Litao; Jang, Carey; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Kai; Zhang, Qiang; Streets, David; Fu, Joshua; Lei, Yu; Schreifels, Jeremy; He, Kebin; Hao, Jiming; Lam, Yun-Fat; Lin, Jerry; Meskhidze, Nicholas; Voorhees, Scott; Evarts, Dale; Phillips, Sharon

2010-09-01

Following the meteorological evaluation in Part I, this Part II paper presents the statistical evaluation of air quality predictions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)'s Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (Models-3/CMAQ) model for the four simulated months in the base year 2005. The surface predictions were evaluated using the Air Pollution Index (API) data published by the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) for 31 capital cities and daily fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, particles with aerodiameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) observations of an individual site in Tsinghua University (THU). To overcome the shortage in surface observations, satellite data are used to assess the column predictions including tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) column abundance and aerosol optical depth (AOD). The result shows that CMAQ gives reasonably good predictions for the air quality. The air quality improvement that would result from the targeted sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) emission controls in China were assessed for the objective year 2010. The results show that the emission controls can lead to significant air quality benefits. SO 2 concentrations in highly polluted areas of East China in 2010 are estimated to be decreased by 30-60% compared to the levels in the 2010 Business-As-Usual (BAU) case. The annual PM 2.5 can also decline by 3-15 μg m -3 (4-25%) due to the lower SO 2 and sulfate concentrations. If similar controls are implemented for NO x emissions, NO x concentrations are estimated to decrease by 30-60% as compared with the 2010 BAU scenario. The annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations will also decline by 2-14 μg m -3 (3-12%). In addition, the number of ozone (O 3) non-attainment areas in the northern China is projected to be much lower, with the maximum 1-h average O 3 concentrations in the summer reduced by 8-30 ppb.

Functional Goals and Predictors of Their Attainment in Low-Income Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Waldersen, Brian W; Wolff, Jennifer L; Roberts, Laken; Bridges, Allysin E; Gitlin, Laura N; Szanton, Sarah L

2017-05-01

To describe functional goals and factors associated with goal attainment among low-income older adults with disabilities living in the community. Secondary analysis. Participants' homes. Older adults (N=226) with disability who participated in the Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders trial. A 5-month, home-based, person-directed, structured program delivered by an interprofessional team: occupational therapist, registered nurse, and handyman. Process of occupational therapist goal setting and attainment at the final occupational therapist visit. Participants identified 728 functional goals (mean of 3.2 goals per participant), most commonly related to transferring (22.0%; n=160 goals), changing or maintaining body position (21.4%; n=156 goals), and stair climbing (13.0%; n=95 goals). Participants attained 73.5% (n=535) of goals. Goal attainment was highest for stair climbing (86.3%), transferring (85.6%), and self-care (84.6%); walking goals were less likely attained (54.0%). Goal attainment was not associated with age, sex, education, depressive symptoms, function, or health-related quality of life but was less likely among participants who had severe pain compared with those without pain (adjusted odds ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.17-0.86). When participant readiness to change score increases by 1 point on the 4-point scale, goal attainment was 62% more likely (adjusted odds ratio, 1.62; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-2.29). Home-based collaborative goal setting between older adults and occupational therapists is feasible and particularly effective when individuals are ready or willing to adopt new strategies to achieve identified goals. Copyright © 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Controlling Vegetation Fires in Protected and Non-Protected Areas of Myanmar

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Sumalika; Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Lwin, Zin Mar; Lasko, Kristofer; Justice, Christopher O.

2015-01-01

Fire is an important disturbance agent in Myanmar impacting several ecosystems. In this study, we quantify the factors impacting vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of Myanmar. Satellite datasets in conjunction with biophysical and anthropogenic factors were used in a spatial framework to map the causative factors of fires. Specifically, we used the frequency ratio method to assess the contribution of each causative factor to overall fire susceptibility at a 1km scale. Results suggested the mean fire density in non-protected areas was two times higher than the protected areas. Fire-land cover partition analysis suggested dominant fire occurrences in the savannas (protected areas) and woody savannas (non-protected areas). The five major fire causative factors in protected areas in descending order include population density, land cover, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city and temperature. In contrast, the causative factors in non-protected areas were population density, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city, temperature and elevation. The fire susceptibility analysis showed distinct spatial patterns with central Myanmar as a hot spot of vegetation fires. Results from propensity score matching suggested that forests within protected areas have 11% less fires than non-protected areas. Overall, our results identify important causative factors of fire useful to address broad scale fire risk concerns at a landscape scale in Myanmar. PMID:25909632

Factors controlling vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of myanmar.

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Sumalika Biswas

Full Text Available Fire is an important disturbance agent in Myanmar impacting several ecosystems. In this study, we quantify the factors impacting vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of Myanmar. Satellite datasets in conjunction with biophysical and anthropogenic factors were used in a spatial framework to map the causative factors of fires. Specifically, we used the frequency ratio method to assess the contribution of each causative factor to overall fire susceptibility at a 1km scale. Results suggested the mean fire density in non-protected areas was two times higher than the protected areas. Fire-land cover partition analysis suggested dominant fire occurrences in the savannas (protected areas and woody savannas (non-protected areas. The five major fire causative factors in protected areas in descending order include population density, land cover, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city and temperature. In contrast, the causative factors in non-protected areas were population density, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city, temperature and elevation. The fire susceptibility analysis showed distinct spatial patterns with central Myanmar as a hot spot of vegetation fires. Results from propensity score matching suggested that forests within protected areas have 11% less fires than non-protected areas. Overall, our results identify important causative factors of fire useful to address broad scale fire risk concerns at a landscape scale in Myanmar.

Factors controlling vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of myanmar.

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Sumalika; Vadrevu, Krishna Prasad; Lwin, Zin Mar; Lasko, Kristofer; Justice, Christopher O

2015-01-01

Fire is an important disturbance agent in Myanmar impacting several ecosystems. In this study, we quantify the factors impacting vegetation fires in protected and non-protected areas of Myanmar. Satellite datasets in conjunction with biophysical and anthropogenic factors were used in a spatial framework to map the causative factors of fires. Specifically, we used the frequency ratio method to assess the contribution of each causative factor to overall fire susceptibility at a 1km scale. Results suggested the mean fire density in non-protected areas was two times higher than the protected areas. Fire-land cover partition analysis suggested dominant fire occurrences in the savannas (protected areas) and woody savannas (non-protected areas). The five major fire causative factors in protected areas in descending order include population density, land cover, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city and temperature. In contrast, the causative factors in non-protected areas were population density, tree cover percent, travel time from nearest city, temperature and elevation. The fire susceptibility analysis showed distinct spatial patterns with central Myanmar as a hot spot of vegetation fires. Results from propensity score matching suggested that forests within protected areas have 11% less fires than non-protected areas. Overall, our results identify important causative factors of fire useful to address broad scale fire risk concerns at a landscape scale in Myanmar.

hydrochemical assessment of groundwater quality in sagamu area ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ABDULRASHEED

alkaline indices (CAI), were calculated for irrigation purposes. The results were presented as spatial distribution maps for interpretation and further inferences. Comparison of the groundwater quality in the area with local and international ...

A conceptual framework for effectively anticipating water-quality changes resulting from changes in agricultural activities

Science.gov (United States)

Capel, Paul D.; Wolock, David M.; Coupe, Richard H.; Roth, Jason L.

2018-01-10

Agricultural activities can affect water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems; many water-quality issues originate with the movement of water, agricultural chemicals, and eroded soil from agricultural areas to streams and groundwater. Most agricultural activities are designed to sustain or increase crop production, while some are designed to protect soil and water resources. Numerous soil- and water-protection practices are designed to reduce the volume and velocity of runoff and increase infiltration. This report presents a conceptual framework that combines generalized concepts on the movement of water, the environmental behavior of chemicals and eroded soil, and the designed functions of various agricultural activities, as they relate to hydrology, to create attainable expectations for the protection of—with the goal of improving—water quality through changes in an agricultural activity.The framework presented uses two types of decision trees to guide decision making toward attainable expectations regarding the effectiveness of changing agricultural activities to protect and improve water quality in streams. One decision tree organizes decision making by considering the hydrologic setting and chemical behaviors, largely at the field scale. This decision tree can help determine which agricultural activities could effectively protect and improve water quality in a stream from the movement of chemicals, or sediment, from a field. The second decision tree is a chemical fate accounting tree. This decision tree helps set attainable expectations for the permanent removal of sediment, elements, and organic chemicals—such as herbicides and insecticides—through trapping or conservation tillage practices. Collectively, this conceptual framework consolidates diverse hydrologic settings, chemicals, and agricultural activities into a single, broad context that can be used to set attainable expectations for agricultural activities. This framework also enables

Quality of life of inoperable non-small cell lung carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minet, P.; Chevalier, P.; Gras, A.; Dejardin-Closon, M.T.; Bartsch, P.; Raets, D.; Lennes, G.

1987-01-01

Eighty one patients with inoperable non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) were entered in a randomized phase II trial comparing split-dose irradiation alone to combined treatment radiotherapy and polychemotherapy (C.A.P. + V.D.S.). The quality of life and the survival of the patients were studied. The authors have defined three classes of quality of life responses based on the time elapsed before the performance status index drops. A higher quality of life failure rate was observed in the combined treatment group (p non-significant) but the time elapsed before the Karnofsky index drops is longer in the combined treatment group for the quality of life 'no change' subgroup (p = 0.15). Survival and quality adjusted survival are similar in both treatment groups. The same conclusion holds for retrospective stratified treatment groups. The authors conclude that as far as the quality of life is concerned, polychemotherapy combined with the particular split-dose irradiation schedule used is an effective treatment of inoperable NSCLC. (Auth.)

Groundwater quality in the Mojave area, California

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Barbara J. Milby; Belitz, Kenneth

2012-01-01

Groundwater provides more than 40 percent of California’s drinking water. To protect this vital resource, the State of California created the Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program. The Priority Basin Project of the GAMA Program provides a comprehensive assessment of the State’s groundwater quality and increases public access to groundwater-quality information. Four groundwater basins along the Mojave River make up one of the study areas being evaluated. The Mojave study area is approximately 1,500 square miles (3,885 square kilometers) and includes four contiguous groundwater basins: Upper, Middle, and Lower Mojave River Groundwater Basins, and the El Mirage Valley (California Department of Water Resources, 2003). The Mojave study area has an arid climate, and is part of the Mojave Desert. Average annual rainfall is about 6 inches (15 centimeters). Land use in the study area is approximately 82 percent (%) natural (mostly shrubland), 4% agricultural, and 14% urban. The primary crops are pasture and hay. The largest urban areas are the cities of Victorville, Hesperia, and Apple Valley (2010 populations of 116,000, 90,000 and 69,000, respectively). Groundwater in these basins is used for public and domestic water supply and for irrigation. The main water-bearing units are gravel, sand, silt, and clay derived from surrounding mountains. The primary aquifers in the Mojave study area are defined as those parts of the aquifers corresponding to the perforated intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health database. Public-supply wells in the Mojave study area are completed to depths between 200 and 600 feet (18 to 61 meters), consist of solid casing from the land surface to a depth of 130 to 420 feet (40 to 128 meters), and are screened or perforated below the solid casing. Recharge to the groundwater system is primarily runoff from the mountains to the south, mostly through the Mojave River channel. The primary sources

Non-intrusive Quality Analysis of Monitoring Data

CERN Document Server

Brightwell, M; Suwalska, Anna

2010-01-01

Any large-scale operational system running over a variety of devices requires a monitoring mechanism to assess the health of the overall system. The Technical Infrastructure Monitoring System (TIM) at CERN is one such system, and monitors a wide variety of devices and their properties, such as electricity supplies, device temperatures, liquid flows etc. Without adequate quality assurance, the data collected from such devices leads to false-positives and false-negatives, reducing the effectiveness of the monitoring system. The quality must, however, be measured in a non-intrusive way, so that the critical path of the data flow is not affected by the quality computation. The quality computation should also scale to large volumes of incoming data. To address these challenges, we develop a new statistical module, which monitors the data collected by TIM and reports its quality to the operators. The statistical module uses Oracle RDBMS as the underlying store, and builds hierarchical summaries on the basic events ...

British Thoracic Society Quality Standards for acute non-invasive ventilation in adults

Science.gov (United States)

Davies, Michael; Allen, Martin; Bentley, Andrew; Bourke, Stephen C; Creagh-Brown, Ben; D’Oliveiro, Rachel; Glossop, Alastair; Gray, Alasdair; Jacobs, Phillip; Mahadeva, Ravi; Moses, Rachael; Setchfield, Ian

2018-01-01

Introduction The purpose of the quality standards document is to provide healthcare professionals, commissioners, service providers and patients with a guide to standards of care that should be met for the provision of acute non-invasive ventilation in adults together with measurable markers of good practice. Methods Development of British Thoracic Society (BTS) Quality Standards follows the BTS process of quality standard production based on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence process manual for the development of quality standards. Results 6 quality statements have been developed, each describing a standard of care for the provision of acute non-invasive ventilation in the UK, together with measurable markers of good practice. Conclusion BTS Quality Standards for acute non-invasive ventilation in adults form a key part of the range of supporting materials that the Society produces to assist in the dissemination and implementation of guideline’s recommendations. PMID:29636979

Feasibility and difficulties on China new air quality standard compliance: PRD case of PM2.5 and ozone from 2010 to 2025

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, H.; Wang, X. M.; Pang, J. M.; He, K. B.

2013-08-01

Improving the air quality in China is a long and arduous task. Although China has made very aggressive plan on pollutants control, the difficulties to achieve the new air quality goals are still significant. In north, PM2.5 and PM10 are still far beyond the standards. In south, O3 goal is much challenged. A lot of cities are making their city implementation plan (CIP) for new air quality goals. In this study, a southern city, Guangzhou, is selected to analyze the feasibility and difficulties on new air quality standard compliance, as well as the CIP evaluation. A comprehensive study of air quality status in Guangzhou and surrounding area is conducted based on 22 sites monitoring data of O3, PM2.5 and PM10. The monthly non-attainment rates for O3 vary in 7-25% from May to November. The city average PM2.5 concentration is 41 μg m-3 in Guangzhou in 2010, which needs to be reduced by at least 15% to achieve the target of 35 μg m-3. The PM2.5 high violate months are from November to March. Guangzhou CIP was then evaluated with PM2.5 and O3 placed in a core position. The emission amount of NOx, PM10, PM2.5 and VOC in 2025 would be controlled to 600, 420, 200 and 860 thousand tons respectively. Analysis of air quality using the MM5-STEM model suggests that the long-term control measures would achieve the PM2.5 and PM10 goals successfully by 2025. The PM2.5 annual average concentration would be reduced to 20.8 μg m-3 in 2025. The O3 non-attainment rate would increase from 7.1% in 2010 to 12.9% in 2025 and become the most primary atmospheric environmental problem. Guangzhou needs very strong control on VOCs to reduce its ozone. The VOC / NOx reduction ratio should reach at least 2 : 1 (in California, it is about 3 : 1), instead of the current plan of 0.7 : 1. The evaporative emissions control from vehicle non-tailpipe emission and solvent usage should be enhanced and regional ozone transport must be taken into account.

Columbia River final environmental impact statement. Appendix B: Air quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-11-01

The System Operation Review (SOR) is a study and environmental compliance process being used by the three Federal agencies to analyze future operations of the system and river use issues. The goal of the SOR is to achieve a coordinated system operation strategy for the river that better meets the needs of all river users. This technical appendix addresses only the effects of alternative system operating strategies for managing the Columbia River system. This appendix consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 describes the air quality issues that were raised in the SOR scoping process and provides an overview of the study process used to evaluate air quality effects from various system operation alternatives. Chapter 2 describes the Federal, state, and local programs that regulate air quality and discusses the air quality standards that are relevant to the analysis. It also gives an overview of the limatology of the region and the existing air quality in the Columbia River Basin, including areas of non-attainment for relevant air quality standards. Chapter 3 presents the methods this study uses for the analysis of air quality and for the evaluation of human health effects from air pollutants. Chapter 4 provides the study results for the System Operating Strategy (SOS) alternatives and potential mitigation measures. Chapter 5 compares impacts on air quality and human health across alternatives, and discusses mitigation measures and cumulative effects. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 contain the list of preparers, glossary, and references, respectively. Technical exhibits supporting the analysis are also included

Low-grade astrocytoma: surgical outcomes in eloquent versus non-eloquent brain areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André de Macedo Bianco

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A retrospective study of 81 patients with low-grade astrocytoma (LGA comparing the efficacy of aggressive versus less aggressive surgery in eloquent and non-eloquent brain areas was conducted. Extent of surgical resection was analyzed to assess overall survival (OS and progression- free survival (PFS. Degree of tumor resection was classified as gross total resection (GTR, subtotal resection (STR or biopsy. GTR, STR and biopsy in patients with tumors in non-eloquent areas were performed in 31, 48 and 21% subjects, whereas in patients with tumors in eloquent areas resections were 22.5, 35 and 42.5%. Overall survival was 4.7 and 1.9 years in patients with tumors in non-eloquent brain areas submitted to GTR/STR and biopsy (p=0.013, whereas overall survival among patients with tumors in eloquent area was 4.5 and 2.1 years (p=0.33. Improved outcome for adult patients with LGA is predicted by more aggressive surgery in both eloquent and non-eloquent brain areas.

Groundwater quality around Tummalapalle area, Cuddapah District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Science.gov (United States)

Sreedhar, Y.; Nagaraju, A.

2017-11-01

The suitability of groundwater for drinking and irrigation was assessed in Tummalapalle area. Forty groundwater samples were analysed for major cations, anions and other parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total alkalinity and total hardness (TH). The parameters such as sodium adsorption ratio, adjusted sodium adsorption ratio (adj.SAR), per cent sodium, potential salinity, residual sodium carbonate, non-carbonate hardness, Kelly's ratio and permeability index were calculated for the evaluation of irrigation water quality. Groundwater chemistry was also analysed by statistical analysis, USSL, Wilcox, Doneen, Piper and Chadhas diagrams, to find out their suitability for irrigation. TDS and TH were used as main parameters to interpret the suitability of groundwater for drinking purpose. The correlation coefficient matrix between the hydrochemical parameters was carried out using Pearson's correlation to infer the possible water-rock interactions responsible for the variation of groundwater chemistry and this has been supported by Gibbs diagram. The results indicate that the groundwater in Tummalapalle area is alkaline in nature. Ca-Mg-HCO3 is the dominant hydrogeochemical facies. Water chemistry of the study area strongly reflects the dominance of weathering of rock-forming minerals such as bicarbonates and silicates. All parameters and diagrams suggest that the water samples of the study are good for irrigation, and the plots of TDS and TH suggest that 12.5% of the samples are good for human consumption.

The impact of air quality conditioned by emission of pollutants to the development of rural tourism and potentials of rural areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cvijanović Drago

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Significant potentials for tourism development in Serbia are related to rural areas. Rural development, on its basis, includes the agrarian, but also the non-agrarian sector in rural areas, thus encompassing every vital component of the development of rural areas. This paper is, following the relevant theoretical positions, focused on key issues in the field of air quality impacts caused by the emission of pollutants to the development of rural tourism and the potentials of rural areas. These are primarily the following issues: which are the criteria for assessing air quality, or what are the limit values of the parameters for the protection of human health, and what is the trend of air quality by zones and agglomerations and what is the percentage of the population potentially exposed to concentrations of pollutants above the reference level. The mentioned topic is analyzed for the period 2012-2015. Analysis of the results of the degree of emission of suspended particles by zones and agglomerations in Serbia is presented correlatively in conclusion with concluding reviews on the existing ecological potential for the development of the basic rural areas in Serbia - Vojvodina, which makes up 28% of the total area of Serbia, Central Serbia, which consists of 29% of the total area of Serbia and South Serbia, which accounts for 44% of the total area of Serbia.

Birth Order Matters: The Effect of Family Size and Birth Order on Educational Attainment

OpenAIRE

Alison Booth; Hiau Joo Kee

2005-01-01

We use unique retrospective family background data from the 2003 British Household Panel Survey to explore the degree to which family size and birth order affect a child's subsequent educational attainment. Theory suggests a trade off between child quantity and 'quality'. Family size might adversely affect the production of child quality within a family. A number of arguments also suggest that siblings are unlikely to receive equal shares of the resources devoted by parents to their childr...

Do Quiet Areas Afford Greater Health-Related Quality of Life than Noisy Areas?

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Kim N. Dirks

2013-03-01

Full Text Available People typically choose to live in quiet areas in order to safeguard their health and wellbeing. However, the benefits of living in quiet areas are relatively understudied compared to the burdens associated with living in noisy areas. Additionally, research is increasingly focusing on the relationship between the human response to noise and measures of health and wellbeing, complementing traditional dose-response approaches, and further elucidating the impact of noise and health by incorporating human factors as mediators and moderators. To further explore the benefits of living in quiet areas, we compared the results of health-related quality of life (HRQOL questionnaire datasets collected from households in localities differentiated by their soundscapes and population density: noisy city, quiet city, quiet rural, and noisy rural. The dose-response relationships between noise annoyance and HRQOL measures indicated an inverse relationship between the two. Additionally, quiet areas were found to have higher mean HRQOL domain scores than noisy areas. This research further supports the protection of quiet locales and ongoing noise abatement in noisy areas.

Recent applications of Chemical Imaging to pharmaceutical process monitoring and quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Gowen, A A; O'Donnell, C P; Cullen, P J; Bell, S E J

2008-05-01

Chemical Imaging (CI) is an emerging platform technology that integrates conventional imaging and spectroscopy to attain both spatial and spectral information from an object. Vibrational spectroscopic methods, such as Near Infrared (NIR) and Raman spectroscopy, combined with imaging are particularly useful for analysis of biological/pharmaceutical forms. The rapid, non-destructive and non-invasive features of CI mark its potential suitability as a process analytical tool for the pharmaceutical industry, for both process monitoring and quality control in the many stages of drug production. This paper provides an overview of CI principles, instrumentation and analysis. Recent applications of Raman and NIR-CI to pharmaceutical quality and process control are presented; challenges facing CI implementation and likely future developments in the technology are also discussed.

Full area covered 3D profile measurement of special-shaped optics based on a new prototype non-contact profiler.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Hui-Lin; Zhou, Zhao-Zhong; Sun, Ze-Qing; Ju, Bing-Feng; Xu, Shaoning; Sun, Anyu

2017-06-01

A new prototype non-contact profiler based on surface tracking has been specially developed. Surface tracking is carried out by a specially designed dual stage probe system with the aid of a four-Degree Of Freedom high-precision motion platform. The dual stage probe system keeps a short-range optical probe constantly tracking the surface by a self-developed voice coil motor servo, by which a wide measuring range of up to 10 mm is realized. The system performance evaluation including resolution, repeatability, and scanning speed proved the good capability of the new prototype non-contact profiler. To realize a full area covered 3D profile measurement of special-shaped optics within one scanning procedure, a signal intensity monitor integrated in the surface tracking controller is specially developed. In the experiment, a snip-single-corner-rectangular-shaped freeform surface was successfully measured over full area by the new non-contact profiler. This work provides an effective solution for 3D profile measurement of special-shaped optical surfaces over full reflecting area. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed measuring system is of great significance in quality evaluation of optical surfaces.

Attainable and Relevant Moral Exemplars Are More Effective than Extraordinary Exemplars in Promoting Voluntary Service Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Hyemin; Kim, Jeongmin; Jeong, Changwoo; Cohen, Geoffrey L

2017-01-01

The present study aimed to develop effective moral educational interventions based on social psychology by using stories of moral exemplars. We tested whether motivation to engage in voluntary service as a form of moral behavior was better promoted by attainable and relevant exemplars or by unattainable and irrelevant exemplars. First, experiment 1, conducted in a lab, showed that stories of attainable exemplars more effectively promoted voluntary service activity engagement among undergraduate students compared with stories of unattainable exemplars and non-moral stories. Second, experiment 2, a middle school classroom-level experiment with a quasi-experimental design, demonstrated that peer exemplars, who are perceived to be attainable and relevant to students, better promoted service engagement compared with historic figures in moral education classes.

Grammar Learning Strategies and Language Attainment: Seeking a Relationship

OpenAIRE

Pawlak Mirosław

2009-01-01

Despite major advances in research on language learning strategies, there are still areas that have received only scant attention, and one of them is undoubtedly learning grammar. The paper contributes to the paucity of empirical investigations in this domain by presenting the findings of a study which sought to investigate the relationship between the use of grammar learning strategies (GLS) reported by 142 English Department students and target language attainment, operationalized as their ...

Health-Related Conditions and Depression in Elderly Mexican American and Non-Hispanic White Residents of a United States-Mexico Border County: Moderating Effects of Educational Attainment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David F. Briones

2011-01-01

Full Text Available We investigated the prevalence of “high” levels of depressive symptomatology and 13 health-related medical conditions in elderly Mexican American (MA and non-Hispanic white (NHW residents of El Paso County, Texas. We analyzed the extent to which depressive symptoms in this population are associated with these conditions. Elderly MA residents possessed a higher prevalence of current depression, a relatively unique health-related condition profile, and were more likely to experience a set of conditions that impede participation in daily life—conditions that we found to be strongly associated with high depressive symptomatology in the elderly. After adjusting for educational attainment, using multiple regression analyses, depression was not associated with ethnicity and only six of the health related conditions showed significant differences between MA and NHW subjects. We believe these results provide an important insight into the mechanism of health-related conditions and depressive symptomatology in a large sample of elderly MAs; and how conditions typically attributed to MA ethnicity may in actuality be an artifact of socioeconomic status variables such as educational-attainment.

Quality of surface-water supplies in the Triangle area of North Carolina, water year 2009

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifle, C. A.; Giorgino, M. J.; Rasmussen, R. B.

2014-01-01

Surface-water supplies are important sources of drinking water for residents in the Triangle area of North Carolina, which is located within the upper Cape Fear and Neuse River Basins. Since 1988, the U.S. Geological Survey and a consortium of governments have tracked water-quality conditions and trends in several of the area’s water-supply lakes and streams. This report summarizes data collected through this cooperative effort, known as the Triangle Area Water Supply Monitoring Project, during October 2008 through September 2009. Major findings for this period include: - Annual precipitation was approximately 20 percent below the long-term mean (average) annual precipitation. - Streamflow was below the long-term mean at the 10 project streamgages during most of the year. - More than 7,000 individual measurements of water quality were made at a total of 26 sites—15 in the Neuse River Basin and 11 in the Cape Fear River Basin. Forty-seven water-quality properties and constituents were measured. - All observations met North Carolina water-quality standards for water temperature, pH, hardness, chloride, fluoride, sulfate, nitrate, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, nickel, and selenium. - North Carolina water-quality standards were exceeded one or more times for dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen percent saturation, chlorophyll a, mercury, copper, iron, manganese, silver, and zinc. Exceedances occurred at 23 sites—13 in the Neuse River Basin and 10 in the Cape Fear River Basin. - Stream samples collected during storm events contained elevated concentrations of 18 water-quality constituents compared to samples collected during non-storm events. - Concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus were within ranges observed during previous years. - Five reservoirs had chlorophyll a concentrations in excess of 40 micrograms per liter at least once during 2009: Little River Reservoir, Falls Lake, Cane Creek Reservoir, University Lake, and Jordan Lake.

[Research on stormwater runoff quality of mountain city by source area monitoring].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li-Qing; Shan, Bao-Qing; Zhao, Jian-Wei; Guo, Shu-Gang; Gao, Yong

2012-10-01

Stormwater runoff samples were collected from 10 source areas in Mountain City, Chongqing, during five rain events in an attempt to investigate the characteristics of runoff quality and influencing factors. The outcomes are expected to offer practical guidance of sources control of urban runoff pollution. The results indicated that the stormwater runoff of Mountain City presented a strong first flush for almost all events and constituents. The runoff quality indices were also influenced by the rainfall intensity. The concentration of TSS, COD, TN and TP decreased as the rainfall intensity increased. The concentrations of COD and TP in stormwater runoff were highly correlated with TSS concentrations. Suspended solid matter were not only the main pollutant of stormwater runoff but also served as the vehicle for transport of organic matter and phosphorus. Organic matter and phosphorus in stormwatrer runoff were mainly bound to particles, whereas nitrogen was predominantly dissolved, with ammonia and nitrate. A significant difference of stormwater runoff quality was observed among the ten monitored source areas. The highest magnitude of urban stormwater runoff pollution was expected in the commercial area and the first trunk road, followed by the minor road, residential area, parking lot and roof. Urban surface function, traffic volume, population density, and street sweeping practice are the main factors determining spatial differentiation of urban surface runoff quality. Commercial area, the first trunk road and residential area with high population density are the critical sources areas of urban stormwater runoff pollution.

The relationship between personality and attainment in 16-19-year-old students in a sixth form college: II: Self-perception, gender and attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Summerfield, M; Youngman, M

1999-06-01

A related paper (Summerfield & Youngman, 1999) has described the development of a scale, the Student Self-Perception Scale (SSPS) designed to explore the relationship between academic self-concept, attainment and personality in sixth form college students. The study aimed to identify groups of students exhibiting varying patterns of relationship using a range of measures including the SSPS. Issues of gender and also examined. The samples comprised a pilot sample of 152 students (aged 16-17 years from two sixth form colleges) and a main sample of 364 students (mean age, 16 yrs 10 mths range 16:0 to 18:6 years, from one sixth form college). The main sample included similar numbers of male and female students (46% male, 54% female) and ethnic minority students comprised 14% of this sample. Data comprised responses to two personality measures (the SSPS, Summerfield, 1995, and the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, Nowicki & Strickland, 1973), various student and tutor estimates of success, and performance data from college records. Students were classified using relocation cluster analysis and cluster differences verified using discriminant function analysis. Thirty outcome models were tested using covariance regression analysis. Eight distinct and interpretable groups, consistent with other research, were identified but the hypothesis of a positive, linear relationship between mastery and academic attainment was not sustained without qualification. Previous attainment was the major determinant of final performance. Gender variations were detected on the personality measures, particularly Confidence of outcomes, Prediction discrepancy, Passivity, Mastery, Dependency and Locus of control, and these were implicated in the cluster characteristics. The results suggest that a non-linear methodology may be required to isolate relationships between self-concept, personality and attainment, especially where gender effects may exist.

The Attainability of University Degrees and Their Labour Market Benefits for Young Australians

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jung-Sook

2014-01-01

I used data from the 1995 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth to investigate the factors associated with the attainment of Australian university degrees and estimate their domestic labour market benefits. I considered vertical and horizontal stratification in education and examined monetary and non-monetary benefits. The…

The Nature of Nurture: Using a Virtual-Parent Design to Test Parenting Effects on Children's Educational Attainment in Genotyped Families.

Science.gov (United States)

Bates, Timothy C; Maher, Brion S; Medland, Sarah E; McAloney, Kerrie; Wright, Margaret J; Hansell, Narelle K; Kendler, Kenneth S; Martin, Nicholas G; Gillespie, Nathan A

2018-04-01

Research on environmental and genetic pathways to complex traits such as educational attainment (EA) is confounded by uncertainty over whether correlations reflect effects of transmitted parental genes, causal family environments, or some, possibly interactive, mixture of both. Thus, an aggregate of thousands of alleles associated with EA (a polygenic risk score; PRS) may tap parental behaviors and home environments promoting EA in the offspring. New methods for unpicking and determining these causal pathways are required. Here, we utilize the fact that parents pass, at random, 50% of their genome to a given offspring to create independent scores for the transmitted alleles (conventional EA PRS) and a parental score based on alleles not transmitted to the offspring (EA VP_PRS). The formal effect of non-transmitted alleles on offspring attainment was tested in 2,333 genotyped twins for whom high-quality measures of EA, assessed at age 17 years, were available, and whose parents were also genotyped. Four key findings were observed. First, the EA PRS and EA VP_PRS were empirically independent, validating the virtual-parent design. Second, in this family-based design, children's own EA PRS significantly predicted their EA (β = 0.15), ruling out stratification confounds as a cause of the association of attainment with the EA PRS. Third, parental EA PRS predicted the SES environment parents provided to offspring (β = 0.20), and parental SES and offspring EA were significantly associated (β = 0.33). This would suggest that the EA PRS is at least as strongly linked to social competence as it is to EA, leading to higher attained SES in parents and, therefore, a higher experienced SES for children. In a full structural equation model taking account of family genetic relatedness across multiple siblings the non-transmitted allele effects were estimated at similar values; but, in this more complex model, confidence intervals included zero. A test using the forthcoming EA3

Deciphering the Environmental Impacts on Rice Quality for Different Rice Cultivated Areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xiukun; Wu, Lian; Geng, Xin; Xia, Xiuhong; Wang, Xuhong; Xu, Zhengjin; Xu, Quan

2018-01-19

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is cultivated in a wide range of climatic conditions, and is one of mankind's major staple foods. The interaction of environmental factors with genotype effects major agronomic traits such as yield, quality, and resistance in rice. However, studies on the environmental factors affecting agronomic traits are often difficult to conduct because most environmental factors are dynamic and constantly changing. A series of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from an indica/japonica cross were planted into four typical rice cultivated areas arranging from latitude N22° to N42°. The environmental data from the heading to mature (45 days) stages were recorded for each RIL in the four areas. We determined that light, temperature, and humidity significantly affected the milling quality and cooking quality overall the four areas. Within each area, these environmental factors mainly affected the head rice ratio, grain length, alkali consumption, and amylose and protein content. Moreover, the effect of these environmental factors dynamically changed from heading to mature stage. Compared to light and humidity, temperature was more stable and predictable, and night temperature showed a stronger correlation efficiency to cooking quality than day temperature, and the daily temperature range had contrary effects compared to day and night temperature on grain quality. The present study evaluated the critical phase during the grain filling stage by calculating the dynamic changes of correlation efficiency between the quality traits and climate parameters. Our findings suggest that the sowing date could be adjusted to improve rice quality so as to adjust for environmental changes.

Air pollution and decreased semen quality: A comparative study of Chongqing urban and rural areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, Niya; Cui, Zhihong; Yang, Sanming; Han, Xue; Chen, Gangcai; Zhou, Ziyuan; Zhai, Chongzhi; Ma, Mingfu; Li, Lianbing; Cai, Min; Li, Yafei; Ao, Lin; Shu, Weiqun; Liu, Jinyi; Cao, Jia

2014-01-01

To investigate the association and effects of air pollution level on male semen quality in urban and rural areas, this study examines the outdoor concentrations of particulate matter (PM 10 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrous dioxide (NO 2 ) and semen quality outcomes for 1346 volunteers in both urban and rural areas in Chongqing, China. We found the urban area has a higher pollution level than the rural area, contrasted with better semen quality in the rural residents, especially for sperm morphology and computer assistant semen analysis (CASA) motility parameters. A multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrates that concentrations of PM 10 , SO 2 , and NO 2 significantly and negatively are associated with normal sperm morphology percentage (P  10 , SO 2 , and NO 2 in urban ambient air may account for worse semen quality in urban males. - Highlights: • We investigate the distributions of PM 10 , SO 2 and NO 2 in urban and rural areas in Chongqing, China. • We explore the associations of air pollution and male semen quality. • The concentrations of PM 10 , SO 2 , and NO 2 are significantly higher in urban areas. • Median values of some semen quality parameters in rural male were higher than urban male. • PM 10 , SO 2 , and NO 2 were negatively associated with semen quality parameters. - Air pollution is higher in the urban area while there is better semen quality in rural males. Polluted air may thus account for worse semen quality in urban males

Deprivation and mortality in non-metropolitan areas of England and Wales.

Science.gov (United States)

Jessop, E G

1996-10-01

To test the hypothesis that the relationship between deprivation and mortality is weaker among residents of non-metropolitan areas of England and Wales than among residents of metropolitan areas. This study compared mortality, expressed as standardised mortality ratios (SMRs), in residents of metropolitan and non-metropolitan districts at three levels of deprivation classified by an electoral ward deprivation score and by home and car ownership. SMRs were computed for all causes of death, for bronchitis and asthma (ICD9 codes 490-493), and for accident, violence, and poisoning (ICD9 codes 800-999). England and Wales. Members of the longitudinal study of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, a quasi-random 1% sample of the population of England and Wales. There was an association between deprivation and mortality which was clear for all cause mortality, more noticeable for respiratory disease, and less clear for deaths from accident, violence, and poison. In general, the results showed a remarkable similarity between metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. This study does not support the hypothesis that the relationship between mortality and deprivation differs between residents of metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas of England and Wales.

Hyperspectral water quality retrieval model: taking Malaysia inshore sea area as an example

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Tingwei; Zhang, Jie; Ma, Yi; Li, Jing; Lim, Boonleong; Roslinah, Samad

2007-11-01

Remote sensing technique provides the possibility of rapid and synchronous monitoring in a large area of the water quality, which is an important element for the aquatic ecosystem quality assessment of islands and coastal zones, especially for the nearshore and tourism sea area. Tioman Island of Malaysia is regarded as one of ten of the best islands in the world and attracts tourists from all over the world for its clear sea, beautiful seashore and charming scenery. In this paper, on the basis of in situ dataset in the study area, distribution discipline of water quality parameters is analyzed to find that phytoplankton pigment, rather than suspended sediment is the main water quality parameter in the study area; seawater there is clean but not very oligotrophic; seawater spectra contains distinct features. Then water quality hyperspectral retrieval models are developed based on in situ data to calculate the chlorophyll a concentration ([chl-a]), transparency (SD) with satisfactory performance. It's suggested that model precision should be validated further using more in-situ data.

Water quality in okara and its suburbs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butt, M.T.; Imtiaz, N.; Athar, M.

2007-01-01

Ground water samples (70), collected from Okara and its sburbs were studied. Thirty samples were collected from municipal supply of urban areas while forty from deep water pumps of non-urban areas. The samples were investigated for various physiochemical parameters. Outcome of the study is that ground water of municipal supply area is suitable for human consumption while the water quality of non supply area is slightly brackish to saline and nitrate content is high above the acceptable levels of drinking water quality. (author)

Effect of goal attainment theory based education program on cardiovascular risks, behavioral modification, and quality of life among patients with first episode of acute myocardial infarction: Randomized study.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Moonkyoung; Song, Rhayun; Jeong, Jin-Ok

2017-06-01

Effect of goal-attainment-theory-based education program on cardiovascular risks, behavioral modification, and quality of life among patients with first episode of acute myocardial infarction: randomized study BACKGROUND: The behavioral modification strategies should be explored at the time of admission to lead the maximum effect of cardiovascular risk management. This randomized study aimed to elucidate the effects of a nurse-led theory-based education program in individuals with a first episode of acute myocardial infarction on cardiovascular risks, health behaviors, and quality of life over 6 months. The study involved a convenience sample of 64 patients with acute myocardial infarction who were randomly assigned to either the education group or the control group. The goal-attainment-based education program was designed to set the mutually agreed goals of risk management and the behavioral modification strategies for achieving those goals. Those in the control group received routine management only. The participants in both groups were contacted at 6-8 weeks and at 6 months after discharge to measure outcome variables. Repeated measure ANOVA was conducted using SPSSWIN (version 20.0) to determine the significance of differences in outcome variables over 6 months between the groups. Both groups showed significant positive changes in cardiovascular risks, health behaviors, and quality of life over 6 months. The 2-year risk of cardiovascular disease was significantly reduced in both study groups, but with no significant interaction effect (F=2.01, p=0.142). The performance and maintenance of health behaviors (F=3.75, p=0.029) and the mental component of quality of life (F=4.03, p=0.020) were significantly better in the education group than the control group. Applying a goal-oriented education program at an early stage of hospital management improved and maintained blood glucose, health behaviors, and mental component of the quality of life up to six months in

Sibship Size and Educational Attainment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jæger, Mads Meier

2009-01-01

have a negative effect on educational attainment most studies cannot distinguish empirically between the CM and the RDH. In this paper I use the different theoretical predictions in the CM and RDH on the role of cognitive ability as a partial or complete mediator of the effect of sibship size......Studies on family background often explain the negative effect of sibship size on educational attainment by one of two theories: the Confluence Model (CM) or the Resource Dilution Hypothesis (RDH). However, as both theories - for substantively different reasons - predict that sibship size should...... to distinguish the two theories and to identify a unique RDH effect on educational attainment. Using sibling data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and a random effect Instrumental Variable model I find that, in addition to a negative effect on cognitive ability, sibship size also has a strong negative...

Comparing the availability, price, variety and quality of fruits and vegetables across retail outlets and by area-level socio-economic position.

Science.gov (United States)

Millichamp, Anna; Gallegos, Danielle

2013-01-01

To explore whether area-level socio-economic position or the form of retail stream (conventional v. farmers' market) is associated with differences in the price, availability, variety and quality of a range of fresh fruit and vegetables. A multi-site cross-sectional pilot study of farmers' markets, supermarkets and independent fruit and vegetable retailers. Each was surveyed to assess the price, availability, variety and quality of fifteen fruit and eighteen vegetable items. Retail outlets were located in south-east Queensland. Fifteen retail outlets were surveyed (five of each retail stream). Average basket prices were not significantly different across the socio-economic spectrum, but prices in low socio-economic areas were cheapest. Availability, variety and quality did not differ significantly across levels of socio-economic position; however, the areas with the most socio-economic disadvantage scored poorest for quality and variety. Supermarkets had significantly better fruit and vegetable availability than farmers' markets, although price, variety and quality scores were not different across retail streams. Results demonstrate a trend to fruit and vegetable prices being more expensive at farmers' markets, with the price of the fruit basket being significantly greater at the organic farmers' market compared with the non-organic farmers' markets. Neither area-level socio-economic position nor the form of retail stream was significantly associated with differences in the availability, price, variety and quality of fruit and vegetables, except for availability which was higher in supermarkets than farmers' markets. Further research is needed to determine what role farmers' markets can play in affecting fruit and vegetable intake.

Large area high quality silicon detectors for scientific research and radioactivity monitoring in the environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frolov, D.; Perevertailo, V.; Frolov, O.; Kononenko, Yu.; Pugatch, V.; Rozenfeld, A.

1995-01-01

Full text: Investigation of detector and special test structures made on detector wafers was carried out. Si wafer with a diameter of 76 mm, n-type, specific resistance 2-6 kΩ·cm, made of Si produced at a titanium-magnesium factory in Zaporozh'e (Ukraine) were used. C-V curves were measured on p + -n-junctions of various areas (0.1 cm 2 to 20 cm 2 ) and various configuration. In coordinated C 3 (dC/dV) -1 vs V initial parts of the curves are horizontal lines, that indicates a uniform dopant concentration into the depth of a sample, while starting with some voltage a rise is observed associated with full depletion of the sample. However this rise is more smooth then one described by a simple model. The smooth rise is due to non-uniformity of the depletion depth over the p + -n-junction area caused by non-uniform distribution of dopant concentration over the wafer surface. As a results, full depletion doesn't occur simultaneously in all regions of the junction and is stretched along the voltage scale. A theory is developed to define a distribution of the sample areas over full depletion voltage V fd or over dopant concentration N and, given a fixed voltage, to define the distribution of non-depleted junction ares over a thickness of non-depleted area. Results show possibility of non uniform N and, correspondingly, V fd by up to 2 times with big junction sizes. A high level of non-uniformity was observed not only on Si made in Zaporozh'e, but also on Wacker Si. This method of measurements and analysis may be helpful both in working with detectors and detector Si quality control. Measurements of current and capacitance in a gate-controlled junction (a MOS structure partially overlapped with a p + -n-junction) allowed division of surface into the depth of the crystal. Some peculiarities are observed in current curves compared to previous reports associated with low dopant concentration in our experiments. Local defect areas near the p-n-junction encouraging avalanche

Term-time Employment and Student Attainment in Higher Education

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cath Dennis

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The number of UK full-time university students engaging in term-time employment (TTE is rising. Students engaging in TTE have previously been found to achieve less well academically than those who do not. This study aimed to explore patterns of TTE and academic achievement of undergraduates at a large UK higher education institution. Self-reported TTE hours were matched to attainment data for 1304 undergraduate students in levels 1-4 of study (SQCF levels 7-10. The majority of students in TTE (71%, n=621 reported undertaking TTE to cover essential living expenses. Compared to students not undertaking TTE, attainment was significantly better at low levels of TTE (1-10 hours, and only significantly worse when TTE was >30 hours/week. This pattern was magnified when job type was taken into account – students employed in skilled roles for ≤10 hours/week on average attained grades 7% higher than those not in TTE; students working >10 hours/week in unskilled positions showed a mean 1.6% lower grade. The impact of ‘academic potential’ (measured via incoming UCAS tariff was accounted for in the model. The finding that students engaging in some categories of TTE achieve better academic outcomes than their non-employed peers is worthy of further investigation. This study is unable to provide direct evidence of possible causation, but would tentatively suggest that students may benefit from taking on 10 or fewer hours of TTE per week.

Neighbourhood socioeconomic status and maternal factors at birth as moderators of the association between birth characteristics and school attainment: a population study of children attending government schools in Western Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Malacova, E; Li, J; Blair, E; Mattes, E; de Klerk, N; Stanley, F

2009-10-01

This article investigates whether reading and writing skills among children of equivalent perinatal characteristics differ by neighbourhood socioeconomic status and maternal factors. Notifications of births for all non-Aboriginal singletons born in 1990-7 in Western Australia subsequently attending government primary schools were linked to the State literacy tests in grade three and with information on socioeconomic status of the school and the residential area. Using multilevel modelling, the associations between birth characteristics (gestational age, intrauterine growth, birth order and Apgar score at 5 minutes) and literacy attainment in grade three were examined in models that included socioeconomic and demographic factors of the child, mother and community. Higher percentages of optimal head circumference and birth length and term birth were positively and independently associated with literacy scores. A higher percentage of optimal birth weight was associated with higher reading scores especially for children born to mothers residing in educationally advantaged areas. First birth was positively associated with reading and writing attainment: this association was stronger for children born to single mothers and additional advantage in writing was also associated with first birth in children living in disadvantaged areas. These findings suggest that having suboptimal growth in utero or an older sibling at birth increases vulnerability to poor literacy attainment especially among children born to single mothers or those in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. These data provide evidence for advocating lifestyles compatible with optimum fetal growth and socioeconomic conditions conducive to healthy lifestyles, particularly during pregnancy.

75 FR 72964 - Determinations of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-11-29

... ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 40 CFR Part 52 [R09-OAR-2010-0718; FRL-9233-1] Determinations of Attainment by the Applicable Attainment Date for the Hayden, Nogales, Paul Spur/Douglas PM10 Nonattainment... November 2, 2010 (75 FR 67220), direct final rule determining that the Hayden, Nogales, and Paul Spur...

Development and Quality Evaluation of a Non-Alcoholic Beverage ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Development and Quality Evaluation of a Non-Alcoholic Beverage from Cocoyam ( Xanthosoma sagittifolium and Colocasia esculenta ) ... Nigerian Food Journal ... evaluation were conducted on the products to assess the highest preference.

Evaluation of Ecological Environmental Quality in a Coal Mining Area by Modelling Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chaodong Yan

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the effective method of the comprehensive evaluation of ecological environmental quality in a coal mining area. Firstly, we analyzed the ecological environmental effect of the coal mining area according to Pigovian Tax theory and, according to the results of the analysis and the demand for the selection of evaluation indices by the comprehensive evaluation, built the corresponding comprehensive evaluation index system. We then used the correlation function method to determine the relative weights of each index. We determined the basic standards of a comprehensive evaluation of ecological environmental quality in a coal mining area according to the actual situation of ecological environmental quality assessments in coal mining areas in our country and the relevant provisions of the government. On this basis, we built the two-level extension comprehensive evaluation model for the evaluation of ecological environmental quality in mining areas. Finally, we chose a certain coal mining area of Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited as the specific case. We used the relevant statistic data, technical and economic indices and the extension evaluation model to do the applied research of the comprehensive evaluation and tested the effectiveness of the comprehensive evaluation model.

VoroMQA: Assessment of protein structure quality using interatomic contact areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Olechnovič, Kliment; Venclovas, Česlovas

2017-06-01

In the absence of experimentally determined protein structure many biological questions can be addressed using computational structural models. However, the utility of protein structural models depends on their quality. Therefore, the estimation of the quality of predicted structures is an important problem. One of the approaches to this problem is the use of knowledge-based statistical potentials. Such methods typically rely on the statistics of distances and angles of residue-residue or atom-atom interactions collected from experimentally determined structures. Here, we present VoroMQA (Voronoi tessellation-based Model Quality Assessment), a new method for the estimation of protein structure quality. Our method combines the idea of statistical potentials with the use of interatomic contact areas instead of distances. Contact areas, derived using Voronoi tessellation of protein structure, are used to describe and seamlessly integrate both explicit interactions between protein atoms and implicit interactions of protein atoms with solvent. VoroMQA produces scores at atomic, residue, and global levels, all in the fixed range from 0 to 1. The method was tested on the CASP data and compared to several other single-model quality assessment methods. VoroMQA showed strong performance in the recognition of the native structure and in the structural model selection tests, thus demonstrating the efficacy of interatomic contact areas in estimating protein structure quality. The software implementation of VoroMQA is freely available as a standalone application and as a web server at http://bioinformatics.lt/software/voromqa. Proteins 2017; 85:1131-1145. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Air quality status of an open pit mining area in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaulya, S K

2005-06-01

This investigation presents the assessment of ambient air quality carried out at an open pit coal mining area in Orissa state of India. The 24-h average concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM), respirable particulate matter (RPM, particles of less than 10 microm aerodynamic diameter), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and oxides of nitrogen (NO(x)) were determined at regular interval throughout one year at 13 monitoring stations in residential area and four stations in mining/industrial area. During the study period, the 24-h and annual average SPM and RPM concentrations exceeded the respective standards set in the Indian ambient air quality standard (NAAQS) protocol in most of the residential and industrial areas. However, the 24-h and annual average concentrations of SO2 and NO(x) were well within the prescribed limit of the NAAQS in both residential and industrial areas. A management strategy is formulated for effective control of particulate matter at source and other mitigative measures are recommended including implementation of green belts around the sensitive areas.

Does Our Well-Being Decrease When We Value High Materialistic Aspirations or When We Attain Them?

OpenAIRE

Zawadzka,Anna Maria; Niesiobędzka, Małgorzata; Żemojtel-Piotrowska,Magdalena

2018-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore the relationships between materialistic and non-materialistic aspirations and well-being (cognitive, emotional, and social well-being). The novelty of this study is that besides examining the relationships between the importance of materialistic and non-materialistic aspirations and well-being, it also tested the relationships between the attainment of materialistic and non-materialistic goals and different aspects of well-being. The findings of the stu...

The performance regulatory approach in quality assurance: Its application to safety in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sajaroff, Pedro M.

2000-01-01

In early 1991, the IAEA assembled an Advisory Group on the Comprehensive Revision of the Code and the Safety on Quality Assurance of the NUSS Programme. The Group was made up by specialists from a number of countries and from ISO, FORATOM, the EC and the IAEA itself, and its objective was completed in June 1995. This paper is aimed at describing the conceptual contents of the final draft of the revision 2 of the 50-C-QA Code 'Quality Assurance for Safety in Nuclear Power Plants and other Nuclear Facilities' (hereinafter, the Code) which is essentially based on performance. Although the performance regulatory approach is not new in Argentina and in other countries, what is indeed novel is applying performance based QA. In such a way the Code will contribute to preventing both QA misinterpretations (i.e., a formalistic regulatory requirement) and the execution of non-effective work without attaining the needed quality level (what may be seen as a pathological deviation of QA). The Code contains ten basic requirements to be adopted when QA programmes are established and implemented in nuclear power plants. The goal is improving safety through an improvement in the methods applied for attaining quality. In line with the current developments in quality management techniques, priority is given to effectiveness of the QA programme. All the involved individuals (that is those in the managerial level, those performing the work and those assessing the work performed) must contribute to quality in a co-ordinated manner. The revised Safety Guides are being introduced, standing out those non existing before. Interrelation between quality assurance, safety culture and quality culture is to be noted. Besides QA for safety-related software mentioned as an issue to be considered by the IAEA. (author)

How to understand architectural quality when working with social housing areas

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Kirstine Brøgger

2015-01-01

This paper debates how to understand architectural quality when working with social housing areas. The concept is discussed through three approaches: 1) Social housing is debated in relation to societal and historical contributions. 2) Well known definitions (from the old-timer Vitruvius...... to the current sustainability agenda) are outlined according to their pros´n cons when working with social housing areas. 3) On the ground of interviews with practitioners the everyday use and understanding of the concept is scrutinized In this vein the paper agitates that architectural quality in social housing...

77 FR 31268 - Determination of Attainment for the Paul Spur/Douglas PM10

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-25

... 220 square miles along the border with Mexico within Cochise County. Cities and towns within this area.... Census). The 2010 population of Agua Prieta, Mexico, just across the border from Douglas, is 78,138 (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia). C. How does EPA make attainment determinations? Generally...

[Ecological environmental quality assessment of Hangzhou urban area based on RS and GIS].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Pengwei; Zhao, Duo

2006-06-01

In allusion to the shortage of traditional ecological environmental quality assessment, this paper studied the spatial distribution of assessing factors at a mid-small scale, and the conversion of integer character to girding assessing cells. The main assessing factors including natural environmental condition, environmental quality, natural landscape and urbanization pressure, which were classified into four types with about eleven assessing factors, were selected from RS images and GIS-spatial analyzing environmental quality vector graph. Based on GIS, a comprehensive assessment model for the ecological environmental quality in Hangzhou urban area was established. In comparison with observed urban heat island effects, the assessment results were in good agreement with the ecological environmental quality in the urban area of Hangzhou.

Do anti-malarials in Africa meet quality standards? The market penetration of non quality-assured artemisinin combination therapy in eight African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Newton, Paul N; Hanson, Kara; Goodman, Catherine

2017-05-25

Quality of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) is important for ensuring malaria parasite clearance and protecting the efficacy of artemisinin-based therapies. The extent to which non quality-assured ACT (non-QAACT), or those not granted global regulatory approval, are available and used to treat malaria in endemic countries is poorly documented. This paper uses national and sub-national medicine outlet surveys conducted in eight study countries (Benin, Kinshasa and Kantanga [Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC], Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) between 2009 and 2015 to describe the non-QAACT market and to document trends in availability and distribution of non-QAACT in the public and private sector. In 2014/15, non-QAACT were most commonly available in Kinshasa (83%), followed by Katanga (53%), Nigeria (48%), Kenya (42%), and Uganda (33%). Non-QAACT accounted for 20% of the market share in the private sector in Kenya, followed by Benin and Uganda (19%), Nigeria (12%) and Zambia (8%); this figure was 27% in Katanga and 40% in Kinshasa. Public sector non-QAACT availability and distribution was much lower, with the exception of Zambia (availability, 85%; market share, 32%). Diverse generics and formulations were available, but non-QAACT were most commonly artemether-lumefantrine (AL) or dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA PPQ), in tablet formulation, imported, and distributed in urban areas at either pharmacies or drug stores. The number of unique manufacturers supplying non-QAACT to each country ranged from 9 in Uganda to 92 in Nigeria. Addressing the availability and distribution of non-QAACT will require effective private sector engagement and evidence-based strategies to address provider and consumer demand for these products. Given the variation in non-QAACT markets observed across the eight study countries, active efforts to limit registration, importation and distribution of non-QAACT must be tailored to the country context

Non-invasive characterization and quality assurance of silicon micro-strip detectors using pulsed infrared laser

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, P.

2016-01-01

The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR is composed of 8 tracking stations consisting of roughly 1300 double sided silicon micro-strip detectors of 3 different dimensions. For the quality assurance of prototype micro-strip detectors a non-invasive detector charaterization is developed. The test system is using a pulsed infrared laser for charge injection and characterization, called Laser Test System (LTS). The system is aimed to develop a set of characterization procedures which are non-invasive (non-destructive) in nature and could be used for quality assurances of several silicon micro-strip detectors in an efficient, reliable and reproducible way. The procedures developed (as reported here) uses the LTS to scan sensors with a pulsed infra-red laser driven by step motor to determine the charge sharing in-between strips and to measure qualitative uniformity of the sensor response over the whole active area. The prototype detector modules which are tested with the LTS so far have 1024 strips with a pitch of 58 μm on each side. They are read-out using a self-triggering prototype read-out electronic ASIC called n-XYTER. The LTS is designed to measure sensor response in an automatized procedure at several thousand positions across the sensor with focused infra-red laser light (spot size ≈ 12 μm, wavelength = 1060 nm). The pulse with a duration of ≈ 10 ns and power ≈ 5 mW of the laser pulse is selected such, that the absorption of the laser light in the 300 μm thick silicon sensor produces ≈ 24000 electrons, which is similar to the charge created by minimum ionizing particles (MIP) in these sensors. The laser scans different prototype sensors and various non-invasive techniques to determine characteristics of the detector modules for the quality assurance is reported.

Characteristics That Differentiate Telecommuting from Non-Telecommuting Professionals in the Quality Assurance and Quality Control Arena

Science.gov (United States)

Claybon, Tina S.

2013-01-01

The interest in working from home in contrast to going to an office continues to be a growing phenomenon. This research examined personal characteristics of telecommuters and non-telecommuters including age, gender, years of working for the organization, and job satisfaction in the quality control and quality assurance arena. This study aimed to…

The effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in improvement of sleep quality among non-remissive cancer patients: A systematic review of randomized trials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatmawati Fadli

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Statistical results estimated that most of non-remissive cancer patients face sleep problem and experience the symptoms of insomnia throughout and after the completion of cancer treatment. The purpose of this review was to compare the effectiveness between several types of non-pharmacological interventions and standard care or treatment to improve the sleep quality among non-remissive cancer patients. All randomized studies focused on non-pharmacological interventions to improve sleep quality among non-remissive cancer patients were included. Thirteen studies were selected with a total of 1,617 participants. The results found that only four interventions were significantly effective to improve sleep quality among non-remissive cancer patients, included cognitive behavioral therapy, relaxation and guided imagery program, self-care behavior education program, and energy and sleep enhancement program.

77 FR 21663 - Air Quality Implementation Plans; Kentucky; Attainment Plan for the Kentucky Portion of the...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-04-11

... the 1997 Annual PM 2.5 standard by its April 5, 2010, attainment date. The 2008 economic downturn was... Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); Is certified as not having a significant economic impact... Business Information or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material...

Polygenic Influence on Educational Attainment

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Benjamin W. Domingue

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Recent studies have begun to uncover the genetic architecture of educational attainment. We build on this work using genome-wide data from siblings in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health. We measure the genetic predisposition of siblings to educational attainment using polygenic scores. We then test how polygenic scores are related to social environments and educational outcomes. In Add Health, genetic predisposition to educational attainment is patterned across the social environment. Participants with higher polygenic scores were more likely to grow up in socially advantaged families. Even so, the previously published genetic associations appear to be causal. Among pairs of siblings, the sibling with the higher polygenic score typically went on to complete more years of schooling as compared to their lower-scored co-sibling. We found subtle differences between sibling fixed-effect estimates of the genetic effect versus those based on unrelated individuals.

Quality and Chemical Composition of Organic and Non-Organic Vetiver Oil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asep Kadarohman

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Vetiver oil (Vetiveria zizanoides has been used as perfume materials, cosmetics, fragrance soaps, anti-inflammation, repellent, and insecticidal agents. Organic vetiver oil has higher economical value than non-organic vetiver oil and it has been regarded to be able to compete in the global market. Therefore, studies have been carried out using 1 hectare of land and the first generation of organic vetiver oil has produced 0.57% of yield, greater than non-organic (0.50%. The quality of organic and non-organic vetiver oil was analyzed by Indonesian Standard (SNI parameter, pesticide residue test, chemical composition by GC/MS, and the appearance of vetiver root. In general, the result of organic and non-organic vetiver oil has fulfilled the national standard; the quality of organic vetiver oil was better than non-organic one. Physically, the appearance of organic vetiver root was better than non-organic vetiver root; organic vetiver root was denser, more appealing, and did not have any black spots. The pesticide residue of organic vetiver oil was lower than non-organic vetiver oil. Based on SNI test, vetiverol (oxygen compounds in organic vetiver oil was higher than non-organic vetiver oil.

Non-activated high surface area expanded graphite oxide for supercapacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vermisoglou, E.C.; Giannakopoulou, T.; Romanos, G.E.; Boukos, N.; Giannouri, M. [Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology “Demokritos”, 153 43 Ag. Paraskevi, Attikis (Greece); Lei, C.; Lekakou, C. [Division of Mechanical, Medical, and Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH (United Kingdom); Trapalis, C., E-mail: c.trapalis@inn.demokritos.gr [Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology “Demokritos”, 153 43 Ag. Paraskevi, Attikis (Greece)

2015-12-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • One-step exfoliation and reduction of graphite oxide via microwave irradiation. • Effect of pristine graphite (type, flake size) on the microwave expanded material. • Effect of pretreatment and oxidation cycles on the produced expanded material. • Expanded graphene materials with high BET surface areas (940 m{sup 2}/g–2490 m{sup 2}/g). • Non-activated graphene based materials suitable for supercapacitors. - Abstract: Microwave irradiation of graphite oxide constitutes a facile route toward production of reduced graphene oxide, since during this treatment both exfoliation and reduction of graphite oxide occurs. In this work, the effect of pristine graphite (type, size of flakes), pretreatment and oxidation cycles on the finally produced expanded material was examined. All the types of graphite that were tested afforded materials with high BET surface areas ranging from 940 m{sup 2}/g to 2490 m{sup 2}/g, without intervening an activation stage at elevated temperature. SEM and TEM images displayed exfoliated structures, where the flakes were significantly detached and curved. The quality of the reduced graphene oxide sheets was evidenced both by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The electrode material capacitance was determined via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The materials with PEDOT binder had better performance (∼97 F/g) at low operation rates while those with PVDF binder performed better (∼20 F/g) at higher rates, opening up perspectives for their application in supercapacitors.

Rural-Nonrural Disparities in Postsecondary Educational Attainment Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Byun, Soo-yong; Meece, Judith L.; Irvin, Matthew J.

2013-01-01

Using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Study, this study revisited rural-nonrural disparities in educational attainment by considering a comprehensive set of factors that constrain and support youth's college enrollment and degree completion. Results showed that rural students were more advantaged in community social resources compared to nonrural students, and these resources were associated with a significant increase in the likelihood of bachelor's degree attainment. Yet results confirmed that rural students lagged behind nonrural students in attaining a bachelor's degree largely due to their lower socioeconomic background. The findings present a more comprehensive picture of the complexity of geographic residence in shaping college enrollment and degree attainment. PMID:24285873

A Low-Cost Sensing System for Cooperative Air Quality Monitoring in Urban Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simone Brienza

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Air quality in urban areas is a very important topic as it closely affects the health of citizens. Recent studies highlight that the exposure to polluted air can increase the incidence of diseases and deteriorate the quality of life. Hence, it is necessary to develop tools for real-time air quality monitoring, so as to allow appropriate and timely decisions. In this paper, we present uSense, a low-cost cooperative monitoring tool that allows knowing, in real-time, the concentrations of polluting gases in various areas of the city. Specifically, users monitor the areas of their interest by deploying low-cost and low-power sensor nodes. In addition, they can share the collected data following a social networking approach. uSense has been tested through an in-field experimentation performed in different areas of a city. The obtained results are in line with those provided by the local environmental control authority and show that uSense can be profitably used for air quality monitoring.

Ambient Air Quality Assessment of Al-Mansoriah Residential Area in the State of Kuwait

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S.M. Al-Salem

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Air quality data (ground level ozone (O3 , non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHC, methane (CH4 , nitrogen oxide (NO, nitrogen dioxide (NO2 , carbon monoxide (CO, hydrogen sulfide (H2 S and sulfur dioxide (SO2 of a Kuwaiti residential area, Al-Mansoriah, were analyzed to evaluate and determine: (a the exceedances of air quality from permissible limits set by the Kuwait Environment Public Authority (KUEPA, (b the diurnal patterns of air pollutants, (c the predominant sources of airborne pollutants in the surrounding area, and (d the ''weekend effect'' on ozone levels. The dataset covered the period of five consecutive years, from January 2000 to December 2004. High levels of ozone were witnessed; recording a number of exceedances. Inhabitants of Al-Mansoriah were exposed, during the period of study, to acute and chronic levels of SO2 . Concerning NMHC, the permissible limit (0.24 ppm- rolling average between 6-9 am, was violated in each of the monitoring years. NO diurnal pattern showed two distinct strong peaks during the months from October to March, in which the low solar radiation does not cause intense photochemical reactions, which lead to NO destruction. A clear H2 S source (considered as a primary one was witnessed from Kuwait city (Sharq district. The backed up sewage lines and maintenance work coinciding with study period clearly affected Al- Mansoriah. A clear "weekend effect", in terms of difference in levels occurring during midweek and weekends, was ascertained. The analysis suggests that Al-Mansoriah residential area should be considered a NOx sensitive region of Kuwait.

Does Sibship Size Affect Educational Attainment?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jæger, Mads Meier

This paper implements a test of the Resource Dilution Hypothesis (RDH) stating that sibship size has a negative causal effect on educational attainment. Most existing studies using conventional methods support the RDH. This paper implements an Instrumental Variable (IV) approach to testing...... the claim of a negative causal relationship between sibship size and educational attainment. Analyzing data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, the empirical analysis demonstrates, first, that conventional OLS regression estimates sibship size to have a negative effect on educational attainment equal...... to about one-tenth of a year of schooling per sibling. Second, when applying the IV method to account for potential endogeneity, the negative effect of sibship size increases substantially to about one-third of a year of schooling per sibling....

Air quality monitoring Edson and Hinton area September 1999 to June 2000 : Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The Edson and Hinton areas of Alberta were the subject of a mobile, ambient air quality monitoring survey. The monitoring involved four surveys of a week each, over four seasons, for one year. This area had been selected for monitoring to meet three major objectives: the determination of concentrations of air pollutants representative of the monitored locations in the survey area, to establish a comparison of air pollutant levels to data from other locations in the province of Alberta, and to provide a comparison of air pollutant levels to Alberta's air quality guidelines. These surveys formed an integral part of the air quality monitoring program of Alberta Environment. Using the Mobile Air Monitoring Laboratory (MAML), personnel from Alberta Environment appear on location unannounced. Carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen, ozone, particulates, hydrocarbons, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide, total reduced sulphur and ammonia are the substances measured and monitored. Eighteen sites in the Edson and Hinton area were selected, as well as downwind of industrial facilities in the Edson area, and air quality was monitored using the mobile lab for twenty days. To allow comparison to the air quality guidelines, monitoring was conducted for a minimum of one hour at each location. As a result, approximately 152 hours of air quality monitoring information was obtained, providing data in the vicinity of both populated and industrial areas. The periods comprised September 13-16, 1999 (Fall), February 7-9, 2000 (Winter), April 18-19, 25-27, 2000 (Spring), and June 4-5, 13-16, 2000 (Summer). The results were provided in this report. Most results were below the Alberta Ambient Air Quality Guidelines. refs., 16 tabs., 18 figs

Examining the Link between Working Memory Behaviour and Academic Attainment in Children with ADHD

Science.gov (United States)

Alloway, Tracy Packiam; Gathercole, Susan E.; Elliott, Julian

2010-01-01

Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether behaviours typical of working memory problems are associated with poor academic attainment in those with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as a non-clinical group identified on the basis of working memory difficulties. Method: Children clinically diagnosed with…

Life goal attainment in the adaptation process after acquired brain injury: the influence of self-efficacy and of flexibility and tenacity in goal pursuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Brands, Ingrid; Stapert, Sven; Köhler, Sebastian; Wade, Derick; van Heugten, Caroline

2015-06-01

To investigate attainment of important life goals and to examine whether self-efficacy, tenacity in goal pursuit and flexibility in goal adjustment contribute to adaptation by affecting levels of emotional distress and quality of life in patients with newly acquired brain injury. Data were collected from a prospective clinical cohort study of 148 patients assessed after discharge home (mean time since injury = 15 weeks) and one year later. At follow-up, attainment of life goals (set at baseline) and satisfaction with attainment was scored (10-point scale) and patients were asked how they adjusted unattained goals. Emotional distress was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), quality of life with the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire (LiSat-9), self-efficacy with the TBI Self-efficacy Questionnaire (SEsx) and tenacity and flexibility with the Assimilative/Accommodative Coping Questionnaire (AACQ). Random effects regression analyses and structural equation modelling were used. In total, only 13 % of initial life goals were achieved in one year. Patients who maintained efforts to reach their original goals had higher average levels of tenacity, but did not differ in level of self-efficacy compared with patients that disengaged. Patients with higher self-efficacy were more successful in attaining important life goals, which correlated with higher quality of life. Patients with higher self-efficacy, higher tenacity in goal pursuit, and higher flexibility in goal adjustment were less emotionally distressed, again correlating with higher quality of life. To optimise adaptation it seems appropriate to promote self-efficacy and both tenacity and flexibility during rehabilitation treatment. © The Author(s) 2014.

Context, culture and (non-verbal) communication affect handover quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Frankel, Richard M; Flanagan, Mindy; Ebright, Patricia; Bergman, Alicia; O'Brien, Colleen M; Franks, Zamal; Allen, Andrew; Harris, Angela; Saleem, Jason J

2012-12-01

Transfers of care, also known as handovers, remain a substantial patient safety risk. Although research on handovers has been done since the 1980s, the science is incomplete. Surprisingly few interventions have been rigorously evaluated and, of those that have, few have resulted in long-term positive change. Researchers, both in medicine and other high reliability industries, agree that face-to-face handovers are the most reliable. It is not clear, however, what the term face-to-face means in actual practice. We studied the use of non-verbal behaviours, including gesture, posture, bodily orientation, facial expression, eye contact and physical distance, in the delivery of information during face-to-face handovers. To address this question and study the role of non-verbal behaviour on the quality and accuracy of handovers, we videotaped 52 nursing, medicine and surgery handovers covering 238 patients. Videotapes were analysed using immersion/crystallisation methods of qualitative data analysis. A team of six researchers met weekly for 18 months to view videos together using a consensus-building approach. Consensus was achieved on verbal, non-verbal, and physical themes and patterns observed in the data. We observed four patterns of non-verbal behaviour (NVB) during handovers: (1) joint focus of attention; (2) 'the poker hand'; (3) parallel play and (4) kerbside consultation. In terms of safety, joint focus of attention was deemed to have the best potential for high quality and reliability; however, it occurred infrequently, creating opportunities for education and improvement. Attention to patterns of NVB in face-to-face handovers coupled with education and practice can improve quality and reliability.

Impact of Self-Regulatory Influences on Writing Course Attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmerman, Barry J.; Bandura, Albert

1994-01-01

Using path analysis, studied the role of self-efficacy beliefs concerning academic attainment and regulation of writing, academic goals, and self-standards in writing-course attainment of 95 college freshmen. Different facets of perceived self-efficacy played a key role in writing-course attainment. (SLD)

Sensitivity of the UAM-predicted ozone concentrations to wind fields in the New York metropolitan area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sistla, G.; Ku, J.Y.; Zhou, N.; Hao, W.; Rao, S.T. [New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY (United States); Thunis, P. [ISPRA Establishment (Italy); Bornstein, R.; Freedman, F. [San Jose State Univ., CA (United States)

1994-12-31

The New York airshed modeling domain, extending from northern Philadelphia, PA to the southern Massachusetts, is part of the large urban corridor stretching from Virginia to Maine alone the eastern sea-board of United States. Due to the continued non-attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone, the area has been designated to be in the {open_quotes}severe{close_quotes} classification under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. This requires demonstration of compliance with the ozone NAAQS with grid-based photochemical models such as the Urban Airshed Model (UAM). The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has recommended the use of a one-way model nesting scheme, with the Regional Oxidant Model (ROM) providing initial and boundary conditions and other ancillary data for the UAM. Meteorological data and emissions data can also be developed by alternative methods for use with UAM, if considered more appropriate than those derived from the ROM-UAM system.

INSURANCE OF KNITTED PRODUCTS QUALITY THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF NON-QUALITY DURING THE OPERATIONS IN THE CUTTING ROOM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUTIC Liliana

2014-05-01

Full Text Available n a knitting- confection profile factory, any activity oriented toward evaluation, maintenance or improvement of products quality level is based on measuring and examining the product quality characteristics, in order to establish conformity to the quality specifications and/or naming the non-quality characteristics (establishing defects and fabrication deficiencies. We can consider non-quality as complementary to quality, although a definitive distinction cannot always be made between the two categories or states. Cutting holds a key role in insuring shape precision and pieces dimensions, determining the quality of the confection process, its structure and manual stages frequency. The quality of the cutting operation, appreciated through the precision and aspect of cut contours, existence and precision of markings, is directly reflected in the finite product’s quality, which entails knowledge of cutting instrument - fabric interactions. In compliance of the technological regime during the operations in the cutting room can determine: incorrect marking, spreading, sectioning or cutting. Non-quality of intermediate products obtained in the cutting department can be evaluated and controlled through defectologic control methods.The De – Ca – Re method (defect-cause-remedy correlation, applied in this paper, allows establishing the most important causes that generate defects, as well as preventive and corrective actions to eliminate these causes. This paper systematically presents the main defects that may occur during operations in the cutting room, causes that generate these defects, along with their preventive and corrective actions.

Image quality in the anteroposterior cervical spine radiograph: Comparison between moving, stationary and non-grid techniques in a lamb neck

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Keating, Michelle [School of Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DD (United Kingdom); Grange, Stuart, E-mail: Stuart2.Grange@uwe.ac.u [School of Health and Social Care, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of England, Stapleton, Bristol BS16 1DD (United Kingdom)

2011-05-15

Background: Cervical spine radiography is a commonly employed examination for degenerative disease and trauma in the cervical spine. Traditionally, the anteroposterior projection is undertaken with the use of an anti-scatter grid. Some practitioners appear to have rejected this practice in favour of a non-grid technique, possibly because of the dose saving it affords. It is necessary to determine if image quality in the cervical spine is significantly degraded and whether the omission of the grid is justified. Method: Using a slaughtered lamb neck as a model of the human neck triplicate radiographs were obtained using a non-grid, a stationary grid and a moving grid technique. Entrance surface dose and dose area product was measured for these techniques. Image quality in terms of contrast, sharpness and overall acceptability was evaluated by 9 independent and blinded observers. Results: A significant reduction in measured dose was observed when the non-grid technique was compared to stationary or moving grid techniques. A statistically significant reduction in image contrast, sharpness and acceptability was also seen in the non-grid compared to grid techniques. Conclusion: These results show evidence of significantly greater image quality in the presence of either a moving or stationary grid in the lamb model. As such they support the continued use of scatter rejection methods such as the anti-scatter grid in AP radiography of the human cervical spine, to optimise radiographic image quality in this critical structure.

Image quality in the anteroposterior cervical spine radiograph: Comparison between moving, stationary and non-grid techniques in a lamb neck

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keating, Michelle; Grange, Stuart

2011-01-01

Background: Cervical spine radiography is a commonly employed examination for degenerative disease and trauma in the cervical spine. Traditionally, the anteroposterior projection is undertaken with the use of an anti-scatter grid. Some practitioners appear to have rejected this practice in favour of a non-grid technique, possibly because of the dose saving it affords. It is necessary to determine if image quality in the cervical spine is significantly degraded and whether the omission of the grid is justified. Method: Using a slaughtered lamb neck as a model of the human neck triplicate radiographs were obtained using a non-grid, a stationary grid and a moving grid technique. Entrance surface dose and dose area product was measured for these techniques. Image quality in terms of contrast, sharpness and overall acceptability was evaluated by 9 independent and blinded observers. Results: A significant reduction in measured dose was observed when the non-grid technique was compared to stationary or moving grid techniques. A statistically significant reduction in image contrast, sharpness and acceptability was also seen in the non-grid compared to grid techniques. Conclusion: These results show evidence of significantly greater image quality in the presence of either a moving or stationary grid in the lamb model. As such they support the continued use of scatter rejection methods such as the anti-scatter grid in AP radiography of the human cervical spine, to optimise radiographic image quality in this critical structure.

Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Revision 0

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Irene Farnham

2011-05-01

This Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) provides the overall quality assurance (QA) program requirements and general quality practices to be applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office (NNSA/NSO) Underground Test Area (UGTA) Sub-Project (hereafter the Sub-Project) activities. The requirements in this QAPP are consistent with DOE Order 414.1C, Quality Assurance (DOE, 2005); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (EPA, 2002); and EPA Guidance on the Development, Evaluation, and Application of Environmental Models (EPA, 2009). The QAPP Revision 0 supersedes DOE--341, Underground Test Area Quality Assurance Project Plan, Nevada Test Site, Nevada, Revision 4.

Thinner eggshells of dipper (Cinclus cinclus) eggs from an acidified area compared to a non-acidified area in Norway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nyboe, S.; Staurnes, M.; Jerstad, K. [Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Dragvoll (Norway). Dept. of Zoology

1997-01-01

Eggs of dippers Cinclus cinclus from a chronically acidified area in Southern Norway were compared with eggs from a non-acidified area in Central Norway. There were no differences in egg size, as measured by volume, weight, length and calculated surface area, between the two areas. Eggshells were 7.0% lighter and 6.1% thinner, as measured by the Ratcliffe index and 7.0% as measured by the eggshell index (shell weight/surface area) in Southern Norway than in Central Norway. The Ratcliffe and eggshell indices were highly correlated. Scanning electron micrography showed that the palisade layer of eggshells of eggs from the acidified area was 10.7% thinner than that of eggshells of eggs from the non-acidified area. Eggshell vapour permeability was not significantly influenced by area. Since the moderately lower thickness in Southern Norway was not accompanied by higher vapour permeability, this indicates that the reduced eggshell thickness did not cause desiccation of dipper eggs in the acidified area. The possibility of underestimating the environmental effects of acidification on dippers is discussed. 42 refs.,2 figs., 4 tabs.

Postsecondary Educational Attainment among Whites and Blacks.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolfle, Lee M.

Interracial differences in the educational attainment process between whites and blacks were examined, using Joreskog and Sorbom's (1981) general method for the analysis of covariance structures. The basic model of educational attainment considers education to be a function of father's occupational status and education, mother's education,…

Small non-flying mammals from conserved and altered areas of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado: comments on their potencial use for monitoring environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BONVICINO C. R.

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Two Atlantic Forests and two Cerrado areas in Brazil were sampled for non-flying small mammal fauna. In each biome one area with altered and another with almost unaltered vegetation (national parks, were chosen to investigate these fauna. Species richness of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado was comparable in the conserved as well as in the altered areas. Data suggested that species could be divided into different ecological categories according to distribution, use of altered and/or relatively unaltered vegetation and habitat specificity. Within these ecological categories some species are appropriate indicators for monitoring environmental quality and degradation. Useful guidelines for wildlife management planning, including selecting areas for conservation units and their better boundary delimitation can ensue.

Small non-flying mammals from conserved and altered areas of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado: comments on their potencial use for monitoring environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. R. BONVICINO

Full Text Available Two Atlantic Forests and two Cerrado areas in Brazil were sampled for non-flying small mammal fauna. In each biome one area with altered and another with almost unaltered vegetation (national parks, were chosen to investigate these fauna. Species richness of Atlantic Forest and Cerrado was comparable in the conserved as well as in the altered areas. Data suggested that species could be divided into different ecological categories according to distribution, use of altered and/or relatively unaltered vegetation and habitat specificity. Within these ecological categories some species are appropriate indicators for monitoring environmental quality and degradation. Useful guidelines for wildlife management planning, including selecting areas for conservation units and their better boundary delimitation can ensue.

A quality evaluation methodology of health web-pages for non-professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Currò, Vincenzo; Buonuomo, Paola Sabrina; Onesimo, Roberta; de Rose, Paola; Vituzzi, Andrea; di Tanna, Gian Luca; D'Atri, Alessandro

2004-06-01

The proposal of an evaluation methodology for determining the quality of healthcare web sites for the dissemination of medical information to non-professionals. Three (macro) factors are considered for the quality evaluation: medical contents, accountability of the authors, and usability of the web site. Starting from two results in the literature the problem of whether or not to introduce a weighting function has been investigated. This methodology has been validated on a specialized information content, i.e., sore throats, due to the large interest such a topic enjoys with target users. The World Wide Web was accessed using a meta-search system merging several search engines. A statistical analysis was made to compare the proposed methodology with the obtained ranks of the sample web pages. The statistical analysis confirms that the variables examined (per item and sub factor) show substantially similar ranks and are capable of contributing to the evaluation of the main quality macro factors. A comparison between the aggregation functions in the proposed methodology (non-weighted averages) and the weighting functions, derived from the literature, allowed us to verify the suitability of the method. The proposed methodology suggests a simple approach which can quickly award an overall quality score for medical web sites oriented to non-professionals.

Water quality assessment of the rivers in bauxite mining area at ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Water quality assessment of the rivers in bauxite mining area at Kuantan Pahang. ... mining area. Water samples were collected at Kuantan River, Riau River, Pinang River and Pandan Rivers. ... All these rivvers were classified into class II based on INWQS and required conventional treatment for water supply purposes.

Wolves in sheep's clothing: Is non-profit status used to signal quality?

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Daniel B; Propper, Carol; Smith, Sarah

2017-09-01

Why do many firms in the healthcare sector adopt non-profit status? One argument is that non-profit status serves as a signal of quality when consumers are not well informed. A testable implication is that an increase in consumer information may lead to a reduction in the number of non-profits in a market. We test this idea empirically by exploiting an exogenous increase in consumer information in the US nursing home industry. We find that the information shock led to a reduction in the share of non-profit homes, driven by a combination of home closure and sector switching. The lowest quality non-profits were the most likely to exit. Our results have important implications for the effects of reforms to increase consumer provision in a number of public services. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Modeling of episodic particulate matter events using a 3-D air quality model with fine grid: Applications to a pair of cities in the US/Mexico border

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Yu-Jin; Hyde, Peter; Fernando, H. J. S.

High (episodic) particulate matter (PM) events over the sister cities of Douglas (AZ) and Agua Prieta (Sonora), located in the US-Mexico border, were simulated using the 3D Eulerian air quality model, MODELS-3/CMAQ. The best available input information was used for the simulations, with pollution inventory specified on a fine grid. In spite of inherent uncertainties associated with the emission inventory as well as the chemistry and meteorology of the air quality simulation tool, model evaluations showed acceptable PM predictions, while demonstrating the need for including the interaction between meteorology and emissions in an interactive mode in the model, a capability currently unavailable in MODELS-3/CMAQ when dealing with PM. Sensitivity studies on boundary influence indicate an insignificant regional (advection) contribution of PM to the study area. The contribution of secondary particles to the occurrence of high PM events was trivial. High PM episodes in the study area, therefore, are purely local events that largely depend on local meteorological conditions. The major PM emission sources were identified as vehicular activities on unpaved/paved roads and wind-blown dust. The results will be of immediate utility in devising PM mitigation strategies for the study area, which is one of the US EPA-designated non-attainment areas with respect to PM.

Parallel processing and non-uniform grids in global air quality modeling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berkvens, P.J.F.; Bochev, Mikhail A.

2002-01-01

A large-scale global air quality model, running efficiently on a single vector processor, is enhanced to make more realistic and more long-term simulations feasible. Two strategies are combined: non-uniform grids and parallel processing. The communication through the hierarchy of non-uniform grids

Food-Related Odors Activate Dopaminergic Brain Areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Sorokowska

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Food-associated cues of different sensory categories have often been shown to be a potent elicitor of cerebral activity in brain reward circuits. Smells influence and modify the hedonic qualities of eating experience, and in contrast to smells not associated with food, perception of food-associated odors may activate dopaminergic brain areas. In this study, we aimed to verify previous findings related to the rewarding value of food-associated odors by means of an fMRI design involving carefully preselected odors of edible and non-edible substances. We compared activations generated by three food and three non-food odorants matching in terms of intensity, pleasantness and trigeminal qualities. We observed that for our mixed sample of 30 hungry and satiated participants, food odors generated significantly higher activation in the anterior cingulate cortex (right and left, insula (right, and putamen (right than non-food odors. Among hungry subjects, regardless of the odor type, we found significant activation in the ventral tegmental area in response to olfactory stimulation. As our stimuli were matched in terms of various perceptual qualities, this result suggests that edibility of an odor source indeed generates specific activation in dopaminergic brain areas.

Well Head Protection Areas For Public Non-Community Water Supply Wells In New Jersey

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — A Well Head Protection Area for a Public Non-Community Water Supply Well (PNCWS) in New Jersey is a map area calculated around a Public Non-Community Water Supply...

Relationship Between the Remaining Years of Healthy Life Expectancy in Older Age and National Income Level, Educational Attainment, and Improved Water Quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jong In; Kim, Gukbin

2016-10-01

The remaining years of healthy life expectancy (RYH) at age 65 years can be calculated as RYH (65) = healthy life expectancy-aged 65 years. This study confirms the associations between socioeconomic indicators and the RYH (65) in 148 countries. The RYH data were obtained from the World Health Organization. Significant positive correlations between RYH (65) in men and women and the socioeconomic indicators national income, education level, and improved drinking water were found. Finally, the predictors of RYH (65) in men and women were used to build a model of the RYH using higher socioeconomic indicators (R(2 )= 0.744, p educational attainment, national income level, and improved water quality influenced the RYH at 65 years. Therefore, policymaking to improve these country-level socioeconomic factors is expected to have latent effects on RYH in older age. © The Author(s) 2016.

An Integrated Framework for Multipollutant Air Quality Management and Its Application in Georgia

Science.gov (United States)

Cohan, Daniel S.; Boylan, James W.; Marmur, Amit; Khan, Maudood N.

2007-10-01

Air protection agencies in the United States increasingly confront non-attainment of air quality standards for multiple pollutants sharing interrelated emission origins. Traditional approaches to attainment planning face important limitations that are magnified in the multipollutant context. Recognizing those limitations, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division has adopted an integrated framework to address ozone, fine particulate matter, and regional haze in the state. Rather than applying atmospheric modeling merely as a final check of an overall strategy, photochemical sensitivity analysis is conducted upfront to compare the effectiveness of controlling various precursor emission species and source regions. Emerging software enables the modeling of health benefits and associated economic valuations resulting from air pollution control. Photochemical sensitivity and health benefits analyses, applied together with traditional cost and feasibility assessments, provide a more comprehensive characterization of the implications of various control options. The fuller characterization both informs the selection of control options and facilitates the communication of impacts to affected stakeholders and the public. Although the integrated framework represents a clear improvement over previous attainment-planning efforts, key remaining shortcomings are also discussed.

Ozone nonattainment: Implications for Nox and VOC compliance by the electric power industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernau, M.E.; South, D.W.; Guziel, K.A.

1993-01-01

Title I of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 requires that regions not in ozone attainment and designated as severe take actions to achieve attainment by 2007. In a several-phase study for the U.S. Department of Energy, ANL is investigating the impact and implications of the Title I requirements in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. As part of the study the authors examined the potential additional compliance requirements that might be imposed on the electric power industry, after satisfying S0 2 and NO x requirements specified in Title IV, to achieve attainment in Chicago. Alternative scenarios were examined to show the incremental emission reductions and air quality effects of each action. The Urban Airshed Model (UAM), selected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for ozone compliance modeling, was used to assess the effects on air quality. Preliminary results show that, for the episode modeled, compliance with Title IV regulations for utility NO x emissions did not have much effect on air quality. Consequently, if utilities are the targeted emissions source, it is possible that additional regulations beyond Title IV may be imposed. However, complete removal of utility emissions did not lead to attainment and only improved air quality by 20-25% of the improvement from removing all emissions, pointing out the importance of non-utility sources to the ozone problem in the region. Non-utility sources will be investigated further in another phase of this work

Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality Assurance Program Plan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-04-30

This quality assurance plan identifies the data necessary, and techniques designed to attain the required quality, to meet the specific data quality objectives associated with the DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This report specifies sampling, waste testing, and analytical methods for transuranic wastes.

Transuranic Waste Characterization Quality Assurance Program Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

This quality assurance plan identifies the data necessary, and techniques designed to attain the required quality, to meet the specific data quality objectives associated with the DOE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). This report specifies sampling, waste testing, and analytical methods for transuranic wastes

Inequality and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Papay, John P.; Murnane, Richard J.; Willett, John B.

2013-01-01

In the past thirty years educational attainments in the United States have stagnated, particularly for low-income Americans. As a result, income-related gaps in educational attainments have grown. These gaps are important because education has historically been the key mechanism for intergenerational socio-economic mobility in the U.S. While the…

How does agility ensure quality?

OpenAIRE

Huo, Ming; Verner, June; Ali Babar, Muhammad; Zhu, Liming

2004-01-01

peer-reviewed Software quality is one of our most important software concerns. Agile methods may produce software faster but we also need to know how they meet our quality requirements. In this paper we compare the waterfall model with agile processes to show how agile methods achieve software quality. We also show how agile methods attain quality under time pressure and in an unstable requirements environment, i.e. we analyze agile software quality assurance. We ...

A non-destructive method for estimating onion leaf area

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Córcoles J.I.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Leaf area is one of the most important parameters for characterizing crop growth and development, and its measurement is useful for examining the effects of agronomic management on crop production. It is related to interception of radiation, photosynthesis, biomass accumulation, transpiration and gas exchange in crop canopies. Several direct and indirect methods have been developed for determining leaf area. The aim of this study is to develop an indirect method, based on the use of a mathematical model, to compute leaf area in an onion crop using non-destructive measurements with the condition that the model must be practical and useful as a Decision Support System tool to improve crop management. A field experiment was conducted in a 4.75 ha commercial onion plot irrigated with a centre pivot system in Aguas Nuevas (Albacete, Spain, during the 2010 irrigation season. To determine onion crop leaf area in the laboratory, the crop was sampled on four occasions between 15 June and 15 September. At each sampling event, eight experimental plots of 1 m2 were used and the leaf area for individual leaves was computed using two indirect methods, one based on the use of an automated infrared imaging system, LI-COR-3100C, and the other using a digital scanner EPSON GT-8000, obtaining several images that were processed using Image J v 1.43 software. A total of 1146 leaves were used. Before measuring the leaf area, 25 parameters related to leaf length and width were determined for each leaf. The combined application of principal components analysis and cluster analysis for grouping leaf parameters was used to reduce the number of variables from 25 to 12. The parameter derived from the product of the total leaf length (L and the leaf diameter at a distance of 25% of the total leaf length (A25 gave the best results for estimating leaf area using a simple linear regression model. The model obtained was useful for computing leaf area using a non

Quality assessment of urban areas based on neural network modeling and GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Popova, Olga; Glebova, Julia; Pustovgar, Andrey

2018-03-01

In this article the authors carry out the research of the urban development areas structure and propose the system of its characteristics on the basis of sector affiliation of the municipal economy. The authors have developed an algorithm for quality assessment of urban development areas. The results of the research are presented on the example of several central quarters of Arkhangelsk city. The city's residential development was formed in the periods from 1900-1950, 1950-1980 and from 2002 to date. It is currently presented by low-rise wooden, homestead type residential houses and barracks-type houses; mid-rise and high-rise brick and panel buildings of typical development, buildings of large-panel housing construction. Structural SOM-analysis compiled separate quarters of Arkhangelsk into 5 groups with a high level of characteristic similarity: "Commercial", "Prospective complex development", "Sustainable development", "Perspective renovation of residential development", "Investment-unattractive". Typical development strategies for each group of quarters are determined. Most developed areas characterized by upward height. The development strategies for depressed areas is in a high-rise building, which show the economic, social and environmental benefits of upward growth of the city. Using GIS allows to visually reflect the state and assess the quality of the urban development area by the aggregate of all parameters, and also to assess the quality of the quarters for each sector.

Groundwater arsenic and education attainment in Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Michael P; Sharmin, Raisa

2015-10-26

Thousands of groundwater tube wells serving millions of Bangladeshis are arsenic contaminated. This study investigates the effect of these wells on the education attainment and school attendance of youths who rely on those wells for drinking water. The analysis combines data from the 2006 Bangladesh Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2006 MICS) and the National Hydrochemical Survey (NHS) of Bangladeshi tube wells' contamination conducted between 1998 and 2000. The study uses multiple regression analysis to estimate the differences in education attainment and school attendance among the following: (i) youths who live where tube wells are safe, (ii) youths who live where tube wells are unsafe but who report drinking from an arsenic-free source, and (iii) youths who live where tube wells are unsafe but who do not report drinking from an arsenic-free source. Controlling for other determinants of education attainment and school attendance, young Bangladeshi males who live where tube wells are unsafe (by Bangladeshis standards) but who report drinking from arsenic-free sources are found to have the same education attainment (among 19- to 21-year-olds) and school attendance (among 6- to 10-year-olds), on average, as corresponding young Bangladeshi males who live where wells are safe. But young Bangladeshi males who live where tube wells are unsafe and who do not report drinking from an arsenic-free source attain, on average, a half-year less education (among 19- to 21-year-olds) and attend school, on average, five to seven fewer days a year (among 6- to 10-year-olds) than do other Bagladeshi males of those ages. The estimated effects for females are of the same sign but much smaller in magnitude. Bangladeshi public health measures to shift drinking from unsafe to safe wells not only advance good health but also increase males' education attainment.

Data quality assurance: an analysis of patient non-response.

Science.gov (United States)

Derby, Dustin C; Haan, Andrea; Wood, Kurt

2011-01-01

Patient satisfaction is paramount to maintaining high clinical quality assurance. This study seeks to compare response rates, response bias, and the completeness of data between paper and electronic collection modes of a chiropractic patient satisfaction survey. A convenience sample of 206 patients presenting to a chiropractic college clinic were surveyed concerning satisfaction with their chiropractic care. Paper (in-clinic and postal) and electronic modes of survey administration were compared for response rates and non-response bias. The online data collection mode resulted in fewer non-responses and a higher response rate, and did not evince response bias when compared to paper modes. The postal paper mode predicted non-response rates over the in-clinic paper and online modalities and exhibited a gender bias. This current study was a single clinic study; future studies should consider multi-clinic data collections. Busy clinic operations and available staff resources restricted the ability to conduct a random sampling of patients or to invite all eligible patients, therefore limiting the generalizability of collected survey data. Results of this study will provide data to aid development of survey protocols that efficiently, account for available human resources, and are convenient for patients while allowing for the most complete and accurate data collection possible in an educational clinic setting. Understanding patient responses across survey modes is critical for the cultivation of quality business intelligence within college teaching clinic settings. This study bridges measurement evidence from three popular data collection modalities and offers support for higher levels of quality for web-based data collection.

Heartwood and sapwood in eucalyptus trees: non-conventional approach to wood quality.

Science.gov (United States)

Cherelli, Sabrina G; Sartori, Maria Márcia P; Próspero, André G; Ballarin, Adriano W

2018-01-01

This study evaluated the quality of heartwood and sapwood from mature trees of three species of Eucalyptus, by means of the qualification of their proportion, determination of basic and apparent density using non-destructive attenuation of gamma radiation technique and calculation of the density uniformity index. Six trees of each species (Eucalyptus grandis - 18 years old, Eucalyptus tereticornis - 35 years old and Corymbia citriodora - 28 years old) were used in the experimental program. The heartwood and sapwood were delimited by macroscopic analysis and the calculation of areas and percentage of heartwood and sapwood were performed using digital image. The uniformity index was calculated following methodology which numerically quantifies the dispersion of punctual density values of the wood around the mean density along the radius. The percentage of the heartwood was higher than the sapwood in all species studied. The density results showed no statistical difference between heartwood and sapwood. Differently from the density results, in all species studied there was statistical differences between uniformity indexes for heartwood and sapwood regions, making justifiable the inclusion of the density uniformity index as a quality parameter for Eucalyptus wood.

Improving Quality in Object-Oriented Software. Systematic Refinement and Translation of Models to Code

OpenAIRE

Bunse, C.; Atkinson, C.

1999-01-01

The reliable attainment of quality requirements is still a major weakness of the object-oriented development paradigm, with a significant proportion of object-oriented systems either failing to work correctly, or failing to do so in a way that meets non-functional requirements. One of the main reasons for this problem is the discrepancy between the various object-oriented languages/notations typically used during the course of an object-oriented project and the lack of well-defined mappings b...

Water Quality and Environmental Flow Management in Rapidly Urbanizing Shenzhen Estuary Area, China

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, H.; Su, Q.

2011-12-01

Shenzhen estuary is located in a rapidly urbanizing coastal region of Southeast China, and forms the administrative border between mainland China and Hong Kong. It receives the waters of the Shenzhen River, where it enters the Deep Bay. The estuary has great ecological importance with the internationally recognized mangrove wetlands, which provides a habitat for some rare and endangered waterfowl and migratory birds.Water quality in the esturay has deteriorated not only due to increasing wastewater discharges from domestic and industrial sources, but also as a consequence of decreasing base environmental flow during rapid urbanization in the Shenzhen River catchment since 1980s. Measures to improve water quality of the estuary include not only reducing pollutant inputs by intercepting wastewater, but also increasing environmental flow by reusing reclaimed wastewater or withdrawing nearshore seawater into the river. However, salinity alternation due to flow increase is deemed to have impacts on the mangrove wetland ecosystem. In this paper, Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC) is used to simulate hydrodynamics, salinity, and water quality condition in the Shenzhen estuary. After calibration and validation, the model is used to evaluate effects of various control measures on water quality improvement and salinity alteration in the estuary. The results indicate that implementing different measures independently does not reach the goals of water quality improvement; furthermore, increasing environmental flow by importing nearshore seawater may greatly increase the salinity in the Shenzhen River, destroy the fresh ecosystem of the river and have non-negligible impacts on the mangrove wetland ecosystem. Based on the effectiveness and impacts of the measures, an integrated measure, which combine pollutant loads reduction and environmental flow increase by reusing reclaimed wastewater, is proposed to achieve water environmental sustainability in the study area.

77 FR 36400 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Determination of Failure To...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-06-19

...) or section 179(c)) and to reclassify the area was erroneous and in conflict with 51.905(e)(2)(i... area failed to attain that NAAQS by its attainment date. 40 CFR 51.905(e)(2)(i)(B). With respect to the... final action to determine that the Houston/ Galveston/Brazoria (HGB) area did not attain the 1-hour...

Shared Environment Estimates for Educational Attainment: A Puzzle and Possible Solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Freese, Jeremy; Jao, Yu-Han

2017-02-01

Classical behavioral genetics models for twin and other family designs decompose traits into heritability, shared environment, and nonshared environment components. Estimates of heritability of adult traits are pervasively observed to be far higher than those of shared environment, which has been used to make broad claims about the impotence of upbringing. However, the most commonly studied nondemographic variable in many areas of social science, educational attainment, exhibits robustly high estimates both for heritability and for shared environment. When previously noticed, the usual explanation has emphasized family resources, but evidence suggests this is unlikely to explain the anomalous high estimates for shared environment of educational attainment. We articulate eight potential complementary explanations and discuss evidence of their prospective contributions to resolving the puzzle. In so doing, we hope to further consideration of how behavioral genetics findings may advance studies of social stratification beyond the effort to articulate specific genetic influences. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Assessing concentrations and health impacts of air quality management strategies: Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation (FRESH-EST).

Science.gov (United States)

Milando, Chad W; Martenies, Sheena E; Batterman, Stuart A

2016-09-01

In air quality management, reducing emissions from pollutant sources often forms the primary response to attaining air quality standards and guidelines. Despite the broad success of air quality management in the US, challenges remain. As examples: allocating emissions reductions among multiple sources is complex and can require many rounds of negotiation; health impacts associated with emissions, the ultimate driver for the standards, are not explicitly assessed; and long dispersion model run-times, which result from the increasing size and complexity of model inputs, limit the number of scenarios that can be evaluated, thus increasing the likelihood of missing an optimal strategy. A new modeling framework, called the "Framework for Rapid Emissions Scenario and Health impact ESTimation" (FRESH-EST), is presented to respond to these challenges. FRESH-EST estimates concentrations and health impacts of alternative emissions scenarios at the urban scale, providing efficient computations from emissions to health impacts at the Census block or other desired spatial scale. In addition, FRESH-EST can optimize emission reductions to meet specified environmental and health constraints, and a convenient user interface and graphical displays are provided to facilitate scenario evaluation. The new framework is demonstrated in an SO2 non-attainment area in southeast Michigan with two optimization strategies: the first minimizes emission reductions needed to achieve a target concentration; the second minimizes concentrations while holding constant the cumulative emissions across local sources (e.g., an emissions floor). The optimized strategies match outcomes in the proposed SO2 State Implementation Plan without the proposed stack parameter modifications or shutdowns. In addition, the lower health impacts estimated for these strategies suggest that FRESH-EST could be used to identify potentially more desirable pollution control alternatives in air quality management planning

Atmospheric particulate matter size distribution and concentration in West Virginia coal mining and non-mining areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurth, Laura M; McCawley, Michael; Hendryx, Michael; Lusk, Stephanie

2014-07-01

People who live in Appalachian areas where coal mining is prominent have increased health problems compared with people in non-mining areas of Appalachia. Coal mines and related mining activities result in the production of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that is associated with human health effects. There is a gap in research regarding particle size concentration and distribution to determine respiratory dose around coal mining and non-mining areas. Mass- and number-based size distributions were determined with an Aerodynamic Particle Size and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer to calculate lung deposition around mining and non-mining areas of West Virginia. Particle number concentrations and deposited lung dose were significantly greater around mining areas compared with non-mining areas, demonstrating elevated risks to humans. The greater dose was correlated with elevated disease rates in the West Virginia mining areas. Number concentrations in the mining areas were comparable to a previously documented urban area where number concentration was associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease.

The Role of Difficulty in Identifying and Describing Feelings in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior (NSSI): Associations With Perceived Attachment Quality, Stressful Life Events, and Suicidal Ideation.

Science.gov (United States)

Cerutti, Rita; Zuffianò, Antonio; Spensieri, Valentina

2018-01-01

Objective: Core alexithymic features, such as the difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, are associated with poor attachment styles and emotional trauma, which influence the capacity to regulate affect. Additionally, emotional regulation has been found to be the most commonly identified function associated with non-suicidal self-injury behavior (NSSI) in adolescents as they attempt to modulate strong emotions. However, few studies have examined the link between difficulty in identifying and describing feelings (core components of alexithymia), NSSI behaviors, quality of attachment, life stressors and suicidal ideation in healthy early adolescents. Consequently, this study aims to investigate these constructs and the relationship among them in a large non-clinical sample of adolescents. Methods: Seven hundred and nine middle school students (50.4% males), aged 10-15 years ( M = 12.6; SD = 1.06) were involved in this study. In order to investigate the variables considered in the study, the following measures were administered: the Deliberate Self-Harm Inventory exploring non-suicidal self-injurious behaviors; the Alexithymia Questionnaire for Children examining difficulty in identifying and describing feelings; the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment assessing the quality of parental and peer attachment; the Life Stressor Checklist-Revised outlining stressful/traumatic events and the Children's Depression Inventory evaluating suicidal ideation. Results: We found significantly positive relationships among difficulty in identifying and describing feelings, NSSI behaviors, stressful events, and suicidal ideation. Data indicated a significant negative association of difficulty in identifying and describing feelings with quality of attachment to parents and peers. Further findings highlighted that difficulty in identifying and describing feelings significantly mediated the effect of quality of attachment (parent and peer) on NSSI and suicidal ideation

Air quality measurements in urban green areas - a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Kuttler, W.; Strassburger, A.

The influence of traffic-induced pollutants (e.g. CO, NO, NO 2 and O 3) on the air quality of urban areas was investigated in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany. Twelve air hygiene profile measuring trips were made to analyse the trace gas distribution in the urban area with high spatial resolution and to compare the air hygiene situation of urban green areas with the overall situation of urban pollution. Seventeen measurements were made to determine the diurnal concentration courses within urban parks (summer conditions: 13 measurements, 530 30 min mean values, winter conditions: 4 measurements, 128 30 min mean values). The measurements were carried out during mainly calm wind and cloudless conditions between February 1995 and March 1996. It was possible to establish highly differentiated spatial concentration patterns within the urban area. These patterns were correlated with five general types of land use (motorway, main road, secondary road, residential area, green area) which were influenced to varying degrees by traffic emissions. Urban parks downwind from the main emission sources show the following typical temporal concentration courses: In summer rush-hour-dependent CO, NO and NO 2 maxima only occurred in the morning. A high NO 2/NO ratio was established during weather conditions with high global radiation intensities ( K>800 W m -2), which may result in a high O 3 formation potential. Some of the values measured found in one of the parks investigated (Gruga Park, Essen, area: 0.7 km 2), which were as high as 275 μg m -3 O 3 (30-min mean value) were significantly higher than the German air quality standard of 120 μg m -3 (30-min mean value, VDI Guideline 2310, 1996) which currently applies in Germany and about 20% above the maximum values measured on the same day by the network of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Environment Agency. In winter high CO and NO concentrations occur in the morning and during the afternoon rush-hour. The

Non-proliferation efforts in South Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chellaney, B.

1994-01-01

Southern Asia is one of the most volatile regions in the world because of inter-State and intra-State conflicts. Security in the region highly depends on the rival capabilities of the involved states, Pakistan, India, China. Increased Confidence building and nuclear transparency are becoming more significant issues in attaining stability in the region, although non-proliferation efforts in this region have attained little headway

Quality of computerized blast load simulation for non-linear dynamic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Quality of computerized blast load simulation for non-linear dynamic response ... commercial software system and a special-purpose, blast-specific software product to ... depend both on the analysis model of choice and the stand-off distances.

Adolescent obesity and future college degree attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler-Brown, Angela G; Ngo, Long H; Phillips, Russell S; Wee, Christina C

2010-06-01

The current impact of adolescent obesity on educational attainment is not clear. The objectives of our study were to determine whether adolescent obesity is associated with college degree attainment and how this association may have changed over time. We used data from a contemporary national cohort of over 4,000 persons who were adolescents (aged 14-18) in 1997 to assess the relationship between adolescent obesity and education. To assess for changes in this relationship over time, we also analyzed an older, similarly structured cohort of over 3,000 persons who were adolescents (aged 16-18) in 1981. Our primary outcome was college degree completion. We found that in the older cohort (adolescents in 1979), there were no differences in college degree attainment by adolescent weight status before and after adjustment. However, unadjusted analysis of the contemporary cohort (adolescents in 1997) demonstrated that those who were normal weight as adolescents had a higher prevalence of college degree attainment at follow-up compared to obese adolescents (24% vs. 10%). After adjustment for socio-demographic variables (age, sex, race, height, parental income-to-poverty ratio, parental education, aptitude test scores), obese adolescents were less likely to have attained a college degree compared to normal weight peers (adjusted risk ratio 0.61 95% confidence interval 0.38-0.83). Expectations for a future college degree did not vary by weight status and did not explain this observation. In conclusion, adolescent obesity is associated with lower likelihood of college completion. This relationship was not observed in an older cohort of adolescents.

Do Non-Economic Quality of Life Factors Drive Immigration?

Science.gov (United States)

Pacheco, Gail Anne; Rossouw, Stephanie; Lewer, Joshua

2013-01-01

This paper contributes to the immigration literature by generating two unique non-economic quality of life (QOL) indices and testing their role on recent migration patterns. Applying the generated QOL indices in conjunction with four independent welfare measures to an augmented gravity model of immigration, this paper finds an insignificant…

ASSESSMENT OF LAND QUALITY USING ECOPEDOLOGICAL INDICATORS - JEBEL AREA, TIMIŞ COUNTY, ROMANIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Costina Roxana URUIOC

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The studied area is placed in North-East Jebel locality. Based on the physical and chemical characteristics and soil morphology profile, the following types of soil were identified: typical preluvosol, typical and gleyic eutricambosols, luvic solonet, gleysol, gleyic vertisol and gleyic-stagnic vertisol. The assessment of land quality (fertility was determined by bonitation. For the notes of bonitation calculation, the following ecopedological indicatories have been used: annual medium temperature, annual medium precipitations, depth of the underground water, texture in Ap horizon, gleization, pseudogleization, salinization, edafic volume, porosity, soil reaction (pH, humus reserve and content of CaCO3. The way that these indicators influence the notes of bonitation is different from a type of soil to another and the use of land. Thus, for grassland, typical preluvosol, the note of bonitate is 81 and it’s included in class II of quality (favorability, luvic solonet with 63 points in class IV of quality, typical eutricambosols with 58 points and vertisol with 57 points, in class V of quality, gleysol with 32 points and gleyic eutricambosol with 36 points, in class VII of quality. In case of using the land for growing maize, we have the following: typical preluvosol with 90 points which is in class II of quality, typical eutricambosol with 54 points and gleyic vertisol with 60 points, in class V of quality, luvic solonet with 49 points in class VI of quality, gleyic-stagnic vertisol with 35 points, in class VII of quality, gleysol with 24 points and gleyic eutricambosol with 29 points, in class VIII of quality. The notes of bonitation calculation, including them in the favorability classes, showed up that lands from Jebel area are good and very good quality, exception those that develop on gleysol and gleyic eutricambosols soils.

Research on the quality of the wine grapes in corridor area of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Cheng

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The corridor area of Gansu Province is one of the most important wine grape growing regions in China, and this strip of land results in a significant difference in terms of terroir between its regions. Chemical composition and antioxidant capacity of the main wine grape varieties (Vitis vinifera L. cultivated in the corridor area of Gansu Province in northwest China were compared. Three regions (Zhangye, Wuwei, and Jiayuguan were selected to explain the influence of soil and climate conditions on the quality of wine grapes. This study aims to investigate the effect of different regions on berry composition and antioxidant capacity, providing a general evaluation of red and white wine grapes quality in the corridor area of China. The results showed that ‘Merlot’ grapes grown in Zhangye had the best quality among the different varieties in the three regions of Gansu evaluated. The moderate temperature and nitrogen deficiency were associated with improved fruit quality. It was identified that the most suitable grape variety from Zhangye is ‘Merlot’, and that ‘Cabernet Sauvignon’ and ‘Italian Resling’ are the most suitable varieties from Wuwei and Jiayuguan, respectively.

Mapping local variation in educational attainment across Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Graetz, Nicholas; Friedman, Joseph; Osgood-Zimmerman, Aaron; Burstein, Roy; Biehl, Molly H.; Shields, Chloe; Mosser, Jonathan F.; Casey, Daniel C.; Deshpande, Aniruddha; Earl, Lucas; Reiner, Robert C.; Ray, Sarah E.; Fullman, Nancy; Levine, Aubrey J.; Stubbs, Rebecca W.; Mayala, Benjamin K.; Longbottom, Joshua; Browne, Annie J.; Bhatt, Samir; Weiss, Daniel J.; Gething, Peter W.; Mokdad, Ali H.; Lim, Stephen S.; Murray, Christopher J. L.; Gakidou, Emmanuela; Hay, Simon I.

2018-03-01

Educational attainment for women of reproductive age is linked to reduced child and maternal mortality, lower fertility and improved reproductive health. Comparable analyses of attainment exist only at the national level, potentially obscuring patterns in subnational inequality. Evidence suggests that wide disparities between urban and rural populations exist, raising questions about where the majority of progress towards the education targets of the Sustainable Development Goals is occurring in African countries. Here we explore within-country inequalities by predicting years of schooling across five by five kilometre grids, generating estimates of average educational attainment by age and sex at subnational levels. Despite marked progress in attainment from 2000 to 2015 across Africa, substantial differences persist between locations and sexes. These differences have widened in many countries, particularly across the Sahel. These high-resolution, comparable estimates improve the ability of decision-makers to plan the precisely targeted interventions that will be necessary to deliver progress during the era of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Aging and quality of life of elderly people in rural areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Garbaccio, Juliana Ladeira; Tonaco, Luís Antônio Batista; Estêvão, Wilson Goulart; Barcelos, Bárbara Jacome

2018-01-01

To evaluate the quality of life and health of elderly in rural areas of Minas Gerais State's center-west. Cross-sectional study, in four municipalities of Minas Gerais State, by interviewing elderly people. Associations between socio-demographic and quality of life variables were tested, separated into "satisfactory"/"unsatisfactory" with values from the median of positive answers. It was used the chi-square test, Fisher's test and regression. 182 elderly answered the questions and showed a relation with the "satisfactory" quality of life - bivariate (p cognitive aspect, access to services, goods, habits, but awareness must be constant due to their weakness.

Student Perceptions of Asynchronous and Synchronous Web Based Tools and Perceived Attainment of Academic Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Parenti, Melissa A.

2013-01-01

With an increasing presence and continual adaptations related to distance learning, there is a recognized need for up-to-date research in the area of effectiveness of online education programs. More specifically, assessing the capacity to attain academic goals by use of asynchronous and synchronous web based tools within Learning Management…

Importance of customer adjustment regions in the non-clinical property of thought: A home examination in low and high-income areas of Mashhad.

Science.gov (United States)

Fazaeli, S; Yousefi, M; Banikazemi, S H; Ghazizadeh Hashemi, Sah; Khorsand, A; Badiee, Sh

2015-01-01

Responsiveness was proposed via WHO as a fundamental sign to evaluate the enforcement of wellness practices and evaluates with a standard organization of fields that are classified to 2 principal classes "Respect as characters" and "customer adjustment". The current research included the value of customer adjustment areas in low and high-income communities of Mashhad. In the current descriptive research, an example of 923 families was chosen stochastically of 2 low and high pay areas of Mashhad. WHO survey employed for information gathering. Regular rate reviews and Ordinal Logistic Regression (OLR) applied for information investigation. In overall, respondents chose basic amenities quality as the primary area, and the path to social care networks recognized as the wicked primary area. Families in high-income states obtained higher areas of immediate notations and selection associated with low-income. There is a meaningful correlation among parameters of ages, having a part whom required care and self-imposed health via the ranking of customer adjustment areas. The investigation of the homes' viewpoint concerning the classification of non-clinical perspectives of care quality, particularly while confronted by restricted sources, can assist in managing enterprises towards topics that are more relevant and results in the development of the wellness policy achievement and fecundity.

Evaluating the Quality of Protected Areas for Species: A Case Study in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve, Mongolia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James D. Murdoch

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Species’ distributions refl ect the quality of landscape conditions, and represent an important component of protected area management. However, distributions are diffi cult to estimate, and consequently, often determined through a combination of limited fi eld data and expert opinion, which may lead to biases. We demonstrate the use of occupancy models to map distributions and estimate landscape quality. We used occupancy models for two species, the red fox and toad-headed agama, to map their distributions in Ikh Nart Nature Reserve located in southeastern Mongolia. We then used occupancy probability as a measure of quality and tested whether differences existed in quality between three areas: 1 inside the reserve, 2 inside the reserve’s core protected area, and 3 outside the reserve, using 30 sample sites in each. Occupancy probability varied from 0.084 to 0.997 for red foxes and 0.022 to 0.949 for agamas in maps. Landscape quality was highest in the core area and lowest outside the reserve for red foxes, and highest outside the reserve and lowest in the core area for agamas. Our results provide visual depictions of distributions across the Ikh Nart landscape and a means of assessing the quality of the Ikh Nart protected area that may inform management activities.

Non-pharmacological sleep interventions for youth with chronic health conditions: a critical review of the methodological quality of the evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Cary A; Kuo, Melissa; Phillips, Leah; Berry, Robyn; Tan, Maria

2013-07-01

Restorative sleep is clearly linked with well-being in youth with chronic health conditions. This review addresses the methodological quality of non-pharmacological sleep intervention (NPSI) research for youth with chronic health conditions. The Guidelines for Critical Review (GCR) and the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool (EPHPP) were used in the review. The search yielded 31 behavioural and 10 non-behavioural NPSI for review. Most studies had less than 10 participants. Autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorders, down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, and visual impairments were the conditions that most studies focused upon. The global EPHPP scores indicated most reviewed studies were of weak quality. Only 7 studies were rated as moderate, none were strong. Studies rated as weak quality frequently had recruitment issues; non-blinded participants/parents and/or researchers; and used outcome measures without sound psychometric properties. Little conclusive evidence exists for NPSIs in this population. However, NPSIs are widely used and these preliminary studies demonstrate promising outcomes. There have not been any published reports of negative outcomes that would preclude application of the different NPSIs on a case-by-case basis guided by clinical judgement. These findings support the need for more rigorous, applied research. • Methodological Quality of Sleep Research • Disordered sleep (DS) in youth with chronic health conditions is pervasive and is important to rehabilitation therapists because DS contributes to significant functional problems across psychological, physical and emotional domains. • Rehabilitation therapists and other healthcare providers receive little education about disordered sleep and are largely unaware of the range of assessment and non-pharmacological intervention strategies that exist. An evidence-based website of pediatric sleep resources can be found at http

Water-quality trends in the Scituate reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, 1983-2012

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Kirk P.

2015-01-01

The Scituate Reservoir is the primary source of drinking water for more than 60 percent of the population of Rhode Island. Water-quality and streamflow data collected at 37 surface-water monitoring stations in the Scituate Reservoir drainage area, Rhode Island, from October 2001 through September 2012, water years (WYs) 2002-12, were analyzed to determine water-quality conditions and constituent loads in the drainage area. Trends in water quality, including physical properties and concentrations of constituents, were investigated for the same period and for a longer period from October 1982 through September 2012 (WYs 1983-2012). Water samples were collected and analyzed by the Providence Water Supply Board, the agency that manages the Scituate Reservoir. Streamflow data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey. Median values and other summary statistics for pH, color, turbidity, alkalinity, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, total coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and orthophosphate were calculated for WYs 2003-12 for all 37 monitoring stations. Instantaneous loads and yields (loads per unit area) of total coliform bacteria and E. coli, chloride, nitrite, nitrate, and orthophosphate were calculated for all sampling dates during WYs 2003-12 for 23 monitoring stations with streamflow data. Values of physical properties and concentrations of constituents were compared with State and Federal water-quality standards and guidelines and were related to streamflow, land-use characteristics, varying classes of timber operations, and impervious surface areas.

Groundwater quality monitoring well installation for waste area grouping 7 and solid waste storage area 1, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mortimore, J.A.; Ebers, M.L.

1994-09-01

The purpose of this report is to document the drilling and installation of the groundwater quality monitoring (GQM) wells on the perimeter of Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 7 and at Solid Waste Storage Area (SWSA) 1, which is a part of WAG 1. Installation of GQM wells was required at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) for regulatory compliance. Data obtained from these wells will be used to characterize and assess groundwater quality at the perimeter of each WAG in accordance with applicable Department of Energy, state, and Environmental Protection Agency regulatory requirements. The wells in WAG 7 and SWSA 1 were drilled and developed during the period from June 1989 to March 1990

Developing Product Quality Control for Standardization of Tsetse Mass Production. Working Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

The recent Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC) provides a mechanism within which SIT will be one of the major components of an integrated areawide approach to the establishment of tsetse fly-free areas. Currently world-wide tsetse production is 1/40 of the projected requirement in 2006. To achieve this objective it is essential that quality control (QC) measures suitable for the expanded production be in place. Therefore, improved QC methodology has become a top priority. Improvements in QC methodology will help to ensure the attainment of these production goals and improve quality of rearing, minimize production costs and generate trained QC and production staff required to successfully produce flies and monitor their quality and suitability for release. The proposed CRP is designed to address these issues.

Gallery forest restoration by the attainment of carbon credit: a social-environmental proposal for low-income community

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coelho, Maria Carolina Crisci

2007-01-01

Due to intensification in climate changes by anthropogenic causes, to the recognition of the environmental importance of the Gallery Forest and its intense degradation, this work presents an analysis of the possibilities of carbon credit attainment by low-income community, as part of an incentive program for the restoration of these areas. Two ways are demonstrated: projects of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), in the scope of the Kyoto Protocol, that generate credits called certified emission reductions; and projects based on voluntary scheme, that generate voluntary emission reductions. Both are difficult to organize and implement. For example: the eligibility of an area, baseline study, monitoring, non-permanence risks of storage carbon, technical and operational structures, operational and business costs, regulated market in consolidation and guarantee of credit acquisition. Nevertheless, this second market presents greater flexibility and acceptance for the forest projects. The social-environmental benefits of these projects are significant and the valuation of their environmental services can revert in financial incentives for low-income community, since that adequately remunerated. The carbon credit can help in the implementation of these projects, contributing for local restoration of the areas and also for carbon capture by the atmosphere, which this is a global subject. (author)

Does parents' economic, cultural, and social capital explain the social class effect on educational attainment in the Scandinavian mobility regime?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holm, Anders; Jæger, Mads Meier

2007-01-01

for the statistical analysis. Our results are, first, that controlling for the three types of capital we explain a considerable part of the social class effect on educational attainment, and, second, that cultural and social capital are the key predictors of educational attainment.......This paper analyzes how much of the effect of social class on children’s choice of secondary education in Denmark can be decomposed into the influence of parental economic, cultural, and social capital. Following mobility regime theory, we propose that in the Scandinavian mobility regime to which...... Denmark belongs, the effect of social class on educational attainment should be explained primarily by non-economic forms of capital. We use an extremely rich Danish longitudinal survey to construct empirical measures of economic, cultural, and social capital and an extended random effect framework...

Quality-of-care indicators for non-small cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanvetyanon, Tawee

2009-10-01

Quality-of-care indicators are measurable elements of practice performance that can be used to assess the quality or change in quality of the care provided. To date, the literature on quality-of-care indicators for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been reviewed. A search was performed to identify articles reporting on quality-of-care indicators specific for NSCLC published from January 2003 to May 2009 (using MEDLINE and American Society of Clinical Oncology abstract databases). Web sites of major quality care organizations were also searched. The identified indicators were then classified by their aspect of care provision (structure-of-care, process-of-care, or outcome-of-care indicator). For structure-of-care quality indicators, the most cited indicators were related to the quality of lung surgery. These included being National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers or high-volume hospitals. For process-of-care quality indicators, the most common indicators were the receipt of surgery for early-stage NSCLC and the administration of chemotherapy for advanced-stage NSCLC. For outcome-of-care quality indicators, the most cited indicators were related to postoperative morbidity or mortality after lung surgery. Several quality-of-care indicators for NSCLC are available. Process-of-care indicators are the most studied. The use of these indicators to measure practice performance holds the promise of improving outcomes of patients with NSCLC.

47 CFR 54.316 - Rate comparability review and certification for areas served by non-rural carriers.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Rates, Price Indices, and Expenditures for Telephone Service published by the Wireline Competition... areas served by non-rural carriers. 54.316 Section 54.316 Telecommunication FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS... High Cost Areas § 54.316 Rate comparability review and certification for areas served by non-rural...

MARSSIM guidelines for non-impacted area identification in support of partial site release prior to license termination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parish, D.

1999-01-01

Regulations are in place which allow plants undergoing decommissioning to remove obsolete requirements from their licenses. Large buffer areas to the site boundary, needed for emergency planning purposes during power operation, are not required for permanently defueled facilities. It is important that non-impacted areas be removed from license restrictions as soon as possible post shutdown to allow rapid asset recovery and return the large environmental resources these areas represent to beneficial use. License termination surveys are not required for non-impacted areas in accordance with the guidance of US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) NUREG-1575 (MARSSIM), and NRC Draft Regulatory Guide DG-4006. Thus, such areas do not fall under the license termination requirements of 10CFR50.82 (US Code of Federal Regulations). This report describes methods of classifying areas as non-impacted in accordance with MARRSIM and other NRC guidance, and the licensing options for release of non-impacted areas prior to license termination. The status of Big Rock Point's efforts toward early release of non-impacted areas also is provided. (author)

Urban Landscape Characterization Using Remote Sensing Data For Input into Air Quality Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models that are used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, particularly for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of air quality models to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well these models predict ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to meteorological and air quality models focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data have been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This allows the State Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality.

Religious Background and Educational Attainment: The Effects of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism

Science.gov (United States)

Sander, William

2010-01-01

The effects of Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism on educational attainment in the United States are examined. OLS estimates of educational attainment and Probit estimates of college attainment are undertaken. It is shown that Islam and Judaism have similar positive effects on attainment relative to Protestants and Catholics. The effect of Buddhism is…

Non-linear Imaging using an Experimental Synthetic Aperture Real Time Ultrasound Scanner

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Joachim; Du, Yigang; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

2011-01-01

This paper presents the first non-linear B-mode image of a wire phantom using pulse inversion attained via an experimental synthetic aperture real-time ultrasound scanner (SARUS). The purpose of this study is to implement and validate non-linear imaging on SARUS for the further development of new...... non-linear techniques. This study presents non-linear and linear B-mode images attained via SARUS and an existing ultrasound system as well as a Field II simulation. The non-linear image shows an improved spatial resolution and lower full width half max and -20 dB resolution values compared to linear...

Monitoring air quality with lichens: A comparison between mapping in forest sites and in open areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Policnik, Helena; Simoncic, Primoz; Batic, Franc

2008-01-01

Four different methods of epiphytic lichen mapping were used for the assessment of air quality in the region under the influence of the Sostanj Thermal Power Plant (Salek Valley, Slovenia). Three methods were based on the presence of different lichen species (VDI, EU and ICP-Forest), the fourth on a frequency and coverage assessment of different growth forms of epiphytic lichens, e.g. crustose, foliose and fruticose (SI). A comparison of the results from the assessment of air quality between forest sites (ICP-Forest, SI) and open areas (VDI, EU and SI), obtained by the different methods of epiphytic lichen mapping, is presented in the contribution. Data showed that lichen species richness is worse in forest sites in comparison with open areas. From the data obtained it can be concluded that epiphytic lichen mapping in open areas is a better method for the assessment of air pollution in a given area than mapping in forest sites. The species-based methods in open areas are more powerful and useful for air quality assessment in polluted research areas than the SI and ICP-Forest methods. - The mapping of epiphytic lichens in open areas is more suitable for air quality assessment than mapping in forest sites in the Salek Valley, Slovenia

The fiscal consequences of ADHD in Germany : a quantitative analysis based on differences in educational attainment and lifetime earnings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kotsopoulos, Nikolaos; Connolly, Mark P.; Sobanski, Esther; Postma, Maarten J.

Objective: To estimate the long-term fiscal consequences of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) on the German government and social insurance system based on differences in educational attainment and the resulting differences in lifetime earnings compared with non-ADHD cohorts. Methods:

Elite and Status Attainment Models of Inequality of Opportunity

Science.gov (United States)

Myles, John F.; Srensen, Aage B.

1975-01-01

With changes in method, analysis of the process of attainment of various occupations and sub-sets of occupations such as elites can bring about the desired comparability between elite and status attainment studies of equality of opportunity. (Author/AM)

The Study of Heavy Metals on Sediment Quality of Kuala Perlis Coastal Area

Science.gov (United States)

Zubir, A. A. Ahmad; Saad, F. N. Mohd; Dahalan, F. A.

2018-03-01

The contamination of heavy metals gives bad implications to the aquatic environment. Thus, a study was conducted to assess the sediment quality by using different contamination indices such as Enrichment Factor (EF), Geo-accumulation Index (Igeo), and Pollution Load Index (PLI). Each sediment sample was collected at the surface (0-15cm) at 5 locations based on the land use activity; jetty port (A), seaside restaurant (B), roadside area (C), power plant (D) and residential area (E). All samples were undergoes acid digestion and analyzed with AAS. Four elements identified from the sediment samples which are Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were used to calculate the respective indices. Results show that, the highest EF value of Pb which categorized as very severe enrichment was at point E. Meanwhile minor enrichment was detected at point B for Cu while Cr and Zn at point A. Based on Igeo value the sediment quality along Kuala Perlis was in the unpolluted-moderately polluted condition (class 1). As for PLI it shows that the sediment of the coastal area is unpolluted (PLI<1). Therefore, this study revealed that, the main contributor of heavy metals in this area is Pb while the sediment quality of Kuala Perlis was in minor pollution condition.

Surfing for hip replacements: has the "internet tidal wave" led to better quality information.

Science.gov (United States)

Nassiri, Mujtaba; Bruce-Brand, Robert A; O'Neill, Francis; Chenouri, Shojaeddin; Curtin, Paul T

2014-07-01

This study aimed to determine the quality of information available on the internet regarding Total Hip Replacement (THR). The unique websites identified were categorised by type and assessed using the DISCERN score, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria, and a novel (THR)-specific content score. The presence of the Health On the Net (HON) code, a reported quality assurance marker, was noted. Commercial websites predominate. Governmental & Non-Profit Organizations websites attained the highest DISCERN score. Sites that bore the HONcode seal obtained significantly higher DISCERN and THR content scores than those without the certification. Physicians should recommend the HONcode seal to their patients as a reliable indicator of website quality or, better yet, refer patients to sites they have personally reviewed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preference for Boys, Family Size, and Educational Attainment in India.

Science.gov (United States)

Kugler, Adriana D; Kumar, Santosh

2017-06-01

Using data from nationally representative household surveys, we test whether Indian parents make trade-offs between the number of children and investments in education. To address the endogeneity due to the joint determination of quantity and quality of children, we instrument family size with the gender of the first child, which is plausibly random. Given a strong son preference in India, parents tend to have more children if the firstborn is a girl. Our instrumental variable results show that children from larger families have lower educational attainment and are less likely to be enrolled in school, with larger effects for rural, poorer, and low-caste families as well as for families with illiterate mothers.

FORECASTING AND ANALYSIS OF TRENDS IN AREA OF QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandar Vujović

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This research presents chronology and trends in area of quality management system through nonconformities. The aim of the work is to forecast possible scenario to foresee activities for future period and time what will point out on critical indicators and on possible measures for improvement. Furthermore, research identifies advantages, disadvantages and possibilities, especially for production and service sectors. The work presents long-term research on quality management system and experience and knowledge that are obtained based on real indicators.

Constraints on food choices of women in the UK with lower educational attainment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barker, M.; Lawrence, W. T.; Skinner, T. C.

2008-01-01

Objective: Women of lower educational attainment have less balanced and varied diets than women of higher educational attainment. The diets of women are vital to the long-term health of their offspring. The present study aimed to identify factors that influence the food choices of women with lower...... educational attainment and how women could be helped to improve those choices. Design: We conducted eight focus group discussions with women of lower educational attainment to identify these factors. We contrasted the results of these discussions with those from three focus group discussions with women...... of higher educational attainment. Setting: Southampton, UK. Subjects: Forty-two white Caucasian women of lower educational attainment and fourteen of higher educational attainment aged 18 to 44 years. Results: The dominant theme in discussions with women of lower educational attainment was their sense...

Sleep quality among relatively younger patients with initial diagnosis of hypertension: dippers versus non-dippers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yilmaz, Mehmet Birhan; Yalta, Kenan; Turgut, Okan Onur; Yilmaz, Ahmet; Yucel, Oguzhan; Bektasoglu, Gokhan; Tandogan, Izzet

2007-01-01

Sleep is a basic physiological process. Normal sleep yields decrease in sympathetic activity, blood pressure (BP) and heart rate. Those, who do not have expected decrease in their BP are considered "non-dippers". We aimed to determine if there was any association between the non-dipping status and sleep quality, designed a cross-sectional study, and enrolled and evaluated the sleep quality of relatively young patients with an initial diagnosis of hypertension. Seventy-five consecutive patients, diagnosed to have stage 1 hypertension by their primary physicians, were referred to our study. Patients had newly diagnosed with stage 1 hypertension. Patients with a prior use of any anti-hypertensive medication were not included. Eligible patients underwent the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), which has an established role in evaluating sleep disturbances. All patients underwent ambulatory BP monitoring. There were 42 non-dipper patients (mean age = 47.5+/-11.9 years, 24 male/18 female), as a definition, 31 dipper hypertensive patients (mean age = 48.5+/-12.8 years, 21 male/10 female) and two with white coat hypertension. Daytime systolic and diastolic mean BPs were not significantly different between the two groups. Night-time mean systolic and diastolic BPs were significantly higher in non-dippers compared with dippers. PSQI scores, globally, were significantly higher in non-dippers compared with dippers. Total PSQI score was not correlated with body mass index. It was noticed that, individually, sleep quality, sleep efficiency and sleep disturbance scores were significantly higher in non-dippers. Being a poor sleeper in terms of high PSQI score (total score>5) was associated with 2.955-fold increased risk of being a non-dipper (95% confidence interval 1.127-7.747). We showed that the risk of having non-dipping hypertension, a risk factor for poor cardiovascular outcomes among hypertensive individuals, was tripled (odds ratios) among poor sleepers. We think that

Why women of lower educational attainment struggle to make healthier food choices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lawrence, Wendy; Skinner, Chas; Haslam, Cheryl

2009-01-01

Women of lower educational attainment are more likely to eat unhealthy diets than women of higher educational attainment. To identify influences on the food choices of women with lower educational attainment, 11 focus groups (eight with women of lower, and three with women of higher educational...... attainment) were held. Using a semi-structured discussion guide, environmental, social, historical and psychological factors known to be associated with food choice were explored. Audio recordings were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Compared to women of higher educational attainment, women...... of lower educational attainment had less control over their families' food choices, less support for attempts to eat healthily, fewer opportunities to observe and learn good food-related practices, more negative affect, more perceived environmental constraints and more ambiguous beliefs about...

Increase in quantity and quality of suitable areas for invasive species as climate changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertelsmeier, Cleo; Luque, Gloria M; Courchamp, Franck

2013-12-01

As climatically suitable range projections become increasingly used to assess distributions of species, we recommend systematic assessments of the quality of habitat in addition to the classical binary classification of habitat. We devised a method to assess occurrence probability, captured by a climatic suitability index, through which we could determine variations in the quality of potential habitat. This relative risk assessment circumvents the use of an arbitrary suitability threshold. We illustrated our method with 2 case studies on invasive ant species. We estimated invasion potential of the destroyer ant (Monomorium destructor) and the European fire ant (Myrmica rubra) on a global scale currently and by 2080 with climate change. We found that 21.1% of the world's landmass currently has a suitable climate for the destroyer ant and 16% has a suitable climate for European fire ant. Our climatic suitability index showed that both ant species would benefit from climate change, but in different ways. The size of the potential distribution increased by 35.8% for the destroyer ant. Meanwhile, the total area of potential distribution remained the same for the European fire ant (>0.05%), but the level of climatic suitability within this range increased greatly and led to an improvement in habitat quality (i.e., of invasive species' establishment likelihood). Either through quantity or quality of suitable areas, both invasive ant species are likely to increase the extent of their invasion in the future, following global climate change. Our results show that species may increase their range if either more areas become suitable or if the available areas present improved suitability. Studies in which an arbitrary suitability threshold was used may overlook changes in area quality within climatically suitable areas and as a result reach incorrect predictions. Incremento de la Cantidad y Calidad de Áreas Idóneas para Especies Invasoras a Medida que Cambia el Clima. �

Secular Trends in Mortality From Common Cancers in the United States by Educational Attainment, 1993?2001

OpenAIRE

Kinsey, Tracy; Jemal, Ahmedin; Liff, Jonathan; Ward, Elizabeth; Thun, Michael

2008-01-01

Background Death rates for the four major cancer sites (lung, breast, prostate, and colon and rectum) have declined steadily in the United States among persons aged 25?64 years since the early 1990s. We used national data to examine these trends in relation to educational attainment. Methods We calculated age-standardized death rates for each of the four cancers by level of education among 25- to 64-year-old non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black men and women for 1993 through 2001 using d...

Quality-of life of the elderly in urban and rural areas in Serbia.

Science.gov (United States)

Urosević, Jadranka; Odović, Gordana; Rapaić, Dragan; Davidović, Mladen; Trgovcević, Sanja; Milovanović, Verica

2015-11-01

The number of elderly people in the world is growing, in Serbia as well. Serbia is already among the top ten countries with the oldest population, it is the fact. Aging influences the quality of life in different ways. The aim of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life of the elderly in urban and rural areas in Serbia. The study included 100 elderly people aged 65 years and above in urban and rural areas in Serbia. The next questionnaires were used: a socio-demographic questionnaire and a Serbian version of standardized European Euro-QoL questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L), as a basic index for the assessment and description of the quality of life. In the structure of the respondents, according to the achieved social contacts (p = 0.012), the life of those with family members (p = 0.009), and health status (p = 0.000), in relation to the place of residence there was a statistically significant difference. There was a significant difference (p = 0.040), predominantly poor score for anxiety/depression within the rural population. The average value of quality of life in urban and rural areas was not statistically significant (p = 0.720). For those living in rural areas there was a statistically significant positive correlation between anxiety/depression and age, wealth status, marital status, living with family members and achieving social contacts, while a negative correlation was observed between anxiety/depression and education. On the basis of the data of our study, we can say that the presence of anxiety/depression among older people is greater in rural than in urban areas. The results of this study show that the perception of anxiety/depression among older in rural areas is bigger with the age and poverty increasing, the loss of a spouse, life without family members, lack of achievement of social contacts and lower education.

Quality of life of the elderly in urban and rural areas in Serbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Urošević Jadranka

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background/Aim. The number of elderly people in the world is growing, in Serbia as well. Serbia is already among the top ten countries with the oldest population, it is the fact. Aging influences the quality of life in different ways. The aim of this study was to assess the health-related quality of life of the elderly in urban and rural areas in Serbia. Methods. The study included 100 elderly people aged 65 years and above in urban and rural areas in Serbia. The next questionnaires were used: a sociodemographic questionnaire and a Serbian version of standardized European Euro-QoL questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L, as a basic index for the assessment and description of the quality of life. Results. In the structure of the respondents, according to the achieved social contacts (p = 0.012, the life of those with family members (p = 0.009, and health status (p = 0.000, in relation to the place of residence there was a statistically significant difference. There was a significant difference (p = 0.040, predominantly poor score for anxiety/depression within the rural population. The average value of quality of life in urban and rural areas was not statistically significant (p = 0.720. For those living in rural areas there was a statistically significant positive correlation between anxiety/depression and age, wealth status, marital status, living with family members and achieving social contacts, while a negative correlation was observed between anxiety/depression and education. Conclusion. On the basis of the data of our study, we can say that the presence of anxiety/depression among older people is greater in rural than in urban areas. The results of this study show that the perception of anxiety/depression among older in rural areas is bigger with the age and poverty increasing, the loss of a spouse, life without family members, lack of achievement of social contacts and lower education.

Ground-water quality in agricultural areas, Anoka Sand Plain Aquifer, east-central Minnesota, 1984-90

Science.gov (United States)

Landon, M.K.; Delin, G.N.

1995-01-01

Ground-water quality in the Anoka Sand Plain aquifer was studied as part of the multiscale Management Systems Evaluation Area (MSEA) study by collecting water samples from shallow wells during August through November 1990. The sampling was conducted to: (1) aid in selection of the MSEA research area; (2) facilitate comparison of results at the MSEA research area to the regional scale; and (3) evaluate changes in ground-water quality in the Anoka Sand Plain aquifer since a previous study during 1984 through 1987. Samples were collected from 34 wells screened in the upper 6 meters of the surficial aquifer and located in cultivated agricultural areas. Water temperature, pH, specific conductance, and presence or absence of triazine herbicides were determined at all sites and samples from selected wells were analyzed for concentrations of dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, major cations and anions, nutrients, and selected herbicides and herbicide metabolites. The results of the study indicate that the water-quality of some shallow ground water in areas of predominantly agricultural land use has been affected by applications of nitrogen fertilizers and the herbicide atrazine.

Air quality in natural areas: Interface between the public, science and regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Percy, K.E.; Karnosky, D.F.

2007-01-01

Natural areas are important interfaces between air quality, the public, science and regulation. In the United States and Canada, national parks received over 315 million visits during 2004. Many natural areas have been experiencing decreased visibility, increased ozone (O 3 ) levels and elevated nitrogen deposition. Ozone is the most pervasive air pollutant in North American natural areas. There is an extensive scientific literature on O 3 exposure-tree response in chambered environments and, lately, free-air exposure systems. Yet, less is known about O 3 impacts on natural terrestrial ecosystems. To advance scientifically defensible O 3 risk assessment for natural forest areas, species-level measurement endpoints must be socially, economically and ecologically relevant. Exposure-based indices, based on appropriate final endpoints, present an underused opportunity to meet this need. Exposure-plant indices should have a high degree of statistical significance, have high goodness of fit, be biologically plausible and include confidence intervals to define uncertainty. They must be supported by exposure-response functions and be easy to use within an air quality regulation context. Ozone exposure-response indices developed within an ambient air context have great potential for improving risk assessment in natural forest areas and enhancing scientific literacy. - Appropriate endpoints and exposure-response indices can improve assessment of air pollutant risk to forests in natural areas

Air quality in natural areas: Interface between the public, science and regulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Percy, K.E. [Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service - Atlantic Forestry Centre, 1350 Regent Street, Fredericton, New Brunswick E3B 5P7 (Canada)], E-mail: kpercy@nrcan.gc.ca; Karnosky, D.F. [School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931 (United States)

2007-10-15

Natural areas are important interfaces between air quality, the public, science and regulation. In the United States and Canada, national parks received over 315 million visits during 2004. Many natural areas have been experiencing decreased visibility, increased ozone (O{sub 3}) levels and elevated nitrogen deposition. Ozone is the most pervasive air pollutant in North American natural areas. There is an extensive scientific literature on O{sub 3} exposure-tree response in chambered environments and, lately, free-air exposure systems. Yet, less is known about O{sub 3} impacts on natural terrestrial ecosystems. To advance scientifically defensible O{sub 3} risk assessment for natural forest areas, species-level measurement endpoints must be socially, economically and ecologically relevant. Exposure-based indices, based on appropriate final endpoints, present an underused opportunity to meet this need. Exposure-plant indices should have a high degree of statistical significance, have high goodness of fit, be biologically plausible and include confidence intervals to define uncertainty. They must be supported by exposure-response functions and be easy to use within an air quality regulation context. Ozone exposure-response indices developed within an ambient air context have great potential for improving risk assessment in natural forest areas and enhancing scientific literacy. - Appropriate endpoints and exposure-response indices can improve assessment of air pollutant risk to forests in natural areas.

The appearance of ADCs in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Zhenghua; Liu, Xiwei; Hui, Lihong; Xie, Sheng; Xiao, Jiangxi; Jiang, Xuexiang; Zhao, Danhua; Wang, Xiaoying

2011-01-01

The exact mechanism of the mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) remain unclear. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique for studying the pathophysiologic change of the MELAS. The purpose of the study is to see whether the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of MELAS in the non-affected areas is different from the ADC of the normal subjects and to speculate the pathophysiological mechanisms of the MELAS. Sixteen cases of MELAS were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty healthy subjects were chosen to constitute the control group. All of them were performed on the 3.0T whole-body MR scanner with axial view T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery (flair), T2-weighted imaging, T1flair, and DWI. An ADC map was reconstructed in the workstation. Two to five regions of interest were put in the non-affected frontal lobe and basal ganglia. All data took statistical analysis. There were significant differences between the ADC of the patients with MELAS and the controls in the non-affected areas, including the superior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, corpus striatum, thalamus, and white matter of the semi-oval centrum. ADCs in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS are higher than those of the normal subjects. Pathological changes take place in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS. (orig.)

The appearance of ADCs in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Zhenghua; Liu, Xiwei; Hui, Lihong; Xie, Sheng; Xiao, Jiangxi; Jiang, Xuexiang [Peking University First Hospital, Center for Functional Imaging, Peking University, The Department of Radiology, Beijing (China); Zhao, Danhua [Peking University First Hospital, The Department of Neurology, Beijing (China); Wang, Xiaoying [Peking University First Hospital, Center for Functional Imaging, Peking University, The Department of Radiology, Beijing (China); Peking University First Hospital, The Department of Radiology, 8, Xishiku Street, Xicheng District, Beijing (China)

2011-04-15

The exact mechanism of the mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) remain unclear. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is a magnetic resonance (MR) imaging technique for studying the pathophysiologic change of the MELAS. The purpose of the study is to see whether the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of MELAS in the non-affected areas is different from the ADC of the normal subjects and to speculate the pathophysiological mechanisms of the MELAS. Sixteen cases of MELAS were retrospectively analyzed. Thirty healthy subjects were chosen to constitute the control group. All of them were performed on the 3.0T whole-body MR scanner with axial view T2 fluid attenuated inversion recovery (flair), T2-weighted imaging, T1flair, and DWI. An ADC map was reconstructed in the workstation. Two to five regions of interest were put in the non-affected frontal lobe and basal ganglia. All data took statistical analysis. There were significant differences between the ADC of the patients with MELAS and the controls in the non-affected areas, including the superior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, corpus striatum, thalamus, and white matter of the semi-oval centrum. ADCs in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS are higher than those of the normal subjects. Pathological changes take place in the non-affected areas of the patients with MELAS. (orig.)

Protective connections and educational attainment among young adults with childhood-onset chronic illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Maslow, Gary; Haydon, Abigail A; McRee, Annie-Laurie; Halpern, Carolyn T

2012-08-01

Youth with childhood-onset chronic illness (COCI) are at risk of poor educational attainment. Specific protective factors that promote college graduation in this population have not been studied previously. In this study, we examine the role protective factors during adolescence play in promoting college graduation among young adults with COCI. Data were collected from 10,925 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Protective factors present before 18 years of age included mentoring, parent relationship quality, school connectedness, and religious attendance. College graduation was the outcome of interest assessed when participants had a mean age of 28 years. Analysis was stratified by presence of COCI. About 2% of participants (N = 230) had 1 of 4 COCIs (cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, or heart disease). All 4 protective factors were associated with college graduation for youth without COCI. In the final multivariate model, only school connectedness was associated with college graduation for youth with COCI. School connectedness is of particular importance in promoting educational attainment for youth with COCI. © 2012, American School Health Association.

Adolescent Obesity and Future College Degree Attainment

OpenAIRE

Fowler-Brown, Angela G.; Ngo, Long H.; Phillips, Russell S.; Wee, Christina C.

2009-01-01

The current impact of adolescent obesity on educational attainment is not clear. The objectives of our study were to determine whether adolescent obesity is associated with college degree attainment and how this association may have changed over time. We used data from a contemporary national cohort of over 4,000 persons who were adolescents (aged 14–18) in 1997 to assess the relationship between adolescent obesity and education. To assess for changes in this relationship over time, we also a...

Quality parameters of mango and potential of non-destructive techniques for their measurement- a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jha, S.N.; Narsaiah, K.; Sharma, A.D.; Singh, M.; Bansal, S.; Kumar, R.

2010-01-01

The king of fruits 'Mango' (Mangifera indica L.) is very nutritious and rich in carotenes. India produces about 50% of the total world's mango. Many researchers have reported the maturity indices and quality parameters for determination of harvesting time and eating quality. The methods currently used for determination of quality of mango are mostly based on the biochemical analysis, which leads to destruction of the fruits. Numerous works are being carried out to explore some non-destructive methods such as Near Infrared (NIR), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), X-ray and Computed Tomography (CT), electronic nose, machine vision and ultrasound for quality determination of fruits. This paper deals with some recent work reported on quality parameters, harvesting and post-harvest treatments in relation to quality of mango fruits and reviews on some of the potential non-destructive techniques that can be explored for quality determination of mango cultivars. (author)

Characteristic of ambient airborne and respirable particulate around a non formal industrial area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhayatun Santoso; Diah Dwiana Lestiani; Mariana Marselina; Rita Mukhtar

2016-01-01

Characterization of airborne particulate matter and respirable particulate in Parung Panjang district especially on surrounding non formal used batteries industrial area has been carried out to follow up the previous results with respect to high concentrations of lead detected in Serpong area. Sampling of airborne particulate matter in Parung Panjang was conducted using Gent stacked filter unit sampler, while the respirable particulate matter samples collected using personal dust sampler in Parung Panjang as a non formal Industrial area and Sukarasa village as a control, during 2011-2012. The concentration of masses were determined gravimetrically, while for elemental concentrations by X-Ray based methods. The average of mass concentration of air ambient PM 2.5 and PM 10 in Parung Panjang were 27.3 ± 13.7 and 77.5 ± 17.1 μg.m -3 , respectively. While the average concentration of respirable particulate in non formal industrial and control areas were 260 ± 233 and 82 ± 38 μg.m -3 , respectively. The percentage of average Pb concentration in PM 2.5 and PM 2.5-10 were contribute up to 45 and 10 % of the mass concentration, respectively. The maximum percentage concentration of Pb in respirable particulate in industrial and control area were 12.11 and 0.27 %, respectively. These results showed that the Pb concentrations in respirable particulate in industrial area were significantly tens times higher than in the control area. The high concentration of Pb in Parung Panjang was the main key element came from the used lead battery industry and one of pollutant source that contributed to the Pb pollution in Serpong area. (author)

Can people with disabilities gain from education? Similarities and differences between occupational attainment among persons with and without disabilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Boman, Tomas; Kjellberg, Anders; Danermark, Berth; Boman, Eva

2014-01-01

More knowledge is needed of occupational attainment of persons with disabilities, i.e., the relationship between their educational level and their profession, and factors of importance for this relationship. To compare occupational attainment among persons with and without a disability. 3396 informants with disabilities and 19,004 non-disabled informants participated (control group) in a survey study by Statistics Sweden.The informants with disabilities were divided into six groups. Occupational attainment did not differ between the disability groups, neither between persons with and without a disability. Follow-up analysis showed that men with disabilities with primary or secondary school had an occupation above their educational level to a significantly larger extent than women with disabilities. This pattern was even clearer in comparison with the control group. Persons without disabilities, with secondary or higher education, were more successful in the labor market than persons with disabilities. Occupational attainment increased with age in both groups. Young women with disabilities who only have primary or secondary education run a higher risk of having a job that is below their educational level than men at the same educational level. This indicates discriminating mechanisms in the society related to gender and ability.

Water-quality assessment of part of the Upper Mississippi River Basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin - Ground-water quality in three different land-use areas, 1996-98

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Alison L.

2000-01-01

The surficial sand and gravel aquifer is susceptible to effects from land-use in the Upper Mississippi River Basin study unit of the National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program. The purpose of this report is to describe the ground-water quality and the assessment of how different land-uses affect the shallow ground-water quality in the surficial sand and gravel aquifer. Ground-water quality was compared in three different land-use areas; an urban residential/commercial area on the edge of the Anoka Sand Plain in a portion of the Twin Cities metropolitan area (urban study), an intensive agricultural area in the Anoka Sand Plain (agricultural study), and a forested area in the Bemidji-Bagley Sand Plain (forested study). Ground water was sampled and analyzed for about 200 constituents, including physical parameters, major ions, selected trace elements, nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, selected pesticides, selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and tritium. The urban study wells were sampled during June and July 1996. The agricultural study wells were sampled during May and September 1998. The forested study wells were sampled during June 1998.

Comparison of Mental Health and Quality of Life between Shift and Non-shift Employees of Service Industries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nahal Salimi

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study examined the relationship between the employment practices and employees' mental health and quality of life in Iran. In particular, the study compared the mental health and quality of life of shift and non-shift workers in sensitive employment settings. Using a cross-sectional survey design, 120 individuals employed in two airline companies as either shift or non-shift employees completed the survey for the study. Data was collected using General Health Question (GHQ28 for mental health, the Short Form (36 Health Survey (SF-36 for Quality of Life and a demographic questionnaire. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA was used to analyze the collected data. The results showed that (1 type of work (shift or non-shift has an effect on mental health and quality of life; and (2 there are significant differences in dimensions of quality of life and mental health between shift and non-shift staff.

Quality of life among dually diagnosed and non-substance-using ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective. To assess the quality of life (QoL) in an outpatient setting among male patients dually diagnosed with schizophrenia and substance use disorder (SUD), and non-substance-using male schizophrenia patients. Methods. The study was conducted in an outpatient setting with 52 male schizophrenia patients and 49 ...

Hydrogeology and water quality of the Leetown area, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Kozar, Mark D.; McCoy, Kurt J.; Weary, David J.; Field, Malcolm S.; Pierce, Herbert A.; Schill, William Bane; Young, John A.

2008-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Leetown Science Center and the co-located U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Center for Cool and Cold Water Aquaculture both depend on large volumes of cold clean ground water to support research operations at their facilities. Currently, ground-water demands are provided by three springs and two standby production wells used to augment supplies during periods of low spring flow. Future expansion of research operations at the Leetown Science Center is dependent on assessing the availability and quality of water to the facilities and in locating prospective sites for additional wells to augment existing water supplies. The hydrogeology of the Leetown area, West Virginia, is a structurally complex karst aquifer. Although the aquifer is a karst system, it is not typical of most highly cavernous karst systems, but is dominated by broad areas of fractured rock drained by a relatively small number of solution conduits. Characterization of the aquifer by use of fluorometric tracer tests, a common approach in most karst terranes, therefore only partly defines the hydrogeologic setting of the area. In order to fully assess the hydrogeology and water quality in the vicinity of Leetown, a multi-disciplinary approach that included both fractured rock and karst research components was needed. The U.S. Geological Survey developed this multi-disciplinary research effort to include geologic, hydrologic, geophysical, geographic, water-quality, and microbiological investigations in order to fully characterize the hydrogeology and water quality of the Leetown area, West Virginia. Detailed geologic and karst mapping provided the framework on which hydrologic investigations were based. Fracture trace and lineament analysis helped locate potential water-bearing fractures and guided installation of monitoring wells. Monitoring wells were drilled for borehole geophysical surveys, water-quality sampling, water-level measurements, and aquifer tests to

Socio-economic effect on socially-deprived communities of developing drinking water quality problems in arid and semi-arid area of central Rajasthan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. Husain

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Rajasthan is well known for its Great Thar desert. Central Rajasthan has an arid to semi-arid environment. The area faces either scarcity of water or poor quality of drinking water. In some areas water is transported 2 km or more, which uses time, energy and money. Rich people have their own sources, which is restricted for use by others. Such conditions are affecting socially-deprived communities, both socially and economically. Groundwater is a major source of drinking water due to the unavailability of surface water. There is a lack of groundwater quality knowledge in the community and the data available is hard to understand by consumers. The CCME Water Quality Index is a tool to simplify the water quality report by rating the water on quality standards. It provides meaningful summaries of overall water quality and trends, which is accessible to non-technical lay people. In the present study the objective is to examine the groundwater quality of six districts (Ajmer, Bhilwara, Pali, Rajasamand, Nagaur and Jodhpur, centrally located in Rajasthan, with arid and semi-arid conditions. CCME WQI is also evaluated to produce quality data in a form to be understood by the community. A total of 4369 groundwater sources in 1680 villages from six districts (76 546 km2 were collected and examined. Results are outlined in the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS: 10500, 2012 and 2952 sources are unsafe for drinking. According to CCME WQI groundwater of 93 villages is poor, 343 villages are marginal, and 369 villages are fair in quality. Toxicological studies of unsafe drinking water and their remedial measures are also discussed. A tentative correlation between prevailing water-borne diseases and quality parameter has also been shown

COST QUALITY MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitanova Gordana

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Within the contemporary economic conditions, enterprises might achieve a competitive advantage if only they sell goods and services with high quality and lower prices. Customers, usually, prefer quality goods with acceptable prices, while such goods create reputation with the particular brand. The perfect control system is necessary to achieve a high quality product, which the cost quality management is considered to be an indispensable part in. The cost quality is nevertheless created to ensure that customers’ requirements are being appropriately attained. The most important objective of quality costs controlling is to assist the management in enhancing the product’s value permanently. The superior cost quality control system helps the management to achieve other strategic objectives, such as: producing goods with acceptable costs and deliver the products to their customers in time.

Age at Immigration and Educational Attainment of Young Immigrants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Ours, J.C.; Veenman, J.M.C.

2005-01-01

For immigrants who arrive in a country at a young age it is easier to assimilate than for teenagers.This paper investigates up to what immigration age the educational attainment of young immigrants in the Netherlands is similar to the educational attainment of secondgeneration immigrants, who were

Statistical methods for evaluating the attainment of cleanup standards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilbert, R.O.; Simpson, J.C.

1992-12-01

This document is the third volume in a series of volumes sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Statistical Policy Branch, that provide statistical methods for evaluating the attainment of cleanup Standards at Superfund sites. Volume 1 (USEPA 1989a) provides sampling designs and tests for evaluating attainment of risk-based standards for soils and solid media. Volume 2 (USEPA 1992) provides designs and tests for evaluating attainment of risk-based standards for groundwater. The purpose of this third volume is to provide statistical procedures for designing sampling programs and conducting statistical tests to determine whether pollution parameters in remediated soils and solid media at Superfund sites attain site-specific reference-based standards. This.document is written for individuals who may not have extensive training or experience with statistical methods. The intended audience includes EPA regional remedial project managers, Superfund-site potentially responsible parties, state environmental protection agencies, and contractors for these groups.

Ranking Different Stakeholder-Driven Definitions of Academic Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Shouba, Derek

2017-01-01

Americans are increasingly concerned about academic quality (Hauptman & Kim, 2009). This concern about academic quality is a product of the relative decline of the American economy, American Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) test scores, American baccalaureate attainment rates, and various other indicators of national…

Achieving Quality Assurance in Nigeria University System through ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper examines how quality assurance can be attained through Strategic Human Resources Development in Nigerian University system. The purpose is to ensure quality control and maintenance of acceptable standards in the University system. To seek solution to the problem, three research questions were posed.

Analysis of non-conformity in continuous quality improvement in a Hospital Radiopharmacy Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, T; Contreras, J F

To perform an analysis of non-conformities (NC) registered between 2012 and 2015, as a part of the review process of the Quality Management System of our Radiopharmacy Unit. Non-conformities registered in the Radiopharmacy Unit in the period 2012-2015 are analyzed and sorted by their impact on the process (critical, major, and minor), cause/origin of the non-conformity, and nature of radiopharmaceutical (PET vs. SPECT). A decrease in the NC of 20% per year is observed, especially in PET radiopharmaceuticals. Non-conformities in SPECT make up about 62-84% of the total of the NC, mainly related to the high number of doses prepared and not administered, which is about 1.5-3% in the ratio of non-administered/administered per year. Analysis of the NC can be considered as a useful indicator in assessment of quality assurance, and in our particular case, the decrease in the registration of NC indicates effectiveness in the corrective and preventive actions implemented. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y SEMNIM. All rights reserved.

Attaining and Maintaining a Continuity of Knowledge to Draw Safeguards Conclusions with Confidence.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bean, Robert [Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Blair, Dianna S. [Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Pickett, Chris [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2014-11-01

As the 21st century progresses, new nuclear facilities and the expansion of nuclear activities into new countries will require the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to place a higher reliance on attaining and maintaining a Continuity of Knowledge (CoK) of its safeguards information than is currently practiced. Additionally, a conceptual view of where and how CoK can be applied will need to evolve to support improved efficiency and efficacy of drawing a safeguards conclusion for each Member State. The ability to draw a safeguards conclusion for a Member State will be predicated on the confidence that CoK has been attained and subsequently maintained with respect to the data and information streams used by the IAEA. This confidence can be described as a function of factors such as elapsed time since the measurement, surveillance of attributes, authentication of information, historic knowledge of potential system failures, and the number and type of data collections. A set of general scenarios are further described for determining what is required to attain CoK and whether CoK has been maintained. A high-level analysis of example scenarios is presented to identify failures or gaps that could cause a loss of CoK. Potential areas for technological research and development are discussed for the next generation of CoK tools.

Image quality in non-gated versus gated reconstruction of tongue motion using magnetic resonance imaging: a comparison using automated image processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvey, Christopher; Orphanidou, C.; Coleman, J.; McIntyre, A.; Golding, S.; Kochanski, G. [University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2008-11-15

The use of gated or ECG triggered MR is a well-established technique and developments in coil technology have enabled this approach to be applied to areas other than the heart. However, the image quality of gated (ECG or cine) versus non-gated or real-time has not been extensively evaluated in the mouth. We evaluate two image sequences by developing an automatic image processing technique which compares how well the image represents known anatomy. Four subjects practised experimental poly-syllabic sentences prior to MR scanning. Using a 1.5 T MR unit, we acquired comparable gated (using an artificial trigger) and non-gated sagittal images during speech. We then used an image processing algorithm to model the image grey along lines that cross the airway. Each line involved an eight parameter non-linear equation to model of proton densities, edges, and dimensions. Gated and non-gated images show similar spatial resolution, with non-gated images being slightly sharper (10% better resolution, less than 1 pixel). However, the gated sequences generated images of substantially lower inherent noise, and substantially better discrimination between air and tissue. Additionally, the gated sequences demonstrate a very much greater temporal resolution. Overall, image quality is better with gated imaging techniques, especially given their superior temporal resolution. Gated techniques are limited by the repeatability of the motions involved, and we have shown that speech to a metronome can be sufficiently repeatable to allow high-quality gated magnetic resonance imaging images. We suggest that gated sequences may be useful for evaluating other types of repetitive movement involving the joints and limb motions. (orig.)

Image quality in non-gated versus gated reconstruction of tongue motion using magnetic resonance imaging: a comparison using automated image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvey, Christopher; Orphanidou, C.; Coleman, J.; McIntyre, A.; Golding, S.; Kochanski, G.

2008-01-01

The use of gated or ECG triggered MR is a well-established technique and developments in coil technology have enabled this approach to be applied to areas other than the heart. However, the image quality of gated (ECG or cine) versus non-gated or real-time has not been extensively evaluated in the mouth. We evaluate two image sequences by developing an automatic image processing technique which compares how well the image represents known anatomy. Four subjects practised experimental poly-syllabic sentences prior to MR scanning. Using a 1.5 T MR unit, we acquired comparable gated (using an artificial trigger) and non-gated sagittal images during speech. We then used an image processing algorithm to model the image grey along lines that cross the airway. Each line involved an eight parameter non-linear equation to model of proton densities, edges, and dimensions. Gated and non-gated images show similar spatial resolution, with non-gated images being slightly sharper (10% better resolution, less than 1 pixel). However, the gated sequences generated images of substantially lower inherent noise, and substantially better discrimination between air and tissue. Additionally, the gated sequences demonstrate a very much greater temporal resolution. Overall, image quality is better with gated imaging techniques, especially given their superior temporal resolution. Gated techniques are limited by the repeatability of the motions involved, and we have shown that speech to a metronome can be sufficiently repeatable to allow high-quality gated magnetic resonance imaging images. We suggest that gated sequences may be useful for evaluating other types of repetitive movement involving the joints and limb motions. (orig.)

Beyond Dominance and Competence: A Moral Virtue Theory of Status Attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bai, Feng

2017-08-01

Recognition has grown that moral behavior (e.g., generosity) plays a role in status attainment, yet it remains unclear how, why, and when demonstrating moral characteristics enhances status. Drawing on philosophy, anthropology, psychology, and organizational behavior, I critically review a third route to attaining status: virtue, and propose a moral virtue theory of status attainment to provide a generalized account of the role of morality in status attainment. The moral virtue theory posits that acts of virtue elicit feelings of warmth and admiration (for virtue), and willing deference, toward the virtuous actor. I further consider how the scope and priority of moralities and virtues endorsed by a moral community are bound by culture and social class to affect which moral characteristics enhance status. I end by outlining an agenda for future research into the role of virtue in status attainment.

Water quality in the coastal area of Santa Marta (Colombia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Francisco; Palacio Carlos; Garcia Uriel

2012-01-01

Multivariate statistical techniques were used to investigate the temporal and spatial variations of water quality at the Santa Marta coastal area where a submarine out fall that discharges 1 m3/s of domestic wastewater is located. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), cluster and principal component analysis and Krigging interpolation were considered for this report. Temporal variation showed two heterogeneous periods. From December to April, and July, where the concentration of the water quality parameters is higher; the rest of the year (May, June, August-November) were significantly lower. The spatial variation reported two areas where the water quality is different, this difference is related to the proximity to the submarine out fall discharge. Calcareous sands are unique in terms of their origin, mineralogy, shape, fragility and intra particle porosity. This article presents results from an experimental program carried out to study the liquefaction resistance of a calcareous sand retrieved from Cabo Rojo at Puerto Rico. The experimental program included mineralogical characterization, index properties, and undrained cyclic triaxial tests on isotropically consolidated reconstituted samples. Due to the large variation in the calcareous sand properties, results are compared with previous researches carried out on other calcareous sands around the world. Results showed a wide range in the liquefaction resistance of the studied calcareous sands. Cabo Rojo sand experienced greater liquefaction resistance than most of the calcareous sands used for comparison. Important differences in the excess pore pressure generation characteristics were also found.

Quality of Life Assessment Based on Spatial and Temporal Analysis of the Vegetation Area Derived from Satellite Images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIA IOANA VLAD

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The quality of life in urban areas is a function of many parameters among which, one highly important is the number and quality of green areas for people and wildlife to thrive. The quality of life is also a political concept often used to describe citizen satisfaction within different residential locations. Only in the last decades green areas have suffered a progressive decrease in quality, pointing out the ecological urban risk with a negative impact on the standard of living and population health status. This paper presents the evolution of green areas in the cities of South-Eastern Romania within the last 20 years and sets forth the current state of quality of life from the perspective of vegetation reference. By using state-of-the-art processing tools applied on high-resolution satellite images, we have derived knowledge about the spatial and temporal expansion of urbanized regions. Our semi-automatic technologies for analysis of remote sensing data such as Landsat 7 ETM+, correlated with statistical information inferred from urban charts, demonstrate a negative trend in the distribution of green areas within the analyzed cities, with long-term implications on multiple areas in our lives.

Contribution of contractile state of the non-infarcted area to global ventricular performance after acute myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Yasuda, Tsunehiro; Gold, H.K.; Leinbach, R.C.; Boucher, C.A.; McKusick, K.A.; Strauss, H.W.

1986-01-01

To evaluate the regional contractile state of the non-infarcted zone and to determine the contribution of this area to left ventricular (LV) performance, 112 patients (42 anterior and 70 inferior infarction) with their first acute myocardial infarction were investigated by radionuclide ventriculography at admission and 10 days after admission. Wall motion at the non-infarcted area was defined as hyperkinetic, normal, or hypokinetic, if radial chord shortening had above normal, normal, or below normal values, respectively, by quantitative wall motion analysis. Hyperkinetic, normal, and hypokinetic wall motion of the non-infarcted area were observed in three (7 %), 12 (29 %), and 27 (64 %) patients in anterior infarction and 14 (20 %), 28 (40 %), and 28 (40 %) in inferior infarction, respectively. In the patients with hypokinetic wall motion at the non-infarcted area, the infarct involved more than 30 % of the left ventricle manifesting akinetic contractile segment (ACS), radial chord shortening in the infarcted area was severely depressed, and the incidence of multi-vessel involvement was higher compared with those with hyperkinetic or normal wall motion. In serial measurements, radial chord shortening in the infarcted and non-infarcted area, percent ACS, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular end-diastolic volume index did not change significantly from acute to follow-up study in any group. In conclusion, our data indicated that the non-infarcted area following acute infarction had various contractile states and these conditions were determined primarily by the severity and extent of infarct and underlying coronary artery disease. Furthermore, the contractile state of the non-infarcted area has a supplemental role in determination of LV function following acute infarction. (author)

[Effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions in the quality of life of caregivers of Alzheimer].

Science.gov (United States)

Amador-Marín, Bárbara; Guerra-Martín, María Dolores

Explore the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions to improve the quality of life of family caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. We conducted a systematic review, in pairs, in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO, WOS, Cochrane Library, IME, Cuiden Plus and Dialnet. Inclusion criteria were: 1. Studies published between 2010-2015. 2. Language: English, Portuguese and Spanish. 3. Randomized controlled clinical trials. 4. Score greater than or equal to 3 on the Jadad scale. 13 studies were included. Four performed a psychosocial intervention with family caregivers, three psychotherapeutic, two psychoeducational, two multicomponent, one educational and another with mutual support groups. The tools to assess quality of life: three studies used the Health Status Questionnaire (HSQ), three EuroQol-5D (two only used the EVA), two health questionnaire SF-36, two WHOQOL-BREF, two Quality of Life SF-12 and one Perceived Quality of Life Scale (PQoL). Regarding the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions, five studies obtained favorable results in the quality of life after psychotherapeutic interventions and community-type multicomponent training. The diversity of non-pharmacological interventions used and contents, differences in the number of sessions and hours, and variability of valuation tools used to measure quality of life of family caregivers, leads us to reflect on the appropriateness to standardize criteria, for the sake to improve clinical practice. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

An advanced algorithm for deformation estimation in non-urban areas

Science.gov (United States)

Goel, Kanika; Adam, Nico

2012-09-01

This paper presents an advanced differential SAR interferometry stacking algorithm for high resolution deformation monitoring in non-urban areas with a focus on distributed scatterers (DSs). Techniques such as the Small Baseline Subset Algorithm (SBAS) have been proposed for processing DSs. SBAS makes use of small baseline differential interferogram subsets. Singular value decomposition (SVD), i.e. L2 norm minimization is applied to link independent subsets separated by large baselines. However, the interferograms used in SBAS are multilooked using a rectangular window to reduce phase noise caused for instance by temporal decorrelation, resulting in a loss of resolution and the superposition of topography and deformation signals from different objects. Moreover, these have to be individually phase unwrapped and this can be especially difficult in natural terrains. An improved deformation estimation technique is presented here which exploits high resolution SAR data and is suitable for rural areas. The implemented method makes use of small baseline differential interferograms and incorporates an object adaptive spatial phase filtering and residual topography removal for an accurate phase and coherence estimation, while preserving the high resolution provided by modern satellites. This is followed by retrieval of deformation via the SBAS approach, wherein, the phase inversion is performed using an L1 norm minimization which is more robust to the typical phase unwrapping errors encountered in non-urban areas. Meter resolution TerraSAR-X data of an underground gas storage reservoir in Germany is used for demonstrating the effectiveness of this newly developed technique in rural areas.

Quality assurance plan for Waste Area Grouping 6 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

This Quality Assurance Plan (QAP) is concerned with design and construction (Sect. 2) and characterization and monitoring (Sect. 3). The basis for Sect. 2 is the Quality Assurance Plan for the Design and Construction of Waste Area Grouping 6 Closure at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and the basis for Sect. 3 is the Environmental Restoration Quality Program Plan. Combining the two areas into one plan gives a single, overall document that explains the requirements and from which the individual QAPs and quality assurance project plans can be written. The Waste Area Grouping (WAG) 6 QAP establishes the procedures and requirements to be implemented for control of quality-related activities for the WAG 6 project. Quality Assurance (QA) activities are subject to requirements detailed in the Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. (Energy Systems), QA Program and the Environmental Restoration (ER) QA Program, as well as to other quality requirements. These activities may be performed by Energy Systems organizations, subcontractors to Energy Systems, and architect-engineer (A-E) under prime contract to the US Department of Energy (DOE), or a construction manager under prime contract to DOE. This plan specifies the overall Energy Systems quality requirements for the project. The WAG 6 QAP will be supplemented by subproject QAPs that will identify additional requirements pertaining to each subproject

Non-native tree species in urban areas of the city of Nitra

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Galis, M

2014-01-01

Non-native plant species are part of our environment. The introduction of these species is huge conditioned by anthropogenic activities, such as the urban environment is characterized by. During the field surveys of selected town Nitra (Chrenova, Mikova Ves, Zobor), we studied the frequency of non-native tree species in the contact zone. Overall, we found out the presence of 10 alien species, observed in this area. Our results show dominant presence of the species Rhus typhina, followed by the Robinia pseudoacacia and Ailanthus altissima. Individual plants were tied largely to the surrounding of built-up areas, often growns directly in front of houses, or as a part of urban green. (author)

Educational Attainment in the United States: 2003. Population Characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Stoops, Nicole

2004-01-01

The population in the United States is becoming more educated, but significant differences in educational attainment remain with regard to age, sex, race, and origin. Nevertheless, the educational attainment of young adults (25 to 29 years), which provides a glimpse of our country's future, indicates dramatic improvement by groups who have…

Association between childhood allergic diseases, educational attainment and occupational status in later life: systematic review protocol

Science.gov (United States)

von Kobyletzki, Laura Beate; Beckman, Linda; Smeeth, Liam; McKee, Martin; Abuabara, Katrina; Langan, Sinead

2017-01-01

Introduction Childhood allergic diseases may prevent affected children from achieving their academic potential. Potential mechanisms include absence from school due to illness and medical appointments. Experience of symptoms in classes or leisure time, and stigma associated with visible signs and symptoms, including skin disease, requirements for medication during school time or the need for specific diets, may also contribute to reduced educational attainment. Studies have investigated the association between specific allergic diseases and educational attainment. The aim of this study is to systematically review the literature on allergic diseases, educational attainment and occupational status, and if possible, calculate meta-analytic summary estimates for the associations. Methods Systematic electronic searches in Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO and education Resources Information Center (ERIC); hand search in reference lists of included papers and conference reports; search for unpublished studies in clinical trial registers and the New York Academy of Medicine Grey Literature Report; data extraction; and study quality assessment (Newcastle-Ottawa Scale) will be performed. Analysis Data will be summarised descriptively, and meta-analysis including meta-regression to explore sources of heterogeneities will be performed if possible. Ethics and dissemination Dissemination in a peer-reviewed, open-access, international scientific journal is planned. PROSPERO registration number CRD42017058036. PMID:29025838

EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF INTEGRATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT SYSTEM IN CONSTRUCTION (QLASSIC WITH ISO 9001 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (QMS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mukhtar Che Ali

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Quality has been identified as one of the fundamental needs of clients. As such construction projects that are able to be completed with distinctive quality will definitely enable to delight their customers. In this regard, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB has introduced two quality related programs namely ISO 9001 DIY Scheme and QLASSIC. The later is essentially a quality performance assessment tool to evaluate the level of quality of a building construction work based on quality standards stipulated in CIS 7:2006. One of the key deliverables of QLASSIC is QLASSIC Score which denotes the level of quality of the assessed construction project. Potentially there is a strong correlation between QLASSIC and ISO 9001 QMS. However there is lack of knowledge in the industry in am algamating QLASSIC with ISO 9001QMS towards attaining high quality performance. Indeed it is noticed that not many studies have been undertaken in this area. Thus it warrants to undertake a study that deliberates on the relationship of practicing ISO 9001Q MS with the achievement of QLASSIC Score. Therefore among the key objectives of this research are generally to investigate the relationship between practicing ISO 9001 QMS principles with QLASSIC performance and to examine the expected business outcomes for ISO 9001 certified contractors that are able to sustain relatively high QLASSIC Score. Eventually it is postulated that the output of this research would enable to elevate the level of quality performance in the Malaysian construction industry.

Quality of life among residents in a sub-urban area. Case study: Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Leh, Oliver Ling Hoon; Mahbot, Norseha Mohd; Asma Aqmalina Hadzaman, Nur; Azyyati Marzukhi, Marlyana; Abdullah, Jamalunlaili

2018-02-01

Along with the sub-urbanisation, people working in urban can stay in the sub-urban areas. Sub-urban housing areas provide cheaper and larger houses and more greenery environment. However, the residents are required to travel in longer distance. The effect on Quality of Life (QOL) due to the migration to sub-urban areas may not be positive even with the better environmental quality and lower direct housing cost. Puncak Alam, a new sub-urban area in Selangor, Malaysia had been chosen as the study area to examine the change of QOL among the residents after they moved into the study area. Through a questionnaire survey, the satisfaction of residents on the various aspects/indicators of QOL were examined. Through the statistical analysis, it is found that slightly more than half of the respondents felt that the QOL was dropped after they were moved to the study area. The sub-urban area did provide better quality for their residents. It had increased respondents’ satisfaction on most of the indicators in the aspects of economic, social and physical. However, due to the decreasing of satisfaction in job opportunities, family life, social activities, safety, and transportation system, most of the respondents were felt that their QOL were dropped.

Water Quality Assessment for Deep-water Channel area of Guangzhou Port based on the Comprehensive Water Quality Identification Index Method

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yi

2018-03-01

The comprehensive water quality identification index method is able to assess the general water quality situation comprehensively and represent the water quality classification; water environment functional zone achieves pollution level and standard objectively and systematically. This paper selects 3 representative zones along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port and applies comprehensive water quality identification index method to calculate sea water quality monitoring data for different selected zones from year 2006 to 2014, in order to investigate the temporal variation of water quality along deep-water channel of Guangzhou port. The comprehensive water quality level from north to south presents an increased trend, and the water quality of the three zones in 2014 is much better than in 2006. This paper puts forward environmental protection measurements and suggestions for Pearl River Estuary, provides data support and theoretical basis for studied sea area pollution prevention and control.

Area-preserving diffeomorphisms in gauge theory on a non-commutative plane. A lattice study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bietenholz, W.; Bigarini, A.; INFN, Sezione di Perugia; Humboldt-Universitaet, Berlin; Torrielli, A.

2007-06-01

We consider Yang-Mills theory with the U(1) gauge group on a non-commutative plane. Perturbatively it was observed that the invariance of this theory under area-preserving diffeomorphisms (APDs) breaks down to a rigid subgroup SL(2,R). Here we present explicit results for the APD symmetry breaking at finite gauge coupling and finite non-commutativity. They are based on lattice simulations and measurements of Wilson loops with the same area but with a variety of different shapes. Our results confirm the expected loss of invariance under APDs. Moreover, they strongly suggest that non-perturbatively the SL(2,R) symmetry does not persist either. (orig.)

UMTRA technical assistance contractor Quality Assurance Program Plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pehrson, P.

1993-01-01

This Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP) provides the primary requirements for the integration of quality functions into all Technical Assistance Contractor (TAC) Project organization activities. The QAPP is the written directive authorized by the TAC Program Manager to accomplish this task and to implement procedures that provide the controls and sound management practices needed to ensure TAC contractual obligations are met. The QA program is designed to use monitoring, audit, and surveillance functions as management tools to ensure that all Project organization functions are executed in a manner that will protect public health and safety, promote the success of the Project, and meet or exceed contract requirements. The key to ensuring compliance with this directive is a two-step professional approach: utilize the quality system in all areas of activity, and generate a personal commitment from all personnel to provide quality service. The quality staff will be experienced, trained professionals capable of providing maximum flexibility to Project goal attainment. Such flexibility will enable the staff to be more cost effective and to further improve communication and coordination. To provide control details, this QAPP will be supplemented by approved standard operating procedures that provide requirements for performing the various TAC quality-related activities. These procedures shall describe applicable design input and document control activities and documentation

Prevalence of hand osteoarthritis and knee osteoarthritis in Kashin-Beck disease endemic areas and non Kashin-Beck disease endemic areas: A status survey

Science.gov (United States)

Song, QuanQuan; Liu, Yun Qi; Sun, Li Yan; Deng, Qing; Wang, Shao Ping; Cao, Yan Hong; Zhang, Xue Ying; Jiang, Yuan Yuan; Lv, Hong Yan; Duan, Li Bin; Yu, Jun

2018-01-01

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a considerable health problem worldwide, and the prevalence of OA varies in different regions. In this study, the prevalence of OA in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and non-KBD endemic areas was examined, respectively. According to monitoring data, 4 types of regions (including none, mild, moderate and high KBD endemic areas) in Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces were selected. All local residents were eligible for inclusion criteria have undergone X-ray images of hands and anteroposterior image of knees. A total of 1673 cases were collected, 1446 cases were analyzed after removing the KBD patients (227). The overall hand OA and knee OA detection rates were 33.3% (481/1446) and 56.6% (818/1446), respectively. After being standardized by age, the detection rate of hand OA in the KBD endemic areas was significantly higher than that in the non-endemic endemic areas. Differently, there was no significant difference in the detection rates of knee OA between the KBD endemic areas and the non-endemic area. The correlation coefficient between the severity of OA and the severity of knee OA was 0.358 and 0.197 in the KBD and non-KBD endemic areas, respectively. Where the KBD historical prevalence level was higher, the severity of the residents’ hand OA was more serious. The detection rates of hand OA and knee OA increased with age. The detection rate of knee OA increased with the increase in body mass index. The prevalence of hand OA was closely related to the pathogenic factors of Kashin-Beck disease, and the prevalence of knee OA had no significant correlation with KBD pathogenic factors. PMID:29320581

SYNTHETIC ANALYSIS OF INDICATORS USED IN THE ANALYSIS OF PRODUCT QUALITY DIFFERENTIATED AND NON-DIFFERENTIATED ON QUALITY CLASSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ECOBICI MIHAELA LOREDANA

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Product quality has been and will remain one of the most important indicators of increasing economic and financial performance of a company. Quality is that which ensures the greatest part of the competitiveness of a product or service, this being the result of some important aspects such as: products and services of quality to meet consumers requirements, low costs without affecting the quality level, the performance of contractual obligations, customer satisfaction and last but not least obtaining profit. Research and results concerning this issue will result in the prerequisites in the process for quality assurance that can develop both internally and externally. The purpose of this article lies in the approach and illustration of the aspects of products differentiated and non-differentiated in quality classes. In launching this research I will try to highlight some aspects that most efficiently the indicators mentioned above, indicators that read to what extent a certain product meets the characteristics specified to its destination.

200 area liquid effluent facility quality assurance program plan. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, N.J.

1995-01-01

Direct revision of Supporting Document WHC-SD-LEF-QAPP-001, Rev. 0. 200 Area Liquid Effluent Facilities Quality Assurance Program Plan. Incorporates changes to references in tables. Revises test to incorporate WHC-SD-LEF-CSCM-001, Computer Software Configuration Management Plan for 200 East/West Liquid Effluent Facilities

Water quality in gravel pits in the Bratislava area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flakova, R.; Rohacikova, A.; Zenisova, Z.

1999-01-01

The gravel pits around Bratislava have an esthetic, urban and recreational function. Open water table areas are in a direct contact with the air and acquire some characteristics of the surface water. The quality of open water table is much more susceptible to pollution than that of groundwater. Wet and dry deposition, water inflow from the surrounding surface, unmanageable sewerage effluents, solid and liquid wastes, but also the water birds contribute to the pollution. The Department of Hydrogeology has monitored the water quality in six gravel pits (Cunovo, Drazdiak, Strkovec, Pasienky, Zlate Piesky, Vajnory) since 1976 with an an interruption between 1988 - 1993. Two sampling per year have been made since 1994 and after 1998 the analyses have been supplemented by Na, K, Fe, Mn, by oxygen regime parameters, by trace elements (As, Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, V, Zn) and by organic pollutants. As regards the oxygen regime, the water quality pits is very good. The anthropogenic influence is expressed mainly by the increased contents of sulfates and chlorides. Most problematic trace elements are the mercury and vanadium (Drazdiak, Zlate Piesky and Vajnory). (authors)

Quality index of the surface water of Amazonian rivers in industrial areas in Pará, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Medeiros, Adaelson Campelo; Faial, Kleber Raimundo Freitas; do Carmo Freitas Faial, Kelson; da Silva Lopes, Iris Danielly; de Oliveira Lima, Marcelo; Guimarães, Raphael Mendonça; Mendonça, Neyson Martins

2017-10-15

In this study was to evaluate the waters quality of the Murucupi River, located in urban agglomerate area and intense industrial activity in Barcarena City, Pará State. The Arapiranga River in Abaetetuba City was used as control area (Background), next to Barcarena. Was used the Water Quality Index (WQI) based on nine variables analized. Waters quality of the Arapiranga and Murucupi rivers were regular to good and bad to good, respectively. Anthropogenic influence on the Murucupi River was higher, mainly by the disposal of domestic effluents from the urban agglomerate and of the industrial waste tailing basins upstream of this river. Due to its less inhabited environment and further away from the area urban and industrial, the Arapiranga River was more preserved. Waters pollution of around these area is increasingly intense, and restricted its uses for various purposes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Non-destructive methods and means for quality control of structural products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dmitriev, V.V.

1989-01-01

Progressive non-destructive methods (acoustic, magnetic, radiation with liquid penetrants) and means of control of structural product quality, allowing to determine the state of products and structures not only immediately after their production but directly at the erected or reconstructed objects are described

Guide to quality assurance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1976-01-01

This standard provides general guidance on activities and functions covered with the attainment of quality. Basic aspects covered are management objectives, program and planning, principles of control, design, specification, purchasing, manufacturing, production, marketing, servicing, documentation, and review evaluation procedures. Organizational aspects are also referred to in an appendix.

Rainwater Quality Measurements in the Area of Bricks Manufacturing at Kajhu Aceh Besar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarina .

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The study of rainwater quality measurement has been done in brick manufacturing area of Kajhu, Aceh Besar. The measurements are taking place in the three different places when the rain fall from the sky in Kajhu area. The physical parameters that will be measured are pH, TDS, conductivity and potential of electricity.

Student Perceptions of the Relationship between Web-Based Instructional Tools and Perceived Attainment of Intended Learning Outcomes

Science.gov (United States)

Parenti, Melissa A.

2012-01-01

With the advent of and continual adaptations related to distance learning, there is a recognized need for up to date research in the area of effectiveness of online education programs. More specifically, assessing the capacity to attain academic goals by use of asynchronous and synchronous learning management systems (LMS) that power distance…

The Path Taken: Consequences of Attaining Intrinsic and Extrinsic Aspirations in Post-College Life.

Science.gov (United States)

Niemiec, Christopher P; Ryan, Richard M; Deci, Edward L

2009-06-01

Life goals, or aspirations, organize and direct behavior over extended periods of time. The present study, guided by self-determination theory, examined the consequences of pursuing and attaining aspirations over a one-year period in a post-college sample. Results indicated that placing importance on either intrinsic or extrinsic aspirations related positively to attainment of those goals. Yet, whereas attainment of intrinsic aspirations related positively to psychological health, attainment of extrinsic aspirations did not; indeed, attainment of extrinsic aspirations related positively to indicators of ill-being. Also as predicted, the association between change in attainment of intrinsic aspirations and change in psychological health was mediated by change in the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Discussion focuses on the idea that not all goal attainment is beneficial; rather, attainment of aspirations with different contents relates differentially to psychological health.

[Gender and perceived quality of life: research with professors from the health area].

Science.gov (United States)

Oliveira, Elizabete Regina Araújo de; Garcia, Atala Lotti; Gomes, Maria José; Bittar, Telmo Oliveira; Pereira, Antonio Carlos

2012-03-01

The rapid process of change in the global economy in recent years and the organization of labor have influenced gender relations in the teaching profession. These transformations have been disadvantageous for women, leaving them in a situation of occupational overload. The scope of this study was to analyze the working conditions of female teachers in higher education in the health education area in the city of Vitória, State Espírito Santo, and their implications on health and quality of life. This is qualitative research into data gathered from interviews upon which Bardin content analysis was also employed. This technique revealed three categories: leisure, rest and health; sense of loss of social and family interaction; and perceived quality of life. The results show that insufficient leisure time may lead to sleep disturbances predisposing the individual to psychic illness; overwork; significant alterations in labor organization compromising social and family interaction with repercussions on health and quality of life. The work performed by female professors in the health area contributes to the onset of illness, with pejorative effects on their family, love, social, environmental and professional lives, with consequent loss of quality of life.

An overall index of environmental quality in coal mining areas and energy facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Vatalis, Konstantinos I; Kaliampakos, Demetrios C

2006-12-01

An approach to measuring environmental quality and trends in coal mining and industrial areas was attempted in this work. For this purpose, the establishment of a reference scale characterizing the status of environmental quality is proposed by developing an Environmental Quality Index (EQI). The methodology involves three main components: social research, the opinion of environmental experts, and the combination of new or existing indices. A survey of public opinion was carried out to identify the main environmental problems in the region of interest. Environmental experts carried out a survey, and the weights of specific environmental problems were obtained through a fuzzy Delphi method and pairwise comparison. The weight attributed to each environmental problem was computed, using new or existing indices (subindices) in the relevant literature. The EQI comprises a combination of the subindices with their own weights. The methodology was applied to a heavily industrialized coal basin in northwestern Macedonia, Greece. The results show that the new index may be used as a reliable tool for evaluating environmental quality in different areas. In addition, the study of EQI trends on an interannual basis can provide useful information on the efficiency of environmental policies already implemented by the responsible authorities.

Microbial Community Profile and Water Quality in a Protected Area of the Caatinga Biome.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopes, Fabyano Alvares Cardoso; Catão, Elisa Caldeira Pires; Santana, Renata Henrique; Cabral, Anderson de Souza; Paranhos, Rodolfo; Rangel, Thiago Pessanha; de Rezende, Carlos Eduardo; Edwards, Robert A; Thompson, Cristiane C; Thompson, Fabiano L; Kruger, Ricardo Henrique

2016-01-01

The Caatinga is a semi-arid biome in northeast Brazil. The Paraguaçú River is located in the Caatinga biome, and part of its course is protected by the National Park of Chapada Diamantina (PNCD). In this study we evaluated the effect of PNCD protection on the water quality and microbial community diversity of this river by analyzing water samples obtained from points located inside and outside the PNCD in both wet and dry seasons. Results of water quality analysis showed higher levels of silicate, ammonia, particulate organic carbon, and nitrite in samples from the unprotected area compared with those from protected areas. Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that Burkholderiales was abundant in samples from all three sites during both seasons and was represented primarily by the genus Polynucleobacter and members of the Comamonadaceae family (e.g., genus Limnohabitans). During the dry season, the unprotected area showed a higher abundance of Flavobacterium sp. and Arthrobacter sp., which are frequently associated with the presence and/or degradation of arsenic and pesticide compounds. In addition, genes that appear to be related to agricultural impacts on the environment, as well as those involved in arsenic and cadmium resistance, copper homeostasis, and propanediol utilization, were detected in the unprotected areas by metagenomic sequencing. Although PNCD protection improves water quality, agricultural activities around the park may affect water quality within the park and may account for the presence of bacteria capable of pesticide degradation and assimilation, evidencing possible anthropogenic impacts on the Caatinga.

Closing the Attainment Gap--A Realistic Proposition or an Elusive Pipe-Dream?

Science.gov (United States)

Mowat, Joan Gaynor

2018-01-01

The attainment gap associated with socio-economic status is an international problem that is highly resistant to change. This conceptual paper critiques the drive by the Scottish Government to address the attainment gap through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and the National Improvement Framework. It draws upon a range of theoretical…

Groundwater-quality data in the Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas study unit, 2010: Results from the California GAMA Program

Science.gov (United States)

Mathany, Timothy M.; Belitz, Kenneth

2013-01-01

Groundwater quality in the 112-square-mile Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas (BEAR) study unit was investigated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from April to August 2010, as part of the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) Program’s Priority Basin Project (PBP). The GAMA-PBP was developed in response to the California Groundwater Quality Monitoring Act of 2001 and is being conducted in collaboration with the SWRCB and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The BEAR study unit was the thirty-first study unit to be sampled as part of the GAMA-PBP. The GAMA Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas study was designed to provide a spatially unbiased assessment of untreated-groundwater quality in the primary aquifer system and to facilitate statistically consistent comparisons of untreated groundwater quality throughout California. The primary aquifer system is defined as the zones corresponding to the perforation intervals of wells listed in the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) database for the BEAR study unit. Groundwater quality in the primary aquifer system may differ from the quality in the shallow or deep water-bearing zones; shallow groundwater may be more vulnerable to surficial contamination. In the BEAR study unit, groundwater samples were collected from two study areas (Bear Valley and Selected Hard Rock Areas) in San Bernardino County. Of the 38 sampling sites, 27 were selected by using a spatially distributed, randomized grid-based method to provide statistical representation of the primary aquifer system in the study unit (grid sites), and the remaining 11 sites were selected to aid in the understanding of the potential groundwater-quality issues associated with septic tank use and with ski areas in the study unit (understanding sites). The groundwater samples were analyzed for organic constituents (volatile organic compounds [VOCs], pesticides and

Goal conflicts, attainment of new goals, and well-being among managers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kehr, Hugo M

2003-07-01

Researchers widely understand that conflicts among goals inhibit the attainment of these goals. However, this notion comes close to tautological reasoning. To avert this problem, this study examined whether preexisting goal conflict also inhibits success in newly set goals. Using the context of management training, in which managers collectively set new goals, the study variables were assessed at 3 testing periods covering 5 months. Results indicate that goal conflicts that persevere over time were associated with inhibited attainment of new goals but not with decreased subjective well-being (SWB). Goal attainment, however, was positively related to SWB. Interactions of residual changes in goal conflict and goal attainment were associated with positive affect.

The non-agricultural areas of Canada and radioactivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyerhof, Dorothy; Marshall, Heather

1990-01-01

Approximately 90% of the Canadian land mass is non-agricultural. It is a source of food to native peoples and sport hunters. Although agricultural areas have been extensively monitored for the transfer of radionuclides through the food chain, very little work has been done on radionuclides in the natural environment in Canada. The exceptions are specific problems such as radiocesium in the lichen-caribou food chain in the Arctic and natural radioactivity in the vicinity of uranium mines. A systematic study of natural food chains is being initiated. This paper presents the results of the study so far and proposed future directions. (author)

Quality Assurance of Non-Local Accounting Programs Conducted in Hong Kong

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Mei-Ai; Leung, Noel W.

2014-01-01

This study examines the current government policy and institutional practice on quality assurance of non-local accounting programs conducted in Hong Kong. Both international guidelines, national regulations and institutional frameworks in higher education and transnational higher education, and professional practice in accounting education are…

Effect of non-alcoholic beer on Subjective Sleep Quality in a university stressed population.

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, L; Bravo, R; Galán, C; Rodríguez, A B; Barriga, C; Cubero, Javier

2014-09-01

Sleep deprivation affects the homeostasis of the physiological functions in the human organism. Beer is the only beverage that contains hops, a plant which has a sedative effect. Our objective is to determine the improvement of subjective sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). The sample was conducted among a population of 30 university students. The study took place during a period of 3 weeks, the first 7 days were used for the Control, and during the following 14 days the students ingested beer (were asked to drink non-alcoholic beer) while having dinner. The results revealed that Subjective Sleep Quality improved in the case of those students who drank one beer during dinner compared to the Control, this is corroborated by the fact that Sleep Latency decreased (p < 0.05) compared to their Control. The overall rating Global Score of Quality of Sleep also improved significantly (p < 0.05). These results confirm that the consumption of non-alcoholic beer at dinner time helps to improve the quality of sleep at night.

Discrepancy in Vancomycin AUC/MIC Ratio Targeted Attainment Based upon the Susceptibility Testing in Staphylococcus aureus.

Science.gov (United States)

Eum, Seenae; Bergsbaken, Robert L; Harvey, Craig L; Warren, J Bryan; Rotschafer, John C

2016-09-27

This study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in vancomycin minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) for Staphylococcus aureus between a common automated system (Vitek 2) and the E-test method in patients with S. aureus bloodstream infections. At an area under the serum concentration time curve (AUC) threshold of 400 mg∙h/L, we would have reached the current Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)/American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP)/Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists (SIDP) guideline suggested AUC/MIC target in almost 100% of patients while using the Vitek 2 MIC data; however, we could only generate 40% target attainment while using E-test MIC data ( p AUC of 450 mg∙h/L or greater was required to achieve 100% target attainment using either Vitek 2 or E-test MIC results.

Determinants of attaining and maintaining a low cardiovascular risk profile--the Doetinchem Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulsegge, Gerben; van der Schouw, Yvonne T; Daviglus, Martha L; Smit, Henriëtte A; Verschuren, W M Monique

2016-02-01

While maintenance of a low cardiovascular risk profile is essential for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention, few people maintain a low CVD risk profile throughout their life. We studied the association of demographic, lifestyle, psychological factors and family history of CVD with attainment and maintenance of a low risk profile over three subsequent 5-year periods. Measurements of 6390 adults aged 26-65 years at baseline were completed from 1993 to 97 and subsequently at 5-year intervals until 2013. At each wave, participants were categorized into low risk profile (ideal levels of blood pressure, cholesterol and body mass index, non-smoking and no diabetes) and medium/high risk profile (all others). Multivariable-adjusted modified Poisson regression analyses were used to examine determinants of attainment and maintenance of low risk; risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were obtained. Generalized estimating equations were used to combine multiple 5-year comparisons. Younger age, female gender and high educational level were associated with higher likelihood of both maintaining and attaining low risk profile (P risk was 9% higher with each 1-unit increment in Mediterranean diet score (RR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.02-1.16), twice as high with any physical activity versus none (RR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.16-4.04) and 35% higher with moderate alcohol consumption versus heavy consumption (RR: 1.35, 95% CI: 1.06-1.73). Healthy lifestyle factors such as adherence to a Mediterranean diet, physical activity and moderate as opposed to heavy alcohol consumption were associated with a higher likelihood of attaining a low risk profile. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

Relationships between environmental governance and water quality in a growing metropolitan area of the Pacific Northwest, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, H.; Thiers, P.; Netusil, N. R.; Yeakley, J. A.; Rollwagen-Bollens, G.; Bollens, S. M.; Singh, S.

2014-04-01

We investigate relationships between environmental governance and water quality in two adjacent growing metropolitan areas in the western US. While the Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington metro areas share many common biophysical characteristics, they have different land development histories and water governance structures, providing a unique opportunity for examining how differences in governance might affect environmental quality. We conceptualize possible linkages in which water quality influences governance directly, using monitoring efforts as a metric, and indirectly by using the change in the sale price of single-family residential properties. Governance may then influence water quality directly through riparian restoration resulting from monitoring results and indirectly through land use policy. We investigate evidence to substantiate these linkages. Our results showed that changes in monitoring regimes and land development patterns differed in response to differences in growth management policy and environmental governance systems. Our results also showed similarities in environmental quality responses to varying governance systems. For example, we found that sales prices responded positively to improved water quality (e.g., increases in DO and reductions in bacteria counts) in both cities. Furthermore, riparian restoration efforts improved over time for both cities, indicating the positive effect of governance on this land-based resource that may result in improved water quality. However, as of yet, there were no substantial differences across study areas in water temperature over time, despite an expansion of these urban areas of more than 20 % over 24 years. The mechanisms by which water quality was maintained was similar in the sense that both cities benefited from riparian restoration, but different in the sense that Portland benefited indirectly from land use policy. A combination of long-term legacy effects of land development, and a

The predicted impact of VOCs from Marijuana cultivation operations on ozone concentrations in great Denver, CO.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, C. T.; Vizuete, W.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Ashworth, K.

2016-12-01

Colorado is the first the marijuana legal states in the United States since 2014. As a result, thousands of legal Marijuana cultivation operations are at great Denver area now. Those Marijuana cultivation operations could be the potential to release a lot of biogenic VOCs, such as monoterpene(C10H16), alpha-pinene, and D-limonene. Those alkene species could rapidly increase the peroxy radicals and chemical reactions in the atmosphere, especially in the urban area which belong to VOC-limited ozone regime. These emissions will increase the ozone in Denver city, where is ozone non-attainment area. Some previous research explained the marijuana smoke and indoor air quality (Martyny, Serrano, Schaeffer, & Van Dyke, 2013) and the smell of marijuana chemical compounds(Rice & Koziel, 2015). However, there have been no studies discuss on identifying and assessing emission rate from marijuana and how those species impact on atmospheric chemistry and ozone concentration, and the marijuana emissions have been not considered in the national emission inventory, either. This research will use air quality model to identify the possibility of ozone impact by marijuana cultivation emission. The Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions, CAMx, are applied for this research to identify the impact of ozone concentration. This model is government regulatory model based on the Three-State Air Quality Modeling Study (3SAQS), which developed by UNC-Chapel Hill and ENVIRON in 2012. This model is used for evaluation and regulate the ozone impact in ozone non-attainment area, Denver city. The details of the 3SAQS model setup and protocol can be found in the 3SAQS report(UNC-IE, 2013). For the marijuana emission study scenarios, we assumed the monoterpene (C10H16) is the only emission species in air quality model and identify the ozone change in the model by the different quantity of emission rate from marijuana cultivation operations.

Attainment of chemical equilibrium in effusive beam sources of the heterogeneous reaction type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hildenbrand, D.L.

1979-01-01

Effusive beam sources derived from gas-solid reactions provide a very important pathway for widening the scope of high temperature thermodynamic studies, but the attainment of chemical equilibrium within these sources is problematical. Some of the underlying kinetic factors associated with the use of these sources are discussed. As one might expect, it is important to maximize the ratio of reactive surface area to exit orifice area. Equilibrium seems to be achieved more readily among the products of gas-solid reactions than among reactant and products, as suggested by the quasi-equilibrium model. Some experiences with the use of heterogeneous reaction sources are described, and two definitive tests for the establishment of equilibrium are outlined

77 FR 4940 - Determination of Failure To Attain by 2005 and Determination of Current Attainment of the 1-Hour...

Science.gov (United States)

2012-02-01

... Air Monitoring Stations (SLAMS) in the nonattainment area and entered into the EPA's Air Quality... each monitor, its AQS identification number, its location, and its ``short name.'' Table 2--Monitor Information Baltimore Area 2006-2011 Monitor (AQS ID No.) Location Short name 24-510-0054 Furley E.S...

Education, the Process of Attainment and the Structure of Inequality. Discussion Papers #393-77.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorensen, Aage B.

This paper analyzes the properties of the process of social and economic attainments in two contrasting situations: (1) when the process of attainment generates the distribution of attainments, and (2) when the structure of attainments is seen as exogenously determined. It is argued that the neoclassical economic theory of earnings determination…

Non-invasive interventions for improving well-being and quality of life in patients with lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Solà, I; Thompson, E; Subirana, M; López, C; Pascual, A

2004-10-18

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally. Despite advances in treatment, outlook for the majority of patients remains grim and most face a pessimistic outlook accompanied by sometimes devastating effects on emotional and psychological health. Although chemotherapy is accepted as an effective treatment for advanced lung cancer, the high prevalence of treatment-related side effects as well the symptoms of disease progression highlight the need for high quality palliative and supportive care to minimise symptom distress and to promote quality of life. To assess the effectiveness of non-invasive interventions delivered by healthcare professionals in improving symptoms, psychological functioning and quality of life in patients with lung cancer. The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 4, 2003), MEDLINE (1966-March 2003), EMBASE (1974-March 2003), CINAHL (1982-September 2002), CancerLit (1975-October 2002), PsycINFO (1873-March 2003), reference lists of relevant articles and contact with authors. Randomised or quasi-randomised clinical trials assessing the effects of non-invasive interventions in improving well-being and quality of life in patients diagnosed with lung cancer. Two reviewers independently assessed relevant studies for inclusion. Data extraction and quality assessment of relevant studies was performed by one reviewer and checked by a second reviewer. Nine trials were included and categorised into six groups. Two trials of a nursing intervention to manage breathlessness showed benefit on symptom experience, performance status and emotional functioning. Three trials assessed structured nursing programmes and found positive effects on delay in clinical deterioration, dependency and symptom distress, and improvements in emotional functioning and satisfaction with care. One trial assessing counselling showed benefit on some emotional components of the illness but findings were not conclusive. One trial

Comparison of Quality of Life and Coping Strategies in Diabetic and Non Diabetic People

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Babapour Kheirodin

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Diabetic patients face with different physical and psychological challenging factors which impress their quality of life. The major problem of these patients, which has made their life circumstances more complicated, is coping and adapting styles with the illness. So, this study aimed to determine quality of life and also different kinds of coping strategies in patients with type 2 diabetes and also to compare it with those of healthy people. Methods: In this study, sixty diabetic patients (30 male, 30 female, were chosen by available sampling method from the people who referred to Sina Diabetes center in Tabriz and were compared with sixty non diabetic people (30 male, 30 female. Data were collected by two questionnaires including the short form health survey (SF-36 and coping style Inventories. MANOVA method was used to analyze the research data. Results: The study results showed that non diabetics were significantly higher than diabetic patients in regard to quality of life and its dimensions (p<0.001. Also results revealed that non diabetic people used the problem–oriented styles (p<0.001, however diabetic patients used emotional-oriented coping and avoidance strategies more (p<0.05. In this study (in both groups, females in comparison with males had lower score in quality of life and used more emotion-oriented coping styles and less problem-oriented styles. Conclusion: The results indicated that individuals’ quality of life was affected by their coping style with different affairs. Emotional-oriented coping and avoidance strategies were related with decrease of quality of life in diabetic patients whereas problem-oriented styles enhanced it. Therefore, it is necessary to perform interventions for teaching problem solving coping in order to improve these patients' quality of life.

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Okbay, Aysu; P. Beauchamp, Jonathan; Alan Fontana, Mark

2016-01-01

-nucleotide polymorphisms associated with educational attainment are disproportionately found in genomic regions regulating gene expression in the fetal brain. Candidate genes are preferentially expressed in neural tissue, especially during the prenatal period, and enriched for biological pathways involved in neural......Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals1. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends...... development. Our findings demonstrate that, even for a behavioural phenotype that is mostly environmentally determined, a well-powered GWAS identifies replicable associated genetic variants that suggest biologically relevant pathways. Because educational attainment is measured in large numbers of individuals...

Nonattainment of national ambient air quality standards: implications for energy policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Garvey, D.B.; Streets, D.G.; Kotecki, R.; Senew, M.

1979-10-01

In accordance with the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments, EPA established regulations governing new and existing sources of emissions in areas where the NAAQS are being exceeded. These requirements may constrain the implementation of a national energy policy to increase the use of coal in utilities and industries. The states designated the nonattainment areas and prepared State Implementation Plans, outlining strategies for attaining the standards by the deadline of December 31, 1982. This report contains maps of nonattainment areas for all pollutants and summaries of the attainment strategies for those pollutants most likely to affect fossil-fueled energy development - SO/sub 2/, TSP, and NO/sub x/. The review of SIPs indicates that attainment of SO/sub 2/ standards should be relatively easy. Attainment of TSP standards may be more difficult since point sources are already well controlled and further reductions in emissions will require controls on fugitive sources. NO/sub x/ nonattainment is currently limited to three small areas. The report also contains an examination of emission limitations in nonattainment areas and a national assessment of the potential constraints of nonattainment on energy development in 1985 to 1990. The assessment concludes that constraints on projected new coal-fired utilities should not be significant. Constraints on expanded industrial coal use from TSP nonattainment may be significant but the effects of SO/sub 2/ nonattainment should be limited.

Overview of NASA's Observations for Global Air Quality

Science.gov (United States)

Kaye, J. A.

2015-12-01

Observations of pollutants are central to the study of air quality. Much focus has been placed on local-scale observations that can help specific geographic areas document their air quality issues, plan abatement strategies, and understand potential impacts. In addition, long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants can cause downwind regions to not meet attainment standards. Satellite observations have shed significant light on air quality from local to regional to global scales, especially for pollutants such as ozone, aerosols, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. These observations have made use of multiple techniques and in some cases multiple satellite sensors. The satellite observations are complemented by surface observations, as well as atmospheric (in situ) observations typically made as part of focused airborne field campaigns. The synergy between satellite observations and field campaigns has been an important theme for recent and upcoming activities and plans. In this talk, a review of NASA's investments in observations relevant to global air quality will be presented, with examples given for a range of pollutants and measurement approaches covering the last twenty-five years. These investments have helped build national and international collaborations such that the global satellite community is now preparing to deploy a constellation of satellites that together will provide fundamental advances in global observations for air quality.

[Research on spatial differentiation of urban stormwater runoff quality by source area monitoring].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Li-Qing; Zhu, Ren-Xiao; Guo, Shu-Gang; Yin, Cheng-Qing

2010-12-01

Runoff samples were collected from 14 source areas in Hanyang district during four rain events in an attempt to investigate the spatial differentiation and influencing factors of urban stormwater runoff quality. The outcomes are expected to offer practical guidance in sources control of urban runoff pollution. The results revealed that particle-bound proportion of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) in stormwater runoff were 58% +/- 17%, 65% +/- 13% and 92% +/- 6%, respectively. The fractions of ammonia, nitrate and dissolved organic nitrogen were homogeneous in dissolved nitrogen composition. Urban surface function, traffic volume, land use, population density, and street sweeping practice are the main factors determining spatial differentiation of urban surface runoff quality. The highest magnitude of urban stormwater runoff pollution was expected in the old urban residential area, followed by general residential with restaurants, commercial and transport area, new developments and green land. In addition, the magnitude of road stormwater runoff pollution is positively correlated to traffic volume, in the following order: the first trunk road > the second trunk road > minor road. Street sweeping and critical source areas controls should be implemented to mitigate the adverse effects of urban stormwater runoff on receive waters.

Power transformers quality assurance

CERN Document Server

Dasgupta, Indrajit

2009-01-01

About the Book: With the view to attain higher reliability in power system operation, the quality assurance in the field of distribution and power transformers has claimed growing attention. Besides new developments in the material technology and manufacturing processes of transformers, regular diagnostic testing and maintenance of any engineering product may be ascertained by ensuring: right selection of materials and components and their quality checks. application of correct manufacturing processes any systems engineering. the user`s awareness towards preventive maintenance. The

All roads lead to Rome: the impact of multiple attainment means on motivation.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Szu-Chi; Zhang, Ying

2013-02-01

Individuals have different concerns before and after they become relatively certain about a goal's attainability; hence, we propose that the presence of alternative means of goal attainment will have a distinctive impact on motivation, depending on their stage of goal pursuit. In the initial stage of goal pursuit, people are concerned about whether the goal is attainable. The presence of multiple attainment means (vs. a single means) makes the goal seem more easily attainable and thus leads to greater motivation. Conversely, when people have made substantial progress on the goal and its attainment is relatively secured, they focus more on how they can race to the end and complete the pursuit. At these times, a single means (vs. multiple means) provides a more straightforward action plan and in turn leads to greater motivation. Two field studies and 3 lab experiments support this theorizing. (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Multi-criterion analysis technique in a process of quality management

OpenAIRE

A. Gwiazda

2007-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to present the critical analysis of some multi-criteria techniques applied in the area of quality management. It is strongly stated that some solutions in this scientific area characterizes the non-methodological approaches.Design/methodology/approach: The research methodology, in presented work, has been based on the theoretical analysis of the quality tools management and on the empirical researches.Findings: The proposals of improvement the main quality to...

Mengembangkan Self Concept Siswa Melalui Model Pembelajaran Concept Attainment

OpenAIRE

Sumartini, Tina Sri

2015-01-01

Dalam pembelajaran matematika, siswa masih kurang memiliki self concept yang positif. Salah satu model pembelajaran yang dapat diterapkan untuk mengembangkan self concept siswa adalah model concept attainment. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui perkembangan self concept siswa setelah mendapatkan model pembelajaran concept attainment. Penelitian ini berbentuk one shot case study. Populasi dalam penelitian ini adalah siswa di salah satu SMK di Kabupaten Garut. Pengambilan sampel d...

Cross-National Study of Educational Attainment: Stage I of the I.E.A. Investigation in Six Subject Areas. Final Report. Volume I.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloom, Benjamin S.

Twelve chapters describe an 18-nation study of educational attainment at the elementary and secondary school levels. Professional researchers participated in the project, developed through UNESCO and conducted under the auspices of educational research centers in Australia, Belgium, Chile, England, the Federal Republic of Germany, Finland, France,…

50 CFR Figure 4 to Subpart E of... - Prince William Sound Rural and Non-Rural Areas

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Prince William Sound Rural and Non-Rural Areas 4 Figure 4 to Subpart E of Part 300 Wildlife and Fisheries INTERNATIONAL FISHING AND RELATED... to Subpart E of Part 300—Prince William Sound Rural and Non-Rural Areas ER04NO09.010 [74 FR 57110...

Characterizing Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Thermal Environment and Air Quality in Taipei Metropolitan Area

Science.gov (United States)

Juang, J. Y.; Sun, C. H.; Jiang, J. A.; Wen, T. H.

2017-12-01

The urban heat island effect (UHI) caused by the regional-to-global environmental changes, dramatic urbanization, and shifting in land-use compositions has becoming an important environmental issue in recent years. In the past century, the coverage of urban area in Taipei Basin has dramatically increasing by ten folds. The strengthen of UHI effect significantly enhances the frequency of warm-night effect, and strongly influences the thermal environment of the residents in the Greater Taipei Metropolitan. In addition, the urban expansions due to dramatic increasing in urban populations and traffic loading significantly impacts the air quality and causes health issue in Taipei. In this study, the main objective is to quantify and characterize the temporal and spatial distributions of thermal environmental and air quality in the Greater Taipei Metropolitan Area by using monitoring data from Central Weather Bureau, Environmental Protection Administration. In addition, in this study, we conduct the analysis on the distribution of physiological equivalent temperature in the micro scale in the metropolitan area by using the observation data and quantitative simulation to investigate how the thermal environment is influenced under different conditions. Furthermore, we establish a real-time mobile monitoring system by using wireless sensor network to investigate the correlation between the thermal environment, air quality and other environmental factors, and propose to develop the early warning system for heat stress and air quality in the metropolitan area. The results from this study can be integrated into the management and planning system, and provide sufficient and important background information for the development of smart city in the metropolitan area in the future.

New quality assessment procedure for exchange area cable transmission parameters

Science.gov (United States)

Link, P. A.

To best represent the customers' needs, a method of evaluating the transmission quality of exchange area cable must have representative requirements, a statistically powerful method of evaluating the conformance of cables to the requirements and a means of combining the results in a fashion that reflects the end use of the product. The method described herein utilizes a requirement structure containing nominal and maximum requirements to define a desirable distribution for each parameter.

Attractiveness Compensates for Low Status Background in the Prediction of Educational Attainment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauldry, Shawn; Shanahan, Michael J; Russo, Rosemary; Roberts, Brent W; Damian, Rodica

2016-01-01

People who are perceived as good looking or as having a pleasant personality enjoy many advantages, including higher educational attainment. This study examines (1) whether associations between physical/personality attractiveness and educational attainment vary by parental socioeconomic resources and (2) whether parental socioeconomic resources predict these forms of attractiveness. Based on the theory of resource substitution with structural amplification, we hypothesized that both types of attractiveness would have a stronger association with educational attainment for people from disadvantaged backgrounds (resource substitution), but also that people from disadvantaged backgrounds would be less likely to be perceived as attractive (amplification). This study draws on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health-including repeated interviewer ratings of respondents' attractiveness-and trait-state structural equation models to examine the moderation (substitution) and mediation (amplification) of physical and personality attractiveness in the link between parental socioeconomic resources and educational attainment. Both perceived personality and physical attractiveness have stronger associations with educational attainment for people from families with lower levels of parental education (substitution). Further, parental education and income are associated with both dimensions of perceived attractiveness, and personality attractiveness is positively associated with educational attainment (amplification). Results do not differ by sex and race/ethnicity. Further, associations between perceived attractiveness and educational attainment remain after accounting for unmeasured family-level confounders using a sibling fixed-effects model. Perceived attractiveness, particularly personality attractiveness, is a more important psychosocial resource for educational attainment for people from disadvantaged backgrounds than for people from advantaged

Assessment of patient knowledge of diabetic goals, self-reported medication adherence, and goal attainment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Whitley HP

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Medication adherence is an integral aspect of disease state management for patients with chronic illnesses, including diabetes mellitus. It has been hypothesized that patients with diabetes who have poor medication adherence may have less knowledge of overall therapeutic goals and may be less likely to attain these goals. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess self-reported medication adherence, knowledge of therapeutic goals (hemoglobin A1C [A1C], low density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C] and blood pressure [BP], and goal attainment in adult patients with diabetes. Methods: A survey was created to assess medication adherence, knowledge of therapeutic goals, and goal attainment for adult patients with diabetes followed at an internal medicine or a family medicine clinic. Surveys were self-administered prior to office visits. Additional data were collected from the electronic medical record. Statistical analysis was performed. Results: A total of 149 patients were enrolled. Knowledge of therapeutic goals was reported by 14%, 34%, and 18% of survived patients for LDL-C, BP, and A1C, respectively. Forty-six percent, 37%, and 40% of patients achieved LDL-C, BP, and A1C goals, respectively. Low prescribing of cholesterol-lowering medications was an interesting secondary finding; 36% of patients not at LDL-C goal had not been prescribed a medication targeted to lower cholesterol. Forty-eight percent of patients were medication non-adherent; most frequently reported reasons for non-adherence were forgot (34% and too expensive (14%. Patients at A1C goal were more adherent than patients not at goal (p=0.025. Conclusion: The majority did not reach goals and were unknowledgeable of goals; however, most were provided prescriptions to treat these parameters. Goal parameters should be revisited often amongst multidisciplinary team members with frequent and open communications. Additionally, it is imperative that practitioners discuss

A Method for a Retrospective Analysis of Course Objectives: Have Pursued Objectives in Fact Been Attained? Twente Educational Report Number 7.

Science.gov (United States)

Plomp, Tjeerd; van der Meer, Adri

A method pertaining to the identification and analysis of course objectives is discussed. A framework is developed by which post facto objectives can be determined and students' attainment of the objectives can be assessed. The method can also be used for examining the quality of instruction. Using this method, it is possible to determine…

Assessing and monitoring soil quality at agricultural waste disposal areas-Soil Indicators

Science.gov (United States)

Doula, Maria; Kavvadias, Victor; Sarris, Apostolos; Lolos, Polykarpos; Liakopoulou, Nektaria; Hliaoutakis, Aggelos; Kydonakis, Aris

2014-05-01

The necessity of elaborating indicators is one of the priorities identified by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The establishment of an indicator monitoring system for environmental purposes is dependent on the geographical scale. Some indicators such as rain seasonality or drainage density are useful over large areas, but others such as soil depth, vegetation cover type, and land ownership are only applicable locally. In order to practically enhance the sustainability of land management, research on using indicators for assessing land degradation risk must initially focus at local level because management decisions by individual land users are taken at this level. Soils that accept wastes disposal, apart from progressive degradation, may cause serious problems to the surrounding environment (humans, animals, plants, water systems, etc.), and thus, soil quality should be necessarily monitored. Therefore, quality indicators, representative of the specific waste type, should be established and monitored periodically. Since waste composition is dependent on their origin, specific indicators for each waste type should be established. Considering agricultural wastes, such a specification, however, could be difficult, since almost all agricultural wastes are characterized by increased concentrations of the same elements, namely, phosphorous, nitrogen, potassium, sulfur, etc.; contain large amounts of organic matter; and have very high values of chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and electrical conductivity. Two LIFE projects, namely AgroStrat and PROSODOL are focused on the identification of soil indicators for the assessment of soil quality at areas where pistachio wastes and olive mill wastes are disposed, respectively. Many soil samples were collected periodically for 2 years during PROSODOL and one year during AgroStrat (this project is in progress) from waste disposal areas and analyzed for 23 parameters

Some Stylized Facts on Non-Systematic Fiscal Policy in the Euro Area

OpenAIRE

Marcellino, Massimiliano

2002-01-01

We derive a set of stylized facts on the effects of non-systematic fiscal policy in the four largest countries of the Euro area, and discuss their implications for the fiscal policy coordination debate, for the effectiveness of fiscal shocks in stabilizing the economies, and for the interaction of fiscal and monetary policy. We find relevant differences across countries in the effects of non-systematic fiscal policy, and substantial uncertainty about the size of these effects, which casts dou...

75 FR 17307 - Revisions to the Arizona State Implementation Plan; Pinal County

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-06

... Standards--Hayden 01/07/09 06/12/09 PM10 Non-attainment Area. 4-2-020 Fugitive Dust--General 12/04/02 06/12... Standards--Hayden PM-10 Non- attainment Area,'' adopted on January 7, 2009. (i) Pinal County Board of... District Rules, adopted January 7, 2009; to Wit: Rule 2-8-302 (Performance Standards--Hayden PM10...

The role of partners' educational attainment in the association between HIV and education amongst women in seven sub-Saharan African countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Harling, Guy; Bärnighausen, Till

2016-01-01

Individuals' educational attainment has long been considered as a risk factor for HIV. However, little attention has been paid to the association between partner educational attainment and HIV infection. We conducted cross-sectional analysis of young women (aged 15-34) in 14 Demographic and Health Surveys from seven sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries with generalized HIV epidemics. We measured the degree of similarity in educational attainment (partner homophily) in 75,373 partnerships and evaluated the correlation between homophily and female HIV prevalence at the survey cluster level. We then used logistic regression to assess whether own and partner educational attainment was associated with HIV serostatus amongst 38,791 women. Educational attainment was positively correlated within partnerships in both urban and rural areas of every survey (Newman assortativity coefficients between 0.09 and 0.44), but this correlation was not ecologically associated with HIV prevalence. At the individual level, larger absolute differences between own and partner educational attainment were associated with significantly higher HIV prevalence amongst women. This association was heterogeneous across countries, but not between survey waves. In contrast to other women, for those aged 25-34 who had secondary or higher education, a more-educated partner was associated with lower HIV prevalence. HIV prevalence amongst women in SSA is associated not only with one's own education but also with that of one's partner. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how partners place individuals at risk of infection and suggest that HIV prevention efforts may benefit from considering partner characteristics.

The role of partners’ educational attainment in the association between HIV and education amongst women in seven sub-Saharan African countries

Science.gov (United States)

Harling, Guy; Bärnighausen, Till

2016-01-01

Introduction Individuals’ educational attainment has long been considered as a risk factor for HIV. However, little attention has been paid to the association between partner educational attainment and HIV infection. Methods We conducted cross-sectional analysis of young women (aged 15–34) in 14 Demographic and Health Surveys from seven sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries with generalized HIV epidemics. We measured the degree of similarity in educational attainment (partner homophily) in 75,373 partnerships and evaluated the correlation between homophily and female HIV prevalence at the survey cluster level. We then used logistic regression to assess whether own and partner educational attainment was associated with HIV serostatus amongst 38,791 women. Results Educational attainment was positively correlated within partnerships in both urban and rural areas of every survey (Newman assortativity coefficients between 0.09 and 0.44), but this correlation was not ecologically associated with HIV prevalence. At the individual level, larger absolute differences between own and partner educational attainment were associated with significantly higher HIV prevalence amongst women. This association was heterogeneous across countries, but not between survey waves. In contrast to other women, for those aged 25–34 who had secondary or higher education, a more-educated partner was associated with lower HIV prevalence. Conclusions HIV prevalence amongst women in SSA is associated not only with one's own education but also with that of one's partner. These findings highlight the importance of understanding how partners place individuals at risk of infection and suggest that HIV prevention efforts may benefit from considering partner characteristics. PMID:26902392

Sleep quality and health-related quality of life among long-term survivors of (non-) Hodgkin lymphoma in Germany.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammersen, Friederike; Lewin, Philip; Gebauer, Judith; Kreitschmann-Andermahr, Ilonka; Brabant, Georg; Katalinic, Alexander; Waldmann, Annika

2017-01-01

This study investigated sleep quality and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among long-term survivors of Hodgkin (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The aim was to explore the impact of personal and health-related factors on sleep quality as well as associations between sleep quality and HRQOL. For the postal survey, participants with a minimum age of 18 years initially treated between 1998 and 2008 were recruited via the population-based cancer registry in Schleswig-Holstein, Northern Germany. Questionnaires included amongst others the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36v1). Descriptive and comparative statistics were performed. Additionally, a regression analysis was conducted to identify predictors of sleep quality. In total, we recruited 515 participants (398 NHL, 117 HL) with a mean age of 63.1 years. Approximately half of the survivors were classified as good sleepers. HRQOL scores differed between good and poor sleepers with lower scores in poor sleepers. In a prediction model, self-reported depression, exhaustion, higher age, inability to work, endocrinological disorders and female gender classified as predictors of sleep quality. This study highlights the impact of sleep quality on HRQOL in long-term survivors of NHL and HL. Thus, sleep quality should be routinely assessed during follow-up of cancer survivors with special attention to patients with potential risk factors.

Comparing Life Quality Strategies and Emotion Regulation in People with Congenital and Non-Congenital Motor Disability

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Seyedeh Zeynab Miraghaei

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Objective: The purpose of the present study was to compare emotion regulation strategies and life quality of people with congenital and non-congenital motor disabilities. Method: This study is a casual-comparative study and its population consisted of all people with congenital and non-congenital motor disability in Kahrizak Charity Foundation in Tehran in 2016. To conduct the study, available sampling method was used, and congenital and non-congenital disabled people were selected (200 people. To collect data, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Scale by Granovsky and life quality questionnaire were used. Research hypotheses were tested using multivariate analysis of variance. Results: The findings of this study showed that there is a significant difference between emotion regulation components in people with congenital and non-congenital disabilities (p<0.05. Also, according to the findings, a significant difference was observed between life quality dimensions (physical and mental health in people with congenital and non-congenital disabilities (p<0.05. Conclusion: According to the significant difference between two groups of subjects, necessary measures regarding consultation and psychotherapy should be taken into consideration to let people benefit from desirable mental health level.

On educational attainment in transition economies

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Duczynski, Petr

2001-01-01

Roč. 10, č. 2 (2001), s. 163-173 ISSN 1210-0455 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KSK9058117 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z7085904 Keywords : transition economies * educational attainment Subject RIV: AH - Economics

Real-Time Supervisory Control for Power Quality Improvement of Multi-Area Microgrids

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hashempour, Mohammad M.; Lee, Tzung-Lin; Savaghebi, Mehdi

2018-01-01

In this paper, the power quality (PQ) improvement of Multi-Area Microgrid (MAMGs) is addressed. To this aim, mitigation of voltage harmonics and unbalance is considered by using Distributed Generators (DGs) and Active Power Filters (APFs) in a proper way. As a novel approach, the main goal...

There is variability in the attainment of developmental milestones in the CDKL5 disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Fehr, Stephanie; Leonard, Helen; Ho, Gladys; Williams, Simon; de Klerk, Nick; Forbes, David; Christodoulou, John; Downs, Jenny

2015-01-01

Individuals with the CDKL5 disorder have been described as having severely impaired development. A few individuals have been reported having attained more milestones including walking and running. Our aim was to investigate variation in attainment of developmental milestones and associations with underlying genotype. Data was sourced from the International CDKL5 Disorder Database, and individuals were included if they had a pathogenic or probably pathogenic CDKL5 mutation and information on early development. Kaplan-Meier time-to-event analyses investigated the occurrence of developmental milestones. Mutations were grouped by their structural/functional consequence, and Cox regression was used to investigate the relationship between genotype and milestone attainment. The study included 109 females and 18 males. By 5 years of age, only 75% of the females had attained independent sitting and 25% independent walking whilst a quarter of the males could sit independently by 1 year 3 months. Only one boy could walk independently. No clear relationship between mutation group and milestone attainment was present, although females with a late truncating mutation attained the most milestones. Attainment of developmental milestones is severely impaired in the CDKL5 disorder, with the majority who did attain skills attaining them at a late age. It appears as though males are more severely impaired than the females. Larger studies are needed to further investigate the role of genotype on clinical variability.

A Quality Assessment Tool for Non-Specialist Users of Regression Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Argyrous, George

2015-01-01

This paper illustrates the use of a quality assessment tool for regression analysis. It is designed for non-specialist "consumers" of evidence, such as policy makers. The tool provides a series of questions such consumers of evidence can ask to interrogate regression analysis, and is illustrated with reference to a recent study published…

Governance, Institutional Quality and the Euro Area Crisis: What Lessons to East Asian Integration?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seung-Gwan Baek

2013-12-01

Full Text Available We find that institutional quality of an individual country was highly and significantly correlated with its economic performance in the euro area. We argue that governance reforms proposed at present do not suffice to resolving the fundamental problems of the EMU governance system unless disparities of institutional quality in member states are dissolved. Regarding regional integration, East Asia is far behind the Eurozone not only in institutional elements of the governance system but also in institutional quality at the level of individual nations.

Bank filtered water quality characteristics in Okgog-Ri area of Youngsan-River, Korea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Hee-Youl; Kim, Hyoung-Soo [Korea Water Resources Corp., Taejeon(Korea)

2001-02-28

Preliminary artificial recharge groundwater intake method using bank filtering had been conducted in Okgog-Ri of Youngsan-River to evaluate the possibility of substitution of surface water intake method in the area. In order to investigate the characteristics of bank filtered groundwater, we examined the hydrogeological properties of alluvium and water quality of stream and groundwater. It is observed that nitrate in stream water from synthetic fertilizer and poultry manure is almost consumed during bank filtering in this area. This implies that denitrification of organic carbon and the oxidation of pyrite present in the alluvium aquifer. Groundwater samples from bank filtering show high Mn concentration. This high Mn concentration may be resulted from decreasing redox potential due to denitrification and increasing mobility due to redox reaction of Mn-oxide. In the study area, there is a typical tendency that Al concentrations of water samples decrease according to increasing pH. This tendency is interpreted as forming of amorphous Al(OH){sub 3} precipitates by reducing the Al{sup 3+} solubilities. It is revealed that the bank filtered groundwater in the area is not edible because color, turbidity, heterotrophic bacteria, coliform and Mn of the groundwater exceed the guideline of drinking water. Even though the bank filtered groundwater without treatment does not satisfy the guideline of drinking water, the groundwater shows a good water quality compared with stream water. So, the water treatment method using bank filtered groundwater can be more economical and efficient than the treatment using direct intake of stream water in the aspect of water quality. (author). 15 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

Gliding swifts attain laminar flow over rough wings.

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David Lentink

Full Text Available Swifts are among the most aerodynamically refined gliding birds. However, the overlapping vanes and protruding shafts of their primary feathers make swift wings remarkably rough for their size. Wing roughness height is 1-2% of chord length on the upper surface--10,000 times rougher than sailplane wings. Sailplanes depend on extreme wing smoothness to increase the area of laminar flow on the wing surface and minimize drag for extended glides. To understand why the swift does not rely on smooth wings, we used a stethoscope to map laminar flow over preserved wings in a low-turbulence wind tunnel. By combining laminar area, lift, and drag measurements, we show that average area of laminar flow on swift wings is 69% (n = 3; std 13% of their total area during glides that maximize flight distance and duration--similar to high-performance sailplanes. Our aerodynamic analysis indicates that swifts attain laminar flow over their rough wings because their wing size is comparable to the distance the air travels (after a roughness-induced perturbation before it transitions from laminar to turbulent. To interpret the function of swift wing roughness, we simulated its effect on smooth model wings using physical models. This manipulation shows that laminar flow is reduced and drag increased at high speeds. At the speeds at which swifts cruise, however, swift-like roughness prolongs laminar flow and reduces drag. This feature gives small birds with rudimentary wings an edge during the evolution of glide performance.

The non-destructive control, a major constituent of quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1998-01-01

The number of continuous research and development works about non-destructive control in all sectors of activity is justified by the increasing need for high quality materials without anomalies. This paper gives a overview of the state of the art and of the recent trends in non-destructive testing researches in different sectors: aeronautics, nuclear industry, automotive industry. New studies and techniques are presented: ultrasonic testing of welds on large diameter pipes, automated applications of ultrasonic testing, ultrasound/computer-aided design coupling, pressure vessels inspection using acoustic emission testing (leaks detection, application to composite materials), numerical radiography (image visualisation and processing), magnetic testing (steel damage detection using Barkhausen noise testing), 'shearography' (detection of the loss of thickness in pipes due to corrosion), X-ray tomography (density measurement of sintered steels, fluid flow calculations in automobile parts). (J.S.)

The Relationship of Educational Attainment with Pulmonary Emphysema and Airway Wall Thickness.

Science.gov (United States)

Gjerdevik, Miriam; Grydeland, Thomas B; Washko, George R; Coxson, Harvey O; Silverman, Edwin K; Gulsvik, Amund; Bakke, Per S

2015-06-01

Low educational attainment is a risk factor of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). There is limited knowledge on the relationship between educational level and computed tomography measures of emphysema and airway wall thickness (AWT). We hypothesized that low educational attainment is associated with increased emphysema and AWT in ever-smokers with and without COPD. We included 462 and 485 ever-smokers with and without COPD in a cross-sectional study, aged 40-86 years. The sample was divided into groups reflecting educational attainment: primary, secondary, and university. We performed linear regression to examine associations between educational attainment and both emphysema and AWT separately for those with and without COPD. We adjusted for sex, age, smoking status, age of onset of smoking, pack-years, height, and body mass index. Compared with university education, in subjects with COPD, primary education was associated with a 68.1% (95% confidence interval = 14.2-147.6%; P = 0.01) relative increase in emphysema and secondary education was associated with a 50.6% (95% confidence interval = 5.7-114.6%; P = 0.02) relative increase. There was a nonsignificant trend toward an association between lower educational attainment and increased emphysema among those without COPD (P = 0.18), yet greater age appeared to modify this association (P = 0.01). We did not detect significant linear relationships between educational attainment and AWT in subjects with or without COPD. Lower educational attainment was associated with increased emphysema among adults with COPD. Among those without COPD, this association was more pronounced with increasing age. No significant linear relationship between educational attainment and AWT was found. Clinicians treating adults with emphysema should keep in mind that factors related to low education beyond that of smoking and occupational dust exposure might be of importance to the disease.

Effect of non-uniform surface resistance on the quality factor of superconducting niobium cavity

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Weiwei; Lu, Xiangyang; Yang, Ziqin; Zhao, Jifei; Yang, Deyu; Yang, Yujia

2016-08-01

The formula Rs = G /Q0 is commonly used in the calculation of the surface resistance of radio frequency niobium superconducting cavities. The applying of such equation is under the assumption that surface resistance is consistent over the cavity. However, the distribution of the magnetic field varies over the cavity. The magnetic field in the equator is much higher than that in the iris. According to Thermal Feedback Theory, it leads non-uniform distribution of the density of heat flux, which results in a different temperature distribution along the cavity inter surface. The BCS surface resistance, which depends largely on the temperature, is different in each local inner surface. In this paper, the effect of surface non-uniform resistance on the quality factor has been studied, through the calculation of Q0 in the original definition of it. The results show that it is necessary to consider the non-uniform distribution of magnetic field when the accelerating field is above 20 MV/m for TESLA cavities. Also, the effect of inhomogeneity of residual resistance on the quality factor is discussed. Its distribution barely affects the quality factor.

Who benefits from environmental policy? An environmental justice analysis of air quality change in Britain, 2001-2011

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Gordon; Norman, Paul; Mullin, Karen

2015-10-01

Air quality in Great Britain has improved in recent years, but not enough to prevent the European Commission (EC) taking legal action for non-compliance with limit values. Air quality is a national public health concern, with disease burden associated with current air quality estimated at 29 000 premature deaths per year due to fine particulates, with a further burden due to NO2. National small-area analyses showed that in 2001 poor air quality was much more prevalent in socio-economically deprived areas. We extend this social distribution of air quality analysis to consider how the distribution changed over the following decade (2001-2011), a period when significant efforts to meet EC air quality directive limits have been made, and air quality has improved. We find air quality improvement is greatest in the least deprived areas, whilst the most deprived areas bear a disproportionate and rising share of declining air quality including non-compliance with air quality standards. We discuss the implications for health inequalities, progress towards environmental justice, and compatibility of social justice and environmental sustainability objectives.

Adaptive and non-adaptive data hiding methods for grayscale images based on modulus function

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Najme Maleki

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper presents two adaptive and non-adaptive data hiding methods for grayscale images based on modulus function. Our adaptive scheme is based on the concept of human vision sensitivity, so the pixels in edge areas than to smooth areas can tolerate much more changes without making visible distortion for human eyes. In our adaptive scheme, the average differencing value of four neighborhood pixels into a block via a threshold secret key determines whether current block is located in edge or smooth area. Pixels in the edge areas are embedded by Q-bit of secret data with a larger value of Q than that of pixels placed in smooth areas. Also in this scholar, we represent one non-adaptive data hiding algorithm. Our non-adaptive scheme, via an error reduction procedure, produces a high visual quality for stego-image. The proposed schemes present several advantages. 1-of aspects the embedding capacity and visual quality of stego-image are scalable. In other words, the embedding rate as well as the image quality can be scaled for practical applications 2-the high embedding capacity with minimal visual distortion can be achieved, 3-our methods require little memory space for secret data embedding and extracting phases, 4-secret keys have used to protect of the embedded secret data. Thus, level of security is high, 5-the problem of overflow or underflow does not occur. Experimental results indicated that the proposed adaptive scheme significantly is superior to the currently existing scheme, in terms of stego-image visual quality, embedding capacity and level of security and also our non-adaptive method is better than other non-adaptive methods, in view of stego-image quality. Results show which our adaptive algorithm can resist against the RS steganalysis attack.

Business Process Quality Computation : Computing Non-Functional Requirements to Improve Business Processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heidari, F.

2015-01-01

Business process modelling is an important part of system design. When designing or redesigning a business process, stakeholders specify, negotiate, and agree on business requirements to be satisfied, including non-functional requirements that concern the quality of the business process. This thesis

Non-destructive linear model for leaf area estimation in Vernonia ferruginea Less

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MC. Souza

Full Text Available Leaf area estimation is an important biometrical trait for evaluating leaf development and plant growth in field and pot experiments. We developed a non-destructive model to estimate the leaf area (LA of Vernonia ferruginea using the length (L and width (W leaf dimensions. Different combinations of linear equations were obtained from L, L2, W, W2, LW and L2W2. The linear regressions using the product of LW dimensions were more efficient to estimate the LA of V. ferruginea than models based on a single dimension (L, W, L2 or W2. Therefore, the linear regression “LA=0.463+0.676WL” provided the most accurate estimate of V. ferruginea leaf area. Validation of the selected model showed that the correlation between real measured leaf area and estimated leaf area was very high.

Educational attainment and obesity: A systematic review

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Alison K.; Rai, Manisha; Rehkopf, David H.; Abrams, Barbara

2013-01-01

Background Although previous systematic reviews considered the relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity, almost 200 peer-reviewed articles have been published since the last review on that topic, and this paper focuses specifically on education, which has different implications. Methods The authors systematically review the peer-reviewed literature from around the world considering the association between educational attainment and obesity. Databases from public health and medicine, education, psychology, economics, and other social sciences were searched, and articles published in English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish were included. Results This paper includes 289 articles that report on 410 populations in 91 countries. The relationship between educational attainment and obesity was modified by both gender and the country's economic development level: an inverse association was more common in studies of higher-income countries and a positive association was more common in lower-income countries, with stronger social patterning among women. Relatively few studies reported on lower-income countries, controlled for a comprehensive set of potential confounding variables, and/or attempted to assess causality through the use of quasi-experimental designs. Conclusions Future research should address these gaps to understand if the relationship between educational attainment and obesity may be causal, thus supporting education policy as a tool for obesity prevention. PMID:23889851

Non-intrusive Packet-Layer Model for Monitoring Video Quality of IPTV Services

Science.gov (United States)

Yamagishi, Kazuhisa; Hayashi, Takanori

Developing a non-intrusive packet-layer model is required to passively monitor the quality of experience (QoE) during service. We propose a packet-layer model that can be used to estimate the video quality of IPTV using quality parameters derived from transmitted packet headers. The computational load of the model is lighter than that of the model that takes video signals and/or video-related bitstream information such as motion vectors as input. This model is applicable even if the transmitted bitstream information is encrypted because it uses transmitted packet headers rather than bitstream information. For developing the model, we conducted three extensive subjective quality assessments for different encoders and decoders (codecs), and video content. Then, we modeled the subjective video quality assessment characteristics based on objective features affected by coding and packet loss. Finally, we verified the model's validity by applying our model to unknown data sets different from training data sets used above.

Quality assurance and non-destructive testing for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manlucu, F.A.

1991-01-01

This article discussed the quality assurance requirements which have been extensively applied in plant design, fabrication, construction and operation and has played a major role in the excellent safety record of nuclear power plants. The application of non-destructive testing techniques, plays a very important role during the in-service inspection (ISI) in order to prevent dangerous accident and to assure continuous safe operation of nuclear power plants. (IMA). 12 refs

MICROBIOLOGICAL AND PARASITOLOGICAL QUALITY CONTROL OF RECREATION AREAS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Sotero-Martins

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The recreation areas are composed of environmental matrices primary contact with the population (water and sand and therefore need to be periodically monitored, because pathogenic microorganisms can be found that offer risks to human and animal health. This study aimed to develop critical topics in environmental sanitation as use of water and sand in recreation places, biomarkers associated with health risks, diseases caused by exposure to contaminated environmental matrices and indicate the importance of bioindicators in laws that underpin the supervisory board, to secure the most complete monitoring and give support the actions of environmental control and health agencies. The literature review was used as instrumental to the research. In Brazil, the acceptable limits standards are described in Resolution by National Environmental Council for coliforms present in bathing water, but not exist to sand matrix. Only isolated initiatives of municipal environmental agencies have established limits for the classification of sand matrix, based on only bacteriological parameters. Concluded that scientific studies may support others biomarkers of sanitary conditions are being conducted in Brazil, proposing fungi and parasites in evaluating the sanitary quality of recreation areas.

Educational Attainment is not a Good Proxy for Cognitive Function in Methamphetamine Dependence

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Andy C.; Hellemann, Gerhard; Sugar, Catherine A.; London, Edythe D.

2014-01-01

We sought to test the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with both the quantity and quality of one's education, such that the years of education obtained by methamphetamine dependent individuals serves to underestimate general cognitive functioning and overestimate the quality of academic learning. Thirty-six methamphetamine-dependent participants and 42 healthy comparison subjects completed cognitive tests and self-report measures in Los Angeles, California. An overall cognitive battery score was used to assess general cognition, and vocabulary knowledge was used as a proxy for the quality of academic learning. Linear regression procedures were used for analyses. Supporting the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quantity of education, we found that a) earlier onset of methamphetamine use was associated with fewer years of education (p battery score (p < .01); and c) greater differences between methamphetamine-dependent participants' predicted and actual educational attainment were associated with an earlier onset of MA use (p ≤ .01). Supporting the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quality of education, years of education received prior to the onset of methamphetamine use was a better predictor of a proxy for academic learning, vocabulary knowledge, than was the total years of education obtained. Results support the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quantity and quality of educational exposure, leading to under- and overestimation of cognitive function and academic learning, respectively. PMID:22206606

Educational attainment is not a good proxy for cognitive function in methamphetamine dependence.

Science.gov (United States)

Dean, Andy C; Hellemann, Gerhard; Sugar, Catherine A; London, Edythe D

2012-06-01

We sought to test the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with both the quantity and quality of one's education, such that the years of education obtained by methamphetamine dependent individuals serves to underestimate general cognitive functioning and overestimate the quality of academic learning. Thirty-six methamphetamine-dependent participants and 42 healthy comparison subjects completed cognitive tests and self-report measures in Los Angeles, California. An overall cognitive battery score was used to assess general cognition, and vocabulary knowledge was used as a proxy for the quality of academic learning. Linear regression procedures were used for analyses. Supporting the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quantity of education, we found that (a) earlier onset of methamphetamine use was associated with fewer years of education (pbattery score (p<.01); and (c) greater differences between methamphetamine-dependent participants' predicted and actual educational attainment were associated with an earlier onset of MA use (p≤.01). Supporting the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quality of education, years of education received prior to the onset of methamphetamine use was a better predictor of a proxy for academic learning, vocabulary knowledge, than was the total years of education obtained. Results support the hypothesis that methamphetamine use interferes with the quantity and quality of educational exposure, leading to under- and overestimation of cognitive function and academic learning, respectively. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers in rural areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Monk, David H

2007-01-01

In examining recruitment and retention of teachers in rural areas, David Monk begins by noting the numerous possible characteristics of rural communities--small size, sparse settlement, distance from population concentrations, and an economic reliance on agricultural industries that are increasingly using seasonal and immigrant workers to minimize labor costs. Many, though not all, rural areas, he says, are seriously impoverished. Classes in rural schools are relatively small, and teachers tend to report satisfaction with their work environments and relatively few problems with discipline. But teacher turnover is often high, and hiring can be difficult. Monk observes that rural schools have a below-average share of highly trained teachers. Compensation in rural schools tends to be low, perhaps because of a lower fiscal capacity in rural areas, thus complicating efforts to attract and retain teachers. Several student characteristics, including relatively large shares of students with special needs and with limited English skills and lower shares of students attending college, can also make it difficult to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Other challenges include meeting the needs of highly mobile children of low-income migrant farm workers. With respect to public policy, Monk asserts a need to focus on a subcategory of what might be called hard-to-staff rural schools rather than to develop a blanket set of policies for all rural schools. In particular, he recommends a focus on such indicators as low teacher qualifications, teaching in fields far removed from the area of training, difficulty in hiring, high turnover, a lack of diversity among teachers in the school, and the presence of migrant farm workers' children. Successful efforts to stimulate economic growth in these areas would be highly beneficial. He also calls attention to the potential for modern telecommunication and computing technologies to offset some of the drawbacks associated with teaching

An evaluation of the zooplankton community at the Sheboygan River Area of Concern and non-Area of Concern comparison sites in western Lake Michigan rivers and harbors in 2016

Science.gov (United States)

Olds, Hayley T.; Scudder Eikenberry, Barbara C.; Burns, Daniel J.; Bell, Amanda H.

2017-12-22

The Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs) are considered to be the most severely degraded areas within the Great Lakes basin, as defined in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement and amendments. Among the 43 designated AOCs are four Lake Michigan AOCs in the State of Wisconsin. The smallest of these AOCs is the Sheboygan River AOC, which was designated as an AOC because of sediment contamination from polychlorinated biphenyl compounds (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals. The Sheboygan River AOC has 9 of 14 possible Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs), which must be addressed to improve overall water-quality, and to ultimately delist the AOC. One of the BUIs associated with this AOC is the “degradation of phytoplankton and zooplankton populations,” which can be removed from the list of impairments when it has been determined that zooplankton community composition and structure at the AOC do not differ significantly from communities at non-AOC comparison sites. In 2012 and 2014, the U.S. Geological Survey collected plankton (phytoplankton and zooplankton) community samples at the Sheboygan River AOC and selected non-AOC sites as part of a larger Great Lakes Restoration Initiative study evaluating both the benthos and plankton communities in all four of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan AOCs. Although neither richness nor diversity of phytoplankton or zooplankton in the Sheboygan River AOC were found to differ significantly from the non-AOC sites in 2012, results from the 2014 data indicated that zooplankton diversity was significantly lower, and so rated as degraded, when compared to the Manitowoc and Kewaunee Rivers, two non-AOC sites of similar size, land use, and close geographic proximity.As a follow-up to the 2014 results, zooplankton samples were collected at the same locations in the AOC and non-AOC sites during three sampling trips in spring, summer, and fall 2016. An analysis of similarity indicated

Using lot quality-assurance sampling and area sampling to identify priority areas for trachoma control: Viet Nam.

Science.gov (United States)

Myatt, Mark; Mai, Nguyen Phuong; Quynh, Nguyen Quang; Nga, Nguyen Huy; Tai, Ha Huy; Long, Nguyen Hung; Minh, Tran Hung; Limburg, Hans

2005-10-01

To report on the use of lot quality-assurance sampling (LQAS) surveys undertaken within an area-sampling framework to identify priority areas for intervention with trachoma control activities in Viet Nam. The LQAS survey method for the rapid assessment of the prevalence of active trachoma was adapted for use in Viet Nam with the aim of classifying individual communes by the prevalence of active trachoma among children in primary school. School-based sampling was used; school sites to be sampled were selected using an area-sampling approach. A total of 719 communes in 41 districts in 18 provinces were surveyed. Survey staff found the LQAS survey method both simple and rapid to use after initial problems with area-sampling methods were identified and remedied. The method yielded a finer spatial resolution of prevalence than had been previously achieved in Viet Nam using semiquantitative rapid assessment surveys and multistage cluster-sampled surveys. When used with area-sampling techniques, the LQAS survey method has the potential to form the basis of survey instruments that can be used to efficiently target resources for interventions against active trachoma. With additional work, such methods could provide a generally applicable tool for effective programme planning and for the certification of the elimination of trachoma as a blinding disease.

Non-primary motor areas in the human frontal lobe are connected directly to hand muscles.

Science.gov (United States)

Teitti, S; Määttä, S; Säisänen, L; Könönen, M; Vanninen, R; Hannula, H; Mervaala, E; Karhu, J

2008-04-15

Structural studies in primates have shown that, in addition to the primary motor cortex (M1), premotor areas are a source of corticospinal tracts. The function of these putative corticospinal neuronal tracts in humans is still unclear. We found frontal non-primary motor areas (NPMAs), which react to targeted non-invasive magnetic pulses and activate peripheral muscles as fast as or even faster than those in M1. Hand muscle movements were observed in all our subjects about 20 ms after transcranial stimulation of the superior frontal gyrus (Brodmann areas 6 and 8). Stimulation of NPMA could activate both proximal and distal upper limb muscles with the same delay as a stimulation of the M1, indicating converging motor representations with direct functional connections to the hand. We suggest that these non-primary cortical motor representations provide additional capacity for the fast execution of movements. Such a capacity may play a role in motor learning and in recovery from motor deficits.

Attainment of Electron Beam Suitable for Medium Energy Electron Cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seletskiy, Sergey M.; Rochester U.

2005-01-01

Electron cooling of charged particle beams is a well-established technique at electron energies of up to 300 keV. However, up to the present time the advance of electron cooling to the MeV-range energies has remained a purely theoretical possibility. The electron cooling project at Fermilab has recently demonstrated the first cooling of 8.9 GeV/c antiprotons in the Recycler ring, and therefore, has proved the validity of the idea of relativistic electron cooling. The Recycler Electron Cooler (REC) is the key component of the Tevatron Run II luminosity upgrade project. Its performance depends critically on the quality of electron beam. A stable electron beam of 4.3 MeV carrying 0.5 A of DC current is required. The beam suitable for the Recycler Electron Cooler must have an angular spread not exceeding 200 (micro)rad. The full-scale prototype of the REC was designed, built and tested at Fermilab in the Wideband laboratory to study the feasibility of attaining the high-quality electron beam. In this thesis I describe various aspects of development of the Fermilab electron cooling system, and the techniques used to obtain the electron beam suitable for the cooling process. In particular I emphasize those aspects of the work for which I was principally responsible. Chapter 1 is an introduction where I describe briefly the theory and the history of electron cooling, and derive the requirements to the quality of electron beam and requirements to the basic parameters of the Recycler Electron Cooler. Chapter 2 is devoted to the theoretical consideration of the motion of electrons in the cooling section, description of the cooling section and of the measurement of the magnetic fields. In Chapter 3 I consider different factors that increase the effective electron angle in the cooling section and suggest certain algorithms for the suppression of parasitic angles. Chapter 4 is devoted to the measurements of the energy of the electron beam. In the concluding Chapter 5 I review

The Effect of Infrastructure Access and Quality on Non-farm Employment and Income in Rural Indonesia

OpenAIRE

Olivia, Susan; Gibson, John

2008-01-01

There is growing interest in the rural non-farm sector in developing countries as a contributor to economic growth, employment generation, livelihood diversification and poverty reduction. Access to infrastructure is identified in some studies as a factor that affects non-farm rural employment and income but less attention has been paid to the constraints imposed by poor quality infrastructure. In this paper we use data from 4000 households in rural Indonesia to show that the quality of two k...

Educational attainment, formal employment and contraceptives ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Based on this, the study examines educational attainment, formal employment and contraceptives practices among working women in Lagos State University. Survey design was adopted for the study. Using Stratified and simple random sampling techniques, quantitative data was gathered through the administration of ...

Quality of life is significantly impaired in non-allergic rhinitis patients

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Segboer, Christine L.; Terreehorst, Ingrid; Gevorgyan, Artur; Hellings, Peter W.; van Drunen, Cornelis M.; Fokkens, Wytske J.

2017-01-01

In contrast to the well-known significant impairment of quality of life (QoL) in allergic rhinitis (AR), the degree of impairment in QoL in non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) remained unknown for a long time, due to a lack of a validated questionnaire to assess QoL in the NAR patient group. In this study a

"Quality of Life in Adults with Non-Syndromic Craniosynostosis".

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzaferro, Daniel M; Naran, Sanjay; Wes, Ari M; Magee, Leanne; Taylor, Jesse A; Bartlett, Scott P

2018-03-19

While studies have analyzed quality of life (QOL) in children with non-syndromic craniosynostosis (NSC), to date nobody has investigated long-term QOL in adults with NSC. The purpose of this study is to compare QOL in adult NSC patients with a cohort of unaffected controls. We queried our institution's prospectively maintained craniofacial registry for NSC patients 18 years and older, and administered the validated World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire. Responses were compared, using a two-sample t-test, to an age-matched, United States, normative database provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). 151 adults met inclusion criteria: 52 were successfully contacted and 32 completed the WHOQOL-BREF. Average age of respondents was 23.0±6.1 years old (range, 18.1 to 42.1). 12 subjects had metopic synostosis, 15 had unicoronal, and 5 had sagittal. NSC patients had a superior quality of life compared to comparative norms in all domains: physical health (17.8±2.7 vs. 15.5±3.2, p0.05), while all individual subtypes maintained superior or equivalent QOL relative to controls. Demographic variables, Whitaker score, and number of surgical interventions did not correlate with differences in QOL. Adult patients previously treated for NSC perceive their quality of life to be high, superior to that of a normative United States sample. Future work will seek to analyze additional patients and better understand the reasons behind these findings.

Manufacture of heavy reactor components with particular considerations to quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreppel, H.; Clausmeyer, H.

1980-01-01

The use of adequate quality assurance measures is one of the most important prerequisites for the manufacture of reactor components. Nature and extent of the quality assurance system at present adopted in the Federal Republic of Germany are illustrated, using the manufacture of a reactor pressure vessel as an example. The system comprises quality organization, planning of all quality assurance measures, quality surveillance through all stages of manufacture and documentation of quality attained. (orig.)

Manufacture of heavy reactor components with particular consideration to quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clausmeyer, H.; Kreppel, H.

1977-01-01

The use of adequate quality assurance measures is one of the most important prerequisites for the manufacture of reactor components. Nature and extent of the quality assurance system at present adopted in the Federal Republic of Germany are illustrated, using the manufacture of a reactor pressure vessel as an example. The system comprises quality organization, planning of all quality assurance measures, quality surveillance through all stages of manufacture and documentation of quality attained. (orig.) [de

Manufacture of heavy reactor components with particular consideration to quality assurance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kreppel, H.; Clausmeyer, H.

1981-01-01

The use of adequate quality assurance measures is one of the most important prerequisites for the manufacture of reactor components. Nature and extent of the quality assurance system at present adopted in the Federal Republic of Germany are illustrated, using the manufacture of a reactor pressure vessel as an example. The system comprises quality organization, planning of all quality assurance measures, quality surveillance through all stages of manufacture and documentation of quality attained. (orig.)

78 FR 900 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Alaska: Eagle River PM10

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-07

... nonattainment area (Eagle River NAA) and the State's request to redesignate the area to attainment for the... NAAQS B. Eagle River NAA and Planning Background III. Requirements for Redesignation A. CAA Requirements... and LMPs A. Has the Eagle River NAA attained the applicable NAAQS? B. Does the Eagle River NAA have a...

Meat quality of castrated and non-castrated Santa Ines lambs subjected to food restriction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dayanne Lima de Sousa

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to evaluate the quality of meat of castrated and non-castrated Santa Ines lambs submitted to food restriction. Were used 30 lambs, 15 castrated and 15 non-castrated, about two months of age and average initial body weight of 13.00 ± 1.49 kg. The lambs were distributed in a completely randomized design in a factorial arrangement 3 x 2 (restriction level x sex class, according to the amount of food provided. The duration of the experiment was determined by the time required for the animals in the one of the groups achieved 28 kg of body weight. There was interaction between food restriction levels and sex class to the variables intensity of yellow color and pH in the longissimus lumborum muscle and the shear force in the semimembranosus muscle. In non-castrated animals, the intensity of yellow color was higher in the longissimus lumborum muscle at the level of 30% of food restriction. There was no significant interaction between food restriction levels and sex class for the quality aspects related to color saturation, color tone, luminosity, red intensity, water holding capacity and cooking losses in longissimus lumborum and semimembranosus muscles. Although food restriction and sex class have influenced the variables related to the quality of meat of the animals evaluated, the mean values are considered acceptable by the literature. The feeding restriction levels and sex class influence some important features of quality of Santa Ines lamb meat.

Quality indicators for diagnosis and treatment of respiratory tract infections in general practice: a modified Delphi study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Malene Plejdrup; Bjerrum, Lars; Gahrn-Hansen, Bente

2010-01-01

was achieved in both Delphi rounds. A total of 41 of the proposed 59 quality indicators attained consensus. None of the quality indicators focusing on the diagnostic process achieved consensus. Consensus was attained for 14 quality indicators focusing on the decision regarding antibiotic treatment and for 27...... quality indicators focusing on the choice of antibiotics. CONCLUSION: This study resulted in a final set of 41 quality indicators concerning respiratory tract infections in general practice. These quality indicators may be used to strengthen general practitioners' focus on their management of patients......OBJECTIVE: To develop a set of quality indicators focusing on the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory tract infections in general practice. DESIGN: A modified 2-round Delphi study. SETTING: General practice. SUBJECTS: A panel of 27 experts (13 countries) comprising mainly general practitioners...

[Water quality evaluation in rural areas of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1999-2000].

Science.gov (United States)

Rocha, Christiane Maria Barcellos Magalhães da; Rodrigues, Luciano Dos Santos; Costa, Claudionor C; de Oliveira, Paulo Roberto; da Silva, Israel José; de Jesus, Eder Ferreira Moraes; Rolim, Renata G

2006-09-01

In addition to personal interviews, laboratory analyses were performed using 80 water samples from 45 rural areas that are crossed by the Agua Limpa and Santa Cruz streams close to the city of Lavras, southern Minas Gerais State. The results allowed comparing the quality of water used for agriculture and the identification of determinant factors. The Agua Limpa stream mostly crosses an area used primarily for housing and characterized by low schooling. Many houses are supplied by shallow water wells and have ordinary cesspits for human waste disposal. All springs are polluted. The Santa Cruz stream displays a different scenario. The land is used mostly for agricultural purposes. Most owners live in town, with widely varied levels of school, from none to university. The houses are supplied by surface water. Most of the springs are polluted. The perception by both home and land owners concerning quality of the drinking water is determined solely by the water's physical and organoleptic characteristics. Sanitary parameters are not taken into account. Moreover, there is no relationship between fecal contamination and the type of spring. Land use and anthropic activity are far more important than the type of spring for water quality.

Assessing quality of life: mother?child agreement in depressed and non-depressed Hungarian

OpenAIRE

2009-01-01

Abstract Purpose An important question in child psychiatry is the agreement between parents and children. We studied mother?child concordance about the quality of life of children (QoL). We hypothesized that mothers of depressed children rate lower QoL than children for themselves while mothers of non-depressed children rate better QoL; that inter-informant agreement is higher in the non-depressed sample; and finally that agreement incre...

Running humans attain optimal elastic bounce in their teens.

Science.gov (United States)

Legramandi, Mario A; Schepens, Bénédicte; Cavagna, Giovanni A

2013-01-01

In an ideal elastic bounce of the body, the time during which mechanical energy is released during the push equals the time during which mechanical energy is absorbed during the brake, and the maximal upward velocity attained by the center of mass equals the maximal downward velocity. Deviations from this ideal model, prolonged push duration and lower upward velocity, have found to be greater in older than in younger adult humans. However it is not known how similarity to the elastic bounce changes during growth and whether an optimal elastic bounce is attained at some age. Here we show that similarity with the elastic bounce is minimal at 2 years and increases with age attaining a maximum at 13-16 years, concomitant with a mirror sixfold decrease of the impact deceleration peak following collision of the foot with the ground. These trends slowly reverse during the course of the lifespan.

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A. Okbay (Aysu); J.P. Beauchamp (Jonathan); Fontana, M.A. (Mark Alan); J.J. Lee (James J.); T.H. Pers (Tune); Rietveld, C.A. (Cornelius A.); P. Turley (Patrick); Chen, G.-B. (Guo-Bo); V. Emilsson (Valur); Meddens, S.F.W. (S. Fleur W.); Oskarsson, S. (Sven); Pickrell, J.K. (Joseph K.); Thom, K. (Kevin); Timshel, P. (Pascal); R. de Vlaming (Ronald); A. Abdellaoui (Abdel); T.S. Ahluwalia (Tarunveer Singh); J. Bacelis (Jonas); C. Baumbach (Clemens); Bjornsdottir, G. (Gyda); J.H. Brandsma (Johan); Pina Concas, M. (Maria); J. Derringer; Furlotte, N.A. (Nicholas A.); T.E. Galesloot (Tessel); S. Girotto; Gupta, R. (Richa); L.M. Hall (Leanne M.); S.E. Harris (Sarah); E. Hofer; Horikoshi, M. (Momoko); J.E. Huffman (Jennifer E.); Kaasik, K. (Kadri); I.-P. Kalafati (Ioanna-Panagiota); R. Karlsson (Robert); A. Kong (Augustine); J. Lahti (Jari); S.J. van der Lee (Sven); Deleeuw, C. (Christiaan); P.A. Lind (Penelope); Lindgren, K.-O. (Karl-Oskar); Liu, T. (Tian); M. Mangino (Massimo); J. Marten (Jonathan); E. Mihailov (Evelin); M. Miller (Mike); P.J. van der Most (Peter); C. Oldmeadow (Christopher); A. Payton (Antony); N. Pervjakova (Natalia); W.J. Peyrot (Wouter ); Qian, Y. (Yong); O. Raitakari (Olli); Rueedi, R. (Rico); Salvi, E. (Erika); Schmidt, B. (Börge); Schraut, K.E. (Katharina E.); Shi, J. (Jianxin); A.V. Smith (Albert Vernon); R.A. Poot (Raymond); B. St Pourcain (Beate); A. Teumer (Alexander); G. Thorleifsson (Gudmar); N. Verweij (Niek); D. Vuckovic (Dragana); Wellmann, J. (Juergen); H.J. Westra (Harm-Jan); Yang, J. (Jingyun); Zhao, W. (Wei); Zhu, Z. (Zhihong); B.Z. Alizadeh (Behrooz); N. Amin (Najaf); Bakshi, A. (Andrew); S.E. Baumeister (Sebastian); G. Biino (Ginevra); K. Bønnelykke (Klaus); P.A. Boyle (Patricia); H. Campbell (Harry); Cappuccio, F.P. (Francesco P.); G. Davies (Gail); J.E. de Neve (Jan-Emmanuel); P. Deloukas (Panagiotis); I. Demuth (Ilja); Ding, J. (Jun); Eibich, P. (Peter); Eisele, L. (Lewin); N. Eklund (Niina); D.M. Evans (David); J.D. Faul (Jessica D.); M.F. Feitosa (Mary Furlan); A.J. Forstner (Andreas); I. Gandin (Ilaria); Gunnarsson, B. (Bjarni); B.V. Halldorsson (Bjarni); T.B. Harris (Tamara); E.G. Holliday (Elizabeth); A.C. Heath (Andrew C.); L.J. Hocking; G. Homuth (Georg); M. Horan (Mike); J.J. Hottenga (Jouke Jan); P.L. de Jager (Philip); P.K. Joshi (Peter); A. Juqessur (Astanand); M. Kaakinen (Marika); M. Kähönen (Mika); S. Kanoni (Stavroula); Keltigangas-Järvinen, L. (Liisa); L.A.L.M. Kiemeney (Bart); I. Kolcic (Ivana); Koskinen, S. (Seppo); A. Kraja (Aldi); Kroh, M. (Martin); Z. Kutalik (Zoltán); A. Latvala (Antti); L.J. Launer (Lenore); Lebreton, M.P. (Maël P.); D.F. Levinson (Douglas F.); P. Lichtenstein (Paul); P. Lichtner (Peter); D.C. Liewald (David C.); A. Loukola (Anu); P.A. Madden (Pamela); R. Mägi (Reedik); Mäki-Opas, T. (Tomi); R.E. Marioni (Riccardo); P. Marques-Vidal; Meddens, G.A. (Gerardus A.); G. Mcmahon (George); C. Meisinger (Christa); T. Meitinger (Thomas); Milaneschi, Y. (Yusplitri); L. Milani (Lili); G.W. Montgomery (Grant); R. Myhre (Ronny); C.P. Nelson (Christopher P.); D.R. Nyholt (Dale); W.E.R. Ollier (William); A. Palotie (Aarno); L. Paternoster (Lavinia); N.L. Pedersen (Nancy); K. Petrovic (Katja); D.J. Porteous (David J.); K. Räikkönen (Katri); Ring, S.M. (Susan M.); A. Robino (Antonietta); O. Rostapshova (Olga); I. Rudan (Igor); A. Rustichini (Aldo); V. Salomaa (Veikko); Sanders, A.R. (Alan R.); A.-P. Sarin; R. Schmidt (Reinhold); R.J. Scott (Rodney); B.H. Smith (Blair); J.A. Smith (Jennifer A); J.A. Staessen (Jan); E. Steinhagen-Thiessen (Elisabeth); K. Strauch (Konstantin); A. Terracciano; M.D. Tobin (Martin); S. Ulivi (Shelia); S. Vaccargiu (Simona); L. Quaye (Lydia); F.J.A. van Rooij (Frank); C. Venturini (Cristina); A.A.E. Vinkhuyzen (Anna A.); U. Völker (Uwe); Völzke, H. (Henry); J.M. Vonk (Judith); D. Vozzi (Diego); J. Waage (Johannes); E.B. Ware (Erin B.); G.A.H.M. Willemsen (Gonneke); J. Attia (John); D.A. Bennett (David A.); Berger, K. (Klaus); L. Bertram (Lars); H. Bisgaard (Hans); D.I. Boomsma (Dorret); I.B. Borecki (Ingrid); U. Bültmann (Ute); C.F. Chabris (Christopher F.); F. Cucca (Francesco); D. Cusi (Daniele); I.J. Deary (Ian J.); G.V. Dedoussis (George); C.M. van Duijn (Cornelia); K. Hagen (Knut); B. Franke (Barbara); L. Franke (Lude); P. Gasparini (Paolo); P.V. Gejman (Pablo); C. Gieger (Christian); H.J. Grabe (Hans Jörgen); J. Gratten (Jacob); P.J.F. Groenen (Patrick); V. Gudnason (Vilmundur); P. van der Harst (Pim); C. Hayward (Caroline); D.A. Hinds (David A.); W. Hoffmann (Wolfgang); E. Hypponen (Elina); W.G. Iacono (William); B. Jacobsson (Bo); M.-R. Jarvelin (Marjo-Riitta); K.-H. JöCkel (Karl-Heinz); J. Kaprio (Jaakko); S.L.R. Kardia (Sharon); T. Lehtimäki (Terho); Lehrer, S.F. (Steven F.); P.K. Magnusson (Patrik); N.G. Martin (Nicholas); M. McGue (Matt); A. Metspalu (Andres); N. Pendleton (Neil); B.W.J.H. Penninx (Brenda); M. Perola (Markus); N. Pirastu (Nicola); M. Pirastu (Mario); O. Polasek (Ozren); D. Posthuma (Danielle); C. Power (Christopher); M.A. Province (Mike); N.J. Samani (Nilesh); Schlessinger, D. (David); R. Schmidt (Reinhold); T.I.A. Sørensen (Thorkild); T.D. Spector (Timothy); J-A. Zwart (John-Anker); U. Thorsteinsdottir (Unnur); A.R. Thurik (Roy); Timpson, N.J. (Nicholas J.); H.W. Tiemeier (Henning); J.Y. Tung (Joyce Y.); A.G. Uitterlinden (André); Vitart, V. (Veronique); P. Vollenweider (Peter); D.R. Weir (David); J.F. Wilson (James F.); A.F. Wright (Alan); Conley, D.C. (Dalton C.); R.F. Krueger; G.D. Smith; Hofman, A. (Albert); D. Laibson (David); S.E. Medland (Sarah Elizabeth); M.N. Meyer (Michelle N.); J. Yang (Joanna); M. Johannesson (Magnus); P.M. Visscher (Peter); T. Esko (Tõnu); Ph.D. Koellinger (Philipp); D. Cesarini (David); D.J. Benjamin (Daniel J.)

2016-01-01

textabstractEducational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Okbay, A.; Beauchamp, J.; Fontana, M.A.; Lee, J.J.; Pers, T.H.; Rietveld, C.A.; Turley, P.; Chen, G.B.; Emilsson, V.; Meddens, S.F.W.; de Vlaming, R.; Abdellaoui, A.; Peyrot, W.; Vinkhuyzen, A.A.E.; Hottenga, J.J.; Willemsen, G.; Boomsma, D.I.; Penninx, B.W.J.H.; Laibson, D.; Medland, S.E.; Meyer, M.N.; Yang, J.; Johannesson, M.; Visscher, P.M.; Esko, T.; Koellinger, P.D.; Cesarini, D.; Benjamin, D.J.

2016-01-01

Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals. Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends our

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Okbay, Aysu; Beauchamp, Jonathan P.; Fontana, Mark Alan; Lee, James J.; Pers, Tune H.; Rietveld, Cornelius A.; Turley, Patrick; Chen, Guo-Bo; Emilsson, Valur; Meddens, S. Fleur W.; Oskarsson, Sven; Pickrell, Joseph K.; Thom, Kevin; Timshel, Pascal; de Vlaming, Ronald; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S.; Bacelis, Jonas; Baumbach, Clemens; Bjornsdottir, Gyda; Brandsma, Johannes H.; Concas, Maria Pina; Derringer, Jaime; Furlotte, Nicholas A.; Galesloot, Tessel E.; Girotto, Giorgia; Gupta, Richa; Hall, Leanne M.; Harris, Sarah E.; Hofer, Edith; Horikoshi, Momoko; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Kaasik, Kadri; Kalafati, Ioanna P.; Karlsson, Robert; Kong, Augustine; Lahti, Jari; van der Lee, Sven J.; de Leeuw, Christiaan; Lind, Penelope A.; Lindgren, Karl-Oskar; Liu, Tian; van der Most, Peter J.; Verweij, Niek; Alizadeh, Behrooz Z.; Vonk, Judith M.; Bultmann, Ute; Franke, Lude; van der Harst, Pim; Penninx, Brenda W. J. H.

2016-01-01

Educational attainment is strongly influenced by social and other environmental factors, but genetic factors are estimated to account for at least 20% of the variation across individuals(1). Here we report the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for educational attainment that extends

Race/ethnicity, educational attainment, and pregnancy complications in New York City women with pre-existing diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

James-Todd, Tamarra; Janevic, Teresa; Brown, Florence M; Savitz, David A

2014-03-01

More women are entering pregnancy with pre-existing diabetes. Disease severity, glycaemic control, and predictors of pregnancy complications may differ by race/ethnicity or educational attainment, leading to differences in adverse pregnancy outcomes. We used linked New York City hospital record and birth certificate data for 6291 singleton births among women with pre-existing diabetes between 1995 and 2003. We defined maternal race/ethnicity as non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, South Asian, and East Asian, and education level as 12 years. Our outcomes were pre-eclampsia, preterm birth (PTB) (pregnancy complications. Non-Hispanic black, Hispanic, and South Asian women with pre-existing diabetes may benefit from targeted interventions to improve pregnancy outcomes. © 2013 The Authors. Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Quality assessment for VMAT prostate radiotherapy planning based on data envelopment analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Kuan-Min; Simpson, John; Raith, Andrea; Ehrgott, Matthias; Sasso, Giuseppe

2013-01-01

The majority of commercial radiotherapy treatment planning systems requires planners to iteratively adjust the plan parameters in order to find a satisfactory plan. This iterative trial-and-error nature of radiotherapy treatment planning results in an inefficient planning process and in order to reduce such inefficiency, plans can be accepted without achieving the best attainable quality. We propose a quality assessment method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA) to address this inefficiency. This method compares a plan of interest to a set of past delivered plans and searches for evidence of potential further improvement. With the assistance of DEA, planners will be able to make informed decisions on whether further planning is required and ensure that a plan is only accepted when the plan quality is close to the best attainable one. We apply the DEA method to 37 prostate plans using two assessment parameters: rectal generalized equivalent uniform dose (gEUD) as the input and D95 (the minimum dose that is received by 95% volume of a structure) of the planning target volume (PTV) as the output. The percentage volume of rectum overlapping PTV is used to account for anatomical variations between patients and is included in the model as a non-discretionary output variable. Five plans that are considered of lesser quality by DEA are re-optimized with the goal to further improve rectal sparing. After re-optimization, all five plans improve in rectal gEUD without clinically considerable deterioration of the PTV D95 value. For the five re-optimized plans, the rectal gEUD is reduced by an average of 1.84 Gray (Gy) with only an average reduction of 0.07 Gy in PTV D95. The results demonstrate that DEA can correctly identify plans with potential improvements in terms of the chosen input and outputs. (paper)

A combined segmenting and non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation for ambulatory photoplethysmography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wander, J D; Morris, D

2014-01-01

Continuous cardiac monitoring of healthy and unhealthy patients can help us understand the progression of heart disease and enable early treatment. Optical pulse sensing is an excellent candidate for continuous mobile monitoring of cardiovascular health indicators, but optical pulse signals are susceptible to corruption from a number of noise sources, including motion artifact. Therefore, before higher-level health indicators can be reliably computed, corrupted data must be separated from valid data. This is an especially difficult task in the presence of artifact caused by ambulation (e.g. walking or jogging), which shares significant spectral energy with the true pulsatile signal. In this manuscript, we present a machine-learning-based system for automated estimation of signal quality of optical pulse signals that performs well in the presence of periodic artifact. We hypothesized that signal processing methods that identified individual heart beats (segmenting approaches) would be more error-prone than methods that did not (non-segmenting approaches) when applied to data contaminated by periodic artifact. We further hypothesized that a fusion of segmenting and non-segmenting approaches would outperform either approach alone. Therefore, we developed a novel non-segmenting approach to signal quality estimation that we then utilized in combination with a traditional segmenting approach. Using this system we were able to robustly detect differences in signal quality as labeled by expert human raters (Pearson’s r = 0.9263). We then validated our original hypotheses by demonstrating that our non-segmenting approach outperformed the segmenting approach in the presence of contaminated signal, and that the combined system outperformed either individually. Lastly, as an example, we demonstrated the utility of our signal quality estimation system in evaluating the trustworthiness of heart rate measurements derived from optical pulse signals. (paper)

Material and Non-material Determinants of European Youth's Life Quality

OpenAIRE

Gawlik, Remigiusz

2013-01-01

The paper confronts chosen approaches to quality of life studies with recent changes in post-crisis socio-economic environment. The focus is on European Youth at verge of entry into adult life. Presented research is a preliminary study for “The Application of Artificial Intelligence Methods for Analyzing Material and Non-material Determinants of Life Satisfaction between Young People from Developing Countries” project. Identifying and grouping the determinants of their life satisfaction could...

The Utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 in Air Quality Decision-Making Activities

Science.gov (United States)

Duncan, Bryan

2010-01-01

I will discuss a novel and practical application of the OMI HCHU and NO2 data products to the "weight of evidence" in the air quality decision-making process (e.g., State Implementation Plan (SIP)) for a city, region, or state to demonstrate that it is making progress toward attainment of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. Any trend, or lack thereof, in the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may support that an emission control strategy implemented to reduce ozone is or is not occurring for a metropolitan area. In addition, the observed OMI HCHO/NO2 may be used to define new emission control strategies as the photochemical environments of urban areas evolve over time. I will demonstrate the utility of the OMI HCHO/NO2 over the U.S. for air quality applications with support from simulations with both a regional model and a photochemical box model. These results support mission planning of an OMI-like instrument for the proposed GEO-CAPE satellite that has as one of its objectives to study air quality from space. However, I'm attending the meeting as the Aura Deputy Project Scientist, so I don't technically need to present anything to justify the travel.

Parametric investigation of a non-constant cross sectional area air to air heat exchanger

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cárdenas, Bruno; Garvey, Seamus; Kantharaj, Bharath; Simpson, Michael

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Evaluation of complex geometry aimed at minimizing volume per unit of exergy transfer. • The use of a non-constant cross-section for the heat exchanger is proposed. • The performance gains attainable via modern manufacturing techniques are discussed. • The trade-off between overall exergy efficiency and cost is thoroughly analysed. • A quadratic proportion between volume and characteristic dimension has been found. - Abstract: The present article addresses the design, mathematical modelling and analysis of a novel highly exergy-efficient air to air heat exchanger. An intricate design based on an hexagonal mesh is proposed for the cross-sectional area of the heat exchanger with aims to explore the performance gains that can be obtained by exploiting the capabilities and benefits offered by modern fabrication techniques such as additive manufacturing. Special attention is paid to understanding the relationship or trade-off that exists between the overall exergy efficiency of the heat exchanger and its cost. The iterative algorithm used to find the geometrical parameters that yield the best performance in terms of volume of material required per unit of exergy transfer at a certain level of efficiency, as well as the assumptions and simplifications made, are comprehensively explained. It has been found through the analyses carried out performed, which are thoroughly discussed throughout the paper, that if the characteristic dimension of the heat exchanger is scaled up by a factor of n, the volume of material per kW of exergy transfer at certain exergy efficiency will increase by a factor of n squared. This is a very important observation, possibly applicable to other types of heat exchangers, that indicates that performance improves dramatically at smaller scales. The overall performance of the case study presented is satisfactory, a volume of material as low as 84.8 cm"3 for one kW of exergy transfer can be achieved with a 99% exergy

Clinical Determinants of Target Non-Attainment of Linezolid in Plasma and Interstitial Space Fluid: A Pooled Population Pharmacokinetic Analysis with Focus on Critically Ill Patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Minichmayr, Iris K; Schaeftlein, André; Kuti, Joseph L; Zeitlinger, Markus; Kloft, Charlotte

2017-06-01

We aimed to assess linezolid pharmacokinetics in the plasma and interstitial space fluid (ISF) of patients with sepsis, diabetic foot infections or cystic fibrosis and healthy volunteers. The impacts of joint characteristics and disease on plasma and target-site exposure were to be identified together with the benefit of dose intensification in critically ill patients. Rich plasma (n = 1598) and ISF concentrations in subcutaneous adipose (n = 1430) and muscle tissue (n = 1089) measured by microdialysis were pooled from three clinical trials with 51 individuals receiving 600 mg of intravenous and oral linezolid. All data were analysed simultaneously by a population approach also considering methodological aspects of microdialysis. The impact of covariates on the attainment of the pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets, AUC/MIC = 100 (area under the concentration-time curve/minimum inhibitory concentration) and fT >MIC  = 99 % (time that unbound concentrations exceed the MIC), was assessed by deterministic and Monte Carlo simulations. A two-compartment pharmacokinetic model with nonlinear elimination and tissue distribution factors accounting for differences between plasma and ISF concentrations adequately predicted all measurements. Clearance (CL) was highest in septic patients (11.2 L/h vs. CL Healthy /CL Cystic fibrosis /CL Diabetic  = 7.67/6.87/6.35 L/h). Penetration into subcutaneous adipose ISF was lowest in diabetic patients (-34.9 % compared with healthy volunteers). Creatinine clearance and total body weight further impacted linezolid exposure. To achieve timely efficacious therapy, front-loaded dosing and continuous infusion seemed beneficial in septic patients. Our analysis suggests that after standard linezolid doses, particularly patients with sepsis and conserved renal function are at risk of not attaining pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic targets and would benefit from initial dose intensification.

Temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas during rapid urbanization in Shanghai, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junying; Da Liangjun; Song Kun; Li Bailian

2008-01-01

As the economic and financial center of China, Shanghai has experienced an extensive urban expansion since the early 1980s, with an attendant cost in environmental degradation. We use an integrated pollution index to study the temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas between 1982 and 2005. Data on monitored cross-sections were collected from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center. The results indicated that the spatial pattern of surface water quality was determined by the level of urbanization. Surface water qualities in urban and suburban areas were improved by strengthening the environmental policies and management, but were worsening in rural areas. The relationship between economic growth and surface water quality in Shanghai showed an inversed-U-shaped curve, which reflected a similar pattern in most developed countries. This research suggests that decision makers and city officials should be more aware of the recent pollution increases in Shanghai. - An integrated pollution index documents the deterioration of water quality in greater Shanghai, recently most serious in rural sections

Lacking quality in research: Is behavioral neuroscience affected more than other areas of biomedical science?

Science.gov (United States)

Bespalov, Anton; Steckler, Thomas

2018-04-15

There are many reasons why novel therapeutics fail in clinical trials but these failures are often attributed to lacking quality of preclinical data. These problems are not limited to any specific therapeutic area, academic or industrial research and are due in large part to several generic factors influencing research quality (e.g., related to definition of pre-specified endpoints, principles of study design and analysis, biased reporting, and lack of proper training). Yet, neuroscience drug discovery is often said to be affected more than the other fields. Within neuroscience, behavioral studies are the most blamed for being poorly designed, underpowered and mis-reported and there are indeed several factors that may be rather unique for behavioral research, such as a multitude of environmental conditions that are difficult to control and that are often not reported, ethical concerns about in vivo research and the pressure to reduce animal numbers, contributing to under-powered studies, and the complexity of study design and analysis, creating too much room for post hoc data massaging and selective reporting. Also, the blood-brain barrier as a frequently neglected complicating factor has to be considered in CNS research. The importance of these factors is increasingly recognized and urgent efforts are needed to demonstrate that behavioral methods of preclinical neuroscience research deliver results that can be as robust as with the non-behavioral methods Until this goal is achieved, behavioral neuroscience and neuroscience in general may be losing young talent, CNS drug discovery may lack the needed investment and this field may indeed be amongst the most affected by the current preclinical data quality crisis. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The relationship between internalising symptom development and academic attainment in early adolescence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Praveetha Patalay

Full Text Available Evidence for the longitudinal associations between internalising symptom development and academic attainment is sparse and results from existing studies are largely inconclusive. The approaches that have been used in existing studies examining this relationship have in common the limitation of grouping together all individuals in the sample which makes the assumption that the relationship between time, symptoms and attainment across all individuals is the same. The current study aimed to use heterogeneous trajectories of symptom development to examine the longitudinal associations between internalising symptom development and change in academic attainment over a three years period in early adolescence, a key period for internalising symptom development. Internalising symptoms were assessed for 3 consecutive years in a cohort from age 11-14 years (n = 2647, mean age at T1 = 11.7 years. National standardised test scores prior to the first wave and subsequent to the last wave were used as measures of academic attainment. Heterogeneous symptom development trajectories were identified using latent class growth analysis and socio-demographic correlates, such as gender, SES and ethnicity, of the different trajectory groupings were investigated. Derived trajectory groupings were examined as predictors of subsequent academic attainment, controlling for prior attainment. Results demonstrate that symptom trajectories differentially predicted change in academic attainment with increasing trajectories associated with significantly worse academic outcomes when compared to pupils with low levels of symptoms in all waves. Hence, a trajectory based approach provides a more nuanced breakdown of complexities in symptom development and their differential relationships with academic outcomes and in doing so helps clarify the longitudinal relationship between these two key domains of functioning in early adolescence.

Factors associated with lipid goal attainment among acute coronary syndrome patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohd-Zulkefli SZ

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Siti-Zainora Mohd-Zulkefli, Marhanis-Salihah Omar, Adyani Md-Redzuan Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Background: The incidence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS, one of the most common cardiovascular diseases, is high. Lipid goal attainment is one of the important factors to reduce the risk of recurrent heart attack. Identification of factors influencing lipid goal attainment such as age, female, race, underlying comorbidities, intensity of lipid-lowering therapy, patients’ knowledge, and patients’ belief about medicine would be beneficial in achieving the lipid goal. This study is aimed to determine lipid profile attainment and prescribing pattern of lipid-lowering therapy as well as to identify factors influencing lipid profile attainment among ACS patients.Patients and methods: This researcher-assisted cross-sectional survey was carried out at a cardiology clinic in a tertiary hospital from March to May 2015.Results: A total of 101 ACS patients were involved in this study. The mean values for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels were 2.75 (0.82 mmol/L and 1.14 (0.27 mmol/L, respectively, while the median value for triglyceride level was 2.75 (0.82 mmol/L. Only 15.8% of our participants achieved the targeted LDL-C. Simvastatin 20 mg was the most common regimen prescribed. Predictors for better LDL-C attainment were younger age (β=-0.228; P=0.032 and higher knowledge score (β=-0.255; P=0.049, while predictors for high-density lipoprotein cholesterol attainment were male (β=0.268; P=0.006, smoking (β=-0.192; P=0.045, and higher knowledge score (β=-0.195; P=0.039. Smoking (β=-0.361; P<0.0001 was the only predictor for higher triglyceride level.Conclusion: Younger age, female, lower knowledge score, and smoking status are good predictors for lipid attainment among ACS patients. Keywords: influence, disease, drug use, patient 

Protection of groundwater resources quality and quantity in mining areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grmela, A.

1997-01-01

This contribution is devoted to the problems of the impact of land subsidence from coal and other mining systems on underground and surface waters, particularly in relation to the possible influence on quality and quantity of pumped waters for public or individual supply. It determines features of permanent and time-limited changes of hydrogeological structure and effectiveness of measures for their minimization (classification of sources from the point of view of protection, delineation of protection zones for water resources, monitoring of effectiveness of measures). Case studies are presented for examples from the Czech part of Upper Silesian Basin - catchment area Doubrava-Spluchov, Karvina-Stare Mesto, Ostrava-Nove Ves, and Dubi, Darkov Spa. Attention is focused on problems of delimitation of protection zones in undermined areas in respect to the new proposal of the Appendix to Water Law. 8 refs., 2 figs

Non-destructive estimation of leaf area for different plant ages and accessions of Capsicum annuum L.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Swart, de E.A.M.; Groenwold, R.; Kanne, H.J.; Stam, P.; Marcelis, L.F.M.; Voorrips, R.E.

2004-01-01

Accurate measurements of leaf area are important for agronomic and physiological studies. To be able to perform repeated measurements of leaf area on single (genetically unique) plants, a method was developed to estimate leaf area from non-destructive measurements in Capsicum annuum L. independent

Education attainment is associated with patient-reported outcomes: findings from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register.

Science.gov (United States)

Greene, Meridith E; Rolfson, Ola; Nemes, Szilard; Gordon, Max; Malchau, Henrik; Garellick, Göran

2014-06-01

Age, sex, and medical comorbidities may be associated with differences in patient-reported outcome scores after THA. Highest level of education may be a surrogate for socioeconomic status, but the degree to which this is associated with patient-reported outcomes after THA is not known. We investigated the national Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register for the association of education attainment on patient-reported outcomes 1 year after THA; specifically, we evaluated level of education attainment against health-related quality of life (HRQoL), pain reduction, and satisfaction with treatment 1 year after THA. All THAs for osteoarthritis performed from 2005 through 2007 with complete patient-reported outcome measures (representing 49% of the THAs performed for this diagnosis) were selected from the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Register. These cases were merged with national databases containing education attainment, marital status, and comorbidities (n = 11,464; mean age of patients, 64 years). The patient-reported outcome measure protocol included the HRQoL measure EuroQol five-dimension scale (EQ-5D), a VAS for pain, the Charnley classification survey, and a VAS addressing THA satisfaction. Linear regression analyses determined the association of preoperative patient factors with patient-reported outcomes. High education attainment was associated with higher HRQoL (EQ-5D index ß(high) = 0.03 ± 0.01; EQ VAS ß(high) = 2.6 ± 0.5) after THA, whereas those with low and medium education were at risk for lower HRQoL. High education was associated with less pain after treatment (ß(high) = -3.3 ± 0.05). Individuals with low or medium education were at risk for less satisfaction with THA (p education to a greater extent. Identification of patients who will benefit most from THA and educating those at risk for poorer outcomes, like patients with low and medium education, ultimately may improve patient satisfaction, HRQoL, pain, and the cost utility of THA. Level III

Regional Disparities in Education Attainment Level in the European Union: A Spatial Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chocholatá Michaela

2017-10-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the analysis of education attainment level across the 252 NUTS 2 regions of the European Union (EU with consideration of the spatial aspect. Since the individual EU regions cannot be seen as isolated, the main aim of this article is to assess the impact of location on the education attainment level (percentage of population aged 25–64 with at least upper secondary education during the period 2007–2015, as well as to investigate the impact of regional growth 2014/2007 on the education attainment level in 2015. The spatial analysis proved the existence of positive spatial autocorrelation and persistence of disparities in education attainment level across EU regions during the analysed period. The results of econometric analysis confirmed the expected positive impact of economic growth on education attainment level as well as the necessity to incorporate the spatial dimension into the model.

Educational attainment and obesity: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, A K; Rai, M; Rehkopf, D H; Abrams, B

2013-12-01

Although previous systematic reviews considered the relationship between socioeconomic status and obesity, almost 200 peer-reviewed articles have been published since the last review on that topic, and this paper focuses specifically on education, which has different implications. The authors systematically review the peer-reviewed literature from around the world considering the association between educational attainment and obesity. Databases from public health and medicine, education, psychology, economics, and other social sciences were searched, and articles published in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish were included. This paper includes 289 articles that report on 410 populations in 91 countries. The relationship between educational attainment and obesity was modified by both gender and the country's economic development level: an inverse association was more common in studies of higher-income countries and a positive association was more common in lower-income countries, with stronger social patterning among women. Relatively few studies reported on lower-income countries, controlled for a comprehensive set of potential confounding variables and/or attempted to assess causality through the use of quasi-experimental designs. Future research should address these gaps to understand if the relationship between educational attainment and obesity may be causal, thus supporting education policy as a tool for obesity prevention. © 2013 The Authors. obesity reviews © 2013 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

DNA methylation signatures of educational attainment

Science.gov (United States)

van Dongen, Jenny; Bonder, Marc Jan; Dekkers, Koen F.; Nivard, Michel G.; van Iterson, Maarten; Willemsen, Gonneke; Beekman, Marian; van der Spek, Ashley; van Meurs, Joyce B. J.; Franke, Lude; Heijmans, Bastiaan T.; van Duijn, Cornelia M.; Slagboom, P. Eline; Boomsma, Dorret I.; BIOS consortium

2018-03-01

Educational attainment is a key behavioural measure in studies of cognitive and physical health, and socioeconomic status. We measured DNA methylation at 410,746 CpGs (N = 4152) and identified 58 CpGs associated with educational attainment at loci characterized by pleiotropic functions shared with neuronal, immune and developmental processes. Associations overlapped with those for smoking behaviour, but remained after accounting for smoking at many CpGs: Effect sizes were on average 28% smaller and genome-wide significant at 11 CpGs after adjusting for smoking and were 62% smaller in never smokers. We examined sources and biological implications of education-related methylation differences, demonstrating correlations with maternal prenatal folate, smoking and air pollution signatures, and associations with gene expression in cis, dynamic methylation in foetal brain, and correlations between blood and brain. Our findings show that the methylome of lower-educated people resembles that of smokers beyond effects of their own smoking behaviour and shows traces of various other exposures.

Non-Stoichiometric SixN Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor for Compact Random Number Generator with 0.3 Mbit/s Generation Rate

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Mari; Ohba, Ryuji; Yasuda, Shin-ichi; Uchida, Ken; Tanamoto, Tetsufumi; Fujita, Shinobu

2008-08-01

The demand for random numbers for security applications is increasing. A conventional random number generator using thermal noise can generate unpredictable high-quality random numbers, but the circuit is extremely large because of large amplifier circuit for a small thermal signal. On the other hand, a pseudo-random number generator is small but the quality of randomness is bad. For a small circuit and a high quality of randomness, we purpose a non-stoichiometric SixN metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) noise source device. This device generates a very large noise signal without an amplifier circuit. As a result, it is shown that, utilizing a SiN MOSFET, we can attain a compact random number generator with a high generation rate near 1 Mbit/s, which is suitable for almost all security applications.

Non-invasive assessment of in-vitro embryo quality to improve transfer success

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Højbøge, Tina Rødgaard; Heegaard, Peter M. H.; Callesen, Henrik

2015-01-01

Although IVF has been performed routinely for many years to help couples with fertility problems and in relation to modern breeding of farm animals, pregnancy rates after transfer to a recipient have not improved during the last decade. Early prediction of the viability of in-vitro developed...... subjectively. The simple morphological approach is, however, inadequate for the prediction of embryo quality, and several studies have focused on developing new non-invasive methods using molecular approaches based particularly on proteomics, metabolomics and most recently small non-coding RNA, including micro...

INSURANCE OF KNITTED PRODUCTS QUALITY THROUGH THE ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF NON-QUALITY DURING ASSEMBLY BY STITCHING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUTIC Liliana

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In a knitting factory, any activity oriented toward evaluation, maintenance or improvement of products quality level is based on measuring and examining the product quality characteristics, in order to establish conformity to the quality specifications and/or naming the non-quality characteristics, thus noticing defects or fabrication deficiencies. The quality of the stitching operation has a particular influence on the finite product quality and is determined on side by the quality of knitted pieces, and on the other by insuring the correlation between the technological parameters of the stitching operation and the physico-mechanical characteristics of the knittings that are to be assembled through stitching. Although the product execution processes comprise of manufacturing the elements and distinct subassemblies and their ulterior assembly, they present various difference dictated by the constructive particularities of the machine, as well as fabric characteristics. Because of the multiple interactions between the material, yarn and working parts of the sawing machine, inadequacies in the technological discipline can result in negative effects on both the knitted and stitching thread as well as the machine. A part of these can be fixed by extra time consuming tasks (yarn breaks, stitching ruffling etc., while other defects appear during the usage of the product cheapening it (stitch tearing by perforating the knitted on the stitching line, pilling effect, dimensional instability etc.. This paper systematically presents, the main defects that may occur during the stitching operation of the products made out of circular knitted, as well as the causes that generate them along with preventive or corrective actions.

Non-destructive testing: A guidebook for industrial management and quality control personnel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-01-01

The introduction and application of non-destructive testing (NDT) in industry is grossly misrepresented and misunderstood. It is often said that introduction of this expensive technology does not give any tangible returns or at least does not give returns proportional to the investment made. The facts, however, are exactly opposite to this notion and thinking. In fact, NDT, when appropriately applied, gives tremendous returns by way of savings in scrap by lowering the ultimate rates of rejection, saving valuable manufacturing time, increasing the overall quality and reliability of manufactured goods, providing an extension of plant life through preventive maintenance, saving unnecessary shutdowns, particularly through inservice inspection, and enhancement of a particular industry's reputation and consequent increased sales and profits. Therefore, even from a purely commercial viewpoint, NDT is of utmost importance for an industrial concern. The additional considerations of NDT's role in safety, failure and consequent accident prevention leave no doubt at all about the value and need of NDT. It is this point that needs to be fully appreciated by the industrial managers and decision makers at all levels. Management ought to understand in quite an unambiguous way that their products can only survive in the highly competitive markets of today if they have the adequate and optimum quality. This quality can be built into the manufactured goods only if suitable measures and methods of quality control are employed and that the most suitable methods in most situations are the non-destructive testing methods. Experience shows that in many cases of industrial decision making, proper knowledge of various aspects of a particular technology plays an important role. Therefore, if positive decisions are desired to be taken in favour of introducing NDT in industry in any country, its decision makers should be properly equipped with knowledge and information about this area of

Non-destructive testing: A guidebook for industrial management and quality control personnel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1999-01-01

The introduction and application of non-destructive testing (NDT) in industry is grossly misrepresented and misunderstood. It is often said that introduction of this expensive technology does not give any tangible returns or at least does not give returns proportional to the investment made. The facts, however, are exactly opposite to this notion and thinking. In fact, NDT, when appropriately applied, gives tremendous returns by way of savings in scrap by lowering the ultimate rates of rejection, saving valuable manufacturing time, increasing the overall quality and reliability of manufactured goods, providing an extension of plant life through preventive maintenance, saving unnecessary shutdowns, particularly through inservice inspection, and enhancement of a particular industry's reputation and consequent increased sales and profits. Therefore, even from a purely commercial viewpoint, NDT is of utmost importance for an industrial concern. The additional considerations of NDT's role in safety, failure and consequent accident prevention leave no doubt at all about the value and need of NDT. It is this point that needs to be fully appreciated by the industrial managers and decision makers at all levels. Management ought to understand in quite an unambiguous way that their products can only survive in the highly competitive markets of today if they have the adequate and optimum quality. This quality can be built into the manufactured goods only if suitable measures and methods of quality control are employed and that the most suitable methods in most situations are the non-destructive testing methods. Experience shows that in many cases of industrial decision making, proper knowledge of various aspects of a particular technology plays an important role. Therefore, if positive decisions are desired to be taken in favour of introducing NDT in industry in any country, its decision makers should be properly equipped with knowledge and information about this area of

78 FR 63929 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions to Rules and...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-25

... requirements for grandfathered facilities. The revisions will contribute to improvement in overall air quality... to contribute to improvement of air quality and attainment or maintenance of the federal air quality...] Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Texas; Revisions to Rules and Regulations...

Water Quality Stressor Information from Clean Water Act Statewide Statistical Surveys

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Stressors assessed by statewide statistical surveys and their state and national attainment categories. Statewide statistical surveys are water quality assessments...

An index to measure depreciation in air quality in some coal mining areas of Korba industrial belt of Chhattisgarh, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Gurdeep

2006-11-01

The comparison with National Ambient Air Quality Standards does not always depict a true picture of the Air Quality Status of a study area. As an alternative an index that measures depreciation in Air Quality on more realistic terms has been proposed and applied to the ambient air monitoring data collected from some areas of Korba Coalfields in India. Results have been discussed in detail to illustrate the application of the proposed index and utility in bringing out more realistic air quality assessment.

Utilizing NASA DISCOVER-AQ Data to Examine Spatial Gradients in Complex Emission Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Buzanowicz, M. E.; Moore, W.; Crawford, J. H.; Schroeder, J.

2017-12-01

Although many regulations have been enacted with the goal of improving air quality, many parts of the US are still classified as `non-attainment areas' because they frequently violate federal air quality standards. Adequately monitoring the spatial distribution of pollutants both within and outside of non-attainment areas has been an ongoing challenge for regulators. Observations of near-surface pollution from space-based platforms would provide an unprecedented view of the spatial distribution of pollution, but this goal has not yet been realized due to fundamental limitations of satellites, specifically because the footprint size of satellite measurements may not be sufficiently small enough to capture true gradients in pollution, and rather represents an average over a large area. NASA's DISCOVER-AQ was a multi-year field campaign aimed at improving our understanding of the role that remote sensing, including satellite-based remote sensing, could play in air quality monitoring systems. DISCOVER-AQ data will be utilized to create a metric to examine spatial gradients and how satellites can capture those gradients in areas with complex emission environments. Examining horizontal variability within a vertical column is critical to understanding mixing within the atmosphere. Aircraft spirals conducted during DISCOVER-AQ were divided into octants, and averages of a given a species were calculated, with certain points receiving a flag. These flags were determined by calculating gradients between subsequent octants. Initial calculations have shown that over areas with large point source emissions, such as Platteville and Denver-La Casa in Colorado, and Essex, Maryland, satellite retrievals may not adequately capture spatial variability in the atmosphere, thus complicating satellite inversion techniques and limiting our ability to understand human exposure on sub-grid scales. Further calculations at other locations and for other trace gases are necessary to determine

Comparative study of physico-chemical parameters of drinking water from some longevity and non-longevity areas of China.

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Yajun; Luo, Kunli; Hussain, Rahib

2017-06-01

There is an obvious regional longevity phenomenon in China and many longevity counties are located in South China. This study was carried out to find the characteristics of elemental contents of drinking water in longevity areas in South China and the differences to non-longevity areas in China. A total of 128 drinking water samples were collected from longevity areas in South China (n = 40), non-longevity areas in South China (n = 74) and non-longevity areas in North China (n = 14) and 46 parameters of water were determined or calculated. The results showed that drinking water in longevity areas of South China had a high ratio of sum concentration of essential micro-elements in sum concentration of micro-elements (SCME) and a low ratio of sum concentration of hazardous micro-elements in SCME. The concentration of total hardness (TH) and strontium in drinking water was 157.82 mg/L and 82.1 μg/L, respectively, and they were 14.61 mg/L, 7.45 μg/L and 291.69 mg/L, 748.65 μg/L in the non-longevity areas of South and North China, respectively. The study concluded that drinking water containing 157.82 mg/L TH and 82.1 μg/L strontium in South China may be optimum to human health.

Non-contact ulcer area calculation system for neuropathic foot ulcer.

Science.gov (United States)

Shah, Parth; Mahajan, Siddaram; Nageswaran, Sharmila; Paul, Sathish Kumar; Ebenzer, Mannam

2017-08-11

Around 125,785 new cases in year 2013-14 of leprosy were detected in India as per WHO report on leprosy in September 2015 which accounts to approximately 62% of the total new cases. Anaesthetic foot caused by leprosy leads to uneven loading of foot leading to ulcer in approximately 20% of the cases. Much efforts have gone in identifying newer techniques to efficiently monitor the progress of ulcer healing. Current techniques followed in measuring the size of ulcers, have not been found to be so accurate but are still is followed by clinicians across the globe. Quantification of prognosis of the condition would be required to understand the efficacy of current treatment methods and plan for further treatment. This study aims at developing a non contact technique to precisely measure the size of ulcer in patients affected by leprosy. Using MATLAB software, GUI was designed to process the acquired ulcer image by segmenting and calculating the pixel area of the image. The image was further converted to a standard measurement using a reference object. The developed technique was tested on 16 ulcer images acquired from 10 leprosy patients with plantar ulcers. Statistical analysis was done using MedCalc analysis software to find the reliability of the system. The analysis showed a very high correlation coefficient (r=0.9882) between the ulcer area measurements done using traditional technique and the newly developed technique, The reliability of the newly developed technique was significant with a significance level of 99.9%. The designed non-contact ulcer area calculating system using MATLAB is found to be a reliable system in calculating the size of ulcers. The technique would help clinicians have a reliable tool to monitor the progress of ulcer healing and help modify the treatment protocol if needed. Copyright © 2017 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-invasive quality evaluation of confluent cells by image-based orientation heterogeneity analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Kei; Sasaki, Hiroto; Takahashi, Atsuki; Kang, Siu; Yuasa, Tetsuya; Kato, Ryuji

2016-02-01

In recent years, cell and tissue therapy in regenerative medicine have advanced rapidly towards commercialization. However, conventional invasive cell quality assessment is incompatible with direct evaluation of the cells produced for such therapies, especially in the case of regenerative medicine products. Our group has demonstrated the potential of quantitative assessment of cell quality, using information obtained from cell images, for non-invasive real-time evaluation of regenerative medicine products. However, image of cells in the confluent state are often difficult to evaluate, because accurate recognition of cells is technically difficult and the morphological features of confluent cells are non-characteristic. To overcome these challenges, we developed a new image-processing algorithm, heterogeneity of orientation (H-Orient) processing, to describe the heterogeneous density of cells in the confluent state. In this algorithm, we introduced a Hessian calculation that converts pixel intensity data to orientation data and a statistical profiling calculation that evaluates the heterogeneity of orientations within an image, generating novel parameters that yield a quantitative profile of an image. Using such parameters, we tested the algorithm's performance in discriminating different qualities of cellular images with three types of clinically important cell quality check (QC) models: remaining lifespan check (QC1), manipulation error check (QC2), and differentiation potential check (QC3). Our results show that our orientation analysis algorithm could predict with high accuracy the outcomes of all types of cellular quality checks (>84% average accuracy with cross-validation). Copyright © 2015 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of neighbourhood-level educational attainment on HIV prevalence among young women in Zambia.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayeyi, Nkomba; Sandøy, Ingvild F; Fylkesnes, Knut

2009-08-25

Investigations of the association between socio-economic position indicators and HIV in East, Central and Southern Africa have chiefly focused on factors that pertain to individual-level characteristics. This study investigated the effect of neighbourhood educational attainment on HIV prevalence among young women in selected urban and rural areas in Zambia. This study re-analysed data from a cross-sectional population survey conducted in Zambia in 2003. The analyses were restricted to women aged 15-24 years (n = 1295). Stratified random cluster sampling was used to select 10 urban and 10 rural clusters. A measure for neighbourhood-level educational attainment was constructed by aggregating individual-level years-in-school. Multi-level mixed effects regression models were run to examine the neighbourhood-level educational effect on HIV prevalence after adjusting for individual-level underlying variables (education, currently a student, marital status) and selected proximate determinants (ever given birth, sexual activity, lifetime sexual partners). HIV prevalence among young women aged 15-24 years was 12.5% in the urban and 6.8% in the rural clusters. Neighbourhood educational attainment was found to be a strong determinant of HIV infection in both urban and rural population, i.e. HIV prevalence decreased substantially by increasing level of neighbourhood education. The likelihood of infection in low vs. high educational attainment of neighbourhoods was 3.4 times among rural women and 1.8 times higher among the urban women after adjusting for age and other individual-level underlying variables, including education. However, the association was not significant for urban young women after this adjustment. After adjusting for level of education in the neighbourhood, the effect of the individual-level education differed by residence, i.e. a strong protective effect among urban women whereas tending to be a risk factor among rural women. The findings suggested structural

Comparative prevalence of otitis media in children living in urban slums, non-slum urban and rural areas of Delhi.

Science.gov (United States)

Chadha, Shelly K; Gulati, Kriti; Garg, Suneela; Agarwal, Arun K

2014-12-01

The study aimed to determine the prevalence and profile of otitis media in different parts of a city, i.e. non-slum urban areas, urban slums and rural areas. A door to door survey was conducted in identified areas of Delhi. A total of 3000 children (0-15 years) were randomly selected and examined for presence of otitis media. These children were equally distributed in the three areas under consideration. Data was analyzed to establish the prevalence of different types of otitis media. Chi-square test was then applied to compare disease prevalence among the three areas. 7.1% of the study population was identified with otitis media, which includes CSOM (4.26%), OME (2.5%) and ASOM (0.4%). In the non-slum urban parts of the city, 4.6% children had otitis media. This was significantly lower compared to 7% children in rural parts of Delhi and 9.9% in urban slums of the city. The prevalence of CSOM was considerably higher in slum areas (7.2%) as compared with rural (3%) and non-slum urban areas (2.6%). Ear infections are significantly more common in urban slums as compared to non-slum city areas and rural parts of Delhi. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Remote Sensing Characterization of the Urban Landscape for Improvement of Air Quality Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models, particularly the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model that is used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, primarily for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of the CMAQ model to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well the model predicts ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to the meteorology component of the CMAQ model focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. These growth projections include "business as usual" and "smart growth" scenarios out to 2030. The growth projections illustrate the effects of employing urban heat island mitigation strategies, such as increasing tree canopy and albedo across the Atlanta metro area, in moderating ground-level ozone and air temperature, compared to "business as usual" simulations in which heat island mitigation strategies are not applied. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data has been found to better characterize low densityhburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for fiture scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the regional planning agency for the area. This allows the state Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these

Changes in cross-sectional area of pulmonary vessels on chest computed tomography after chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Karayama, Masato; Inui, Naoki; Kusagaya, Hideki; Suzuki, Seiichiro; Inoue, Yusuke; Enomoto, Noriyuki; Fujisawa, Tomoyuki; Nakamura, Yutaro; Suda, Takafumi

2016-05-01

Chemotherapy is associated with a risk of vascular damage. Novel anti-angiogenic agents, which can directly affect tumor angiogenesis, are increasingly being used. However, the effects of these agents on normal vasculature are not well understood. Here, we evaluated the effects of chemotherapy in general, and the anti-angiogenic agent bevacizumab, more specifically, on the pulmonary vasculature in patients with advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For this, we used the cross-sectional area of pulmonary vessels (CSA), which is an easily measurable indicator of small pulmonary vasculature on non-contrast chest computed tomography (CT). We retrospectively reviewed CT scans of the lungs of 75 chemo-naïve patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC, for measurement of CSA, before and after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, using a semi-automatic image-processing program. Measured vessels were classified in two groups: small vessels with CSA area (%CSAsmall-diameter vessels, with a significant decrease in %CSAsmall pulmonary vascular damage. Use of bevacizumab does not enhance the reduction in area of pulmonary vessels.

Using magnetic levitation for non-destructive quality control of plastic parts.

Science.gov (United States)

Hennek, Jonathan W; Nemiroski, Alex; Subramaniam, Anand Bala; Bwambok, David K; Yang, Dian; Harburg, Daniel V; Tricard, Simon; Ellerbee, Audrey K; Whitesides, George M

2015-03-04

Magnetic levitation (MagLev) enables rapid and non-destructive quality control of plastic parts. The feasibility of MagLev as a method to: i) rapidly assess injection-molded plastic parts for defects during process optimization, ii) monitor the degradation of plastics after exposure to harsh environmental conditions, and iii) detect counterfeit polymers by density is demonstrated. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Groundwater Quality Assessment for Waste Management Area U: First Determination

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hodges, Floyd N.; Chou, Charissa J.

2000-08-04

As a result of the most recent recalculation one of the indicator parameters, specific conductance, exceeded its background value in downgradient well 299-W19-41, triggering a change from detection monitoring to groundwater quality assessment program. The major contributors to the higher specific conductance are nonhazardous constituents (i.e., sodium, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, and bicarbonate). Nitrate, chromium, and technetium-99 are present and are increasing; however, they are significantly below their drinking waster standards. Interpretation of groundwater monitoring data indicates that both the nonhazardous constituents causing elevated specific conductance in groundwater and the tank waste constituents present in groundwater at the waste management area are a result of surface water infiltration in the southern portion of the facility. There is evidence for both upgradient and waste management area sources for observed nitrate concentrations. There is no indication of an upgradient source for the observed chromium and technetium-99.

Lot quality assurance sampling for monitoring coverage and quality of a targeted condom social marketing programme in traditional and non-traditional outlets in India

OpenAIRE

Piot, Bram; Mukherjee, Amajit; Navin, Deepa; Krishnan, Nattu; Bhardwaj, Ashish; Sharma, Vivek; Marjara, Pritpal

2010-01-01

Objectives This study reports on the results of a large-scale targeted condom social marketing campaign in and around areas where female sex workers are present. The paper also describes the method that was used for the routine monitoring of condom availability in these sites. Methods The lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) method was used for the assessment of the geographical coverage and quality of coverage of condoms in target areas in four states and along selected national highways in...

How to attain expertise in clinical communication?

NARCIS (Netherlands)