WorldWideScience

Sample records for recording real case

  1. Recording real case data of earth faults in distribution lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haenninen, S. [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

    1996-12-31

    The most common fault type in the electrical distribution networks is the single phase to earth fault. According to the earlier studies, for instance in Nordic countries, about 80 % of all faults are of this type. To develop the protection and fault location systems, it is important to obtain real case data of disturbances and faults which occur in the networks. For example, the earth fault initial transients can be used for earth fault location. The aim of this project was to collect and analyze real case data of the earth fault disturbances in the medium voltage distribution networks (20 kV). Therefore, data of fault occurrences were recorded at two substations, of which one has an unearthed and the other a compensated neutral, measured as follows: (a) the phase currents and neutral current for each line in the case of low fault resistance (b) the phase voltages and neutral voltage from the voltage measuring bay in the case of low fault resistance (c) the neutral voltage and the components of 50 Hz at the substation in the case of high fault resistance. In addition, the basic data of the fault occurrences were collected (data of the line, fault location, cause and so on). The data will be used in the development work of fault location and earth fault protection systems

  2. Recording real case data of earth faults in distribution lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haenninen, S [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

    1997-12-31

    The most common fault type in the electrical distribution networks is the single phase to earth fault. According to the earlier studies, for instance in Nordic countries, about 80 % of all faults are of this type. To develop the protection and fault location systems, it is important to obtain real case data of disturbances and faults which occur in the networks. For example, the earth fault initial transients can be used for earth fault location. The aim of this project was to collect and analyze real case data of the earth fault disturbances in the medium voltage distribution networks (20 kV). Therefore, data of fault occurrences were recorded at two substations, of which one has an unearthed and the other a compensated neutral, measured as follows: (a) the phase currents and neutral current for each line in the case of low fault resistance (b) the phase voltages and neutral voltage from the voltage measuring bay in the case of low fault resistance (c) the neutral voltage and the components of 50 Hz at the substation in the case of high fault resistance. In addition, the basic data of the fault occurrences were collected (data of the line, fault location, cause and so on). The data will be used in the development work of fault location and earth fault protection systems

  3. 26 CFR 1.857-8 - Records to be kept by a real estate investment trust.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 26 Internal Revenue 9 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Records to be kept by a real estate investment... (CONTINUED) INCOME TAX (CONTINUED) INCOME TAXES Real Estate Investment Trusts § 1.857-8 Records to be kept by a real estate investment trust. (a) In general. Under section 857(a)(2) a real estate investment...

  4. Building the evidence on simulation validity: comparison of anesthesiologists' communication patterns in real and simulated cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, Jennifer; Henderson, Robert; Webster, Craig S; Shulruf, Boaz; Torrie, Jane; Davies, Elaine; Henderson, Kaylene; Frampton, Chris; Merry, Alan F

    2014-01-01

    Effective teamwork is important for patient safety, and verbal communication underpins many dimensions of teamwork. The validity of the simulated environment would be supported if it elicited similar verbal communications to the real setting. The authors hypothesized that anesthesiologists would exhibit similar verbal communication patterns in routine operating room (OR) cases and routine simulated cases. The authors further hypothesized that anesthesiologists would exhibit different communication patterns in routine cases (real or simulated) and simulated cases involving a crisis. Key communications relevant to teamwork were coded from video recordings of anesthesiologists in the OR, routine simulation and crisis simulation and percentages were compared. The authors recorded comparable videos of 20 anesthesiologists in the two simulations, and 17 of these anesthesiologists in the OR, generating 400 coded events in the OR, 683 in the routine simulation, and 1,419 in the crisis simulation. The authors found no significant differences in communication patterns in the OR and the routine simulations. The authors did find significant differences in communication patterns between the crisis simulation and both the OR and the routine simulations. Participants rated team communication as realistic and considered their communications occurred with a similar frequency in the simulations as in comparable cases in the OR. The similarity of teamwork-related communications elicited from anesthesiologists in simulated cases and the real setting lends support for the ecological validity of the simulation environment and its value in teamwork training. Different communication patterns and frequencies under the challenge of a crisis support the use of simulation to assess crisis management skills.

  5. Near Real-Time Call Detail Record ETL Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cochinwala, Munir; Panagos, Euthimios

    Telecommunication companies face significant business challenges as they strive to reduce subscriber churn and increase average revenue per user (ARPU) by offering new services and incorporating new functionality into existing services. The increased number of service offerings and available functionality result in an ever growing volume of call detail records (CDRs). For many services (e.g., pre-paid), CDRs need to be processed and analyzed in near real-time for several reasons, including charging, on-line subscriber access to their accounts, and analytics for predicting subscriber usage and preventing fraudulent activity. In this paper, we describe the challenges associated with near real-time extract, transform, and load (ETL) of CDR data warehouse flows for supporting both the operational and business intelligence needs of telecommunication services, and we present our approach to addressing these challenges.

  6. A near real-time satellite-based global drought climate data record

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AghaKouchak, Amir; Nakhjiri, Navid

    2012-01-01

    Reliable drought monitoring requires long-term and continuous precipitation data. High resolution satellite measurements provide valuable precipitation information on a quasi-global scale. However, their short lengths of records limit their applications in drought monitoring. In addition to this limitation, long-term low resolution satellite-based gauge-adjusted data sets such as the Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) one are not available in near real-time form for timely drought monitoring. This study bridges the gap between low resolution long-term satellite gauge-adjusted data and the emerging high resolution satellite precipitation data sets to create a long-term climate data record of droughts. To accomplish this, a Bayesian correction algorithm is used to combine GPCP data with real-time satellite precipitation data sets for drought monitoring and analysis. The results showed that the combined data sets after the Bayesian correction were a significant improvement compared to the uncorrected data. Furthermore, several recent major droughts such as the 2011 Texas, 2010 Amazon and 2010 Horn of Africa droughts were detected in the combined real-time and long-term satellite observations. This highlights the potential application of satellite precipitation data for regional to global drought monitoring. The final product is a real-time data-driven satellite-based standardized precipitation index that can be used for drought monitoring especially over remote and/or ungauged regions. (letter)

  7. Real-World Evidence In Support Of Precision Medicine: Clinico-Genomic Cancer Data As A Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwala, Vineeta; Khozin, Sean; Singal, Gaurav; O'Connell, Claire; Kuk, Deborah; Li, Gerald; Gossai, Anala; Miller, Vincent; Abernethy, Amy P

    2018-05-01

    The majority of US adult cancer patients today are diagnosed and treated outside the context of any clinical trial (that is, in the real world). Although these patients are not part of a research study, their clinical data are still recorded. Indeed, data captured in electronic health records form an ever-growing, rich digital repository of longitudinal patient experiences, treatments, and outcomes. Likewise, genomic data from tumor molecular profiling are increasingly guiding oncology care. Linking real-world clinical and genomic data, as well as information from other co-occurring data sets, could create study populations that provide generalizable evidence for precision medicine interventions. However, the infrastructure required to link, ensure quality, and rapidly learn from such composite data is complex. We outline the challenges and describe a novel approach to building a real-world clinico-genomic database of patients with cancer. This work represents a case study in how data collected during routine patient care can inform precision medicine efforts for the population at large. We suggest that health policies can promote innovation by defining appropriate uses of real-world evidence, establishing data standards, and incentivizing data sharing.

  8. Numerical analysis of rapid drawdown: Applications in real cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo E. Alonso

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In this study, rapid drawdown scenarios were analyzed by means of numerical examples as well as modeling of real cases with in situ measurements. The aim of the study was to evaluate different approaches available for calculating pore water pressure distributions during and after a drawdown. To do that, a single slope subjected to a drawdown was first analyzed under different calculation alternatives, and numerical results were discussed. Simple methods, such as undrained analysis and pure flow analysis, implicitly assuming a rigid soil skeleton, lead to significant errors in pore water pressure distributions when compared with coupled flow-deformation analysis. A similar analysis was performed for the upstream slope of the Glen Shira Dam, Scotland, and numerical results were compared with field measurements during a controlled drawdown. Field records indicate that classical undrained calculations are conservative but unrealistic. Then, a recent case of a major landslide triggered by a rapid drawdown in a reservoir was interpreted. A key aspect of the case was the correct characterization of permeability of a representative soil profile. This was achieved by combining laboratory test results and a back analysis of pore water pressure time records during a period of reservoir water level fluctuations. The results highlight the difficulty of predicting whether the pore water pressure is overestimated or underestimated when using simplified approaches, and it is concluded that predicting the pore water pressure distribution in a slope after a rapid drawdown requires a coupled flow-deformation analysis in saturated and unsaturated porous media.

  9. Time-Optimal Real-Time Test Case Generation using UPPAAL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hessel, Anders; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand; Nielsen, Brian

    2004-01-01

    Testing is the primary software validation technique used by industry today, but remains ad hoc, error prone, and very expensive. A promising improvement is to automatically generate test cases from formal models of the system under test. We demonstrate how to automatically generate real...... test purposes or generated automatically from various coverage criteria of the model.......-time conformance test cases from timed automata specifications. Specifically we demonstrate how to fficiently generate real-time test cases with optimal execution time i.e test cases that are the fastest possible to execute. Our technique allows time optimal test cases to be generated using manually formulated...

  10. Case for real-time systems development - Quo vadis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erb, Dona M.

    1991-01-01

    The paper focuses on the distinctive issues of computer-aided software engineering (CASE) products for the development of real-time systems. CASE technologies and associated standardization efforts are evolving from sets of conflicting interests. The majority of case products are intended for use in the development of management information systems. CASE products to support the development of large, complex real-time systems must provide additional capabilities. Generic concerns include the quality of the implementation of the required method for the phase of the system's development and whether the vendor is stable and committed to evolving the products in parallel with nonproprietary standards. The CASE market is undergoing considerable consolidation. The paper describes the major forces, cooperating entities, and remaining uncertainties that need to be weighed in near-term CASE procurements to limit risk of loss of investment in project time, trianing, and money.

  11. Privacy-preserving record linkage on large real world datasets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randall, Sean M; Ferrante, Anna M; Boyd, James H; Bauer, Jacqueline K; Semmens, James B

    2014-08-01

    Record linkage typically involves the use of dedicated linkage units who are supplied with personally identifying information to determine individuals from within and across datasets. The personally identifying information supplied to linkage units is separated from clinical information prior to release by data custodians. While this substantially reduces the risk of disclosure of sensitive information, some residual risks still exist and remain a concern for some custodians. In this paper we trial a method of record linkage which reduces privacy risk still further on large real world administrative data. The method uses encrypted personal identifying information (bloom filters) in a probability-based linkage framework. The privacy preserving linkage method was tested on ten years of New South Wales (NSW) and Western Australian (WA) hospital admissions data, comprising in total over 26 million records. No difference in linkage quality was found when the results were compared to traditional probabilistic methods using full unencrypted personal identifiers. This presents as a possible means of reducing privacy risks related to record linkage in population level research studies. It is hoped that through adaptations of this method or similar privacy preserving methods, risks related to information disclosure can be reduced so that the benefits of linked research taking place can be fully realised. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. An Internet-Based Real-Time Audiovisual Link for Dual MEG Recordings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey Zhdanov

    Full Text Available Most neuroimaging studies of human social cognition have focused on brain activity of single subjects. More recently, "two-person neuroimaging" has been introduced, with simultaneous recordings of brain signals from two subjects involved in social interaction. These simultaneous "hyperscanning" recordings have already been carried out with a spectrum of neuroimaging modalities, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI, electroencephalography (EEG, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS.We have recently developed a setup for simultaneous magnetoencephalographic (MEG recordings of two subjects that communicate in real time over an audio link between two geographically separated MEG laboratories. Here we present an extended version of the setup, where we have added a video connection and replaced the telephone-landline-based link with an Internet connection. Our setup enabled transmission of video and audio streams between the sites with a one-way communication latency of about 130 ms. Our software that allows reproducing the setup is publicly available.We demonstrate that the audiovisual Internet-based link can mediate real-time interaction between two subjects who try to mirror each others' hand movements that they can see via the video link. All the nine pairs were able to synchronize their behavior. In addition to the video, we captured the subjects' movements with accelerometers attached to their index fingers; we determined from these signals that the average synchronization accuracy was 215 ms. In one subject pair we demonstrate inter-subject coherence patterns of the MEG signals that peak over the sensorimotor areas contralateral to the hand used in the task.

  13. A Real-Time Recording Model of Key Indicators for Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Sustainable Buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiwei Wu

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Buildings’ sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability.

  14. A Real-Time Recording Model of Key Indicators for Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Sustainable Buildings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Weiwei; Yang, Huanjia; Chew, David; Hou, Yanhong; Li, Qiming

    2014-01-01

    Buildings' sustainability is one of the crucial parts for achieving urban sustainability. Applied to buildings, life-cycle assessment encompasses the analysis and assessment of the environmental effects of building materials, components and assemblies throughout the entire life of the building construction, use and demolition. Estimate of carbon emissions is essential and crucial for an accurate and reasonable life-cycle assessment. Addressing the need for more research into integrating analysis of real-time and automatic recording of key indicators for a more accurate calculation and comparison, this paper aims to design a real-time recording model of these crucial indicators concerning the calculation and estimation of energy use and carbon emissions of buildings based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based system. The architecture of the RFID-based carbon emission recording/tracking system, which contains four functional layers including data record layer, data collection/update layer, data aggregation layer and data sharing/backup layer, is presented. Each of these layers is formed by RFID or network devices and sub-systems that operate at a specific level. In the end, a proof-of-concept system is developed to illustrate the implementation of the proposed architecture and demonstrate the feasibility of the design. This study would provide the technical solution for real-time recording system of building carbon emissions and thus is of great significance and importance to improve urban sustainability. PMID:24831109

  15. Software for real-time localization of baleen whale calls using directional sonobuoys: A case study on Antarctic blue whales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Brian S; Calderan, Susannah; Gillespie, Douglas; Weatherup, Graham; Leaper, Russell; Collins, Kym; Double, Michael C

    2016-03-01

    Directional frequency analysis and recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys can allow real-time acoustic localization of baleen whales for underwater tracking and remote sensing, but limited availability of hardware and software has prevented wider usage. These software limitations were addressed by developing a module in the open-source software PAMGuard. A case study is presented demonstrating that this software provides greater efficiency and accessibility than previous methods for detecting, localizing, and tracking Antarctic blue whales in real time. Additionally, this software can easily be extended to track other low and mid frequency sounds including those from other cetaceans, pinnipeds, icebergs, shipping, and seismic airguns.

  16. The Case For Prediction-based Best-effort Real-time Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-01-01

    Real - time Systems Peter A. Dinda Loukas Kallivokas January...DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A Approved for Public Release Distribution Unlimited DTIG QUALBR DISSECTED X The Case For Prediction-based Best-effort Real - time Systems Peter...Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA 15213 A version of this paper appeared in the Seventh Workshop on Parallel and Distributed Real - Time Systems

  17. 29 CFR 1904.10 - Recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Hz) in the same ear(s) as the STS, you must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log. (b) Implementation... record the hearing loss case on the OSHA 300 Log. If the retest confirms the recordable STS, you must... or to record the case on the OSHA 300 Log. (7) How do I complete the 300 Log for a hearing loss case...

  18. Records management audit: The case of Gaborone city council ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    records, the existence or non-existence of records management policies and procedures, as well as records security measures at GCC. A case study methodology was used and questionnaires were distributed to 35 officers selected from senior members of staff and records/ administrative personnel. Personal observations ...

  19. REAL AND SIMULATED WAVEFORM RECORDING LIDAR DATA IN BOREAL JUVENILE FOREST VEGETATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Hovi

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Airborne small-footprint LiDAR is replacing field measurements in regional-level forest inventories, but auxiliary field work is still required for the optimal management of young stands. Waveform (WF recording sensors can provide a more detailed description of the vegetation compared to discrete return (DR systems. Furthermore, knowing the shape of the signal facilitates comparisons between real data and those obtained with simulation tools. We performed a quantitative validation of a Monte Carlo ray tracing (MCRT -based LiDAR simulator against real data and used simulations and empirical data to study the WF recording LiDAR for the classification of boreal juvenile forest vegetation. Geometric-optical models of three common species were used as input for the MCRT model. Simulated radiometric and geometric WF features were in good agreement with the real data, and interspecies differences were preserved. We used the simulator to study the effects of sensor parameters on species classification performance. An increase in footprint size improved the classification accuracy up to a certain footprint size, while the emitted pulse width and the WF sampling rate had minor effects. Analyses on empirical data showed small improvement in performance compared to existing studies, when classifying seedling stand vegetation to four operational classes. The results on simulator validation serve as a basis for the future use of simulation models e.g. in LiDAR survey planning or in the simulation of synthetic training data, while the empirical findings clarify the potential of WF LiDAR data in the inventory chain for the operational forest management planning in Finland.

  20. 29 CFR 1904.11 - Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases... Forms and Recording Criteria § 1904.11 Recording criteria for work-related tuberculosis cases. (a) Basic... tuberculosis (TB), and that employee subsequently develops a tuberculosis infection, as evidenced by a positive...

  1. A Real-Life Case Study of Audit Interactions--Resolving Messy, Complex Problems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beattie, Vivien; Fearnley, Stella; Hines, Tony

    2012-01-01

    Real-life accounting and auditing problems are often complex and messy, requiring the synthesis of technical knowledge in addition to the application of generic skills. To help students acquire the necessary skills to deal with these problems effectively, educators have called for the use of case-based methods. Cases based on real situations (such…

  2. OPTIMIZED REAL-TIME CONTROL OF COMBINED SEWERAGE SYSTEMS: TWO CASE STUDIES

    Science.gov (United States)

    The paper presents results of two case studies of Real-Time Control (RTC) alternatives evaluations that were conducted on portions of sewerage systems near Paris, France and in Quebec City, Canada, respectively. The studies were performed at real-scale demonstration sites. RTC ...

  3. Using electronic medical records analysis to investigate the effectiveness of lifestyle programs in real-world primary care is challenging: a case study in diabetes mellitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linmans, Joris J; Viechtbauer, Wolfgang; Koppenaal, Tjarco; Spigt, Mark; Knottnerus, J André

    2012-07-01

    The increasing prevalence of diabetes suggests a gap between real world and controlled trial effectiveness of lifestyle interventions, but real-world investigations are rare. Electronic medical registration facilitates research on real-world effectiveness, although such investigations may require specific methodology and statistics. We investigated the effects of real-world primary care for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We used medical records of patients (n=2,549) with T2DM from 10 primary health care centers. A mixed-effects regression model for repeated measurements was used to evaluate the changes in weight and Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) over time. There was no statistically significant change in weight (+0.07 kg, P=0.832) and HbA1c (+0.03%, P=0.657) during the observation period of 972 days. Most patients maintained their physical activity level (70%), and 54 % had an insufficient activity level. The variability in the course of weight and HbA1c was because of differences between patients and not between health care providers. Despite effective lifestyle interventions in controlled trial settings, we found that real-world primary care is only able to stabilize weight and HbA1c in patients with T2DM over time. Medical registration can be used to monitor the actual effectiveness of interventions in primary care. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. A low-cost single-board solution for real-time, unsupervised waveform classification of multineuron recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreiter, A K; Aertsen, A M; Gerstein, G L

    1989-10-01

    We describe a low-cost single-board system for unsupervised, real-time spike sorting of recordings from a number of neurons on a single microelectrode. The maximum number of spike classes depends on the quality of the recording; it will typically be between 2 and 5. The spike sorter communicates with a conventional microcomputer through a standard serial port (RS232). For typical firing rates as measured in the mammalian central nervous system, this set-up will accommodate up to some 10 parallel spike sorters for as many separate microelectrodes.

  5. Reflective memory recorder upgrade: an opportunity to benchmark PowerPC and Intel architectures for real time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abuter, Roberto; Tischer, Helmut; Frahm, Robert

    2014-07-01

    Several high frequency loops are required to run the VLTI (Very Large Telescope Interferometer) 2, e.g. for fringe tracking11, 5, angle tracking, vibration cancellation, data capture. All these loops rely on low latency real time computers based on the VME bus, Motorola PowerPC14 hardware architecture. In this context, one highly demanding application in terms of cycle time, latency and data transfer volume is the VLTI centralized recording facility, so called, RMN recorder1 (Reflective Memory Recorder). This application captures and transfers data flowing through the distributed memory of the system in real time. Some of the VLTI data producers are running with frequencies up to 8 KHz. With the evolution from first generation instruments like MIDI3, PRIMA5, and AMBER4 which use one or two baselines, to second generation instruments like MATISSE10 and GRAVITY9 which will use all six baselines simultaneously, the quantity of signals has increased by, at least, a factor of six. This has led to a significant overload of the RMN recorder1 which has reached the natural limits imposed by the underlying hardware. At the same time, new, more powerful computers, based on the Intel multicore families of CPUs and PCI buses have become available. With the purpose of improving the performance of the RMN recorder1 application and in order to make it capable of coping with the demands of the new generation instruments, a slightly modified implementation has been developed and integrated into an Intel based multicore computer15 running the VxWorks17 real time operating system. The core of the application is based on the standard VLT software framework for instruments13. The real time task reads from the reflective memory using the onboard DMA access12 and captured data is transferred to the outside world via a TCP socket on a dedicated Ethernet connection. The diversity of the software and hardware that are involved makes this application suitable as a benchmarking platform. A

  6. Real time monitoring of superparamagnetic nanoparticle self-assembly on surfaces of magnetic recording media

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ye, L.; Pearson, T.; Crawford, T. M.; Qi, B.; Cordeau, Y.; Mefford, O. T.

    2014-01-01

    Nanoparticle self-assembly dynamics are monitored in real-time by detecting optical diffraction from an all-nanoparticle grating as it self-assembles on a grating pattern recorded on a magnetic medium. The diffraction efficiency strongly depends on concentration, pH, and colloidal stability of nanoparticle suspensions, demonstrating the nanoparticle self-assembly process is highly tunable. This metrology could provide an alternative for detecting nanoparticle properties such as colloidal stability

  7. Almost commuting self-adjoint matrices: The real and self-dual cases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loring, Terry A.; Sørensen, Adam P. W.

    2016-08-01

    We show that a pair of almost commuting self-adjoint, symmetric matrices is close to a pair of commuting self-adjoint, symmetric matrices (in a uniform way). Moreover, we prove that the same holds with self-dual in place of symmetric and also for paths of self-adjoint matrices. Since a symmetric, self-adjoint matrix is real, we get a real version of Huaxin Lin’s famous theorem on almost commuting matrices. Similarly, the self-dual case gives a version for matrices over the quaternions. To prove these results, we develop a theory of semiprojectivity for real C*-algebras and also examine various definitions of low-rank for real C*-algebras.

  8. Static Profiling of the Worst-Case in Real-Time Programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandner, Florian; Hepp, Stefan; Jordan, Alexander

    2012-01-01

    With the increasing performance demand in real-time systems it becomes more and more relevant to provide feedback to engineers and programmers, but also software development tools, on the performance-relevant code parts of a real-time program. So far, the information provided to programmers through...... other code parts. To give an accurate view covering the entire code base, tools in the spirit of standard program profiling tools are required. This work proposes an efficient approach to compute worst-case timing information for all code parts of a program using a complementary metric, called...... criticality. Every statement of a real-time program is assigned a criticality value, expressing how critical the respective code is with respect to the global WCET. This gives an accurate view to programmers how close the worst execution path passing through a specific part of a real-time program...

  9. Real cases study through computer applications for futures Agricultural Engineers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moratiel, R.; Durán, J. M.; Tarquis, A. M.

    2010-05-01

    One of the huge concerns on the higher engineer education is the lag of real cases study that the future professionals need in the work and corporation market. This concern was reflected in Bologna higher education system including recommendations in this respect. The knowhow as why this or other methodology is one of the keys to resolve this problem. In the last courses given in Department of Crop Production, at the Agronomy Engineer School of Madrid (Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos, UPM) we have developed more than one hundred applications in Microsoft Excel®. Our aim was to show different real scenarios which the future Agronomic Engineers can be found in their professional life and with items related to crop production field. In order to achieve our target, each application in Excel presents a file text in which is explained the theoretical concepts and the objectives, as well as some resources used from Excel syntax. In this way, the student can understand and use of such application, even they can modify and customize it for a real case presented in their context and/or master project. This electronic monograph gives an answer to the need to manage data in several real scenarios showed in lectures, calculus resolution, information analysis and manage worksheets in a professional and student level.

  10. The study of key issues about integration of GNSS and strong-motion records for real-time earthquake monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tu, Rui; Zhang, Pengfei; Zhang, Rui; Liu, Jinhai

    2016-08-01

    This paper has studied the key issues about integration of GNSS and strong-motion records for real-time earthquake monitoring. The validations show that the consistence of the coordinate system must be considered firstly to exclude the system bias between GNSS and strong-motion. The GNSS sampling rate is suggested about 1-5 Hz, and we should give the strong-motion's baseline shift with a larger dynamic noise as its variation is very swift. The initialization time of solving the baseline shift is less than one minute, and ambiguity resolution strategy is not greatly improved the solution. The data quality is very important for the solution, we advised to use multi-frequency and multi-system observations. These ideas give an important guide for real-time earthquake monitoring and early warning by the tight integration of GNSS and strong-motion records.

  11. Optimized Real-Time Control of Combined Sewerage Systems: Two Case Studies (Proceedings Paper)

    Science.gov (United States)

    The paper presents results of two case studies of Real-Time Control (RTC) alternatives evaluations that were conducted on portions of sewerage systems near Paris, France and in Quebec City, Canada, respectively. The studies were performed at real-scale demonstration sites. RTC al...

  12. New operator's console recorder

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    2009-01-01

    This article described a software module that automatically records images being shown on multiple HMI or SCADA operator's displays. Videos used for monitoring activities at industrial plants can be combined with the operator console videos and data from a process historian. This enables engineers, analysts or investigators to see what is occurring in the plant, what the operator is seeing on the HMI screen, and all relevant real-time data from an event. In the case of a leak at a pumping station, investigators could watch plant video taken at a remote site showing fuel oil creeping across the floor, real-time data being acquired from pumps, valves and the receiving tank while the leak is occurring. The video shows the operator's HMI screen as well as the alarm screen that signifies the leak detection. The Longwatch Operator's Console Recorder and Video Historian are used together to acquire data about actual plant plant management because they show everything that happens during an event. The Console Recorder automatically retrieves and replays operator displays by clicking on a time-based alarm or system message. Play back of video feed is a valuable tool for training and analysis purposes, and can help mitigate insurance and regulatory issues by eliminating uncertainty and conjecture. 1 fig.

  13. Real-time recording and classification of eye movements in an immersive virtual environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz, Gabriel; Cooper, Joseph; Kit, Dmitry; Hayhoe, Mary

    2013-10-10

    Despite the growing popularity of virtual reality environments, few laboratories are equipped to investigate eye movements within these environments. This primer is intended to reduce the time and effort required to incorporate eye-tracking equipment into a virtual reality environment. We discuss issues related to the initial startup and provide algorithms necessary for basic analysis. Algorithms are provided for the calculation of gaze angle within a virtual world using a monocular eye-tracker in a three-dimensional environment. In addition, we provide algorithms for the calculation of the angular distance between the gaze and a relevant virtual object and for the identification of fixations, saccades, and pursuit eye movements. Finally, we provide tools that temporally synchronize gaze data and the visual stimulus and enable real-time assembly of a video-based record of the experiment using the Quicktime MOV format, available at http://sourceforge.net/p/utdvrlibraries/. This record contains the visual stimulus, the gaze cursor, and associated numerical data and can be used for data exportation, visual inspection, and validation of calculated gaze movements.

  14. Computer-assisted expert case definition in electronic health records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Alexander M; Zhou, Xiaofeng; Ananthakrishnan, Ashwin N; Weiss, Lisa S; Shen, Rongjun; Sobel, Rachel E; Bate, Andrew; Reynolds, Robert F

    2016-02-01

    To describe how computer-assisted presentation of case data can lead experts to infer machine-implementable rules for case definition in electronic health records. As an illustration the technique has been applied to obtain a definition of acute liver dysfunction (ALD) in persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The technique consists of repeatedly sampling new batches of case candidates from an enriched pool of persons meeting presumed minimal inclusion criteria, classifying the candidates by a machine-implementable candidate rule and by a human expert, and then updating the rule so that it captures new distinctions introduced by the expert. Iteration continues until an update results in an acceptably small number of changes to form a final case definition. The technique was applied to structured data and terms derived by natural language processing from text records in 29,336 adults with IBD. Over three rounds the technique led to rules with increasing predictive value, as the experts identified exceptions, and increasing sensitivity, as the experts identified missing inclusion criteria. In the final rule inclusion and exclusion terms were often keyed to an ALD onset date. When compared against clinical review in an independent test round, the derived final case definition had a sensitivity of 92% and a positive predictive value of 79%. An iterative technique of machine-supported expert review can yield a case definition that accommodates available data, incorporates pre-existing medical knowledge, is transparent and is open to continuous improvement. The expert updates to rules may be informative in themselves. In this limited setting, the final case definition for ALD performed better than previous, published attempts using expert definitions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Record High US Measles Cases: Patient Vaccination, Clinical Assessment and Management

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    This podcast is an overview of the Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Call: Record High US Measles Cases: Patient Vaccination, Clinical Assessment and Management. In May 2014, the United States recorded the largest number of reported measles cases since 1994 and the number continues to rise. Most cases reported have been acquired in the U.S. and are associated with importations from countries where measles is still common. This highly contagious, acute viral illness spreads quickly in unvaccinated populations once reaching the U.S. The recent measles outbreaks highlight the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage in the U.S. and ensuring age-appropriate vaccination for international travelers. During this COCA call, clinicians will learn the status of measles in the U.S. and CDC vaccination recommendations and guidelines for patient assessment and management.

  16. A real case study on transportation scenario comparison

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsoukiás A.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a real case study dealing with the comparison of transport scenarios. The study is conducted within a larger project concerning the establishment of the maritime traffic policy in Greece. The paper presents the problem situation and an appropriate problem formulation. Moreover a detailed version of the evaluation model is presented in the paper. The model consists of a complex hierarchy of evaluation models enabling us to take into account the multiple dimensions and points of view of the actors involved in the evaluations.

  17. Real-time exception handling—Use cases and response requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raupp, G.; Mertens, V.; Neu, G.; Treutterer, W.; Zasche, D.; Zehetbauer, Th.

    2012-01-01

    Adequate real-time event detection and exception handling for machine protection and plasma optimization are important for safe and efficient operation of fusion devices. Within the scope of a layered protection hierarchy, the exception handling goals of the real-time control system are to optimize control performance, switch to alternate investigations, terminate the discharge in a controlled way, or alarm the interlock system when control is lost. Analysis of these goals shows that they can be implemented with two methods: the modification of the reference values to respond to degradation of sensors, actuators or controllers, and the replacement of schedules to perform other investigations, which includes controlled termination and interlock alarm cases. In support of these methods the sensor and evaluated data quality and the time-varying actuator characteristics and capacity must be communicated to users of those information to avoid failure propagation.

  18. Process mining routinely collected electronic health records to define real-life clinical pathways during chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Karl; Dunwoodie, Elaine; Jones, Richard G; Newsham, Alex; Johnson, Owen; Price, Christopher P; Wolstenholme, Jane; Leal, Jose; McGinley, Patrick; Twelves, Chris; Hall, Geoff

    2017-07-01

    There is growing interest in the use of routinely collected electronic health records to enhance service delivery and facilitate clinical research. It should be possible to detect and measure patterns of care and use the data to monitor improvements but there are methodological and data quality challenges. Driven by the desire to model the impact of a patient self-test blood count monitoring service in patients on chemotherapy, we aimed to (i) establish reproducible methods of process-mining electronic health records, (ii) use the outputs derived to define and quantify patient pathways during chemotherapy, and (iii) to gather robust data which is structured to be able to inform a cost-effectiveness decision model of home monitoring of neutropenic status during chemotherapy. Electronic Health Records at a UK oncology centre were included if they had (i) a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer and received adjuvant epirubicin and cyclosphosphamide chemotherapy or (ii) colorectal cancer and received palliative oxaliplatin and infusional 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy, and (iii) were first diagnosed with cancer between January 2004 and February 2013. Software and a Markov model were developed, producing a schematic of patient pathways during chemotherapy. Significant variance from the assumed care pathway was evident from the data. Of the 535 patients with breast cancer and 420 with colorectal cancer there were 474 and 329 pathway variants respectively. Only 27 (5%) and 26 (6%) completed the planned six cycles of chemotherapy without having unplanned hospital contact. Over the six cycles, 169 (31.6%) patients with breast cancer and 190 (45.2%) patients with colorectal cancer were admitted to hospital. The pathways of patients on chemotherapy are complex. An iterative approach to addressing semantic and data quality issues enabled the effective use of routinely collected patient records to produce accurate models of the real-life experiences of chemotherapy patients and

  19. Reduced computational cost in the calculation of worst case response time for real time systems

    OpenAIRE

    Urriza, José M.; Schorb, Lucas; Orozco, Javier D.; Cayssials, Ricardo

    2009-01-01

    Modern Real Time Operating Systems require reducing computational costs even though the microprocessors become more powerful each day. It is usual that Real Time Operating Systems for embedded systems have advance features to administrate the resources of the applications that they support. In order to guarantee either the schedulability of the system or the schedulability of a new task in a dynamic Real Time System, it is necessary to know the Worst Case Response Time of the Real Time tasks ...

  20. A real-world Case Study in Information Technology for Undergraduate Students

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sikkel, Nicolaas; Spil, Antonius A.M.; van de Weg, R.L.W.

    1999-01-01

    Real-world case studies are important to complement the academic skills and knowledge acquired by computer science students. In this paper we relate our experiences with a course specifically designed to address this issue. The problem to be addressed is the replacement of a Hospital Information

  1. The Geometric Construction Abilities Of Gifted Students In Solving Real - World Problems: A Case From Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avni YILDIZ

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Geometric constructions have already been of interest to mathematicians. However, studies on geometric construction are not adequate in the relevant literature. Moreover, these studies generally focus on how secondary school gifted students solve non-routine mathematical problems. The present study aims to examine the geometric construction abilities of ninth-grade (15 years old gifted students in solving real-world geometry problems; thus a case study was conducted. Six gifted students participated in the study. The data consisted of voice records, solutions, and models made by the students on the GeoGebra screen. Results indicate that gifted students use their previous knowledge effectively during the process of geometric construction. They modeled the situations available in the problems through using mathematical concepts and the software in coordination. Therefore, it is evident that gifted students think more creatively while solving problems using GeoGebra.

  2. Competitiveness based on logistic management: a real case study

    OpenAIRE

    García Márquez, Fausto Pedro; Peña García Pardo, Isidro; Ramos M. Nieto, Marta

    2014-01-01

    An efficient and effective logistic system is a strategic objective in any produc- tive business. This paper presents a real case study of a routing problem in a food industry firm. This problem is solved as a Vehicle Routing Problem (VRP) using the Neural Net- work (NN) and Tabu Search (TS) algorithms. A customer selection based on a profitability analysis was carried out. The aforementioned algorithms were then applied, leading to a considerable reduction in the total logistic costs. This r...

  3. Real-Time Extended Interface Automata for Software Testing Cases Generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shunkun; Xu, Jiaqi; Man, Tianlong; Liu, Bin

    2014-01-01

    Testing and verification of the interface between software components are particularly important due to the large number of complex interactions, which requires the traditional modeling languages to overcome the existing shortcomings in the aspects of temporal information description and software testing input controlling. This paper presents the real-time extended interface automata (RTEIA) which adds clearer and more detailed temporal information description by the application of time words. We also establish the input interface automaton for every input in order to solve the problems of input controlling and interface covering nimbly when applied in the software testing field. Detailed definitions of the RTEIA and the testing cases generation algorithm are provided in this paper. The feasibility and efficiency of this method have been verified in the testing of one real aircraft braking system. PMID:24892080

  4. The recording industry and ‘regional’ culture in Indonesia : the case of Minangkabau

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Suryadi,

    2014-01-01

    This book explores chronologically, for the first time, the representation and redefinition of Indonesia’s regional cultures through recording media, from the introduction of the gramophone record through the current video compact disc (VCD) era, taking as case study the Minangkabau ethnic group.

  5. THE CASE APPROACH TO PREPARING FOR TEACHING.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AMIDON, EDMUND; HUNTER, ELIZABETH

    TO HELP PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS DEVELOP TEACHING SKILLS, PAIRS OF CASES (RECORDS OF REAL TEACHING SITUATIONS) WHICH DEPICT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT APPROACHES TAKEN BY TEACHERS WITH A SIMILAR CLASSROOM PROBLEM ARE VERBALLY DESCRIBED. EACH PAIR OF CASES IS ANALYZED USING THE CATEGORIES OF THE VERBAL INTERACTION CATEGORY SYSTEM (VICS) WHICH MEASURES…

  6. Visual agnosia for line drawings and silhouettes without apparent impairment of real-object recognition: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hiraoka, Kotaro; Suzuki, Kyoko; Hirayama, Kazumi; Mori, Etsuro

    2009-01-01

    We report on a patient with visual agnosia for line drawings and silhouette pictures following cerebral infarction in the region of the right posterior cerebral artery. The patient retained the ability to recognize real objects and their photographs, and could precisely copy line drawings of objects that she could not name. This case report highlights the importance of clinicians and researchers paying special attention to avoid overlooking agnosia in such cases. The factors that lead to problems in the identification of stimuli other than real objects in agnosic cases are discussed.

  7. Visual Agnosia for Line Drawings and Silhouettes without Apparent Impairment of Real-Object Recognition: A Case Report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kotaro Hiraoka

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We report on a patient with visual agnosia for line drawings and silhouette pictures following cerebral infarction in the region of the right posterior cerebral artery. The patient retained the ability to recognize real objects and their photographs, and could precisely copy line drawings of objects that she could not name. This case report highlights the importance of clinicians and researchers paying special attention to avoid overlooking agnosia in such cases. The factors that lead to problems in the identification of stimuli other than real objects in agnosic cases are discussed.

  8. Real-Time Extended Interface Automata for Software Testing Cases Generation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shunkun Yang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Testing and verification of the interface between software components are particularly important due to the large number of complex interactions, which requires the traditional modeling languages to overcome the existing shortcomings in the aspects of temporal information description and software testing input controlling. This paper presents the real-time extended interface automata (RTEIA which adds clearer and more detailed temporal information description by the application of time words. We also establish the input interface automaton for every input in order to solve the problems of input controlling and interface covering nimbly when applied in the software testing field. Detailed definitions of the RTEIA and the testing cases generation algorithm are provided in this paper. The feasibility and efficiency of this method have been verified in the testing of one real aircraft braking system.

  9. Real time recording system of radioisotopes by local area network (LAN) computer system and user input processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinohara, Kunio; Ito, Atsushi; Kawaguchi, Hajime; Yanase, Makoto; Uno, Kiyoshi.

    1991-01-01

    A computer-assisted real time recording system was developed for management of radioisotopes. The system composed of two personal computers forming LAN, identification-card (ID-card) reader, and electricity-operating door-lock. One computer is operated by radiation safety staffs and stores the records of radioisotopes. The users of radioisotopes are registered in this computer. Another computer is installed in front of the storage room for radioisotopes. This computer is ready for operation by a registered ID-card and is input data by the user. After the completion of data input, the door to the storage room is unlocked. The present system enables us the following merits: Radiation safety staffs can easily keep up with the present states of radioisotopes in the storage room and save much labor. Radioactivity is always corrected. The upper limit of radioactivities in use per day is automatically checked and users are regulated when they input the amounts to be used. Users can obtain storage records of radioisotopes any time. In addition, the system is applicable to facilities which have more than two storage rooms. (author)

  10. Concordance Between Self-Reported Childhood Maltreatment Versus Case Record Reviews for Child Welfare-Affiliated Adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negriff, Sonya; Schneiderman, Janet U; Trickett, Penelope K

    2017-02-01

    The present study used data from an ongoing longitudinal study of the effects of maltreatment on adolescent development to (1) describe rates of maltreatment experiences obtained from retrospective self-report versus case record review for adolescents with child welfare-documented maltreatment histories, (2) examine self-reported versus child welfare-identified maltreatment in relation to mental health and risk behavior outcomes by maltreatment type, and (3) examine the association between the number of different types of maltreatment and mental health and risk behavior outcomes. Maltreatment was coded from case records using the Maltreatment Case Record Abstraction Instrument (MCRAI) and participants were asked at mean age = 18.49 about childhood maltreatment experiences using the Comprehensive Trauma Interview (CTI). Results showed that an average of 48% of maltreatment found by the MCRAI for each type of maltreatment were unique cases not captured by the CTI, whereas an average of 40% self-reported maltreatment (CTI) was not indicated by the MCRAI. Analyses with outcomes showed generally, self-reported maltreatment, regardless of concordance with MCRAI, was related to the poorest outcomes. The difference in associations with the outcomes indicates both self-report and case record review data may have utility depending on the outcomes being assessed.

  11. Record High US Measles Cases: Patient Vaccination, Clinical Assessment and Management

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2014-06-30

    This podcast is an overview of the Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Call: Record High US Measles Cases: Patient Vaccination, Clinical Assessment and Management. In May 2014, the United States recorded the largest number of reported measles cases since 1994 and the number continues to rise. Most cases reported have been acquired in the U.S. and are associated with importations from countries where measles is still common. This highly contagious, acute viral illness spreads quickly in unvaccinated populations once reaching the U.S. The recent measles outbreaks highlight the importance of maintaining high vaccination coverage in the U.S. and ensuring age-appropriate vaccination for international travelers. During this COCA call, clinicians will learn the status of measles in the U.S. and CDC vaccination recommendations and guidelines for patient assessment and management.  Created: 6/30/2014 by : National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Division of Viral Diseases; Healthcare Preparedness Activity (HPA); Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR).   Date Released: 6/30/2014.

  12. 29 CFR 1904.9 - Recording criteria for cases involving medical removal under OSHA standards.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... surveillance requirements of an OSHA standard, you must record the case on the OSHA 300 Log. (b) Implementation—(1) How do I classify medical removal cases on the OSHA 300 Log? You must enter each medical removal case on the OSHA 300 Log as either a case involving days away from work or a case involving restricted...

  13. Towards an Understanding of the Impacts of Localized Real Case Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mathews Nkhoma

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to understand the mediating roles of learning engagement, learning process and learning experience in influencing students' outcomes through case study pedagogy. It gathered students' responses to localised real case studies discussed in Information Systems classes. Case knowledge and perception were used to measure students' learning outcomes in order to determine the degree to which students induced course concepts and how they felt the cases impacted their understanding of the course. Revised student engagement questionnaire was used to measure various forms of engagement such as skills, emotion, participation, and performance while revised study process questionnaire served to assess the extent to which students used deep or surface approach to learning. Additionally, seven roles of feedback were used to analyse students' learning experience. Finally, group performance and individual's positive perceptions of group learning were tested to measure students' learning outcomes. Structural equation modelling was used to test the causal model. Analysis revealed that case knowledge and case perception had positive influence on students' skill engagement and emotional engagement but only case knowledge had a positive impact on the functions of feedback.

  14. Closed-Loop Real-Time Imaging Enables Fully Automated Cell-Targeted Patch-Clamp Neural Recording In Vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suk, Ho-Jun; van Welie, Ingrid; Kodandaramaiah, Suhasa B; Allen, Brian; Forest, Craig R; Boyden, Edward S

    2017-08-30

    Targeted patch-clamp recording is a powerful method for characterizing visually identified cells in intact neural circuits, but it requires skill to perform. We previously developed an algorithm that automates "blind" patching in vivo, but full automation of visually guided, targeted in vivo patching has not been demonstrated, with currently available approaches requiring human intervention to compensate for cell movement as a patch pipette approaches a targeted neuron. Here we present a closed-loop real-time imaging strategy that automatically compensates for cell movement by tracking cell position and adjusting pipette motion while approaching a target. We demonstrate our system's ability to adaptively patch, under continuous two-photon imaging and real-time analysis, fluorophore-expressing neurons of multiple types in the living mouse cortex, without human intervention, with yields comparable to skilled human experimenters. Our "imagepatching" robot is easy to implement and will help enable scalable characterization of identified cell types in intact neural circuits. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Medical records documentation of constipation preceding Parkinson disease: A case-control study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savica, R; Carlin, J M; Grossardt, B R; Bower, J H; Ahlskog, J E; Maraganore, D M; Bharucha, A E; Rocca, W A

    2009-11-24

    Parkinson disease (PD) may affect the autonomic nervous system and may cause constipation; however, few studies have explored constipation preceding the motor onset of PD. We investigated constipation preceding PD using a case-control study design in a population-based sample. Using the medical records-linkage system of the Rochester Epidemiology Project, we identified 196 subjects who developed PD in Olmsted County, MN, from 1976 through 1995. Each incident case was matched by age (+/-1 year) and sex to a general population control. We reviewed the complete medical records of cases and controls in the medical records-linkage system to ascertain the occurrence of constipation preceding the onset of PD (or index year). Constipation preceding PD or the index year was more common in cases than in controls (odds ratio [OR] 2.48; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.49 to 4.11; p = 0.0005). This association remained significant after adjusting for smoking and coffee consumption (ever vs never), and after excluding constipation possibly induced by drugs. In addition, the association remained significant in analyses restricted to constipation documented 20 or more years before the onset of motor symptoms of PD. Although the association was stronger in women than in men and in patients with PD with rest tremor compared with patients with PD without rest tremor, these differences were not significant. Our findings suggest that constipation occurring as early as 20 or more years before the onset of motor symptoms is associated with an increased risk of Parkinson disease.

  16. Identifying patients with hypertension: a case for auditing electronic health record data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baus, Adam; Hendryx, Michael; Pollard, Cecil

    2012-01-01

    Problems in the structure, consistency, and completeness of electronic health record data are barriers to outcomes research, quality improvement, and practice redesign. This nonexperimental retrospective study examines the utility of importing de-identified electronic health record data into an external system to identify patients with and at risk for essential hypertension. We find a statistically significant increase in cases based on combined use of diagnostic and free-text coding (mean = 1,256.1, 95% CI 1,232.3-1,279.7) compared to diagnostic coding alone (mean = 1,174.5, 95% CI 1,150.5-1,198.3). While it is not surprising that significantly more patients are identified when broadening search criteria, the implications are critical for quality of care, the movement toward the National Committee for Quality Assurance's Patient-Centered Medical Home program, and meaningful use of electronic health records. Further, we find a statistically significant increase in potential cases based on the last two or more blood pressure readings greater than or equal to 140/90 mm Hg (mean = 1,353.9, 95% CI 1,329.9-1,377.9).

  17. Replacing a Hospital Information System: an example of a real-world case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sikkel, Nicolaas; Spil, Antonius A.M.; van de Weg, R.L.W.

    Real-world case studies are important to complement the academic skills and knowledge acquired by computer science students. In this paper we relate our experiences with a course specifically designed to address this issue. The objectives of the course are threefold: to train management and

  18. Monitoring, Tracking, and Recording Pancreas-Related Health Issues in Real Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chrysikos, Theofilos; Zisi, Iliana; Katsini, Christina; Raptis, George E.; Kotsopoulos, Stavros

    2017-11-01

    The monitoring of pancreas-related health issues in real-time and outside the medical room is a challenge in the wide e-health domain. This paper introduces WHEAMO, a novel e-health platform which employs medical implants (biosensors), which function as antennas, planted in the pancreas. WHEAMO uses wireless in-body propagation to track, monitor, and record critical parameters, such as glucose. The signal reaches the skin and then it is propagated in an indoor environment (e.g., medical room) over to a terminal equipped with adaptive, user-configurable, and intelligent mechanisms which provide personalized recommendations to varying WHEAMO users (e.g., medical personnel, health care workers, patients). The personalized nature of the provided recommendations is based on patients unique characteristics via a sophisticated knowledge-base. The fundamentals of in-body and on-body wireless propagation and channel characterization have been studied in a series of published works. Researchers have tested both electric-field (dipole) and magnetic-field (patch, loop) antennas. Another important aspect concerns the frequency band in which the signal propagation will occur. Among the frequencies that have gathered scientific and academic interest are the Medical Implant Communication Service (MICS) band at 402-405 MHz, the 900 MHz channel and the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio band at 2.45 GHz.

  19. A Satellite-Based Surface Radiation Climatology Derived by Combining Climate Data Records and Near-Real-Time Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bodo Ahrens

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a method for adjusting long-term climate data records (CDRs for the integrated use with near-real-time data using the example of surface incoming solar irradiance (SIS. Recently, a 23-year long (1983–2005 continuous SIS CDR has been generated based on the visible channel (0.45–1 μm of the MVIRI radiometers onboard the geostationary Meteosat First Generation Platform. The CDR is available from the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CM SAF. Here, it is assessed whether a homogeneous extension of the SIS CDR to the present is possible with operationally generated surface radiation data provided by CM SAF using the SEVIRI and GERB instruments onboard the Meteosat Second Generation satellites. Three extended CM SAF SIS CDR versions consisting of MVIRI-derived SIS (1983–2005 and three different SIS products derived from the SEVIRI and GERB instruments onboard the MSG satellites (2006 onwards were tested. A procedure to detect shift inhomogeneities in the extended data record (1983–present was applied that combines the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test (SNHT and a penalized maximal T-test with visual inspection. Shift detection was done by comparing the SIS time series with the ground stations mean, in accordance with statistical significance. Several stations of the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN and about 50 stations of the Global Energy Balance Archive (GEBA over Europe were used as the ground-based reference. The analysis indicates several breaks in the data record between 1987 and 1994 probably due to artefacts in the raw data and instrument failures. After 2005 the MVIRI radiometer was replaced by the narrow-band SEVIRI and the broadband GERB radiometers and a new retrieval algorithm was applied. This induces significant challenges for the homogenisation across the satellite generations. Homogenisation is performed by applying a mean-shift correction depending on the shift size of

  20. Continuous data recording on fast real-time systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zabeo, L., E-mail: lzabeo@jet.u [Euratom-CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Sartori, F. [Euratom-CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Neto, A. [Associacao Euratom-IST, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Piccolo, F. [Euratom-CCFE, Culham Science Centre, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Alves, D. [Associacao Euratom-IST, Instituto de Plasmas e Fusao Nuclear, Av. Rovisco Pais, 1049-001 Lisboa (Portugal); Vitelli, R. [Dipartimento di Informatica, Sistemi e Produzione, Universita di Roma, Tor Vergata, Via del Politecnico, 1-00133 Roma (Italy); Barbalace, A. [Euratom-ENEA Association, Consorzio RFX, 35127 Padova (Italy); De Tommasi, G. [Associazione EURATOM/ENEA/CREATE, Universita di Napoli Federico II, Napoli (Italy)

    2010-07-15

    The PCU-Project launched for the enhancement of the vertical stabilisation system at JET required the design of a new real-time control system with the challenging specifications of 2Gops and a cycle time of 50 {mu}s. The RTAI based architecture running on an x86 multi-core processor technology demonstrated to be the best platform for meeting the high requirements. Moreover, on this architecture thanks to the smart allocation of the interrupts it was possible to demonstrate simultaneous data streaming at 50 MBs on Ethernet while handling a real-time 100 kHz interrupt source with a maximum jitter of just 3 {mu}s. Because of the memory limitation imposed by 32 bit version Linux running in kernel mode, the RTAI-based new controller allows a maximum practical data storage of 800 MB per pulse. While this amount of data can be accepted for JET normal operation it posed some limitations in the debugging and commissioning of the system. In order to increase the capability of the data acquisition of the system we have designed a mechanism that allows continuous full bandwidth (56 MB/s) data streaming from the real-time task (running in kernel mode) to either a data collector (running in user mode) or an external data acquisition server. The exploited architecture involves a peer to peer mechanisms where the sender running in RTAI kernel mode broadcasts large chunks of data using UDP packets, implemented using the 'fcomm' RTAI extension , to a receiver that will store the data. The paper will present the results of the initial RTAI operating system tests, the design of the streaming architecture and the first experimental results.

  1. Impact of the recorded variable on recurrence quantification analysis of flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Portes, Leonardo L.; Benda, Rodolfo N.; Ugrinowitsch, Herbert; Aguirre, Luis A.

    2014-01-01

    Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) is useful in analyzing dynamical systems from a time series s(t). This paper investigates the robustness of RQA in detecting different dynamical regimes with respect to the recorded variable s(t). RQA was applied to time series x(t), y(t) and z(t) of a drifting Rössler system, which are known to have different observability properties. It was found that some characteristics estimated via RQA are heavily influenced by the choice of s(t) in the case of flows but not in the case of maps. - Highlights: • We investigate the influence of the recorded time series on the RQA coefficients. • The time series {x}, {y} and {z} of a drifting Rössler system were recorded. • RQA coefficients were affected in different degrees by the chosen time series. • RQA coefficients were not affected when computed with the Poincaré section. • In real world experiments, observability analysis should be performed prior to RQA

  2. Impact of the recorded variable on recurrence quantification analysis of flows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Portes, Leonardo L., E-mail: ll.portes@gmail.com [Escola de Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federeal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte MG (Brazil); Benda, Rodolfo N.; Ugrinowitsch, Herbert [Escola de Educação Física, Fisioterapia e Terapia Ocupacional, Universidade Federeal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte MG (Brazil); Aguirre, Luis A. [Departamento de Engenharia Eletrônica, Universidade Federeal de Minas Gerais, Av. Antônio Carlos 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte MG (Brazil)

    2014-06-27

    Recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) is useful in analyzing dynamical systems from a time series s(t). This paper investigates the robustness of RQA in detecting different dynamical regimes with respect to the recorded variable s(t). RQA was applied to time series x(t), y(t) and z(t) of a drifting Rössler system, which are known to have different observability properties. It was found that some characteristics estimated via RQA are heavily influenced by the choice of s(t) in the case of flows but not in the case of maps. - Highlights: • We investigate the influence of the recorded time series on the RQA coefficients. • The time series {x}, {y} and {z} of a drifting Rössler system were recorded. • RQA coefficients were affected in different degrees by the chosen time series. • RQA coefficients were not affected when computed with the Poincaré section. • In real world experiments, observability analysis should be performed prior to RQA.

  3. Surgical medical record

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bulow, S.

    2008-01-01

    A medical record is presented on the basis of selected linguistic pearls collected over the years from surgical case records Udgivelsesdato: 2008/12/15......A medical record is presented on the basis of selected linguistic pearls collected over the years from surgical case records Udgivelsesdato: 2008/12/15...

  4. Under-ascertainment of Aboriginality in records of cardiovascular disease in hospital morbidity and mortality data in Western Australia: a record linkage study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katzenellenbogen Judy M

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Measuring the real burden of cardiovascular disease in Australian Aboriginals is complicated by under-identification of Aboriginality in administrative health data collections. Accurate data is essential to measure Australia's progress in its efforts to intervene to improve health outcomes of Australian Aboriginals. We estimated the under-ascertainment of Aboriginal status in linked morbidity and mortality databases in patients hospitalised with cardiovascular disease. Methods Persons with public hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease in Western Australia during 2000-2005 (and their 20-year admission history or who subsequently died were identified from linkage data. The Aboriginal status flag in all records for a given individual was variously used to determine their ethnicity (index positive, and in all records both majority positive or ever positive and stratified by region, age and gender. The index admission was the baseline comparator. Results Index cases comprised 62,692 individuals who shared a total of 778,714 hospital admissions over 20 years, of which 19,809 subsequently died. There were 3,060 (4.9% persons identified as Aboriginal on index admission. An additional 83 (2.7% Aboriginal cases were identified through death records, increasing to 3.7% when cases with a positive Aboriginal identifier in the majority (≥50% of previous hospital admissions over twenty years were added and by 20.8% when those with a positive flag in any record over 20 years were incorporated. These results equated to underestimating Aboriginal status in unlinked index admission by 2.6%, 3.5% and 17.2%, respectively. Deaths classified as Aboriginal in official records would underestimate total Aboriginal deaths by 26.8% (95% Confidence Interval 24.1 to 29.6%. Conclusions Combining Aboriginal determinations in morbidity and official death records increases ascertainment of unlinked cardiovascular morbidity in Western Australian

  5. Quality Assessment of Family Planning Sterilization Services at Health Care Facilities: Case Record Audit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathur, Medha; Goyal, Ram Chandra; Mathur, Navgeet

    2017-05-01

    Quality of sterilization services is a matter of concern in India because population control is a necessity. Family Planning Sterilization (FPS) services provided at public health care facilities need to be as per Standard Operating Procedures. To assess the quality of FPS services by audit of case records at selected health care facilities. This cross-sectional study was conducted for two and a half year duration at selected public health care facilities of central India by simple random sampling where FPS services were provided. As per the standards of Government of India, case records were audited and compliance was calculated to assess the quality of services. Results of record audit were satisfactory but important criteria like previous contraceptive history and postoperative counselling were found to be deviated from standards. At Primary Health Centres (PHCs) only 89.5% and at Community Health Centres (CHCs) 58.7% of records were having details of previous contraceptive history. Other criteria like mental illness (only 70% at CHCs) assessment were also inadequate. Although informed consent was found to be having 100% compliance in all records. Quality of care in FPS services is the matter of concern in present scenario for better quality of services. This study may enlighten the policy makers regarding improvements needed for providing quality care.

  6. Readout of delayline detectors with transient recorders; Auslese von Delaylinedetektoren mit Hilfe von Transientenrekordern

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foucar, Lutz Michael

    2008-09-18

    The task of the presented work consists in the development of software to operate the transient recorders under the conditions of a real experiment. Another task was to find a proper method of analyzing the recorded signals. Several methods were tested with simulated and real detector signals. In the first chapter the motivation to this work and some theoretical background are presented. In the second chapter methods to analyze single pulses and trains of overlapping pulses are presented. The quality of the presented algorithms is determined by signals created artificially in software. It is shown that the best temporal resolution - for case of non-overlapping pulses - is obtained with a pulse fit. With this method a resolution of approximately 50 ps is achieved. In order to disentangling overlapping pulses a minimum distance in time between the pulses of at least 5 ns to 7 ns peak to peak is necessary. The third chapter shows an application of the new recording system where results of the new recording method are compared to those obtained with the traditional method. The next chapter presents another experiment in which an even larger amount of fragments had to be detected. In order to cope with this requirement further criteria to assign the measured signal to its originating particle is presented. In this chapter results from photo ionization of helium and neon are shown. The next chapter consist of another application of the methods developed in this work on a real experiment: the reaction examined leads in many cases to two particles that need to be detected within a time of only 30 ns. It turns out that the dead time for real signals is comparable to that of simulated signals. The algorithms cannot accurately determine the timing of two signals that are separated in time by less than 10 ns. On the basis of the pulse height distribution it can be shown that the used detector had smaller efficiency at its center. In the last chapter the quality of the

  7. Geospatial Web Services in Real Estate Information System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radulovic, Aleksandra; Sladic, Dubravka; Govedarica, Miro; Popovic, Dragana; Radovic, Jovana

    2017-12-01

    Since the data of cadastral records are of great importance for the economic development of the country, they must be well structured and organized. Records of real estate on the territory of Serbia met many problems in previous years. To prevent problems and to achieve efficient access, sharing and exchange of cadastral data on the principles of interoperability, domain model for real estate is created according to current standards in the field of spatial data. The resulting profile of the domain model for the Serbian real estate cadastre is based on the current legislation and on Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) which is specified in the ISO19152 standard. Above such organized data, and for their effective exchange, it is necessary to develop a model of services that must be provided by the institutions interested in the exchange of cadastral data. This is achieved by introducing a service-oriented architecture in the information system of real estate cadastre and with that ensures efficiency of the system. It is necessary to develop user services for download, review and use of the real estate data through the web. These services should be provided to all users who need access to cadastral data (natural and legal persons as well as state institutions) through e-government. It is also necessary to provide search, view and download of cadastral spatial data by specifying geospatial services. Considering that real estate contains geometric data for parcels and buildings it is necessary to establish set of geospatial services that would provide information and maps for the analysis of spatial data, and for forming a raster data. Besides the theme Cadastral parcels, INSPIRE directive specifies several themes that involve data on buildings and land use, for which data can be provided from real estate cadastre. In this paper, model of geospatial services in Serbia is defined. A case study of using these services to estimate which household is at risk of

  8. Evaluation of Stream Mining Classifiers for Real-Time Clinical Decision Support System: A Case Study of Blood Glucose Prediction in Diabetes Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Fong

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Earlier on, a conceptual design on the real-time clinical decision support system (rt-CDSS with data stream mining was proposed and published. The new system is introduced that can analyze medical data streams and can make real-time prediction. This system is based on a stream mining algorithm called VFDT. The VFDT is extended with the capability of using pointers to allow the decision tree to remember the mapping relationship between leaf nodes and the history records. In this paper, which is a sequel to the rt-CDSS design, several popular machine learning algorithms are investigated for their suitability to be a candidate in the implementation of classifier at the rt-CDSS. A classifier essentially needs to accurately map the events inputted to the system into one of the several predefined classes of assessments, such that the rt-CDSS can follow up with the prescribed remedies being recommended to the clinicians. For a real-time system like rt-CDSS, the major technological challenges lie in the capability of the classifier to process, analyze and classify the dynamic input data, quickly and upmost reliably. An experimental comparison is conducted. This paper contributes to the insight of choosing and embedding a stream mining classifier into rt-CDSS with a case study of diabetes therapy.

  9. 30 CFR 250.523 - How long do I keep records of casing pressure and diagnostic tests?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... and diagnostic tests? 250.523 Section 250.523 Mineral Resources MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE... casing pressure and diagnostic tests? Records of casing pressure and diagnostic tests must be kept at the field office nearest the well for a minimum of 2 years. The last casing diagnostic test for each casing...

  10. Consistency of GPS and strong-motion records: case study of the Mw9.0 Tohoku-Oki 2011 earthquake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Psimoulis, Panos; Houlié, Nicolas; Michel, Clotaire; Meindl, Michael; Rothacher, Markus

    2014-05-01

    High-rate GPS data are today commonly used to supplement seismic data for the Earth surface motions focusing on earthquake characterisation and rupture modelling. Processing of GPS records using Precise Point Positioning (PPP) can provide real-time information of seismic wave propagation, tsunami early-warning and seismic rupture. Most studies have shown differences between the GPS and seismic systems at very long periods (e.g. >100sec) and static displacements. The aim of this study is the assessment of the consistency of GPS and strong-motion records by comparing their respective displacement waveforms for several frequency bands. For this purpose, the records of the GPS (GEONET) and the strong-motion (KiK-net and K-NET) networks corresponding to the Mw9.0 Tohoku 2011 earthquake were analysed. The comparison of the displacement waveforms of collocated (distance<100m) GPS and strong-motion sites show that the consistency between the two datasets depends on the frequency of the excitation. Differences are mainly due to the GPS noise at relatively short-periods (<3-4 s) and the saturation of the strong-motion sensors for relatively long-periods (40-80 s). Furthermore the agreement between the GPS and strong-motion records also depends on the direction of the excitation signal and the distance from the epicentre. In conclusion, velocities and displacements recovered from GPS and strong-motion records are consistent for long-periods (3-100 s), proving that GPS networks can contribute to the real-time estimation of the long-period ground motion map of an earthquake.

  11. First records of Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Diptera: Muscidae) from forensic cases in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo Pinto, Sara; Giordani, Giorgia; Tuccia, Fabiola; Ventura, Francesco; Vanin, Stefano

    2017-07-01

    The knowledge of the fauna associated with carrions and cadavers for a specific region plays a fundamental role in the estimation of the time since death in forensic cases. In the last years global warming and globalization have affected the insect species distribution. This phenomenon is affecting also the species of forensic interest associated with the cadaver decomposition. The species distribution shift, in the forensic context, has been mainly observed in Diptera of different family: Calliphoridae, Stratiomyidae and Phoridae. In the last decade the presence of the carrion feeding species, Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Diptera: Muscidae), was reported from forensic cases in Spain and in the last year from Italy where the species was collected from 5 bodies in different decomposition stages in the Genoa district. All the records concern indoor cases with the presence of other species belonging to the first colonization waves (e.g. Calliphoridae, Sarcophagidae). Different hypothesis about the presence of the species in Italy can be suggested, but the molecular analysis and the importation records support the introduction trough commercial exchanges with Asian countries instead of a variation in the species distribution area from the Iberian Peninsula. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Audio Recording of Children with Dyslalia

    OpenAIRE

    Stefan Gheorghe Pentiuc; Maria D. Schipor; Ovidiu A. Schipor

    2008-01-01

    In this paper we present our researches regarding automat parsing of audio recordings. These recordings are obtained from children with dyslalia and are necessary for an accurate identification of speech problems. We develop a software application that helps parsing audio, real time, recordings.

  13. Identification of approximately duplicate material records in ERP systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zong, Wei; Wu, Feng; Chu, Lap-Keung; Sculli, Domenic

    2017-03-01

    The quality of master data is crucial for the accurate functioning of the various modules of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This study addresses specific data problems arising from the generation of approximately duplicate material records in ERP databases. Such problems are mainly due to the firm's lack of unique and global identifiers for the material records, and to the arbitrary assignment of alternative names for the same material by various users. Traditional duplicate detection methods are ineffective in identifying such approximately duplicate material records because these methods typically rely on string comparisons of each field. To address this problem, a machine learning-based framework is developed to recognise semantic similarity between strings and to further identify and reunify approximately duplicate material records - a process referred to as de-duplication in this article. First, the keywords of the material records are extracted to form vectors of discriminating words. Second, a machine learning method using a probabilistic neural network is applied to determine the semantic similarity between these material records. The approach was evaluated using data from a real case study. The test results indicate that the proposed method outperforms traditional algorithms in identifying approximately duplicate material records.

  14. Nonlinear Heart Rate Variability features for real-life stress detection. Case study: students under stress due to university examination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Melillo, Paolo; Bracale, Marcello; Pecchia, Leandro

    2011-11-07

    This study investigates the variations of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) due to a real-life stressor and proposes a classifier based on nonlinear features of HRV for automatic stress detection. 42 students volunteered to participate to the study about HRV and stress. For each student, two recordings were performed: one during an on-going university examination, assumed as a real-life stressor, and one after holidays. Nonlinear analysis of HRV was performed by using Poincaré Plot, Approximate Entropy, Correlation dimension, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis, Recurrence Plot. For statistical comparison, we adopted the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and for development of a classifier we adopted the Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA). Almost all HRV features measuring heart rate complexity were significantly decreased in the stress session. LDA generated a simple classifier based on the two Poincaré Plot parameters and Approximate Entropy, which enables stress detection with a total classification accuracy, a sensitivity and a specificity rate of 90%, 86%, and 95% respectively. The results of the current study suggest that nonlinear HRV analysis using short term ECG recording could be effective in automatically detecting real-life stress condition, such as a university examination.

  15. RANA, a real-time multi-agent system simulator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Søren Vissing; Demazeau, Yves; Hallam, John

    2016-01-01

    for individualisation and abstraction while retaining efficiency. Events are managed by the C++ simulator core. Full run state can be recorded for post-processed visualisation or analysis. The new tool is demonstrated in three different cases: a mining robot simulation, which is purely action based; an agent......-based setup that is verifies the high precision exhibited by RANAs simulation core; and a state-based firefly-like agent simulation that models real-time responses to fellow agents' signals, in which event propagation and reception affect the result of the simulation....

  16. Using death certificates and medical examiner records for adolescent occupational fatality surveillance and research: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rauscher, Kimberly J; Runyan, Carol W; Radisch, Deborah

    2012-01-01

    Death certificates and medical examiner records have been useful yet imperfect data sources for work-related fatality research and surveillance among adult workers. It is unclear whether this holds for work-related fatalities among adolescent workers who suffer unique detection challenges in part because they are not often thought of as workers. This study investigated the utility of using these data sources for surveillance and research pertaining to adolescent work-related fatalities. Using the state of North Carolina as a case study, we analyzed data from the death certificates and medical examiner records of all work-related fatalities data among 11- to 17-year-olds between 1990-2008 (N = 31). We compared data sources on case identification, of completeness, and consistency information. Variables examined included those on the injury (e.g., means), occurrence (e.g., place), demographics, and employment (e.g., occupation). Medical examiner records (90%) were more likely than death certificates (71%) to identify adolescent work-related fatalities. Data completeness was generally high yet varied between sources. The most marked difference being that in medical examiner records, type of business/industry and occupation were complete in 72 and 67% of cases, respectively, while on the death certificates these fields were complete in 90 and 97% of cases, respectively. Taking the two sources together, each field was complete in upward of 94% of cases. Although completeness was high, data were not always of good quality and sometimes conflicted across sources. In many cases, the decedent's occupation was misclassified as "student" and their employer as "school" on the death certificate. Even though each source has its weaknesses, medical examiner records and death certificates, especially when used together, can be useful for conducting surveillance and research on adolescent work-related fatalities. However, extra care is needed by data recorders to ensure that

  17. Audio Recording of Children with Dyslalia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Gheorghe Pentiuc

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present our researches regarding automat parsing of audio recordings. These recordings are obtained from children with dyslalia and are necessary for an accurate identification of speech problems. We develop a software application that helps parsing audio, real time, recordings.

  18. A behavioral characterization of the positive real and bounded real characteristic values in balancing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trentelman, H.L.

    In passivity preserving and bounded realness preserving model reduction by balanced truncation, an important role is played by the so-called positive real (PR) and bounded real (BR) characteristic values. Both for the positive real as well as the bounded real case, these values are defined in terms

  19. Inferring the nature of anthropogenic threats from long-term abundance records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shoemaker, Kevin T; Akçakaya, H Resit

    2015-02-01

    Diagnosing the processes that threaten species persistence is critical for recovery planning and risk forecasting. Dominant threats are typically inferred by experts on the basis of a patchwork of informal methods. Transparent, quantitative diagnostic tools would contribute much-needed consistency, objectivity, and rigor to the process of diagnosing anthropogenic threats. Long-term census records, available for an increasingly large and diverse set of taxa, may exhibit characteristic signatures of specific threatening processes and thereby provide information for threat diagnosis. We developed a flexible Bayesian framework for diagnosing threats on the basis of long-term census records and diverse ancillary sources of information. We tested this framework with simulated data from artificial populations subjected to varying degrees of exploitation and habitat loss and several real-world abundance time series for which threatening processes are relatively well understood: bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) (exploitation) and Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) and Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) (habitat loss). Our method correctly identified the process driving population decline for over 90% of time series simulated under moderate to severe threat scenarios. Successful identification of threats approached 100% for severe exploitation and habitat loss scenarios. Our method identified threats less successfully when threatening processes were weak and when populations were simultaneously affected by multiple threats. Our method selected the presumed true threat model for all real-world case studies, although results were somewhat ambiguous in the case of the Eurasian Skylark. In the latter case, incorporation of an ancillary source of information (records of land-use change) increased the weight assigned to the presumed true model from 70% to 92%, illustrating the value of the proposed framework in bringing diverse sources of

  20. Comparison of victims' reports and court records of intimate partner violence perpetrators' criminal case outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Margret E; Larsen, Sadie E; Goodman, Lisa A; Dutton, Mary Ann

    2013-09-01

    Intimate partner violence (IPV) victims often report feeling confused and uninformed about court proceedings, including even about the final disposition of the case against their partner. This is problematic because victims' decisions in responding to subsequent abuse may be significantly influenced by their beliefs about the outcomes of prior court experiences. Also, researchers often rely on victim report of court case outcomes; discrepancies between women's reports and official records may account for some of the conflicting findings in the empirical literature. In the current study, we compared the reports of case outcome given by 81 women recruited immediately after the final hearing of an IPV-related criminal case against their perpetrator with court records of case outcome. Findings revealed a fair level of agreement between women's reports and court files that was significantly different from the level of agreement expected by chance, but far from perfect. Level of agreement increased substantially when cases involving suspended sentences were removed. In reviewing these findings, we discuss the extent to which results can or cannot be interpreted as reflecting the accuracy of women's knowledge and review their implications for IPV researchers and court systems.

  1. How is adult patient adherence recorded in orthodontists’ clinical notes? A mixed-method case-note study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al Shammary N

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Nawaf Al Shammary,1 Koula Asimakopoulou,1 Fraser McDonald,2 Jonathon T Newton,1 Sasha Scambler1 1Division of Population and Patient Health, 2Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology Department, King’s College London Dental Institute, London, UKBackground: Patient adherence in orthodontic treatment is extremely important as it is linked with better treatment outcomes. Despite its importance, however, there is no shared definition of the concept. This makes the recording of adherence-related behaviors in patient notes difficult. The current study explored how, and to what extent adherence is recorded in adult patients’ medical records by orthodontists working in a large National Health Service (NHS London hospital.Materials and methods: A mixed-methods approach was used. A total of 17 clinicians with a mean age of 31 years (SD =4.87 provided N=20 case notes spanning N=324 appointments with patients they judged to be non-adherent. The notes were inspected for evidence of recording of patient adherence using adherence indicators identified in the literature.Results: The term “adherence” did not feature in any notes. The quantitative analysis showed that the three most frequent adherence-related behaviors recorded in notes were “oral hygiene,” “appointment attendance” and “breakages of appliances.” Qualitative analysis not only confirmed these factors but also showed that 1 the clinical aspects of treatment, 2 clinician–patient interaction factors and 3 patient attitudes also featured. This part of the analysis also highlighted inconsistencies across case notes in terms of the amount of information being recorded.Conclusion: Adherence as a term does not feature in the clinical case notes of clinician-identified non-adherent adult patients, while predictors of adherence are recorded with varying degrees of consistency. Keywords: adherence, adults, orthodontic treatment

  2. Case study: Managing potentially contaminated records

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprouse, B.S.

    1993-06-01

    For the past 10 or more years, Analytical Laboratory data cards have been generated and stored in the 222-S Laboratory at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington. These cards are classified as record material and require retention for a minimum of 75 years in an approved storage facility in accordance with Westinghouse Hanford Company procedures. The cards are maintained in records boxes in the attic of the 222-S Laboratory and are subject to potential risk and loss. The most significant potential risks are radiological hazards. Various options are available for removal, cataloging, transmittal, and storage of these long-term records. Because the records are currently stored in a radiation protection zone, they surveyed before being released from the facility. This survey can be arduous and time consuming. Resolutions to the problem of removal and proper storage of the records from the facility need to be addressed. The records were reviewed and inventoried to determine the quantity of information. A study of the various options available was conducted, and based on the information collected, it was determined that the most feasible and cost-effective approach is to microfilm the cards inside the laboratory. This option complies with all applicable company requirements and decreases the estimated radiological survey time from approximately 3.5 years to under 40 hours. This activity will result in a potential savings of $350,000 over the life of the activity

  3. Managing high-bandwidth real-time data storage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bigelow, David D. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Brandt, Scott A [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Bent, John M [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Chen, Hsing-Bung [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2009-09-23

    There exist certain systems which generate real-time data at high bandwidth, but do not necessarily require the long-term retention of that data in normal conditions. In some cases, the data may not actually be useful, and in others, there may be too much data to permanently retain in long-term storage whether it is useful or not. However, certain portions of the data may be identified as being vitally important from time to time, and must therefore be retained for further analysis or permanent storage without interrupting the ongoing collection of new data. We have developed a system, Mahanaxar, intended to address this problem. It provides quality of service guarantees for incoming real-time data streams and simultaneous access to already-recorded data on a best-effort basis utilizing any spare bandwidth. It has built in mechanisms for reliability and indexing, can scale upwards to meet increasing bandwidth requirements, and handles both small and large data elements equally well. We will show that a prototype version of this system provides better performance than a flat file (traditional filesystem) based version, particularly with regard to quality of service guarantees and hard real-time requirements.

  4. Contact tracing with a real-time location system: A case study of increasing relative effectiveness in an emergency department.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hellmich, Thomas R; Clements, Casey M; El-Sherif, Nibras; Pasupathy, Kalyan S; Nestler, David M; Boggust, Andy; Ernste, Vickie K; Marisamy, Gomathi; Koenig, Kyle R; Hallbeck, M Susan

    2017-12-01

    Contact tracing is the systematic method of identifying individuals potentially exposed to infectious diseases. Electronic medical record (EMR) use for contact tracing is time-consuming and may miss exposed individuals. Real-time location systems (RTLSs) may improve contact identification. Therefore, the relative effectiveness of these 2 contact tracing methodologies were evaluated. During a pertussis outbreak in the United States, a retrospective case study was conducted between June 14 and August 31, 2016, to identify the contacts of confirmed pertussis cases, using EMR and RTLS data in the emergency department of a tertiary care medical center. Descriptive statistics and a paired t test (α = 0.05) were performed to compare contacts identified by EMR versus RTLS, as was correlation between pertussis patient length of stay and the number of potential contacts. Nine cases of pertussis presented to the emergency department during the identified time period. RTLS doubled the potential exposure list (P < .01). Length of stay had significant positive correlation with contacts identified by RTLS (ρ = 0.79; P = .01) but not with EMR (ρ = 0.43; P = .25). RTLS doubled the potential pertussis exposures beyond EMR-based contact identification. Thus, RTLS may be a valuable addition to the practice of contact tracing and infectious disease monitoring. Copyright © 2017 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Real-time web-based assessment of total population risk of future emergency department utilization: statewide prospective active case finding study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Zhongkai; Jin, Bo; Shin, Andrew Y; Zhu, Chunqing; Zhao, Yifan; Hao, Shiying; Zheng, Le; Fu, Changlin; Wen, Qiaojun; Ji, Jun; Li, Zhen; Wang, Yong; Zheng, Xiaolin; Dai, Dorothy; Culver, Devore S; Alfreds, Shaun T; Rogow, Todd; Stearns, Frank; Sylvester, Karl G; Widen, Eric; Ling, Xuefeng B

    2015-01-13

    An easily accessible real-time Web-based utility to assess patient risks of future emergency department (ED) visits can help the health care provider guide the allocation of resources to better manage higher-risk patient populations and thereby reduce unnecessary use of EDs. Our main objective was to develop a Health Information Exchange-based, next 6-month ED risk surveillance system in the state of Maine. Data on electronic medical record (EMR) encounters integrated by HealthInfoNet (HIN), Maine's Health Information Exchange, were used to develop the Web-based surveillance system for a population ED future 6-month risk prediction. To model, a retrospective cohort of 829,641 patients with comprehensive clinical histories from January 1 to December 31, 2012 was used for training and then tested with a prospective cohort of 875,979 patients from July 1, 2012, to June 30, 2013. The multivariate statistical analysis identified 101 variables predictive of future defined 6-month risk of ED visit: 4 age groups, history of 8 different encounter types, history of 17 primary and 8 secondary diagnoses, 8 specific chronic diseases, 28 laboratory test results, history of 3 radiographic tests, and history of 25 outpatient prescription medications. The c-statistics for the retrospective and prospective cohorts were 0.739 and 0.732 respectively. Integration of our method into the HIN secure statewide data system in real time prospectively validated its performance. Cluster analysis in both the retrospective and prospective analyses revealed discrete subpopulations of high-risk patients, grouped around multiple "anchoring" demographics and chronic conditions. With the Web-based population risk-monitoring enterprise dashboards, the effectiveness of the active case finding algorithm has been validated by clinicians and caregivers in Maine. The active case finding model and associated real-time Web-based app were designed to track the evolving nature of total population risk, in a

  6. Agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fathelrahman Ahmed I

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the agreement between questionnaire and medical records on some health and socioeconomic problems among poisoning cases. Methods Cross-sectional sample of 100 poisoning cases consecutively admitted to the Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia during the period from September 2003 to February 2004 were studied. Data on health and socioeconomic problems were collected both by self-administered questionnaire and from medical records. Agreement between the two sets of data was assessed by calculating the concordance rate, Kappa (k and PABAK. McNemar statistic was used to test differences between categories. Results Data collected by questionnaire and medical records showed excellent agreement on the "marital status"; good agreements on "chronic illness", "psychiatric illness", and "previous history of poisoning"; and fair agreements on "at least one health problem", and "boy-girl friends problem". PABAK values suggest better agreements' measures. Conclusion There were excellent to good agreements between questionnaire and medical records on the marital status and most of the health problems and fair to poor agreements on the majority of socioeconomic problems. The implications of those findings were discussed.

  7. Android arcade game app a real world project : case study approach

    CERN Document Server

    DiMarzio, Jerome

    2012-01-01

    Apress, the leading Android books publisher, continues to provide you with very hands-on, practical books for teaching and showing app developers how to build and design apps, including game apps, that can be built and deployed in the various Android app stores out there. Android Arcade Game App:  A Real World Project - Case Study Approach is no different in that it walks you through creating an arcade style Prison Break game app-top to bottom-for an Android smartphone or tablet.  This book teaches you the unique characteristics and challenges of creating an Arcade style game And it provides y

  8. Bridging the gap between the randomised clinical trial world and the real world by combination of population-based registry and electronic health record data: A case study in haemato-oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kibbelaar, R E; Oortgiesen, B E; van der Wal-Oost, A M; Boslooper, K; Coebergh, J W; Veeger, N J G M; Joosten, P; Storm, H; van Roon, E N; Hoogendoorn, M

    2017-11-01

    Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) are considered the basis of evidence-based medicine. It is recognised more and more that application of RCT results in daily practice of clinical decision-making is limited because the RCT world does not correspond with the clinical real world. Recent strategies aiming at substitution of RCT databases by improved population-based registries (PBRs) or by improved electronic health record (EHR) systems to provide significant data for clinical science are discussed. A novel approach exemplified by the HemoBase haemato-oncology project is presented. In this approach, a PBR is combined with an advanced EHR, providing high-quality data for observational studies and support of best practice development. This PBR + EHR approach opens a perspective on randomised registry trials. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Real-time radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bossi, R.H.; Oien, C.T.

    1981-01-01

    Real-time radiography is used for imaging both dynamic events and static objects. Fluorescent screens play an important role in converting radiation to light, which is then observed directly or intensified and detected. The radiographic parameters for real-time radiography are similar to conventional film radiography with special emphasis on statistics and magnification. Direct-viewing fluoroscopy uses the human eye as a detector of fluorescent screen light or the light from an intensifier. Remote-viewing systems replace the human observer with a television camera. The remote-viewing systems have many advantages over the direct-viewing conditions such as safety, image enhancement, and the capability to produce permanent records. This report reviews real-time imaging system parameters and components

  10. A Real-Time Data Monitoring and Accumulation System for Dynamic Studies with Radionuclides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ammann, W.; Doll, J.; Lorenz, W. J.; Ostertag, H.; Adam, W. E.; Scheer, K. E. [German Cancer Research Centre, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Heidelberg, Federal Republic of Germany (Germany)

    1971-02-15

    A multipurpose digital data monitoring and accumulation system is described. The central unit of the system is a PDP-8 computer with a 12K memory. The system contains furthermore a multipurpose digital input/output register for low data rates, a fourfold and a twofold ADC connected to the high-speed multiplexor unit of the PDP-8 and a digital timet. Data from various process peripheries are recorded on a nine-track IBM compatible Ampex tape recorder. When two co-ordinates are recorded the system is used in the ''add-one-to-storage'' mode. In the case of more than two co-ordinates the data are stored in the sequential mode, event by event. A dialogue real-time monitor program in assembler language was developed to control the process peripheries. The 4K-Fortran operating system was modified in such a way that monitor subroutines were called into the Fortran program without loss of the real-time properties of the monitor system during a Fortran run. The use of the system for lung function studies with an Anger-type scintillation camera and {sup 133}Xe is discussed as an example of the application of the system. (author)

  11. PROTECTION FROM INFLATION BY INVESTING IN REAL ESTATES, ALBANIAN CASE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorina KRIPA

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays investing in Real Estates is one of the main investing alternatives. It has spread fast in all the international markets, and has evolved in other indirect tools of investing, based on the investors’ demands and a country’s economic situation. Investing in Real Estates has become an attractive alternative because it offers protection from Inflation and also diversification. Therefore, the increase in these assets’ prices, and the increase in Inflation at the same time, provides the investor with high rate of returns from his portfolio. Even the periodic income from the rent, reflects the changes in Inflation. As a result, reviewing the literature, we conclude that Real Estates are protective in inflationist periods. The income from Real Estates tends to increase faster in inflationist environments, allowing the investor to keep real rates of returns. Real Estates have always behaved different from bonds, options and stocks. Real Estates have their particular life cycle, which is distinguished by the boom and bust periods, in particular The Commercial Real Estate in the 80’ and The Residential Real Estate in the 2008 crisis. Usually Real Estates have a low correlation with other classes of assets. This makes investors invest more in Real Estates, and now it is normal for an investor with passive or active strategy to own more than one Real Estate for profit intentions. This topic has been chosen in order to understand in details the relationship between Real Estates and Inflation in Albania. To explain this relationship, it has been used the model of a linear regression. It has been identified The House Price Index (a representative of Real Estates in Albania as a dependent variable and Inflation as an independent variable. From this model, we conclude that there is a positive and linear relationship between The Price Index and Inflation. In conclusion, if the economy has Inflation and the GDP Deflator increases by 1 %, then The

  12. An educational intervention impact on the quality of nursing records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linch, Graciele Fernanda da Costa; Lima, Ana Amélia Antunes; Souza, Emiliane Nogueira de; Nauderer, Tais Maria; Paz, Adriana Aparecida; da Costa, Cíntia

    2017-10-30

    to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on the quality of nursing records. quasi-experimental study with before-and-after design conducted in a hospital. All the nurses in the cardiac intensive care unit of the hospital received the intervention, which consisted of weekly meetings during five months. To collect data, the instrument Quality of Diagnoses, Interventions and Outcomes was applied to the patients' charts in two moments: baseline and after intervention. the educational intervention had an impact on the quality of the records, since most of the items presented a significant increase in their mean values after the intervention, despite the low values in the two moments. the educational intervention proved to be effective at improving the quality of nursing records and a lack of quality was identified in the evaluated records, revealed by the low mean values and by the weakness of some questions presented in the items, which did not present a significant increase. Therefore, educational actions focused on real clinical cases may have positive implications for nursing practice.

  13. Exploring the business case for ambulatory electronic health record system adoption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Paula H; McAlearney, Ann Scheck; Robbins, Julie; McCullough, Jeffrey S

    2011-01-01

    Widespread implementation and use of electronic health record (EHR) systems has been recognized by healthcare leaders as a cornerstone strategy for systematically reducing medical errors and improving clinical quality. However, EHR adoption requires a significant capital investment for healthcare providers, and cost is often cited as a barrier. Despite the capital requirements, a true business case for EHR system adoption and implementation has not been made. This is of concern, as the lack of a business case can influence decision making about EHR investments. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of business case analysis in healthcare organizations' decisions to invest in ambulatory EHR systems, and to identify what factors organizations considered when justifying an ambulatory EHR. Using a qualitative case study approach, we explored how five organizations that are considered to have best practices in ambulatory EHR system implementation had evaluated the business case for EHR adoption. We found that although the rigor of formal business case analysis was highly variable, informants across these organizations consistently reported perceiving that a positive business case for EHR system adoption existed, especially when they considered both financial and non-financial benefits. While many consider EHR system adoption inevitable in healthcare, this viewpoint should not deter managers from conducting a business case analysis. Results of such an analysis can inform healthcare organizations' understanding about resource allocation needs, help clarify expectations about financial and clinical performance metrics to be monitored through EHR systems, and form the basis for ongoing organizational support to ensure successful system implementation.

  14. Cell Phone Video Recording Feature as a Language Learning Tool: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gromik, Nicolas A.

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on a case study conducted at a Japanese national university. Nine participants used the video recording feature on their cell phones to produce weekly video productions. The task required that participants produce one 30-second video on a teacher-selected topic. Observations revealed the process of video creation with a cell…

  15. Four-dimensional real-time sonographically guided cauterization of the umbilical cord in a case of twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timor-Tritsch, Ilan E; Rebarber, Andrei; MacKenzie, Andrew; Caglione, Christopher F; Young, Bruce K

    2003-07-01

    In the past decade, three-dimensional (3D) sonographic technology has matured from a static imaging modality to near-real-time imaging. One of the more notable improvements in this technology has been the speed with which the imaged volume is acquired and displayed. This has enabled the birth of the near-real-time or four-dimensional (4D) sonographic concept. Using the 4D feature of the current 3D sonography machines allows us to follow moving structures, such as fetal motion, in almost real time. Shortly after the emergence of 3D and 4D technology as a clinical imaging tool, its use in guiding needles into structures was explored by other investigators. We present a case in which we used the 4D feature of our sonographic equipment to follow the course and motion of an instrument inserted into the uterus to occlude the umbilical cord of a fetus in a case of twin-twin transfusion syndrome.

  16. Real-time modelling of a ventilation system for a power plant simulator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kocher, P.; Welfonder, E.

    1992-01-01

    This paper describes how to simulate in real-time the ventilation system of a nuclear power plant. The simulation is made under difficult computing time conditions. The ventilation system program is part of a simulator which simulates the whole nuclear power plant process in realtime. Therefore the ventilation system is split up into several smaller units. For each of these process units a real-time module has been developed, being as simple as possible but nevertheless coming close enough to the real dynamic behaviour. After that the simple real-time modules are linked together to form the total dynamic model ''ventilation system''. The continuous dynamic model developed is numerically integrated by the Euler method. The stability of this explicit method is maintained by special modelling measures such as the increasing of too low flow resistances or the limitation of too high gain factors. At the end of the paper some curves, recorded at the simulator, illustrate the behaviour of the ventilation system in the case of an accident. (author)

  17. Assessing facade value - how clients make business cases in changing real estate markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra den Heijer

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Relevance: The value of any intervention in the built environment is most relevant for the stakeholders that are investing in it. For them all costs need to be balanced with benefits - not necessarily directly financial, but adding value to the performance of the accommodated organization. Business cases contain performance criteria like competitive advantage (branding the organization, productivity (optimally supporting users of the building, profitability (on organizational level and sustainable development (monitoring the ecological footprint. In the changing real estate markets – from supply-driven to demand-driven and with increasingly higher vacancy rates – priorities in decisions about buildings have been shifting.Purpose: This paper elaborates on how (a the trends in real estate markets and (b changing priorities in decision making affect the quality demand for buildings and their facades.Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on research of the Real Estate Management chair in general (market analysis, transformation trends, conceptual frameworks and more specifically on decisions about university campuses in the past 10 years (14 campuses and 57 buildings assessed.Findings: This paper provides both conceptual frameworks to assess the (added value of interventions in the built environment for the client and their (changing priorities in the brief for buildings and their facades.

  18. Acoustic ambient noise recorder

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Saran, A.K.; Navelkar, G.S.; Almeida, A.M.; More, S.R.; Chodankar, P.V.; Murty, C.S.

    with a robust outfit that can withstand high pressures and chemically corrosion resistant materials. Keeping these considerations in view, a CMOS micro-controller-based marine acoustic ambient noise recorder has been developed with a real time clock...

  19. Defining disease phenotypes using national linked electronic health records: a case study of atrial fibrillation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine I Morley

    Full Text Available National electronic health records (EHR are increasingly used for research but identifying disease cases is challenging due to differences in information captured between sources (e.g. primary and secondary care. Our objective was to provide a transparent, reproducible model for integrating these data using atrial fibrillation (AF, a chronic condition diagnosed and managed in multiple ways in different healthcare settings, as a case study.Potentially relevant codes for AF screening, diagnosis, and management were identified in four coding systems: Read (primary care diagnoses and procedures, British National Formulary (BNF; primary care prescriptions, ICD-10 (secondary care diagnoses and OPCS-4 (secondary care procedures. From these we developed a phenotype algorithm via expert review and analysis of linked EHR data from 1998 to 2010 for a cohort of 2.14 million UK patients aged ≥ 30 years. The cohort was also used to evaluate the phenotype by examining associations between incident AF and known risk factors.The phenotype algorithm incorporated 286 codes: 201 Read, 63 BNF, 18 ICD-10, and four OPCS-4. Incident AF diagnoses were recorded for 72,793 patients, but only 39.6% (N = 28,795 were recorded in primary care and secondary care. An additional 7,468 potential cases were inferred from data on treatment and pre-existing conditions. The proportion of cases identified from each source differed by diagnosis age; inferred diagnoses contributed a greater proportion of younger cases (≤ 60 years, while older patients (≥ 80 years were mainly diagnosed in SC. Associations of risk factors (hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart failure with incident AF defined using different EHR sources were comparable in magnitude to those from traditional consented cohorts.A single EHR source is not sufficient to identify all patients, nor will it provide a representative sample. Combining multiple data sources and integrating information on treatment and

  20. Evaluation of pseudoephedrine pharmacy sales before and after mandatory recording requirements in Western Australia: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hattingh, Hendrika Laetitia; Varsani, Janki; Kachouei, Leila Ataei; Parsons, Richard

    2016-08-30

    A community pharmacy real-time electronic recording program, ProjectSTOP, enables Australian community pharmacists to verify pseudoephedrine requests. In Western Australia the program was available for voluntary use from April 2007 and became mandatory November 2010. This case study explores the effectiveness of the program by reviewing the total requests for pseudoephedrine products, and the proportion of requests which were classified as 'denied sales' before and after mandatory implementation. Seasonal and annual trends in these measures are also evaluated. ProjectSTOP data recordings for Western Australia pharmacies between 1 December 2007 and 28 February 2014 were analysed. Data included a de-identified pharmacy number and date of each pseudoephedrine product request. The total number of requests and sale classification (allowed, denied, safety, or not recorded) were calculated for each month/pharmacy. The potential influence of mandatory reporting using ProjectSTOP was investigated using a Regression Discontinuity Design. Correlations between sales from the same pharmacy were taken into account by classifying the pharmacy number as a random effect. The main effects of year (continuous variable), and season (categorical variable) were also included in the model. There was a small but steady decline in the total requests for pseudoephedrine per month per 100,000 population (per pharmacy) from the time of mandatory reporting. The number of denied sales showed a steady increase up until mandatory reporting, after which it showed a significant decline over time. Total sales were heavily influenced by season, as expected (highest in winter, least in summer). The seasonal pattern was less pronounced for denied sales, which were highest in winter and similar across other seasons. The pattern over time for safety sales was similar to that for denied sales, with a clear change occurring around the time of mandatory reporting. Results indicate a decrease in

  1. Bounded real and positive real balanced truncation using Σ-normalised coprime factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Trentelman, H.L.

    2009-01-01

    In this article, we will extend the method of balanced truncation using normalised right coprime factors of the system transfer matrix to balanced truncation with preservation of half line dissipativity. Special cases are preservation of positive realness and bounded realness. We consider a half

  2. Assessing facade value - how clients make business cases in changing real estate markets

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Den Heijer

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Corresponding author: Dr. ir. Alexandra den Heijer, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Department of Real Estate & Housing, Julianalaan 134, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 15 278 4159; E-mail: a.c.denheijer@tudelft.nl RELEVANCE: The value of any intervention in the built environment is most relevant for the stakeholders that are investing in it. For them all costs need to be balanced with benefits - not necessarily directly financial, but adding value to the performance of the accommodated organization. Business cases contain performance criteria like competitive advantage (branding the organization, productivity (optimally supporting users of the building, profitability (on organizational level and sustainable development (monitoring the ecological footprint. In the changing real estate markets – from supply-driven to demand-driven and with increasingly higher vacancy rates – priorities in decisions about buildings have been shifting. PURPOSE: This paper elaborates on how (a the trends in real estate markets and (b changing priorities in decision making affect the quality demand for buildings and their facades. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: This paper is based on research of the Real Estate Management chair in general (market analysis, transformation trends, conceptual frameworks and more specifically on decisions about university campuses in the past 10 years (14 campuses and 57 buildings assessed. FINDINGS: This paper provides both conceptual frameworks to assess the (added value of interventions in the built environment for the client and their (changing priorities in the brief for buildings and their facades

  3. Real-time Monitoring and Simulating of Urban Flood, a Case Study in Guangzhou

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, H.; Wang, X.; Zhang, S.; Liu, Y.

    2014-12-01

    In recent years urban flood frequently occurred and seriously impacted city's normal operation, particular on transportation. The increase of urban flood could be attributed to many factors, such as the increase of impervious land surface and extreme precipitation, the decrease of surface storage capacity, poor maintenance of drainage utilities, and so on. In order to provide accurate and leading prediction on urban flooding, this study acquires precise urban topographic data via air-borne Lidar system, collects detailed underground drainage pipes, and installs in-situ monitoring networks on precipitation, water level, video record and traffic speed in the downtown area of Panyu District, Guangzhou, China. Based on the above data acquired, a urban flood model with EPA SWMM5 is established to simulate the flooding and inundation processes in the study area of 20 km2. The model is driven by the real-time precipitation data and calibrated by the water level data, which are converted to flooding volume with precise topographic data. After calibration, the model could be employed to conduct sensitivity analysis for investigating primary factors of urban flooding, and to simulate the flooding processes in different scenarios, which are beneficial to assessment of flooding risk and drainage capacity. This model is expected to provide real-time forecasting in emergency management.

  4. An investigation of twenty-one cases of low-frequency noise complaints

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Christian Sejer; Møller, Henrik; Persson-Waye, Kerstin

    2007-01-01

    Twenty-one cases of low-frequency noise complaints were thoroughly investigated with the aim of answering the question whether it is real physical sound or low-frequency tinnitus that causes the annoyance. Noise recordings were made in the homes of the complainants taking the spatial variation...

  5. A Database Design and Development Case: Smile Land Academy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harris, Ranida; Harris, Ken; Eplion, David

    2013-01-01

    This case describes the situation of Smile Land Academy (SLA), a real-world based childcare center. SLA has grown from a very small company to a fairly large-sized organization (30 employees with 150 children). Unfortunately, its system for record-keeping, summarization of data, and reporting has not kept pace. The hard copies and spreadsheet…

  6. Casebook: a virtual patient iPad application for teaching decision-making through the use of electronic health records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloice, Marcus D; Simonic, Klaus-Martin; Holzinger, Andreas

    2014-08-07

    Virtual Patients are a well-known and widely used form of interactive software used to simulate aspects of patient care that students are increasingly less likely to encounter during their studies. However, to take full advantage of the benefits of using Virtual Patients, students should have access to multitudes of cases. In order to promote the creation of collections of cases, a tablet application was developed which makes use of electronic health records as material for Virtual Patient cases. Because electronic health records are abundantly available on hospital information systems, this results in much material for the basis of case creation. An iPad-based Virtual Patient interactive software system was developed entitled Casebook. The application has been designed to read specially formatted patient cases that have been created using electronic health records, in the form of X-ray images, electrocardiograms, lab reports, and physician notes, and present these to the medical student. These health records are organised into a timeline, and the student navigates the case while answering questions regarding the patient along the way. Each health record can also be annotated with meta-information by the case designer, such as insight into the thought processes and the decision-making rationale of the physician who originally worked with the patient. Students learn decision-making skills by observing and interacting with real patient cases in this simulated environment. This paper discusses our approach in detail. Our group is of the opinion that Virtual Patient cases, targeted at undergraduate students, should concern patients who exhibit prototypical symptoms of the kind students may encounter when beginning their first medical jobs. Learning theory research has shown that students learn decision-making skills best when they have access to multitudes of patient cases and it is this plurality that allows students to develop their illness scripts effectively

  7. Charge Splitting In Situ Recorder (CSIR) for Real-Time Examination of Plasma Charging Effect in FinFET BEOL Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Yi-Pei; Hsieh, Ting-Huan; Lin, Chrong Jung; King, Ya-Chin

    2017-09-01

    A novel device for monitoring plasma-induced damage in the back-end-of-line (BEOL) process with charge splitting capability is first-time proposed and demonstrated. This novel charge splitting in situ recorder (CSIR) can independently trace the amount and polarity of plasma charging effects during the manufacturing process of advanced fin field-effect transistor (FinFET) circuits. Not only does it reveal the real-time and in situ plasma charging levels on the antennas, but it also separates positive and negative charging effect and provides two independent readings. As CMOS technologies push for finer metal lines in the future, the new charge separation scheme provides a powerful tool for BEOL process optimization and further device reliability improvements.

  8. Pressure transmitter surveillance: the dominant real pole case

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blazquez, J.; Ballestrin, J.

    1995-01-01

    There are about 500 pressure transmitters in a nuclear power plant. Due to Safety requirements, some of them must be specially surveilled. Sensor response time to a pressure ramp is the usual quantity to be measured. Response time, τ r , reflects the dynamics of the sensor and the sensing line. A real pole is due to the inner sensor structure, but the complex pole stands for the sensing line too. The real pole usually is the dominant in most sensors. On line monitoring noise analysis regards simultaneously both, the sensor and the sensing line, but the noise signal contains not only the sensor poles, but many others coming from the plant, so must be conditioned previously and the determination of τ r is not free of systematic errors. That is the price to be paid for non disturbing the plant. When the real pole is dominant, the sensing line contribution is negligible, so the on line noise monitoring methods are supported by the laboratory experiments and the real pole border in the PSD is properly identified. The mean square frequency results proportional to τ r -1 , so manual techniques are designed for response time surveillance made by non noise plant's maintenance technicians. (author)

  9. Implementing an Open Source Electronic Health Record System in Kenyan Health Care Facilities: Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muinga, Naomi; Magare, Steve; Monda, Jonathan; Kamau, Onesmus; Houston, Stuart; Fraser, Hamish; Powell, John; English, Mike; Paton, Chris

    2018-04-18

    The Kenyan government, working with international partners and local organizations, has developed an eHealth strategy, specified standards, and guidelines for electronic health record adoption in public hospitals and implemented two major health information technology projects: District Health Information Software Version 2, for collating national health care indicators and a rollout of the KenyaEMR and International Quality Care Health Management Information Systems, for managing 600 HIV clinics across the country. Following these projects, a modified version of the Open Medical Record System electronic health record was specified and developed to fulfill the clinical and administrative requirements of health care facilities operated by devolved counties in Kenya and to automate the process of collating health care indicators and entering them into the District Health Information Software Version 2 system. We aimed to present a descriptive case study of the implementation of an open source electronic health record system in public health care facilities in Kenya. We conducted a landscape review of existing literature concerning eHealth policies and electronic health record development in Kenya. Following initial discussions with the Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization, and implementing partners, we conducted a series of visits to implementing sites to conduct semistructured individual interviews and group discussions with stakeholders to produce a historical case study of the implementation. This case study describes how consultants based in Kenya, working with developers in India and project stakeholders, implemented the new system into several public hospitals in a county in rural Kenya. The implementation process included upgrading the hospital information technology infrastructure, training users, and attempting to garner administrative and clinical buy-in for adoption of the system. The initial deployment was ultimately scaled back due to a

  10. A true real-time success story: the case of collecting beauty-ful data at the LHCb experiment arXiv

    CERN Document Server

    Alessio, Federico

    The LHCb experiment at CERN is currently completing its first big data taking campaign at the LHC started in 2009. It has been collecting data at more than 2.5 times its nominal design luminosity value and with a global efficiency of ~92%. Even more striking, the efficiency between online and offline recorded luminosity, obtained by comparing the data quality output, is close to 99%, which highlights how well the detector, its data acquisition system and its control system have been performing despite much harsher and more variable conditions than initially foreseen. In this paper, the excellent performance of the LHCb experiment will be described, by transversally tying together the timing and data acquisition system, the software trigger, the real-time calibration and the shifters interaction with the control system. Particular attention will be given to their real-time aspects, which allow performing an online reconstruction that is at the same performance level as the offline one through a real-time calib...

  11. The Role of Real Estate in Sustainable Development in Developing Countries: The Case of the Kingdom of Bahrain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yusra Mouzughi

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The construction of real estate has the potential to advance sustainability in terms of meeting economic and social criteria—the Business Case and the Societal Case. This is a crucial aspect in the stated visions and plans in many developing countries. Hence, it is important to understand how real estate can best contribute. Semi-structured interviews with a number of decision-makers involved in the real estate sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain were undertaken to explore perceptions of how the sector could best contribute to sustainable development. The decision-makers came from government bodies, investment banks, real estate developers, investors, constructors, project consultants and auditors. The interviews highlight the importance of having a stated vision and strategy which is highly visible and shared by all stakeholders. In the case of Bahrain this is Vision 2030 and the National Economic Strategy. It is important to ensure that any plans that are put in place to achieve the vision/strategy are adaptable to reflect changes in the external environment. The decision-makers identified three areas of focus in terms of the content of policy in order to meet the economic and social-related sustainability criteria as set out in Vision 2030 and the National Economic Strategy. These are: infrastructure, affordable housing and tourism/leisure. Within these three areas, that of infrastructure is also the key enabler for developments in the other two areas to be realized. In terms of a method of governance, the use of public-private-partnerships (PPPs was identified as being highly appropriate. Such partnerships are not only useful to leverage private sector investment into specific development projects but also to ensure that such development harnesses innovative and efficient methods.

  12. Real Estate Financing and Interest Rate Hedging : A quantitative real estate investment case study

    OpenAIRE

    van de Wiel, Wimjan; Kristopher Bock, Felix

    2017-01-01

    Background: The expansive monetary policy of the European Central Bank has been leading to all-time-low interest rates and to a strong move into real estate investment. Low interest rates can work in favor of the investor (due to low interest rate expenditures), but increasing interest rates can jeopardize real estate investments. Since changes in interest rates are unpredictable, an investor needs to deal with this volatility. The capital market offers several financial instruments (so-calle...

  13. Automated real-time software development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Denise R.; Walker, Carrie K.; Turkovich, John J.

    1993-01-01

    A Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE) system has been developed at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL) under the direction of the NASA Langley Research Center. The CSDL CASE tool provides an automated method of generating source code and hard copy documentation from functional application engineering specifications. The goal is to significantly reduce the cost of developing and maintaining real-time scientific and engineering software while increasing system reliability. This paper describes CSDL CASE and discusses demonstrations that used the tool to automatically generate real-time application code.

  14. Completeness and consistency in recording information in the tuberculosis case register, Cambodia, China and Viet Nam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoa, N B; Wei, C; Sokun, C; Lauritsen, J M; Rieder, H L

    2010-10-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) case registers in Cambodia, two provinces in China and in Viet Nam. To determine completeness and consistency of information for quarterly reports on case finding and treatment outcome. A representative sample of TB case registers was selected in Cambodia, in two provinces in China and in Viet Nam. Quarterly reports were reproduced from double-entered, validated data to determine completeness and consistency. The dataset comprised 37,635 patient records in 2 calendar years. Only 0.2%, 3.6% and 1.1% of cases, respectively, in Cambodia, the two China provinces, and Viet Nam did not allow classification for the quarterly report on case finding. If the treatment outcome was reported as cured, it was correct in 99.9%, 85.7%, and 98.5% of the respective three jurisdictions: errors were mostly due to misclassification of completion as cure. Under-reporting of failures was more frequent than over-reporting in Cambodia and Viet Nam, while in the two provinces in China 84% of reported failures did not actually meet the bacteriological criterion. This evaluation demonstrates that recording essential information is exemplary in all three countries. It will be essential to carefully supervise the ability of staff to correctly define TB treatment outcome results in all three countries.

  15. Two-epoch cross-sectional case record review protocol comparing quality of care of hospital emergency admissions at weekends versus weekdays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bion, Julian; Aldridge, Cassie P; Girling, Alan; Rudge, Gavin; Beet, Chris; Evans, Tim; Temple, R Mark; Roseveare, Chris; Clancy, Mike; Boyal, Amunpreet; Tarrant, Carolyn; Sutton, Elizabeth; Sun, Jianxia; Rees, Peter; Mannion, Russell; Chen, Yen-Fu; Watson, Samuel Ian; Lilford, Richard

    2017-12-22

    The mortality associated with weekend admission to hospital (the 'weekend effect') has for many years been attributed to deficiencies in quality of hospital care, often assumed to be due to suboptimal senior medical staffing at weekends. This protocol describes a case note review to determine whether there are differences in care quality for emergency admissions (EAs) to hospital at weekends compared with weekdays, and whether the difference has reduced over time as health policies have changed to promote 7-day services. Cross-sectional two-epoch case record review of 20 acute hospital Trusts in England. Anonymised case records of 4000 EAs to hospital, 2000 at weekends and 2000 on weekdays, covering two epochs (financial years 2012-2013 and 2016-2017). Admissions will be randomly selected across the whole of each epoch from Trust electronic patient records. Following training, structured implicit case reviews will be conducted by consultants or senior registrars (senior residents) in acute medical specialities (60 case records per reviewer), and limited to the first 7 days following hospital admission. The co-primary outcomes are the weekend:weekday admission ratio of errors per case record, and a global assessment of care quality on a Likert scale. Error rates will be analysed using mixed effects logistic regression models, and care quality using ordinal regression methods. Secondary outcomes include error typology, error-related adverse events and any correlation between error rates and staffing. The data will also be used to inform a parallel health economics analysis. The project has received ethics approval from the South West Wales Research Ethics Committee (REC): reference 13/WA/0372. Informed consent is not required for accessing anonymised patient case records from which patient identifiers had been removed. The findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications in high-quality journals and through local High-intensity Specialist-Led Acute

  16. Passive monitoring using traffic noise recordings - case study on the Steinachtal Bridge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salvermoser, Johannes; Stähler, Simon; Hadziioannou, Céline

    2015-04-01

    Civil structures age continuously. The early recognition of potentially critical damages is an important economical issue, but also one of public safety. Continuous tracking of small changes in the medium by using passive methods would offer an extension to established active non-destructive testing procedures at relatively low cost. Here we present a case study of structural monitoring using continuous recordings of traffic noise on a 200 meter long reinforced concrete highway bridge in Germany. Over two months of continuos geophone records are used in the frequency range of 2-8 Hz. Using passive image interferometry, evaluation of hourly cross-correlations between recordings at pairs of receivers yield velocity variations in the range of -1.5% to +2.1%. We were able to correlate our outcomes with temperature measurements of the same two month period. The measured velocity changes scale with the temperature variations with on average a dv/v of 0.064% per degree Celsius. This value is in accordance with other studies of concrete response to temperature, confirming that we are able to observe subtle changes with physical origin. It is shown that traffic noise is temporally homogenenous enough to fulfill the requirements of passive image interferometry.

  17. Validation of asthma recording in electronic health records: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nissen F

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Francis Nissen,1 Jennifer K Quint,2 Samantha Wilkinson,1 Hana Mullerova,3 Liam Smeeth,1 Ian J Douglas1 1Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK; 2National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK; 3RWD & Epidemiology, GSK R&D, Uxbridge, UK Objective: To describe the methods used to validate asthma diagnoses in electronic health records and summarize the results of the validation studies. Background: Electronic health records are increasingly being used for research on asthma to inform health services and health policy. Validation of the recording of asthma diagnoses in electronic health records is essential to use these databases for credible epidemiological asthma research.Methods: We searched EMBASE and MEDLINE databases for studies that validated asthma diagnoses detected in electronic health records up to October 2016. Two reviewers independently assessed the full text against the predetermined inclusion criteria. Key data including author, year, data source, case definitions, reference standard, and validation statistics (including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value [PPV], and negative predictive value [NPV] were summarized in two tables.Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. Most studies demonstrated a high validity using at least one case definition (PPV >80%. Ten studies used a manual validation as the reference standard; each had at least one case definition with a PPV of at least 63%, up to 100%. We also found two studies using a second independent database to validate asthma diagnoses. The PPVs of the best performing case definitions ranged from 46% to 58%. We found one study which used a questionnaire as the reference standard to validate a database case definition; the PPV of the case definition algorithm in this study was 89%. Conclusion: Attaining high PPVs (>80% is possible using each of the discussed validation

  18. A real options approach to biotechnology investment policy-the case of developing a Campylobacter vaccine to poultry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Mogens; Jensen, Jørgen Dejgård

    2016-06-01

    The aim of the article is to identify and analyse public-private incentives for the development and marketing of new animal vaccines within a real options methodological framework, and to investigate how real options methodology can be utilized to support economic incentives for vaccine development in a cost-effective way. The development of a vaccine against Campylobacter jejuni in poultry is applied as a case study. Employing the real options methodology, the net present value of the vaccine R&D project becomes larger than a purely probabilistic expected present value throughout the different stages of the project - and the net present value becomes larger, when more types of real options are taken into consideration. The insight from the real options analysis reveals opportunities for new policies to promote the development of animal vaccines. One such approach might be to develop schemes combining stage-by-stage optimized subsidies in the individual development stages, with proper account taken of investors'/developers' economic incentives to proceed, sell or cancel the project in the respective stages. Another way of using the real options approach to support the development of desirable animal vaccines could be to issue put options for the vaccine candidate, enabling vaccine developers to hedge against the economic risk from market volatility. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Concordance Between Self-Reported Childhood Maltreatment Versus Case Record Reviews for Child Welfare–Affiliated Adolescents: Prevalence Rates and Associations With Outcomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Negriff, Sonya; Schneiderman, Janet U.; Trickett, Penelope K.

    2017-01-01

    The present study used data from an ongoing longitudinal study of the effects of maltreatment on adolescent development to (1) describe rates of maltreatment experiences obtained from retrospective self-report versus case record review for adolescents with child welfare–documented maltreatment histories, (2) examine self-reported versus child welfare–identified maltreatment in relation to mental health and risk behavior outcomes by maltreatment type, and (3) examine the association between the number of different types of maltreatment and mental health and risk behavior outcomes. Maltreatment was coded from case records using the Maltreatment Case Record Abstraction Instrument (MCRAI) and participants were asked at mean age = 18.49 about childhood maltreatment experiences using the Comprehensive Trauma Interview (CTI). Results showed that an average of 48% of maltreatment found by the MCRAI for each type of maltreatment were unique cases not captured by the CTI, whereas an average of 40% self-reported maltreatment (CTI) was not indicated by the MCRAI. Analyses with outcomes showed generally, self-reported maltreatment, regardless of concordance with MCRAI, was related to the poorest outcomes. The difference in associations with the outcomes indicates both self-report and case record review data may have utility depending on the outcomes being assessed. PMID:27777329

  20. Variability in prescription drug expenditures explained by adjusted clinical groups (ACG case-mix: A cross-sectional study of patient electronic records in primary care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Serrat Josep

    2008-03-01

    pharmacy cost in adults compared to physician and center. In children there is greater variability among physicians and centers not related to case-mix. In our sites, ACG is useful to profile physicians and centers using electronic records in real practical conditions. Physicians with lower pharmaceutical expenditure have higher scores for a prescription quality index.

  1. Real-time position reconstruction with hippocampal place cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guger, Christoph; Gener, Thomas; Pennartz, Cyriel M A; Brotons-Mas, Jorge R; Edlinger, Günter; Bermúdez I Badia, S; Verschure, Paul; Schaffelhofer, Stefan; Sanchez-Vives, Maria V

    2011-01-01

    Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are using the electroencephalogram, the electrocorticogram and trains of action potentials as inputs to analyze brain activity for communication purposes and/or the control of external devices. Thus far it is not known whether a BCI system can be developed that utilizes the states of brain structures that are situated well below the cortical surface, such as the hippocampus. In order to address this question we used the activity of hippocampal place cells (PCs) to predict the position of an rodent in real-time. First, spike activity was recorded from the hippocampus during foraging and analyzed off-line to optimize the spike sorting and position reconstruction algorithm of rats. Then the spike activity was recorded and analyzed in real-time. The rat was running in a box of 80 cm × 80 cm and its locomotor movement was captured with a video tracking system. Data were acquired to calculate the rat's trajectories and to identify place fields. Then a Bayesian classifier was trained to predict the position of the rat given its neural activity. This information was used in subsequent trials to predict the rat's position in real-time. The real-time experiments were successfully performed and yielded an error between 12.2 and 17.4% using 5-6 neurons. It must be noted here that the encoding step was done with data recorded before the real-time experiment and comparable accuracies between off-line (mean error of 15.9% for three rats) and real-time experiments (mean error of 14.7%) were achieved. The experiment shows proof of principle that position reconstruction can be done in real-time, that PCs were stable and spike sorting was robust enough to generalize from the training run to the real-time reconstruction phase of the experiment. Real-time reconstruction may be used for a variety of purposes, including creating behavioral-neuronal feedback loops or for implementing neuroprosthetic control.

  2. Provincial prenatal record revision: a multiple case study of evidence-based decision-making at the population-policy level

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olson Joanne

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a significant gap in the knowledge translation literature related to how research evidence actually contributes to health care decision-making. Decisions around what care to provide at the population (rather than individual level are particularly complex, involving considerations such as feasibility, cost, and population needs in addition to scientific evidence. One example of decision-making at this "population-policy" level involves what screening questions and intervention guides to include on standardized provincial prenatal records. As mandatory medical reporting forms, prenatal records are potentially powerful vehicles for promoting population-wide evidence-based care. However, the extent to which Canadian prenatal records reflect best-practice recommendations for the assessment of well-known risk factors such as maternal smoking and alcohol consumption varies markedly across Canadian provinces and territories. The goal of this study is to better understand the interaction of contextual factors and research evidence on decision-making at the population-policy level, by examining the processes by which provincial prenatal records are reviewed and revised. Methods Guided by Dobrow et al.'s (2004 conceptual model for context-based evidence-based decision-making, this study will use a multiple case study design with embedded units of analysis to examine contextual factors influencing the prenatal record revision process in different Canadian provinces and territories. Data will be collected using multiple methods to construct detailed case descriptions for each province/territory. Using qualitative data analysis techniques, decision-making processes involving prenatal record content specifically related to maternal smoking and alcohol use will be compared both within and across each case, to identify key contextual factors influencing the uptake and application of research evidence by prenatal record review

  3. Bayesian estimation of test characteristics of real-time PCR, bacteriological culture and California mastitis test for diagnosis of intramammary infections with Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cattle at routine milk recordings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahmmod, Yasser; Toft, Nils; Katholm, Jørgen

    2013-01-01

    Danish farmers can order a real-time PCR mastitis diagnostic test on routinely takencow-level samples from milk recordings. Validation of its performance in comparison toconventional mastitis diagnostics under field conditions is essential for efficient control ofintramammary infections (IMI......) with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Therefore, the objec-tive of this study was to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of real-time PCR,bacterial culture (BC) and California mastitis test (CMT) for the diagnosis of the naturallyoccurring IMI with S. aureus in routinely collected milk samples using...... latent class anal-ysis (LCA) to avoid the assumption of a perfect reference test. Using systematic randomsampling, a total of 609 lactating dairy cows were selected from 6 dairy herds with bulktank milk PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value ≤39 for S. aureus. At routine milk recordings, auto-matically obtained...

  4. Ref Tek Ultra-low Power Seismic Recorder With Low-cost High Speed Internet Telemetry U An Advanced Real-time Seismological Data Acquisition System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passmore, P.; Zimakov, L.; Rozhkov, M.

    The 3rd Generation Seismic Recorder, Model 130-01, has been designed to be easier to use - more compact, lighter in weight, lower power, and requires less maintenance than other recorders. Not only is the hardware optimized for field deployments, soft- ware tools as well have been specially developed to support both field and base station operation. The 130's case is a clamshell design, inherently waterproof, with easy access to all user features on the top of the unit. The 130 has 6 input/output connectors, an LCD display, and a removable lid on top of the case. There are two Channel input connectors on a 6-channel unit (only one on a 3-channel unit), a Terminal connector for setup and control, a Net connector combining Ethernet and Serial PPP for network access, a 12 VDC Power connector, and a GPS receiver connector. The LCD display allows the user to monitor the status of various sub systems within the 130 without having a terminal device attached. For storing large amounts of data the IBM MicrodriveTM is offered. User setup, control and status monitoring is done either with a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) (Palm OS compatible) using our Palm Field Controller (PFC) software or from a PC/workstation using our REF TEK Network Controller (RNC) GUI interface. StarBand VSAT is the premier two-way, always-on, high-speed satellite Internet ser- vice. StarBand means high-speed Internet without the constraints and congestion of land-based cable or telephone networks. StarBand uses a single satellite dish antenna for receiving and for sending dataUno telephone connection is needed. The hardware ° cost is much less than standard VSAT equipment with double or single hop transmis- sion. REF TEK protocol (RTP) provides end-to-end error-correcting data transmission and command/control. StarBandSs low cost VSAT provides two-way, always-on, high speed satellite Internet data availability. REF TEK and StarBand create the most ad- vanced real-time seismological data acquisition

  5. Real-time capture of student reasoning while writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franklin, Scott V.; Hermsen, Lisa M.

    2014-12-01

    We present a new approach to investigating student reasoning while writing: real-time capture of the dynamics of the writing process. Key-capture or video software is used to record the entire writing episode, including all pauses, deletions, insertions, and revisions. A succinct shorthand, "S notation," is used to highlight significant moments in the episode that may be indicative of shifts in understanding and can be used in followup interviews for triangulation. The methodology allows one to test the widespread belief that writing is a valuable pedagogical technique, which currently has little directly supportive research. To demonstrate the method, we present a case study of a writing episode. The data reveal an evolution of expression and articulation, discontinuous in both time and space. Distinct shifts in the tone and topic that follow long pauses and revisions are not restricted to the most recently written text. Real-time writing analysis, with its study of the temporal breaks and revision locations, can serve as a complementary tool to more traditional research methods (e.g., speak-aloud interviews) into student reasoning during the writing process.

  6. Enhancing the power of genetic association studies through the use of silver standard cases derived from electronic medical records.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew McDavid

    Full Text Available The feasibility of using imperfectly phenotyped "silver standard" samples identified from electronic medical record diagnoses is considered in genetic association studies when these samples might be combined with an existing set of samples phenotyped with a gold standard technique. An analytic expression is derived for the power of a chi-square test of independence using either research-quality case/control samples alone, or augmented with silver standard data. The subset of the parameter space where inclusion of silver standard samples increases statistical power is identified. A case study of dementia subjects identified from electronic medical records from the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE network, combined with subjects from two studies specifically targeting dementia, verifies these results.

  7. New cities between sustainability and real estate investment: A case study of New Cairo city

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reham M. Hafez

    2017-04-01

    This research reviews the basis of development of the new cities. The influence of the real estate investment in some Arab countries, then it handles the case study – “New Cairo city”. Discussing all the investing factors made the city in its current status. Then comes the recommendations in a trial to get an alternative structure to achieve sustainability in light of the current determinants and growth stages.

  8. Optimization of active distribution networks: Design and analysis of significative case studies for enabling control actions of real infrastructure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moneta Diana

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The diffusion of Distributed Generation (DG based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES requires new strategies to ensure reliable and economic operation of the distribution networks and to support the diffusion of DG itself. An advanced algorithm (DISCoVER – DIStribution Company VoltagE Regulator is being developed to optimize the operation of active network by means of an advanced voltage control based on several regulations. Starting from forecasted load and generation, real on-field measurements, technical constraints and costs for each resource, the algorithm generates for each time period a set of commands for controllable resources that guarantees achievement of technical goals minimizing the overall cost. Before integrating the controller into the telecontrol system of the real networks, and in order to validate the proper behaviour of the algorithm and to identify possible critical conditions, a complete simulation phase has started. The first step is concerning the definition of a wide range of “case studies”, that are the combination of network topology, technical constraints and targets, load and generation profiles and “costs” of resources that define a valid context to test the algorithm, with particular focus on battery and RES management. First results achieved from simulation activity on test networks (based on real MV grids and actual battery characteristics are given, together with prospective performance on real case applications.

  9. Optimization of active distribution networks: Design and analysis of significative case studies for enabling control actions of real infrastructure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moneta, Diana; Mora, Paolo; Viganò, Giacomo; Alimonti, Gianluca

    2014-12-01

    The diffusion of Distributed Generation (DG) based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES) requires new strategies to ensure reliable and economic operation of the distribution networks and to support the diffusion of DG itself. An advanced algorithm (DISCoVER - DIStribution Company VoltagE Regulator) is being developed to optimize the operation of active network by means of an advanced voltage control based on several regulations. Starting from forecasted load and generation, real on-field measurements, technical constraints and costs for each resource, the algorithm generates for each time period a set of commands for controllable resources that guarantees achievement of technical goals minimizing the overall cost. Before integrating the controller into the telecontrol system of the real networks, and in order to validate the proper behaviour of the algorithm and to identify possible critical conditions, a complete simulation phase has started. The first step is concerning the definition of a wide range of "case studies", that are the combination of network topology, technical constraints and targets, load and generation profiles and "costs" of resources that define a valid context to test the algorithm, with particular focus on battery and RES management. First results achieved from simulation activity on test networks (based on real MV grids) and actual battery characteristics are given, together with prospective performance on real case applications.

  10. Extent of misclassification of death from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in England 1979-96: retrospective examination of clinical records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majeed, Azeem; Lehmann, Petra; Kirby, Liz; Knight, Richard; Coleman, Michel

    2000-01-01

    Objective To investigate the extent to which deaths from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were misclassified during 1979-96. Design Structured review of clinical records based on predetermined criteria to determine whether death could have been due to sporadic or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Setting 100 health authorities and 275 NHS trusts in England. Subjects 1485 people who died aged 15-44 years from selected neurological disorders in England during 1979-96. Main outcome measure Cause of death. Results The clinical records of 705 (48%) subjects were successfully traced. Tracing of clinical records was highest in subjects who died during 1990-6. There was sufficient information in the records of 640 (91%) of the 705 subjects to exclude Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease as a cause of death. In 61 (9%) subjects, there was insufficient information to reach any conclusion about the validity of the cause of death recorded on the death certificate. The clinical records of four subjects were examined further by the National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Surveillance Unit; none was thought to have died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Conclusions No new cases of sporadic or variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease were detected in a sample of deaths most likely to have included misclassified cases. This suggests that the surveillance system is unlikely to have missed a significant number of cases among people aged 15-44 years. Hence, any rapid increase in the number of cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in this age group is likely to be real not artefactual. PMID:10634732

  11. Imprecise results: Utilizing partial computations in real-time systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Kwei-Jay; Natarajan, Swaminathan; Liu, Jane W.-S.

    1987-01-01

    In real-time systems, a computation may not have time to complete its execution because of deadline requirements. In such cases, no result except the approximate results produced by the computations up to that point will be available. It is desirable to utilize these imprecise results if possible. Two approaches are proposed to enable computations to return imprecise results when executions cannot be completed normally. The milestone approach records results periodically, and if a deadline is reached, returns the last recorded result. The sieve approach demarcates sections of code which can be skipped if the time available is insufficient. By using these approaches, the system is able to produce imprecise results when deadlines are reached. The design of the Concord project is described which supports imprecise computations using these techniques. Also presented is a general model of imprecise computations using these techniques, as well as one which takes into account the influence of the environment, showing where the latter approach fits into this model.

  12. Real analysis and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Botelho, Fabio Silva

    2018-01-01

    This textbook introduces readers to real analysis in one and n dimensions. It is divided into two parts: Part I explores real analysis in one variable, starting with key concepts such as the construction of the real number system, metric spaces, and real sequences and series. In turn, Part II addresses the multi-variable aspects of real analysis. Further, the book presents detailed, rigorous proofs of the implicit theorem for the vectorial case by applying the Banach fixed-point theorem and the differential forms concept to surfaces in Rn. It also provides a brief introduction to Riemannian geometry. With its rigorous, elegant proofs, this self-contained work is easy to read, making it suitable for undergraduate and beginning graduate students seeking a deeper understanding of real analysis and applications, and for all those looking for a well-founded, detailed approach to real analysis.

  13. Does Wearable Medical Technology With Video Recording Capability Add Value to On-Call Surgical Evaluations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Sameer; Boehme, Jacqueline; Manser, Kelly; Dewar, Jannine; Miller, Amie; Siddiqui, Gina; Schwaitzberg, Steven D

    2016-10-01

    Background Google Glass has been used in a variety of medical settings with promising results. We explored the use and potential value of an asynchronous, near-real time protocol-which avoids transmission issues associated with real-time applications-for recording, uploading, and viewing of high-definition (HD) visual media in the emergency department (ED) to facilitate remote surgical consults. Study Design First-responder physician assistants captured pertinent aspects of the physical examination and diagnostic imaging using Google Glass' HD video or high-resolution photographs. This visual media were then securely uploaded to the study website. The surgical consultation then proceeded over the phone in the usual fashion and a clinical decision was made. The surgeon then accessed the study website to review the uploaded video. This was followed by a questionnaire regarding how the additional data impacted the consultation. Results The management plan changed in 24% (11) of cases after surgeons viewed the video. Five of these plans involved decision making regarding operative intervention. Although surgeons were generally confident in their initial management plan, confidence scores increased further in 44% (20) of cases. In addition, we surveyed 276 ED patients on their opinions regarding concerning the practice of health care providers wearing and using recording devices in the ED. The survey results revealed that the majority of patients are amenable to the addition of wearable technology with video functionality to their care. Conclusions This study demonstrates the potential value of a medically dedicated, hands-free, HD recording device with internet connectivity in facilitating remote surgical consultation. © The Author(s) 2016.

  14. Argus developer in practice real estate development modeling in the real world

    CERN Document Server

    Havard, Tim M

    2014-01-01

    First ""missing manual"" for Argus Developer--case studies show readers how to analyze a development, something Argus manuals don't do. Argus Developer is by far the leading program for real estate developers worldwide The book is an education in real estate finance as well as the program Author teaches seminars and consults with people using the program--back of room sales likely Author has three other books on real estate development Possibility that Argus gets behind the project The book will contain dozens of screenshots

  15. Reanalysis of Korean War Anthropological Records to Support the Resolution of Cold Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Emily K

    2017-09-01

    Re-investigation of previously unidentified remains from the Korean War has yielded 55 new identifications, each with corresponding records of prior anthropological analyses. This study compares biological assessments for age at death, stature, and ancestry across (i) anthropological analyses from the 1950s, (ii) recent anthropological analyses of those same sets of remains, and (iii) the reported antemortem biological information for the identified individual. A comparison of long bone measurements from both the 1950s and during reanalysis is also presented. These comparisons demonstrate commonalities and continuing patterns of errors that are useful in refining both research on Korean War cold case records and forensic anthropological analyses performed using methods developed from the 1950s identifications. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  16. The Fernald wet records recovery project: A case history

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sterling, H.J.; Devir, B.R.; Hawley, R.A. [Fernald Environmental Restoration Management Corp., Cincinnati, OH (United States); Freesmeyer, M.T. [USDOE Ohio Field Office (United States)

    1995-06-22

    This paper discusses a project performed to recover wet records discovered in January 1995 at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP). This paper discusses the emergency and record recovery phases of the project, the technical options considered for records recovery, and special measures which were required due to radiological contamination of the records. Also, the root causes and lessons learned from the incident, and path forward for future records management operations at Fernald, are discussed.

  17. The Fernald wet records recovery project: A case history

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sterling, H.J.; Devir, B.R.; Hawley, R.A.; Freesmeyer, M.T.

    1995-01-01

    This paper discusses a project performed to recover wet records discovered in January 1995 at the Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP). This paper discusses the emergency and record recovery phases of the project, the technical options considered for records recovery, and special measures which were required due to radiological contamination of the records. Also, the root causes and lessons learned from the incident, and path forward for future records management operations at Fernald, are discussed

  18. 29 CFR 1904.4 - Recording criteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... criteria. (Needlestick and sharps injury cases, tuberculosis cases, hearing loss cases, medical removal... Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR RECORDING AND REPORTING OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES Recordkeeping Forms and Recording Criteria § 1904.4...

  19. Real-time porphyrin detection in plaque and caries: a case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timoshchuk, Mari-Alina I.; Ridge, Jeremy S.; Rugg, Amanda L.; Nelson, Leonard Y.; Kim, Amy S.; Seibel, Eric J.

    2015-02-01

    An ultrathin scanning fiber endoscope, originally developed for cancer diagnosis, was used in a case study to locate plaque and caries. The imaging system incorporated software mitigation of background auto-fluorescence (AF). In conventional fluorescence imaging, varying AF across a tooth surface can mask low-level porphyrin signals. Laser-induced auto-fluorescence signals of dental tissue excited using a 405-nm laser typically produce fluorescence over a wavelength range extending from 440-nm to 750-nm. Anaerobic bacterial metabolism produces various porphyrin species (eg. protoporphyrin IX) that are located in carious enamel, dentin, gingivitis sites, and plaque. In our case study, these porphyrin deposits remained as long as one day after prophylaxis. Imaging the tooth surface using 405-nm excitation and subtracting the natural AF enhances the image contrast of low-level porphyrin deposits, which would otherwise be masked by the high background AF. In a case study, healthy tissues as well as sites of early and advanced caries formations were scanned for visual and quantitative signs of red fluorescence associated with porphyrin species using a background mitigation algorithm. Initial findings show increasing amplitudes of red fluorescence as caries severity increases from early to late stages. Sites of plaque accumulation also displayed red fluorescence similar to that found in carious dental tissue. The use of real-time background mitigation of natural dental AF can enhance the detection of low porphyrin concentrations that are indicators of early stage caries formation.

  20. An experimental digital consumer recorder for MPEG-coded video signals

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Saeijs, R.W.J.J.; With, de P.H.N.; Rijckaert, A.M.A.; Wong, C.

    1995-01-01

    The concept and real-time implementation of an experimental home-use digital recorder is presented, capable of recording MPEG-compressed video signals. The system has small recording mechanics based on the DVC standard and it uses MPEG compression for trick-mode signals as well

  1. Let's Make a Movie: Investigating Pre-Service Teachers' Reflections on Using Video Recorded Role Playing Cases in Turkey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koc, Mustafa

    2011-01-01

    This study examined the potential consequences of using student-filmed video cases in the study of classroom management in teacher education. Pre-service teachers in groups were engaged in video-recorded role playing to simulate classroom memoirs. Each group shared their video cases and interpretations in a class presentation. Qualitative data…

  2. Data science and complex networks real case studies with Python

    CERN Document Server

    Caldarelli, Guido

    2016-01-01

    This book provides a comprehensive yet short description of the basic concepts of complex network theory and the code to implement this theory. Differently from other books, we present these concepts starting from real cases of study. The application topics span from food webs, to the Internet, the World Wide Web, and social networks, passing through the international trade web and financial time series. The final part is devoted to definition and implementation of the most important network models. We provide information on the structure of the data and on the quality of available datasets. Furthermore, we provide a series of codes to implement instantly what is described theoretically in the book. People knowing the basis of network theory could learn the art of coding in Python by checking our codes and using the online material. In particular, the interactive Python notebook format is used so that the reader can immediately experiment by themselves with the codes present in the manuscript. To this purpose...

  3. The Role of Smart Meters in Enabling Real-Time Energy Services for Households: The Italian Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandro Pitì

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The Smart Meter (SM is an essential tool for successful balancing the demand-offer energy curve. It allows the linking of the consumption and production measurements with the time information and the customer’s identity, enabling the substitution of flat-price billing with smarter solutions, such as Time-of-Use or Real-Time Pricing. In addition to sending data to the energy operators for billing and monitoring purposes, Smart Meters must be able to send the same data to customer devices in near-real-time conditions, enabling new services such as instant energy awareness and home automation. In this article, we review the ongoing situation in Europe regarding real-time services for the final customers. Then, we review the architectural and technological options that have been considered for the roll-out phase of the Italian second generation of Smart Meters. Finally, we identify a collection of use cases, along with their functional and performance requirements, and discuss what architectures and communications technologies can meet these requirements.

  4. Online Marketing Issues of Real Estate Companies: a Case of Latvia

    OpenAIRE

    Dumpe, M

    2015-01-01

    Today online marketing has become an integral part of marketing mix. Potential real estate customers prefer to make online research themselves. Therefore, real estate companies should be ready that search engines, corporate web pages, profiles on social media sites should strengthen the image of real estate companies and ensure better communication with customers. The aim of this paper is to explore results of qualitative research regarding real estate online marketing activities. It has been...

  5. Real significance of skin contamination is

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sudmann, R.H.

    1983-01-01

    For five decades, health physicists have discussed the thickness, area, significance of radioactive contamination and the exposures to various portions of the skin. Concern about instances of skin contamination extend beyond the resultant organ dose simply because it is a recognizable and quantifiable event. As such, there is a tendency for management and regulatory agencies to use it as a trend indicator. The final result is a score card similar to the list of OSHA reportable accidents. In fact, the skin contamination incidence rate has a somewhat different meaning to the health physicist, to the manager, and to the regulator. The question must then be asked, What is the true significance of skin contamination, Is it the resultant skin dose, Is it an indicator of loss of control, Is it both or neither. In order to answer these questions, Rockwell Hanford Operations began analysis of the previous five years records of skin contamination cases. Since by policy each incidence of skin contamination is documented, a large percentage of the 425 records analyzed were of low level activity (less than 100 dpm/cm 2 ) on the extremeties, primarily hands and fingers. Most of these cases were readily decontaminated with soap and water. Individual elements studied included: detection/monitoring methods and limits; impact of type of operation on the incidence rate; causes of and methods for reduction of the incidence rate; reporting and documentation; and dose assessment. Results of the study indicate that skin contamination rarely presents a beta dose problem because it is normally highly localized on the extremeties. Only in unusual cases does it represent a potential for internal deposition. Thus, the real importance of skin contamination incidence is as an indicator of deteriorating conditions and should be reviewed by health physicists, managers and regulators as such

  6. Real-time laser holographic interferometry for aerodynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, G.

    1987-01-01

    Recent developments in thermoplastic recording holograms and advancements in automated image digitalization and analysis make real-time laser holographic interferometry feasible for two-dimensional flows such as airfoil flows. Typical airfoil measurements would include airfoil pressure distributions, wake and boundary layer profiles, and flow field density contours. This paper addresses some of the problems and requirements of a real-time laser holographic interferometer. 13 references

  7. Soil charcoal analysis as a climato-stratigraphical tool: The key case of Cordillera Real, northern Andes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Di Pasquale, G. [Dipartimento di Arboricoltura Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Universita di Napoli Federico II, Via Universita 100, 80055 Portici (Italy); Impagliazzo, S., E-mail: stefania.impagliazzo@unina.i [Dipartimento di Arboricoltura Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Universita di Napoli Federico II, Via Universita 100, 80055 Portici (Italy); Lubritto, C. [CIRCE, Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, II Universita di Napoli, and INNOVA, via Vivaldi, 43, 81100 Caserta (Italy); Marziano, M. [Dipartimento di Arboricoltura Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Universita di Napoli Federico II, Via Universita 100, 80055 Portici (Italy); Passariello, I. [CIRCE, Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, II Universita di Napoli, and INNOVA, via Vivaldi, 43, 81100 Caserta (Italy); Ermolli, E. Russo [Dipartimento di Arboricoltura Botanica e Patologia Vegetale, Universita di Napoli Federico II, Via Universita 100, 80055 Portici (Italy)

    2010-04-15

    The present study represents the first attempt of reconstructing fire history through soil charcoal dating. The investigated area is located in the Guandera Biological Reserve (western Cordillera Real, northern Ecuador). Six AMS radiocarbon dating, performed at the base of five soil profiles allowed a fire phase to be identified during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. A strong correspondence was highlighted between the age of the Guandera fires and the El Abra stadial, which is considered the Younger Dryas equivalent in South America. This local evidence of fires contributes to define the geographic area in which the El Abra stadial was recorded and suggests a wider use of the soil charcoal analysis.

  8. Soil charcoal analysis as a climato-stratigraphical tool: The key case of Cordillera Real, northern Andes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Di Pasquale, G.; Impagliazzo, S.; Lubritto, C.; Marziano, M.; Passariello, I.; Ermolli, E. Russo

    2010-01-01

    The present study represents the first attempt of reconstructing fire history through soil charcoal dating. The investigated area is located in the Guandera Biological Reserve (western Cordillera Real, northern Ecuador). Six AMS radiocarbon dating, performed at the base of five soil profiles allowed a fire phase to be identified during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. A strong correspondence was highlighted between the age of the Guandera fires and the El Abra stadial, which is considered the Younger Dryas equivalent in South America. This local evidence of fires contributes to define the geographic area in which the El Abra stadial was recorded and suggests a wider use of the soil charcoal analysis.

  9. Records management and service delivery: the case of Department ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article explores the role of records management in the delivery of public service in ... to the Corporate Services Division at the Ministry of Health headquarters. ... delays in access and use of records; lack of a elaborate electronic records ...

  10. Real-time personal exposure and health condition monitoring system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saitou, Isamu; Kanda, Hiroaki; Asai, Akio; Takeishi, Naoki; Ota, Yoshito [Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd., Measuring Systems Engineering Dept., Tokyo (Japan); Hanawa, Nobuhiro; Ueda, Hisao; Kusunoki, Tsuyoshi; Ishitsuka, Etsuo; Kawamura, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Oarai Research and Development Center, Oarai, Ibaraki (Japan)

    2012-03-15

    JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency) and HAM (Hitachi Aloka Medical, Ltd) have proposed novel monitoring system for workers of nuclear facility. In these facilities, exposure management for workers is mainly used access control and personal exposure recordings. This system is currently only for reports management but is not confirmative for surveillance when work in progress. Therefore, JAEA and HAM integrate access control and personal exposure recordings and two real-time monitoring systems which are position sensing and vital sign monitor. Furthermore change personal exposure management to real-time management, this system integration prevents workers from risk of accidents, and makes possible take appropriate action quickly. This novel system is going to start for tentative operation, using position sensing and real-time personal dosimeter with database in Apr. 2012. (author)

  11. 2.5D real waveform and real noise simulation of receiver functions in 3D models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schiffer, Christian; Jacobsen, Bo; Balling, Niels

    2014-05-01

    There are several reasons why a real-data receiver function differs from the theoretical receiver function in a 1D model representing the stratification under the seismometer. Main reasons are ambient noise, spectral deficiencies in the impinging P-waveform, and wavefield propagation in laterally varying velocity variations. We present a rapid "2.5D" modelling approach which takes these aspects into account, so that a given 3D velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle can be tested more realistically against observed recordings from seismometer arrays. Each recorded event at each seismometer is simulated individually through the following steps: A 2D section is extracted from the 3D model along the direction towards the hypocentre. A properly slanted plane or curved impulsive wavefront is propagated through this 2D section, resulting in noise free and spectrally complete synthetic seismometer data. The real vertical component signal is taken as a proxy of the real impingent wavefield, so by convolution and subsequent addition of real ambient noise recorded just before the P-arrival we get synthetic vertical and horizontal component data which very closely match the spectral signal content and signal to noise ratio of this specific recording. When these realistic synthetic data undergo exactly the same receiver function estimation and subsequent graphical display we get a much more realistic image to compare to the real-data receiver functions. We applied this approach to the Central Fjord area in East Greenland (Schiffer et al., 2013), where a 3D velocity model of crust and uppermost mantle was adjusted to receiver functions from 2 years of seismometer recordings and wide angle crustal profiles (Schlindwein and Jokat, 1999; Voss and Jokat, 2007). Computationally this substitutes tens or hundreds of heavy 3D computations with hundreds or thousands of single-core 2D computations which parallelize very efficiently on common multicore systems. In perspective

  12. Holograms recorded in dichromated with simple sugars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mejias-Brizuela, N Y; Olivares-Perez, A [Instituto Tecnologico Superior de Atlixco, Coordinacion de Bioquimica, Prolongacion Heliotropo N0 1201, Vista Hermosa Atlixco, Puebla (Mexico); Grande-Grande, A, E-mail: nilyame@inaoep.mx, E-mail: olivares@inaoep.mx

    2011-01-01

    Sugars as glucose and fructose can be used to holographic record. These materials have the advantage to mix very well with K{sub 2}Cr{sub 2}O{sub 7}.Holographic gratings recorded in sugars, were made by a lineal setup to producing interference pattern using a wavelength at 473 nm. These materials have the ability to register information in real time.

  13. Is Real Depreciation or More Government Deficit Expansionary? The Case of Slovenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hsing Yu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts of the real exchange rate, the government deficit and other relevant variables on aggregate output in Slovenia. Few of the previous studies have applied the AD/AS model to examine the impacts of major macroeconomic variables on aggregate output. This paper makes contributions to the literature by applying a rigorous model to examine how real GDP is affected by the real exchange rate, fiscal policy and other related variables. The exponential GARCH model is applied in empirical work. The paper finds that real depreciation of the Euro may affect Slovenia’s aggregate output positively or negatively and that more central government deficit as a percent of GDP does not affect aggregate output. In addition, Slovenia’s aggregate output is positively associated with the real stock price, the real oil price and real total labor cost or wage and is negatively influenced by the real lending rate and the expected inflation rate. Recent real depreciation of the Euro would help Slovenia’s aggregate output whereas expansionary fiscal policy would not be effective in stimulating the economy.

  14. Real Exchange Rate Variability: An Empirical Analysis of the Developing Countries Case

    OpenAIRE

    Sebastian Edwards

    1986-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential role of monetary and real factors in explaining real exchange rate variability in developing countries. For this purpose two indexes of real effective exchange rate variability that measure short-term and long-term variability were constructed for 30 countries. The results obtained, using a generalized least squares procedures on cross section data, indicate that real exchange rate variability has been affected both by real and monetar...

  15. 21 CFR 812.140 - Records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Records. 812.140 Section 812.140 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES... disposed of. (3) Records of each subject's case history and exposure to the device. Case histories include...

  16. Bayesian estimation of test characteristics of real-time PCR, bacteriological culture and California mastitis test for diagnosis of intramammary infections with Staphylococcus aureus in dairy cattle at routine milk recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmmod, Yasser S; Toft, Nils; Katholm, Jørgen; Grønbæk, Carsten; Klaas, Ilka C

    2013-11-01

    Danish farmers can order a real-time PCR mastitis diagnostic test on routinely taken cow-level samples from milk recordings. Validation of its performance in comparison to conventional mastitis diagnostics under field conditions is essential for efficient control of intramammary infections (IMI) with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of real-time PCR, bacterial culture (BC) and California mastitis test (CMT) for the diagnosis of the naturally occurring IMI with S. aureus in routinely collected milk samples using latent class analysis (LCA) to avoid the assumption of a perfect reference test. Using systematic random sampling, a total of 609 lactating dairy cows were selected from 6 dairy herds with bulk tank milk PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value ≤39 for S. aureus. At routine milk recordings, automatically obtained cow-level (composite) milk samples were analyzed by PCR and at the same milking, 2436 quarter milk samples were collected aseptically for BC and CMT. Results showed that 140 cows (23%) were positive for S. aureus IMI by BC while 170 cows (28%) were positive by PCR. Estimates of Se and Sp for PCR were higher than test estimates of BC and CMT. SeCMT was higher than SeBC however, SpBC was higher than SpCMT. SePCR was 91%, while SeBC was 53%, and SeCMT was 61%. SpPCR was 99%, while SpBC was 89%, and SpCMT was 65%. In conclusion, PCR has a higher performance than the conventional diagnostic tests (BC and CMT) suggesting its usefulness as a routine test for accurate diagnosis of S. aureus IMI from dairy cows at routine milk recordings. The use of LCA provided estimates of the test characteristics for two currently diagnostic tests (BC, CMT) and a novel technique (real-time PCR) for diagnosing S. aureus IMI under field conditions at routine milk recordings in Denmark. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Real-time capture of student reasoning while writing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott V. Franklin

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available We present a new approach to investigating student reasoning while writing: real-time capture of the dynamics of the writing process. Key-capture or video software is used to record the entire writing episode, including all pauses, deletions, insertions, and revisions. A succinct shorthand, “S notation,” is used to highlight significant moments in the episode that may be indicative of shifts in understanding and can be used in followup interviews for triangulation. The methodology allows one to test the widespread belief that writing is a valuable pedagogical technique, which currently has little directly supportive research. To demonstrate the method, we present a case study of a writing episode. The data reveal an evolution of expression and articulation, discontinuous in both time and space. Distinct shifts in the tone and topic that follow long pauses and revisions are not restricted to the most recently written text. Real-time writing analysis, with its study of the temporal breaks and revision locations, can serve as a complementary tool to more traditional research methods (e.g., speak-aloud interviews into student reasoning during the writing process.

  18. Acute Precipitants of Physical Elder Abuse: Qualitative Analysis of Legal Records From Highly Adjudicated Cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, Tony; Bloemen, Elizabeth M; LoFaso, Veronica M; Clark, Sunday; Flomenbaum, Neal E; Breckman, Risa; Markarian, Arlene; Riffin, Catherine; Lachs, Mark S; Pillemer, Karl

    2016-08-01

    Elder abuse is a common phenomenon with potentially devastating consequences for older adults. Although researchers have begun to identify predisposing risk factors for elder abuse victims and abusers, little is known about the acute precipitants that lead to escalation to physical violence. We analyzed legal records from highly adjudicated cases to describe these acute precipitants for physical elder abuse. In collaboration with a large, urban district attorney's office, we qualitatively evaluated legal records from 87 successfully prosecuted physical elder abuse cases from 2003 to 2015. We transcribed and analyzed narratives of the events surrounding physical abuse within victim statements, police reports, and prosecutor records. We identified major themes using content analysis. We identified 10 categories of acute precipitants that commonly triggered physical elder abuse, including victim attempting to prevent the abuser from entering or demanding that he or she leave, victim threatening or attempting to leave/escape, threat or perception that the victim would involve the authorities, conflict about a romantic relationship, presence during/intervention in ongoing family violence, issues in multi-generational child rearing, conflict about the abuser's substance abuse, confrontation about financial exploitation, dispute over theft/destruction of property, and disputes over minor household issues. Common acute precipitants of physical elder abuse may be identified. Improved understanding of these acute precipitants for escalation to physical violence and their contribution to elder abuse may assist in the development of prevention and management strategies.

  19. Real-time trichromatic holographic interferometry: preliminary study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albe, Felix; Bastide, Myriam; Desse, Jean-Michel; Tribillon, Jean-Louis H.

    1998-08-01

    In this paper we relate our preliminary experiments on real- time trichromatic holographic interferometry. For this purpose a CW `white' laser (argon and krypton of Coherent- Radiation, Spectrum model 70) is used. This laser produces about 10 wavelengths. A system consisting of birefringent plates and polarizers allows to select a trichromatic TEM00 triplet: blue line ((lambda) equals 476 nm, 100 mW), green line ((lambda) equals 514 nm, 100 mW) and red line ((lambda) equals 647 nm, 100 mW). In a first stage we recorded a trichromatic reflection hologram with a separate reference beam on a single-layer silver-halide panchromatic plate (PFG 03C). After processing, the hologram is put back into the original recording set-up, as in classical experiments on real-time monochromatic holographic interferometry. So we observe interference fringes between the 3 reconstructed waves and the 3 actual waves. The interference fringes of the phenomenon are observed on a screen and recorded by a video camera at 25 frames per second. A color video film of about 3 minutes of duration is presented. Some examples related to phase objects are presented (hot airflow from a candle, airflow from a hand). The actual results show the possibility of using this technique to study, in real time, aerodynamic wakes and mechanical deformation.

  20. Lagrangian solution of supersonic real gas flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loh, Ching-Yuen; Liou, Meng-Sing

    1993-01-01

    The present extention of a Lagrangian approach of the Riemann solution procedure, which was originally proposed for perfect gases, to real gases, is nontrivial and requires the development of an exact real-gas Riemann solver for the Lagrangian form of the conservation laws. Calculations including complex wave interactions of various types were conducted to test the accuracy and robustness of the approach. Attention is given to the case of 2D oblique waves' capture, where a slip line is clearly in evidence; the real gas effect is demonstrated in the case of a generic engine nozzle.

  1. Recent achievements in real-time computational seismology in Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, S.; Liang, W.; Huang, B.

    2012-12-01

    Real-time computational seismology is currently possible to be achieved which needs highly connection between seismic database and high performance computing. We have developed a real-time moment tensor monitoring system (RMT) by using continuous BATS records and moment tensor inversion (CMT) technique. The real-time online earthquake simulation service is also ready to open for researchers and public earthquake science education (ROS). Combine RMT with ROS, the earthquake report based on computational seismology can provide within 5 minutes after an earthquake occurred (RMT obtains point source information ROS completes a 3D simulation real-time now. For more information, welcome to visit real-time computational seismology earthquake report webpage (RCS).

  2. Bus-stop Based Real Time Passenger Information System - Case Study Maribor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Čelan, Marko; Klemenčič, Mitja; Mrgole, Anamarija L.; Lep, Marjan

    2017-10-01

    Real time passenger information system is one of the key element of promoting public transport. For the successful implementation of real time passenger information systems, various components should be considered, such as: passenger needs and requirements, stakeholder involvement, technological solution for tracking, data transfer, etc. This article carrying out designing and evaluation of real time passenger information (RTPI) in the city of Maribor. The design phase included development of methodology for selection of appropriate macro and micro location of the real-time panel, development of a real-time passenger algorithm, definition of a technical specification, financial issues and time frame. The evaluation shows that different people have different requirements; therefore, the system should be adaptable to be used by various types of people, according to the age, the purpose of journey, experience of using public transport, etc. The average difference between perceived waiting time for a bus is 35% higher than the actual waiting time and grow with the headway increase. Experiences from Maribor have shown that the reliability of real time passenger system (from technical point of view) must be close to 100%, otherwise the system may have negative impact on passengers and may discourage the use of public transport. Among considered events of arrivals during the test period, 92% of all prediction were accurate. The cost benefit analysis has focused only on potential benefits from reduced perceived users waiting time and foreseen costs of real time information system in Maribor for 10 years’ period. Analysis shows that the optimal number for implementing real time passenger information system at the bus stops in Maribor is set on 83 bus stops (approx. 20 %) with the highest number of passenger. If we consider all entries at the chosen bus stops, the total perceived waiting time on yearly level could be decreased by about 60,000 hours.

  3. Real-time attended home-polysomnography with telematic data transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruyneel, Marie; Van den Broecke, Sandra; Libert, Walter; Ninane, Vincent

    2013-08-01

    Home-polysomnography (HPSG) has been proposed as a cost-effective alternative for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis. We assessed, in a feasibility study, whether telematic transmission using the Dream® and Sleepbox® technologies was associated with low HPSG failure rate. Patients referred by chest physicians for clinical suspicion of OSA underwent one HPSG, using Dream® and Sleepbox® (Medatec, Belgium), which is a wireless system able to communicate with Dream®, and with Internet through a wi-fi/3G interface. It is equipped with a digital infrared camera, and with a speaker/microphone system for bidirectional audio/video communication via Skype®. The Sleep Lab nurse performed a remote discontinuous monitoring of the PSG. In case of sensor loss, she called the patient who had been previously educated to replace the sensors. Twenty-one patients have been studied. 90% of the recordings were of excellent quality. We observed a 10% PSG failure rate: one failure of the Dream®, and one recording of poor quality. There were 2 successful Skype® interventions resulting in readjustment of the defective probes (nasal cannula and EEG). PSG signal visualization was possible in 90% of cases but Skype® connection was problematic in 19% of cases. However, patients could be reached by phone to solve the problem. Real-time attended HPSG through telematic data transmission is feasible and could be an interesting perspective to decrease the failure rate of home sleep studies, even if some technical aspects need to be improved. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Real-time data collection technologies: Enhanced decision-making and cost savings January, 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rust, T.L.; Vu, H.Q.

    2006-01-01

    Hand-held computers, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and wireless communication devices are rapidly replacing traditional methods for field monitoring and data collection. Although pencil and paper remain important means of data transcription, field technicians can now use Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) to record their field notes and monitoring data. As data are uploaded wirelessly from the field, decision-makers can view realtime reports and maps that identify sample locations and monitoring results. The combination of PDAs, wireless communications, and web-based GIS provides field personnel and decision-makers many benefits throughout the life cycle of a project, including improved data consistency, real-time transfer of data from field locations to centralized databases, input validation, elimination of transcription errors, and cost savings. Concerns have been expressed however, about investing in hardware, software, and training for a new technology. This paper, based on several years of experience using wireless technologies for dozens of projects, is focused specifically on two case studies. The first case study is a large lead removal site in the Midwest at which real-time data collection technologies were used throughout the project to collect thousands of data points. The second is the Hurricane Katrina/Rita emergency response requiring rapid data collection under extraordinary circumstances. At both sites, the use of real-time data collection technologies significantly improved the data management process which reduced overall costs and increased efficiency. These results could not have been achieved using traditional data collection procedures. The oral presentation will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the real-time data collection technologies, lessons learned, and planning considerations. A live demonstration, following a typical data collection scenario in which data are collected and plotted on a GIS map in near real

  5. Real wage rigidity and the new Phillips curve: the Brazilian case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Alberto Mazali

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The new Keynesian Phillips curve has been criticized for not explaining the short-run inflation-output gap trade-off. Blanchard and Galí (2007 introduced real wage rigidity and derived a trade-off between stabilizing inflation and the gap between actual and efficient output. This paper estimates the new Phillips curve for the Brazilian economy, computes short-run trade-off, analyzes real wage rigidity, and tests theoretical restrictions imposed by the model. The GMM estimations fit the data very well and all theoretical restrictions are satisfied. There is strong real wage rigidity and a high output-gap cost to stabilize inflation in the short run.A curva de Phillips novo-keynesiana tem sido criticada por não explicar o trade-off de curto prazo entre inflação-hiato do produto. Blanchard e Galí (2007 introduziram a rigidez do salário real e derivaram um trade-off entre estabilizar inflação ou estabilizar hiato entre produto real e eficiente. Neste artigo estima-se essa nova curva para a economia brasileira, calcula-se o trade-off, analisa-se a rigidez do salário real e testa-se restrições teóricas do modelo. Estimações GMM adequam-se bem aos dados e todas as restrições teóricas são satisfeitas. Há forte rigidez do salário real e alto custo de hiato do produto para estabilizar inflação no curto prazo.

  6. Is real depreciation and expansionary fiscal policy effective? The case of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Hsing

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Applying the IS-MP-IA model to study the impacts of exchange rate movements, expansionary fiscal policy and other relevant variables in Serbia, we find that real appreciation of the dinar, a higher government deficit-to-GDP ratio, a lower real lending rate in the euro area, a lower lagged real oil price, a higher Germany’s real GDP and a lower expected inflation rate would promote economic growth.

  7. Bundles over Quantum RealWeighted Projective Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomasz Brzeziński

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The algebraic approach to bundles in non-commutative geometry and the definition of quantum real weighted projective spaces are reviewed. Principal U(1-bundles over quantum real weighted projective spaces are constructed. As the spaces in question fall into two separate classes, the negative or odd class that generalises quantum real projective planes and the positive or even class that generalises the quantum disc, so do the constructed principal bundles. In the negative case the principal bundle is proven to be non-trivial and associated projective modules are described. In the positive case the principal bundles turn out to be trivial, and so all the associated modules are free. It is also shown that the circle (coactions on the quantum Seifert manifold that define quantum real weighted projective spaces are almost free.

  8. Techno-economic feasibility study of the integration of a commercial small-scale ORC in a real case study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cavazzini, G.; Dal Toso, P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The integration of a small-scale commercial ORC in a real case study was analyzed. • The possibility of recovering the waste heat produced by an ICE was considered. • A semi-empirical steady-state model of the commercial small scale ORC was created. • Both direct and indirect costs was considered in the business model. • The ORC integration was not economically feasible due to increased indirect costs. - Abstract: The ORC certainly represents a promising solution for recovering low-grade waste heat in industries. However, the efficiency of commercial small-scale ORC solutions is still too low in comparison with the high initial costs of the machine and the lack of simulation models specifically developed for commercial ORC systems prevents industries from defining an accurate business model to correctly evaluate the ORC integration in real industrial processes. This paper presents a techno-economic feasibility analysis of the integration of a small-scale commercial ORC in a real case study, represented by a highly-efficient industrial distillery. The integration is aimed at maximizing the electricity auto-production by exploiting the heat produced by an internal combustion engine, already partially recovered in internal thermal processes. To analyze the influence of the ORC integration on the industrial processes, a semi-empirical steady-state model of the commercial small scale ORC was created. The model made it possible to simulate the performance of the commercial ORC within a hypothetical scenario involving the use of the heat from the cooling water and from the exhaust gases of the internal combustion engine. A detailed thermo-dynamic analysis has been carried out to study the effects of the ORC integration on the plant’s energy system with particular focus on the two processes directly affected by ORC integration, namely vapor production and the drying process of the grape marc. The analysis highlighted the great importance in the

  9. Public Participation: Lessons from the Case Study Record

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Beierle, Thomas C.; Cayford, Jerry [Resources for the Future, Washington, DC (United States)

    2001-07-01

    Public participation has received increasing attention in environmental policy making world wide. Yet research has been inadequate to answer fundamental questions about how successful past programs have been, what factors lead to success, and where efforts to improve public involvement should focus. To address these questions, we examine the case study record of public participation efforts in the United States over the last 30 years. We evaluate the success of numerous examples of public participation in environmental decision making and identify the factors that lead to success. The paper deals with a number of themes, including: The extent to which participation can incorporate public values into decision making, improve the substantive quality of decisions, reduce conflict, increase trust in institutions, and educate and inform the public; What can be expected from different approaches to public participation, such as public meetings, advisory committees, and mediation; The relative importance of the participatory process vs. the context in which participation takes place; Procedural features of particular importance; and The relationship between participation and implementation. The paper provides general results that can be used to guide the improvement of public participation programs, support assessment of innovative methods, and advance the theoretical understanding of public participation.

  10. Public Participation: Lessons from the Case Study Record

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beierle, Thomas C.; Cayford, Jerry

    2001-01-01

    Public participation has received increasing attention in environmental policy making world wide. Yet research has been inadequate to answer fundamental questions about how successful past programs have been, what factors lead to success, and where efforts to improve public involvement should focus. To address these questions, we examine the case study record of public participation efforts in the United States over the last 30 years. We evaluate the success of numerous examples of public participation in environmental decision making and identify the factors that lead to success. The paper deals with a number of themes, including: The extent to which participation can incorporate public values into decision making, improve the substantive quality of decisions, reduce conflict, increase trust in institutions, and educate and inform the public; What can be expected from different approaches to public participation, such as public meetings, advisory committees, and mediation; The relative importance of the participatory process vs. the context in which participation takes place; Procedural features of particular importance; and The relationship between participation and implementation. The paper provides general results that can be used to guide the improvement of public participation programs, support assessment of innovative methods, and advance the theoretical understanding of public participation

  11. Using the Electronic Health Record Data in Real Time and Predictive Analytics to Prevent Hospital-Acquired Postoperative/Surgical Site Infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falen, Thomas; Noblin, Alice M; Russell, O Lucia; Santiago, Nonica

    Of critical concern to hospitals today is the prevention of postoperative (surgical site) infections that often result in increased lengths of stays for patients, increased resource demands and costs, loss of public trust and lawsuits, and needless pain and suffering for patients and their families. While all surgical patients have the potential to develop a postoperative infection, the main challenge is to identify key risk factors (both patient centered and operational) through an electronic early-warning system to reduce the likelihood of a postoperative infection from occurring. Currently, most postoperative infection risk prevention practices encompass limited use of informatics technologies or do not maximize the potential benefits. In addition, from a research perspective, there has been more focus on extrapolating electronically housed data (eg, from progress notes, operative notes, laboratory, pharmacy, radiology) retrospectively to describe poor patient outcomes for benchmarking purposes (revealing poor results and opportunities for improvement) rather than using similar sources of real-time data to prevent poor patient outcomes from occurring. This article proposes that standardized indicators, both patient centered and operational, linked to the patient's electronic health record could allow for implementation of 24/7, "real-time" monitoring/surveillance to implement well-timed preventive interventions scaled to each patient and facility to assist caregivers in reducing the numbers of postoperative infections and improve the overall quality and costs of patient care.

  12. Positive real balancing for nonlinear systems

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ionescu, Tudor C.; Scherpen, Jacquelien M.A.; Ciuprina, G; Ioan, D

    2007-01-01

    We extend the positive real balancing procedure for passive linear systems to the nonlinear systems case. We show that, just like in the linear case, model reduction based on this technique preserves passivity.

  13. Recording thoughts while memorizing music: a case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lisboa, Tania; Chaffin, Roger; Demos, Alexander P.

    2015-01-01

    Musicians generally believe that memory differs from one person to the next. As a result, memorizing strategies that could be useful to almost everyone are not widely taught. We describe how an 18-years old piano student (Grade 7, ABRSM), learned to memorize by recording her thoughts, a technique inspired by studies of how experienced soloists memorize. The student, who had previously ignored suggestions that she play from memory, decided to learn to memorize, selecting Schumann’s “Der Dichter Spricht” for this purpose. Rather than explicitly teaching the student how to memorize, the teacher taught her to record her thoughts while playing by marking them on copies of the score, adapting an approach used previously in research with experienced performers. Over a 6½ week period, the student recorded her thoughts during practice (five times) and while performing from memory for the teacher (three times). The student also video-recorded 3 weeks of practice, three performances, and the reconstruction of the piece from memory after a 9½-weeks break. The thoughts that the student reported were prepared during practice, stable over time, and functioned as memory retrieval cues during reconstruction. This suggests that the student memorized in the same way as the more experienced musicians who have been studied previously and that teaching student musicians to record their thoughts may be an effective way to help them memorize. The speed and durability of her memorization surprised the student, inspiring her to perform in public and to use the same technique for new pieces. PMID:25667574

  14. Recording thoughts while memorizing music: A case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tania eLisboa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Musicians generally believe that memory differs from one person to the next. As a result, memorizing strategies that could be useful to almost everyone are not widely taught. We describe how an 18-year old piano student (Grade 7, ABRSM, learned to memorize by recording her thoughts, a technique inspired by studies of how experienced soloists memorize. The student, who had previously ignored suggestions that she play from memory, decided to learn to memorize, selecting Schumann’s Der Dichter Spricht for this purpose. Rather than explicitly teaching the student how to memorize, the teacher taught her to record her thoughts while playing by marking them on copies of the score, adapting an approach used previously in research with experienced performers. Over a 6½ week period, the student recorded her thoughts during practice (5 times and while performing from memory for the teacher (3 times. The student also video-recorded three weeks of practice, three performances, and the reconstruction of the piece from memory after a 9½-weeks break. The thoughts that the student reported were prepared during practice, stable over time, and functioned as memory retrieval cues during reconstruction. This suggests that the student memorized in the same way as the more experienced musicians who have been studied previously and that teaching student musicians to record their thoughts may be an effective way to help them memorize. The speed and durability of her memorization surprised the student, inspiring her to perform in public and to use the same technique for new pieces.

  15. Clinical usefulness of augmented reality using infrared camera based real-time feedback on gait function in cerebral palsy: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Byoung-Hee

    2016-04-01

    [Purpose] This study investigated the effects of real-time feedback using infrared camera recognition technology-based augmented reality in gait training for children with cerebral palsy. [Subjects] Two subjects with cerebral palsy were recruited. [Methods] In this study, augmented reality based real-time feedback training was conducted for the subjects in two 30-minute sessions per week for four weeks. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were used to measure the effect of augmented reality-based real-time feedback training. [Results] Velocity, cadence, bilateral step and stride length, and functional ambulation improved after the intervention in both cases. [Conclusion] Although additional follow-up studies of the augmented reality based real-time feedback training are required, the results of this study demonstrate that it improved the gait ability of two children with cerebral palsy. These findings suggest a variety of applications of conservative therapeutic methods which require future clinical trials.

  16. [The evolution of nursing record-keeping].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Didry, Pascale

    2017-05-01

    Nursing record-keeping forms an integral part of the provision of care. It helps to assure its traceability and monitoring. It also contributes to the circulation of information among the different players involved in the patient's treatment, thereby helping to assure the quality and safety of care. For nurses, whose professional history has its roots in a culture of oral communication, record-keeping represents the affirmation of a real nursing way of thinking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  17. Exploring Earthquakes in Real-Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bravo, T. K.; Kafka, A. L.; Coleman, B.; Taber, J. J.

    2013-12-01

    Earthquakes capture the attention of students and inspire them to explore the Earth. Adding the ability to view and explore recordings of significant and newsworthy earthquakes in real-time makes the subject even more compelling. To address this opportunity, the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), in collaboration with Moravian College, developed ';jAmaSeis', a cross-platform application that enables students to access real-time earthquake waveform data. Students can watch as the seismic waves are recorded on their computer, and can be among the first to analyze the data from an earthquake. jAmaSeis facilitates student centered investigations of seismological concepts using either a low-cost educational seismograph or streamed data from other educational seismographs or from any seismic station that sends data to the IRIS Data Management System. After an earthquake, students can analyze the seismograms to determine characteristics of earthquakes such as time of occurrence, distance from the epicenter to the station, magnitude, and location. The software has been designed to provide graphical clues to guide students in the analysis and assist in their interpretations. Since jAmaSeis can simultaneously record up to three stations from anywhere on the planet, there are numerous opportunities for student driven investigations. For example, students can explore differences in the seismograms from different distances from an earthquake and compare waveforms from different azimuthal directions. Students can simultaneously monitor seismicity at a tectonic plate boundary and in the middle of the plate regardless of their school location. This can help students discover for themselves the ideas underlying seismic wave propagation, regional earthquake hazards, magnitude-frequency relationships, and the details of plate tectonics. The real-time nature of the data keeps the investigations dynamic, and offers students countless opportunities to explore.

  18. Combining loop unrolling strategies and code predication to reduce the worst-case execution time of real-time software

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreu Carminati

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Worst-case execution time (WCET is a parameter necessary to guarantee timing constraints on real-time systems. The higher the worst-case execution time of tasks, the higher will be the resource demand for the associated system. The goal of this paper is to propose a different way to perform loop unrolling on data-dependent loops using code predication targeting WCET reduction, because existing techniques only consider loops with fixed execution counts. We also combine our technique with existing unrolling approaches. Results showed that this combination can produce aggressive WCET reductions when compared with the original code.

  19. THE LEGAL PROTECTION FOR REAL LAND RIGHT HOLDER IN CASE OF FORGED RINCIK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nirwana Nirwana

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The legal Protection For Real Land Right Holder in Case of Forged Rincik. The research aimed to investigate (1 the legal protection for the land owner whose possession was based on rincik evidence, and (2 the legal protection on the good-will buyer based on the forged rincik document used in the land sale transaction. This was the normative legal research, also called the library research or documentary study because the research was only conducted on the written regulations or other legal materials or secondary data consisting of the primary and secondary legal materials. The interview was performed to strengthen the theories and opinions in the research. The research also used the Secondary data. the data were analysed and presented using the qualitative descriptive method. The research result indicate that: (1 the real land owner with rincik possession issued after the year 1960 based on the decision of Indonesian Supreme Court No. 560K / PID / 2008 has not been fully protected due to the fact that the seller is funished for forging the rincik., returning the right to the land owner can not be carried out due to the decision of Indonesian Supreme Court Number. 482 / PK / Pdt / 2014 which make the buyer win, while the real land owner is the directed to sue the land seller to give the compensation: and (2 the legal protection on the good faith buyer based on forget rincik in the land sale transaction has been fully protected and has the ringt to possess the land based on the decision of Indonesian Supreme Court Number. 482/PK/Pdt/2014 because the buyer has bought the land in the presence of Temporary Land Title Registar.

  20. Records management and service delivery: the case of Department ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ngulup

    The principal records management unit within the Department of Corporate Services ... ies services (15), Finance and Accounting (3); however, only 59 participated in it. Data col- ...... records and public-sector financial management.

  1. 36 CFR 1207.31 - Real property.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Section 1207.31 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION GENERAL... original purchase to the fair market value of the property. However, in those situations where a grantee or... purchase of the real property to the current fair market value of the property. ...

  2. The Interaction Between Schema Matching and Record Matching in Data Integration

    KAUST Repository

    Gu, Binbin; Li, Zhixu; Zhang, Xiangliang; Liu, An; Liu, Guanfeng; Zheng, Kai; Zhao, Lei; Zhou, Xiaofang

    2016-01-01

    Schema Matching (SM) and Record Matching (RM) are two necessary steps in integrating multiple relational tables of different schemas, where SM unifies the schemas and RM detects records referring to the same real-world entity. The two processes have

  3. Use of real-time three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in type A aortic dissections: Advantages of 3D TEE illustrated in three cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cindy J Wang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Stanford type A aortic dissections often present to the hospital requiring emergent surgical intervention. Initial diagnosis is usually made by computed tomography; however transesophageal echocardiography (TEE can further characterize aortic dissections with specific advantages: It may be performed on an unstable patient, it can be used intra-operatively, and it has the ability to provide continuous real-time information. Three-dimensional (3D TEE has become more accessible over recent years allowing it to serve as an additional tool in the operating room. We present a case series of three patients presenting with type A aortic dissections and the advantages of intra-operative 3D TEE to diagnose the extent of dissection in each case. Prior case reports have demonstrated the use of 3D TEE in type A aortic dissections to characterize the extent of dissection and involvement of neighboring structures. In our three cases described, 3D TEE provided additional understanding of spatial relationships between the dissection flap and neighboring structures such as the aortic valve and coronary orifices that were not fully appreciated with two-dimensional TEE, which affected surgical decisions in the operating room. This case series demonstrates the utility and benefit of real-time 3D TEE during intra-operative management of a type A aortic dissection.

  4. Augmented reality during robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy: toward real-time 3D-CT to stereoscopic video registration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Li-Ming; Vagvolgyi, Balazs P; Agarwal, Rahul; Reiley, Carol E; Taylor, Russell H; Hager, Gregory D

    2009-04-01

    To investigate a markerless tracking system for real-time stereo-endoscopic visualization of preoperative computed tomographic imaging as an augmented display during robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy. Stereoscopic video segments of a patient undergoing robot-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy for tumor and another for a partial staghorn renal calculus were processed to evaluate the performance of a three-dimensional (3D)-to-3D registration algorithm. After both cases, we registered a segment of the video recording to the corresponding preoperative 3D-computed tomography image. After calibrating the camera and overlay, 3D-to-3D registration was created between the model and the surgical recording using a modified iterative closest point technique. Image-based tracking technology tracked selected fixed points on the kidney surface to augment the image-to-model registration. Our investigation has demonstrated that we can identify and track the kidney surface in real time when applied to intraoperative video recordings and overlay the 3D models of the kidney, tumor (or stone), and collecting system semitransparently. Using a basic computer research platform, we achieved an update rate of 10 Hz and an overlay latency of 4 frames. The accuracy of the 3D registration was 1 mm. Augmented reality overlay of reconstructed 3D-computed tomography images onto real-time stereo video footage is possible using iterative closest point and image-based surface tracking technology that does not use external navigation tracking systems or preplaced surface markers. Additional studies are needed to assess the precision and to achieve fully automated registration and display for intraoperative use.

  5. A real options-based CCS investment evaluation model: Case study of China's power generation sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu, Lei; Fan, Ying

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → This paper establishes a carbon captures and storage (CCS) investment evaluation model. → The model is based on real options theory and solved by the Least Squares Monte Carlo (LSM) method. → China is taken as a case study to evaluate the effects of regulations on CCS investment. → The findings show that the current investment risk of CCS is high, climate policy having the greatest impact on CCS development. -- Abstract: This paper establishes a carbon capture and storage (CCS) investment evaluation model based on real options theory considering uncertainties from the existing thermal power generating cost, carbon price, thermal power with CCS generating cost, and investment in CCS technology deployment. The model aims to evaluate the value of the cost saving effect and amount of CO 2 emission reduction through investing in newly-built thermal power with CCS technology to replace existing thermal power in a given period from the perspective of power generation enterprises. The model is solved by the Least Squares Monte Carlo (LSM) method. Since the model could be used as a policy analysis tool, China is taken as a case study to evaluate the effects of regulations on CCS investment through scenario analysis. The findings show that the current investment risk of CCS is high, climate policy having the greatest impact on CCS development. Thus, there is an important trade off for policy makers between reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the interests of power generation enterprises. The research presented would be useful for CCS technology evaluation and related policy-making.

  6. One-Step Real-Image Reflection Holograms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buah-Bassuah, Paul K.; Vannoni, Maurizio; Molesini, Giuseppe

    2007-01-01

    A holographic process is presented where the object is made of the real image produced by a two-mirror system. Single-step reflection hologram recording is achieved. Details of the process are given, optics concepts are outlined and demonstrative results are presented. (Contains 6 figures and 2 footnotes.)

  7. Structure and performance of a real-time algorithm to detect tsunami or tsunami-like alert conditions based on sea-level records analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Bressan

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this paper is to present an original real-time algorithm devised for detection of tsunami or tsunami-like waves we call TEDA (Tsunami Early Detection Algorithm, and to introduce a methodology to evaluate its performance. TEDA works on the sea level records of a single station and implements two distinct modules running concurrently: one to assess the presence of tsunami waves ("tsunami detection" and the other to identify high-amplitude long waves ("secure detection". Both detection methods are based on continuously updated time functions depending on a number of parameters that can be varied according to the application. In order to select the most adequate parameter setting for a given station, a methodology to evaluate TEDA performance has been devised, that is based on a number of indicators and that is simple to use. In this paper an example of TEDA application is given by using data from a tide gauge located at the Adak Island in Alaska, USA, that resulted in being quite suitable since it recorded several tsunamis in the last years using the sampling rate of 1 min.

  8. Injection moulded microneedle sensor for real-time wireless pH monitoring.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirza, Khalid B; Zuliani, Claudio; Hou, Benjamin; Ng, Fu Siong; Peters, Nicholas S; Toumazou, Christofer

    2017-07-01

    This paper describes the development of an array of individually addressable pH sensitive microneedles using injection moulding and their integration within a portable device for real-time wireless recording of pH distributions in biological samples. The fabricated microneedles are subjected to gold patterning followed by electrodeposition of iridium oxide to sensitize them to 0.07 units of pH change. Miniaturised electronics suitable for the sensors readout, analog-to-digital conversion and wireless transmission of the potentiometric data are embodied within the device, enabling it to measure real-time pH of soft biological samples such as muscles. In this paper, real-time recording of the cardiac pH distribution, during ischemia followed by reperfusion cycles in cardiac muscles of male Wistar rats has been demonstrated by using the microneedle array.

  9. Real-time observation of FIB-created dots and ripples on GaAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rose, F; Fujita, H; Kawakatsu, H

    2008-01-01

    We report a phenomenological study of Ga dots and ripples created by a focused ion beam (FIB) on the GaAs(001) surface. Real-time observation of dot diffusion and ripple formation was made possible by recording FIB movies. In the case of FIB irradiation with a 40 nA current of Ga + ions accelerated under 40 kV with an incidence angle of θ = 30 0 , increasing ion dose gives rise to three different regimes. In Regime 1, dots with lateral sizes in the range 50-460 nm are formed. Dots diffuse under continuous sputtering. In Regime 2, dots self-assemble into Bradley and Harper (BH) type ripples with a pseudo-period of λ = 1150 ± 25 nm. In Regime 3, ripples are eroded and the surface topology evolves into microplanes. In the case of normal incidence, FIB sputtering leads only to the formation of dots, without surface rippling

  10. Privacy and Library Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowers, Stacey L.

    2006-01-01

    This paper summarizes the history of privacy as it relates to library records. It commences with a discussion of how the concept of privacy first originated through case law and follows the concept of privacy as it has affected library records through current day and the "USA PATRIOT Act."

  11. Overcoming barriers to implementing patient-reported outcomes in an electronic health record: a case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harle, Christopher A; Listhaus, Alyson; Covarrubias, Constanza M; Schmidt, Siegfried Of; Mackey, Sean; Carek, Peter J; Fillingim, Roger B; Hurley, Robert W

    2016-01-01

    In this case report, the authors describe the implementation of a system for collecting patient-reported outcomes and integrating results in an electronic health record. The objective was to identify lessons learned in overcoming barriers to collecting and integrating patient-reported outcomes in an electronic health record. The authors analyzed qualitative data in 42 documents collected from system development meetings, written feedback from users, and clinical observations with practice staff, providers, and patients. Guided by the Unified Theory on the Adoption and Use of Information Technology, 5 emergent themes were identified. Two barriers emerged: (i) uncertain clinical benefit and (ii) time, work flow, and effort constraints. Three facilitators emerged: (iii) process automation, (iv) usable system interfaces, and (v) collecting patient-reported outcomes for the right patient at the right time. For electronic health record-integrated patient-reported outcomes to succeed as useful clinical tools, system designers must ensure the clinical relevance of the information being collected while minimizing provider, staff, and patient burden. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Real-time Energy Resource Scheduling considering a Real Portuguese Scenario

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Silva, Marco; Sousa, Tiago; Morais, Hugo

    2014-01-01

    The development in power systems and the introduction of decentralized gen eration and Electric Vehicles (EVs), both connected to distribution networks, represents a major challenge in the planning and operation issues. This new paradigm requires a new energy resources management approach which...... scheduling in smart grids, considering day - ahead, hour - ahead and real - time scheduling. The case study considers a 33 - bus distribution network with high penetration of distributed energy resources . The wind generation profile is base d o n a rea l Portuguese wind farm . Four scenarios are presented...... taking into account 0, 1, 2 and 5 periods (hours or minutes) ahead of the scheduling period in the hour - ahead and real - time scheduling...

  13. A New Spectral Shape-Based Record Selection Approach Using Np and Genetic Algorithms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edén Bojórquez

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available With the aim to improve code-based real records selection criteria, an approach inspired in a parameter proxy of spectral shape, named Np, is analyzed. The procedure is based on several objectives aimed to minimize the record-to-record variability of the ground motions selected for seismic structural assessment. In order to select the best ground motion set of records to be used as an input for nonlinear dynamic analysis, an optimization approach is applied using genetic algorithms focuse on finding the set of records more compatible with a target spectrum and target Np values. The results of the new Np-based approach suggest that the real accelerograms obtained with this procedure, reduce the scatter of the response spectra as compared with the traditional approach; furthermore, the mean spectrum of the set of records is very similar to the target seismic design spectrum in the range of interest periods, and at the same time, similar Np values are obtained for the selected records and the target spectrum.

  14. RTX Correction Accuracy and Real-Time Data Processing of the New Integrated SeismoGeodetic System with Real-Time Acceleration and Displacement Measurements for Earthquake Characterization Based on High-Rate Seismic and GPS Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimakov, L. G.; Raczka, J.; Barrientos, S. E.

    2016-12-01

    We will discuss and show the results obtained from an integrated SeismoGeodetic System, model SG160-09, installed in the Chile (Chilean National Network), Italy (University of Naples Network), and California. The SG160-09 provides the user high rate GNSS and accelerometer data, full epoch-by-epoch measurement integrity and the ability to create combined GNSS and accelerometer high-rate (200Hz) displacement time series in real-time. The SG160-09 combines seismic recording with GNSS geodetic measurement in a single compact, ruggedized case. The system includes a low-power, 220-channel GNSS receiver powered by the latest Trimble-precise Maxwell™6 technology and supports tracking GPS, GLONASS and Galileo signals. The receiver incorporates on-board GNSS point positioning using Real-Time Precise Point Positioning (PPP) technology with satellite clock and orbit corrections delivered over IP networks. The seismic recording includes an ANSS Class A, force balance accelerometer with the latest, low power, 24-bit A/D converter, producing high-resolution seismic data. The SG160-09 processor acquires and packetizes both seismic and geodetic data and transmits it to the central station using an advanced, error-correction protocol providing data integrity between the field and the processing center. The SG160-09 has been installed in three seismic stations in different geographic locations with different Trimble global reference stations coverage The hardware includes the SG160-09 system, external Zephyr Geodetic-2 GNSS antenna, both radio and high-speed Internet communication media. Both acceleration and displacement data was transmitted in real-time to the centralized Data Acquisition Centers for real-time data processing. Command/Control of the field station and real-time GNSS position correction are provided via the Pivot platform. Data from the SG160-09 system was used for seismic event characterization along with data from traditional seismic and geodetic stations

  15. A two-domain real-time algorithm for optimal data reduction: A case study on accelerator magnet measurements

    CERN Document Server

    Arpaia, P; Inglese, V

    2010-01-01

    A real-time algorithm of data reduction, based on the combination a two lossy techniques specifically optimized for high-rate magnetic measurements in two domains (e.g. time and space), is proposed. The first technique exploits an adaptive sampling rule based on the power estimation of the flux increments in order to optimize the information to be gathered for magnetic field analysis in real time. The tracking condition is defined by the target noise level in the Nyquist band required by post-processing procedure of magnetic analysis. The second technique uses a data reduction algorithm in order to improve the compression ratio while preserving the consistency of the measured signal. The allowed loss is set equal to the random noise level in the signal in order to force the loss and the noise to cancel rather than to add, by improving the signal-to-noise ratio. Numerical analysis and experimental results of on-field performance characterization and validation for two case studies of magnetic measurement syste...

  16. Real-time holographic endoscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smigielski, Paul; Albe, Felix; Dischli, Bernard

    1992-08-01

    Some new experiments concerning holographic endoscopy are presented. The quantitative measurements of deformations of objects are obtained by the double-exposure and double- reference beam method, using either a cw-laser or a pulsed laser. Qualitative experiments using an argon laser with time-average holographic endoscopy are also presented. A video film on real-time endoscopic holographic interferometry was recorded with the help of a frequency-doubled YAG-laser working at 25 Hz for the first time.

  17. A comprehensive audit of nursing record keeping practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Paul; Debbage, Samantha; Smith, Alison

    Good quality record keeping is essential to safe and effective patient care. To ensure that high standards of record keeping are maintained, regular clinical audit should be undertaken. This article describes an audit and re-audit of nursing record keeping at Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. The article demonstrates improving audit data in 2005 and 2006 and describes how audit and the resulting recommendations and action plans can result in real improvements in the quality of record keeping. The keys to success in this ongoing audit programme are identified as stakeholder involvement, support from the senior nurses in the organization and the use of the data for both local and trust-wide purposes.

  18. Prevalence of bloodstream pathogens is higher in neonatal encephalopathy cases vs. controls using a novel panel of real-time PCR assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tann, Cally J; Nkurunziza, Peter; Nakakeeto, Margaret; Oweka, James; Kurinczuk, Jennifer J; Were, Jackson; Nyombi, Natasha; Hughes, Peter; Willey, Barbara A; Elliott, Alison M; Robertson, Nicola J; Klein, Nigel; Harris, Kathryn A

    2014-01-01

    In neonatal encephalopathy (NE), infectious co-morbidity is difficult to diagnose accurately, but may increase the vulnerability of the developing brain to hypoxia-ischemia. We developed a novel panel of species-specific real-time PCR assays to identify bloodstream pathogens amongst newborns with and without NE in Uganda. Multiplex real-time PCR assays for important neonatal bloodstream pathogens (gram positive and gram negative bacteria, cytomegalovirus (CMV), herpes simplex virus(HSV) and P. falciparum) were performed on whole blood taken from 202 encephalopathic and 101 control infants. Automated blood culture (BACTEC) was performed for all cases and unwell controls. Prevalence of pathogenic bacterial species amongst infants with NE was 3.6%, 6.9% and 8.9%, with culture, PCR and both tests in combination, respectively. More encephalopathic infants than controls had pathogenic bacterial species detected (8.9%vs2.0%, p = 0.028) using culture and PCR in combination. PCR detected bacteremia in 11 culture negative encephalopathic infants (3 Group B Streptococcus, 1 Group A Streptococcus, 1 Staphylococcus aureus and 6 Enterobacteriacae). Coagulase negative staphylococcus, frequently detected by PCR amongst case and control infants, was considered a contaminant. Prevalence of CMV, HSV and malaria amongst cases was low (1.5%, 0.5% and 0.5%, respectively). This real-time PCR panel detected more bacteremia than culture alone and provides a novel tool for detection of neonatal bloodstream pathogens that may be applied across a range of clinical situations and settings. Significantly more encephalopathic infants than controls had pathogenic bacterial species detected suggesting that infection may be an important risk factor for NE in this setting.

  19. Prevalence of bloodstream pathogens is higher in neonatal encephalopathy cases vs. controls using a novel panel of real-time PCR assays.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cally J Tann

    Full Text Available In neonatal encephalopathy (NE, infectious co-morbidity is difficult to diagnose accurately, but may increase the vulnerability of the developing brain to hypoxia-ischemia. We developed a novel panel of species-specific real-time PCR assays to identify bloodstream pathogens amongst newborns with and without NE in Uganda.Multiplex real-time PCR assays for important neonatal bloodstream pathogens (gram positive and gram negative bacteria, cytomegalovirus (CMV, herpes simplex virus(HSV and P. falciparum were performed on whole blood taken from 202 encephalopathic and 101 control infants. Automated blood culture (BACTEC was performed for all cases and unwell controls.Prevalence of pathogenic bacterial species amongst infants with NE was 3.6%, 6.9% and 8.9%, with culture, PCR and both tests in combination, respectively. More encephalopathic infants than controls had pathogenic bacterial species detected (8.9%vs2.0%, p = 0.028 using culture and PCR in combination. PCR detected bacteremia in 11 culture negative encephalopathic infants (3 Group B Streptococcus, 1 Group A Streptococcus, 1 Staphylococcus aureus and 6 Enterobacteriacae. Coagulase negative staphylococcus, frequently detected by PCR amongst case and control infants, was considered a contaminant. Prevalence of CMV, HSV and malaria amongst cases was low (1.5%, 0.5% and 0.5%, respectively.This real-time PCR panel detected more bacteremia than culture alone and provides a novel tool for detection of neonatal bloodstream pathogens that may be applied across a range of clinical situations and settings. Significantly more encephalopathic infants than controls had pathogenic bacterial species detected suggesting that infection may be an important risk factor for NE in this setting.

  20. Performance of different synchronization measures in real data: A case study on electroencephalographic signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quian Quiroga, R.; Kraskov, A.; Kreuz, T.; Grassberger, P.

    2002-04-01

    We study the synchronization between left and right hemisphere rat electroencephalographic (EEG) channels by using various synchronization measures, namely nonlinear interdependences, phase synchronizations, mutual information, cross correlation, and the coherence function. In passing we show a close relation between two recently proposed phase synchronization measures and we extend the definition of one of them. In three typical examples we observe that except mutual information, all these measures give a useful quantification that is hard to be guessed beforehand from the raw data. Despite their differences, results are qualitatively the same. Therefore, we claim that the applied measures are valuable for the study of synchronization in real data. Moreover, in the particular case of EEG signals their use as complementary variables could be of clinical relevance.

  1. PVA with nopal dye as holographic recording material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toxqui-López, S.; Olivares-Pérez, A.; Fuentes-Tapia, I.; Pinto-Iguanero, B.

    2011-09-01

    Cactus nopal dye is introduced into a polyvinyl alcohol matrix achieving a like brown appearance thick film, such that they can be used as a recording medium. This dye material provides excellent property as photosensitizer, i.e., easy handling, low cost and can be used in real time holographic recording applications. The experimental results show the diffraction efficiencies obtained by recording grating patterns induced by a He-Cd laser (442nm). For the samples, a thick film of polyvinyl alcohol and dye from cactus nopal was deposited by the gravity technique on a glass substrate. This mixture dries to form a photosensitive emulsion.

  2. Design of node record for fast active reflector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Wenqing; Luo Mingcheng; Tang Pengyi; Liu Jiajing; Wang Jian

    2014-01-01

    Active Reflector is the one of the innovations of Five hundred meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) whose performance touches on that of the overall telescope. Therefore a real time control system is needed by the Active Reflector System. In this paper, a new record type-node record is designed for EPICS-based active reflector control system of FAST, according to more than 2000 controlled node, which will be convenient for node management of IOC and prove the reusage of IOC codes. The record type is used in design of active reflector control system of FAST Miyun model. (authors)

  3. IT-CARES: an interactive tool for case-crossover analyses of electronic medical records for patient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caron, Alexandre; Chazard, Emmanuel; Muller, Joris; Perichon, Renaud; Ferret, Laurie; Koutkias, Vassilis; Beuscart, Régis; Beuscart, Jean-Baptiste; Ficheur, Grégoire

    2017-03-01

    The significant risk of adverse events following medical procedures supports a clinical epidemiological approach based on the analyses of collections of electronic medical records. Data analytical tools might help clinical epidemiologists develop more appropriate case-crossover designs for monitoring patient safety. To develop and assess the methodological quality of an interactive tool for use by clinical epidemiologists to systematically design case-crossover analyses of large electronic medical records databases. We developed IT-CARES, an analytical tool implementing case-crossover design, to explore the association between exposures and outcomes. The exposures and outcomes are defined by clinical epidemiologists via lists of codes entered via a user interface screen. We tested IT-CARES on data from the French national inpatient stay database, which documents diagnoses and medical procedures for 170 million inpatient stays between 2007 and 2013. We compared the results of our analysis with reference data from the literature on thromboembolic risk after delivery and bleeding risk after total hip replacement. IT-CARES provides a user interface with 3 columns: (i) the outcome criteria in the left-hand column, (ii) the exposure criteria in the right-hand column, and (iii) the estimated risk (odds ratios, presented in both graphical and tabular formats) in the middle column. The estimated odds ratios were consistent with the reference literature data. IT-CARES may enhance patient safety by facilitating clinical epidemiological studies of adverse events following medical procedures. The tool's usability must be evaluated and improved in further research. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association.

  4. Geometrical Solutions of Some Quadratic Equations with Non-Real Roots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, H. K.; Grewal, A. S.

    2002-01-01

    This note gives geometrical/graphical methods of finding solutions of the quadratic equation ax[squared] + bx + c = 0, a [not equal to] 0, with non-real roots. Three different cases which give rise to non-real roots of the quadratic equation have been discussed. In case I a geometrical construction and its proof for finding the solutions of the…

  5. Real-time data collection in Linux: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finney, S A

    2001-05-01

    Multiuser UNIX-like operating systems such as Linux are often considered unsuitable for real-time data collection because of the potential for indeterminate timing latencies resulting from preemptive scheduling. In this paper, Linux is shown to be fully adequate for precisely controlled programming with millisecond resolution or better. The Linux system calls that subserve such timing control are described and tested and then utilized in a MIDI-based program for tapping and music performance experiments. The timing of this program, including data input and output, is shown to be accurate at the millisecond level. This demonstrates that Linux, with proper programming, is suitable for real-time experiment software. In addition, the detailed description and test of both the operating system facilities and the application program itself may serve as a model for publicly documenting programming methods and software performance on other operating systems.

  6. Accessibility of Real Estate by Transportation as a Determinant of the Development of Suburban Real Estate Markets – Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wolny Ada

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to show the accessibility of real estate by transportation as a factor that significantly determines the decision to acquire it. Direct access to a public road, or access to an internal road that provides communication with the public road, are a factor affecting the value of real estate. In addition, this factor is taken into account in the process of changing the function of the area, especially in determining zoning and land use. The decision of purchasing real estate often depends on transportation accessibility, because it has an impact on developing the selected plot.

  7. An Automatic and Real-time Restoration of Gamma Dose Data by Radio Telemetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Wan No; Kim, Hee Reyoung; Chung, Kun Ho; Cho, Young Hyun; Choi, Geun Sik; Lee, Chang Woo; Kim, Young Soo

    2006-01-01

    On-line gamma monitoring system based on a high pressurized ionization chamber has been used for determining airborne doses surrounding HANARO research reactor at KAERI (Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute). It is composed of a network of six monitoring stations and an on-line computer system. It has been operated by radio telemetry with a radio frequency of 468.8 MHz, which is able to transmit the real-time dose data measured from a remote ion chamber to the central computer for ten seconds-to seconds. Although radio telemetry has several advantages such as an effective and economical transmission, there is one main problem that data loss happen because each monitoring post only stores 300 radiation data points, which covers the previous sequential data of 50 minutes from the present in the case of a recording interval time of 10 seconds It is possible to restore the lost data by an off-line process such as a floppy disk or portable memory disk but it is ineffective method at the real-time monitoring system. Restoration, storage, and display of the current data as well as the lost data are also difficult in the present system. In this paper, an automatic and real-time restoration method by radio telemetry will be introduced

  8. STOCK PRICES, 1900-1995: THE REAL AND NOMINAL STORY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenneth Weiher

    2000-01-01

    Full Text Available Prompted by the inflation-adjusted Dow Jones Industrials Average setting its first record high in almost thirty years in 1995, this paper studies the impact of inflation on nominal and real stock prices from a theoretical, historical, and empirical perspective. While stocks are an excellent longterm hedge against inflation, nominal stock prices stagnate and real stock prices fall during a period of rapid inflation. Both nominal and real stockprices then go through a catch-up phase during the subsequent disinflation period. The history for this century is consistent with this pattern. Regression analysis between real and nominal stock prices as the dependent variables and inflation as the independent variable shows statistically significant evidence that (a nominal stock returns are positively related to inflation while real stock returns are not; and (b both nominal and real stock returns are negatively related to accelerations of inflation and positively related to decelerations.

  9. Case study : a real-time collaborative workflow for geosteering a horizontal well offshore eastern Canada

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cutler, M.; Pineda, G. [Halliburton Energy Services, Bakersfield, CA (United States)

    2002-06-01

    A horizontal well can be geologically steered using a forward modelling geosteering software that helps determine the stratigraphic position of the drillstring and interpret the well in the reservoir. The software shows reservoir engineers how to maximize the pay zone, optimize the well path, characterize reservoir properties and avoid entering undesired beds or fluid contacts. The best way to maximize the pay zone is to use an integrated arrangement of formation evaluation tools, software and reservoir engineering expertise. This paper presents a series of measurements while drilling and logging. Drilling (MWD/LWD) tools obtain real-time data and forward modelling while drilling software. When interpreted by a trained specialist, these tools help in decision making processes regarding reservoir depletion. The paper presents a case study from offshore eastern Canada in which a well was drilled horizontally from a semi-submersible mobile drilling unit. StrataSteer {sup TM}, a software tool developed by Halliburton Energy Services, was used to interpret the LWD data. The software is compatible with other downhole tools and the INSITE information system which provides real-time data. The objective of the study is to demonstrate the capabilities of the forward modelling tool while drilling the well. A computer was set up at the client's office and at the offshore rig site. The geological model which was constructed using the acquired data was then used to make real-time collaborative decisions to land the well correctly in the reservoir, maximize the productive interval, optimize the well path, and analyze the reservoir properties. However, it was noted that due to geological uncertainty, the objectives in this well were not achieved. 6 figs.

  10. Using informatics and the electronic medical record to describe antimicrobial use in the clinical management of diarrhea cases at 12 companion animal practices.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R Michele Anholt

    Full Text Available Antimicrobial drugs may be used to treat diarrheal illness in companion animals. It is important to monitor antimicrobial use to better understand trends and patterns in antimicrobial resistance. There is no monitoring of antimicrobial use in companion animals in Canada. To explore how the use of electronic medical records could contribute to the ongoing, systematic collection of antimicrobial use data in companion animals, anonymized electronic medical records were extracted from 12 participating companion animal practices and warehoused at the University of Calgary. We used the pre-diagnostic, clinical features of diarrhea as the case definition in this study. Using text-mining technologies, cases of diarrhea were described by each of the following variables: diagnostic laboratory tests performed, the etiological diagnosis and antimicrobial therapies. The ability of the text miner to accurately describe the cases for each of the variables was evaluated. It could not reliably classify cases in terms of diagnostic tests or etiological diagnosis; a manual review of a random sample of 500 diarrhea cases determined that 88/500 (17.6% of the target cases underwent diagnostic testing of which 36/88 (40.9% had an etiological diagnosis. Text mining, compared to a human reviewer, could accurately identify cases that had been treated with antimicrobials with high sensitivity (92%, 95% confidence interval, 88.1%-95.4% and specificity (85%, 95% confidence interval, 80.2%-89.1%. Overall, 7400/15,928 (46.5% of pets presenting with diarrhea were treated with antimicrobials. Some temporal trends and patterns of the antimicrobial use are described. The results from this study suggest that informatics and the electronic medical records could be useful for monitoring trends in antimicrobial use.

  11. Structuring and coding in health care records: a qualitative analysis using diabetes as a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ann R R Robertson

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background   Globally, diabetes mellitus presents a substantial burden to individuals and healthcare systems. Structuring and/or coding of medical records underpin attempts to improve information sharing and searching, potentially bringing clinical and secondary uses benefits.Aims and objectives   We investigated if, how and why records for adults with diabetes were structured and/or coded, and explored stakeholders’ perceptions of current practice.Methods   We carried out a qualitative, theoretically-informed case study of documenting healthcare information for diabetes patients in family practice and hospital settings, using semi-structured interviews, observations, systems demonstrations and documentary data.Results   We conducted 22 interviews and four on-site observations, and reviewed 25 documents. For secondary uses – research, audit, public health and service planning – the benefits of highly structured and coded diabetes data were clearly articulated. Reported clinical benefits in terms of managing and monitoring diabetes, and perhaps encouraging patient self-management, were modest. We observed marked differences in levels of record structuring and/or coding between settings, and found little evidence that these data were being exploited to improve information sharing between them.Conclusions   Using high levels of data structuring and coding in medical records for diabetes patients has potential to be exploited more fully, and lessons might be learned from successful developments elsewhere in the UK.

  12. A Paradox of Town Spatial Development: The Growing Real Estate and Shrinking Town - a Case Study of Hsinchu County, Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Chi-Tung; Chuang, Mo-Hsiung; Lin, Wen-Yen

    2017-04-01

    The key factors of many discussions on shrinking towns are focusing at decreasing population and declining industries. Our study, using Hsinchu County as an example, has found that part of the county (Guanxi township) is following a typical and traditional town development pattern, while somewhere else of this county (Zhubei township) shows rapid growth in real estate but with a high vacancy rate. Even though the distance between Guanxi and Zhubei is less than 20 kilometers, the spatial development phenomenon of the two townships are both "shrinking" in the same county but very different in their developing paths. This study used GIS to overlay the maps from field survey and archive data, such as real estate prices of different years, environmental hazards and disaster records, local area power consumptions, and vulnerable population data, to clarify the causes and systems behind the shrinking phenomena of the two townships and to construct a theory of "shrinking town" in Taiwan. The contribution of this study is the findings of the tangling relations of the vulnerability from land-enclosure policy, the system design of local industrial development and urban planning, and structural factors of environmental hazards. Note: This study is part of the results from the Ministry of Science and Technology funding project (MOST 105-2621-M-120-002) KEYWORDS: shrinking town, environmental hazards, urban planning, spatial disasters, real estate development

  13. Record linkage between hospital discharges and mortality registries for motor neuron disease case ascertainment for the Spanish National Rare Diseases Registry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiz, Elena; Ramalle-Gómara, Enrique; Quiñones, Carmen

    2014-06-01

    Our objective was to analyse the coverage of hospital discharge data and the mortality registry (MR) of La Rioja to ascertain motor neuron disease (MND) cases to be included in the Spanish National Rare Diseases Registry. MND cases that occurred in La Rioja during the period 1996-2011 were selected from hospital discharge data and the MR by means of the International Classification of Diseases. Review of the medical histories was carried out to confirm the causes of death reported. Characteristics of the population with MND were analysed. A total of 133 patients with MND were detected in La Rioja during the period 1996-2011; 30.1% were only recorded in the hospital discharges data, 12.0% only in the MR, and 57.9% were recorded by both databases. Medical records revealed a miscoding of patients who had been diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy but were recorded in the MR with an MND code. In conclusion, the hospital discharges data and the MR appear to be complementary and are valuable databases for the Spanish National Rare Diseases Registry when MNDs are properly codified. Nevertheless, it would be advisable to corroborate the validity of the MR as data source since the miscoding of progressive supranuclear palsy has been corrected.

  14. Optical sensor for real-time weld defect detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ancona, Antonio; Maggipinto, Tommaso; Spagnolo, Vincenzo; Ferrara, Michele; Lugara, Pietro M.

    2002-04-01

    In this work we present an innovative optical sensor for on- line and non-intrusive welding process monitoring. It is based on the spectroscopic analysis of the optical VIS emission of the welding plasma plume generated in the laser- metal interaction zone. Plasma electron temperature has been measured for different chemical species composing the plume. Temperature signal evolution has been recorded and analyzed during several CO2-laser welding processes, under variable operating conditions. We have developed a suitable software able to real time detect a wide range of weld defects like crater formation, lack of fusion, excessive penetration, seam oxidation. The same spectroscopic approach has been applied for electric arc welding process monitoring. We assembled our optical sensor in a torch for manual Gas Tungsten Arc Welding procedures and tested the prototype in a manufacturing industry production line. Even in this case we found a clear correlation between the signal behavior and the welded joint quality.

  15. Visualising the Complex Roots of Quadratic Equations with Real Coefficients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardell, Nicholas S.

    2012-01-01

    The roots of the general quadratic equation y = ax[superscript 2] + bx + c (real a, b, c) are known to occur in the following sets: (i) real and distinct; (ii) real and coincident; and (iii) a complex conjugate pair. Case (iii), which provides the focus for this investigation, can only occur when the values of the real coefficients a, b, and c are…

  16. Real Estate in an ALM Framework - The Case of Fair Value Accounting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D. Brounen (Dirk); M. Porras Prado (Melissa); M.J.C.M. Verbeek (Marno)

    2007-01-01

    textabstractThis study examines the liability hedging characteristic of both direct and indirect real estate, in the advent of fair value accounting obligations for pension funds. We explicitly model pension obligations as being subject to interest and inflation risk to analyze the ability of real

  17. Multifractal analysis of real and imaginary movements: EEG study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlov, Alexey N.; Maksimenko, Vladimir A.; Runnova, Anastasiya E.; Khramova, Marina V.; Pisarchik, Alexander N.

    2018-04-01

    We study abilities of the wavelet-based multifractal analysis in recognition specific dynamics of electrical brain activity associated with real and imaginary movements. Based on the singularity spectra we analyze electroencephalograms (EEGs) acquired in untrained humans (operators) during imagination of hands movements, and show a possibility to distinguish between the related EEG patterns and the recordings performed during real movements or the background electrical brain activity. We discuss how such recognition depends on the selected brain region.

  18. A Stack Cache for Real-Time Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schoeberl, Martin; Nielsen, Carsten

    2016-01-01

    Real-time systems need time-predictable computing platforms to allowfor static analysis of the worst-case execution time. Caches are important for good performance, but data caches arehard to analyze for the worst-case execution time. Stack allocated data has different properties related...

  19. A model-based spike sorting algorithm for removing correlation artifacts in multi-neuron recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pillow, Jonathan W; Shlens, Jonathon; Chichilnisky, E J; Simoncelli, Eero P

    2013-01-01

    We examine the problem of estimating the spike trains of multiple neurons from voltage traces recorded on one or more extracellular electrodes. Traditional spike-sorting methods rely on thresholding or clustering of recorded signals to identify spikes. While these methods can detect a large fraction of the spikes from a recording, they generally fail to identify synchronous or near-synchronous spikes: cases in which multiple spikes overlap. Here we investigate the geometry of failures in traditional sorting algorithms, and document the prevalence of such errors in multi-electrode recordings from primate retina. We then develop a method for multi-neuron spike sorting using a model that explicitly accounts for the superposition of spike waveforms. We model the recorded voltage traces as a linear combination of spike waveforms plus a stochastic background component of correlated Gaussian noise. Combining this measurement model with a Bernoulli prior over binary spike trains yields a posterior distribution for spikes given the recorded data. We introduce a greedy algorithm to maximize this posterior that we call "binary pursuit". The algorithm allows modest variability in spike waveforms and recovers spike times with higher precision than the voltage sampling rate. This method substantially corrects cross-correlation artifacts that arise with conventional methods, and substantially outperforms clustering methods on both real and simulated data. Finally, we develop diagnostic tools that can be used to assess errors in spike sorting in the absence of ground truth.

  20. A real time biofeedback using Kinect and Wii to improve gait for post-total knee replacement rehabilitation: a case study report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levinger, Pazit; Zeina, Daniel; Teshome, Assefa K; Skinner, Elizabeth; Begg, Rezaul; Abbott, John Haxby

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to develop a low-cost real-time biofeedback system to assist with rehabilitation for patients following total knee replacement (TKR) and to assess its feasibility of use in a post-TKR patient case study design with a comparison group. The biofeedback system consisted of Microsoft Kinect(TM) and Nintendo Wii balance board with a dedicated software. A six-week inpatient rehabilitation program was augmented by biofeedback and tested in a single patient following TKR. Three patients underwent a six weeks standard rehabilitation with no biofeedback and served as a control group. Gait, function and pain were assessed and compared before and after the rehabilitation. The biofeedback software incorporated real time visual feedback to correct limb alignment, movement pattern and weight distribution. Improvements in pain, function and quality of life were observed in both groups. The strong improvement in the knee moment pattern demonstrated in the case study indicates feasibility of the biofeedback-augmented intervention. This novel biofeedback software has used simple commercially accessible equipment that can be feasibly incorporated to augment a post-TKR rehabilitation program. Our preliminary results indicate the potential of this biofeedback-assisted rehabilitation to improve knee function during gait. Research is required to test this hypothesis. Implications for Rehabilitation The real-time biofeedback system developed integrated custom-made software and simple low-cost commercially accessible equipment such as Kinect and Wii board to provide augmented information during rehabilitation following TKR. The software incorporated key rehabilitation principles and visual feedback to correct alignment of the lower legs, pelvic and trunk as well as providing feedback on limbs weight distribution. The case study patient demonstrated greater improvement in their knee function where a more normal biphasic knee moment was achieved following the six

  1. Decision support using anesthesia information management system records and accreditation council for graduate medical education case logs for resident operating room assignments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wanderer, Jonathan P; Charnin, Jonathan; Driscoll, William D; Bailin, Michael T; Baker, Keith

    2013-08-01

    Our goal in this study was to develop decision support systems for resident operating room (OR) assignments using anesthesia information management system (AIMS) records and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) case logs and evaluate the implementations. We developed 2 Web-based systems: an ACGME case-log visualization tool, and Residents Helping in Navigating OR Scheduling (Rhinos), an interactive system that solicits OR assignment requests from residents and creates resident profiles. Resident profiles are snapshots of the cases and procedures each resident has done and were derived from AIMS records and ACGME case logs. A Rhinos pilot was performed for 6 weeks on 2 clinical services. One hundred sixty-five requests were entered and used in OR assignment decisions by a single attending anesthesiologist. Each request consisted of a rank ordered list of up to 3 ORs. Residents had access to detailed information about these cases including surgeon and patient name, age, procedure type, and admission status. Success rates at matching resident requests were determined by comparing requests with AIMS records. Of the 165 requests, 87 first-choice matches (52.7%), 27 second-choice matches (16.4%), and 8 third-choice matches (4.8%) were made. Forty-three requests were unmatched (26.1%). Thirty-nine first-choice requests overlapped (23.6%). Full implementation followed on 8 clinical services for 8 weeks. Seven hundred fifty-four requests were reviewed by 15 attending anesthesiologists, with 339 first-choice matches (45.0%), 122 second-choice matches (16.2%), 55 third-choice matches (7.3%), and 238 unmatched (31.5%). There were 279 overlapping first-choice requests (37.0%). The overall combined match success rate was 69.4%. Separately, we developed an ACGME case-log visualization tool that allows individual resident experiences to be compared against case minimums as well as resident peer groups. We conclude that it is feasible to use ACGME case

  2. Real-time prediction of hand trajectory by ensembles of cortical neurons in primates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wessberg, Johan; Stambaugh, Christopher R.; Kralik, Jerald D.; Beck, Pamela D.; Laubach, Mark; Chapin, John K.; Kim, Jung; Biggs, S. James; Srinivasan, Mandayam A.; Nicolelis, Miguel A. L.

    2000-11-01

    Signals derived from the rat motor cortex can be used for controlling one-dimensional movements of a robot arm. It remains unknown, however, whether real-time processing of cortical signals can be employed to reproduce, in a robotic device, the kind of complex arm movements used by primates to reach objects in space. Here we recorded the simultaneous activity of large populations of neurons, distributed in the premotor, primary motor and posterior parietal cortical areas, as non-human primates performed two distinct motor tasks. Accurate real-time predictions of one- and three-dimensional arm movement trajectories were obtained by applying both linear and nonlinear algorithms to cortical neuronal ensemble activity recorded from each animal. In addition, cortically derived signals were successfully used for real-time control of robotic devices, both locally and through the Internet. These results suggest that long-term control of complex prosthetic robot arm movements can be achieved by simple real-time transformations of neuronal population signals derived from multiple cortical areas in primates.

  3. Creating real estate maps by using GIS: A case study of Atakum-Samsun/Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faik Ahmet Sesli

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Determining the real estate evaluations and reflecting them on taxations are among the most important economic resources of the developed countries. In Turkey, the system is not able to ground the real estate evaluations on scientific criteria yet, which causes various problems in applications regarding real estate evaluations (such as estate tax, expropriation, court surveillances and an important economic loss.Thus, it is required to generate tax-base real estate evaluation maps within the scope of the legal legislation in Turkey. This study aimed to generate a fast, up-to-date and dynamic evaluation map that would form a base for the real estate taxation. The closeness of real estates to the technical infrastructure and social equipment areas and their variety affect the real estate evaluations either positively or negatively and form the local benefit for real estates. This study determined the areas (such as main roads, green spaces, trading areas and urban attraction centers affecting the evaluations of real estates depending on their positions. In order to make position-based decisions about the data being stored in the Geographical Information System, the geographical data were questioned and monitored with analyses. The acquired data were exposed to necessary analyses in the relevant modules of the GIS programs, which enabled us to grade the factors affecting the evaluation for each parcel and try to generate real estate evaluation maps depending on the evaluation-effect factors to be selected as dynamics. Parcel-based real estate evaluations were determined by imposing vector-based cadastral maps on these maps being generated. In this study, a raster real estate evaluation map was generated in unstructured parcels of a sample neighborhood via the scoring method and with the help of the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Analysis and both environmental and social factors. This system could enable us to question and analyze the features of

  4. Citizens and personal health records - the case of Nelson Mandela Bay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pottas, Dalenca; Mostert-Phipps, Nicky

    2013-01-01

    This paper explores citizen attitudes towards personal health records. The study was conducted in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. A cross-sectional design was used and structured questionnaires administered by data collectors. Most respondents (90%) believed it to be important to extremely important for their healthcare provider to have their complete medical records. Less than half of them (42%), however, believed that the healthcare provider did have their complete medical record available to them. Nevertheless, 69% do not keep a medical record as a way to address this concern. Most of them (84%) were not aware of the existence of electronic tools to capture a personal health record prior to participating in the survey. Concerns relating to the use of online PHRs were identified as privacy (58%), lack of time (27%) and a disinterest in computers (22%). It was found that the existence of a medical chronic condition is a strong predictor of keeping a medical record (albeit mostly in paper-based format).

  5. Making the Case for Anonymity in E-Participation - An Evaluation of Real Name Policy in Gütersloh’s Second Participatory Budget

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michelle Anna Ruesch

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper relates the debate about real name policy on social networking platforms and online forums to online moderated consultation processes in the area of e-participation. It analyses the case of the second participatory budget of the German city of Gütersloh. Three major rationales for real name policy in e-participatory projects are identified: the possibility to restrict access, prevention of offensive communication, and the strengthening of a transparent democracy. The five major objections identified are: distraction from issue-related dialogue, violation of privacy rights, administrative problems causing high expenditure of time and costs, negative media and public attention, and usability problems that may result in a low rate of participation. The evidence found indicates that the negative consequences of real name policy outweigh the positive ones. Important directions of further research are pointed out. The paper is an extended version of a paper presented at the Conference for E-Democracy and Open Government in 2012.

  6. Intraoperative brain hemodynamic response assessment with real-time hyperspectral optical imaging (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurence, Audrey; Pichette, Julien; Angulo-Rodríguez, Leticia M.; Saint Pierre, Catherine; Lesage, Frédéric; Bouthillier, Alain; Nguyen, Dang Khoa; Leblond, Frédéric

    2016-03-01

    Following normal neuronal activity, there is an increase in cerebral blood flow and cerebral blood volume to provide oxygenated hemoglobin to active neurons. For abnormal activity such as epileptiform discharges, this hemodynamic response may be inadequate to meet the high metabolic demands. To verify this hypothesis, we developed a novel hyperspectral imaging system able to monitor real-time cortical hemodynamic changes during brain surgery. The imaging system is directly integrated into a surgical microscope, using the white-light source for illumination. A snapshot hyperspectral camera is used for detection (4x4 mosaic filter array detecting 16 wavelengths simultaneously). We present calibration experiments where phantoms made of intralipid and food dyes were imaged. Relative concentrations of three dyes were recovered at a video rate of 30 frames per second. We also present hyperspectral recordings during brain surgery of epileptic patients with concurrent electrocorticography recordings. Relative concentration maps of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin were extracted from the data, allowing real-time studies of hemodynamic changes with a good spatial resolution. Finally, we present preliminary results on phantoms obtained with an integrated spatial frequency domain imaging system to recover tissue optical properties. This additional module, used together with the hyperspectral imaging system, will allow quantification of hemoglobin concentrations maps. Our hyperspectral imaging system offers a new tool to analyze hemodynamic changes, especially in the case of epileptiform discharges. It also offers an opportunity to study brain connectivity by analyzing correlations between hemodynamic responses of different tissue regions.

  7. Environmental recordkeeping: The administrative record

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sprouse, B.S.

    1991-08-01

    This document provides information on an environmental records management system. It includes information on environmental recordkeeping; environmental regulations with emphasis on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); and the administrative record including a case study of the Hanford Site's administrative record system. This paper will focus on the following objectives: (1) Identify resources that can be used as reference tools; (2) understand the reasons for developing and maintaining an administrative record; and, (3) evaluate an existing system and identify means of complying with the regulations. 15 refs., 2 figs

  8. ISTSOS, SENSOR OBSERVATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: A REAL CASE APPLICATION OF HYDRO-METEOROLOGICAL DATA FOR FLOOD PROTECTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Cannata

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available istSOS (Istituto scienze della Terra Sensor Observation Service is an implementation of the Sensor Observation Service standard from Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC. The development of istSOS started in 2009 in order to provide a simple implementation of the Sensor Observation Service (SOS standard for the management, provision and integration of hydro-meteorological data collected in Canton Ticino (Southern Switzerland. istSOS is entirely written in Python and is based on reliable open source software like PostgreSQL/PostGIS and Apache/mod_wsgi. The authors during this presentation want to illustrate the latest software enhancements together with a real case in a production environment. Latest software enhancement includes the development of a RESTful service and of a Web-based graphical user interface that allows hydrologists a better interaction with measurements. This includes the ability of new services creation, addition of new sensors and relative metadata, visualization and manipulation of stored observations, registration of new measures and setting of system properties like observable properties and data quality codes. The study will show a real case application of the system for the provision of data to interregional partners and to a hydrological model for lake level forecasting and flooding hazard assessment. The hydrological model uses a combination of WPS (Web Processing Service and SOS for the generation of model input data. This system is linked with a dedicated geo-portal used by the civil protection for the management, alert and protection of population and assets of the Locarno area (Verbano Lake flooding. Practical considerations and technical issues will be presented and discussed.

  9. 4g-Based Specialty Vehicles Real-Time Monitoring System Design and Implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhuang Yu-Feng

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In the future development of natural gas transportation industry, emerging ITS technology will be applied more and more, aiming at integrating precise positioning technology, geographic information system technology, database technology, multimedia technology and modern communication technology, sensor network technology and video capture technology, so as to achieve the transport steam (oil vehicles in real time monitoring and management. The main research content of this paper is to design and research the monitoring and locating system of luck (oil vehicle based on 4G on Android System. Real-time monitoring and alarming by sensor module, real-time video recording and uploading through camera module, real-time position recording and uploading through GPS module, vehicle navigation module and quick alarm module, which is composed of five parts. The system is the application of new intelligent transport technology in the field of special vehicle transport. It apply electronic information technology and internet of things technology to the vehicle system, so we can monitor natural gas and other special dangerous goods anytime, anywhere.

  10. Hardware locks for a real-time Java chip multiprocessor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strøm, Torur Biskopstø; Puffitsch, Wolfgang; Schoeberl, Martin

    2016-01-01

    A software locking mechanism commonly protects shared resources for multithreaded applications. This mechanism can, especially in chip-multiprocessor systems, result in a large synchronization overhead. For real-time systems in particular, this overhead increases the worst-case execution time....... This improvement can allow a larger number of real-time tasks to be reliably scheduled on a multiprocessor real-time platform....

  11. Electronic Health Records: PHR Opportunities for Public Health – Part 2

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    In this podcast, Dr. Ken Mandl discusses electronic health records and personally-controlled health records. Dr. Mandl leads the IndivoHealth personally-controlled health record project, the original reference model for the Microsoft, Google, and Dossia personal health records (PHRs or PCHRs). He has successfully used PHRs for immunization and influenza, leads efforts in real-time surveillance systems, and is currently adapting personal health records for longitudinal and genomic research. The lecture was given at CDC on June 19, 2009.

  12. Electronic Health Records: PHR Opportunities for Public Health – Part 1

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    In this podcast, Dr. Ken Mandl discusses electronic health records and personally-controlled health records. Dr. Mandl leads the IndivoHealth personally-controlled health record project, the original reference model for the Microsoft, Google, and Dossia personal health records (PHRs or PCHRs). He has successfully used PHRs for immunization and influenza, leads efforts in real-time surveillance systems, and is currently adapting personal health records for longitudinal and genomic research. The lecture was given at CDC on June 19, 2009.

  13. Financial impact of inaccurate Adverse Event recording post Hip Fracture surgery: Addendum to 'Adverse event recording post hip fracture surgery'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Matthew J; Doody, Kevin; Mohamed, Khalid M S; Butler, Audrey; Street, John; Lenehan, Brian

    2018-02-15

    A study in 2011 by (Doody et al. Ir Med J 106(10):300-302, 2013) looked at comparing inpatient adverse events recorded prospectively at the point of care, with adverse events recorded by the national Hospital In-Patient Enquiry (HIPE) System. In the study, a single-centre University Hospital in Ireland treating acute hip fractures in an orthopaedic unit recorded 39 patients over a 2-month (August-September 2011) period, with 55 adverse events recorded prospectively in contrast to the HIPE record of 13 (23.6%) adverse events. With the recent change in the Irish hospital funding model from block grant to an 'activity-based funding' on the basis of case load and case complexity, the hospital financial allocation is dependent on accurate case complexity coding. A retrospective assessment of the financial implications of the two methods of adverse incident recording was carried out. A total of €39,899 in 'missed funding' for 2 months was calculated when the ward-based, prospectively collected data was compared to the national HIPE data. Accurate data collection is paramount in facilitating activity-based funding, to improve patient care and ensure the appropriate allocation of resources.

  14. Deficiencies in radiation protection record systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.B.; Lyon, M.

    1991-01-01

    Radiation protection records are a fundamental part of any program for protecting radiation workers. Records are essential to epidemiological studies of radiation workers and are becoming increasingly important as the number of radiation exposure litigation cases increases. Ready retrievability of comprehensive records is also essential to the adequate defense of a radiation protection program. Appraisals of numerous radiation protection programs have revealed that few record-keeping systems comply with American National Standards Institute, Standard Practice N13.6-1972. Record-keeping requirements and types of deficiencies in radiation protection records systems are presented in this paper, followed by general recommendations for implementing a comprehensive radiation protection records system

  15. Deficiencies in radiation protection record systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.B.; Lyon, M.

    1991-01-01

    Radiation protection records are a fundamental part of any program for protecting radiation workers. Records are essential to epidemiological studies of radiation workers and are becoming increasingly important as the number of radiation exposure litigation cases increases. Ready retrievability of comprehensive records is also essential to the adequate defense of a radiation protection program. Appraisals of numerous radiation protection programs have revealed that few record-keeping systems comply with American National Standards Institute, Standard Practice N13.6-1972. Record-keeping requirements and types of deficiencies in radiation protection records systems are presented in this paper, followed by general recommendations for implementing a comprehensive radiation protection records system. 8 refs

  16. RealCalc : a real time Java calculation tool. Application to HVSR estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hloupis, G.; Vallianatos, F.

    2009-04-01

    Java computation platform is not a newcomer in the seismology field. It is mainly used for applications regarding collecting, requesting, spreading and visualizing seismological data because it is productive, safe and has low maintenance costs. Although it has very attractive characteristics for the engineers, Java didn't used frequently in real time applications where prediction and reliability required as a reaction to real world events. The main reasons for this are the absence of priority support (such as priority ceiling or priority inversion) and the use of an automated memory management (called garbage collector). To overcome these problems a number of extensions have been proposed with the Real Time Specification for Java (RTSJ) being the most promising and used one. In the current study we used the RTSJ to build an application that receives data continuously and provides estimations in real time. The application consists of four main modules: incoming data, preprocessing, estimation and publication. As an application example we present real time HVSR estimation. Microtremors recordings are collected continuously from the incoming data module. The preprocessing module consists of a window selector tool based on wavelets which is applied on the incoming data stream in order derive the most stationary parts. The estimation module provides all the necessary calculations according to user specifications. Finally the publication module except the results presentation it also calculates attributes and relevant statistics for each site (temporal variations, HVSR stability). Acknowledgements This work is partially supported by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology in the frame of Crete Regional Project 2000- 2006 (M1.2): "TALOS: An integrated system of seismic hazard monitoring and management in the front of the Hellenic Arc", CRETE PEP7 (KP_7).

  17. Retrospective insights from real options in R&D

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lint, L.J.O.

    2000-01-01

    Absent empirical validation of real option pricing in R&D, we discuss the evolution of three cases in R&D option valuation. The first case concerns an option on conversion of an existing production process. The other two cases concern R&D to develop new product technology in the consumer electronics

  18. Applicable value of real time interventional ultrasound guidance in family planning reproduction operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu Guoping; Zou Dongfang; Sun Jian; Dong Weihua

    2007-01-01

    Objective: To determine the clinical value of real time interventional ultrasound guidance in family planning reproduction operation. Methods: Under the guidance of ultrasound monitoring, 522 cases with high risk and difficult uterine operation were undertaken in our department. Results: The abdominal endoscopic contraceptive uterine operation under real time ultrasound monitoring was carried out for 522 cases in 4 years, with successful rates for high risk pregnancy as 287/289 cases, high risk troublesome withdrawal of contraceptive ring as 129/130 cases and puzzling uterine operation as 103/103 cases. The total successful rate reached 99.42%, without uterine rupture and other complications. Conclusion: The former complex, blind and difficult uterine operations turn to be simple, safe and reliable under the guidance of real time ultrasound. (authors)

  19. Model Adequacy Analysis of Matching Record Versions in Nosql Databases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. V. Tsviashchenko

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates a model of matching record versions. The goal of this work is to analyse the model adequacy. This model allows estimating a user’s processing time distribution of the record versions and a distribution of the record versions count. The second option of the model was used, according to which, for a client the time to process record versions depends explicitly on the number of updates, performed by the other users between the sequential updates performed by a current client. In order to prove the model adequacy the real experiment was conducted in the cloud cluster. The cluster contains 10 virtual nodes, provided by DigitalOcean Company. The Ubuntu Server 14.04 was used as an operating system (OS. The NoSQL system Riak was chosen for experiments. In the Riak 2.0 version and later provide “dotted vector versions” (DVV option, which is an extension of the classic vector clock. Their use guarantees, that the versions count, simultaneously stored in DB, will not exceed the count of clients, operating in parallel with a record. This is very important while conducting experiments. For developing the application the java library, provided by Riak, was used. The processes run directly on the nodes. In experiment two records were used. They are: Z – the record, versions of which are handled by clients; RZ – service record, which contains record update counters. The application algorithm can be briefly described as follows: every client reads versions of the record Z, processes its updates using the RZ record counters, and saves treated record in database while old versions are deleted form DB. Then, a client rereads the RZ record and increments counters of updates for the other clients. After that, a client rereads the Z record, saves necessary statistics, and deliberates the results of processing. In the case of emerging conflict because of simultaneous updates of the RZ record, the client obtains all versions of that

  20. Real time programming environment for Windows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LaBelle, D.R. [LaBelle (Dennis R.), Clifton Park, NY (United States)

    1998-04-01

    This document provides a description of the Real Time Programming Environment (RTProE). RTProE tools allow a programmer to create soft real time projects under general, multi-purpose operating systems. The basic features necessary for real time applications are provided by RTProE, leaving the programmer free to concentrate efforts on his specific project. The current version supports Microsoft Windows{trademark} 95 and NT. The tasks of real time synchronization and communication with other programs are handled by RTProE. RTProE includes a generic method for connecting a graphical user interface (GUI) to allow real time control and interaction with the programmer`s product. Topics covered in this paper include real time performance issues, portability, details of shared memory management, code scheduling, application control, Operating System specific concerns and the use of Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE) tools. The development of RTProE is an important step in the expansion of the real time programming community. The financial costs associated with using the system are minimal. All source code for RTProE has been made publicly available. Any person with access to a personal computer, Windows 95 or NT, and C or FORTRAN compilers can quickly enter the world of real time modeling and simulation.

  1. Pseudo real-time imaging systems with nonredundant pinhole arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, K.S.; Berzins, G.J.; Roach, W.H.

    1976-01-01

    Coded aperture techniques, because of their efficiency and three-dimensional information content, represent potentially powerful tools for LMFBR safety experiment diagnostics. These techniques should be even more powerful if the data can be interpreted in real time or in pseudo real time. For example, to satisfy the stated goals for LMFBR diagnostics (1-ms time resolution and 1-mm spatial resolution), it is conceivable that several hundred frames of coded data would be recorded. To unscramble all of this information into reconstructed images could be a laborious, time-consuming task. A way to circumvent the tedium is with the use of the described hybrid digital/analog real-time imaging system. Some intermediate results are described briefly

  2. 1993 Department of Energy Records Management Conference

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1993-12-31

    This document consists of viewgraphs from the presentations at the conference. Topics included are: DOE records management overview, NIRMA and ARMA resources, NARA records management training, potential quality assurance records, filing systems, organizing and indexing technical records, DOE-HQ initiatives, IRM reviews, status of epidemiologic inventory, disposition of records and personal papers, inactive records storage, establishing administrative records, managing records at Hanford, electronic mail -- legal and records issues, NARA-GAO reports status, consultive selling, automated indexing, decentralized approach to scheduling at a DOE office, developing specific records management programs, storage and retrieval at Savannah River Plant, an optical disk case study, and special interest group reports.

  3. Personal health records as portal to the electronic medical record.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cahill, Jennifer E; Gilbert, Mark R; Armstrong, Terri S

    2014-03-01

    This topic review discusses the evolving clinical challenges associated with the implementation of electronic personal health records (PHR) that are fully integrated with electronic medical records (EMR). The benefits of facilitating patient access to the EMR through web-based, PHR-portals may be substantial; foremost is the potential to enhance the flow of information between patient and healthcare practitioner. The benefits of improved communication and transparency of care are presumed to be a reduction in clinical errors, increased quality of care, better patient-management of disease, and better disease and symptom comprehension. Yet PHR databases allow patients open access to newly-acquired clinical data without the benefit of concurrent expert clinical interpretation, and therefore may create the potential for greater patient distress and uncertainty. With specific attention to neuro-oncology patients, this review focuses on the developing conflicts and consequences associated with the use of a PHR that parallels data acquisition of the EMR in real-time. We conclude with a discussion of recommendations for implementing fully-integrated PHR for neuro-oncology patients.

  4. Environmental recordkeeping: The administrative record

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sprouse, B.S.

    1991-08-01

    This document provides information on an environmental records management system. It includes information on environmental recordkeeping; environmental regulations with emphasis on the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA); and the administrative record including a case study of the Hanford Site's administrative record system. This paper will focus on the following objectives: (1) Identify resources that can be used as reference tools; (2) understand the reasons for developing and maintaining an administrative record; and, (3) evaluate an existing system and identify means of complying with the regulations. 15 refs., 2 figs.

  5. Estimation of real-time runway surface contamination using flight data recorder parameters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curry, Donovan

    Within this research effort, the development of an analytic process for friction coefficient estimation is presented. Under static equilibrium, the sum of forces and moments acting on the aircraft, in the aircraft body coordinate system, while on the ground at any instant is equal to zero. Under this premise the longitudinal, lateral and normal forces due to landing are calculated along with the individual deceleration components existent when an aircraft comes to a rest during ground roll. In order to validate this hypothesis a six degree of freedom aircraft model had to be created and landing tests had to be simulated on different surfaces. The simulated aircraft model includes a high fidelity aerodynamic model, thrust model, landing gear model, friction model and antiskid model. Three main surfaces were defined in the friction model; dry, wet and snow/ice. Only the parameters recorded by an FDR are used directly from the aircraft model all others are estimated or known a priori. The estimation of unknown parameters is also presented in the research effort. With all needed parameters a comparison and validation with simulated and estimated data, under different runway conditions, is performed. Finally, this report presents results of a sensitivity analysis in order to provide a measure of reliability of the analytic estimation process. Linear and non-linear sensitivity analysis has been performed in order to quantify the level of uncertainty implicit in modeling estimated parameters and how they can affect the calculation of the instantaneous coefficient of friction. Using the approach of force and moment equilibrium about the CG at landing to reconstruct the instantaneous coefficient of friction appears to be a reasonably accurate estimate when compared to the simulated friction coefficient. This is also true when the FDR and estimated parameters are introduced to white noise and when crosswind is introduced to the simulation. After the linear analysis the

  6. Limited Preemptive Scheduling in Real-time Systems

    OpenAIRE

    Thekkilakattil, Abhilash

    2016-01-01

    Preemptive and non-preemptive scheduling paradigms typically introduce undesirable side effects when scheduling real-time tasks, mainly in the form of preemption overheads and blocking, that potentially compromise timeliness guarantees. The high preemption overheads in preemptive real-time scheduling may imply high resource utilization, often requiring significant over-provisioning, e.g., pessimistic Worst Case Execution Time (WCET) approximations. Non-preemptive scheduling, on the other hand...

  7. The first case record of a female patient with bubonic lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV), serovariant L2b.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verweij, Stephan P; Ouburg, Sander; de Vries, Harry; Morré, Servaas A; van Ginkel, Cees J W; Bos, Hanna; Sebens, Fré W

    2012-08-01

    Since 2003, a lymphogranuloma venereum epidemic has been reported in The Netherlands and other European countries. This epidemic is caused by Chlamydia trachomatis serovariant L2b and has only been seen in men having sex with men. The authors investigated a woman presenting with a bubo in her right groin. The authors showed by real-time PCR that the woman was infected with C trachomatis, serovariant L2b. This is the first reported case study of a female patient with bubonic lymphogranuloma venereum caused by serovariant L2b, which was probably contracted via her bisexual male partner.

  8. The Next Generation Precision Medical Record - A Framework for Integrating Genomes and Wearable Sensors with Medical Records

    OpenAIRE

    Batra, Prag; Singh, Enakshi; Bog, Anja; Wright, Mark; Ashley, Euan; Waggott, Daryl

    2016-01-01

    Current medical records are rigid with regards to emerging big biomedical data. Examples of poorly integrated big data that already exist in clinical practice include whole genome sequencing and wearable sensors for real time monitoring. Genome sequencing enables conventional diagnostic interrogation and forms the fundamental baseline for precision health throughout a patients lifetime. Mobile sensors enable tailored monitoring regimes for both reducing risk through precision health intervent...

  9. A cloud-based framework for large-scale traditional Chinese medical record retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lijun; Liu, Li; Fu, Xiaodong; Huang, Qingsong; Zhang, Xianwen; Zhang, Yin

    2018-01-01

    Electronic medical records are increasingly common in medical practice. The secondary use of medical records has become increasingly important. It relies on the ability to retrieve the complete information about desired patient populations. How to effectively and accurately retrieve relevant medical records from large- scale medical big data is becoming a big challenge. Therefore, we propose an efficient and robust framework based on cloud for large-scale Traditional Chinese Medical Records (TCMRs) retrieval. We propose a parallel index building method and build a distributed search cluster, the former is used to improve the performance of index building, and the latter is used to provide high concurrent online TCMRs retrieval. Then, a real-time multi-indexing model is proposed to ensure the latest relevant TCMRs are indexed and retrieved in real-time, and a semantics-based query expansion method and a multi- factor ranking model are proposed to improve retrieval quality. Third, we implement a template-based visualization method for displaying medical reports. The proposed parallel indexing method and distributed search cluster can improve the performance of index building and provide high concurrent online TCMRs retrieval. The multi-indexing model can ensure the latest relevant TCMRs are indexed and retrieved in real-time. The semantics expansion method and the multi-factor ranking model can enhance retrieval quality. The template-based visualization method can enhance the availability and universality, where the medical reports are displayed via friendly web interface. In conclusion, compared with the current medical record retrieval systems, our system provides some advantages that are useful in improving the secondary use of large-scale traditional Chinese medical records in cloud environment. The proposed system is more easily integrated with existing clinical systems and be used in various scenarios. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  10. 3D-Audio Matting, Postediting, and Rerendering from Field Recordings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guillaume Lemaitre

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a novel approach to real-time spatial rendering of realistic auditory environments and sound sources recorded live, in the field. Using a set of standard microphones distributed throughout a real-world environment, we record the sound field simultaneously from several locations. After spatial calibration, we segment from this set of recordings a number of auditory components, together with their location. We compare existing time delay of arrival estimation techniques between pairs of widely spaced microphones and introduce a novel efficient hierarchical localization algorithm. Using the high-level representation thus obtained, we can edit and rerender the acquired auditory scene over a variety of listening setups. In particular, we can move or alter the different sound sources and arbitrarily choose the listening position. We can also composite elements of different scenes together in a spatially consistent way. Our approach provides efficient rendering of complex soundscapes which would be challenging to model using discrete point sources and traditional virtual acoustics techniques. We demonstrate a wide range of possible applications for games, virtual and augmented reality, and audio visual post production.

  11. Structuring and coding in health care records: a qualitative analysis using diabetes as a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Ann R R; Fernando, Bernard; Morrison, Zoe; Kalra, Dipak; Sheikh, Aziz

    2015-03-27

    Globally, diabetes mellitus presents a substantial and increasing burden to individuals, health care systems and society. Structuring and coding of information in the electronic health record underpin attempts to improve sharing and searching for information. Digital records for those with long-term conditions are expected to bring direct and secondary uses benefits, and potentially to support patient self-management. We sought to investigate if how and why records for adults with diabetes were structured and coded and to explore a range of UK stakeholders' perceptions of current practice in the National Health Service. We carried out a qualitative, theoretically informed case study of documenting health care information for diabetes in family practice and hospital settings in England, using semi-structured interviews, observations, systems demonstrations and documentary data. We conducted 22 interviews and four on-site observations. With respect to secondary uses - research, audit, public health and service planning - interviewees clearly articulated the benefits of highly structured and coded diabetes data and it was believed that benefits would expand through linkage to other datasets. Direct, more marginal, clinical benefits in terms of managing and monitoring diabetes and perhaps encouraging patient self-management were also reported. We observed marked differences in levels of record structuring and/or coding between family practices, where it was high, and the hospital. We found little evidence that structured and coded data were being exploited to improve information sharing between care settings. Using high levels of data structuring and coding in records for diabetes patients has the potential to be exploited more fully, and lessons might be learned from successful developments elsewhere in the UK. A first step would be for hospitals to attain levels of health information technology infrastructure and systems use commensurate with family practices.

  12. Radiology Reporting System Data Exchange With the Electronic Health Record System: A Case Study in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadi, Maryam; Ghazisaeidi, Marjan; Bashiri, Azadeh

    2015-03-18

    In order to better designing of electronic health record system in Iran, integration of health information systems based on a common language must be done to interpret and exchange this information with this system is required. This study provides a conceptual model of radiology reporting system using unified modeling language. The proposed model can solve the problem of integration this information system with the electronic health record system. By using this model and design its service based, easily connect to electronic health record in Iran and facilitate transfer radiology report data. This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted in 2013. The study population was 22 experts that working at the Imaging Center in Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran and the sample was accorded with the community. Research tool was a questionnaire that prepared by the researcher to determine the information requirements. Content validity and test-retest method was used to measure validity and reliability of questioner respectively. Data analyzed with average index, using SPSS. Also Visual Paradigm software was used to design a conceptual model. Based on the requirements assessment of experts and related texts, administrative, demographic and clinical data and radiological examination results and if the anesthesia procedure performed, anesthesia data suggested as minimum data set for radiology report and based it class diagram designed. Also by identifying radiology reporting system process, use case was drawn. According to the application of radiology reports in electronic health record system for diagnosing and managing of clinical problem of the patient, with providing the conceptual Model for radiology reporting system; in order to systematically design it, the problem of data sharing between these systems and electronic health records system would eliminate.

  13. A 30+ Year AVHRR LAI and FAPAR Climate Data Record: Algorithm Description, Validation, and Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claverie, Martin; Matthews, Jessica L.; Vermote, Eric F.; Justice, Christopher O.

    2016-01-01

    In- land surface models, which are used to evaluate the role of vegetation in the context ofglobal climate change and variability, LAI and FAPAR play a key role, specifically with respect to thecarbon and water cycles. The AVHRR-based LAIFAPAR dataset offers daily temporal resolution,an improvement over previous products. This climate data record is based on a carefully calibratedand corrected land surface reflectance dataset to provide a high-quality, consistent time-series suitablefor climate studies. It spans from mid-1981 to the present. Further, this operational dataset is availablein near real-time allowing use for monitoring purposes. The algorithm relies on artificial neuralnetworks calibrated using the MODIS LAI/FAPAR dataset. Evaluation based on cross-comparisonwith MODIS products and in situ data show the dataset is consistent and reliable with overalluncertainties of 1.03 and 0.15 for LAI and FAPAR, respectively. However, a clear saturation effect isobserved in the broadleaf forest biomes with high LAI (greater than 4.5) and FAPAR (greater than 0.8) values.

  14. Self-Organization in Embedded Real-Time Systems

    CERN Document Server

    Brinkschulte, Uwe; Rettberg, Achim

    2013-01-01

    This book describes the emerging field of self-organizing, multicore, distributed and real-time embedded systems.  Self-organization of both hardware and software can be a key technique to handle the growing complexity of modern computing systems. Distributed systems running hundreds of tasks on dozens of processors, each equipped with multiple cores, requires self-organization principles to ensure efficient and reliable operation. This book addresses various, so-called Self-X features such as self-configuration, self-optimization, self-adaptation, self-healing and self-protection. Presents open components for embedded real-time adaptive and self-organizing applications; Describes innovative techniques in: scheduling, memory management, quality of service, communications supporting organic real-time applications; Covers multi-/many-core embedded systems supporting real-time adaptive systems and power-aware, adaptive hardware and software systems; Includes case studies of open embedded real-time self-organizi...

  15. Teaching the Assessment of Normality Using Large Easily-Generated Real Data Sets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulp, Christopher W.; Sprechini, Gene D.

    2016-01-01

    A classroom activity is presented, which can be used in teaching students statistics with an easily generated, large, real world data set. The activity consists of analyzing a video recording of an object. The colour data of the recorded object can then be used as a data set to explore variation in the data using graphs including histograms,…

  16. Vital Recorder-a free research tool for automatic recording of high-resolution time-synchronised physiological data from multiple anaesthesia devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hyung-Chul; Jung, Chul-Woo

    2018-01-24

    The current anaesthesia information management system (AIMS) has limited capability for the acquisition of high-quality vital signs data. We have developed a Vital Recorder program to overcome the disadvantages of AIMS and to support research. Physiological data of surgical patients were collected from 10 operating rooms using the Vital Recorder. The basic equipment used were a patient monitor, the anaesthesia machine, and the bispectral index (BIS) monitor. Infusion pumps, cardiac output monitors, regional oximeter, and rapid infusion device were added as required. The automatic recording option was used exclusively and the status of recording was frequently checked through web monitoring. Automatic recording was successful in 98.5% (4,272/4,335) cases during eight months of operation. The total recorded time was 13,489 h (3.2 ± 1.9 h/case). The Vital Recorder's automatic recording and remote monitoring capabilities enabled us to record physiological big data with minimal effort. The Vital Recorder also provided time-synchronised data captured from a variety of devices to facilitate an integrated analysis of vital signs data. The free distribution of the Vital Recorder is expected to improve data access for researchers attempting physiological data studies and to eliminate inequalities in research opportunities due to differences in data collection capabilities.

  17. Record reach : ExxonMobil extends its own world record

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wells, P.

    2008-06-15

    Extended reach drilling (ERD) records are now regularly being broken by ExxonMobil Corporation's Sakhalin project on Russia's east coast. In 2008, an oil well on the coast established a new record by achieving a measured depth of 11,680 meters. The well was punched out by a Texas-based drilling company using the world's largest land-based drilling rig. The use of ERD has reduced the capital and operating costs of the project in addition to reducing its environmental impacts. ERD has been used to drill onshore beneath the seafloor and has eliminated the need for additional offshore structure and pipelines. The horizontal reach of the wells has improved productivity while also avoiding disturbing whale migrations in the region. The rig features a 1.5 million pound load capacity, 3000 horsepower draw-works. The top-drive drilling systems were used to transmit real time data to external locations for further evaluation. Oil and gas is also produced from a gravity-based offshore platform. It was concluded that longer wellbore are now being developed by the corporation in order to drill under the Beaufort Sea. 2 figs.

  18. The first record of Lutzomyia longipalpis in the Argentine northwest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Gomez Bravo

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In 2004, the urban presence of Lutzomyia longipalpis was recorded for the first time in Formosa province. In 2006, the first autochthonous case of human urban visceral leishmaniasis (VL was recorded in Misiones in the presence of the vector, along with some canine VL cases. After this first case, the vector began to spread primarily in northeast Argentina. Between 2008-2011, three human VL cases were reported in Salta province, but the presence of Lu. longipalpis was not recorded. Captures of Phlebotominae were made in Tartagal, Salta, in 2013, and the presence of Lu. longipalpis was first recorded in northwest Argentina at that time. Systematic sampling is recommended to observe the distribution and dispersion patterns of Lu. longipalpis and consider the risk of VL transmission in the region.

  19. A computerised recording and monitoring system for extensive air shower experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naranan, S.; Rao, M.V.S.; Sivaprasad, K.; Subramaniam, P.B.

    1975-01-01

    A digital computer, TDC-12, with a memory capacity of 8 K 12-bit words and memory cycle time of 2 μs has been installed at the Cosmic Ray Laboratory at Kolar Gold Fields, India for real time operation with the KGF Air Shower Experiment. The computer system records the selected events and monitors and calibrates all the 90 detectors of various types in real time. (orig./WL) [de

  20. On the thermodynamic description of real systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernardes, N.

    1984-01-01

    A new method of approach to the theory of the thermodynamic properties of real systems is proposed, to include interactions among the constituent particles of the system. The method consists in obtaining the entropy of a real system from the entropy of the corresponding ideal system by a translation in the internal energy and other relevant extensive variables. The usefulness of the method is displayed by application to the cases of: (i) real gases, and (ii) spin paramagnetism with interactions among spins. It is shown that this description corresponds to a generalization of the molecular field approximation. (Author) [pt

  1. Beyond Mimesis to an Assemblage of Reals in the Drama Classroom: Which Reals? Which Representational Aesthetics? What Theatre-Building Practices? Whose Truths?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallagher, Kathleen; Jacobson, Kelsey

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, the authors argue for novel, less mimetic, ways to harness "the real" in drama practices. They study particular youth theatre-making practices in a Toronto secondary classroom, both successes and failures, to make the case for an untethering of "the real" from realism's representational aesthetics. They further…

  2. A flexible time recording and time correlation analysis system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shenhav, N.J.; Leiferman, G.; Segal, Y.; Notea, A.

    1983-01-01

    A system was developed to digitize and record the time intervals between detection event pulses, feed to its input channels from a detection device. The accumulated data is transferred continuously in real time to a disc through a PDP 11/34 minicomputer. Even though the system was designed for a specific scope, i.e., the comparative study of passive neutron nondestructive assay methods, it can be characterized by its features as a general purpose time series recorder. The time correlation analysis is performed by software after completion of the data accumulation. The digitizing clock period is selectable and any value, larger than a minimum of 100 ns, may be selected. Bursts of up to 128 events with a frequency up to 10 MHz may be recorded. With the present recorder-minicomputer combination, the maximal average recording frequency is 40 kHz. (orig.)

  3. Towards Semantic Search and Inference in Electronic Medical Records

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bevan Koopman

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Background This paper presents a novel approach to searching electronic medical records that is based on concept matching rather than keyword matching. Aims The concept-based approach is intended to overcome specific challenges we identified in searching medical records. Method Queries and documents were transformed from their term-based originals into medical concepts as defined by the SNOMED-CT ontology. Results Evaluation on a real-world collection of medical records showed our concept-based approach outperformed a keyword baseline by 25% in Mean Average Precision. Conclusion The concept-based approach provides a framework for further development of inference based search systems for dealing with medical data.

  4. Real-time forecasting of an epidemic using a discrete time stochastic model: a case study of pandemic influenza (H1N1-2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nishiura Hiroshi

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Real-time forecasting of epidemics, especially those based on a likelihood-based approach, is understudied. This study aimed to develop a simple method that can be used for the real-time epidemic forecasting. Methods A discrete time stochastic model, accounting for demographic stochasticity and conditional measurement, was developed and applied as a case study to the weekly incidence of pandemic influenza (H1N1-2009 in Japan. By imposing a branching process approximation and by assuming the linear growth of cases within each reporting interval, the epidemic curve is predicted using only two parameters. The uncertainty bounds of the forecasts are computed using chains of conditional offspring distributions. Results The quality of the forecasts made before the epidemic peak appears largely to depend on obtaining valid parameter estimates. The forecasts of both weekly incidence and final epidemic size greatly improved at and after the epidemic peak with all the observed data points falling within the uncertainty bounds. Conclusions Real-time forecasting using the discrete time stochastic model with its simple computation of the uncertainty bounds was successful. Because of the simplistic model structure, the proposed model has the potential to additionally account for various types of heterogeneity, time-dependent transmission dynamics and epidemiological details. The impact of such complexities on forecasting should be explored when the data become available as part of the disease surveillance.

  5. NInFEA: an embedded framework for the real-time evaluation of fetal ECG extraction algorithms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pani, Danilo; Barabino, Gianluca; Raffo, Luigi

    2013-02-01

    Fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) extraction from non-invasive biopotential recordings is a long-standing research topic. Despite the significant number of algorithms presented in the scientific literature, it is difficult to find information about embedded hardware implementations able to provide real-time support for the required features, bridging the gap between theory and practice. This article presents the NInFEA (non-invasive fetal ECG analysis) tool, an embedded hardware/software framework based on the hybrid dual-core OMAP-L137 low-power processor for the real-time evaluation of fetal ECG extraction algorithms. The hybrid platform, including a digital signal processor (DSP) and a general-purpose processor (GPP), allows achieving the best performance compared with single-core architectures. The GPP provides a portable graphical user interface, whereas the DSP is extensively used for advanced signal processing tasks. As a case study, three state-of-the-art fetal ECG extraction algorithms have been ported onto NInFEA, along with some support routines needed to provide the additional information required by the clinicians and supported by the user interface. NInFEA can be regarded both as a reference design for similar applications and as a common embedded low-power testbed for real-time fetal ECG extraction algorithms.

  6. Real-time earthquake data feasible

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bush, Susan

    Scientists agree that early warning devices and monitoring of both Hurricane Hugo and the Mt. Pinatubo volcanic eruption saved thousands of lives. What would it take to develop this sort of early warning and monitoring system for earthquake activity?Not all that much, claims a panel assigned to study the feasibility, costs, and technology needed to establish a real-time earthquake monitoring (RTEM) system. The panel, drafted by the National Academy of Science's Committee on Seismology, has presented its findings in Real-Time Earthquake Monitoring. The recently released report states that “present technology is entirely capable of recording and processing data so as to provide real-time information, enabling people to mitigate somewhat the earthquake disaster.” RTEM systems would consist of two parts—an early warning system that would give a few seconds warning before severe shaking, and immediate postquake information within minutes of the quake that would give actual measurements of the magnitude. At this time, however, this type of warning system has not been addressed at the national level for the United States and is not included in the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program, according to the report.

  7. Real topological string amplitudes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Narain, K.S. [The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP),Strada Costiera 11, Trieste, 34151 (Italy); Piazzalunga, N. [Simons Center for Geometry and Physics, State University of New York,Stony Brook, NY, 11794-3636 (United States); International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) and INFN, Sez. di Trieste,via Bonomea 265, Trieste, 34136 (Italy); Tanzini, A. [International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) and INFN, Sez. di Trieste,via Bonomea 265, Trieste, 34136 (Italy)

    2017-03-15

    We discuss the physical superstring correlation functions in type I theory (or equivalently type II with orientifold) that compute real topological string amplitudes. We consider the correlator corresponding to holomorphic derivative of the real topological amplitude G{sub χ}, at fixed worldsheet Euler characteristic χ. This corresponds in the low-energy effective action to N=2 Weyl multiplet, appropriately reduced to the orientifold invariant part, and raised to the power g{sup ′}=−χ+1. We show that the physical string correlator gives precisely the holomorphic derivative of topological amplitude. Finally, we apply this method to the standard closed oriented case as well, and prove a similar statement for the topological amplitude F{sub g}.

  8. The $K$-theory of real graph $C*$-algebras

    OpenAIRE

    Boersema, Jeffrey L.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we will introduce real graph algebras and develop the theory to the point of being able to calculate the $K$-theory of such algebras. The $K$-theory situation is significantly more complicated than in the case for complex graph algebras. To develop the long exact sequence to compute the $K$-theory of a real graph algebra, we need to develop a generalized theory of crossed products for real C*-algebras for groups with involution. We also need to deal with the additional algebrai...

  9. Intensity Maps Production Using Real-Time Joint Streaming Data Processing From Social and Physical Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kropivnitskaya, Y. Y.; Tiampo, K. F.; Qin, J.; Bauer, M.

    2015-12-01

    Intensity is one of the most useful measures of earthquake hazard, as it quantifies the strength of shaking produced at a given distance from the epicenter. Today, there are several data sources that could be used to determine intensity level which can be divided into two main categories. The first category is represented by social data sources, in which the intensity values are collected by interviewing people who experienced the earthquake-induced shaking. In this case, specially developed questionnaires can be used in addition to personal observations published on social networks such as Twitter. These observations are assigned to the appropriate intensity level by correlating specific details and descriptions to the Modified Mercalli Scale. The second category of data sources is represented by observations from different physical sensors installed with the specific purpose of obtaining an instrumentally-derived intensity level. These are usually based on a regression of recorded peak acceleration and/or velocity amplitudes. This approach relates the recorded ground motions to the expected felt and damage distribution through empirical relationships. The goal of this work is to implement and evaluate streaming data processing separately and jointly from both social and physical sensors in order to produce near real-time intensity maps and compare and analyze their quality and evolution through 10-minute time intervals immediately following an earthquake. Results are shown for the case study of the M6.0 2014 South Napa, CA earthquake that occurred on August 24, 2014. The using of innovative streaming and pipelining computing paradigms through IBM InfoSphere Streams platform made it possible to read input data in real-time for low-latency computing of combined intensity level and production of combined intensity maps in near-real time. The results compare three types of intensity maps created based on physical, social and combined data sources. Here we correlate

  10. [Development of Diagrammatic Recording System for Choledochoscope and Its Clinical Application].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Zhao; Hu, Liangshuo; Tang, Bo; Zhang, Xiaogang; Lyu, Yi

    2017-11-30

    To develop a diagrammatic recording system for choledochoscopy and evaluate the system with clinical application. To match the real-time image and procedure illustration during choledochoscopy examination, we combined video-image capture and speech recognition technology to quickly generate personalized choledochoscopy images and texts records. The new system could be used in sharing territorial electronic medical records, telecommuting, scientific research and education, et al. In the clinical application of 32 patients, the choledochoscopy diagrammatic recording system could significantly improve the surgeons' working efficiency and patients' satisfaction. It could also meet the design requirement of remote information interaction. The choledochoscopy diagrammatic recording system which is recommended could elevate the quality of medical service and promote academic exchange and training.

  11. Putting Ethics on the Agenda for Real Estate Agents

    OpenAIRE

    Brinkmann, Johannes

    2009-01-01

    A post-print of an article originally published in Journal of Business Ethics: http://www.springer.com/philosophy/ethics/journal/10551 This article uses sociological role theory to help understand ethical challenges faced by Norwegian real estate agents. The article begins with an introductory case, and then briefly examines the strengths and limitations of using legal definitions and rules for understanding real estate agency and real estate agent ethics. It goes on to a...

  12. Automated filtering of common-mode artifacts in multichannel physiological recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, John W; Siewiorek, Daniel P; Smailagic, Asim; Wang, Wei

    2013-10-01

    The removal of spatially correlated noise is an important step in processing multichannel recordings. Here, a technique termed the adaptive common average reference (ACAR) is presented as an effective and simple method for removing this noise. The ACAR is based on a combination of the well-known common average reference (CAR) and an adaptive noise canceling (ANC) filter. In a convergent process, the CAR provides a reference to an ANC filter, which in turn provides feedback to enhance the CAR. This method was effective on both simulated and real data, outperforming the standard CAR when the amplitude or polarity of the noise changes across channels. In many cases, the ACAR even outperformed independent component analysis. On 16 channels of simulated data, the ACAR was able to attenuate up to approximately 290 dB of noise and could improve signal quality if the original SNR was as high as 5 dB. With an original SNR of 0 dB, the ACAR improved signal quality with only two data channels and performance improved as the number of channels increased. It also performed well under many different conditions for the structure of the noise and signals. Analysis of contaminated electrocorticographic recordings further showed the effectiveness of the ACAR.

  13. A two-domain real-time algorithm for optimal data reduction: a case study on accelerator magnet measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arpaia, Pasquale; Buzio, Marco; Inglese, Vitaliano

    2010-01-01

    A real-time algorithm of data reduction, based on the combination of two lossy techniques specifically optimized for high-rate magnetic measurements in two domains (e.g. time and space), is proposed. The first technique exploits an adaptive sampling rule based on the power estimation of the flux increments in order to optimize the information to be gathered for magnetic field analysis in real time. The tracking condition is defined by the target noise level in the Nyquist band required by the post-processing procedure of magnetic analysis. The second technique uses a data reduction algorithm in order to improve the compression ratio while preserving the consistency of the measured signal. The allowed loss is set equal to the random noise level in the signal in order to force the loss and the noise to cancel rather than to add, by improving the signal-to-noise ratio. Numerical analysis and experimental results of on-field performance characterization and validation for two case studies of magnetic measurement systems for testing magnets of the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) are reported

  14. Multimedia consultation session recording and playback using Java-based browser in global PACS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinez, Ralph; Shah, Pinkesh J.; Yu, Yuan-Pin

    1998-07-01

    The current version of the Global PACS software system uses a Java-based implementation of the Remote Consultation and Diagnosis (RCD) system. The Java RCD includes a multimedia consultation session between physicians that includes text, static image, image annotation, and audio data. The JAVA RCD allows 2-4 physicians to collaborate on a patient case. It allows physicians to join the session via WWW Java-enabled browsers or stand alone RCD application. The RCD system includes a distributed database archive system for archiving and retrieving patient and session data. The RCD system can be used for store and forward scenarios, case reviews, and interactive RCD multimedia sessions. The RCD system operates over the Internet, telephone lines, or in a private Intranet. A multimedia consultation session can be recorded, and then played back at a later time for review, comments, and education. A session can be played back using Java-enabled WWW browsers on any operating system platform. The JAVA RCD system shows that a case diagnosis can be captured digitally and played back with the original real-time temporal relationships between data streams. In this paper, we describe design and implementation of the RCD session playback.

  15. CODA Performance in the Real World

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D.J. Abbott; W.G. Heyes; E. Jastrzembski; R. W. MacLeod; C. Timmer; E. Wolin

    2000-01-01

    The most ambitious implementation of the Jefferson Lab data acquisition system (CODA) to date is for the CLAS spectrometer in Experimental Hall B. CLAS has over 40,000 instrumented channels and uses up to 30 front-end (FASTBUS/VME) crates in the DAQ subsystem. During the initial experiments we found that performance of the fully instrumented DAQ system did not scale as expected based on single point to point benchmarks. Over the past year we have been able to study various performance bottlenecks in the CLAS DAQ system including front-end real time performance, switched 100BaseT Ethernet data transport, and online data distribution and recording. Performance tuning was necessary for components on both real time (VxWorks) and UNIX (Solaris) operating systems. In addition, a new efficient Event Transfer System (ET) was developed to provide faster online monitoring while having minimal impact on data throughput to storage. We discuss these issues and efforts to overcome the real world problems associated with running a high performance DAQ system on a variety of commercial hardware and software

  16. CODA performance in the real world

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbott, D.J.; Heyes, W.G.; Jastrzembski, E.; MacLeod, R.W.; Timmer, C.; Wolin, E.

    1999-01-01

    The most ambitious implementation of the Jefferson Lab data acquisition system (CODA) to date is for the CLAS spectrometer in Experimental Hall B. CLAS has over 40,000 instrumented channels and uses up to 30 front-end (FASTBUS/VME) crates in the DAQ subsystem. During the initial experiments the authors found that performance of the fully instrumented DAQ system did not scale as expected based on single point to point benchmarks. Over the past year the authors have been able to study various performance bottlenecks in the CLAS DAQ system including front-end real time performance, switched 100BaseT Ethernet data transport, and online data distribution and recording. Performance tuning was necessary for components on both real time (VxWorks) and UNIX (Solaris) operating systems. In addition, a new efficient Event Transfer System (ET) was developed to provide faster online monitoring while having minimal impact on data throughput to storage. They discuss these issues and efforts to overcome the real world problems associated with running a high performance DAQ system on a variety of commercial hardware and software

  17. A NoSQL–SQL Hybrid Organization and Management Approach for Real-Time Geospatial Data: A Case Study of Public Security Video Surveillance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chen Wu

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available With the widespread deployment of ground, air and space sensor sources (internet of things or IoT, social networks, sensor networks, the integrated applications of real-time geospatial data from ubiquitous sensors, especially in public security and smart city domains, are becoming challenging issues. The traditional geographic information system (GIS mostly manages time-discretized geospatial data by means of the Structured Query Language (SQL database management system (DBMS and emphasizes query and retrieval of massive historical geospatial data on disk. This limits its capability for on-the-fly access of real-time geospatial data for online analysis in real time. This paper proposes a hybrid database organization and management approach with SQL relational databases (RDB and not only SQL (NoSQL databases (including the main memory database, MMDB, and distributed files system, DFS. This hybrid approach makes full use of the advantages of NoSQL and SQL DBMS for the real-time access of input data and structured on-the-fly analysis results which can meet the requirements of increased spatio-temporal big data linking analysis. The MMDB facilitates real-time access of the latest input data such as the sensor web and IoT, and supports the real-time query for online geospatial analysis. The RDB stores change information such as multi-modal features and abnormal events extracted from real-time input data. The DFS on disk manages the massive geospatial data, and the extensible storage architecture and distributed scheduling of a NoSQL database satisfy the performance requirements of incremental storage and multi-user concurrent access. A case study of geographic video (GeoVideo surveillance of public security is presented to prove the feasibility of this hybrid organization and management approach.

  18. Scalar dark matter: real vs complex

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Hongyan; Zheng, Sibo [Department of Physics, Chongqing University,Chongqing 401331 (China)

    2017-03-27

    We update the parameter spaces for both a real and complex scalar dark matter via the Higgs portal. In the light of constraints arising from the LUX 2016 data, the latest Higgs invisible decay and the gamma ray spectrum, the dark matter resonant mass region is further restricted to a narrow window between 54.9−62.3 GeV in both cases, and its large mass region is excluded until 834 GeV and 3473 GeV for the real and complex scalar, respectively.

  19. Scalar dark matter: real vs complex

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Hongyan; Zheng, Sibo

    2017-01-01

    We update the parameter spaces for both a real and complex scalar dark matter via the Higgs portal. In the light of constraints arising from the LUX 2016 data, the latest Higgs invisible decay and the gamma ray spectrum, the dark matter resonant mass region is further restricted to a narrow window between 54.9−62.3 GeV in both cases, and its large mass region is excluded until 834 GeV and 3473 GeV for the real and complex scalar, respectively.

  20. Converting optical scanning holograms of real objects to binary Fourier holograms using an iterative direct binary search algorithm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leportier, Thibault; Park, Min Chul; Kim, You Seok; Kim, Taegeun

    2015-02-09

    In this paper, we present a three-dimensional holographic imaging system. The proposed approach records a complex hologram of a real object using optical scanning holography, converts the complex form to binary data, and then reconstructs the recorded hologram using a spatial light modulator (SLM). The conversion from the recorded hologram to a binary hologram is achieved using a direct binary search algorithm. We present experimental results that verify the efficacy of our approach. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that a hologram of a real object has been reconstructed using a binary SLM.

  1. OECD-FIRE PR02. OECD-FIRE database record structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolar, L.

    2005-12-01

    In the coding guidelines, the scope, format, and details of any record required to input a real fire event at a nuclear reactor unit to the international OECD-FIRE database are described in detail. The database was set up in the OECD-FIRE-PR02 code

  2. Measuring real exchange rate misalignment in Croatia: cointegration approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Palić

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to analyze misalignment of the real exchange rate in Croatia. The misalignment analysis is conducted using the permanent equilibrium exchange rate approach. The equilibrium real exchange rate is computed using the cointegration approach whereby the real exchange rate and its fundamentals, namely terms of trade, net foreign assets and the ratio of prices of tradables to non-tradables are included in cointegration analysis. The Hodrick and Prescott filter is used to obtain permanent values of the equilibrium real exchange rate. The real exchange rate misalignment is computed as the deviation of the RER from its permanent equilibrium level. Four overvaluation periods and three undervaluation periods are recorded in Croatia in the observed period. Overvaluation periods are more often and of longer duration than undervaluation periods. However, the real exchange rate does not deviate largely from its estimated equilibrium value in the observed period, and it is neither overvalued nor undervalued constantly, but the periods alternate. Considering the results of the analysis, together with the empirical characteristics of Croatian economy, namely the high foreign currency indebtedness, highly euroized economy and underdeveloped export oriented sector, the depreciation of the real exchange rate is not recommended to economic policy makers and the current Croatian exchange rate policy is appropriate.

  3. Generating OER by Recording Lectures: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llamas-Nistal, Martín; Mikic-Fonte, Fernando A.

    2014-01-01

    The University of Vigo, Vigo, Spain, has the objective of making all the teaching material generated by its teachers freely available. To attain this objective, it encourages the development of Open Educational Resources, especially videos. This paper presents an experience of recording lectures and generating the corresponding videos as a step…

  4. 77 FR 42339 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ..., 9 items, 7 temporary items). Records of financial reporting and accounting. Proposed for permanent... litigation file duplicates. Proposed for permanent retention are investigation indices, history sheets with..., ownership, value, disposition, and accounting classification of real and personal property assets. Included...

  5. Engineering design knowledge recycling in near-real-time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leifer, Larry; Baya, Vinod; Toye, George; Baudin, Catherine; Underwood, Jody Gevins

    1994-01-01

    It is hypothesized that the capture and reuse of machine readable design records is cost beneficial. This informal engineering notebook design knowledge can be used to model the artifact and the design process. Design rationale is, in part, preserved and available for examination. Redesign cycle time is significantly reduced (Baya et al, 1992). These factors contribute to making it less costly to capture and reuse knowledge than to recreate comparable knowledge (current practice). To test the hypothesis, we have focused on validation of the concept and tools in two 'real design' projects this past year: (1) a short (8 month) turnaround project for NASA life science bioreactor researchers was done by a team of three mechanical engineering graduate students at Stanford University (in a class, ME210abc 'Mechatronic Systems Design and Methodology' taught by one of the authors, Leifer); and (2) a long range (8 to 20 year) international consortium project for NASA's Space Science program (STEP: satellite test of the equivalence principle). Design knowledge capture was supported this year by assigning the use of a Team-Design PowerBook. Design records were cataloged in near-real time. These records were used to qualitatively model the artifact design as it evolved. Dedal, an 'intelligent librarian' developed at NASA-ARC, was used to navigate and retrieve captured knowledge for reuse.

  6. Real-time quasi-3D tomographic reconstruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buurlage, Jan-Willem; Kohr, Holger; Palenstijn, Willem Jan; Joost Batenburg, K.

    2018-06-01

    Developments in acquisition technology and a growing need for time-resolved experiments pose great computational challenges in tomography. In addition, access to reconstructions in real time is a highly demanded feature but has so far been out of reach. We show that by exploiting the mathematical properties of filtered backprojection-type methods, having access to real-time reconstructions of arbitrarily oriented slices becomes feasible. Furthermore, we present , software for visualization and on-demand reconstruction of slices. A user of can interactively shift and rotate slices in a GUI, while the software updates the slice in real time. For certain use cases, the possibility to study arbitrarily oriented slices in real time directly from the measured data provides sufficient visual and quantitative insight. Two such applications are discussed in this article.

  7. Steps and pips in the history of the cumulative recorder.

    OpenAIRE

    Lattal, Kennon A

    2004-01-01

    From its inception in the 1930s until very recent times, the cumulative recorder was the most widely used measurement instrument in the experimental analysis of behavior. It was an essential instrument in the discovery and analysis of schedules of reinforcement, providing the first real-time analysis of operant response rates and patterns. This review traces the evolution of the cumulative recorder from Skinner's early modified kymographs through various models developed by Skinner and his co...

  8. Real symplectic formulation of local special geometry

    CERN Document Server

    Ferrara, Sergio; Ferrara, Sergio; Macia, Oscar

    2006-01-01

    We consider a formulation of local special geometry in terms of Darboux special coordinates $P^I=(p^i,q_i)$, $I=1,...,2n$. A general formula for the metric is obtained which is manifestly $\\mathbf{Sp}(2n,\\mathbb{R})$ covariant. Unlike the rigid case the metric is not given by the Hessian of the real function $S(P)$ which is the Legendre transform of the imaginary part of the holomorphic prepotential. Rather it is given by an expression that contains $S$, its Hessian and the conjugate momenta $S_I=\\frac{\\partial S}{\\partial P^I}$. Only in the one-dimensional case ($n=1$) is the real (two-dimensional) metric proportional to the Hessian with an appropriate conformal factor.

  9. Project selection problem under uncertainty: An application of utility theory and chance constrained programming to a real case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reza Hosnavi Atashgah

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Selecting from a pool of interdependent projects under certainty, when faced with resource constraints, has been studied well in the literature of project selection problem. After briefly reviewing and discussing popular modeling approaches for dealing with uncertainty, this paper proposes an approach based on chance constrained programming and utility theory for a certain range of problems and under some practical assumptions. Expected Utility Programming, as the proposed modeling approach, will be compared with other well-known methods and its meaningfulness and usefulness will be illustrated via two numerical examples and one real case.

  10. Research, records and responsibility ten years of PARADISEC

    CERN Document Server

    Harris, Amanda

    2015-01-01

    Research, records and responsibility' explores developments in collaborative archiving practice between archives and the communities they serve and represent, incorporating case studies of historical recordings, visual data and material culture.

  11. Power/performance trade-offs in real-time SDRAM command scheduling

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goossens, S.L.M.; Chandrasekar, K.; Akesson, K.B.; Goossens, K.G.W.

    2016-01-01

    Real-time safety-critical systems should provide hard bounds on an applications’ performance. SDRAM controllers used in this domain should therefore have a bounded worst-case bandwidth, response time, and power consumption. Existing works on real-time SDRAM controllers only consider a narrow range

  12. Computer-Aided Software Engineering - An approach to real-time software development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Carrie K.; Turkovich, John J.

    1989-01-01

    A new software engineering discipline is Computer-Aided Software Engineering (CASE), a technology aimed at automating the software development process. This paper explores the development of CASE technology, particularly in the area of real-time/scientific/engineering software, and a history of CASE is given. The proposed software development environment for the Advanced Launch System (ALS CASE) is described as an example of an advanced software development system for real-time/scientific/engineering (RT/SE) software. The Automated Programming Subsystem of ALS CASE automatically generates executable code and corresponding documentation from a suitably formatted specification of the software requirements. Software requirements are interactively specified in the form of engineering block diagrams. Several demonstrations of the Automated Programming Subsystem are discussed.

  13. Ubiquitous health monitoring and real-time cardiac arrhythmias detection: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian; Zhou, Haiying; Zuo, Decheng; Hou, Kun-Mean; De Vaulx, Christophe

    2014-01-01

    As the symptoms and signs of heart diseases that cause sudden cardiac death, cardiac arrhythmia has attracted great attention. Due to limitations in time and space, traditional approaches to cardiac arrhythmias detection fail to provide a real-time continuous monitoring and testing service applicable in different environmental conditions. Integrated with the latest technologies in ECG (electrocardiograph) analysis and medical care, the pervasive computing technology makes possible the ubiquitous cardiac care services, and thus brings about new technical challenges, especially in the formation of cardiac care architecture and realization of the real-time automatic ECG detection algorithm dedicated to care devices. In this paper, a ubiquitous cardiac care prototype system is presented with its architecture framework well elaborated. This prototype system has been tested and evaluated in all the clinical-/home-/outdoor-care modes with a satisfactory performance in providing real-time continuous cardiac arrhythmias monitoring service unlimitedly adaptable in time and space.

  14. Records and good governance: Running away from accountability ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Records and good governance: Running away from accountability. The case of Zambia. ... Abstract. Records are created as a by-product of the business activities taking place as an organization in carry out its mandated activities. Subsequently, these records will provide the ultimate proof or evidence of the activities being ...

  15. Record date in Serbian company law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arsić Zoran

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The right of the shareholder to participate in and vote at the general meeting is determined based on the shares he holds on a certain date prior to the general meeting (record date. However, the rules regulating the record date deviate from the principle of indivisibility of shares. In extreme cases it is possible to have persons, none of which are shareholders at a given time, to participate in and vote at the general meeting. Hence, it is possible to have persons with no investment interest in the company to decide, for example, on adoption of financial reports, or on disposal of high-value assets. This issue, by its virtue, is not put forward in cases where there was no transfer of shares in the period between the record date and the date of the general meeting.

  16. Economic Effects Real Estate Tax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadić Milan

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The real estate tax is usually a fiscal instrument which performs the property tax. When it comes to real property or immovable this term include: apartments, houses, land, cottages, excess housing landscape and more. The real estate tax as a form of the fiscal charges ownership or use of certain forms of real estate, and the revenue from this tax is levied on the area where the property is located regardless of the place of residence of its owner. The tax base for the calculation of this tax usually consists of the market, estimated or annuity value of certain real estate. This form of taxation in the Republic of Serbian applies from 1.1.2012., and its introduction has been replaced by former property taxes. The differences between the two concepts mentioned taxes are numerous and significant. Among the more important are: subject to taxation under the new concept of the real estate rather than law, a taxpayer is any property owner rather than the holder of rights to immovable property tax base is the market value of real estate which is replaced by the payment of taxes per square meter of usable area, the rate of property tax is determined local government, which can not be lower than 0.05% of the estimated value of the real estate nor higher than 0.5% of the appraised value of real estate. The last change, ie. The new law on Property Tax from 5.11.2015. was determined by the tax rate to 20%. The fact that local governments each of them determines the tax rate on real estate which range from high to low rates of multiple, makes this tax is progressive. Progression is particularly expressed in the distinction applied tax rates of developed and undeveloped municipalities, where we have a case that less developed tolerate a higher tax burden, which leads to negative economic effects. However, real estate tax has its own economic and social characteristics which must be aligned with the objectives of tax policy. This means that the real estate tax

  17. Experience with seismic instrumentation and real earthquake data at nuclear power plant Beznau Switzerland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahgal, S.; Tinic, S.

    2005-01-01

    This paper deals with the aspects of design specification, bid evaluation and, seismic criteria used for the generation of seismic alarms etc. The paper also describes how the recorded data is utilized to check the various assumptions made in conjunction with the seismic plant design and seismic load generation. Out of some 8 seismic events registered so far only one event had the maximum recorded acceleration of approximately 28% of OBE Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA). From the real earthquakes experienced and the in-situ free-field ground accelerations recorded, the free-field response spectra were calculated. The calculated spectra are compared to the Regulatory Guide 1.60 Design Response Spectra scaled linearly to the site peak ground acceleration. The free field data recording units on the weathered rock and at the top of the soil provided a real data to calculate the site amplification factors. The in-situ amplification calculated is then compared to that used in the seismic design. The recorded acceleration time history at various plant grades were used to generate response spectra. The calculated response spectra were in turn compared to the spectra used in the seismic design. (authors)

  18. Optimization of Partitioned Architectures to Support Soft Real-Time Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tamas-Selicean, Domitian; Pop, Paul

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we propose a new Tabu Search-based design optimization strategy for mixed-criticality systems implementing hard and soft real-time applications on the same platform. Our proposed strategy determined an implementation such that all hard real-time applications are schedulable and the ......In this paper we propose a new Tabu Search-based design optimization strategy for mixed-criticality systems implementing hard and soft real-time applications on the same platform. Our proposed strategy determined an implementation such that all hard real-time applications are schedulable...... and the quality of service of the soft real-time tasks is maximized. We have evaluated our strategy using an aerospace case study....

  19. Court Upholds Confidentiality of Research Records/Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Florio, David H.

    1980-01-01

    Reviews the background of the Forsham v Harris case and discusses the implications of the Supreme Court's ruling that research records and data of federally funded grantees are not considered federal agency records subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act. (Author/GC)

  20. Ultrasound-guided biopsy of transplanted pancreas: evaluation of 20 cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcel Vieira da Nóbrega

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To report the experience with percutaneous biopsies of pancreatic grafts guided by ultrasonography. Methods: Series of cases referred from outpatient’s clinic for biopsy of pancreas transplant, between December 2006 and March 2008. Data were collected from medical electronic records for age, sex and histopathology. The indication for the procedure was obtained from medical and laboratory records. Doppler ultrasonography was performed for control and to guide biopsy in real time. Rresults: Twenty patients referred for biopsy of their transplanted pancreas over a one-year period were evaluated. In one patient, biopsy was not performed for having no safe access for ultrasound. It was used 18 gauge needles, mostly automatic-cut type. The main indications were increased blood glucose and pancreatic enzyme levels as well as reduction of urinary amylase. The sonographic aspect of the pancreatic graft was normal in 18 cases. In all 19 biopsies performed, satisfactory samples for histopathological study were obtained. There were no complications. Cconclusions: This series of cases demonstrated low sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound in diagnosis of pancreatic transplants disorders, but showed to be very useful to guide transplanted pancreas biopsies. Although no complications occurred in this experience, the risk-benefit relation should always be assessed for every patient.

  1. Paperless chart recording helps cut costs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collier, K.; Sullivan, M.E.

    1997-01-01

    Turbine generator data acquisition systems using personal computers have been installed at the Limerick BWR power plant to replace paper-based chart recorders. This plant is already one of the lowest cost nuclear power plants in the US and this innovation will boost operating efficiency still further. The Limerick control room now has wall-mounted touch screen video displays which provide operators with real-time, electronically achieved information and improving information flow, with a consolidated, consistent user interface. (UK)

  2. Automated Filtering of Common Mode Artifacts in Multi-Channel Physiological Recordings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, John W.; Siewiorek, Daniel P.; Smailagic, Asim; Wang, Wei

    2014-01-01

    The removal of spatially correlated noise is an important step in processing multi-channel recordings. Here, a technique termed the adaptive common average reference (ACAR) is presented as an effective and simple method for removing this noise. The ACAR is based on a combination of the well-known common average reference (CAR) and an adaptive noise canceling (ANC) filter. In a convergent process, the CAR provides a reference to an ANC filter, which in turn provides feedback to enhance the CAR. This method was effective on both simulated and real data, outperforming the standard CAR when the amplitude or polarity of the noise changes across channels. In many cases the ACAR even outperformed independent component analysis (ICA). On 16 channels of simulated data the ACAR was able to attenuate up to approximately 290 dB of noise and could improve signal quality if the original SNR was as high as 5 dB. With an original SNR of 0 dB, the ACAR improved signal quality with only two data channels and performance improved as the number of channels increased. It also performed well under many different conditions for the structure of the noise and signals. Analysis of contaminated electrocorticographic (ECoG) recordings further showed the effectiveness of the ACAR. PMID:23708770

  3. Introduction of shared electronic records: multi-site case study using diffusion of innovation theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhalgh, Trisha; Stramer, Katja; Bratan, Tanja; Byrne, Emma; Mohammad, Yara; Russell, Jill

    2008-10-23

    To explore the introduction of a centrally stored, shared electronic patient record (the summary care record (SCR)) in England and draw wider lessons about the implementation of large scale information technology projects in health care. Multi-site, mixed method case study applying utilisation focused evaluation. Four early adopter sites for the SCR in England-three in urban areas of relative socioeconomic deprivation and the fourth in a relatively affluent rural area. Data sources and analysis Data included 250 staff interviews, 1500 hours of ethnographic observation, interviews and focus groups with 170 patients and carers, 2500 pages of correspondence and documentary evidence, and incorporation of relevant surveys and statistics produced by others. These were analysed by using a thematic approach drawing on (and extending) a theoretical model of complex change developed in a previous systematic review. Main findings The mixed fortunes of the SCR programme in its first year were largely explained by eight interacting influences. The first was the SCR's material properties (especially technical immaturity and lack of interoperability) and attributes (especially the extent to which potential adopters believed the benefits outweighed the risks). The second was adopters' concerns (especially about workload and the ethicality of sharing "confidential" information on an implied consent model). The third influence was interpersonal influence (for example, opinion leaders, champions, facilitators), and the fourth was organisational antecedents for innovation (for example past experience with information technology projects, leadership and management capacity, effective data capture systems, slack resources). The fifth was organisational readiness for the SCR (for example, innovation-system fit, tension for change, power balances between supporters and opponents, baseline data quality). The sixth was the implementation process (including the nature of the change model and

  4. 77 FR 66628 - Privacy Act of 1974, as Amended; Notice of a New System of Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-06

    ... New System of Records AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Interior. ACTION: Notice of creation of a new... money, real property, personal property, services, or other gifts by members of the public and... managing the Donations Program and facilitating the acceptance and solicitation of donations of money, real...

  5. Electronic Health Records: PHR Opportunities for Public Health – Part 2

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-09-10

    In this podcast, Dr. Ken Mandl discusses electronic health records and personally-controlled health records. Dr. Mandl leads the IndivoHealth personally-controlled health record project, the original reference model for the Microsoft, Google, and Dossia personal health records (PHRs or PCHRs). He has successfully used PHRs for immunization and influenza, leads efforts in real-time surveillance systems, and is currently adapting personal health records for longitudinal and genomic research. The lecture was given at CDC on June 19, 2009.  Created: 9/10/2009 by Coordinating Center for Health Information Service (CCHIS), Healthy Healthcare Settings Goal Team, Office of Strategy and Innovation.   Date Released: 6/3/2010.

  6. Electronic Health Records: PHR Opportunities for Public Health – Part 1

    Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

    2009-09-10

    In this podcast, Dr. Ken Mandl discusses electronic health records and personally-controlled health records. Dr. Mandl leads the IndivoHealth personally-controlled health record project, the original reference model for the Microsoft, Google, and Dossia personal health records (PHRs or PCHRs). He has successfully used PHRs for immunization and influenza, leads efforts in real-time surveillance systems, and is currently adapting personal health records for longitudinal and genomic research. The lecture was given at CDC on June 19, 2009.  Created: 9/10/2009 by Coordinating Center for Health Information Service (CCHIS), Healthy Healthcare Settings Goal Team, Office of Strategy and Innovation.   Date Released: 6/3/2010.

  7. Facial Expression Emotion Detection for Real-Time Embedded Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeed Turabzadeh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recently, real-time facial expression recognition has attracted more and more research. In this study, an automatic facial expression real-time system was built and tested. Firstly, the system and model were designed and tested on a MATLAB environment followed by a MATLAB Simulink environment that is capable of recognizing continuous facial expressions in real-time with a rate of 1 frame per second and that is implemented on a desktop PC. They have been evaluated in a public dataset, and the experimental results were promising. The dataset and labels used in this study were made from videos, which were recorded twice from five participants while watching a video. Secondly, in order to implement in real-time at a faster frame rate, the facial expression recognition system was built on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA. The camera sensor used in this work was a Digilent VmodCAM — stereo camera module. The model was built on the Atlys™ Spartan-6 FPGA development board. It can continuously perform emotional state recognition in real-time at a frame rate of 30. A graphical user interface was designed to display the participant’s video in real-time and two-dimensional predict labels of the emotion at the same time.

  8. Visual acuity with simulated and real astigmatic defocus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlendorf, Arne; Tabernero, Juan; Schaeffel, Frank

    2011-05-01

    To compare the effects of "simulated" and "real" spherical and astigmatic defocus on visual acuity (VA). VA was determined with letter charts that were blurred by calculated spherical or astigmatic defocus (simulated defocus) or were seen through spherical or astigmatic trial lenses (real defocus). Defocus was simulated using ZEMAX and the Liou-Brennan eye model. Nine subjects participated [mean age, 27.2 ± 1.8 years; logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR), -0.1]. Three different experiments were conducted in which VA was reduced by 20% (logMAR 0.0), 50% (logMAR 0.2), or 75% (logMAR 0.5) by either (1) imposing positive spherical defocus, (2) imposing positive and negative astigmatic defocus in three axes (0, 45, and 90°), and (3) imposing cross-cylinder defocus in the same three axes as in (2). Experiment (1): there were only minor differences in VA with simulated and real positive spherical defocus. Experiment (2): simulated astigmatic defocus reduced VA twice as much as real astigmatic defocus in all tested axes (p < 0.01 in all cases). Experiment (3): simulated cross-cylinder defocus reduced VA much more than real cross-cylinder defocus (p < 0.01 in all cases), similarly for all three tested axes. The visual system appears more tolerant against "real" spherical, astigmatic, and cross-cylinder defocus than against "simulated" blur. Possible reasons could be (1) limitations in the modeling procedures to simulate defocus, (2) higher ocular aberrations, and (3) fluctuations of accommodation. However, the two optical explanations (2) and (3) cannot account for the magnitude of the effect, and (1) was carefully analyzed. It is proposed that something may be special about the visual processing of real astigmatic and cross-cylinder defocus-because they have less effect on VA than simulations predict.

  9. Meteorological and hydrological extremes derived from taxation records: case study for south-western Moravia (Czech Republic)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chromá, Kateřina; Brázdil, Rudolf; Valášek, Hubert; Zahradníček, Pavel

    2013-04-01

    Meteorological and hydrological extremes (MHEs) cause great material damage or even loss of human lives in the present time, similarly as it was in the past. In the Czech Lands (recently the Czech Republic), systematic meteorological and hydrological observations started generally in the latter half of the 19th century. Therefore, in order to create long-term series of such extremes, it is necessary to search for other sources of information. Different types of documentary evidence are used in historical climatology and hydrology to find such information. Some of them are related to records connected with taxation system. The taxation system in Moravia allowed farmers to request tax relief if their crops have been damaged by MHEs. The corresponding documents contain information about the type of extreme event and the date of its occurrence; often also impacts on crops or land may be derived. The nature of events leading to damage include particularly hailstorms, torrential rain, flash floods, floods (in regions along larger rivers), less frequently windstorms, late frosts and in some cases also information about droughts or extreme snow depths. However, the results obtained are influenced by uncertainties related to taxation records - their temporal and spatial incompleteness, limitation of the MHEs occurrence in the period of main agricultural work (May-August) and the purpose for which they were originally collected (primarily tax alleviation, i.e. information about MHEs was of secondary importance). All these aspects related to the study of MHEs from taxation records are demonstrated for five estates (Bítov, Budkov, Jemnice with Staré Hobzí, Nové Syrovice and Uherčice) in the south-western part of Moravia for the 18th-19th centuries. The analysis shows importance of taxation records for the study of past MHEs as well as great potential for their use.

  10. THE REAL OPTIONS OF CAPITAL BUDGET

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Lopo Martins

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The traditional techniques of capital budget, as the deducted cash flow and the net value present, do not incorporate existing flexibilities in an investment project, they tend to distort the value of certain investments, mainly those that are considered in scenes of uncertainty and risk. Therefore, this study intends to demonstrate that the Real Options Theory (TOR is a useful methodology to evaluate and to indicate the best option for project of expansion investment. To reach the considered objective the procedure method was used a case study, having as unit of case the Resort Praia Hotel do Litoral Norte of Salvador. This study was developed of the following form: first it identified the traditional net value present and later it was incorporated the volatileness of each analyzed uncertainty. Second, as the real options are analogous to the financial options, it was necessary to identify elements that composed the terminologies of the financial options with intention to get the value of the real option. For this model of options pricing of Black & Scholes jointly with a computational simulator was used (SLS to get the expanded net value present. As a result of this study it was possible to evidence that using the traditional tool of capital budget Net Value Present (VPL is negative, therefore the project of expansion of the Hotel would be rejected. While for the application of methodology TOR the project presents positive Expanded Present Value which would represent an excellent chance of investment. Key-word: Capital budget, Real options, Analysis of investments.

  11. Real and complex boson expansions in even-even deformed nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silvestre-Brac, B.; Piepenbring, R.

    1977-01-01

    Analysis of real and complex boson expansions of the Kishimoto-Tamura type is performed in a deformed basis in order to allow a further study of the anharmonicities of vibrations in deformed nuclei. It is shown that complex solutions cannot be found in the cases where no real one exists. (Auth.)

  12. Real and metaphorical hunger: the case of The Divergent Trilogy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Paravano

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The present contribution investigates how the issue of hunger becomes a means of expressing and communicating personal and social identity in Veronica Roth’s best seller trilogy Divergent (2011-13. Roth portrays a dystopian future developing a multifaceted concept of hunger, both real and figurative, and using food as a cultural metaphor. The trilogy is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, whose population is divided into five allegorical factions, according to a number of personal and social characteristics. The life of each faction seems to be based on a form of metaphorical hunger: those who pursue selflessness and altruism belong to Abnegation, peace and harmony to Amity, honesty and truth to Candor, danger and adventure to Dauntless, and knowledge and power to Erudite. Those people who are excluded become factionless: they are outcasts who live their life in extreme poverty and experience real physical hunger. On the other hand, I will show how the numerous references to food and eating pervading the novels help to map the characters’ personalities and identities as single individuals and as groups.

  13. Real Language Meets Real Business

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muirhead, Muirhead; Schechter, Sarah

    2016-01-01

    The Real Business Language Challenge was a collaborative pilot project between Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and Routes into Languages East for Year 9 and 10 pupils. It was based on CCE's award-winning Real Business Challenge, part of its highly acclaimed education programme. The Real Business Language Challenge transformed the project into a…

  14. Limitation and applicability of microtremor records for site-response estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, G.; Kang, T.; Park, S.

    2010-12-01

    meaning in real cases, results obtained using the microtremor method were compared with results from a field test, a spectral inversion method, and the reference station method for sites of strong motion stations in the southern Korean Peninsula.

  15. Bose-Einstein condensation in real space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Valencia, J.J.; Llano, M. de; Solis, M.A.

    2004-01-01

    We show how Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) occurs not only in momentum space but also in coordinate (or real) space. Analogies between the isotherms of a van der Waals classical gas of extended (or finite-diameter) identical atoms and the point (or zero-diameter) particles of an ideal BE gas allow concluding that, in contrast with the classical case, the volume per particle vanishes in the pure BE condensate phase precisely because the boson diameters are zero. Thus a BE condensate forms in real space without exhibiting a liquid branch as does the classical gas. (Author)

  16. Real-time photorealistic stereoscopic rendering of fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Benjamin M.; McAllister, David F.

    2007-02-01

    We propose a method for real-time photorealistic stereo rendering of the natural phenomenon of fire. Applications include the use of virtual reality in fire fighting, military training, and entertainment. Rendering fire in real-time presents a challenge because of the transparency and non-static fluid-like behavior of fire. It is well known that, in general, methods that are effective for monoscopic rendering are not necessarily easily extended to stereo rendering because monoscopic methods often do not provide the depth information necessary to produce the parallax required for binocular disparity in stereoscopic rendering. We investigate the existing techniques used for monoscopic rendering of fire and discuss their suitability for extension to real-time stereo rendering. Methods include the use of precomputed textures, dynamic generation of textures, and rendering models resulting from the approximation of solutions of fluid dynamics equations through the use of ray-tracing algorithms. We have found that in order to attain real-time frame rates, our method based on billboarding is effective. Slicing is used to simulate depth. Texture mapping or 2D images are mapped onto polygons and alpha blending is used to treat transparency. We can use video recordings or prerendered high-quality images of fire as textures to attain photorealistic stereo.

  17. Equations for formally real meadows

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bergstra, J.A.; Bethke, I.; Ponse, A.

    2015-01-01

    We consider the signatures Σm = (0,1,−,+,⋅,−1)  of meadows and (Σm,s)  of signed meadows. We give two complete axiomatizations of the equational theories of the real numbers with respect to these signatures. In the first case, we extend the axiomatization of zero-totalized fields by a single axiom

  18. Can Real-Time Data Also Be Climate Quality?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brewer, M.; Wentz, F. J.

    2015-12-01

    GMI, AMSR-2 and WindSat herald a new era of highly accurate and timely microwave data products. Traditionally, there has been a large divide between real-time and re-analysis data products. What if these completely separate processing systems could be merged? Through advanced modeling and physically based algorithms, Remote Sensing Systems (RSS) has narrowed the gap between real-time and research-quality. Satellite microwave ocean products have proven useful for a wide array of timely Earth science applications. Through cloud SST capabilities have enormously benefited tropical cyclone forecasting and day to day fisheries management, to name a few. Oceanic wind vectors enhance operational safety of shipping and recreational boating. Atmospheric rivers are of import to many human endeavors, as are cloud cover and knowledge of precipitation events. Some activities benefit from both climate and real-time operational data used in conjunction. RSS has been consistently improving microwave Earth Science Data Records (ESDRs) for several decades, while making near real-time data publicly available for semi-operational use. These data streams have often been produced in 2 stages: near real-time, followed by research quality final files. Over the years, we have seen this time delay shrink from months or weeks to mere hours. As well, we have seen the quality of near real-time data improve to the point where the distinction starts to blur. We continue to work towards better and faster RFI filtering, adaptive algorithms and improved real-time validation statistics for earlier detection of problems. Can it be possible to produce climate quality data in real-time, and what would the advantages be? We will try to answer these questions…

  19. Real-Time Control of an Articulatory-Based Speech Synthesizer for Brain Computer Interfaces.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florent Bocquelet

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Restoring natural speech in paralyzed and aphasic people could be achieved using a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI controlling a speech synthesizer in real-time. To reach this goal, a prerequisite is to develop a speech synthesizer producing intelligible speech in real-time with a reasonable number of control parameters. We present here an articulatory-based speech synthesizer that can be controlled in real-time for future BCI applications. This synthesizer converts movements of the main speech articulators (tongue, jaw, velum, and lips into intelligible speech. The articulatory-to-acoustic mapping is performed using a deep neural network (DNN trained on electromagnetic articulography (EMA data recorded on a reference speaker synchronously with the produced speech signal. This DNN is then used in both offline and online modes to map the position of sensors glued on different speech articulators into acoustic parameters that are further converted into an audio signal using a vocoder. In offline mode, highly intelligible speech could be obtained as assessed by perceptual evaluation performed by 12 listeners. Then, to anticipate future BCI applications, we further assessed the real-time control of the synthesizer by both the reference speaker and new speakers, in a closed-loop paradigm using EMA data recorded in real time. A short calibration period was used to compensate for differences in sensor positions and articulatory differences between new speakers and the reference speaker. We found that real-time synthesis of vowels and consonants was possible with good intelligibility. In conclusion, these results open to future speech BCI applications using such articulatory-based speech synthesizer.

  20. Reconfiguration in FPGA-Based Multi-Core Platforms for Hard Real-Time Applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pezzarossa, Luca; Schoeberl, Martin; Sparsø, Jens

    2016-01-01

    -case execution-time of tasks of an application that determines the systems ability to respond in time. To support this focus, the platform must provide service guarantees for both communication and computation resources. In addition, many hard real-time applications have multiple modes of operation, and each......In general-purpose computing multi-core platforms, hardware accelerators and reconfiguration are means to improve performance; i.e., the average-case execution time of a software application. In hard real-time systems, such average-case speed-up is not in itself relevant - it is the worst...... mode has specific requirements. An interesting perspective on reconfigurable computing is to exploit run-time reconfiguration to support mode changes. In this paper we explore approaches to reconfiguration of communication and computation resources in the T-CREST hard real-time multi-core platform...

  1. 7 CFR 3015.56 - Appraisal of real property.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... of real property. In some cases, it will be necessary to establish the market value of land or a building or the fair rental rate of land or of space in a building. In these cases, the awarding agency must require that the market value or fair rental rate be set by an independent appraiser (or by a...

  2. Deployment and use of mobile phone technology for real-time reporting of fever cases and malaria treatment failure in areas of declining malaria transmission in Muheza district north-eastern Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, Filbert; Ishengoma, Deus S; Mmbando, Bruno P; Rutta, Acleus S M; Malecela, Mwelecele N; Mayala, Benjamin; Lemnge, Martha M; Michael, Edwin

    2017-08-01

    Early detection of febrile illnesses at community level is essential for improved malaria case management and control. Currently, mobile phone-based technology has been commonly used to collect and transfer health information and services in different settings. This study assessed the applicability of mobile phone-based technology in real-time reporting of fever cases and management of malaria by village health workers (VHWs) in north-eastern Tanzania. The community mobile phone-based disease surveillance and treatment for malaria (ComDSTM) platform, combined with mobile phones and web applications, was developed and implemented in three villages and one dispensary in Muheza district from November 2013 to October 2014. A baseline census was conducted in May 2013. The data were uploaded on a web-based database and updated during follow-up home visits by VHWs. Active and passive case detection (ACD, PCD) of febrile cases were done by VHWs and cases found positive by malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) were given the first dose of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) at the dispensary. Each patient was visited at home by VHWs daily for the first 3 days to supervise intake of anti-malarial and on day 7 to monitor the recovery process. The data were captured and transmitted to the database using mobile phones. The baseline population in the three villages was 2934 in 678 households. A total of 1907 febrile cases were recorded by VHWs and 1828 (95.9%) were captured using mobile phones. At the dispensary, 1778 (93.2%) febrile cases were registered and of these, 84.2% were captured through PCD. Positivity rates were 48.2 and 45.8% by RDT and microscopy, respectively. Nine cases had treatment failure reported on day 7 post-treatment and adherence to treatment was 98%. One patient with severe febrile illness was referred to Muheza district hospital. The study showed that mobile phone-based technology can be successfully used by VHWs in surveillance and timely reporting of fever

  3. Modelling and analysis of real-time and hybrid systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olivero, A

    1994-09-29

    This work deals with the modelling and analysis of real-time and hybrid systems. We first present the timed-graphs as model for the real-time systems and we recall the basic notions of the analysis of real-time systems. We describe the temporal properties on the timed-graphs using TCTL formulas. We consider two methods for property verification: in one hand we study the symbolic model-checking (based on backward analysis) and in the other hand we propose a verification method derived of the construction of the simulation graph (based on forward analysis). Both methods have been implemented within the KRONOS verification tool. Their application for the automatic verification on several real-time systems confirms the practical interest of our approach. In a second part we study the hybrid systems, systems combining discrete components with continuous ones. As in the general case the analysis of this king of systems is not decidable, we identify two sub-classes of hybrid systems and we give a construction based method for the generation of a timed-graph from an element into the sub-classes. We prove that in one case the timed-graph obtained is bi-similar with the considered system and that there exists a simulation in the other case. These relationships allow the application of the described technics on the hybrid systems into the defined sub-classes. (authors). 60 refs., 43 figs., 8 tabs., 2 annexes.

  4. Future of electronic health records: implications for decision support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothman, Brian; Leonard, Joan C; Vigoda, Michael M

    2012-01-01

    The potential benefits of the electronic health record over traditional paper are many, including cost containment, reductions in errors, and improved compliance by utilizing real-time data. The highest functional level of the electronic health record (EHR) is clinical decision support (CDS) and process automation, which are expected to enhance patient health and healthcare. The authors provide an overview of the progress in using patient data more efficiently and effectively through clinical decision support to improve health care delivery, how decision support impacts anesthesia practice, and how some are leading the way using these systems to solve need-specific issues. Clinical decision support uses passive or active decision support to modify clinician behavior through recommendations of specific actions. Recommendations may reduce medication errors, which would result in considerable savings by avoiding adverse drug events. In selected studies, clinical decision support has been shown to decrease the time to follow-up actions, and prediction has proved useful in forecasting patient outcomes, avoiding costs, and correctly prompting treatment plan modifications by clinicians before engaging in decision-making. Clinical documentation accuracy and completeness is improved by an electronic health record and greater relevance of care data is delivered. Clinical decision support may increase clinician adherence to clinical guidelines, but educational workshops may be equally effective. Unintentional consequences of clinical decision support, such as alert desensitization, can decrease the effectiveness of a system. Current anesthesia clinical decision support use includes antibiotic administration timing, improved documentation, more timely billing, and postoperative nausea and vomiting prophylaxis. Electronic health record implementation offers data-mining opportunities to improve operational, financial, and clinical processes. Using electronic health record data

  5. A reliable information management for real-time systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nishihara, Takuo; Tomita, Seiji

    1995-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a system configuration suitable for the hard realtime systems in which integrity and durability of information are important. On most hard real-time systems, where response time constraints are critical, the data which program access are volatile, and may be lost in case the systems are down. But for some real-time systems, the value-added intelligent network (IN) systems, e.g., integrity and durability of the stored data are very important. We propose a distributed system configuration for such hard real-time systems, comprised of service control modules and data management modules. The service control modules process transactions and responses based on deadline control, and the data management modules deal the stored data based on information recovery schemes well-restablished in fault real-time systems. (author)

  6. A Predictive Model to Classify Undifferentiated Fever Cases Based on Twenty-Four-Hour Continuous Tympanic Temperature Recording

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pradeepa H. Dakappa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Diagnosis of undifferentiated fever is a major challenging task to the physician which often remains undiagnosed and delays the treatment. The aim of the study was to record and analyze a 24-hour continuous tympanic temperature and evaluate its utility in the diagnosis of undifferentiated fevers. This was an observational study conducted in the Kasturba Medical College and Hospitals, Mangaluru, India. A total of ninety-six (n=96 patients were presented with undifferentiated fever. Their tympanic temperature was recorded continuously for 24 hours. Temperature data were preprocessed and various signal characteristic features were extracted and trained in classification machine learning algorithms using MATLAB software. The quadratic support vector machine algorithm yielded an overall accuracy of 71.9% in differentiating the fevers into four major categories, namely, tuberculosis, intracellular bacterial infections, dengue fever, and noninfectious diseases. The area under ROC curve for tuberculosis, intracellular bacterial infections, dengue fever, and noninfectious diseases was found to be 0.961, 0.801, 0.815, and 0.818, respectively. Good agreement was observed [kappa = 0.618 (p<0.001, 95% CI (0.498–0.737] between the actual diagnosis of cases and the quadratic support vector machine learning algorithm. The 24-hour continuous tympanic temperature recording with supervised machine learning algorithm appears to be a promising noninvasive and reliable diagnostic tool.

  7. Electronic medical records and communication with patients and other clinicians: are we talking less?

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Malley, Ann S; Cohen, Genna R; Grossman, Joy M

    2010-04-01

    Commercial electronic medical records (EMRs) both help and hinder physician interpersonal communication--real-time, face-to-face or phone conversations--with patients and other clinicians, according to a new Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) study based on in-depth interviews with clinicians in 26 physician practices. EMRs assist real-time communication with patients during office visits, primarily through immediate access to patient information, allowing clinicians to talk with patients rather than search for information from paper records. For some clinicians, however, aspects of EMRs pose a distraction during visits. Moreover, some indicated that clinicians may rely on EMRs for information gathering and transfer at the expense of real-time communication with patients and other clinicians. Given time pressures already present in many physician practices, EMR and office-work flow modifications could help ensure that EMRs advance care without compromising interpersonal communication. In particular, policies promoting EMR adoption should consider incorporating communication-skills training for medical trainees and clinicians using EMRs.

  8. Real-Time Business Intelligence for the Utilities Industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janina POPEANGA

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In today’s competitive environment with rapid innovation in smart metering and smart grids, there is an increased need for real-time business intelligence (RTBI in the utilities industry. Giving the fact that this industry is an environment where decisions are time sensitive, RTBI solutions will help utilities improve customer experiences and operational efficiencies. The focus of this paper is on the importance of real-time business intelligence (RTBI in the utilities industry, outlining our vision of real-time business intelligence for this industry. Besides the analysis in this area, the article presents as a case study the Oracle Business Intelligence solution for utilities.

  9. Development and feasibility of smartphone application for cognitive-behavioural case management of individuals with early psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sung-Wan; Lee, Ga-Young; Yu, Hye-Young; Jung, Eun-I; Lee, Ju-Yeon; Kim, Seon-Young; Kim, Jae-Min; Shin, Il-Seon; Yoon, Jin-Sang

    2017-05-18

    This article describes the development of the smartphone application for cognitive-behavioural case management of young individuals with early psychosis and examines the acceptance and potential clinical benefits of this application through a pilot survey. Gwangju Bukgu-Community Mental Health Center developed and launched a smartphone application (Heal Your Mind [HYM]) for cognitive-behavioural case management and symptom monitoring. The HYM application for clients includes 6 main modules including thought record, symptom record, daily life record, official notices, communication and scales. The key module is the "thought record" for self-directed cognitive-behavioural treatment. When the client writes and sends the self-cognitive-behavioural therapy sheet to the case manager, the latter receives a notification and can provide feedback in real time. We conducted a survey to investigate the acceptance and feasibility of this approach among young clients with early psychosis. A total of 24 clients with early psychosis participated in this survey. More than 80% of participants reported that it was easy to learn to use this application, and no one described this application as very complicated or reported that they needed a long time to learn how to use it. About 80% of participants were satisfied with this application, and 70% reported that they received help as a result of using this application. This study suggests that this smartphone application is useful for young individuals with early psychosis and that it may contribute to the development of both young customer- and case manager-friendly systems for this clinical population. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  10. Three-dimensional, automated, real-time video system for tracking limb motion in brain-machine interface studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peikon, Ian D; Fitzsimmons, Nathan A; Lebedev, Mikhail A; Nicolelis, Miguel A L

    2009-06-15

    Collection and analysis of limb kinematic data are essential components of the study of biological motion, including research into biomechanics, kinesiology, neurophysiology and brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). In particular, BMI research requires advanced, real-time systems capable of sampling limb kinematics with minimal contact to the subject's body. To answer this demand, we have developed an automated video tracking system for real-time tracking of multiple body parts in freely behaving primates. The system employs high-contrast markers painted on the animal's joints to continuously track the three-dimensional positions of their limbs during activity. Two-dimensional coordinates captured by each video camera are combined and converted to three-dimensional coordinates using a quadratic fitting algorithm. Real-time operation of the system is accomplished using direct memory access (DMA). The system tracks the markers at a rate of 52 frames per second (fps) in real-time and up to 100fps if video recordings are captured to be later analyzed off-line. The system has been tested in several BMI primate experiments, in which limb position was sampled simultaneously with chronic recordings of the extracellular activity of hundreds of cortical cells. During these recordings, multiple computational models were employed to extract a series of kinematic parameters from neuronal ensemble activity in real-time. The system operated reliably under these experimental conditions and was able to compensate for marker occlusions that occurred during natural movements. We propose that this system could also be extended to applications that include other classes of biological motion.

  11. Real-time bioacoustics monitoring and automated species identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Mitchell Aide

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally, animal species diversity and abundance is assessed using a variety of methods that are generally costly, limited in space and time, and most importantly, they rarely include a permanent record. Given the urgency of climate change and the loss of habitat, it is vital that we use new technologies to improve and expand global biodiversity monitoring to thousands of sites around the world. In this article, we describe the acoustical component of the Automated Remote Biodiversity Monitoring Network (ARBIMON, a novel combination of hardware and software for automating data acquisition, data management, and species identification based on audio recordings. The major components of the cyberinfrastructure include: a solar powered remote monitoring station that sends 1-min recordings every 10 min to a base station, which relays the recordings in real-time to the project server, where the recordings are processed and uploaded to the project website (arbimon.net. Along with a module for viewing, listening, and annotating recordings, the website includes a species identification interface to help users create machine learning algorithms to automate species identification. To demonstrate the system we present data on the vocal activity patterns of birds, frogs, insects, and mammals from Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.

  12. Mental illness in Sweden (1896-1905) reflected through case records from a local general hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Appelquist, Malin; Brådvik, Louise; Åsberg, Marie

    2018-02-01

    Mental illness in a hospital in a medium-sized town in Sweden was studied. Consecutive case records from 1896 to 1905, and also from 2011, were selected. In the historical sample, neurasthenia was the most common diagnosis, followed by affective disorders and alcohol abuse. ICD-10 diagnoses corresponded well with the historical diagnoses. Melancholia resembled modern criteria for depression. Mania, insania simplex and paranoia indicated more severe illness. Abuse was more common among men and hysteria among women. Those with a medical certificate for mental hospital care were very ill and showed no gender difference. There were no diagnoses for abuse, but 17% had a high level of alcohol consumption. The pattern of signs and symptoms displayed by patients does not appear to change with time.

  13. Occupational injury and illness recording and reporting requirements. Final rule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2001-10-12

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is delaying the effective date of three provisions of the Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Requirements rule published January 19, 2001 (66 FR 5916-6135) and is establishing interim criteria for recording cases of work-related hearing loss. The provisions being delayed are sections 1904.10 (a) and (b), which specify recording criteria for cases involving occupational hearing loss, section 1904.12, which defines "musculoskeletal disorder (MSD)" and requires employers to check the MSD column on the OSHA Log if an employee experiences a work-related musculoskeletal disorder, and section 1904.29(b)(7)(vi), which states that MSDs are not considered privacy concern cases. The effective date of these provisions is delayed from January 1, 2002 until January 1, 2003. OSHA will continue to evaluate sections 1904.10 and 1904.12 over the next year. OSHA is also adding a new paragraph(c) to section 1904.10, establishing criteria for recording cases of work-related hearing loss during calendar year 2002. Section 1904.10(c) codifies the enforcement policy in effect since 1991, under which employers must record work related shifts in hearing of an average of 25 dB or more at 2000, 3000 and 4000 hertz in either ear.

  14. 110 kV NETWORK TECHNICAL LOSSES ASSESSMENT. REAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM CASE STUDY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BARBULESCU C.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper is focusing on evaluating the technical losses within a real distribution network. The study was conducted for a distribution system operator within the Romanian Power System. The analysed area is represented by a real part of the Romanian Power System. It is modelled in a computer aided power system analysis tool. Several power system operating conditions are analysed. Power system optimization measures are provided having as a goal to reduce the technical losses' value. Values obtained based on the field measurement are compared to the ones provided by computer simulations. These conclusions are very useful for the distribution network operator.

  15. Patient records and clinical overview

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Lotte Groth

    the possibilities to mark up pages in personal ways and add personal notes to it. On the other hand, the EPR provides quick and easy access to lot of information and once information is entered in the EPR they stay in place. Information in the EPR is often updated due to real time entry, which avoid...... that information has to travel physically between different departments or different hospitals. Another advantage in the creation of clinical overview, when using an EPR, is that the record is never lost. If you have access to a computer, you have access to the record. Besides this, the search function...... at hospitals, these results indicate that you need to think besides the presentation of information. If the physicians are supposed to create an overview, information should be presented in ways that enables them to interpret and make sense of this information. At the same time, to support the creation...

  16. Real hypersurfaces of a complex projective space

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Kaehler manifolds of con- stant holomorphic sectional curvature c) is a very interesting and active area of research. The ambient space ¯M(c), specially in the case c = 0 imposes quite significant restrictions on the geometry of its real hypersurfaces.

  17. Asset Allocation and Diversification by Real Estate Sector Within a Portfolio: Two Australian Case Studies

    OpenAIRE

    Mike Wallace

    1992-01-01

    The research results presented in this paper are a subset of a more extensive investigation of asset allocation and investment diversification in a pooled or mixed asset portfolio including bonds, equities and real estate in real property form, and listed and unlisted property trusts as they are termed in Australia. Australian property trusts are analogous to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in the United States. This empirical research study is exploratory in nature, and concentrates sp...

  18. Gaps in the Rock and Fossil Records and Implications for the Rate and Mode of Evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Grant Sackett

    1988-01-01

    Examines three types of gaps in the fossil record: real gaps, imaginary gaps, and temporary gaps. Reviews some recent evidence concerning evolution from the paleontological record of microfossils, invertebrates, and vertebrates in order to make some general conclusions regarding the manner in which life evolved on earth. (CW)

  19. SLStudio: Open-source framework for real-time structured light

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wilm, Jakob; Olesen, Oline Vinter; Larsen, Rasmus

    2014-01-01

    that this software makes real-time 3D scene capture more widely accessible and serves as a foundation for new structured light scanners operating in real-time, e.g. 20 depth images per second and more. The use cases for such scanners are plentyfull, however due to the computational constraints, all public......An open-source framework for real-time structured light is presented. It is called “SLStudio”, and enables real-time capture of metric depth images. The framework is modular, and extensible to support new algorithms for scene encoding/decoding, triangulation, and aquisition hardware. It is the aim...... implementations so far are limited to offline processing. With “SLStudio”, we are making a platform available which enables researchers from many different fields to build application specific real time 3D scanners. The software is hosted at http://compute.dtu.dk/~jakw/slstudio....

  20. Stories as case knowledge: case knowledge as stories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cox, K

    2001-09-01

    Every case contains a human story of illness and a medical story of disease, which together cover person management, case management, health system management and self-management. Much of that management can be learned via a thorough set of stories of typical and atypical core cases compiled by clinical teachers. Stories provide a highly flexible framework for illustrating the lessons of experience, the tips and traps for young players, and the dilemmas requiring careful judgement in the trade-offs between benefits and risks. Listening to real stories unfold is much more fun than being lectured (and better remembered). Stories illustrate 'what can happen' in a case as a guide to 'what to do'. A story begins with a real world situation with some predicament and a (causal) sequence of events or plot in which things are resolved one way or another. Patients tell their illness story; their clinician translates that into a disease story. Stories sort out what is important in such a predicament, consider the strategy and tactics of what to do, and speak about the outcomes. Each local situation provides relevance, context and circumstantial detail. Stories about case management can encapsulate practical knowledge, logical deduction, judgement and decision making, sharing with the student all the ingredients that develop expertise. Sometimes it is the plot that is important, sometimes the detail, sometimes it is the underlying message, the parable that resonates with the listener's experiences and feelings.1 Stories can also accommodate the complexity of multiple variables and the influence of other stakeholders, the uncertainties and dilemmas within the trade-offs, and the niceties of 'informed judgement'. This paper makes four points. First, clinical stories recount pointed examples of 'what happened' that expand our expertise in handling 'a case like that'. Second, cases are the unit of clinical work. Case stories expand the dimensions and details of case knowledge

  1. A stochastic model for stationary dynamics of prices in real estate markets. A case of random intensity for Poisson moments of prices changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusakov, Oleg; Laskin, Michael

    2017-06-01

    We consider a stochastic model of changes of prices in real estate markets. We suppose that in a book of prices the changes happen in points of jumps of a Poisson process with a random intensity, i.e. moments of changes sequently follow to a random process of the Cox process type. We calculate cumulative mathematical expectations and variances for the random intensity of this point process. In the case that the process of random intensity is a martingale the cumulative variance has a linear grows. We statistically process a number of observations of real estate prices and accept hypotheses of a linear grows for estimations as well for cumulative average, as for cumulative variance both for input and output prises that are writing in the book of prises.

  2. Urban Noise Recorded by Stationary Monitoring Stations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bąkowski, Andrzej; Radziszewski, Leszek; Dekýš, Vladimir

    2017-10-01

    The paper presents the analysis results of equivalent sound level recorded by two road traffic noise monitoring stations. The stations were located in Kielce (an example of a medium-size town in Poland) at the roads in the town in the direction of Łódź and Lublin. The measurements were carried out through stationary stations monitoring the noise and traffic of motor vehicles. The RMS values based on A-weighted sound level were recorded every 1 s in the buffer and the results were registered every 1 min over the period of investigations. The registered data were the basis for calculating the equivalent sound level for three time intervals: from 6:00 to 18:00, from 18:00 to 22:00 and from 22:00 to 6:00. Analysis included the values of the equivalent sound level recorded for different days of the week split into 24h periods, nights, days and evenings. The data analysed included recordings from 2013. The agreement of the distribution of the variable under analysis with normal distribution was evaluated. It was demonstrated that in most cases (for both roads) there was sufficient evidence to reject the null hypothesis at the significance level of 0.05. It was noted that compared with Łódź Road, in the case of Lublin Road data, more cases were recorded for which the null hypothesis could not be rejected. Uncertainties of the equivalent sound level measurements were compared within the periods under analysis. The standard deviation, coefficient of variation, the positional coefficient of variation, the quartile deviation was proposed for performing a comparative analysis of the obtained data scattering. The investigations indicated that the recorded data varied depending on the traffic routes and time intervals. The differences concerned the values of uncertainties and coefficients of variation of the equivalent sound levels.

  3. 34 CFR 5.73 - Records not available.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... records would (1) interfere with enforcement proceedings, (2) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial...) disclose the identity of a confidential source, and, in the case of a record compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation, or by an agency conducting a lawful national...

  4. 42 CFR 405.1042 - The administrative record.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... making the decision under review, including, but not limited to, claims, medical records, written... evidence. (3) A party may review the record at the hearing, or, if a hearing is not held, at any time before the ALJ's notice of decision is issued. (4) If a request for review is filed or the case is...

  5. Real-Time Motion Capture Toolbox (RTMocap): an open-source code for recording 3-D motion kinematics to study action-effect anticipations during motor and social interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewkowicz, Daniel; Delevoye-Turrell, Yvonne

    2016-03-01

    We present here a toolbox for the real-time motion capture of biological movements that runs in the cross-platform MATLAB environment (The MathWorks, Inc., Natick, MA). It provides instantaneous processing of the 3-D movement coordinates of up to 20 markers at a single instant. Available functions include (1) the setting of reference positions, areas, and trajectories of interest; (2) recording of the 3-D coordinates for each marker over the trial duration; and (3) the detection of events to use as triggers for external reinforcers (e.g., lights, sounds, or odors). Through fast online communication between the hardware controller and RTMocap, automatic trial selection is possible by means of either a preset or an adaptive criterion. Rapid preprocessing of signals is also provided, which includes artifact rejection, filtering, spline interpolation, and averaging. A key example is detailed, and three typical variations are developed (1) to provide a clear understanding of the importance of real-time control for 3-D motion in cognitive sciences and (2) to present users with simple lines of code that can be used as starting points for customizing experiments using the simple MATLAB syntax. RTMocap is freely available (http://sites.google.com/site/RTMocap/) under the GNU public license for noncommercial use and open-source development, together with sample data and extensive documentation.

  6. Updating long-range transport model predictions using real-time monitoring data in case of nuclear accidents with release to the atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raes, Frank; Tassone, Caterina; Grippa, Gianni; Zarimpas, Nicolas; Graziani, Giovanni

    1991-01-01

    A procedure is developed to reduce the uncertainties of long-range transport model predictions, in case of a large scale nuclear accident. It is based on the availability in 'real time' of the concentrations of airborne radioactive aerosols from automatic on-line monitors, which are presently being installed throughout Europe. Essentially, the procedure consists of: (1) constructing new (area) source terms from the measured field data as they become available; and (2) restart the prediction with these sources, rather than with the original (point) source. The procedure is applied to the Chernobyl accident. It is shown that the procedure is feasible and might result in an improvement of the prediction of the location of the cloud by several hundreds of kilometers and the actual levels with an order of magnitude. The weak point is the treatment of the vertical structure and transport of the cloud, which can only be solved when 'real-time' upper air observations are also available. (author)

  7. Real squashing mode in textures in 3He-B

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mineev, V.P.

    1985-01-01

    The shape of the absorption line of ultrasound due to various components of the real squashing mode in textures in 3 He-B is investigated. An explanation is presented of the additional splitting of the absorption line for the M=0 component of the real squashing model in a magnetic field and of the absence of such splitting of lines with M=+-1, +-2 in the case of place geometry. The peculiarities of the shape of the ultrasound absorption lines for various components of the real squashing mode in a rotating cylindrical vessel with 3 He-B are discussed

  8. Governance structures for real estate transactions: Markets ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    networks in the governance of real-estate transactions under three property rights regimes in .... empirical results of case study research exploring the relationship between .... collaboration (Entwistle, Bristow, Hines, Donaldson & Martin, 2007: 63-79). .... self-help group development (City of Windhoek, 2005). Of these,.

  9. istSOS, a new sensor observation management system: software architecture and a real-case application for flood protection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Cannata

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available istSOS (Istituto scienze della Terra Sensor Observation Service is an implementation of the Sensor Observation Service (SOS standard from the Open Geospatial Consortium. The development of istSOS started in 2009 in order to provide a simple implementation of the SOS for the management, provision and integration of hydro-meteorological data collected in Canton Ticino (Southern Switzerland. istSOS is an Open Source, entirely written in Python and based on reliable software like PostgreSQL/PostGIS and Apache/mod_wsgi. This paper illustrates the latest software enhancements, including a RESTful Web service and a Web-based graphical user interface, which enable a better and simplified interaction with measurements and SOS service settings. The robustness of the implemented solution has been validated in a real-case application: the Verbano Lake Early Warning System. In this application, near real-time data have to be exchanged by inter-regional partners and used in a hydrological model for lake level forecasting and flooding hazard assessment. This system is linked with a dedicated geoportal used by the civil protection for the management, alert and protection of the population and the assets of the Locarno area. Practical considerations, technical issues and foreseen improvements are presented and discussed.

  10. High frequency system project implementation plan. [Diagnostic recording system for Nevada Test Site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moon, L. L.

    1976-03-12

    The High Frequency System is a new mobile, digital diagnostic recording system for use at the Nevada Test Site. Many different kinds of event data will be digitized in real-time by this system, and these data will be recorded and stored for later read-out and transmission to NADCEN. The hardware and software requirements of the High Frequency System are examined, and the parameters of the system are proposed.

  11. Modified automatic R-peak detection algorithm for patients with epilepsy using a portable electrocardiogram recorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeppesen, J; Beniczky, S; Fuglsang Frederiksen, A; Sidenius, P; Johansen, P

    2017-07-01

    Earlier studies have shown that short term heart rate variability (HRV) analysis of ECG seems promising for detection of epileptic seizures. A precise and accurate automatic R-peak detection algorithm is a necessity in a real-time, continuous measurement of HRV, in a portable ECG device. We used the portable CE marked ePatch® heart monitor to record the ECG of 14 patients, who were enrolled in the videoEEG long term monitoring unit for clinical workup of epilepsy. Recordings of the first 7 patients were used as training set of data for the R-peak detection algorithm and the recordings of the last 7 patients (467.6 recording hours) were used to test the performance of the algorithm. We aimed to modify an existing QRS-detection algorithm to a more precise R-peak detection algorithm to avoid the possible jitter Qand S-peaks can create in the tachogram, which causes error in short-term HRVanalysis. The proposed R-peak detection algorithm showed a high sensitivity (Se = 99.979%) and positive predictive value (P+ = 99.976%), which was comparable with a previously published QRS-detection algorithm for the ePatch® ECG device, when testing the same dataset. The novel R-peak detection algorithm designed to avoid jitter has very high sensitivity and specificity and thus is a suitable tool for a robust, fast, real-time HRV-analysis in patients with epilepsy, creating the possibility for real-time seizure detection for these patients.

  12. Criticality: static profiling for real-time programs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandner, Florian; Hepp, Stefan; Jordan, Alexander

    2014-01-01

    With the increasing performance demand in real-time systems it becomes more and more important to provide feedback to programmers and software development tools on the performance-relevant code parts of a real-time program. So far, this information was limited to an estimation of the worst....... Experiments using well-established real-time benchmark programs show an interesting distribution of the criticality values, revealing considerable amounts of highly critical as well as uncritical code. The metric thus provides ideal information to programmers and software development tools to optimize...... view covering the entire code base, tools in the spirit of program profiling are required. This work proposes an efficient approach to compute worst-case timing information for all code parts of a program using a complementary metric, called criticality. Every statement of a program is assigned...

  13. Controlled Substance Reconciliation Accuracy Improvement Using Near Real-Time Drug Transaction Capture from Automated Dispensing Cabinets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Richard H; Dexter, Franklin; Gratch, David M; Perino, Michael; Magrann, Jerry

    2016-06-01

    Accurate accounting of controlled drug transactions by inpatient hospital pharmacies is a requirement in the United States under the Controlled Substances Act. At many hospitals, manual distribution of controlled substances from pharmacies is being replaced by automated dispensing cabinets (ADCs) at the point of care. Despite the promise of improved accountability, a high prevalence (15%) of controlled substance discrepancies between ADC records and anesthesia information management systems (AIMS) has been published, with a similar incidence (15.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 15.3% to 16.2%) noted at our institution. Most reconciliation errors are clerical. In this study, we describe a method to capture drug transactions in near real-time from our ADCs, compare them with documentation in our AIMS, and evaluate subsequent improvement in reconciliation accuracy. ADC-controlled substance transactions are transmitted to a hospital interface server, parsed, reformatted, and sent to a software script written in Perl. The script extracts the data and writes them to a SQL Server database. Concurrently, controlled drug totals for each patient having care are documented in the AIMS and compared with the balance of the ADC transactions (i.e., vending, transferring, wasting, and returning drug). Every minute, a reconciliation report is available to anesthesia providers over the hospital Intranet from AIMS workstations. The report lists all patients, the current provider, the balance of ADC transactions, the totals from the AIMS, the difference, and whether the case is still ongoing or had concluded. Accuracy and latency of the ADC transaction capture process were assessed via simulation and by comparison with pharmacy database records, maintained by the vendor on a central server located remotely from the hospital network. For assessment of reconciliation accuracy over time, data were collected from our AIMS from January 2012 to June 2013 (Baseline), July 2013 to April 2014

  14. Reducing Operating Room Costs Through Real-Time Cost Information Feedback: A Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tabib, Christian H; Bahler, Clinton D; Hardacker, Thomas J; Ball, Kevin M; Sundaram, Chandru P

    2015-08-01

    To create a protocol for providing real-time operating room (OR) cost feedback to surgeons. We hypothesize that this protocol will reduce costs in a responsible way without sacrificing quality of care. All OR costs were obtained and recorded for robot-assisted partial nephrectomy and laparoscopic donor nephrectomy. Before the beginning of this project, costs pertaining to the 20 most recent cases were analyzed. Items were identified from previous cases as modifiable for replacement or omission. Timely feedback of total OR costs and cost of each item used was provided to the surgeon after each case, and costs were analyzed. A cost analysis of the robot-assisted partial nephrectomy before the washout period indicates expenditures of $5243.04 per case. Ten recommended modifiable items were found to have an average per case cost of $1229.33 representing 23.4% of the total cost. A postwashout period cost analysis found the total OR cost decreased by $899.67 (17.2%) because of changes directly related to the modifiable items. Therefore, 73.2% of the possible identified savings was realized. The same stepwise approach was applied to laparoscopic donor nephrectomies. The average total cost per case before the washout period was $3530.05 with $457.54 attributed to modifiable items. After the washout period, modifiable items costs were reduced by $289.73 (8.0%). No complications occurred in the donor nephrectomy cases while one postoperative complication occurred in the partial nephrectomy group. Providing surgeons with feedback related to OR costs may lead to a change in surgeon behavior and decreased overall costs. Further studies are needed to show equivalence in patient outcomes.

  15. Real-time evaluation of electron and current density profile parameters on TEXTOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bruessau, W.D.; Soltwisch, H.

    1985-08-01

    The shapes of electron and current density profiles are monitored in real-time mode in order to get rapid qualitative information on the development of a TEXTOR tokamak plasma. The profiles are described by form parameters which relate to the signals of a 9-channel FIR-polari/interferometer in simple mathematical formulae. These profile parameters are obtained by real-time conversion of measured quantities for display on a storage oscilloscope or on a chart recorder. The application of the parameters is demonstrated in some examples. (orig.)

  16. Experiments to Enhance Public Real Estate in Italy: the Case of the FIP Fund

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrea Ciaramella

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The Italian State’s real estate is involved in a boundary definition process which is still in progress. The experiments in process and the comparison between Public Administration and private operators often focus the debate on issues which relate to the financial instruments or the company vehicles which may be adopted. However, no enhancement is possible in the absence of an approach aimed at a precise knowledge of the characteristics of every individual building. The article summarizes the experiment of the most important public contribution investment fund achieved in Italy (Public Real Estate Investment Fund and demonstrates the complex technical and managerial activity necessary to regularise the real estate and which is indispensable for making the management company’s objectives feasible.

  17. Technical challenges related to implementation of a formula one real time data acquisition and analysis system in a paediatric intensive care unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matam, B Rajeswari; Duncan, Heather

    2018-06-01

    Most existing, expert monitoring systems do not provide the real time continuous analysis of the monitored physiological data that is necessary to detect transient or combined vital sign indicators nor do they provide long term storage of the data for retrospective analyses. In this paper we examine the feasibility of implementing a long term data storage system which has the ability to incorporate real-time data analytics, the system design, report the main technical issues encountered, the solutions implemented and the statistics of the data recorded. McLaren Electronic Systems expertise used to continually monitor and analyse the data from F1 racing cars in real time was utilised to implement a similar real-time data recording platform system adapted with real time analytics to suit the requirements of the intensive care environment. We encountered many technical (hardware and software) implementation challenges. However there were many advantages of the system once it was operational. They include: (1) The ability to store the data for long periods of time enabling access to historical physiological data. (2) The ability to alter the time axis to contract or expand periods of interest. (3) The ability to store and review ECG morphology retrospectively. (4) Detailed post event (cardiac/respiratory arrest or other clinically significant deteriorations in patients) data can be reviewed clinically as opposed to trend data providing valuable clinical insight. Informed mortality and morbidity reviews can be conducted. (5) Storage of waveform data capture to use for algorithm development for adaptive early warning systems. Recording data from bed-side monitors in intensive care/wards is feasible. It is possible to set up real time data recording and long term storage systems. These systems in future can be improved with additional patient specific metrics which predict the status of a patient thus paving the way for real time predictive monitoring.

  18. An Electronic Healthcare Record Server Implemented in PostgreSQL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tony Austin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes the implementation of an Electronic Healthcare Record server inside a PostgreSQL relational database without dependency on any further middleware infrastructure. The five-part international standard for communicating healthcare records (ISO EN 13606 is used as the information basis for the design of the server. We describe some of the features that this standard demands that are provided by the server, and other areas where assumptions about the durability of communications or the presence of middleware lead to a poor fit. Finally, we discuss the use of the server in two real-world scenarios including a commercial application.

  19. Differences in Behavior and Brain Activity during Hypothetical and Real Choices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camerer, Colin; Mobbs, Dean

    2017-01-01

    Real behaviors are binding consequential commitments to a course of action, such as harming another person, buying an Apple watch, or fleeing from danger. Cognitive scientists are generally interested in the psychological and neural processes that cause such real behavior. However, for practical reasons, many scientific studies measure behavior using only hypothetical or imagined stimuli. Generalizing from such studies to real behavior implicitly assumes that the processes underlying the two types of behavior are similar. We review evidence of similarity and differences in hypothetical and real mental processes. In many cases, hypothetical choice tasks give an incomplete picture of brain circuitry that is active during real choice. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  20. The Salford Lung Study protocol: a pragmatic, randomised phase III real-world effectiveness trial in asthma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodcock, Ashley; Bakerly, Nawar Diar; New, John P; Gibson, J Martin; Wu, Wei; Vestbo, Jørgen; Leather, David

    2015-12-10

    Novel therapies need to be evaluated in normal clinical practice to allow a true representation of the treatment effectiveness in real-world settings. The Salford Lung Study is a pragmatic randomised controlled trial in adult asthma, evaluating the clinical effectiveness and safety of once-daily fluticasone furoate (100 μg or 200 μg)/vilanterol 25 μg in a novel dry-powder inhaler, versus existing asthma maintenance therapy. The study was initiated before this investigational treatment was licensed and conducted in real-world clinical practice to consider adherence, co-morbidities, polypharmacy, and real-world factors. Asthma Control Test at week 24; safety endpoints include the incidence of serious pneumonias. The study utilises the Salford electronic medical record, which allows near to real-time collection and monitoring of safety data. The Salford Lung Study is the world's first pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a pre-licensed medication in asthma. Use of patients' linked electronic health records to collect clinical endpoints offers minimal disruption to patients and investigators, and also ensures patient safety. This highly innovative study will complement standard double-blind randomised controlled trials in order to improve our understanding of the risk/benefit profile of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol in patients with asthma in real-world settings. Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01706198; 04 October 2012.

  1. Performance of grid-tied PV facilities: A case study based on real data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Díez-Mediavilla, M.; Dieste-Velasco, M.I.; Rodríguez-Amigo, M.C.; García-Calderón, T.; Alonso-Tristán, C.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • A new procedure to analyse the performance of PV facilities is presented. • It only requires limited amounts of data that are easily sourced. • Data sets on production were collected over two complete years. • The transformerless inverter outperforms the isolated inverter. - Abstract: A new procedure is presented to analyse the performance of grid-tied PV facilities. It needs limited amounts of data that are easily sourced and is based on knowledge of the analysed system and its mode of operation. The procedure is applied, in a case study, to compare real PV production at two 100 kW p grid-connected PV installations. Located in the same geographical region, the installation of these two facilities followed the same construction criteria – PV panels, panel support system and wiring – and the facilities were exposed to the same atmospheric temperature and solar radiation. They differ with regard to their inverter technology: one facility uses an inverter with an integrated transformer system and the other uses a transformerless inverter. The results show that the transformerless inverter system performed better than the isolated system by a factor of 1.2%, which, in economic terms, represents more than 2000 €/year

  2. 77 FR 48551 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-14

    ..., after a specified period, of records lacking administrative, legal, research, or other value. Notice is..., this public notice lists the organizational unit(s) accumulating the records or indicates agency- wide... items, 5 temporary items). Family support program records for cases of alleged child abuse or domestic...

  3. A Fixed-Lag Kalman Smoother to Filter Power Line Interference in Electrocardiogram Recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Warmerdam, G J J; Vullings, R; Schmitt, L; Van Laar, J O E H; Bergmans, J W M

    2017-08-01

    Filtering power line interference (PLI) from electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings can lead to significant distortions of the ECG and mask clinically relevant features in ECG waveform morphology. The objective of this study is to filter PLI from ECG recordings with minimal distortion of the ECG waveform. In this paper, we propose a fixed-lag Kalman smoother with adaptive noise estimation. The performance of this Kalman smoother in filtering PLI is compared to that of a fixed-bandwidth notch filter and several adaptive PLI filters that have been proposed in the literature. To evaluate the performance, we corrupted clean neonatal ECG recordings with various simulated PLI. Furthermore, examples are shown of filtering real PLI from an adult and a fetal ECG recording. The fixed-lag Kalman smoother outperforms other PLI filters in terms of step response settling time (improvements that range from 0.1 to 1 s) and signal-to-noise ratio (improvements that range from 17 to 23 dB). Our fixed-lag Kalman smoother can be used for semi real-time applications with a limited delay of 0.4 s. The fixed-lag Kalman smoother presented in this study outperforms other methods for filtering PLI and leads to minimal distortion of the ECG waveform.

  4. Steps and Pips in the History of the Cumulative Recorder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lattal, Kennon A.

    2004-01-01

    From its inception in the 1930s until very recent times, the cumulative recorder was the most widely used measurement instrument in the experimental analysis of behavior. It was an essential instrument in the discovery and analysis of schedules of reinforcement, providing the first real-time analysis of operant response rates and patterns. This…

  5. A real option analysis of investments in hydropower-The case of Norway

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kjaerland, Frode

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents a valuation study of hydropower investment opportunities in the Norwegian context. According to NVE (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, the regulator), there is a potential of 39 TWh not yet developed (generation in a normal year is approximately 120 TWh). By using the conceptual real option framework of Dixit and Pindyck [1994. Investment Under Uncertainty. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ] one can estimate the value of investment opportunities to NOK 11 million/GWh (EUR 1.4 million/GWh). Furthermore, the optimal trigger price for initiating an investment based on electricity forward prices is calculated to NOK 0.32/kWh (EUR 0.04/kWh). The analysis shows consistency between real option theory and aggregate investment behaviour in Norwegian hydropower

  6. New record of Kinosternon scorpioides in Brazil increases its geo distribution - Case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Carvalho Viana

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT. Viana D.C., Santos A.C. & Antunes R.L.S. New record of Kinosternon scorpioides in Brazil increases its geo distribution - Case report. [Novo registro de Kinosternon scorpioides no Brasil aumenta sua geodistribuição - Relato de caso.] Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(4:386-388, 2015. Department of Anatomy of Domestic and Wild Animals, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva 87, São Paulo SP, 05508-270. Brazil. E-mail: diego_carvalho_@hotmail.com/ diegoviana@usp.br Kinosternon scorpioides scorpioides is the only sub-species of K. scorpioides with a distribution in South America. The register shows another new site for K. s. scorpioides, in the municipality of Imperatriz MA Brazil and the first report in the meso-region of Western Maranhão, River Tocantins. The municipality lies in the south-western region of the state and is known as the gate to the Amazon region, corroborating the importance of K. s. scorpioides inventories.

  7. Lung Hot Spot Without Corresponding Computed Tomography Abnormality on Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography: Artifactual or Real, Iatrogenic or Pathologic?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yiyan

    Focal lung uptake without corresponding lesions or abnormalities on computed tomography (CT) scan poses a dilemma in the interpretation of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT). A limited number of case reports have previously suggested an artifactual or iatrogenic nature of the uptake. In the present study, 8 relevant cases were included within a retrospective search of the database. Medical records were reviewed for follow-up radiological and pathologic information. In 7 of 8 cases with focal increased FDG uptake but no corresponding lesions or abnormalities on CT scan, the lung hot spots were artifactual or iatrogenic upon follow-up diagnostic chest CT or repeated PET/CT or both the scans. Microemboli were most likely a potential cause of the pulmonary uptake, with or without partial paravenous injection. One case in the series had a real pulmonary lesion demonstrated on follow-up PET/CT scans and on surgical pathology, although the initial integrated CT and follow-up diagnostic chest CT scans revealed negative findings to demonstrate pulmonary abnormalities corresponding to the hot spot on the PET scan. In conclusion, the finding of a lung hot spot in the absence of anatomical abnormality on FDG PET/CT was most likely artifactual or iatrogenic, but it might also represent a real pulmonary lesion. Nonvisualization of anatomical abnormality could be because of its small size and position directly overlying a segmental vessel. Further image follow-up is necessary and important to clarify the nature of the uptake. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Applying MDA to SDR for Space to Model Real-time Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaser, Tammy M.

    2007-01-01

    NASA space communications systems have the challenge of designing SDRs with highly-constrained Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) resources. A study is being conducted to assess the effectiveness of applying the MDA Platform-Independent Model (PIM) and one or more Platform-Specific Models (PSM) specifically to address NASA space domain real-time issues. This paper will summarize our experiences with applying MDA to SDR for Space to model real-time issues. Real-time issues to be examined, measured, and analyzed are: meeting waveform timing requirements and efficiently applying Real-time Operating System (RTOS) scheduling algorithms, applying safety control measures, and SWaP verification. Real-time waveform algorithms benchmarked with the worst case environment conditions under the heaviest workload will drive the SDR for Space real-time PSM design.

  9. Unmanned air vehicles - real time intelligence without the risk

    OpenAIRE

    Miller, James Bryan.

    1988-01-01

    Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) are capable of supporting the officer in tactical command (OTC) by gathering intelligence in real- or near real-time. UAVs now under development will be able to collect high-resolution imagery, and thus provide the OTC with the option of gathering tactical intelligence without using manned reconnaissance platforms. This thesis asserts that UAVs should be used to supplement existing intelligence sensors, particularly in those cases where current sources are too amb...

  10. Diagnosis of aerobic vaginitis by quantitative real-time PCR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rumyantseva, T A; Bellen, G; Savochkina, Y A; Guschin, A E; Donders, G G G

    2016-07-01

    To evaluate a real-time PCR-based technique to quantify bacteria associated with aerobic vaginitis (AV) as a potential test. Vaginal samples from 100 women were tested by wet-mount microscopy, gram stain and quantitative real-time PCR targeting Enterobacteriacea, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Streptococcus agalactiae, S. aureus; Lactobacillus spp. AV diagnosis obtained by wet-mount microscopy was used as reference. Some level of AV was diagnosed in 23 (23.7 %) cases. Various concentrations of Enterobacteriacea, Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp. were detected an all patients. Enterococcus spp. were detected in 76 (78.3 %) cases. Summarized concentrations of aerobes were tenfold higher in AV-positive compared to AV-negative cases [7.30lg vs 6.06lg (p = 0.02)]. Concentrations of aerobes in severe, moderate and light AV cases did not vary significantly (p = 0.14). Concentration of lactobacilli was 1000-fold lower in AV-positive cases compared to normal cases (5.3lg vs 8.3lg, p AV-positive cases [19/22 (86.4 %) samples]. The relation of high loads of aerobes to the low numbers of Lactobacilli are a reliable marker for the presence of AV and could substitute microscopy as a test. PCR may be a good standardized substitution for AV diagnosis in settings where well-trained microscopists are lacking.

  11. Real-time electrocardiogram transmission from Mount Everest during continued ascent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kao, Wei-Fong; Huang, Jyh-How; Kuo, Terry B J; Chang, Po-Lun; Chang, Wen-Chen; Chan, Kuo-Hung; Liu, Wen-Hsiung; Wang, Shih-Hao; Su, Tzu-Yao; Chiang, Hsiu-chen; Chen, Jin-Jong

    2013-01-01

    The feasibility of a real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) transmission via satellite phone from Mount Everest to determine a climber's suitability for continued ascent was examined. Four Taiwanese climbers were enrolled in the 2009 Mount Everest summit program. Physiological measurements were taken at base camp (5300 m), camp 2 (6400 m), camp 3 (7100 m), and camp 4 (7950 m) 1 hour after arrival and following a 10 minute rest period. A total of 3 out of 4 climbers were able to summit Mount Everest successfully. Overall, ECG and global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of climbers were transmitted in real-time via satellite phone successfully from base camp, camp 2, camp 3, and camp 4. At each camp, Resting Heart Rate (RHR) was transmitted and recorded: base camp (54-113 bpm), camp 2 (94-130 bpm), camp 3 (98-115 bpm), and camp 4 (93-111 bpm). Real-time ECG and GPS coordinate transmission via satellite phone is feasible for climbers on Mount Everest. Real-time RHR data can be used to evaluate a climber's physiological capacity to continue an ascent and to summit.

  12. Acquisitions and Real Options : The Greenfield Alternative

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouthers, Keith D.; Dikova, Desislava

    P>Although acquisitions are a popular way to enter new markets, empirical evidence tends to indicate few benefits accrue to acquiring firms. This might be the case because firms use acquisitions when they should be employing an alternative mode of expansion. Applying real options theory to this

  13. Pascal’s Theorem in Real Projective Plane

    OpenAIRE

    Coghetto Roland

    2017-01-01

    In this article we check, with the Mizar system [2], Pascal’s theorem in the real projective plane (in projective geometry Pascal’s theorem is also known as the Hexagrammum Mysticum Theorem)1. Pappus’ theorem is a special case of a degenerate conic of two lines.

  14. Acoustical holographic recording with coherent optical read-out and image processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, H. K.

    1980-10-01

    New acoustic holographic wave memory devices have been designed for real-time in-situ recording applications. The basic operating principles of these devices and experimental results through the use of some of the prototypes of the devices are presented. Recording media used in the device include thermoplastic resin, Crisco vegetable oil, and Wilson corn oil. In addition, nonlinear coherent optical image processing techniques including equidensitometry, A-D conversion, and pseudo-color, all based on the new contact screen technique, are discussed with regard to the enhancement of the normally poor-resolved acoustical holographic images.

  15. A granular tabu search algorithm for a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose Bernal

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: We consider a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows (HFVRPTW for a franchise company bottling Coca-Cola products in Colombia. This study aims to determine the routes to be performed to fulfill the demand of the customers by using a heterogeneous fleet and considering soft time windows. The objective is to minimize the distance traveled by the performed routes. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a two-phase heuristic algorithm. In the proposed approach, after an initial phase (first phase, a granular tabu search is applied during the improvement phase (second phase. Two additional procedures are considered to help that the algorithm could escape from local optimum, given that during a given number of iterations there has been no improvement. Findings: Computational experiments on real instances show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain high-quality solutions within a short computing time compared to the results found by the software that the company currently uses to plan the daily routes. Originality/value: We propose a novel metaheuristic algorithm for solving a real routing problem by considering heterogeneous fleet and time windows. The efficiency of the proposed approach has been tested on real instances, and the computational experiments shown its applicability and performance for solving NP-Hard Problems related with routing problems with similar characteristics. The proposed algorithm was able to improve some of the current solutions applied by the company by reducing the route length and the number of vehicles.

  16. Morality is real, objective, and natural.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shermer, Michael

    2016-11-01

    To make the case that morality is real, objective, and natural, it will be argued, first, that morals exist in human nature as part of our evolutionary heritage; that morality involves how we think and act toward other moral agents in terms of whether our thoughts and actions are right or wrong with regard to their survival and flourishing; and that moral progress is real, quantifiable, and the result of our improved understanding of causality in the social and moral sciences in the same manner as our understanding of causality has progressed in the physical and biological sciences. A moral starting point is the survival and flourishing of sentient beings. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

  17. The use of nationwide on-line prescription records improves the drug history in hospitalized patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glintborg, Bente; Poulsen, Henrik E; Dalhoff, Kim P

    2008-01-01

    What is already known about this subject: Structured medication interviews improve the medication history upon hospitalization. Pharmacy records are valid lists of the prescribed medications available to individual patients. In Denmark, treating doctors now have access to their patients' pharmacy...... records through a real-time online electronic database What this study adds: Omission errors are frequent among hospitalized patients despite structured drug interviews and home visits. Pharmacy records may be used to minimize patients' recall bias and improve the medication lists....

  18. Real-Time Management of Multimodal Streaming Data for Monitoring of Epileptic Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Triantafyllopoulos, Dimitrios; Korvesis, Panagiotis; Mporas, Iosif; Megalooikonomou, Vasileios

    2016-03-01

    New generation of healthcare is represented by wearable health monitoring systems, which provide real-time monitoring of patient's physiological parameters. It is expected that continuous ambulatory monitoring of vital signals will improve treatment of patients and enable proactive personal health management. In this paper, we present the implementation of a multimodal real-time system for epilepsy management. The proposed methodology is based on a data streaming architecture and efficient management of a big flow of physiological parameters. The performance of this architecture is examined for varying spatial resolution of the recorded data.

  19. Method for producing three-dimensional real image using radiographic perspective views of an object

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellingson, W.A.; Read, A.A.

    1976-01-01

    A sequence of separate radiographs may be made by indexing a radiation source along a known path relative to the object under study. Thus, each radiograph contains information from a different perspective. A holographically-recorded image is then made from each radiographic perspective by exact re-tracing of the rays through each radiographic perspective such that the re-tracing duplicates the geometry under which it was originally prepared. The holographically-stored images are simultaneously illuminated with the conjugate of the reference beam used in the original recordings. The result is the generation of a three-dimensional real image of the object such that a light-sensitive device can be moved to veiw the real image along any desired surface with the optical information in all other surfaces greatly suppressed. 4 claims, 5 drawing figures

  20. Real parabolic vector bundles over a real curve

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Abstract. We define real parabolic structures on real vector bundles over a real curve. Let (X,σX ) be a real curve, and let S ⊂ X be a non-empty finite subset of X such that σX (S) = S. Let N ≥ 2 be an integer. We construct an N-fold cyclic cover p : Y → X in the category of real curves, ramified precisely over each point of S, ...

  1. Downloading Multiple Records Using Query Strings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam Crymble

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Downloading a single record from a website is easy, but downloading many records at a time – an increasingly frequent need for a historian – is much more efficient using a programming language such as Python. In this lesson, we will write a program that will download a series of records from the Old Bailey Online using custom search criteria, and save them to a directory on our computer. This process involves interpreting and manipulating URL Query Strings. In this case, the tutorial will seek to download sources that contain references to people of African descent that were published in the Old Bailey Proceedings between 1700 and 1750.

  2. Simulation Optimization for Transportation System: A Real Case Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammet Enes Akpınar

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Simulation applications help decision makers to give right decisions to eliminate some problems such as: create a new firm, need some changes inside a factory; improve the process of a hospital etc. In this engineering simulation study, there are two points which are used by students to arrive at the University. Initial point is the train station and the final point is the arrival point. Students’ transportation is provided with buses. The main problem is to decide the number of buses by taking number of student into consideration. To be able to solve this real-life application PROMODEL pack software is used.

  3. Esophagogastric Junction pressure morphology: comparison between a station pull-through and real-time 3D-HRM representation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicodème, F; Lin, Z; Pandolfino, J E; Kahrilas, P J

    2013-09-01

    Esophagogastric junction (EGJ) competence is the fundamental defense against reflux making it of great clinical significance. However, characterizing EGJ competence with conventional manometric methodologies has been confounded by its anatomic and physiological complexity. Recent technological advances in miniaturization and electronics have led to the development of a novel device that may overcome these challenges. Nine volunteer subjects were studied with a novel 3D-HRM device providing 7.5 mm axial and 45° radial pressure resolution within the EGJ. Real-time measurements were made at rest and compared to simulations of a conventional pull-through made with the same device. Moreover, 3D-HRM recordings were analyzed to differentiate contributing pressure signals within the EGJ attributable to lower esophageal sphincter (LES), diaphragm, and vasculature. 3D-HRM recordings suggested that sphincter length assessed by a pull-through method greatly exaggerated the estimate of LES length by failing to discriminate among circumferential contractile pressure and asymmetric extrinsic pressure signals attributable to diaphragmatic and vascular structures. Real-time 3D EGJ recordings found that the dominant constituents of EGJ pressure at rest were attributable to the diaphragm. 3D-HRM permits real-time recording of EGJ pressure morphology facilitating analysis of the EGJ constituents responsible for its function as a reflux barrier making it a promising tool in the study of GERD pathophysiology. The enhanced axial and radial recording resolution of the device should facilitate further studies to explore perturbations in the physiological constituents of EGJ pressure in health and disease. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  4. Low complexity lossless compression of underwater sound recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Mark; Partan, Jim; Hurst, Tom

    2013-03-01

    Autonomous listening devices are increasingly used to study vocal aquatic animals, and there is a constant need to record longer or with greater bandwidth, requiring efficient use of memory and battery power. Real-time compression of sound has the potential to extend recording durations and bandwidths at the expense of increased processing operations and therefore power consumption. Whereas lossy methods such as MP3 introduce undesirable artifacts, lossless compression algorithms (e.g., flac) guarantee exact data recovery. But these algorithms are relatively complex due to the wide variety of signals they are designed to compress. A simpler lossless algorithm is shown here to provide compression factors of three or more for underwater sound recordings over a range of noise environments. The compressor was evaluated using samples from drifting and animal-borne sound recorders with sampling rates of 16-240 kHz. It achieves >87% of the compression of more-complex methods but requires about 1/10 of the processing operations resulting in less than 1 mW power consumption at a sampling rate of 192 kHz on a low-power microprocessor. The potential to triple recording duration with a minor increase in power consumption and no loss in sound quality may be especially valuable for battery-limited tags and robotic vehicles.

  5. 77 FR 5062 - Privacy Act of 1974; Consolidation of National Labor Relations Board Systems of Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-01

    ...: Next Generation Case Management System (NxGen) (NLRB-33). NxGen stores electronic case tracking... consolidation of six Privacy Act systems of records notices into one notice: Next Generation Case Management... systems of records notices: Judicial Case Management System--Pending Case List (JCMS-PCL) and Associated...

  6. Real and metaphorical hunger: the case of The Divergent Trilogy

    OpenAIRE

    Paravano, Cristina

    2015-01-01

    The present contribution investigates how the issue of hunger becomes a means of expressing and communicating personal and social identity in Veronica Roth’s best seller trilogy Divergent (2011-13). Roth portrays a dystopian future developing a multifaceted concept of hunger, both real and figurative, and using food as a cultural metaphor. The trilogy is set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, whose population is divided into five allegorical factions, according to a number of personal and social ...

  7. The design of a PC-based real-time system for monitoring Methane and Oxygen concentration in biogas production

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yantidewi, M.; Muntini, M. S.; Deta, U. A.; Lestari, N. A.

    2018-03-01

    Limited fossil fuels nowadays trigger the development of alternative energy, one of which is biogas. Biogas is one type of bioenergy in the form of fermented gases of organic materials such as animal waste. The components of gases present in biogas and affect the biogas production are various, such as methane and oxygen. The biogas utilization will be more optimal if both gases concentration (in this case is methane and oxygen concentration) can be monitored. Therefore, this research focused on designing the monitoring system of methane and oxygen concentration in biogas production in real-time. The results showed that the instrument system was capable of monitoring and recording the data of gases (methane and oxygen) concentration in biogas production in every second.

  8. Combining instruction prefetching with partial cache locking to improve WCET in real-time systems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fan Ni

    Full Text Available Caches play an important role in embedded systems to bridge the performance gap between fast processor and slow memory. And prefetching mechanisms are proposed to further improve the cache performance. While in real-time systems, the application of caches complicates the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET analysis due to its unpredictable behavior. Modern embedded processors often equip locking mechanism to improve timing predictability of the instruction cache. However, locking the whole cache may degrade the cache performance and increase the WCET of the real-time application. In this paper, we proposed an instruction-prefetching combined partial cache locking mechanism, which combines an instruction prefetching mechanism (termed as BBIP with partial cache locking to improve the WCET estimates of real-time applications. BBIP is an instruction prefetching mechanism we have already proposed to improve the worst-case cache performance and in turn the worst-case execution time. The estimations on typical real-time applications show that the partial cache locking mechanism shows remarkable WCET improvement over static analysis and full cache locking.

  9. Combining instruction prefetching with partial cache locking to improve WCET in real-time systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Fan; Long, Xiang; Wan, Han; Gao, Xiaopeng

    2013-01-01

    Caches play an important role in embedded systems to bridge the performance gap between fast processor and slow memory. And prefetching mechanisms are proposed to further improve the cache performance. While in real-time systems, the application of caches complicates the Worst-Case Execution Time (WCET) analysis due to its unpredictable behavior. Modern embedded processors often equip locking mechanism to improve timing predictability of the instruction cache. However, locking the whole cache may degrade the cache performance and increase the WCET of the real-time application. In this paper, we proposed an instruction-prefetching combined partial cache locking mechanism, which combines an instruction prefetching mechanism (termed as BBIP) with partial cache locking to improve the WCET estimates of real-time applications. BBIP is an instruction prefetching mechanism we have already proposed to improve the worst-case cache performance and in turn the worst-case execution time. The estimations on typical real-time applications show that the partial cache locking mechanism shows remarkable WCET improvement over static analysis and full cache locking.

  10. Unsupervised Idealization of Ion Channel Recordings by Minimum Description Length

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gnanasambandam, Radhakrishnan; Nielsen, Morten S; Nicolai, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    and characterize an idealization algorithm based on Rissanen's Minimum Description Length (MDL) Principle. This method uses minimal assumptions and idealizes ion channel recordings without requiring a detailed user input or a priori assumptions about channel conductance and kinetics. Furthermore, we demonstrate...... that correlation analysis of conductance steps can resolve properties of single ion channels in recordings contaminated by signals from multiple channels. We first validated our methods on simulated data defined with a range of different signal-to-noise levels, and then showed that our algorithm can recover...... channel currents and their substates from recordings with multiple channels, even under conditions of high noise. We then tested the MDL algorithm on real experimental data from human PIEZO1 channels and found that our method revealed the presence of substates with alternate conductances....

  11. Pascal’s Theorem in Real Projective Plane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coghetto Roland

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this article we check, with the Mizar system [2], Pascal’s theorem in the real projective plane (in projective geometry Pascal’s theorem is also known as the Hexagrammum Mysticum Theorem1. Pappus’ theorem is a special case of a degenerate conic of two lines.

  12. Strong motion recordings of the 2008/12/23 earthquake in Northern Italy: another case of very weak motion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabetta, F.; Zambonelli, E.

    2009-04-01

    On December 23 2008 an earthquake of magnitude ML=5.1 (INGV) Mw=5.4 (INGV-Harvard Global CMT) occurred in northern Italy close to the cities of Parma and Reggio Emilia. The earthquake, with a macroseismic intensity of VI MCS, caused a very slight damage (some tens of unusable buildings and some hundreds of damaged buildings), substantially lower than the damage estimated by the loss simulation scenario currently used by the Italian Civil Protection. Due to the recent upgrading of the Italian strong motion network (RAN), the event has been recorded by a great number of accelerometers (the largest ever obtained in Italy for a single shock): 21 digital and 8 analog instruments with epicentral distances ranging from 16 to 140 km. The comparison of recorded PGA, PGV, Arias intensity, and spectral values with several widely used Ground Motion Prediction Equations (GMPEs) showed much lower ground motion values respect to the empirical predictions (a factor ranging from 4 to 2). A first explanation of the strong differences, in damage and ground motion, between actual data and predictions could be, at a first sight, attributed to the rather high focal depth of 27 km. However, even the adoption of GMPEs accounting for depth of the source and using hypocentral distance (Berge et al 2003, Pousse et al 2005), does not predict large differences in motions, especially at distances larger than 30 km where most of the data are concentrated and where the effect of depth on source-to-site distance is small. At the same time the adoption of the most recent GMPEs (Ambraseys et al 2005, Akkar & bommer 2007) taking into account the different magnitude scaling and the faster attenuation of small magnitudes through magnitude-dependent attenuation, does not show a better agreement with the recorded data. The real reasons of the above mentioned discrepancies need to be further investigated, however a possible explanation could be a low source rupture velocity, likewise the 2002 Molise

  13. Real Time Control strategies to reduce expansion of urban drainage systems. Case study: Lyngby-Taarbæk

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meneses Ortega, Elbys Jose; Gaussens, Marion; Jakobsen, Carsten

    2014-01-01

    This article illustrates how real time control (RTCs) strategies can contribute to reduce the expansion of urban drainage infrastructures while maintaining the desired level of service. The Lyngby-Taarbæk catchment is used as case study: based on a static design, a storage expansion of 24,200m3 has...... to the simulation results, RTC succeeded in providing similar performance of the drainage system by maximizing use of the available storage. A storage reduction of 5,220 m3 is accomplished (corresponding to 21% of the proposed basin expansion). The reduced system operated dynamically generates lower combined sewer...... overflow (CSO) discharges for small to medium rain events; while the desired performance of the system is achieved for big events. The rule-based strategy reduces significantly CSO, however DORA provides generally better results by using forecasting and riskbased approach. These results show...

  14. Towards Quasi-continuous Heart Rate Variability Estimation using a Patch Type Electrocardiogram Recorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bodholt Saadi, Dorthe; Ahrens, Esben; Sørensen, Helge Bjarup Dissing

    2015-01-01

    electrocardiogram recorders facilitates new possibilities for long-term monitoring, real-time data analysis, and wireless transmission of clinically relevant parameters, e.g. short-term HRV measures. This information might in the future assist the healthcare professionals in timely notification of changes...

  15. A Study on Evaluation Issues of Real-Time Operating System in Nuclear Power Plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H.; Koh, J. S.

    2006-01-01

    Control applications such as aircraft, robotics and nuclear power plant have to maintain a very high level of safety, typically defined as the avoidance of unplanned events resulting in hazard. These applications usually operate with hard real-time operating system (RTOS). In this case, hard RTOS software should be reliable and safe. RTOS used in safety-critical I and C system is the base software for the purpose of satisfying the real-time constraints. So, careful evaluation of its safety and functionality is very important. In this paper, we present the case study for RTOSs used in real nuclear power plants (NPP), and suggest the evaluation approach for the RTOS

  16. A Study on Evaluation Issues of Real-Time Operating System in Nuclear Power Plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Y. M.; Jeong, C. H.; Koh, J. S. [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-07-01

    Control applications such as aircraft, robotics and nuclear power plant have to maintain a very high level of safety, typically defined as the avoidance of unplanned events resulting in hazard. These applications usually operate with hard real-time operating system (RTOS). In this case, hard RTOS software should be reliable and safe. RTOS used in safety-critical I and C system is the base software for the purpose of satisfying the real-time constraints. So, careful evaluation of its safety and functionality is very important. In this paper, we present the case study for RTOSs used in real nuclear power plants (NPP), and suggest the evaluation approach for the RTOS.

  17. Vinyl Record

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartmanski, Dominik; Woodward, Ian

    2018-01-01

    . This relational process means that both the material affordances and entanglements of vinyl allow us to feel, handle, experience, project, and share its iconicity. The materially mediated meanings of vinyl enabled it to retain currency in independent and collector’s markets and thus resist the planned......In this paper, we use the case of the vinyl record to show that iconic objects become meaningful via a dual process. First, they offer immersive engagements which structure user interpretations through various material experiences of handling, use, and extension. Second, they always work via...

  18. Electronic medical records in dermatology: Practical implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaliyadan Feroze

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Electronic medical records (EMRs can be of great use in dermatological data recording. Unfortunately, not many studies have been carried out in this specific area. Aims: We attempt to evaluate the use of an EMR system in dermatology, comparing it with a conventional paper-based system. Methods: Two hundred patient records of patients attending the dermatology outpatient department were studied over a 3-month period. Half the reports were entered in the conventional paper-based format while the other half was entered in an EMR system. The time taken for each consultation was recorded and the same was carried out for the first subsequent follow-up visit. Results: The average time taken for the completion of the EMR-based consultation for new cases was 19.15 min (range, 10-30 min; standard deviation, 6.47. The paper-based consultation had an average time of 15.70 min (range, 5-25 min; standard deviation, 6.78. The P-value (T-test was used was 0.002, which was significant. The average time taken for consultations and entering progress notes in the follow-up cases was slightly less than 10 min (9.7 for EMR while it was slightly more than 10 min (10.3 for the paper format. The difference was not statistically significant. The doctors involved also mentioned what they felt were the advantages and disadvantages of the system along with suggestions for improvement. Conclusion: The use of an EMR system in dermatology (or for that matter in any specialty may overawe most users at the beginning, but once a comfort level is established, EMR is likely to outscore conventional paper recording systems. More time-motion-case studies are required to ascertain the optimal usage of EMR systems.

  19. Synchronization and fault-masking in redundant real-time systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishna, C. M.; Shin, K. G.; Butler, R. W.

    1983-01-01

    A real time computer may fail because of massive component failures or not responding quickly enough to satisfy real time requirements. An increase in redundancy - a conventional means of improving reliability - can improve the former but can - in some cases - degrade the latter considerably due to the overhead associated with redundancy management, namely the time delay resulting from synchronization and voting/interactive consistency techniques. The implications of synchronization and voting/interactive consistency algorithms in N-modular clusters on reliability are considered. All these studies were carried out in the context of real time applications. As a demonstrative example, we have analyzed results from experiments conducted at the NASA Airlab on the Software Implemented Fault Tolerance (SIFT) computer. This analysis has indeed indicated that in most real time applications, it is better to employ hardware synchronization instead of software synchronization and not allow reconfiguration.

  20. Real-Time Flood Control by Tree-Based Model Predictive Control Including Forecast Uncertainty: A Case Study Reservoir in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gökçen Uysal

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Optimal control of reservoirs is a challenging task due to conflicting objectives, complex system structure, and uncertainties in the system. Real time control decisions suffer from streamflow forecast uncertainty. This study aims to use Probabilistic Streamflow Forecasts (PSFs having a lead-time up to 48 h as input for the recurrent reservoir operation problem. A related technique for decision making is multi-stage stochastic optimization using scenario trees, referred to as Tree-based Model Predictive Control (TB-MPC. Deterministic Streamflow Forecasts (DSFs are provided by applying random perturbations on perfect data. PSFs are synthetically generated from DSFs by a new approach which explicitly presents dynamic uncertainty evolution. We assessed different variables in the generation of stochasticity and compared the results using different scenarios. The developed real-time hourly flood control was applied to a test case which had limited reservoir storage and restricted downstream condition. According to hindcasting closed-loop experiment results, TB-MPC outperforms the deterministic counterpart in terms of decreased downstream flood risk according to different independent forecast scenarios. TB-MPC was also tested considering different number of tree branches, forecast horizons, and different inflow conditions. We conclude that using synthetic PSFs in TB-MPC can provide more robust solutions against forecast uncertainty by resolution of uncertainty in trees.

  1. Non-nutritive sucking recorded in utero via fetal magnetography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Popescu, E A; Popescu, M; Gustafson, K M; Wang, J; Barlow, S M

    2008-01-01

    Several studies in term and pre-term infants have investigated the rhythmic pattern of non-nutritive sucking (NNS) indicating correlations between the quantitative measures derived from sucking pressure variation and/or electromyographic (EMG) recordings and a range of factors that include age, perinatal stress and sequelae. In the human fetus, NNS has been reported from 13 weeks of gestation and has been studied using real-time Doppler ultrasonography exclusively. The present study indicates that NNS in fetus can be reliably recorded and quantified using non-invasive biomagnetic measurements that have been recently introduced as an investigational tool for the assessment of fetal neurophysiologic development. We show that source separation techniques, such as independent component analysis, applied to the high-resolution multichannel recordings allow the segregation of an explicit waveform that represents the biomagnetic equivalent of the ororhythmic sucking pressure variation or EMG signal recorded in infants. This enables the morphological study of NNS patterning over different temporal scales, from the global quantitative measures to the within burst fine structure characterization, in correlation with the fetal cardiac rhythm

  2. Concordance Between Self-Reported Childhood Maltreatment Versus Case Record Reviews for Child Welfare?Affiliated Adolescents: Prevalence Rates and Associations With Outcomes

    OpenAIRE

    Negriff, Sonya; Schneiderman, Janet U.; Trickett, Penelope K.

    2016-01-01

    The present study used data from an ongoing longitudinal study of the effects of maltreatment on adolescent development to (1) describe rates of maltreatment experiences obtained from retrospective self-report versus case record review for adolescents with child welfare?documented maltreatment histories, (2) examine self-reported versus child welfare?identified maltreatment in relation to mental health and risk behavior outcomes by maltreatment type, and (3) examine the association between th...

  3. Real-time multiple image manipulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arenson, J.S.; Shalev, S.; Legris, J.; Goertzen, Y.

    1984-01-01

    There are many situations in which it is desired to manipulate two or more images under real-time operator control. The authors have investigated a number of such cases in order to determine their value and applicability in clinical medicine and laboratory research. Several examples are presented in detail. The DICOM-8 video image computer system was used due to its capability of storing two 512 x 512 x 8 bit images and operating on them, and/or an incoming video frame, with any of a number of real time operations including addition, subtraction, inversion, averaging, logical AND, NAND, OR, NOR, NOT, XOR and XNOR, as well as combinations of these. Some applications involve manipulations of or among the stored images. In others, a stored image is used as a mask or template for positioning or adjusting a second image to be grabbed via a video camera. The accuracy of radiotherapy treatment is verified by comparing port films with the original radiographic planning film, which is previously digitized and stored. Moving the port film on the light box while viewing the real-time subtraction image allows for adjustments of zoom, translation and rotation, together with contrast and edge enhancement

  4. Use of TV in space science activities - Some considerations. [onboard primary experimental data recording

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bannister, T. C.

    1977-01-01

    Advantages in the use of TV on board satellites as the primary data-recording system in a manned space laboratory when certain types of experiments are flown are indicated. Real-time or near-real-time validation, elimination of film weight, improved depth of field and low-light sensitivity, and better adaptability to computer and electronic processing of data are spelled out as advantages of TV over photographic techniques, say, in fluid dynamics experiments, and weightlessness studies.

  5. Bridging the gap between the randomised clinical trial world and the real world by combination of population-based registry and electronic health record data : A case study in haemato-oncology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kibbelaar, R E; Oortgiesen, B E; van der Wal-Oost, A M; Boslooper, K; Coebergh, J W; Veeger, N J G M; Joosten, P; Storm, H; van Roon, E N; Hoogendoorn, M

    2017-01-01

    Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) are considered the basis of evidence-based medicine. It is recognised more and more that application of RCT results in daily practice of clinical decision-making is limited because the RCT world does not correspond with the clinical real world. Recent strategies

  6. Gravity wave generation from jets and fronts: idealized and real-case simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plougonven, Riwal; Arsac, Antonin; Hertzog, Albert; Guez, Lionel; Vial, François

    2010-05-01

    model for nearly two months. The realism of the simulated gravity waves is established based on systematic comparison with the observations and on case studies. The simulations are then used to quantify the importance and characteristics of gravity waves emitted from jets and fronts above the Southern Ocean. In particular, application of results from the idealized simulations to real cases, with a check provided by observations, will be discussed.

  7. Real Time Locations Systems or Outsourcing: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lawrence, Cameron; Firth, David; Khumalo, Floyd

    2013-01-01

    Information Technology has transformed almost all aspects of modern healthcare and is playing a vital role in the administration of hospitals around the world. This case study examines one hospital's struggle to solve crucial operational problems related to the efficient management of medical equipment inventory. This case study is the result of…

  8. Using CASE-tools based on formal methods in real-life system development of distributed systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stoelen, Ketil; Karlsen, Tore Willy; Mohn, Peter; Sandmark, Haaakon

    1998-03-01

    Within the OECD Halden Reactor Project (HRP) the development and application of formal methods to enhance system quality have been prioritised tasks for the last three years per periods. The three year programme 1997-1999 identifies the need to gain experience from applying formal methods in larger real-life system developments. This motivated the initiation of the HRP research activity Integration of Formal Specification in the Development of HAMMLAB 2000 (INT-FS). The principal objective of INT-FS is to experiment with formal methods in system developments connected to HAMMLAB 2000 and thereby gain a better understanding of their suitability to support practical software engineering. In particular, INT-FS will try to measure the effect of formal methods and gain experience in combining formal methods with traditional development techniques. INT-FS was started up in January 1997. This report describes the status of INT-FS by February 1998. The report identifies objectives and plans; it motivates the choice of formal methods, CASE-tool and software process; it motivates and defines metrics for measuring achievement and the effect of formalization. The report also provides preliminary results from an experimental development of a communication manager; it describes the component to be developed and the background of the participants; it offers some provisional statistics and summarises the experiences with methods and tools. The development of the communication manager is the first attempt ever to exploit state-of-the-art CASE-tools for formal methods in practical software engineering at the HRP. (author)

  9. Learning about the "Real World" in an Urban Arts Youth Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Reed W.; Walker, Kathrin C.

    2006-01-01

    To make the transition to adulthood, youth must learn to function in the complex and unpredictable "real world" of adult life. This is an intensive case study of an urban arts program that sought to provide youth with experiences that prepared them for the real world of arts careers. We conducted 75 interviews with 12 youth and their adult leader…

  10. A real time ECG signal processing application for arrhythmia detection on portable devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Georganis, A.; Doulgeraki, N.; Asvestas, P.

    2017-11-01

    Arrhythmia describes the disorders of normal heart rate, which, depending on the case, can even be fatal for a patient with severe history of heart disease. The purpose of this work is to develop an application for heart signal visualization, processing and analysis in Android portable devices e.g. Mobile phones, tablets, etc. The application is able to retrieve the signal initially from a file and at a later stage this signal is processed and analysed within the device so that it can be classified according to the features of the arrhythmia. In the processing and analysing stage, different algorithms are included among them the Moving Average and Pan Tompkins algorithm as well as the use of wavelets, in order to extract features and characteristics. At the final stage, testing is performed by simulating our application in real-time records, using the TCP network protocol for communicating the mobile with a simulated signal source. The classification of ECG beat to be processed is performed by neural networks.

  11. Formal Verification of User-Level Real-Time Property Patterns

    OpenAIRE

    Ge , Ning; Pantel , Marc; Dal Zilio , Silvano

    2017-01-01

    International audience; To ease the expression of real-time requirements, Dwyer, and then Konrad, studied a large collection of existing systems in order to identify a set of real-time property patterns covering most of the useful use cases. The goal was to provide a set of reusable patterns that system designers can instantiate to express requirements instead of using complex temporal logic formulas. A limitation of this approach is that the choice of patterns is more oriented towards expres...

  12. Generate stepper motor linear speed profile in real time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoychitch, M. Y.

    2018-01-01

    In this paper we consider the problem of realization of linear speed profile of stepper motors in real time. We considered the general case when changes of speed in the phases of acceleration and deceleration are different. The new and practical algorithm of the trajectory planning is given. The algorithms of the real time speed control which are suitable for realization to the microcontroller and FPGA circuits are proposed. The practical realization one of these algorithms, using Arduino platform, is given also.

  13. 37 CFR 41.153 - Records of the Office.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 37 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Records of the Office. 41.153 Section 41.153 Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRACTICE BEFORE THE BOARD OF PATENT APPEALS AND INTERFERENCES Contested Cases § 41.153 Records of the Office. Certification is not...

  14. Correlation Analysis between Nominal and Real Convergence. The Romanian Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius-Corneliu Marinas

    2006-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the sources of the correlation between the nominal and real convergence, as well as the impact of the macroeconomic politics on it. The perspective of Euro adoption will impose stricter management of monetary and budgetary politics, which will affect negatively the catching up process of the economic delays given the lack of higher economic flexibility. This enables a more rapid adjustment of the economy to some persistent shocks as a result of applying growth aggregate supply politics.

  15. Correlation Analysis between Nominal and Real Convergence. The Romanian Case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marius-Corneliu Marinas

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the sources of the correlation between the nominal and real convergence, as well as the impact of the macroeconomic politics on it. The perspective of Euro adoption will impose stricter management of monetary and budgetary politics, which will affect negatively the catching up process of the economic delays given the lack of higher economic flexibility. This enables a more rapid adjustment of the economy to some persistent shocks as a result of applying growth aggregate supply politics.

  16. Individual and hospital-related determinants of potentially inappropriate admissions emerging from administrative records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fusco, Marco; Buja, Alessandra; Piergentili, Paolo; Golfetto, Maria Teresa; Serafin, Gianni; Gallo, Silvia; Dalla Barba, Livio; Baldo, Vincenzo

    2016-11-01

    The appropriate use of health care is an important issue in developed countries. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent of potentially inappropriate hospital admissions and their individual, clinical and hospital-related determinants. Medical records were analyzed for the year 2014 held by the Local Heath Unit n. 13 in the Veneto Region of north-east Italy (19,000 records). The outcomes calculated were: admissions for conditions amenable to day hospital care; brief medical admissions; outlier lengths of stay for elderly patients' medical admissions; and medical admissions to surgical wards. Univariate analyses and logistic regression models were used to test associations with demographic, clinical and hospital ward covariates, including organizational indicators. Inappropriate reliance on acute care beds ranged from 6% to 28%, depending on the type of quality indicator analyzed. Some individual features, and wards' specific characteristics were associated with at least one of the phenomena of inappropriate hospital resource usage. In particular, male gender, younger age and transferals seemed to affect inappropriate admissions to surgical wards. Potentially avoidable admissions featuring inpatients amenable to day hospital care were associated with subjects with fewer comorbidities and lower case-mix wards, while inappropriately short medical stays were influenced by patients' higher functional status and local residency and by lower bed occupancy rates. In conclusion, inappropriately long hospital stays for elderly cases were associated with patients with multiple pathologies in wards with a low bed-occupancy. Education level and citizenship did not seem to influence inappropriate admissions. Some individual, clinical ad structural characteristics of patients and wards emerging from administrative records could be associated with inappropriate reliance on acute hospital beds. Analyzing the indicators considered in this study could generate

  17. Managing records in South Africa's public sector – a review of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    KATUU, Shadrack

    managing digital records. The discussion on the management of digital records is more .... strategic factors (such as the business case, top management support and change management) .... Figure 1: The evolution of various terms related to the management of digital records. ERM systems evolved from early automated.

  18. Resetting in time of recordings in ultra-fast cinematography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leduc, Michel

    In ultra-fast cinematography and photography the treatment and interpretation of the data contained in the recordings demand extremely precise readjustments in time. In the case of whole-image recordings by electro-optical cameras or flash sources the problem is resolved by the use of a chronometric unit taking into account the different events. For naving slit or spectrographic recordings the problem must be detail with differently and marking devices will be used to print resetting pulses on the recording themselves. Different marking devices are described [fr

  19. A simple device for long-term radar cross section recordings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eskelinen, Pekka; Ruoskanen, Jukka; Peltonen, Jouni

    2009-05-01

    A sample and hold circuit with settable delay can be used for recording of radar echo amplitude variations having time scales up to 100 s at the selected range bin in systems utilizing short rf pulses. The design is based on two integrated circuits and gives 1% uncertainty for 70 ns pulses. The key benefit is a real-time display of lengthy amplitude variations because the sample rate is defined by the radar pulse repetition frequency. Additionally we get a reduction in file size at least by the inverse of the radar's duty cycle. Examples of 10 and 100 s recordings with a Ka-band short pulse radar are described.

  20. The case for a Supersite for real-time GNSS hazard monitoring on a global scale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bar-Sever, Y. E.

    2017-12-01

    Real-time measurements from many hundreds of GNSS tracking sites around the world are publicly available today, and the amount of streaming data is steadily increasing as national agencies densify their local and global infrastructure for natural hazard monitoring and a variety of geodetic, cadastral, and other civil applications. Thousands of such sites can soon be expected on a global scale. It is a challenge to manage and make optimal use of this massive amount of real-time data. We advocate the creation of Supersite(s), in the parlance of the U.N. Global Earth Observation System of Systems (https://www.earthobservations.org/geoss.php), to generate high level real-time data products from the raw GNSS measurements from all available sources (many thousands of sites). These products include: • High rate, real-time positioning time series for assessing rapid crustal motion due to Earthquakes, volcanic activities, land slides, etc. • Co-seismic displacement to help resolve earthquake mechanism and moment magnitude • Real-time total electron content (TEC) fluctuations to augment Dart buoy in detecting and tracking tsunamis • Aggregation of the many disparate raw data dispensation servers (Casters)Recognizing that natural hazards transcend national boundaries in terms of direct and indirect (e.g., economical, security) impact, the benefits from centralized, authoritative processing of GNSS measurements is manifold: • Offers a one-stop shop to less developed nations and institutions for raw and high-level products, in support of research and applications • Promotes the installation of tracking sites and the contribution of data from nations without the ability to process the data • Reduce dependency on local responsible agencies impacted by a natural disaster • Reliable 24/7 operations, independent of voluntary, best effort contributions from good-willing scientific organizationsThe JPL GNSS Real-Time Earthquake and Tsunami (GREAT) Alert has been

  1. Real-time measurement of electron beam weld penetration in uranium by acoustic emission monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whittaker, J.W.; Murphy, J.L.

    1991-07-01

    High quality electron beam (EB) welds are required in uranium test articles. Acoustic emission (AE) techniques are under development with the goal of measuring weld penetration in real-time. One technique, based on Average Signal Level (ASL) measurement was used to record weld AE signatures. Characteristic AE signatures were recorded for bead-on-plate (BOP) and butt joint (BJ) welds made under varied welding conditions. AE waveforms were sampled to determine what microscopic AE behavior led to the observed macroscopic signature features. Deformation twinning and weld expulsion are two of the main sources of emission. AE behavior was correlated with weld penetration as measured by standard metallographic techniques. The ASL value was found to increase approximately linearly with weld penetration in BJ welds. These results form the basis for a real-time monitoring technique for weld penetration. 5 refs

  2. Performances of the New Real Time Tsunami Detection Algorithm applied to tide gauges data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chierici, F.; Embriaco, D.; Morucci, S.

    2017-12-01

    Real-time tsunami detection algorithms play a key role in any Tsunami Early Warning System. We have developed a new algorithm for tsunami detection (TDA) based on the real-time tide removal and real-time band-pass filtering of seabed pressure time series acquired by Bottom Pressure Recorders. The TDA algorithm greatly increases the tsunami detection probability, shortens the detection delay and enhances detection reliability with respect to the most widely used tsunami detection algorithm, while containing the computational cost. The algorithm is designed to be used also in autonomous early warning systems with a set of input parameters and procedures which can be reconfigured in real time. We have also developed a methodology based on Monte Carlo simulations to test the tsunami detection algorithms. The algorithm performance is estimated by defining and evaluating statistical parameters, namely the detection probability, the detection delay, which are functions of the tsunami amplitude and wavelength, and the occurring rate of false alarms. In this work we present the performance of the TDA algorithm applied to tide gauge data. We have adapted the new tsunami detection algorithm and the Monte Carlo test methodology to tide gauges. Sea level data acquired by coastal tide gauges in different locations and environmental conditions have been used in order to consider real working scenarios in the test. We also present an application of the algorithm to the tsunami event generated by Tohoku earthquake on March 11th 2011, using data recorded by several tide gauges scattered all over the Pacific area.

  3. Noninvasive Recording of True-to-Form Fetal ECG during the Third Trimester of Pregnancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Istvan Peterfi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. The aim of the study was to develop a complex electrophysiological measurement system (hardware and software which uses the methods of electrophysiology and provides significant information about the intrauterine status of the fetus, intending to obtain true-to-form, morphologically evaluated fetal ECG from transabdominal maternal lead. Results. The present method contains many novel ideas that allow creating true-to-form noninvasive fetal ECG in the third trimester of the pregnancy in 80% of the cases. Such ideas are the telemetric data collection, the “cleanse” of the real time recording from the maternal ECG, and the use of the cardiotocograph (CTG that allows identifying the fetal heart events. The advantage of this developed system is that it does not require any qualified staff, because both the extraction of the information from the abdominal recording and the processing of the data are automatic. Discussion. Although the idea of a noninvasive fetal electrocardiography is more than 100 years old still there is no simple, effective, and cheap method available that would enable an extensive use. This developed system can be used in the third trimester of the pregnancy efficiently. It can produce true-to-form fetal ECGs with amplitude less than 10 µV.

  4. Are Housing Markets Decoupled? A Case Study of Residential Real Estate Affordability in Austria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian PHILIPP

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Real estate arguably forms the most important asset to most households and the basis for their wealth. Around this context a model has been set up testing the relative affordability of real estate for the median household in Austria and the consequences of lower borrowing costs between 2004 and 2013 by vintage year. In this paper the hypothesis that the significant decline in base interest rates is not sufficient to offset the relative affordability loss caused by declining net household incomes and the simultaneous increase of real estate prices. To test this hypothesis a model has been set up comparing two different Housing Affordability Indices – one including and one excluding financing effects, having been compared via a multi factor model. Based on this calculation the author finds decreased base interest rates to offset relative affordability losses by only approximately 50%, verifying the hypothesis. The paper therefore argues for a potential decoupling of the residential housing market in Austria.

  5. RLT-S: A Web System for Record Linkage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah-Al Mamun

    Full Text Available Record linkage integrates records across multiple related data sources identifying duplicates and accounting for possible errors. Real life applications require efficient algorithms to merge these voluminous data sources to find out all records belonging to same individuals. Our recently devised highly efficient record linkage algorithms provide best-known solutions to this challenging problem.We have developed RLT-S, a freely available web tool, which implements our single linkage clustering algorithm for record linkage. This tool requires input data sets and a small set of configuration settings about these files to work efficiently. RLT-S employs exact match clustering, blocking on a specified attribute and single linkage based hierarchical clustering among these blocks.RLT-S is an implementation package of our sequential record linkage algorithm. It outperforms previous best-known implementations by a large margin. The tool is at least two times faster for any dataset than the previous best-known tools.RLT-S tool implements our record linkage algorithm that outperforms previous best-known algorithms in this area. This website also contains necessary information such as instructions, submission history, feedback, publications and some other sections to facilitate the usage of the tool.RLT-S is integrated into http://www.rlatools.com, which is currently serving this tool only. The tool is freely available and can be used without login. All data files used in this paper have been stored in https://github.com/abdullah009/DataRLATools. For copies of the relevant programs please see https://github.com/abdullah009/RLATools.

  6. Real Forestry for Real Estate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagnon, Jennifer; Fisher, Jason

    2013-01-01

    Virginia is poised to see an unprecedented change in forest land ownership. To provide new landowners with information on sustainable forest management, we developed a two-part program, Real Forestry for Real Estate. First, we assembled New Landowner Packets, which contain a variety of sustainable forest management resources. Second, two…

  7. [Comparison of self-reported anthropometric variables and real measurement data].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díaz-García, J; González-Zapata, L I; Estrada-Restrepo, A

    2012-06-01

    The objectives of this study were to evaluate self-reporting of weight, height, and waist circumference, and to compare that perception with the real measurements in college students of the MESPYN cohort--Medellin, Salud Pública y Nutrición--from the University of Antioquia (UdeA), Colombia. A cross-sectional study was conducted starting with the first measurement of the MESPYN Cohort 2009-2010. The sample included volunteer students from different academic areas. Self-perception of weight, height, and waist circumference were recorded before the real measurements were performed. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated for all the variables, and an alpha of 0.05 was used. The concordance between real measurements and self-referred values was evaluated with the Bland and Altman method. 424 volunteer students were included. The average real weight (kg) in males was 67.4 +/- 10.4 and self-reported: 67.0 +/- 11.0; in females the real value was 55.7 +/- 10.1 and self-reported: 55.0 +/- 9.0. The average real height (m) in males was 1.73 +/- 6.1 and self-reported: 1.73 +/- 6.0; in females the real value was 1.60 +/- 5.9 and self-reported: 1.61 +/- 6.0. In males, the average real waist circumference (cm) was 76.6 +/- 8.0 and self-reported: 75.0 +/- 14.0; in females the real value was 69.9 +/- 8.0 and self-reported: 70.0 +/- 9.0. Weight ICC: 0.956, 95% CI (0.95; 0.97), (p < 0.01); height ICC: 0.953, 95%IC (0.91; 0.97), (p < 0.01), and waist circumference ICC: 0.593, 95% IC (0.55; 0.65), (p < 0.01). In conclusion, anthropometric nutritional evaluation of UdeA students can be performed with self-reported data for weight and height, but the evaluation of abdominal obesity requires direct measurement of waist circumference.

  8. Real-time motion-adaptive-optimization (MAO) in TomoTherapy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu Weiguo; Chen Mingli; Ruchala, Kenneth J; Chen Quan; Olivera, Gustavo H [TomoTherapy Inc., 1240 Deming Way, Madison, WI (United States); Langen, Katja M; Kupelian, Patrick A [MD Anderson Cancer Center-Orlando, Orlando, FL (United States)], E-mail: wlu@tomotherapy.com

    2009-07-21

    IMRT delivery follows a planned leaf sequence, which is optimized before treatment delivery. However, it is hard to model real-time variations, such as respiration, in the planning procedure. In this paper, we propose a negative feedback system of IMRT delivery that incorporates real-time optimization to account for intra-fraction motion. Specifically, we developed a feasible workflow of real-time motion-adaptive-optimization (MAO) for TomoTherapy delivery. TomoTherapy delivery is characterized by thousands of projections with a fast projection rate and ultra-fast binary leaf motion. The technique of MAO-guided delivery calculates (i) the motion-encoded dose that has been delivered up to any given projection during the delivery and (ii) the future dose that will be delivered based on the estimated motion probability and future fluence map. These two pieces of information are then used to optimize the leaf open time of the upcoming projection right before its delivery. It consists of several real-time procedures, including 'motion detection and prediction', 'delivered dose accumulation', 'future dose estimation' and 'projection optimization'. Real-time MAO requires that all procedures are executed in time less than the duration of a projection. We implemented and tested this technique using a TomoTherapy (registered) research system. The MAO calculation took about 100 ms per projection. We calculated and compared MAO-guided delivery with two other types of delivery, motion-without-compensation delivery (MD) and static delivery (SD), using simulated 1D cases, real TomoTherapy plans and the motion traces from clinical lung and prostate patients. The results showed that the proposed technique effectively compensated for motion errors of all test cases. Dose distributions and DVHs of MAO-guided delivery approached those of SD, for regular and irregular respiration with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 3 cm, and for medium and large

  9. Real-time motion-adaptive-optimization (MAO) in TomoTherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Weiguo; Chen Mingli; Ruchala, Kenneth J; Chen Quan; Olivera, Gustavo H; Langen, Katja M; Kupelian, Patrick A

    2009-01-01

    IMRT delivery follows a planned leaf sequence, which is optimized before treatment delivery. However, it is hard to model real-time variations, such as respiration, in the planning procedure. In this paper, we propose a negative feedback system of IMRT delivery that incorporates real-time optimization to account for intra-fraction motion. Specifically, we developed a feasible workflow of real-time motion-adaptive-optimization (MAO) for TomoTherapy delivery. TomoTherapy delivery is characterized by thousands of projections with a fast projection rate and ultra-fast binary leaf motion. The technique of MAO-guided delivery calculates (i) the motion-encoded dose that has been delivered up to any given projection during the delivery and (ii) the future dose that will be delivered based on the estimated motion probability and future fluence map. These two pieces of information are then used to optimize the leaf open time of the upcoming projection right before its delivery. It consists of several real-time procedures, including 'motion detection and prediction', 'delivered dose accumulation', 'future dose estimation' and 'projection optimization'. Real-time MAO requires that all procedures are executed in time less than the duration of a projection. We implemented and tested this technique using a TomoTherapy (registered) research system. The MAO calculation took about 100 ms per projection. We calculated and compared MAO-guided delivery with two other types of delivery, motion-without-compensation delivery (MD) and static delivery (SD), using simulated 1D cases, real TomoTherapy plans and the motion traces from clinical lung and prostate patients. The results showed that the proposed technique effectively compensated for motion errors of all test cases. Dose distributions and DVHs of MAO-guided delivery approached those of SD, for regular and irregular respiration with a peak-to-peak amplitude of 3 cm, and for medium and large prostate motions. The results conceptually

  10. A granular t abu search algorithm for a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bernal, Jose; Escobar, John Willmer; Linfati, Rodrigo

    2017-07-01

    We consider a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows (HFVRPTW) for a franchise company bottling Coca-Cola products in Colombia. This study aims to determine the routes to be performed to fulfill the demand of the customers by using a heterogeneous fleet and considering soft time windows. The objective is to minimize the distance traveled by the performed routes. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a two-phase heuristic algorithm. In the proposed approach, after an initial phase (first phase), a granular tabu search is applied during the improvement phase (second phase). Two additional procedures are considered to help that the algorithm could escape from local optimum, given that during a given number of iterations there has been no improvement. Findings: Computational experiments on real instances show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain high-quality solutions within a short computing time compared to the results found by the software that the company currently uses to plan the daily routes. Originality/value: We propose a novel metaheuristic algorithm for solving a real routing problem by considering heterogeneous fleet and time windows. The efficiency of the proposed approach has been tested on real instances, and the computational experiments shown its applicability and performance for solving NP-Hard Problems related with routing problems with similar characteristics. The proposed algorithm was able to improve some of the current solutions applied by the company by reducing the route length and the number of vehicles.

  11. A granular t abu search algorithm for a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernal, Jose; Escobar, John Willmer; Linfati, Rodrigo

    2017-01-01

    We consider a real case study of a vehicle routing problem with a heterogeneous fleet and time windows (HFVRPTW) for a franchise company bottling Coca-Cola products in Colombia. This study aims to determine the routes to be performed to fulfill the demand of the customers by using a heterogeneous fleet and considering soft time windows. The objective is to minimize the distance traveled by the performed routes. Design/methodology/approach: We propose a two-phase heuristic algorithm. In the proposed approach, after an initial phase (first phase), a granular tabu search is applied during the improvement phase (second phase). Two additional procedures are considered to help that the algorithm could escape from local optimum, given that during a given number of iterations there has been no improvement. Findings: Computational experiments on real instances show that the proposed algorithm is able to obtain high-quality solutions within a short computing time compared to the results found by the software that the company currently uses to plan the daily routes. Originality/value: We propose a novel metaheuristic algorithm for solving a real routing problem by considering heterogeneous fleet and time windows. The efficiency of the proposed approach has been tested on real instances, and the computational experiments shown its applicability and performance for solving NP-Hard Problems related with routing problems with similar characteristics. The proposed algorithm was able to improve some of the current solutions applied by the company by reducing the route length and the number of vehicles.

  12. Real-time systems

    OpenAIRE

    Badr, Salah M.; Bruztman, Donald P.; Nelson, Michael L.; Byrnes, Ronald Benton

    1992-01-01

    This paper presents an introduction to the basic issues involved in real-time systems. Both real-time operating sys and real-time programming languages are explored. Concurrent programming and process synchronization and communication are also discussed. The real-time requirements of the Naval Postgraduate School Autonomous Under Vehicle (AUV) are then examined. Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), hard real-time system, real-time operating system, real-time programming language, real-time sy...

  13. Power/performance trade-offs in real-time SDRAM command scheduling

    OpenAIRE

    Goossens, S.L.M.; Chandrasekar, K.; Akesson, K.B.; Goossens, K.G.W.

    2016-01-01

    Real-time safety-critical systems should provide hard bounds on an applications’ performance. SDRAM controllers used in this domain should therefore have a bounded worst-case bandwidth, response time, and power consumption. Existing works on real-time SDRAM controllers only consider a narrow range of memory devices, and do not evaluate how their schedulers’ performance varies across memory generations, nor how the scheduling algorithm influences power usage. The extent to which the number of ...

  14. Automated real-time detection of tonic-clonic seizures using a wearable EMG device

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Beniczky, Sándor; Conradsen, Isa; Henning, Oliver

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To determine the accuracy of automated detection of generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) using a wearable surface EMG device. METHODS: We prospectively tested the technical performance and diagnostic accuracy of real-time seizure detection using a wearable surface EMG device....... The seizure detection algorithm and the cutoff values were prespecified. A total of 71 patients, referred to long-term video-EEG monitoring, on suspicion of GTCS, were recruited in 3 centers. Seizure detection was real-time and fully automated. The reference standard was the evaluation of video-EEG recordings...

  15. Intraoperative non-record-keeping usage of anesthesia information management system workstations and associated hemodynamic variability and aberrancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wax, David B; Lin, Hung-Mo; Reich, David L

    2012-12-01

    Anesthesia information management system workstations in the anesthesia workspace that allow usage of non-record-keeping applications could lead to distraction from patient care. We evaluated whether non-record-keeping usage of the computer workstation was associated with hemodynamic variability and aberrancies. Auditing data were collected on eight anesthesia information management system workstations and linked to their corresponding electronic anesthesia records to identify which application was active at any given time during the case. For each case, the periods spent using the anesthesia information management system record-keeping module were separated from those spent using non-record-keeping applications. The variability of heart rate and blood pressure were also calculated, as were the incidence of hypotension, hypertension, and tachycardia. Analysis was performed to identify whether non-record-keeping activity was a significant predictor of these hemodynamic outcomes. Data were analyzed for 1,061 cases performed by 171 clinicians. Median (interquartile range) non-record-keeping activity time was 14 (1, 38) min, representing 16 (3, 33)% of a median 80 (39, 143) min of procedure time. Variables associated with greater non-record-keeping activity included attending anesthesiologists working unassisted, longer case duration, lower American Society of Anesthesiologists status, and general anesthesia. Overall, there was no independent association between non-record-keeping workstation use and hemodynamic variability or aberrancies during anesthesia either between cases or within cases. Anesthesia providers spent sizable portions of case time performing non-record-keeping applications on anesthesia information management system workstations. This use, however, was not independently associated with greater hemodynamic variability or aberrancies in patients during maintenance of general anesthesia for predominantly general surgical and gynecologic procedures.

  16. Application of radio frequency based digital thermometer for real-time monitoring of dairy cattle rectal temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tridib Debnath

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Aim: Dairy cattle health monitoring program becomes vital for detecting the febrile conditions to prevent the outbreak of the animal diseases as well as ensuring the fitness of the animals that are directly affecting the health of the consumers. The aim of this study was to validate real-time rectal temperature (RT data of radio frequency based digital (RFD thermometer with RT data of mercury bulb (MB thermometer in dairy cattle. Materials and Methods: Two experiments were conducted. In experiment I, six female Jersey crossbred cattle with a mean (±standard error of the mean body weight of 534.83±13.90 kg at the age of 12±0.52 years were used to record RT for 2 h on empty stomach and 2 h after feeding at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min using a RFD thermometer as well as a MB thermometer. In experiment II, six female Jersey crossbred cattle were further used to record RT for 2 h before exercise and 2 h after exercise at 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance with post hoc comparisons by Bonferroni test was done. Results: Real-time RT data recorded by RFD thermometer as well as MB thermometer did not differ (p>0.05 before and after feeding/exercise. An increase (p<0.05 in RT after feeding/exercise in experimental crossbred cattle was recorded by both RFD thermometer and MB thermometer. Conclusion: The results obtained in the present study suggest that the body temperature recordings from RFD thermometer would be acceptable and thus RFD thermometer could work well for monitoring real-time RT in cattle.

  17. Case Study: A Real-Time Flood Forecasting System with Predictive Uncertainty Estimation for the Godavari River, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Barbetta

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This work presents the application of the multi-temporal approach of the Model Conditional Processor (MCP-MT for predictive uncertainty (PU estimation in the Godavari River basin, India. MCP-MT is developed for making probabilistic Bayesian decision. It is the most appropriate approach if the uncertainty of future outcomes is to be considered. It yields the best predictive density of future events and allows determining the probability that a critical warning threshold may be exceeded within a given forecast time. In Bayesian decision-making, the predictive density represents the best available knowledge on a future event to address a rational decision-making process. MCP-MT has already been tested for case studies selected in Italian river basins, showing evidence of improvement of the effectiveness of operative real-time flood forecasting systems. The application of MCP-MT for two river reaches selected in the Godavari River basin, India, is here presented and discussed by considering the stage forecasts provided by a deterministic model, STAFOM-RCM, and hourly dataset based on seven monsoon seasons in the period 2001–2010. The results show that the PU estimate is useful for finding the exceedance probability for a given hydrometric threshold as function of the forecast time up to 24 h, demonstrating the potential usefulness for supporting real-time decision-making. Moreover, the expected value provided by MCP-MT yields better results than the deterministic model predictions, with higher Nash–Sutcliffe coefficients and lower error on stage forecasts, both in term of mean error and standard deviation and root mean square error.

  18. Seasonal adjustment methods and real time trend-cycle estimation

    CERN Document Server

    Bee Dagum, Estela

    2016-01-01

    This book explores widely used seasonal adjustment methods and recent developments in real time trend-cycle estimation. It discusses in detail the properties and limitations of X12ARIMA, TRAMO-SEATS and STAMP - the main seasonal adjustment methods used by statistical agencies. Several real-world cases illustrate each method and real data examples can be followed throughout the text. The trend-cycle estimation is presented using nonparametric techniques based on moving averages, linear filters and reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces, taking recent advances into account. The book provides a systematical treatment of results that to date have been scattered throughout the literature. Seasonal adjustment and real time trend-cycle prediction play an essential part at all levels of activity in modern economies. They are used by governments to counteract cyclical recessions, by central banks to control inflation, by decision makers for better modeling and planning and by hospitals, manufacturers, builders, transportat...

  19. Real-time electrocardiogram transmission from Mount Everest during continued ascent.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Fong Kao

    Full Text Available The feasibility of a real-time electrocardiogram (ECG transmission via satellite phone from Mount Everest to determine a climber's suitability for continued ascent was examined. Four Taiwanese climbers were enrolled in the 2009 Mount Everest summit program. Physiological measurements were taken at base camp (5300 m, camp 2 (6400 m, camp 3 (7100 m, and camp 4 (7950 m 1 hour after arrival and following a 10 minute rest period. A total of 3 out of 4 climbers were able to summit Mount Everest successfully. Overall, ECG and global positioning system (GPS coordinates of climbers were transmitted in real-time via satellite phone successfully from base camp, camp 2, camp 3, and camp 4. At each camp, Resting Heart Rate (RHR was transmitted and recorded: base camp (54-113 bpm, camp 2 (94-130 bpm, camp 3 (98-115 bpm, and camp 4 (93-111 bpm. Real-time ECG and GPS coordinate transmission via satellite phone is feasible for climbers on Mount Everest. Real-time RHR data can be used to evaluate a climber's physiological capacity to continue an ascent and to summit.

  20. Near real-time GPS applications for tsunami early warning systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Falck

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available GPS (Global Positioning System technology is widely used for positioning applications. Many of them have high requirements with respect to precision, reliability or fast product delivery, but usually not all at the same time as it is the case for early warning applications. The tasks for the GPS-based components within the GITEWS project (German Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System, Rudloff et al., 2009 are to support the determination of sea levels (measured onshore and offshore and to detect co-seismic land mass displacements with the lowest possible latency (design goal: first reliable results after 5 min. The completed system was designed to fulfil these tasks in near real-time, rather than for scientific research requirements. The obtained data products (movements of GPS antennas are supporting the warning process in different ways. The measurements from GPS instruments on buoys allow the earliest possible detection or confirmation of tsunami waves on the ocean. Onshore GPS measurements are made collocated with tide gauges or seismological stations and give information about co-seismic land mass movements as recorded, e.g., during the great Sumatra-Andaman earthquake of 2004 (Subarya et al., 2006. This information is important to separate tsunami-caused sea height movements from apparent sea height changes at tide gauge locations (sensor station movement and also as additional information about earthquakes' mechanisms, as this is an essential information to predict a tsunami (Sobolev et al., 2007.

    This article gives an end-to-end overview of the GITEWS GPS-component system, from the GPS sensors (GPS receiver with GPS antenna and auxiliary systems, either onshore or offshore to the early warning centre displays. We describe how the GPS sensors have been installed, how they are operated and the methods used to collect, transfer and process the GPS data in near real-time. This includes the sensor system design, the communication

  1. Sharing electronic health records: the patient view

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John Powell

    2006-03-01

    Full Text Available The introduction of a national electronic health record system to the National Health Service (NHS has raised concerns about issues of data accuracy, security and confidentiality. The primary aim of this project was to identify the extent to which primary care patients will allow their local electronic record data to be shared on a national database. The secondary aim was to identify the extent of inaccuracies in the existing primary care records, which will be used to populate the new national Spine. Fifty consecutive attenders to one general practitioner were given a paper printout of their full primary care electronic health record. Participants were asked to highlight information which they would not want to be shared on the national electronic database of records, and information which they considered to be incorrect. There was a 62% response rate (31/50. Five of the 31 patients (16% identified information that they would not want to be shared on the national record system. The items they identified related almost entirely to matters of pregnancy, contraception, sexual health and mental health. Ten respondents (32% identified incorrect information in their records (some of these turned out to be correct on further investigation. The findings in relation to data sharing fit with the commonly held assumption that matters related to sensitive or embarrassing issues, which may affect how the patient will be treated by other individuals or institutions, are most likely to be censored by patients. Previous work on this has tended to ask hypothetical questions concerning data sharing rather than examine a real situation. A larger study of representative samples of patients in both primary and secondary care settings is needed to further investigate issues of data sharing and consent.

  2. Cloud-Hosted Real-time Data Services for the Geosciences (CHORDS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daniels, M. D.; Graves, S. J.; Vernon, F.; Kerkez, B.; Chandra, C. V.; Keiser, K.; Martin, C.

    2014-12-01

    Cloud-Hosted Real-time Data Services for the Geosciences (CHORDS) Access, utilization and management of real-time data continue to be challenging for decision makers, as well as researchers in several scientific fields. This presentation will highlight infrastructure aimed at addressing some of the gaps in handling real-time data, particularly in increasing accessibility of these data to the scientific community through cloud services. The Cloud-Hosted Real-time Data Services for the Geosciences (CHORDS) system addresses the ever-increasing importance of real-time scientific data, particularly in mission critical scenarios, where informed decisions must be made rapidly. Advances in the distribution of real-time data are leading many new transient phenomena in space-time to be observed, however real-time decision-making is infeasible in many cases that require streaming scientific data as these data are locked down and sent only to proprietary in-house tools or displays. This lack of accessibility to the broader scientific community prohibits algorithm development and workflows initiated by these data streams. As part of NSF's EarthCube initiative, CHORDS proposes to make real-time data available to the academic community via cloud services. The CHORDS infrastructure will enhance the role of real-time data within the geosciences, specifically expanding the potential of streaming data sources in enabling adaptive experimentation and real-time hypothesis testing. Adherence to community data and metadata standards will promote the integration of CHORDS real-time data with existing standards-compliant analysis, visualization and modeling tools.

  3. Task complexity modulates pilot electroencephalographic activity during real flights.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Di Stasi, Leandro L; Diaz-Piedra, Carolina; Suárez, Juan; McCamy, Michael B; Martinez-Conde, Susana; Roca-Dorda, Joaquín; Catena, Andrés

    2015-07-01

    Most research connecting task performance and neural activity to date has been conducted in laboratory conditions. Thus, field studies remain scarce, especially in extreme conditions such as during real flights. Here, we investigated the effects of flight procedures of varied complexity on the in-flight EEG activity of military helicopter pilots. Flight procedural complexity modulated the EEG power spectrum: highly demanding procedures (i.e., takeoff and landing) were associated with higher EEG power in the higher frequency bands, whereas less demanding procedures (i.e., flight exercises) were associated with lower EEG power over the same frequency bands. These results suggest that EEG recordings may help to evaluate an operator's cognitive performance in challenging real-life scenarios, and thus could aid in the prevention of catastrophic events. © 2015 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  4. Using Text Messages for Critical Real-time Data Capture in the ANISA Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Mohammad Shahidul; Rahman, Qazi Sadeq-ur; Hossain, Tanvir; Connor, Nicholas E; Hossain, Belal; Rahman, Md Mahmudur; Neogi, Ranjan; Saha, Samir K; El Arifeen, Shams

    2016-05-01

    The Aetiology of Neonatal Infection in South Asia (ANISA) study takes advantage of text messaging technology to record information required for randomizing the study population into a control subcohort. The text message system is also used for monitoring various study activities. When a child-health worker registers a newborn in the study, she sends a text message to a database server containing the study identification number and newborn's age at the time of registration. For each possible serious bacterial infection case, a study physician also sends a text message to the same server with the age of the young infant at the time of illness assessment. Using this information, a computer-based algorithm randomizes the newborn into a control subcohort. Text messages are also sent to alert the study physicians and study supervisors of a possible serious bacterial infection case being referred to health-care facilities. Phlebotomists working at remote specimen collection sites send text messages to the site laboratory personnel before sending the specimens through porters. Real-time data entry and monitoring are challenging for any population-based study conducted in remote areas. Our text messaging system provides an opportunity to overcome this barrier where availability of data entry facilities is limited.

  5. 7 CFR 4290.600 - General requirement for RBIC to maintain and preserve records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ...) All your accounting and other financial records; (2) All minutes of meetings of directors.... (a) Maintaining your accounting records. You must establish and maintain your accounting records.... You must keep the following records at your principal place of business or, in the case of paragraph...

  6. Impact of OSHA Final Rule—Recording Hearing Loss: An Analysis of an Industrial Audiometric Dataset

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabinowitz, Peter M.; Slade, Martin; Dixon-Ernst, Christine; Sircar, Kanta; Cullen, Mark

    2013-01-01

    The 2003 Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Occupational Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting Final Rule changed the definition of recordable work-related hearing loss. We performed a study of the Alcoa Inc. audiometric database to evaluate the impact of this new rule. The 2003 rule increased the rate of potentially recordable hearing loss events from 0.2% to 1.6% per year. A total of 68.6% of potentially recordable cases had American Academy of Audiology/American Medical Association (AAO/AMA) hearing impairment at the time of recordability. On average, recordable loss occurred after onset of impairment, whereas the non-age-corrected 10-dB standard threshold shift (STS) usually preceded impairment. The OSHA Final Rule will significantly increase recordable cases of occupational hearing loss. The new case definition is usually accompanied by AAO/AMA hearing impairment. Other, more sensitive metrics should therefore be used for early detection and prevention of hearing loss. PMID:14665813

  7. Trombosis de válvulas cardiacas biológicas. Presentación de dos casos evaluados con ecocardiografía 3D en tiempo real Thrombosis of biological valves. Report of two cases evaluated by 3D echocardiography in real time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jairo A Rendón

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available La trombosis de las válvulas protésicas biológicas es una complicación infrecuente, que se asocia con mortalidad elevada. En este artículo se reporta el caso de un paciente de género masculino, de 72 años de edad, con prótesis valvular biológica en posición aórtica y trombosis asociada a degeneración valvular, así como el de una paciente de género femenino de 64 años de edad, con prótesis biológica en posición mitral y trombosis de la misma en el contexto de una infección sistémica. Ambos casos se evaluaron mediante ecocardiografía transesofágica tridimensional en tiempo real.Thrombosis of biological prosthetic valves is a rare complication, associated with high mortality. We report the case of a 72 years old male patient with biological valve prosthesis in the aortic position and thrombosis associated with valvular degeneration, as well as that of a 64 years old female patient with bioprosthesis in the mitral position and thrombosis of it in the context of a systemic infection. Both cases were evaluated by three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography in real time.

  8. A Canadian case study : the value of real time electricity monitoring : a real-time cost utility management solution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rouse, S.; Dittburner, D.

    2006-01-01

    Energy prices can vary significantly over the course of a single day in response to changing levels in energy demand and availability of supply. The impacts of varying energy prices on business and industry means that hourly electricity costs can fluctuate widely over the course of a day even though energy use remains stable. This presentation gave details of an energy efficiency initiative at Unilever's Rexdale site which has resulted in $4 million saved through reductions in energy consumption and equipment retrofits. The Rexdale plant won an energy efficiency award in 2005, and the success of the initiative was attributed to the use of Utility 3 + , an energy management software tool. A turn key system with integrated software and hardware, Utility 3 + is capable of measuring how much energy is being used and can provide details of costs using a combination of historical and forecast prices. The tool is equipped with alarms with pre-set thresholds to match real-time rises in energy prices. Real-time prices are relayed from the Internet along with a 2 way data communication system. It was concluded that use of the tool has resulted in improved cash flow management and greater control of energy costs. A system description of the tool was provided, as well as details of various equipment retrofits. refs.., tabs., figs

  9. A Canadian case study : the value of real time electricity monitoring : a real-time cost utility management solution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rouse, S. [Energy at Work, Toronto, ON (Canada); Dittburner, D. [Unilever Canada, Toronto, ON (Canada)

    2006-07-01

    Energy prices can vary significantly over the course of a single day in response to changing levels in energy demand and availability of supply. The impacts of varying energy prices on business and industry means that hourly electricity costs can fluctuate widely over the course of a day even though energy use remains stable. This presentation gave details of an energy efficiency initiative at Unilever's Rexdale site which has resulted in $4 million saved through reductions in energy consumption and equipment retrofits. The Rexdale plant won an energy efficiency award in 2005, and the success of the initiative was attributed to the use of Utility 3{sup +}, an energy management software tool. A turn key system with integrated software and hardware, Utility 3{sup +} is capable of measuring how much energy is being used and can provide details of costs using a combination of historical and forecast prices. The tool is equipped with alarms with pre-set thresholds to match real-time rises in energy prices. Real-time prices are relayed from the Internet along with a 2 way data communication system. It was concluded that use of the tool has resulted in improved cash flow management and greater control of energy costs. A system description of the tool was provided, as well as details of various equipment retrofits. refs.., tabs., figs.

  10. Records of indoor radiation management, no. 15

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katsurayama, Kosuke; Tsujimoto, Tadashi; Saito, Masahiro

    1980-01-01

    This is the technical report on the indoor radiation management in Kyoto University Research Reactor Institute in the fiscal year of 1978. The radiation management equipments in the Kyoto University Reactor are so super-annuated that special works and abnormal radiation records had increased year by year, and 53 special works and abnormalities were recorded in the fiscal year of 1978. They were 28 special works (the management works other than the regular management works) and 25 abnormal records detected in the case of exceeding the radiation management standard. Of these 25 cases, 15 cases were fixed monitor alarms clearly recognized as electrical noises or too low alarm-setting levels. This report describes first the regular management which is divided into the following paragraphs, spatial dose rate, cumulative dose, surface contamination density, radioactivity in water, radioactive dust concentration, radioactive gas concentration, external exposure dose around the site, and the management for critical assembly building. The second half of the report describes the repair of gas monitors in the reactor room, the performance of radiation monitors in the critical assembly building, the management of γ-ray building and inspection before using the accelerator in the critical assembly building. The report is closed by finally reporting the results by voluntary regular inspection and regular inspection, and the health physics committee. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

  11. Sunitinib in mRCC: A systematic review of UK Real World Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Andrew Montgomery

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundReal world data are increasingly used to inform drug reimbursement decisions, but it is unclear how well outcomes from real world studies compare to those of clinical trials. This systematic review seeks to compare outcomes for sunitinib in routine UK clinical practice with the sunitinib registrational and expanded access program clinical trials. MethodSystematic review of the real world published literature was undertaken. UK observational studies recording first or second line sunitinib efficacy were included. A qualitative summary of the results and comparison to the controlled clinical trials was conducted. 15 real world studies were included, 14 of which were only available as posters/presentations. ResultsReal world study reporting quality was generally low, making comparisons with the clinical trials difficult. Practice relating to starting dose, dose modification, timing of therapy initiation and other factors varied between centres. Median progression free survival and adverse events were generally comparable to the clinical trial outcomes, but overall survival was not. ConclusionsThere are few published data on sunitinib use in UK clinical practice. Studies are characterised by lack of peer reviewed publication and heterogeneity in design, reporting and analysis. For use of real world data in the reimbursement setting, data collection and reporting will need to improve.

  12. An Interoperability Platform Enabling Reuse of Electronic Health Records for Signal Verification Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Yuksel

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Depending mostly on voluntarily sent spontaneous reports, pharmacovigilance studies are hampered by low quantity and quality of patient data. Our objective is to improve postmarket safety studies by enabling safety analysts to seamlessly access a wide range of EHR sources for collecting deidentified medical data sets of selected patient populations and tracing the reported incidents back to original EHRs. We have developed an ontological framework where EHR sources and target clinical research systems can continue using their own local data models, interfaces, and terminology systems, while structural interoperability and Semantic Interoperability are handled through rule-based reasoning on formal representations of different models and terminology systems maintained in the SALUS Semantic Resource Set. SALUS Common Information Model at the core of this set acts as the common mediator. We demonstrate the capabilities of our framework through one of the SALUS safety analysis tools, namely, the Case Series Characterization Tool, which have been deployed on top of regional EHR Data Warehouse of the Lombardy Region containing about 1 billion records from 16 million patients and validated by several pharmacovigilance researchers with real-life cases. The results confirm significant improvements in signal detection and evaluation compared to traditional methods with the missing background information.

  13. A Wireless Headstage for Combined Optogenetics and Multichannel Electrophysiological Recording.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gagnon-Turcotte, Gabriel; LeChasseur, Yoan; Bories, Cyril; Messaddeq, Younes; De Koninck, Yves; Gosselin, Benoit

    2017-02-01

    This paper presents a wireless headstage with real-time spike detection and data compression for combined optogenetics and multichannel electrophysiological recording. The proposed headstage, which is intended to perform both optical stimulation and electrophysiological recordings simultaneously in freely moving transgenic rodents, is entirely built with commercial off-the-shelf components, and includes 32 recording channels and 32 optical stimulation channels. It can detect, compress and transmit full action potential waveforms over 32 channels in parallel and in real time using an embedded digital signal processor based on a low-power field programmable gate array and a Microblaze microprocessor softcore. Such a processor implements a complete digital spike detector featuring a novel adaptive threshold based on a Sigma-delta control loop, and a wavelet data compression module using a new dynamic coefficient re-quantization technique achieving large compression ratios with higher signal quality. Simultaneous optical stimulation and recording have been performed in-vivo using an optrode featuring 8 microelectrodes and 1 implantable fiber coupled to a 465-nm LED, in the somatosensory cortex and the Hippocampus of a transgenic mouse expressing ChannelRhodospin (Thy1::ChR2-YFP line 4) under anesthetized conditions. Experimental results show that the proposed headstage can trigger neuron activity while collecting, detecting and compressing single cell microvolt amplitude activity from multiple channels in parallel while achieving overall compression ratios above 500. This is the first reported high-channel count wireless optogenetic device providing simultaneous optical stimulation and recording. Measured characteristics show that the proposed headstage can achieve up to 100% of true positive detection rate for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) down to 15 dB, while achieving up to 97.28% at SNR as low as 5 dB. The implemented prototype features a lifespan of up to 105

  14. Real-time data system: Incorporating new technology in mission critical environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muratore, John F.; Heindel, Troy A.

    1990-01-01

    If the Space Station Freedom is to remain viable over its 30-year life span, it must be able to incorporate new information systems technologies. These technologies are necessary to enhance mission effectiveness and to enable new NASA missions, such as supporting the Lunar-Mars Initiative. Hi-definition television (HDTV), neural nets, model-based reasoning, advanced languages, CPU designs, and computer networking standards are areas which have been forecasted to make major strides in the next 30 years. A major challenge to NASA is to bring these technologies online without compromising mission safety. In past programs, NASA managers have been understandably reluctant to rely on new technologies for mission critical activities until they are proven in noncritical areas. NASA must develop strategies to allow inflight confidence building and migration of technologies into the trusted tool base. NASA has successfully met this challenge and developed a winning strategy in the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center. This facility, which is clearly among NASA's most critical, is based on 1970's mainframe architecture. Changes to the mainframe are very expensive due to the extensive testing required to prove that changes do not have unanticipated impact on critical processes. Systematic improvement efforts in this facility have been delayed due to this 'risk to change.' In the real-time data system (RTDS) we have introduced a network of engineering computer workstations which run in parallel to the mainframe system. These workstations are located next to flight controller operating positions in mission control and, in some cases, the display units are mounted in the traditional mainframe consoles. This system incorporates several major improvements over the mainframe consoles including automated fault detection by real-time expert systems and color graphic animated schematics of subsystems driven by real-time telemetry. The workstations have the capability of recording

  15. Applicability of initial optimal maternal and fetal electrocardiogram combination vectors to subsequent recordings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan Hua-Wen; Huang Xiao-Lin; Zhao Ying; Si Jun-Feng; Liu Hong-Xing; Liu Tie-Bing

    2014-01-01

    A series of experiments are conducted to confirm whether the vectors calculated for an early section of a continuous non-invasive fetal electrocardiogram (fECG) recording can be directly applied to subsequent sections in order to reduce the computation required for real-time monitoring. Our results suggest that it is generally feasible to apply the initial optimal maternal and fetal ECG combination vectors to extract the fECG and maternal ECG in subsequent recorded sections. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

  16. A Cellular Automata-Based Simulation Tool for Real Fire Accident Prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacek M. Czerniak

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Many serious real-life problems could be simulated using cellular automata theory. There were a lot of fires in public places which kill many people. Proposed method, called Cellular Automata Evaluation (CAEva in short, is using cellular automata theory and could be used for checking buildings conditions for fire accident. The tests performed on real accident showed that an appropriately configured program allows obtaining a realistic simulation of human evacuation. The authors analyze some real accidents and proved that CAEva method appears as a very promising solution, especially in the cases of building renovations or temporary unavailability of escape routes.

  17. RELATIONSHIP QUALITY IN REAL ESTATE COMPANIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florin Alexandru LUCA

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Customer loyalty is becoming a topic of interest which is winning increasingly more importance lately, as a result of the focus of marketing research on business relationships. One of the most important factors that determine customer loyalty is Service Quality.The stage of qualitative research consists of analyzing the research literature from this domain, which highlights the Relationship Quality construct as a distinct dimension, relevant for the real estate field. The summary of the main models of relationship quality indicate the most commonly used variables to describe this construct. The stage of quantitative research aims at testing the proportion of content validity for the most commonly used variables. The results describe an estimation of the dimensions of the Relationship Quality construct for the case of real estate services.

  18. Carbazole Containing Copolymers: Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications in Reversible Holographic Recording

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bénédicte Mailhot-Jensen

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Carbazolic copolymers have been developed to be used in reversible holographic recording. This paper describes a complete analysis, from synthesis of the material to its applications, together with the corresponding characterizations. The investigated materials were photosensitive copolymers obtained from carbazolylalkylmethacrylates (CEM and octylmethacrylate (OMA. A detailed investigation was undertaken involving infrared spectroscopy and NMR techniques, 1H, 13C, COSY, and HSQC, in order to establish the chemical structure and the composition of the copolymers. Holographic recording characteristics were investigated with one- and two-layer photothermoplastic carriers. The two-layer carrier contains separate photosensitive and thermoplastic layers and gives the best holographic response. The surface of microstructured samples has been characterized by atomic force microscopy analysis. It is shown that via a photothermoplastic recording process, it is possible to record and read holograms practically in real time (~3 s with a diffraction efficiency of 10% and a spatial resolution higher than 1000 mm−1.

  19. Real-time safety risk assessment based on a real-time location system for hydropower construction sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Hanchen; Lin, Peng; Fan, Qixiang; Qiang, Maoshan

    2014-01-01

    The concern for workers' safety in construction industry is reflected in many studies focusing on static safety risk identification and assessment. However, studies on real-time safety risk assessment aimed at reducing uncertainty and supporting quick response are rare. A method for real-time safety risk assessment (RTSRA) to implement a dynamic evaluation of worker safety states on construction site has been proposed in this paper. The method provides construction managers who are in charge of safety with more abundant information to reduce the uncertainty of the site. A quantitative calculation formula, integrating the influence of static and dynamic hazards and that of safety supervisors, is established to link the safety risk of workers with the locations of on-site assets. By employing the hidden Markov model (HMM), the RTSRA provides a mechanism for processing location data provided by the real-time location system (RTLS) and analyzing the probability distributions of different states in terms of false positives and negatives. Simulation analysis demonstrated the logic of the proposed method and how it works. Application case shows that the proposed RTSRA is both feasible and effective in managing construction project safety concerns.

  20. Development of a prototype continuity of care record with context-specific links to meet the information needs of case managers for persons living with HIV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schnall, Rebecca; Cimino, James J; Bakken, Suzanne

    2012-08-01

    (1) To develop a prototype Continuity of Care Record (CCR) with context-specific links to electronic HIV information resources; and (2) to assess case managers' perceptions regarding the usability of the prototype. We integrated context-specific links to HIV case management information resources into a prototype CCR using the Infobutton Manager and Librarian Infobutton Tailoring Environment (LITE). Case managers (N=9) completed a think-aloud protocol and the Computer System Usability Questionnaire (CSUQ) to evaluate the usability of the prototype. Verbalizations from the think-aloud protocol were summarized using thematic analysis. CSUQ data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Although participants expressed positive comments regarding the usability of the prototype, the think-aloud protocol also identified the need for improvement in resource labels and for additional resources. On a scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 7 (strongly disagree), the average CSUQ overall satisfaction was 2.25 indicating that users (n=9) were generally satisfied with the system. Mean CSUQ factor scores were: System Usefulness (M=2.13), Information Quality (M=2.46), and Interface Quality (M=2.26). Our novel application of the Infobutton Manager and LITE in the context of case management for persons living with HIV in community-based settings resulted in a prototype CCR with infobuttons that met the majority of case managers' information needs and received relatively positive usability ratings. Findings from this study inform future integration of context-specific links into CCRs and electronic health records and support their use for meeting end-users information needs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. realfast: Real-time, Commensal Fast Transient Surveys with the Very Large Array

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, C. J.; Bower, G. C.; Burke-Spolaor, S.; Butler, B. J.; Demorest, P.; Halle, A.; Khudikyan, S.; Lazio, T. J. W.; Pokorny, M.; Robnett, J.; Rupen, M. P.

    2018-05-01

    Radio interferometers have the ability to precisely localize and better characterize the properties of sources. This ability is having a powerful impact on the study of fast radio transients, where a few milliseconds of data is enough to pinpoint a source at cosmological distances. However, recording interferometric data at millisecond cadence produces a terabyte-per-hour data stream that strains networks, computing systems, and archives. This challenge mirrors that of other domains of science, where the science scope is limited by the computational architecture as much as the physical processes at play. Here, we present a solution to this problem in the context of radio transients: realfast, a commensal, fast transient search system at the Jansky Very Large Array. realfast uses a novel architecture to distribute fast-sampled interferometric data to a 32-node, 64-GPU cluster for real-time imaging and transient detection. By detecting transients in situ, we can trigger the recording of data for those rare, brief instants when the event occurs and reduce the recorded data volume by a factor of 1000. This makes it possible to commensally search a data stream that would otherwise be impossible to record. This system will search for millisecond transients in more than 1000 hr of data per year, potentially localizing several Fast Radio Bursts, pulsars, and other sources of impulsive radio emission. We describe the science scope for realfast, the system design, expected outcomes, and ways in which real-time analysis can help in other fields of astrophysics.

  2. Documentation of delirium in the VA electronic health record

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Delirium is a life-threatening, clinical syndrome common among the elderly and hospitalized patients. Delirium is under-recognized and misdiagnosed, complicating efforts to study the epidemiology and construct appropriate decision support to improve patient care. This study was primarily conducted to realize how providers documented confirmed cases of delirium in electronic health records as a preliminary step for using computerized methods to identify patients with delirium from electronic health records. Methods The Mental Health Consult (MHC) team reported cases of delirium to the study team during a 6-month study period (December 1, 2009 - May 31, 2010). A chart extraction tool was developed to abstract documentation of diagnosis, signs and symptoms and known risk factors of delirium. A nurse practitioner, and a clinical pharmacist independently reviewed clinical notes during each patients hospital stay to determine if delirium and or sign and symptoms of delirium were documented. Results The MHC team reported 25 cases of delirium. When excluding MHC team notes, delirium was documented for 5 of the 25 patients (one reported case in a physician’s note, four in discharge summaries). Delirium was ICD-9 Coded for 7 of the 25 cases. Signs and symptoms associated with delirium were characterized in 8 physician notes, 11 discharge summaries, and 14 nursing notes, accounting for 16 of the 25 cases with identified delirium. Conclusions Documentation of delirium is highly inconsistent even with a confirmed diagnosis. Hence, efforts to use existing data to precisely estimate the prevalence of delirium or to conduct epidemiological studies based on medical records will be challenging. PMID:24708799

  3. New methods for solving a vertex p-center problem with uncertain demand-weighted distance: A real case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Javad Nematian

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Vertex and p-center problems are two well-known types of the center problem. In this paper, a p-center problem with uncertain demand-weighted distance will be introduced in which the demands are considered as fuzzy random variables (FRVs and the objective of the problem is to minimize the maximum distance between a node and its nearest facility. Then, by introducing new methods, the proposed problem is converted to deterministic integer programming (IP problems where these methods will be obtained through the implementation of the possibility theory and fuzzy random chance-constrained programming (FRCCP. Finally, the proposed methods are applied for locating bicycle stations in the city of Tabriz in Iran as a real case study. The computational results of our study show that these methods can be implemented for the center problem with uncertain frameworks.

  4. Can Real-Time Systems Benefit from Dynamic Partial Reconfiguration?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pezzarossa, Luca; Kristensen, Andreas Toftegaard; Schoeberl, Martin

    2017-01-01

    In real-time systems, a solution where hardware accelerators are used to implement computationally intensive tasks can be easier to analyze, in terms of worst-case execution time (WCET), than a pure software solution. However, when using FPGAs, the amount and the complexity of the hardware...... hardware accelerators in real-time systems and presents an experimental analysis of the trade-offs between hardware utilization and WCET increase due to the reconfiguration time overhead of DPR. We also investigate the trade-off between the use of multiple specialized accelerators combined with DPR instead...

  5. Deciphering long-term records of natural variability and human impact as recorded in lake sediments: a palaeolimnological puzzle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mills, Keely; Schillereff, Daniel; Saulnier-Talbot, Émilie

    2017-01-01

    that is particularly acute when considering management options for aquatic ecosystems. The duration and timing of human impacts on lake systems varies geographically, with some regions of the world (such as Africa and South America) having a longer legacy of human impact than others (e.g., New Zealand). A wide array...... of techniques (biological, chemical, physical and statistical) is available to palaeolimnologists to allow the deciphering of complex sedimentary records. Lake sediments are an important archive of how drivers have changed through time, and how these impacts manifest in lake systems. With a paucity of ‘real...

  6. Mining free-text medical records for companion animal enteric syndrome surveillance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anholt, R M; Berezowski, J; Jamal, I; Ribble, C; Stephen, C

    2014-03-01

    Large amounts of animal health care data are present in veterinary electronic medical records (EMR) and they present an opportunity for companion animal disease surveillance. Veterinary patient records are largely in free-text without clinical coding or fixed vocabulary. Text-mining, a computer and information technology application, is needed to identify cases of interest and to add structure to the otherwise unstructured data. In this study EMR's were extracted from veterinary management programs of 12 participating veterinary practices and stored in a data warehouse. Using commercially available text-mining software (WordStat™), we developed a categorization dictionary that could be used to automatically classify and extract enteric syndrome cases from the warehoused electronic medical records. The diagnostic accuracy of the text-miner for retrieving cases of enteric syndrome was measured against human reviewers who independently categorized a random sample of 2500 cases as enteric syndrome positive or negative. Compared to the reviewers, the text-miner retrieved cases with enteric signs with a sensitivity of 87.6% (95%CI, 80.4-92.9%) and a specificity of 99.3% (95%CI, 98.9-99.6%). Automatic and accurate detection of enteric syndrome cases provides an opportunity for community surveillance of enteric pathogens in companion animals. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. Scenario-based verification of real-time systems using UPPAAL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Shuhao; Belaguer, Sandie; David, Alexandre

    2010-01-01

    Abstract This paper proposes two approaches to tool-supported automatic verification of dense real-time systems against scenario-based requirements, where a system is modeled as a network of timed automata (TAs) or as a set of driving live sequence charts (LSCs), and a requirement is specified...... as a separate monitored LSC chart. We make timed extensions to a kernel subset of the LSC language and define a trace-based semantics. By translating a monitored LSC chart to a behavior-equivalent observer TA and then non-intrusively composing this observer with the original TA modeled real-time system......, the problem of scenario-based verification reduces to a computation tree logic (CTL) real-time model checking problem. In case the real time system is modeled as a set of driving LSC charts, we translate these driving charts and the monitored chart into a behavior-equivalent network of TAs by using a “one...

  8. TIAA's Commercial Mortgage and Real Estate Investments: The Case for Financial Disclosure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garrigan, Richard T.; Jones, Thomas W.

    1992-01-01

    The Teachers Insurance and Annuities Association (TIAA) is criticized for inadequate financial disclosure of its mortgage and real estate investments, especially in the current market. A TIAA vice president responds that the company has not been remiss in reporting changes to its constituents and outlines its present financial status. (MSE)

  9. Wide area surveillance real-time motion detection systems

    CERN Document Server

    2014-01-01

    The book describes a system for visual surveillance using intelligent cameras. The camera uses robust techniques for detecting and tracking moving objects. The real time capture of the objects is then stored int he database. The tracking data stored in the database is analysed to study the camera view, detect and track objects, and study object behavior. These set of models provide a robust framework for coordinating the tracking of objects between overlapping and non-overlapping cameras, and recording the activity of objects detected by the system.

  10. making a case for the development of a university records and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Walter

    university records and archives management programme at the. National ... memory, and foster accountability and good governance. .... In the words of Uwaifo (2004:85) ... personnel make information available and accessible for such.

  11. 78 FR 73516 - Privacy Act of 1974; System of Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-06

    ..., Social Security Number (SSN), and case docket number and may include the individual's home address and... entry and replace with ``Paper file folders and electronic storage media.'' Retrievability: Delete entry... identity of the individual requesting access to the records.'' Record access procedures: Delete entry and...

  12. NEED ANALYSIS FOR IDENTIFYING ESP MATERIALS FOR MEDICAL RECORD STUDENTS IN APIKES CITRA MEDIKA SURAKARTA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beta Setiawati

    2016-06-01

    and quantitative methods. The outcomesof this study showed the real necessities of students in learning English to prepare their future at the field of medical record and health information. Findings of the need analysis demonstrate that all four of the language skills were necessary for their academic studies and their target career. There are certain topics related to English for medical record such as medical record staff’ duties, ethical and legal issues in medical record, Hospital statistics, Medical record filling system, Health information system, and so on. Accordingly, this study proposes new ESP materials based on the stakeholders’ needs.It is suggested that textbook or handout of English for Medical Record will be made based on the Need Analysis by ESP designers and ESP lecturers involve actively recognizing the progressive needs of medical record students.

  13. Real-time Holographic Display Based on a Super Fast Response Thin Film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Hongyue; Li, Xiao; He, Zhenghong; Su, Yikai; Poon, Ting-Chung

    2013-01-01

    Real-time dynamic holographic display is obtained with super fast response in a thin film without any applied electric field. Holograms can be refreshed in the order of a millisecond and there is no cross talk between the recorded holograms because the hologram formed in the film is transient and can be completely self erased, and the hologram formation time and self-erasure time are both ∼1 ms. Holographic video display is achieved, which shows the real-time holographic image display capability of the thin film, and its much higher resolution than those of commercially available spatial light modulators. Furthermore, multiplexed hologram display using two polarization directions of a recorded light and multiple color holographic display at different laser wavelengths are presented, which demonstrate the feasibility of a RGB color holographic three-dimensional display with the thin film. Because the sample is easy to be fabricated into a large size screen and needs no external applied electric field, we think that the film can be developed into a large-size, dynamic, and color holographic three-dimensional display in the future.

  14. Record-keeping as an Alternative Method οf Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Androniki Kouvdou

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The basic topic of this chapter is the description of an alternative method of assessment which supplements traditional objective techniques (i.e. testing, while counterbalancing their limitations. This alternative method, known as ‘record-keeping’, involves the systematic collection and recording of information about learner progress and aims at providing a more complete and valid formative assessment of their developmental abilities in specified areas. More particularly, this chapter presents a small-scale case study, which was carried out in the sixth grade of a primary school and lasted three months. The subjects of this case study were four twelve-year-old learners and its purpose was to investigate the potential of ‘record-keeping’ as an alternative method of assessing oracy skills in the foreign language. The data that derived from the case study reinforce the usefulness and validity of the particular method of assessment. The goals of the experimental assessment design, which entailed the recording and gradual development of learner oracy skills as well as the enhancement of motivation and awareness of their relevant sub-skills, were accomplished to a considerable degree. Additionally, the learners responded positively to the implemented assessment project, while being actively involved in it, which further substantiates its effectiveness. Alternative assessment, however, is a large area, whose full potential of implementation calls for further investigation.

  15. Automated real-time testing (ARTT) for embedded control systems (ECS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hawkins, J; Howard, R; Nguyen, H.

    2001-01-01

    Many of today's automated real-time testing systems for embedded systems were developed using expensive custom hardware and software. In this article they describe how to use commercially available off-the-shelf hardware and software to design and develop an automated real-time test systems for Embedded Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) Based Control Systems. The system development began with the implementation of the VALI/TEST Pro testing methodology as a means for structuring the testing. Using this methodology, they were able to decompose system requirement documents for a Personnel Safety System (PSS) into its high, intermediate and detail level requirements. next, the validation procedures for the PSS system were decomposed into testing units called builds, test runs and test cases. To measure the PSS system's test coverage three levels of system requirements were mapped to their respective unit level of test using a specially constructed validation matrix that was designed to handle over 150 test cases and requirements. All of the above work led to the development of an Automated Real-Time Test System (ARTTS) that is capable of performing complete black box testing in real-time for Embedded PLC Based Control Systems. Also note, that the PSS system under test and mentioned in this paper is located at the Advance Photon Source (APS) at Argonne National Laboratory Basic Energy Science Facility in Argonne, Illinois

  16. Real time computer controlled weld skate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wall, W. A., Jr.

    1977-01-01

    A real time, adaptive control, automatic welding system was developed. This system utilizes the general case geometrical relationships between a weldment and a weld skate to precisely maintain constant weld speed and torch angle along a contoured workplace. The system is compatible with the gas tungsten arc weld process or can be adapted to other weld processes. Heli-arc cutting and machine tool routing operations are possible applications.

  17. The Effect Of The Original Acquisition Of Ownership Of Immovable Property On Existing Limited Real Rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerrit Pienaar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It is an accepted principle in South African law that movable property acquired in an original way (by operation of law is not burdened by any limited real rights, as previous limited real rights are extinguished on the vesting of ownership (mobilia non habent sequelam. It is assumed by some South African writers that the same principles are applicable to the original acquisition of immovable property and that all existing limited real rights fall away on original acquisition of ownership. In this article the nature of limited real rights to immovable property is examined, and the notion that ownership is the "mother" right on which all limited real rights are based is scrutinised critically. The nature and establishment of limited real rights are used to distinguish between the essence and effect of limited real rights in the case of immovable property. The recognition of limited real rights as constitutional property is used as a further argument that limited real rights cannot be extinguished automatically by the original acquisition of immovable property, as such common law or statutory measures will constitute an arbitrary deprivation of property in terms of section 25 of the Constitution. The statutory provisions regarding limited real rights in the case of prescription and expropriation are then analysed as an indication that it is not a general principle that limited real rights are extinguished automatically on the original acquisition of ownership of immovable property.

  18. Real-world use of the risk-need-responsivity model and the level of service/case management inventory with community-supervised offenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyck, Heather L; Campbell, Mary Ann; Wershler, Julie L

    2018-06-01

    The risk-need-responsivity model (RNR; Bonta & Andrews, 2017) has become a leading approach for effective offender case management, but field tests of this model are still required. The present study first assessed the predictive validity of the RNR-informed Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (LS/CMI; Andrews, Bonta, & Wormith, 2004) with a sample of Atlantic Canadian male and female community-supervised provincial offenders (N = 136). Next, the case management plans prepared from these LS/CMI results were analyzed for adherence to the principles of risk, need, and responsivity. As expected, the LS/CMI was a strong predictor of general recidivism for both males (area under the curve = .75, 95% confidence interval [.66, .85]), and especially females (area under the curve = .94, 95% confidence interval [.84, 1.00]), over an average 3.42-year follow-up period. The LS/CMI was predictive of time to recidivism, with lower risk cases taking longer to reoffend than higher risk cases. Despite the robust predictive validity of the LS/CMI, case management plans developed by probation officers generally reflected poor adherence to the RNR principles. These findings highlight the need for better training on how to transfer risk appraisal information from valid risk tools to case plans to better meet the best-practice principles of risk, need, and responsivity for criminal behavior risk reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. Real-time determination of the signal-to-noise ratio of partly coherent seismic time series

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Peter Møller

    1994-01-01

    it is of great practical interest to be able to monitor the S/N while the traces are recorded an approach for fast real-time determination of the S/N of seismic time series is proposed. The described method is based on an iterative procedure utilizing the trace-to-trace coherence, but unlike procedures known so...... far it uses calculated initial guesses and stop criterions. This significantly reduces the computational burden of the procedure so that real-time capabilities are obtained...

  20. Cognitive complexity of the medical record is a risk factor for major adverse events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberson, David; Connell, Michael; Dillis, Shay; Gauvreau, Kimberlee; Gore, Rebecca; Heagerty, Elaina; Jenkins, Kathy; Ma, Lin; Maurer, Amy; Stephenson, Jessica; Schwartz, Margot

    2014-01-01

    Patients in tertiary care hospitals are more complex than in the past, but the implications of this are poorly understood as "patient complexity" has been difficult to quantify. We developed a tool, the Complexity Ruler, to quantify the amount of data (as bits) in the patient’s medical record. We designated the amount of data in the medical record as the cognitive complexity of the medical record (CCMR). We hypothesized that CCMR is a useful surrogate for true patient complexity and that higher CCMR correlates with risk of major adverse events. The Complexity Ruler was validated by comparing the measured CCMR with physician rankings of patient complexity on specific inpatient services. It was tested in a case-control model of all patients with major adverse events at a tertiary care pediatric hospital from 2005 to 2006. The main outcome measure was an externally reported major adverse event. We measured CCMR for 24 hours before the event, and we estimated lifetime CCMR. Above empirically derived cutoffs, 24-hour and lifetime CCMR were risk factors for major adverse events (odds ratios, 5.3 and 6.5, respectively). In a multivariate analysis, CCMR alone was essentially as predictive of risk as a model that started with 30-plus clinical factors. CCMR correlates with physician assessment of complexity and risk of adverse events. We hypothesize that increased CCMR increases the risk of physician cognitive overload. An automated version of the Complexity Ruler could allow identification of at-risk patients in real time.

  1. Efficient sequential and parallel algorithms for record linkage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mamun, Abdullah-Al; Mi, Tian; Aseltine, Robert; Rajasekaran, Sanguthevar

    2014-01-01

    Integrating data from multiple sources is a crucial and challenging problem. Even though there exist numerous algorithms for record linkage or deduplication, they suffer from either large time needs or restrictions on the number of datasets that they can integrate. In this paper we report efficient sequential and parallel algorithms for record linkage which handle any number of datasets and outperform previous algorithms. Our algorithms employ hierarchical clustering algorithms as the basis. A key idea that we use is radix sorting on certain attributes to eliminate identical records before any further processing. Another novel idea is to form a graph that links similar records and find the connected components. Our sequential and parallel algorithms have been tested on a real dataset of 1,083,878 records and synthetic datasets ranging in size from 50,000 to 9,000,000 records. Our sequential algorithm runs at least two times faster, for any dataset, than the previous best-known algorithm, the two-phase algorithm using faster computation of the edit distance (TPA (FCED)). The speedups obtained by our parallel algorithm are almost linear. For example, we get a speedup of 7.5 with 8 cores (residing in a single node), 14.1 with 16 cores (residing in two nodes), and 26.4 with 32 cores (residing in four nodes). We have compared the performance of our sequential algorithm with TPA (FCED) and found that our algorithm outperforms the previous one. The accuracy is the same as that of this previous best-known algorithm.

  2. Getting real with real options

    OpenAIRE

    M. R Grasselli

    2006-01-01

    We apply a utility-based method to obtain the value of a finite-time investment opportunity when the underlying real asset is not perfectly correlated to a traded financial asset. Using a discrete-time algorithm to calculate the indifference price for this type of real option, we present numerical examples for the corresponding investment thresholds, in particular highlighting their dependence with respect to correlation and risk aversion.

  3. The research for flexible product family manufacturing based on real options

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maozhu Jin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The goal of this paper is to find the best production strategy for product mix, which means the largest value of the options. And finally, give a case and find the solution of the optimal production strategy for product mix. Design/methodology/approach: This article, based on the production with characteristics of a call option and 0-1 integer programming model, build new-products mix strategy, and through case demonstrate that traditional method underestimates the value of the products mix. Finding: According to market being volatility and uncertainty and the production can being delayed, firms can flexibly arrange the best time for products to manufacture. Use real options theory to analyze product decision and the best production timing decision. Find the total options value is higher than the traditional methods. Research limitations/implications: We are not applied to real option pricing theory in modular flexible production system. We just applied real option pricing theory to the product platform. The basic model needs to improve. While the thinking of this paper provides some research ideas for flexible production systems based on real option in further research. Practical Implications: The introduction of the real option make the company can achieve dynamic planning and flexible management for production of products mix and get the better benefit. Originality/value: The central contribution of this paper is to introduce the option mechanism in the production timing for the product mix.

  4. Probabilistic Cloning of Three Real States with Optimal Success Probabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rui, Pin-shu

    2017-06-01

    We investigate the probabilistic quantum cloning (PQC) of three real states with average probability distribution. To get the analytic forms of the optimal success probabilities we assume that the three states have only two pairwise inner products. Based on the optimal success probabilities, we derive the explicit form of 1 →2 PQC for cloning three real states. The unitary operation needed in the PQC process is worked out too. The optimal success probabilities are also generalized to the M→ N PQC case.

  5. Resource-Parameterized Timing Analysis of Real-Time Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kim, Jin Hyun; Legay, Axel; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand

    2015-01-01

    on a specic platform. For the same reason, a configuration of platforms cannot be independent from applications in most cases. This paper proposes a new analysis framework of real-time systems where an application and a platform can be analyzed in a fully independent way such that not only the application...

  6. The investigation of nanostructures of magnetic recording media by TEM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Yingguo; Ohkubo, Tadakatsu; Laughlin, David E.

    2003-01-01

    Diverse applications of transmission electron microscopy techniques used in investigating the nanostructures of magnetic recording materials are presented. Specimen preparation methods are discussed for the specific case of magnetic thin film recording media. Investigations of the crystallographic orientation, grain size and distribution, and interfacial nanostructures are presented

  7. 77 FR 53921 - Records Schedules; Availability and Request for Comments

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-04

    ... after the agency no longer needs them to conduct its business. Some schedules are comprehensive and... records or indicates agency- wide applicability in the case of schedules that cover records that may be..., sustainability reports and plans, and historically significant incident response files. 7. Department of the...

  8. Real-time security extensions for EPCglobal networks case study for the pharmaceutical industry

    CERN Document Server

    Schapranow, Matthieu-P

    2014-01-01

    This book reviews the design of real-time security extensions for EPCglobal networks based on in-memory technology, presents authentication protocols for devices with low computational resources and outlines steps for implementing history-based access control.

  9. In Patients With Cirrhosis, Driving Simulator Performance Is Associated With Real-life Driving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauridsen, Mette M; Thacker, Leroy R; White, Melanie B; Unser, Ariel; Sterling, Richard K; Stravitz, Richard T; Matherly, Scott; Puri, Puneet; Sanyal, Arun J; Gavis, Edith A; Luketic, Velimir; Siddiqui, Muhammad S; Heuman, Douglas M; Fuchs, Michael; Bajaj, Jasmohan S

    2016-05-01

    Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) has been linked to higher real-life rates of automobile crashes and poor performance in driving simulation studies, but the link between driving simulator performance and real-life automobile crashes has not been clearly established. Furthermore, not all patients with MHE are unsafe drivers, but it is unclear how to distinguish them from unsafe drivers. We investigated the link between performance on driving simulators and real-life automobile accidents and traffic violations. We also aimed to identify features of unsafe drivers with cirrhosis and evaluated changes in simulated driving skills and MHE status after 1 year. We performed a study of outpatients with cirrhosis (n = 205; median 55 years old; median model for end-stage liver disease score, 9.5; none with overt hepatic encephalopathy or alcohol or illicit drug use within previous 6 months) seen at the Virginia Commonwealth University and McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center, from November 2008 through April 2014. All participants were given paper-pencil tests to diagnose MHE (98 had MHE; 48%), and 163 patients completed a standardized driving simulation. Data were collected on traffic violations and automobile accidents from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and from participants' self-assessments when they entered the study, and from 73 participants 1 year later. Participants also completed a questionnaire about alcohol use and cessation patterns. The driving simulator measured crashes, run-time, road center and edge excursions, and illegal turns during navigation; before and after each driving simulation session, patients were asked to rate their overall driving skills. Drivers were classified as safe or unsafe based on crashes and violations reported on official driving records; simulation results were compared with real-life driving records. Multivariable regression analyses of real-life crashes and violations was performed using data on

  10. Validation of asthma recording in electronic health records: protocol for a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nissen, Francis; Quint, Jennifer K; Wilkinson, Samantha; Mullerova, Hana; Smeeth, Liam; Douglas, Ian J

    2017-05-29

    Asthma is a common, heterogeneous disease with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. It can be difficult to define in epidemiological studies using electronic health records as the diagnosis is based on non-specific respiratory symptoms and spirometry, neither of which are routinely registered. Electronic health records can nonetheless be valuable to study the epidemiology, management, healthcare use and control of asthma. For health databases to be useful sources of information, asthma diagnoses should ideally be validated. The primary objectives are to provide an overview of the methods used to validate asthma diagnoses in electronic health records and summarise the results of the validation studies. EMBASE and MEDLINE will be systematically searched for appropriate search terms. The searches will cover all studies in these databases up to October 2016 with no start date and will yield studies that have validated algorithms or codes for the diagnosis of asthma in electronic health records. At least one test validation measure (sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value or other) is necessary for inclusion. In addition, we require the validated algorithms to be compared with an external golden standard, such as a manual review, a questionnaire or an independent second database. We will summarise key data including author, year of publication, country, time period, date, data source, population, case characteristics, clinical events, algorithms, gold standard and validation statistics in a uniform table. This study is a synthesis of previously published studies and, therefore, no ethical approval is required. The results will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. Results from this systematic review can be used to study outcome research on asthma and can be used to identify case definitions for asthma. CRD42016041798. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the

  11. Acoustic Performance of a Real-Time Three-Dimensional Sound-Reproduction System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faller, Kenneth J., II; Rizzi, Stephen A.; Aumann, Aric R.

    2013-01-01

    The Exterior Effects Room (EER) is a 39-seat auditorium at the NASA Langley Research Center and was built to support psychoacoustic studies of aircraft community noise. The EER has a real-time simulation environment which includes a three-dimensional sound-reproduction system. This system requires real-time application of equalization filters to compensate for spectral coloration of the sound reproduction due to installation and room effects. This paper describes the efforts taken to develop the equalization filters for use in the real-time sound-reproduction system and the subsequent analysis of the system s acoustic performance. The acoustic performance of the compensated and uncompensated sound-reproduction system is assessed for its crossover performance, its performance under stationary and dynamic conditions, the maximum spatialized sound pressure level it can produce from a single virtual source, and for the spatial uniformity of a generated sound field. Additionally, application examples are given to illustrate the compensated sound-reproduction system performance using recorded aircraft flyovers

  12. Robust record preservation system on geological repository

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ohuchi, J.; Torata, S.; Tsuboya, T.

    2004-01-01

    Long-term record preservation system on geological disposal of High Level Radioactive Wastes (HLW) has been investigated as the institutional control by RWMC, Japan. Geological disposal of HLW, being based on the passive safe concept, has been considered not to necessitate the human controls to maintain its long-term safety. However how to complement the safety case on geological disposal is an important issue in each countries to progress the repository program with the step-wise decisions process during the long-term period up to several hundreds years. Although we cannot predict the future society, we need to realize the robust and redundant system for preserving records, which should be accessible, retrievable and understandable for the unpredicted future generations. First of all, we held a Rome workshop in January 2003 to exchange views on the matter, resulted in the suggestion directing the discussion on the record management and long-term preservation and retrieval of information regarding radioactive waste. Second, we considered the balance of active and passive system to strengthen the robustness. Another significance of long-term record preservation is to send current generation an implicit message, 'doing our best for future generations', in addition to aiming at both warning and their own decision-making. We call it 'meta-signal' to current generation. Thirdly, we demonstrated the laser-engraving technology to have converted five hundreds pages of an A4 sized report with human readable font sizes to 42 square silicon carbide plates, 10cm x10cm and 1mm in thickness. Silicon carbide would be an alternative to paper and might be possible to be an alternative to microfilm utilized as digital recording media. Another case study is the future generations' accessibility to the preserved records. (author)

  13. The Raptor Real-Time Processing Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galassi, M.; Starr, D.; Wozniak, P.; Brozdin, K.

    The primary goal of Raptor is ambitious: to identify interesting optical transients from very wide field of view telescopes in real time, and then to quickly point the higher resolution Raptor ``fovea'' cameras and spectrometer to the location of the optical transient. The most interesting of Raptor's many applications is the real-time search for orphan optical counterparts of Gamma Ray Bursts. The sequence of steps (data acquisition, basic calibration, source extraction, astrometry, relative photometry, the smarts of transient identification and elimination of false positives, telescope pointing feedback, etc.) is implemented with a ``component'' approach. All basic elements of the pipeline functionality have been written from scratch or adapted (as in the case of SExtractor for source extraction) to form a consistent modern API operating on memory resident images and source lists. The result is a pipeline which meets our real-time requirements and which can easily operate as a monolithic or distributed processing system. Finally, the Raptor architecture is entirely based on free software (sometimes referred to as ``open source'' software). In this paper we also discuss the interplay between various free software technologies in this type of astronomical problem.

  14. Real time quantitative phase microscopy based on single-shot transport of intensity equation (ssTIE) method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Wei; Tian, Xiaolin; He, Xiaoliang; Song, Xiaojun; Xue, Liang; Liu, Cheng; Wang, Shouyu

    2016-08-01

    Microscopy based on transport of intensity equation provides quantitative phase distributions which opens another perspective for cellular observations. However, it requires multi-focal image capturing while mechanical and electrical scanning limits its real time capacity in sample detections. Here, in order to break through this restriction, real time quantitative phase microscopy based on single-shot transport of the intensity equation method is proposed. A programmed phase mask is designed to realize simultaneous multi-focal image recording without any scanning; thus, phase distributions can be quantitatively retrieved in real time. It is believed the proposed method can be potentially applied in various biological and medical applications, especially for live cell imaging.

  15. A wearable smartphone-based platform for real-time cardiovascular disease detection via electrocardiogram processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oresko, Joseph J; Duschl, Heather; Cheng, Allen C

    2010-05-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the single leading cause of global mortality and is projected to remain so. Cardiac arrhythmia is a very common type of CVD and may indicate an increased risk of stroke or sudden cardiac death. The ECG is the most widely adopted clinical tool to diagnose and assess the risk of arrhythmia. ECGs measure and display the electrical activity of the heart from the body surface. During patients' hospital visits, however, arrhythmias may not be detected on standard resting ECG machines, since the condition may not be present at that moment in time. While Holter-based portable monitoring solutions offer 24-48 h ECG recording, they lack the capability of providing any real-time feedback for the thousands of heart beats they record, which must be tediously analyzed offline. In this paper, we seek to unite the portability of Holter monitors and the real-time processing capability of state-of-the-art resting ECG machines to provide an assistive diagnosis solution using smartphones. Specifically, we developed two smartphone-based wearable CVD-detection platforms capable of performing real-time ECG acquisition and display, feature extraction, and beat classification. Furthermore, the same statistical summaries available on resting ECG machines are provided.

  16. How the provenance of electronic health record data matters for research: a case example using system mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Karin E; Kamineni, Aruna; Fuller, Sharon; Olmstead, Danielle; Wernli, Karen J

    2014-01-01

    The use of electronic health records (EHRs) for research is proceeding rapidly, driven by computational power, analytical techniques, and policy. However, EHR-based research is limited by the complexity of EHR data and a lack of understanding about data provenance, meaning the context under which the data were collected. This paper presents system flow mapping as a method to help researchers more fully understand the provenance of their EHR data as it relates to local workflow. We provide two specific examples of how this method can improve data identification, documentation, and processing. EHRs store clinical and administrative data, often in unstructured fields. Each clinical system has a unique and dynamic workflow, as well as an EHR customized for local use. The EHR customization may be influenced by a broader context such as documentation required for billing. We present a case study with two examples of using system flow mapping to characterize EHR data for a local colorectal cancer screening process. System flow mapping demonstrated that information entered into the EHR during clinical practice required interpretation and transformation before it could be accurately applied to research. We illustrate how system flow mapping shaped our knowledge of the quality and completeness of data in two examples: (1) determining colonoscopy indication as recorded in the EHR, and (2) discovering a specific EHR form that captured family history. Researchers who do not consider data provenance risk compiling data that are systematically incomplete or incorrect. For example, researchers who are not familiar with the clinical workflow under which data were entered might miss or misunderstand patient information or procedure and diagnostic codes. Data provenance is a fundamental characteristic of research data from EHRs. Given the diversity of EHR platforms and system workflows, researchers need tools for evaluating and reporting data availability, quality, and

  17. Teaching with Real-time Earthquake Data in jAmaSeis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bravo, T. K.; Coleman, B.; Taber, J.

    2011-12-01

    Earthquakes can capture the attention of students and inspire them to explore the Earth. The Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) and Moravian College are collaborating to develop cross-platform software (jAmaSeis) that enables students to access real-time earthquake waveform data. Users can record their own data from several different types of educational seismometers, and they can obtain data in real-time from other jAmaseis users nationwide. Additionally, the ability to stream data from the IRIS Data Management Center (DMC) is under development. Once real-time data is obtained, users of jAmaseis can study seismological concepts in the classroom. The user interface of the software is carefully designed to lead students through the steps to interrogate seismic data following a large earthquake. Users can process data to determine characteristics of seismograms such as time of occurrence, distance from the epicenter to the station, magnitude, and location (via triangulation). Along the way, the software provides graphical clues to assist student interpretations. In addition to the inherent pedagogical features of the software, IRIS provides pre-packaged data and instructional activities to help students learn the analysis steps. After using these activities, students can apply their skills to interpret seismic waves from their own real-time data.

  18. How Genetics Might Affect Real Property Rights: Currents in Contemporary Bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothstein, Mark A; Rothstein, Laura

    2016-03-01

    New developments in genetics could affect a variety of real property rights. Mortgage lenders, mortgage insurers, real estate sellers, senior living centers, retirement communities, or other parties in residential real estate transactions begin requiring predictive genetic information as part of the application process. One likely use would be by retirement communities to learn an individual's genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on disability, but it is not clear that it would apply to genetic risk assessments. Only California law explicitly applies to this situation and there have been no reported cases. © 2016 American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics.

  19. Postmortem diagnosis of cytomegalovirus and accompanying other infection agents by real-time PCR in cases of sudden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagmur, Gulhan; Ziyade, Nihan; Elgormus, Neval; Das, Taner; Sahin, M Feyzi; Yildirim, Muzaffer; Ozgun, Ayse; Akcay, Arzu; Karayel, Ferah; Koc, Sermet

    2016-02-01

    As an opportunistic pathogen with high mortality rates, Cytomegalovirus (CMV) may lead to fatal disseminated CMV infection of the premature and newborn; thus necessitating the demonstration of CMV-DNA with clinical history and/or histopathological findings of CMV infection and defining other bacterial and viral infection agents with real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in udden unexpected death in infancy (SUDI) cases as we aimed in this study. 314 (144 female, 170 male) SUDI cases were prospectively investigated from January 2013 to January 2015 in Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institution. The study includes 87 tissue samples of 39 cases for post-mortem histopathological examination of interstitial pneumonia, myocarditis, meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis, colitis or tubulointerstitial nephritis and/or accompanying chronic sialadenitis. CMV-DNA was found positive in 35 (40.2%) salivary gland, 19 (21.8%) lung, 1 (1.1%) tonsil, and 1 (1.1%) brain tissues. CMV sialadenitis and/or CMV pneumonia associated with other viral and/or bacterial agents were detected in 23 (60%) of 39 infant cases. The demonstration of CMV-DNA would significantly clarify the cause of death and collection of epidemiological data in SUDI cases with clinical history and histopathological findings of CMV infection accompanying chronic CMV sialadenitis. Furthermore, CMV suppresses the immune system, and may predispose to other bacterial and/or viral infections in these cases. Post-mortem molecular investigations are useful in explaining cause of death in SUDI with a suspicion of infection in forensic autopsies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.

  20. Why live recording sounds better: A case study of Schumann’s Träumerei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haruka eShoda

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We explore the concept that artists perform best in front of an audience. The negative effects of performance anxiety are much better known than their related cousin on the other shoulder: the positive effects of social facilitation. The present study, however, reveals a listener's preference for performances recorded in front of an audience. In Study 1, we prepared two types of recordings of Träumerei performed by 13 pianists: recordings in front of an audience and those with no audience. According to the evaluation by 153 listeners, the recordings performed in front of an audience sounded better, suggesting that the presence of an audience enhanced or facilitated the performance. In Study 2, we analyzed pianists' durational and dynamic expressions. According to the functional principal components analyses, we found that the expression of Träumerei consisted of three components: the overall quantity, the cross-sectional contrast between the final and the remaining sections, and the control of the expressive variability. Pianists' expressions were targeted more to the average of the cross-sectional variation in the audience-present than in the audience-absent recordings. In Study 3, we explored a model that explained listeners' responses induced by pianists' acoustical expressions, using path analyses. The final model indicated that the cross-sectional variation of the duration and that of the dynamics determined listeners' evaluations of the quality and the emotionally moving experience, respectively. In line with human's preferences for commonality, the more average the durational expressions were in live recording, the better the listeners' evaluations were regardless of their musical experiences. Only the well-experienced listeners (at least 16 years of musical training were moved more by the deviated dynamic expressions in live recording, suggesting a link between the experienced listener's emotional experience and the unique dynamics in