Identifying public health competencies relevant to family medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Harvey, Bart J; Moloughney, Brent W; Iglar, Karl T

2011-10-01

Public health situations faced by family physicians and other primary care practitioners, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and more recently H1N1, have resulted in an increased interest to identify the public health competencies relevant to family medicine. At present there is no agreed-on set of public health competencies delineating the knowledge and skills that family physicians should possess to effectively face diverse public health challenges. Using a multi-staged, iterative process that included a detailed literature review, the authors developed a set of public health competencies relevant to primary care, identifying competencies relevant across four levels, from "post-MD" to "enhanced." Feedback from family medicine and public health educator-practitioners regarding the set of proposed "essential" competencies indicated the need for a more limited, feasible set of "priority" areas to be highlighted during residency training. This focused set of public health competencies has begun to guide relevant components of the University of Toronto's Family Medicine Residency Program curriculum, including academic half-days; clinical experiences, especially identifying "teachable moments" during patient encounters; resident academic projects; and elective public health agency placements. These competencies will also be used to guide the development of a family medicine-public health primer and faculty development sessions to support family medicine faculty facilitating residents to achieve these competencies. Once more fully implemented, an evaluation will be initiated to determine the degree to which these public health competencies are being achieved by family medicine graduates, especially whether they attained the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to effectively face diverse public health situations-from common to emergent. Copyright © 2011 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Test Set for stiff Initial Value Problem Solvers in the open source software R: Package deTestSet

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mazzia, F.; Cash, J.R.; Soetaert, K.

2012-01-01

In this paper we present the R package deTestSet that includes challenging test problems written as ordinary differential equations (ODEs), differential algebraic equations (DAEs) of index up to 3 and implicit differential equations (IDES). In addition it includes 6 new codes to solve initial value

Fractal analysis on a classical hard-wall billiard with openings using a two-dimensional set of initial conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ree, Suhan

2003-01-01

Fractal analysis is performed to measure the chaoticity of a classical hard-wall billiard with openings. We use the circular billiard with a straight cut with two openings, and a two-dimensional (2D) set of initial conditions that produce all possible trajectories of a particle injected from one opening. We numerically compute the fractal dimension of singular points of the function that maps an initial condition to the number of collisions with the wall before the exit, using the box-counting algorithm that uses uniformly distributed points inside the 2D set of initial conditions. Finally, the classical chaotic properties are observed while the parameters of the billiard are varied, and the results are compared with those with the one-dimensional set of initial conditions

75 FR 62686 - Health Information Technology: Revisions to Initial Set of Standards, Implementation...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-13

... Health Information Technology: Revisions to Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and... Health Information Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human Services. ACTION: Interim final rule... Coordinator for Health Information Technology, Attention: Steven Posnack, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Suite...

Conditional Probabilities in the Excursion Set Theory. Generic Barriers and non-Gaussian Initial Conditions

CERN Document Server

De Simone, Andrea; Riotto, Antonio

2011-01-01

The excursion set theory, where density perturbations evolve stochastically with the smoothing scale, provides a method for computing the dark matter halo mass function. The computation of the mass function is mapped into the so-called first-passage time problem in the presence of a moving barrier. The excursion set theory is also a powerful formalism to study other properties of dark matter halos such as halo bias, accretion rate, formation time, merging rate and the formation history of halos. This is achieved by computing conditional probabilities with non-trivial initial conditions, and the conditional two-barrier first-crossing rate. In this paper we use the recently-developed path integral formulation of the excursion set theory to calculate analytically these conditional probabilities in the presence of a generic moving barrier, including the one describing the ellipsoidal collapse, and for both Gaussian and non-Gaussian initial conditions. The non-Markovianity of the random walks induced by non-Gaussi...

Setting up crowd science projects.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheliga, Kaja; Friesike, Sascha; Puschmann, Cornelius; Fecher, Benedikt

2016-11-29

Crowd science is scientific research that is conducted with the participation of volunteers who are not professional scientists. Thanks to the Internet and online platforms, project initiators can draw on a potentially large number of volunteers. This crowd can be involved to support data-rich or labour-intensive projects that would otherwise be unfeasible. So far, research on crowd science has mainly focused on analysing individual crowd science projects. In our research, we focus on the perspective of project initiators and explore how crowd science projects are set up. Based on multiple case study research, we discuss the objectives of crowd science projects and the strategies of their initiators for accessing volunteers. We also categorise the tasks allocated to volunteers and reflect on the issue of quality assurance as well as feedback mechanisms. With this article, we contribute to a better understanding of how crowd science projects are set up and how volunteers can contribute to science. We suggest that our findings are of practical relevance for initiators of crowd science projects, for science communication as well as for informed science policy making. © The Author(s) 2016.

THE RELEVANCE OF SUBSIDIARY INITIATIVES FOR BRAZILIAN MULTINATIONALS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moacir de Miranda Oliveira Junior

2009-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze relationship patterns between headquarters and subsidiaries of Brazilian Multinationals Enterprises (BrMNEs. The key construct for that investigation is Subsidiary Initiative, which comprises Subsidiary Entrepreneurial Orientation, Autonomy, Integration, Local Competitive Context and Business Network.A survey was carried out in a sample of 65 subsidiaries of 29 BrMNEs. The main outcome is that subsidiaries are highly integrated and receive Entrepreneurial Orientation from Headquarters (HQs, but Initiative is limited. Actually, the main determinants of subsidiary’s initiatives are Local Context and Business Networking in the host country. This apparent paradox may be explained by what we call ‘rebellious subsidiaries’, which take initiatives based on their business environment and connections, regardless of their HQs’ directions or delegation of autonomy.

75 FR 44589 - Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-28

... Part III Department of Health and Human Services 45 CFR Part 170 Health Information Technology... Secretary 45 CFR Part 170 RIN 0991-AB58 Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards... of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Department of Health and Human...

On the ""early-time"" evolution of variables relevant to turbulence models for Rayleigh-Taylor instability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rollin, Bertrand [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Andrews, Malcolm J [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

We present our progress toward setting initial conditions in variable density turbulence models. In particular, we concentrate our efforts on the BHR turbulence model for turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Our approach is to predict profiles of relevant parameters before the fully turbulent regime and use them as initial conditions for the turbulence model. We use an idealized model of the mixing between two interpenetrating fluids to define the initial profiles for the turbulence model parameters. Velocities and volume fractions used in the idealized mixing model are obtained respectively from a set of ordinary differential equations modeling the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and from an idealization of the density profile in the mixing layer. A comparison between predicted initial profiles for the turbulence model parameters and initial profiles of the parameters obtained from low Atwood number three dimensional simulations show reasonable agreement.

Parsimonious relevance models

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meij, E.; Weerkamp, W.; Balog, K.; de Rijke, M.; Myang, S.-H.; Oard, D.W.; Sebastiani, F.; Chua, T.-S.; Leong, M.-K.

2008-01-01

We describe a method for applying parsimonious language models to re-estimate the term probabilities assigned by relevance models. We apply our method to six topic sets from test collections in five different genres. Our parsimonious relevance models (i) improve retrieval effectiveness in terms of

Decaying relevance of clinical data towards future decisions in data-driven inpatient clinical order sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jonathan H; Alagappan, Muthuraman; Goldstein, Mary K; Asch, Steven M; Altman, Russ B

2017-06-01

Determine how varying longitudinal historical training data can impact prediction of future clinical decisions. Estimate the "decay rate" of clinical data source relevance. We trained a clinical order recommender system, analogous to Netflix or Amazon's "Customers who bought A also bought B..." product recommenders, based on a tertiary academic hospital's structured electronic health record data. We used this system to predict future (2013) admission orders based on different subsets of historical training data (2009 through 2012), relative to existing human-authored order sets. Predicting future (2013) inpatient orders is more accurate with models trained on just one month of recent (2012) data than with 12 months of older (2009) data (ROC AUC 0.91 vs. 0.88, precision 27% vs. 22%, recall 52% vs. 43%, all P<10 -10 ). Algorithmically learned models from even the older (2009) data was still more effective than existing human-authored order sets (ROC AUC 0.81, precision 16% recall 35%). Training with more longitudinal data (2009-2012) was no better than using only the most recent (2012) data, unless applying a decaying weighting scheme with a "half-life" of data relevance about 4 months. Clinical practice patterns (automatically) learned from electronic health record data can vary substantially across years. Gold standards for clinical decision support are elusive moving targets, reinforcing the need for automated methods that can adapt to evolving information. Prioritizing small amounts of recent data is more effective than using larger amounts of older data towards future clinical predictions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Scientific Issues Relevant to Setting Regulatory Criteria to Identify Endocrine-Disrupting Substances in the European Union.

Science.gov (United States)

Slama, Rémy; Bourguignon, Jean-Pierre; Demeneix, Barbara; Ivell, Richard; Panzica, Giancarlo; Kortenkamp, Andreas; Zoeller, R Thomas

2016-10-01

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as exogenous compounds or mixtures that alter function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently cause adverse effects in an intact organism, or its progeny, or (sub)populations. European regulations on pesticides, biocides, cosmetics, and industrial chemicals require the European Commission to establish scientific criteria to define EDs. We address the scientific relevance of four options for the identification of EDs proposed by the European Commission. Option 1, which does not define EDs and leads to using interim criteria unrelated to the WHO definition of EDs, is not relevant. Options 2 and 3 rely on the WHO definition of EDs, which is widely accepted by the scientific community, with option 3 introducing additional categories based on the strength of evidence (suspected EDs and endocrine-active substances). Option 4 adds potency to the WHO definition, as a decision criterion. We argue that potency is dependent on the adverse effect considered and is scientifically ambiguous, and note that potency is not used as a criterion to define other particularly hazardous substances such as carcinogens and reproductive toxicants. The use of potency requires a context that goes beyond hazard identification and corresponds to risk characterization, in which potency (or, more relevantly, the dose-response function) is combined with exposure levels. There is scientific agreement regarding the adequacy of the WHO definition of EDs. The potency concept is not relevant to the identification of particularly serious hazards such as EDs. As is common practice for carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxicants, a multi-level classification of ED based on the WHO definition, and not considering potency, would be relevant (corresponding to option 3 proposed by the European Commission). Slama R, Bourguignon JP, Demeneix B, Ivell R, Panzica G, Kortenkamp A, Zoeller RT. 2016. Scientific issues relevant

Halo shapes, initial shear field, and cosmic web

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rossi, G

2014-01-01

The ellipsoidal collapse model, combined with the excursion set theory, allows one to estimate the shapes of dark matter halos as seen in high-resolution numerical simulations. The same theoretical framework predicts a quasi-universal behaviour for the conditional axis ratio distributions at later times, set by initial conditions and unaltered by non-linear evolution. The formalism for halo shapes is also useful in making the connection with the initial shear field of the cosmic web, which plays a crucial role in the formation of large-scale structures. The author has briefly discussed the basic aspects of the modelling, as well as the implications of a new formula for the constrained eigenvalues of the initial shear field, given the fact that positions are peaks or dips in the corresponding density field – and not random locations. This formula leads to a new generalized excursion set algorithm for peaks in Gaussian random fields. The results highlighted, here, are relevant for a number of applications, especially for weak lensing studies and for devising algorithms to find and classify structures in the cosmic web

Technical Note: Display window setting: An important factor for detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts in daily CT quality control.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Zaiyang; Bruesewitz, Michael R; Sheedy, Emily N; Powell, Michele A; Kramer, Jacqualynn C; Supalla, Randall R; Colvin, Chance M; Bechel, Jessica R; Favazza, Christopher P; Kofler, James M; Leng, Shuai; McCollough, Cynthia H; Yu, Lifeng

2016-12-01

This study aimed to investigate the influence of display window setting on technologist performance detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts in daily computed tomography (CT) quality control (dQC) images. Fifty three sets of dQC images were retrospectively selected, including 30 sets without artifacts, and 23 with subtle but clinically relevant artifacts. They were randomized and shown to six CT technologists (two new and four experienced). Each technologist reviewed all images in each of two sessions, one with a display window width (WW) of 100 HU, which is currently recommended by the American College of Radiology, and the other with a narrow WW of 40 HU, both at a window level of 0 HU. For each case, technologists rated the presence of image artifacts based on a five point scale. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the artifact detection performance. At a WW of 100 HU, the AUC (95% confidence interval) was 0.658 (0.576, 0.740), 0.532 (0.429, 0.635), and 0.616 (0.543, 0.619) for the experienced, new, and all technologists, respectively. At a WW of 40 HU, the AUC was 0.768 (0.687, 0.850), 0.546 (0.433, 0.658), and 0.694 (0.619, 0.769), respectively. The performance significantly improved at WW of 40 HU for experienced technologists (p = 0.009) and for all technologists (p = 0.040). Use of a narrow display WW significantly improved technologists' performance in dQC for detecting subtle but clinically relevant artifacts as compared to that using a 100 HU display WW.

Patterns of opioid initiation at first visits for pain in United States primary care settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Mundkur, Mallika L; Rough, Kathryn; Huybrechts, Krista F; Levin, Raisa; Gagne, Joshua J; Desai, Rishi J; Patorno, Elisabetta; Choudhry, Niteesh K; Bateman, Brian T

2018-05-01

The primary objective of this study was to characterize variation in patterns of opioid prescribing within primary care settings at first visits for pain, and to describe variation by condition, geography, and patient characteristics. 2014 healthcare utilization data from Optum's Clinformatics™ DataMart were used to evaluate individuals 18 years or older with an initial presentation to primary care for 1 of 10 common pain conditions. The main outcomes assessed were (1) the proportion of first visits for pain associated with an opioid prescription fill and (2) the proportion of opioid prescriptions with >7 days' supply. We identified 205 560 individuals who met inclusion criteria; 9.1% of all visits were associated with an opioid fill, ranging from 4.1% (headache) to 28.2% (dental pain). Approximately half (46%) of all opioid prescriptions supplied more than 7 days, and 10% of prescriptions supplied ≥30 days. We observed a 4-fold variation in rates of opioid initiation by state, with highest rates of prescribing in Alabama (16.6%) and lowest rates in New York (3.7%). In 2014, nearly half of all patients filling opioid prescriptions received more than 7 days' of opioids in an initial prescription. Policies limiting initial supplies have the potential to substantially impact opioid prescribing in the primary care setting. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Singular Initial Value Problem for Certain Classes of Systems of Ordinary Differential Equations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josef Diblík

2013-01-01

dimension of the set of initial data generating such solutions is estimated. An asymptotic behavior of solutions is determined as well and relevant asymptotic formulas are derived. The method of functions defined implicitly and the topological method (Ważewski's method are used in the proofs. The results generalize some previous ones on singular initial value problems for differential equations.

Development of a core outcome set for clinical trials in facial aging: study protocol for a systematic review of the literature and identification of a core outcome set using a Delphi survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlessinger, Daniel I; Iyengar, Sanjana; Yanes, Arianna F; Henley, Jill K; Ashchyan, Hovik J; Kurta, Anastasia O; Patel, Payal M; Sheikh, Umar A; Franklin, Matthew J; Hanna, Courtney C; Chen, Brian R; Chiren, Sarah G; Schmitt, Jochen; Deckert, Stefanie; Furlan, Karina C; Poon, Emily; Maher, Ian A; Cartee, Todd V; Sobanko, Joseph F; Alam, Murad

2017-08-01

Facial aging is a concern for many patients. Wrinkles, loss of volume, and discoloration are common physical manifestations of aging skin. Genetic heritage, prior ultraviolet light exposure, and Fitzpatrick skin type may be associated with the rate and type of facial aging. Although many clinical trials assess the correlates of skin aging, there is heterogeneity in the outcomes assessed, which limits the quality of evaluation and comparison of treatment modalities. To address the inconsistency in outcomes, in this project we will develop a core set of outcomes that are to be evaluated in all clinical trials relevant to facial aging. A long list of measureable outcomes will be created from four sources: (1) systematic medical literature review, (2) patient interviews, (3) other published sources, and (4) stakeholder involvement. Two rounds of Delphi processes with homogeneous groups of physicians and patients will be performed to prioritize and condense the list. At a consensus meeting attended by physicians, patients, and stakeholders, outcomes will be further condensed on the basis of participant scores. By the end of the meeting, members will vote and decide on a final recommended set of core outcomes. Subsequent to this, specific measures will be selected or created to assess these outcomes. The aim of this study is to develop a core outcome set and relevant measures for clinical trials relevant to facial aging. We hope to improve the reliability and consistency of outcome reporting of skin aging, thereby enabling improved evaluation of treatment efficacy and patient satisfaction. Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) Initiative, accessible at http://www.comet-initiative.org/studies/details/737 . Core Outcomes Set Initiative, (CSG-COUSIN) accessible at https://www.uniklinikum-dresden.de/de/das-klinikum/universitaetscentren/zegv/cousin/meet-the-teams/project-groups/core-outcome-set-for-the-appearance-of-facial-aging . Protocol version date is 28

Public involvement in the priority setting activities of a wait time management initiative: a qualitative case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruni, Rebecca A; Laupacis, Andreas; Levinson, Wendy; Martin, Douglas K

2007-11-16

As no health system can afford to provide all possible services and treatments for the people it serves, each system must set priorities. Priority setting decision makers are increasingly involving the public in policy making. This study focuses on public engagement in a key priority setting context that plagues every health system around the world: wait list management. The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate priority setting for the Ontario Wait Time Strategy, with special attention to public engagement. This study was conducted at the Ontario Wait Time Strategy in Ontario, Canada which is part of a Federal-Territorial-Provincial initiative to improve access and reduce wait times in five areas: cancer, cardiac, sight restoration, joint replacements, and diagnostic imaging. There were two sources of data: (1) over 25 documents (e.g. strategic planning reports, public updates), and (2) 28 one-on-one interviews with informants (e.g. OWTS participants, MOHLTC representatives, clinicians, patient advocates). Analysis used a modified thematic technique in three phases: open coding, axial coding, and evaluation. The Ontario Wait Time Strategy partially meets the four conditions of 'accountability for reasonableness'. The public was not directly involved in the priority setting activities of the Ontario Wait Time Strategy. Study participants identified both benefits (supporting the initiative, experts of the lived experience, a publicly funded system and sustainability of the healthcare system) and concerns (personal biases, lack of interest to be involved, time constraints, and level of technicality) for public involvement in the Ontario Wait Time Strategy. Additionally, the participants identified concern for the consequences (sustainability, cannibalism, and a class system) resulting from the Ontario Wait Times Strategy. We described and evaluated a wait time management initiative (the Ontario Wait Time Strategy) with special attention to public

Public involvement in the priority setting activities of a wait time management initiative: a qualitative case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laupacis Andreas

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background As no health system can afford to provide all possible services and treatments for the people it serves, each system must set priorities. Priority setting decision makers are increasingly involving the public in policy making. This study focuses on public engagement in a key priority setting context that plagues every health system around the world: wait list management. The purpose of this study is to describe and evaluate priority setting for the Ontario Wait Time Strategy, with special attention to public engagement. Methods This study was conducted at the Ontario Wait Time Strategy in Ontario, Canada which is part of a Federal-Territorial-Provincial initiative to improve access and reduce wait times in five areas: cancer, cardiac, sight restoration, joint replacements, and diagnostic imaging. There were two sources of data: (1 over 25 documents (e.g. strategic planning reports, public updates, and (2 28 one-on-one interviews with informants (e.g. OWTS participants, MOHLTC representatives, clinicians, patient advocates. Analysis used a modified thematic technique in three phases: open coding, axial coding, and evaluation. Results The Ontario Wait Time Strategy partially meets the four conditions of 'accountability for reasonableness'. The public was not directly involved in the priority setting activities of the Ontario Wait Time Strategy. Study participants identified both benefits (supporting the initiative, experts of the lived experience, a publicly funded system and sustainability of the healthcare system and concerns (personal biases, lack of interest to be involved, time constraints, and level of technicality for public involvement in the Ontario Wait Time Strategy. Additionally, the participants identified concern for the consequences (sustainability, cannibalism, and a class system resulting from the Ontario Wait Times Strategy. Conclusion We described and evaluated a wait time management initiative (the Ontario

Alpha power gates relevant information during working memory updating.

Science.gov (United States)

Manza, Peter; Hau, Chui Luen Vera; Leung, Hoi-Chung

2014-04-23

Human working memory (WM) is inherently limited, so we must filter out irrelevant information in our environment or our mind while retaining limited important relevant contents. Previous work suggests that neural oscillations in the alpha band (8-14 Hz) play an important role in inhibiting incoming distracting information during attention and selective encoding tasks. However, whether alpha power is involved in inhibiting no-longer-relevant content or in representing relevant WM content is still debated. To clarify this issue, we manipulated the amount of relevant/irrelevant information using a task requiring spatial WM updating while measuring neural oscillatory activity via EEG and localized current sources across the scalp using a surface Laplacian transform. An initial memory set of two, four, or six spatial locations was to be memorized over a delay until an updating cue was presented indicating that only one or three locations remained relevant for a subsequent recognition test. Alpha amplitude varied with memory maintenance and updating demands among a cluster of left frontocentral electrodes. Greater postcue alpha power was associated with the high relevant load conditions (six and four dots cued to reduce to three relevant) relative to the lower load conditions (four and two dots reduced to one). Across subjects, this difference in alpha power was correlated with condition differences in performance accuracy. In contrast, no significant effects of irrelevant load were observed. These findings demonstrate that, during WM updating, alpha power reflects maintenance of relevant memory contents rather than suppression of no-longer-relevant memory traces.

Time asymmetric spacetimes near null and spatial infinity: II. Expansions of developments of initial data sets with non-smooth conformal metrics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroon, Juan Antonio Valiente

2005-01-01

This paper uses the conformal Einstein equations and the conformal representation of spatial infinity introduced by Friedrich to analyse the behaviour of the gravitational field near null and spatial infinity for the development of initial data which are, in principle, non-conformally flat and time asymmetric. The paper is the continuation of the investigation started in Class. Quantum Grav. 21 (2004) 5457-92, where only conformally flat initial data sets were considered. For the purposes of this investigation, the conformal metric of the initial hypersurface is assumed to have a very particular type of non-smoothness at infinity in order to allow for the presence of non-Schwarzschildean stationary initial data sets in the class under study. The calculation of asymptotic expansions of the development of these initial data sets reveals-as in the conformally flat case-the existence of a hierarchy of obstructions to the smoothness of null infinity which are expressible in terms of the initial data. This allows for the possibility of having spacetimes where future and past null infinity have different degrees of smoothness. A conjecture regarding the general structure of the hierarchy of obstructions is presented

On the ""early-time"" evolution of variables relevant to turbulence models for the Rayleigh-Taylor instability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rollin, Bertrand [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Andrews, Malcolm J [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

We present our progress toward setting initial conditions in variable density turbulence models. In particular, we concentrate our efforts on the BHR turbulence model for turbulent Rayleigh-Taylor instability. Our approach is to predict profiles of relevant variables before fully turbulent regime and use them as initial conditions for the turbulence model. We use an idealized model of mixing between two interpenetrating fluids to define the initial profiles for the turbulence model variables. Velocities and volume fractions used in the idealized mixing model are obtained respectively from a set of ordinary differential equations modeling the growth of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability and from an idealization of the density profile in the mixing layer. A comparison between predicted profiles for the turbulence model variables and profiles of the variables obtained from low Atwood number three dimensional simulations show reasonable agreement.

Resource Efficiency. What does it mean and why is it relevant? Policy Brief

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jansen, J.C. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-04-15

The European Commission has launched a Resource-Efficient Europe as one of its seven flagship initiatives under the Europe 2020 Strategy and has published the document 'Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe'. The Roadmap specifies a proposed pathway to action for a resource efficient Europe. This document sets out to describe the essence of the resource efficiency concept and to sketch the relevance of EU resource efficiency policy for application at EU member state level with special reference to the Netherlands. The following questions will be addressed: What is resource efficiency?; How does it relate to sustainability and environmental footprint?; What is the relevance of EU resource efficiency policy for the member states?; Which aspects of resource efficiency are relevant for the Netherlands?; and To what extent is resource efficiency reflected in current Dutch policies?.

75 FR 82397 - Medicaid Program: Initial Core Set of Health Quality Measures for Medicaid-Eligible Adults

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-30

... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of the Secretary [CMS-2420-NC] Medicaid Program: Initial Core Set of Health Quality Measures for Medicaid-Eligible Adults AGENCY: Office of the Secretary... quality measures recommended for Medicaid-eligible adults, as required by section 2701 of the Affordable...

Building clinicians-researchers partnerships: lessons from diverse natural settings and practice-oriented initiatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Castonguay, Louis G; Youn, Soo Jeong; Xiao, Henry; Muran, J Christopher; Barber, Jacques P

2015-01-01

In this concluding paper, we identify the type of studies conducted by 11 teams of contributors to a special issue on building clinicians-researchers partnerships. Those studies were conducted across a variety of clinical settings. We also integrate the lessons that have emerged from their collaborative initiatives in terms of obstacles faced, strategies adopted to address these challenges, benefits gained, and general recommendations offered to facilitate studies conducted with or by clinicians. The paper ends with the authors' thoughts about the future success of practice-oriented research in general.

WHAT SETS THE INITIAL ROTATION RATES OF MASSIVE STARS?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosen, Anna L.; Krumholz, Mark R.; Ramirez-Ruiz, Enrico

2012-01-01

The physical mechanisms that set the initial rotation rates in massive stars are a crucial unknown in current star formation theory. Observations of young, massive stars provide evidence that they form in a similar fashion to their low-mass counterparts. The magnetic coupling between a star and its accretion disk may be sufficient to spin down low-mass pre-main-sequence (PMS) stars to well below breakup at the end stage of their formation when the accretion rate is low. However, we show that these magnetic torques are insufficient to spin down massive PMS stars due to their short formation times and high accretion rates. We develop a model for the angular momentum evolution of stars over a wide range in mass, considering both magnetic and gravitational torques. We find that magnetic torques are unable to spin down either low-mass or high-mass stars during the main accretion phase, and that massive stars cannot be spun down significantly by magnetic torques during the end stage of their formation either. Spin-down occurs only if massive stars' disk lifetimes are substantially longer or their magnetic fields are much stronger than current observations suggest.

Building the field of population health intervention research: The development and use of an initial set of competencies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Riley

2015-01-01

This initial set of competencies, released in 2013, may be used to develop graduate student curriculum, recruit trainees and faculty to academic institutions, plan non-degree professional development, and develop job descriptions for PHIR-related research and professional positions. The competencies provide some initial guideposts for the field and will need to be adapted as the PHIR field matures and to meet unique needs of different jurisdictions.

EU-funded initiatives for real world evidence: descriptive analysis of their characteristics and relevance for regulatory decision-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Plueschke, Kelly; McGettigan, Patricia; Pacurariu, Alexandra; Kurz, Xavier; Cave, Alison

2018-06-14

A review of European Union (EU)-funded initiatives linked to 'Real World Evidence' (RWE) was performed to determine whether their outputs could be used for the generation of real-world data able to support the European Medicines Agency (EMA)'s regulatory decision-making on medicines. The initiatives were identified from publicly available websites. Their topics were categorised into five areas: 'Data source', 'Methodology', 'Governance model', 'Analytical model' and 'Infrastructure'. To assess their immediate relevance for medicines evaluation, their therapeutic areas were compared with the products recommended for EU approval in 2016 and those included in the EMA pharmaceutical business pipeline. Of 171 originally identified EU-funded initiatives, 65 were selected based on their primary and secondary objectives (35 'Data source' initiatives, 15 'Methodology', 10 'Governance model', 17 'Analytical model' and 25 'Infrastructure'). These 65 initiatives received over 734 million Euros of public funding. At the time of evaluation, the published outputs of the 40 completed initiatives did not always match their original objectives. Overall, public information was limited, data access was not explicit and their sustainability was unclear. The topics matched 8 of 14 therapeutic areas of the products recommended for approval in 2016 and 8 of 15 therapeutic areas in the 2017-2019 pharmaceutical business pipeline. Haematology, gastroenterology or cardiovascular systems were poorly represented. This landscape of EU-funded initiatives linked to RWE which started before 31 December 2016 highlighted that the immediate utilisation of their outputs to support regulatory decision-making is limited, often due to insufficient available information and to discrepancies between outputs and objectives. Furthermore, the restricted sustainability of the initiatives impacts on their downstream utility. Multiple projects focussing on the same therapeutic areas increase the likelihood of

Development of Multiplexed Marker Sets to Identify the Most Relevant Poplar Species for Breeding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hilke Schroeder

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Within the genus Populus, about 30 species are classified into six sections, of which some are cross-compatible. Besides naturally occurring hybrids, huge breeding programs have led to a high number of artificially produced hybrids, for which the determination of genetically involved species by morphological characteristics is often difficult. This necessitates the use of molecular markers for the identification of both maternal as well as paternal species, and in the case of complex hybrids, the genealogy. For this reason, we developed new chloroplast and nuclear markers for the differentiation of up to 19 poplar species, with one to 32 individuals per species regularly used in breeding programs based on already known barcoding, other chloroplast regions, and nuclear genes of interest. We developed methods to identify species by either species-specific nucleotide variations or, when no initial information for the species was given, by using a set of markers either in a procedure of exclusion or in a multiplexed marker set. The developed markers can all be used with low-cost equipment, and some can additionally be applied using a genetic analyzer. We combined these markers in multiplexes for a very fast and easy-to-use application for the identification of poplar species and their hybrids.

Assessing Social Value in Open Data Initiatives: A Framework

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gianluigi Viscusi

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Open data initiatives are characterized, in several countries, by a great extension of the number of data sets made available for access by public administrations, constituencies, businesses and other actors, such as journalists, international institutions and academics, to mention a few. However, most of the open data sets rely on selection criteria, based on a technology-driven perspective, rather than a focus on the potential public and social value of data to be published. Several experiences and reports confirm this issue, such as those of the Open Data Census. However, there are also relevant best practices. The goal of this paper is to investigate the different dimensions of a framework suitable to support public administrations, as well as constituencies, in assessing and benchmarking the social value of open data initiatives. The framework is tested on three initiatives, referring to three different countries, Italy, the United Kingdom and Tunisia. The countries have been selected to provide a focus on European and Mediterranean countries, considering also the difference in legal frameworks (civic law vs. common law countries.

Inoculating Relevance Feedback Against Poison Pills

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dehghani, Mostafa; Azarbonyad, Hosein; Kamps, Jaap; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Marx, Maarten

2016-01-01

Relevance Feedback is a common approach for enriching queries, given a set of explicitly or implicitly judged documents to improve the performance of the retrieval. Although it has been shown that on average, the overall performance of retrieval will be improved after relevance feedback, for some

Evaluating U.S. States climate change initiatives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, P.

2004-01-01

This paper evaluates sub-federal efforts to mitigate climate change in the United States through a range of climate-relevant initiatives, identifying principal trends and detailing climate-relevant initiatives in several states. These strategies include renewable electricity mandates, State and regional greenhouse gas emissions inventories, mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting, State greenhouse gas emissions caps, greenhouse gas emissions reductions from motor vehicles, and greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade programs for electric generation in several States. Many municipalities in the United States are also pursuing a range of climate-relevant initiatives, those actions are beyond the scope of this paper, but it should be noted they also influence state and national consideration of climate-relevant initiatives in the United States. (author)

Evaluating U.S. States climate change initiatives

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, P

2004-07-01

This paper evaluates sub-federal efforts to mitigate climate change in the United States through a range of climate-relevant initiatives, identifying principal trends and detailing climate-relevant initiatives in several states. These strategies include renewable electricity mandates, State and regional greenhouse gas emissions inventories, mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting, State greenhouse gas emissions caps, greenhouse gas emissions reductions from motor vehicles, and greenhouse gas emissions cap-and-trade programs for electric generation in several States. Many municipalities in the United States are also pursuing a range of climate-relevant initiatives, those actions are beyond the scope of this paper, but it should be noted they also influence state and national consideration of climate-relevant initiatives in the United States. (author)

Initialized Fractional Calculus

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenzo, Carl F.; Hartley, Tom T.

2000-01-01

This paper demonstrates the need for a nonconstant initialization for the fractional calculus and establishes a basic definition set for the initialized fractional differintegral. This definition set allows the formalization of an initialized fractional calculus. Two basis calculi are considered; the Riemann-Liouville and the Grunwald fractional calculi. Two forms of initialization, terminal and side are developed.

Relevance or Excellence? Setting Research Priorities for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Humanitarian Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Tol, Wietse A; Patel, Vikram; Tomlinson, Mark; Baingana, Florence; Galappatti, Ananda; Silove, Derrick; Sondorp, Egbert; van Ommeren, Mark; Wessells, Michael G; Catherine, Panter-Brick

2012-01-01

Background: Humanitarian crises are associated with an increase in mental disorders and psychological distress. Despite the emerging consensus on intervention strategies in humanitarian settings, the field of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in humanitarian settings lacks a consensus-based research agenda. Methods: From August 2009 to February 2010, we contacted policymakers, academic researchers, and humanitarian aid workers, and conducted nine semistructured focus group discussions with 114 participants in three locations (Peru, Uganda, and Nepal), in both the capitals and remote humanitarian settings. Local stakeholders representing a range of academic expertise (psychiatry, psychology, social work, child protection, and medical anthropology) and organizations (governments, universities, nongovernmental organizations, and UN agencies) were asked to identify priority questions for MHPSS research in humanitarian settings, and to discuss factors that hamper and facilitate research. Results: Thematic analyses of transcripts show that participants broadly agreed on prioritized research themes in the following order: (1) the prevalence and burden of mental health and psychosocial difficulties in humanitarian settings, (2) how MHPSS implementation can be improved, (3) evaluation of specific MHPSS interventions, (4) the determinants of mental health and psychological distress, and (5) improved research methods and processes. Rather than differences in research themes across countries, what emerged was a disconnect between different groups of stakeholders regarding research processes: the perceived lack of translation of research findings into actual policy and programs; misunderstanding of research methods by aid workers; different appreciation of the time needed to conduct research; and disputed universality of research constructs. Conclusions: To advance a collaborative research agenda, actors in this field need to bridge the perceived disconnect between

California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives: Setting a research agenda for prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Sutton, P; Kavanaugh-Lynch, M H E; Plumb, M; Yen, I H; Sarantis, H; Thomsen, C L; Campleman, S; Galpern, E; Dickenson, C; Woodruff, T J

2015-07-01

The environment is an underutilized pathway to breast cancer prevention. Current research approaches and funding streams related to breast cancer and the environment are unequal to the task at hand. We undertook the California Breast Cancer Prevention Initiatives, a four-year comprehensive effort to set a research agenda related to breast cancer, the environment, disparities and prevention. We identified 20 topics for Concept Proposals reflecting a life-course approach and the complex etiology of breast cancer; considering the environment as chemical, physical and socially constructed exposures that are experienced concurrently: at home, in the community and at work; and addressing how we should be modifying the world around us to promote a less carcinogenic environment. Redirecting breast cancer research toward prevention-oriented discovery could significantly reduce the incidence and associated disparities of the disease among future generations. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Paired fuzzy sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodríguez, J. Tinguaro; Franco de los Ríos, Camilo; Gómez, Daniel

2015-01-01

In this paper we want to stress the relevance of paired fuzzy sets, as already proposed in previous works of the authors, as a family of fuzzy sets that offers a unifying view for different models based upon the opposition of two fuzzy sets, simply allowing the existence of different types...

Testing initiatives increase rates of HIV diagnosis in primary care and community settings: an observational single-centre cohort study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prini Mahendran

Full Text Available The primary objective was to examine trends in new HIV diagnoses in a UK area of high HIV prevalence between 2000 and 2012 with respect to site of diagnosis and stage of HIV infection.Single-centre observational cohort study.An outpatient HIV department in a secondary care UK hospital.1359 HIV-infected adults.Demographic information (age, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, site of initial HIV diagnosis (Routine settings such as HIV/GUM clinics versus Non-Routine settings such as primary care and community venues, stage of HIV infection, CD4 count and seroconversion symptoms were collated for each participant.There was a significant increase in the proportion of new HIV diagnoses made in Non-Routine settings (from 27.0% in 2000 to 58.8% in 2012; p<0.001. Overall there was a decrease in the rate of late diagnosis from 50.7% to 32.9% (p=0.001. Diagnosis of recent infection increased from 23.0% to 47.1% (p=0.001. Of those with recent infection, significantly more patients were likely to report symptoms consistent with a seroconversion illness over the 13 years (17.6% to 65.0%; p<0.001.This is the first study, we believe, to demonstrate significant improvements in HIV diagnosis and a shift in diagnosis of HIV from HIV/GUM settings to primary practice and community settings due to multiple initiatives.

India’s Disarmament Initiative 1988: Continuing Relevance, Valid Pointers for an NWFW

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manpreet Sethi

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The run up to the NPT Review Conference in 2010 brought nuclear disarmament into focus. Transitory though this trend turned out to be, it nevertheless became a trigger for India to re-examine its own position on disarmament. In order to take a considered view on the subject, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh instituted an Informal Group in October 2010 with the specific mandate to examine the relevance of the Action Plan that had been presented by Rajiv Gandhi in 1988. Were there any specific elements of that plan that were worth pursuing in the new security environment? What role could and should India play as a state with nuclear weapons in the pursuit of disarmament? Should India make the drive towards universal nuclear disarmament a priority in its diplomatic initiatives? Did India have the moral standing to do so after she herself had acquired the weapon? Has anything changed in the international climate to suggest that the Indian lead would attract like-minded nations? How should India approach other nations on this issue? These were some of the questions that the Informal Group considered before presenting its report to the Prime Minister in August 2011. It firmly conveyed the conviction that “India can and must play an effective and credible role as the leader of a campaign for the goal of universal nuclear disarmament, both because India can bring to the campaign its moral strength deriving from six decades of consistently campaigning for nuclear disarmament but also now the weight of its growing presence in the international system.”

The influence of self-relevant materials on working memory in dysphoric undergraduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Qin; Rahman, Shaoon; Lau, Becky; Sook Kim, Hyang; Deldin, Patricia

2015-10-30

Difficulties in updating working memory (WM) may underlie problems with regulating emotions that contribute to depression. To examine the ability of updating affective materials in WM, 33 dysphoric and 34 non-dysphoric participants were asked to evaluate the self-descriptiveness of emotional adjectives and provide answers to self-relevant questions. Within 3-7 days, they completed a two-back task with a series of self-irrelevant or self-relevant emotional words (they had generated previously) and four conditions (match-set, break-set, perseveration-set, and no-set). After the WM task, an unexpected recall task was administered; controls recalled more positive self-relevant words and intrusions while dysphoric participants recalled more negative self-relevant words and intrusions. In break-set trials of the two-back task, dysphoric individuals showed slower response to self-relevant words regardless of valence. In the match-set and perseveration-set trials, dysphoric participants showed delayed response to self-related negative words. Moreover, longer reaction times for self-relevant negative words were correlated with higher rumination and worse depression. The results suggest that dysphoric undergraduates are interfered more by and have a better memory of self-relevant negative stimuli in WM, which is closely correlated with rumination. This study is among the first to confirm the potential mechanism that could underwrite the involvement of self-schema in effectively regulating negative affect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A systematic review of structured versus non-structured breastfeeding programmes to support the initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding in acute and primary healthcare settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Beake, Sarah; Pellowe, Carol; Dykes, Fiona; Schmied, Virginia; Bick, Debra

2011-01-01

Background: Breastfeeding has many important health benefits for the woman and her baby. Despite evidence of benefit from a large number of well conducted studies, breastfeeding uptake and the duration of exclusive breastfeeding remain low in many countries. In order to improve breastfeeding rates, policy and guidelines at global, individual country level and in local healthcare settings have recommended that structured programmes to support breastfeeding should be introduced. The objective of this review was to consider the evidence of outcomes of structured compared with non-structured breastfeeding programmes in acute maternity care settings to support initiation and duration of exclusive breastfeeding. The definition of structured programme used included a multi-faceted or single intervention approach to support breastfeeding; definition of non-structured included support offered within standard care. The review considered quantitative and qualitative studies which addressed outcomes following the introduction of a structured programme in acute healthcare settings to support breastfeeding compared with no programme. The primary outcomes of interest were uptake of breastfeeding and duration of exclusive breastfeeding (only breast milk, including milk expressed). Studies which only considered community based interventions were not included. A search of the literature published between 1992 and 2010 was conducted, which followed a four step process. After a limited search of MEDLINE and CINAHL to identify key words contained in the title or abstract and index terms to describe relevant interventions, a second extensive search was undertaken using identified key words and index terms. The third step included a search of reference lists and bibliographies of relevant articles and the fourth step included a search of grey and unpublished literature and national databasesMethodological quality: Methodological quality was assessed using checklists developed by the

Setting ART initiation targets in response to changing guidelines: The importance of addressing both steady-state and backlog.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Catherine; Naidoo, Nicolette P; Venter, W D Francois; Jaffer, Ambereen; Barker, Pierre M

2014-05-12

Target setting is useful in planning, assessing and improving antiretroviral treatment (ART) programmes. In the past 4 years, the ART initiation environment has been transformed due to the change in eligibility criteria (starting ART at a CD4+ count ART. To describe and illustrate the use of a target-setting model for estimating district-based targets in the era of an expanding ART programme and changing CD4+ count thresholds for ART initiation. Using previously described models and data for annual new HIV infections, we estimated both steady-state need for ART initiation and backlog in a North West Province district, accounting for the shift in eligibility. Comparison of actual v. targeted ART initiations was undertaken. The change in CD4+ count threshold adds a once-off group of newly eligible patients to the pool requiring ART - the backlog. The steady-state remains unchanged as it is determined by the annual rate of new HIV infections in previous years. The steady-state need for the district was 639 initiations/month, and the backlog was ~15,388 patients. After the shift in eligibility in September 2011, the steady-state target was exceeded over several months with some backlog addressed. Of the total backlog for this district, 72% remains to be cleared. South Africa has two pools of patients who need ART: the steady-state of HIV-infected patients entering the programme each year, determined by historical infection rates; and the backlog created by the shift in eligibility. The healthcare system needs to build long- term capacity to meet the steady-state need for ART and additional capacity to address the backlog.

Building the field of population health intervention research: The development and use of an initial set of competencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Barbara; Harvey, Jean; Di Ruggiero, Erica; Potvin, Louise

2015-01-01

Population health intervention research (PHIR) is a relatively new research field that studies interventions that can improve health and health equity at a population level. Competencies are one way to give legitimacy and definition to a field. An initial set of PHIR competencies was developed with leadership from a multi-sector group in Canada. This paper describes the development process for these competencies and their possible uses. Methods to develop the competencies included key informant interviews; a targeted review of scientific and gray literature; a 2-round, online adapted Delphi study with a 24-member panel; and a focus group with 9 international PHIR experts. The resulting competencies consist of 25 items grouped into 6 categories. They include principles of good science applicable though not exclusive to PHIR, and more suitable for PHIR teams rather than individuals. This initial set of competencies, released in 2013, may be used to develop graduate student curriculum, recruit trainees and faculty to academic institutions, plan non-degree professional development, and develop job descriptions for PHIR-related research and professional positions. The competencies provide some initial guideposts for the field and will need to be adapted as the PHIR field matures and to meet unique needs of different jurisdictions.

Core outcome sets in women's and newborn health: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Duffy, Jmn; Rolph, R; Gale, C; Hirsch, M; Khan, K S; Ziebland, S; McManus, R J

2017-09-01

Variation in outcome collection and reporting is a serious hindrance to progress in our specialty; therefore, over 80 journals have come together to support the development, dissemination, and implementation of core outcome sets. This study systematically reviewed and characterised registered, progressing, or completed core outcome sets relevant to women's and newborn health. Systematic search using the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trial initiative and the Core Outcomes in Women's and Newborn Health initiative databases. Registry entries, protocols, systematic reviews, and core outcome sets. Descriptive statistics to describe characteristics and results. There were 49 core outcome sets registered in maternal and newborn health, with the majority registered in 2015 (n = 22; 48%) or 2016 (n = 16; 32%). Benign gynaecology (n = 8; 16%) and newborn health (n = 3; 6%) are currently under-represented. Twenty-four (52%) core outcome sets were funded by international (n = 1; core outcome sets were completed: reconstructive breast surgery (11 outcomes), preterm birth (13 outcomes), epilepsy in pregnancy (29 outcomes), and maternity care (48 outcomes). The quantitative, qualitative, and consensus methods used to develop core outcome sets varied considerably. Core outcome sets are currently being developed across women's and newborn health, although coverage of topics is variable. Development of further infrastructure to develop, disseminate, and implement core outcome sets is urgently required. Forty-nine women's and newborn core outcome sets registered. 50% funded. 7 protocols, 20 systematic reviews, and 4 core outcome sets published. @coreoutcomes @jamesmnduffy. © 2017 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.

Comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty: relevant radionuclides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geer, L.E. de

2001-01-01

With the first version of the IDC software all known radionuclides, less the natural ones and one 'naturalised' man-made one, caused a spectrum measured in the IMS network to be characterised as interesting from a CTBT point of view. But this is really not true for the majority of nuclides, so a change has been made to let only nuclides from a limited set of so called CTBT relevant nuclides have an impact on the characterization scheme. In the present paper the concept of CTBT relevance is analysed and a set of 96 relevant nuclides are defined. Out of these 51 are fission products and 41 are neutron activation products. There are also 4 nuclides which are residues from the nuclear fuel itself or added tracers. (orig.) [de

Existing reporting guidelines for clinical trials are not completely relevant for implantable medical devices: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Motte, Anne-France; Diallo, Stéphanie; van den Brink, Hélène; Châteauvieux, Constance; Serrano, Carole; Naud, Carole; Steelandt, Julie; Alsac, Jean-Marc; Aubry, Pierre; Cour, Florence; Pellerin, Olivier; Pineau, Judith; Prognon, Patrice; Borget, Isabelle; Bonan, Brigitte; Martelli, Nicolas

2017-11-01

The aim of this study was to determine relevant items for reporting clinical trials on implantable medical devices (IMDs) and to identify reporting guidelines which include these items. A panel of experts identified the most relevant items for evaluating IMDs from an initial list based on reference papers. We then conducted a systematic review of articles indexed in MEDLINE. We retrieved reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR network's library for health research reporting. Finally, we screened these reporting guidelines to find those using our set of reporting items. Seven relevant reporting items were selected that related to four topics: randomization, learning curve, surgical setting, and device information. A total of 348 reporting guidelines were identified, among which 26 met our inclusion criteria. However, none of the 26 reporting guidelines presented all seven items together. The most frequently reported item was timing of randomization (65%). On the contrary, device information and learning curve effects were poorly specified. To our knowledge, this study is the first to identify specific items related to IMDs in reporting guidelines for clinical trials. We have shown that no existing reporting guideline is totally suitable for these devices. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

EXTRA: a digital computer program for the solution of stiff sets of ordinary initial value, first order differential equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sidell, J.

1976-08-01

EXTRA is a program written for the Winfrith KDF9 enabling the user to solve first order initial value differential equations. In this report general numerical integration methods are discussed with emphasis on their application to the solution of stiff sets of equations. A method of particular applicability to stiff sets of equations is described. This method is incorporated in the program EXTRA and full instructions for its use are given. A comparison with other methods of computation is included. (author)

Thermodynamic limits set relevant constraints to the soil-plant-atmosphere system and to optimality in terrestrial vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Kleidon, Axel; Renner, Maik

2016-04-01

The soil-plant-atmosphere system is a complex system that is strongly shaped by interactions between the physical environment and vegetation. This complexity appears to demand equally as complex models to fully capture the dynamics of the coupled system. What we describe here is an alternative approach that is based on thermodynamics and which allows for comparatively simple formulations free of empirical parameters by assuming that the system is so complex that its emergent dynamics are only constrained by the thermodynamics of the system. This approach specifically makes use of the second law of thermodynamics, a fundamental physical law that is typically not being considered in Earth system science. Its relevance to land surface processes is that it fundamentally sets a direction as well as limits to energy conversions and associated rates of mass exchange, but it requires us to formulate land surface processes as thermodynamic processes that are driven by energy conversions. We describe an application of this approach to the surface energy balance partitioning at the diurnal scale. In this application the turbulent heat fluxes of sensible and latent heat are described as the result of a convective heat engine that is driven by solar radiative heating of the surface and that operates at its thermodynamic limit. The predicted fluxes from this approach compare very well to observations at several sites. This suggests that the turbulent exchange fluxes between the surface and the atmosphere operate at their thermodynamic limit, so that thermodynamics imposes a relevant constraint to the land surface-atmosphere system. Yet, thermodynamic limits do not entirely determine the soil-plant-atmosphere system because vegetation affects these limits, for instance by affecting the magnitude of surface heating by absorption of solar radiation in the canopy layer. These effects are likely to make the conditions at the land surface more favorable for photosynthetic activity

AEC sets five year nuclear safety research program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1976-01-01

The research by the government for the establishment of means of judging the adequacy of safety measures incorporated in nuclear facilities, including setting safety standards and collecting documents of general criteria, and the research by the industry on safety measures and the promotion of safety-related technique are stated in the five year program for 1976-80 reported by subcommittees, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Four considerations on the research items incorporated in the program are 1) technical programs relating to the safety of nuclear facilities and the necessary criteria, 2) priority of the relevant items decided according to their impact on circumstances, urgency, the defence-indepth concept and so on, 3) consideration of all relevant data and documents collected, and research subjects necessary to quantify safety measurement, and 4) consideration of technological actualization, the capability of each research body, the budget and the time schedule. In addition, seven major themes decided on the basis of these points are 1) reactivity-initiated accident, 2) LOCA, 3) fuel behavior, 4) structural safety, 5) radioactive release, 6) statistical method of safety evaluation, and 7) seismic characteristics. The committee has deliberated the appropriate division of researches between the government and the industry. A set of tables showing the nuclear safety research plan for 1976-80 are attached. (Iwakiri, K.)

Sustainability Tools Inventory - Initial Gaps Analysis | Science ...

Science.gov (United States)

This report identifies a suite of tools that address a comprehensive set of community sustainability concerns. The objective is to discover whether "gaps" exist in the tool suite’s analytic capabilities. These tools address activities that significantly influence resource consumption, waste generation, and hazard generation including air pollution and greenhouse gases. In addition, the tools have been evaluated using four screening criteria: relevance to community decision making, tools in an appropriate developmental stage, tools that may be transferrable to situations useful for communities, and tools with requiring skill levels appropriate to communities. This document provides an initial gap analysis in the area of community sustainability decision support tools. It provides a reference to communities for existing decision support tools, and a set of gaps for those wishing to develop additional needed tools to help communities to achieve sustainability. It contributes to SHC 1.61.4

Relevant feature set estimation with a knock-out strategy and random forests

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ganz, Melanie; Greve, Douglas N; Fischl, Bruce

2015-01-01

unintuitive and difficult to determine. In this article, we propose a novel MVPA method for group analysis of high-dimensional data that overcomes the drawbacks of the current techniques. Our approach explicitly aims to identify all relevant variations using a "knock-out" strategy and the Random Forest...

Information Needs/Relevance

OpenAIRE

Wildemuth, Barbara M.

2009-01-01

A user's interaction with a DL is often initiated as the result of the user experiencing an information need of some kind. Aspects of that experience and how it might affect the user's interactions with the DL are discussed in this module. In addition, users continuously make decisions about and evaluations of the materials retrieved from a DL, relative to their information needs. Relevance judgments, and their relationship to the user's information needs, are discussed in this module. Draft

The "expert patient" approach for non-communicable disease management in low and middle income settings: When the reality confronts the rhetoric.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yue

2015-09-01

This paper seeks to explore the relevance between the Western "expert patient" rhetoric and the reality of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) control and management in low and middle income settings from the health sociological perspective. It firstly sets up a conceptual framework of the "expert patient" or the patient self-management approach, showing the rhetoric of the initiative in the developed countries. Then by examining the situation of NCDs control and management in low income settings, the paper tries to evaluate the possibilities of implementing the "expert patient" approach in these countries. Kober and Van Damme's study on the relevance of the "expert patient" for an HIV/AIDS program in low income settings is critically studied to show the relevance of the developed countries' rhetoric of the "expert patient" approach for the reality of developing countries. In addition, the MoPoTsyo diabetes peer educator program is analyzed to show the challenges faced by the low income countries in implementing patient self-management programs. Finally, applications of the expert patient approach in China are discussed as well, to remind us of the possible difficulties in introducing it into rural settings.

Relevance of protection quantities in medical exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pradhan, A.S.

2008-01-01

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) continues to classify the exposures to radiation in three categories; namely 1- occupational exposure, 2- public exposure, and 3- medical exposure. Protection quantities are primarily meant for the regulatory purpose in radiological protection for controlling and limiting stochastic risks in occupational and public exposures. These are based on two basic assumptions of 1- linear no-threshold dose-effect relationship (LNT) at low doses and 2- long-term additivity of low doses. Medical exposure are predominantly delivered to individuals (patients) undergoing diagnostic examinations, interventional procedures and radiation therapy but also include individual caring for or comforting patients incurring exposure and the volunteers of biomedical medical research programmes. Radiation protection is as relevant to occupational and public exposure as to medical exposures except that the dose limits set for the formers are not applicable to medical exposure but reference levels and dose constrains are recommended for diagnostic and interventional medical procedures. In medical institutions, both the occupational and medical exposure takes place. Since the doses in diagnostic examinations are low, it has been observed that not only the protection quantities are often used in such cases but these are extended to estimate the number of cancer deaths due to such practices. One of the striking features of the new ICRP recommendations has been to elaborate the concepts of the dosimetric quantities. The limitation of protection quantities ((Effective dose, E=Σ RT D TR .W T .W R and Equivalent Dose H T =Σ RT D TR .W R ) have been brought out and this has raised a great concern and initiated debates on the use of these quantities in medical exposures. Consequently, ICRP has set a task group to provide more details and the recommendations. It has, therefore, became important to draw the attention of medical physics community

Exploring the Relevance and Quality of the VaRemba Initiation ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

opportunity to be critical of cultural values and beliefs that 'work against' ESD ..... marriages on the part of girls and negative attitude on the part of boys. .... The Varemba initiation school also compromises the retention of girls in school and this.

Initiatives promoting seamless care in medication management: an international review of the grey literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Claeys, Coraline; Foulon, Veerle; de Winter, Sabrina; Spinewine, Anne

2013-12-01

Patients' transition between hospital and community is a high-risk period for the occurrence of medication-related problems. The objective was to review initiatives, implemented at national and regional levels in seven selected countries, aiming at improving continuity in medication management upon admission and hospital discharge. We performed a structured search of grey literature, mainly through relevant websites (scientific, professional and governmental organizations). Regional or national initiatives were selected. For each initiative data on the characteristics, impact, success factors and barriers were extracted. National experts were asked to validate the initiatives identified and the data extracted. Most initiatives have been implemented since the early 2000 and are still ongoing. The principal actions include: development and implementation of guidelines for healthcare professionals, national information campaigns, education of healthcare professionals and development of information technologies to share data across settings of care. Positive results have been partially reported in terms of intake into practice or process measures. Critical success factors identified included: leadership and commitment to convey national and local forces, tailoring to local settings, development of a regulatory framework and information technology support. Barriers identified included: lack of human and financial resources, questions relative to responsibility and accountability, lack of training and lack of agreement on privacy issues. Although not all initiatives are applicable as such to a particular healthcare setting, most of them convey very interesting data that should be used when drawing recommendations and implementing approaches to optimize continuity of care.

Effect of Initiation Time of Hydrostatic Pressure Shock on Chromosome Set Doubling of Tetraploidization in Turbot Scophthalmus maximus.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Xiangping; Lin, Zhengmei; Wu, Zhihao; Li, Jiandong; You, Feng

2017-10-01

The objective of the study was to clarify the effects of initiation time on chromosome set doubling induced by hydrostatic pressure shock through nuclear phase fluorescent microscopy in turbot Scophthalmus maximus. The ratio of developmentally delayed embryo and chromosome counting was used to assess induction efficiency. For the embryos subjected to a pressure of 67.5 MPa for 6 min at prometaphase (A group), chromosomes recovered to the pre-treatment condition after 11-min recovering. The first nuclear division and cytokinesis proceeded normally. During the second cell cycle, chromosomes did not enter into metaphase after prometaphase, but spread around for about 13 min, then assembled together and formed a large nucleus without anaphase separation; the second nuclear division and cytokinesis was inhibited. The ratio of developmentally delayed embryo showed that the second mitosis of 78% A group embryo was inhibited. The result of chromosome counting showed that the tetraploidization rate of A group was 72%. For the embryos subjected to a pressure of 67.5 MPa for 6 min at anaphase (B group), chromosomes recovered to the pre-treatment condition after about 31-min recovering. Afterwards, one telophase nucleus formed without anaphase separation; the first nuclear division was inhibited. The time of the first cleavage furrow occurrence of B group embryos delayed 27 min compared with that of A group embryos. With the first cytokinesis proceeding normally, 81.3% B group embryos were at two-cell stage around the middle of the second cell cycle after treatment. Those embryos were one of the two blastomeres containing DNA and the other without DNA. The first nuclear division of those embryos was inhibited. During the third cell cycle after treatment, 65.2% of those abovementioned embryos were at four-cell stage, cytokinesis occurred in both blastomeres, and nuclear division only occurred in the blastomere containing DNA. Of those abovementioned embryos, 14.0% were at

The development of the Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum DataSet (TOPICS-MDS): a large-scale data sharing initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Lutomski, Jennifer E; Baars, Maria A E; Schalk, Bianca W M; Boter, Han; Buurman, Bianca M; den Elzen, Wendy P J; Jansen, Aaltje P D; Kempen, Gertrudis I J M; Steunenberg, Bas; Steyerberg, Ewout W; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; Melis, René J F

2013-01-01

In 2008, the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport commissioned the National Care for the Elderly Programme. While numerous research projects in older persons' health care were to be conducted under this national agenda, the Programme further advocated the development of The Older Persons and Informal Caregivers Survey Minimum DataSet (TOPICS-MDS) which would be integrated into all funded research protocols. In this context, we describe TOPICS data sharing initiative (www.topics-mds.eu). A working group drafted TOPICS-MDS prototype, which was subsequently approved by a multidisciplinary panel. Using instruments validated for older populations, information was collected on demographics, morbidity, quality of life, functional limitations, mental health, social functioning and health service utilisation. For informal caregivers, information was collected on demographics, hours of informal care and quality of life (including subjective care-related burden). Between 2010 and 2013, a total of 41 research projects contributed data to TOPICS-MDS, resulting in preliminary data available for 32,310 older persons and 3,940 informal caregivers. The majority of studies sampled were from primary care settings and inclusion criteria differed across studies. TOPICS-MDS is a public data repository which contains essential data to better understand health challenges experienced by older persons and informal caregivers. Such findings are relevant for countries where increasing health-related expenditure has necessitated the evaluation of contemporary health care delivery. Although open sharing of data can be difficult to achieve in practice, proactively addressing issues of data protection, conflicting data analysis requests and funding limitations during TOPICS-MDS developmental phase has fostered a data sharing culture. To date, TOPICS-MDS has been successfully incorporated into 41 research projects, thus supporting the feasibility of constructing a large (>30,000 observations

Early initiation of night-time NIV in an outpatient setting: a randomized non-inferiority study in ALS patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertella, Enrica; Banfi, Paolo; Paneroni, Mara; Grilli, Silvia; Bianchi, Luca; Volpato, Eleonora; Vitacca, Michele

2017-12-01

In patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), non-invasive ventilation (NIV) is usually initiated in an in-hospital regime. We investigated if NIV initiated in an outpatient setting can be as effective in terms of patients' acceptance/adherence. We also evaluated factors predicting NIV acceptance and adherence and disease progression. Prospective randomized study. Outpatient versus inpatient rehabilitation. ALS patients. ALS patients were randomized to two groups for NIV initiation: outpatients versus inpatients. At baseline (T0), end of NIV trial program (T1) and after 3 months from T1 (T2), respiratory function tests, blood gas analysis, and sleep study were performed. At T1, we assessed: NIV acceptance (>4 h/night), and dyspnea symptoms (day/night) by Visual analogue scale (VAS), staff and patients' experience (how difficult NIV was to accept, how difficult ventilator was to manage, satisfaction); at T2: NIV adherence (>120 h/month) and patients' experience. Fifty patients participated. There were no differences in acceptance failure (P=0.733) or adherence failure (P=0.529). At T1, outpatients had longer hours of nocturnal ventilation (PNIV acceptance/adherence failure. There were no between-group differences in progression of respiratory impairment, symptoms and sleep quality. Early outpatient initiation of NIV in ALS is as effective as inpatient initiation.

Lean and leadership practices: development of an initial realist program theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Goodridge, Donna; Westhorp, Gill; Rotter, Thomas; Dobson, Roy; Bath, Brenna

2015-09-07

Lean as a management system has been increasingly adopted in health care settings in an effort to enhance quality, capacity and safety, while simultaneously containing or reducing costs. The Ministry of Health in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada has made a multi-million dollar investment in Lean initiatives to create "better health, better value, better care, and better teams", affording a unique opportunity to advance our understanding of the way in which Lean philosophy, principles and tools work in health care. In order to address the questions, "What changes in leadership practices are associated with the implementation of Lean?" and "When leadership practices change, how do the changed practices contribute to subsequent outcomes?", we used a qualitative, multi-stage approach to work towards developing an initial realist program theory. We describe the implications of realist assumptions for evaluation of this Lean initiative. Formal theories including Normalization Process Theory, Theories of Double Loop and Organization Leaning and the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance help understand this initial rough program theory. Data collection included: key informant consultation; a stakeholder workshop; documentary review; 26 audiotaped and transcribed interviews with health region personnel; and team discussions. A set of seven initial hypotheses regarding the manner in which Lean changes leadership practices were developed from our data. We hypothesized that Lean, as implemented in this particular setting, changes leadership practices in the following ways. Lean: a) aligns the aims and objectives of health regions; b) authorizes attention and resources to quality improvement and change management c) provides an integrated set of tools for particular tasks; d) changes leaders' attitudes or beliefs about appropriate leadership and management styles and behaviors; e) demands increased levels of expertise, accountability and commitment from leaders; f) measures and

Climate-relevant monitorings in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metternich, P.

1993-01-01

This catalogue contains so-called meta-data; i.e. information on data. For each measuring programme or set of data, users find the address (postal address, telephone, fax-number) of the respective contact person at the beginning of the entry. The catalogue has three parts: Part A is a compilation of monitoring programmes using conventional methods adopted on the ground. Part B contains research programmes or sets of data from the field of remote sensing. In part C, data sets from time series of climate-relevant parameters are described. Section A was additionally structured according so the compartments of the climate system: Atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere. (orig./KW) [de

Do law enforcement interactions reduce the initiation of injection drug use? An investigation in three North American settings.

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Melo, J S; Garfein, R S; Hayashi, K; Milloy, M J; DeBeck, K; Sun, S; Jain, S; Strathdee, S A; Werb, D

2018-01-01

The prevention of drug injecting is often cited as a justification for the deployment of law enforcement and for the continuation of drug criminalization policies. We sought to characterize the impact of law enforcement interactions on the risk that people who inject drugs (PWID) report assisting others with injection initiation in three North American countries. Cross-sectional data from PWID participating in cohort studies in three cities (San Diego, USA; Tijuana, Mexico; Vancouver, Canada) were pooled (August 2014-December 2016). The dependent variable was defined as recently (i.e., past six months) providing injection initiation assistance; the primary independent variable was the frequency of recent law enforcement interactions, defined categorically (0 vs. 1 vs. 2-5 vs. ≥6). We employed multivariable logistic regression analyses to assess this relationship while controlling for potential confounders. Among 2122 participants, 87 (4.1%) reported recently providing injection initiation assistance, and 802 (37.8%) reported recent law enforcement interactions. Reporting either one or more than five recent interactions with law enforcement was not significantly associated with injection initiation assistance. Reporting 2-5 law enforcement interactions was associated with initiation assistance (Adjusted Odds Ratio=1.74, 95% Confidence Interval: 1.01-3.02). Reporting interactions with law enforcement was not associated with a reduced likelihood that PWID reported initiating others into injection drug use. Instead, we identified a positive association between reporting law enforcement interactions and injection initiation assistance among PWID in multiple settings. These findings raise concerns regarding the effectiveness of drug law enforcement to deter injection drug use initiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

UpSet: Visualization of Intersecting Sets

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Lex, Alexander; Gehlenborg, Nils; Strobelt, Hendrik; Vuillemot, Romain; Pfister, Hanspeter

2016-01-01

Understanding relationships between sets is an important analysis task that has received widespread attention in the visualization community. The major challenge in this context is the combinatorial explosion of the number of set intersections if the number of sets exceeds a trivial threshold. In this paper we introduce UpSet, a novel visualization technique for the quantitative analysis of sets, their intersections, and aggregates of intersections. UpSet is focused on creating task-driven aggregates, communicating the size and properties of aggregates and intersections, and a duality between the visualization of the elements in a dataset and their set membership. UpSet visualizes set intersections in a matrix layout and introduces aggregates based on groupings and queries. The matrix layout enables the effective representation of associated data, such as the number of elements in the aggregates and intersections, as well as additional summary statistics derived from subset or element attributes. Sorting according to various measures enables a task-driven analysis of relevant intersections and aggregates. The elements represented in the sets and their associated attributes are visualized in a separate view. Queries based on containment in specific intersections, aggregates or driven by attribute filters are propagated between both views. We also introduce several advanced visual encodings and interaction methods to overcome the problems of varying scales and to address scalability. UpSet is web-based and open source. We demonstrate its general utility in multiple use cases from various domains. PMID:26356912

Software Development Initiatives to Identify and Mitigate Security Threats - Two Systematic Mapping Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulina Silva

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Software Security and development experts have addressed the problem of building secure software systems. There are several processes and initiatives to achieve secure software systems. However, most of these lack empirical evidence of its application and impact in building secure software systems. Two systematic mapping studies (SM have been conducted to cover the existent initiatives for identification and mitigation of security threats. The SMs created were executed in two steps, first in 2015 July, and complemented through a backward snowballing in 2016 July. Integrated results of these two SM studies show a total of 30 relevant sources were identified; 17 different initiatives covering threats identification and 14 covering the mitigation of threats were found. All the initiatives were associated to at least one activity of the Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC; while 6 showed signs of being applied in industrial settings, only 3 initiatives presented experimental evidence of its results through controlled experiments, some of the other selected studies presented case studies or proposals.

Computer-assisted initial diagnosis of rare diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Alves

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Most documented rare diseases have genetic origin. Because of their low individual frequency, an initial diagnosis based on phenotypic symptoms is not always easy, as practitioners might never have been exposed to patients suffering from the relevant disease. It is thus important to develop tools that facilitate symptom-based initial diagnosis of rare diseases by clinicians. In this work we aimed at developing a computational approach to aid in that initial diagnosis. We also aimed at implementing this approach in a user friendly web prototype. We call this tool Rare Disease Discovery. Finally, we also aimed at testing the performance of the prototype. Methods. Rare Disease Discovery uses the publicly available ORPHANET data set of association between rare diseases and their symptoms to automatically predict the most likely rare diseases based on a patient’s symptoms. We apply the method to retrospectively diagnose a cohort of 187 rare disease patients with confirmed diagnosis. Subsequently we test the precision, sensitivity, and global performance of the system under different scenarios by running large scale Monte Carlo simulations. All settings account for situations where absent and/or unrelated symptoms are considered in the diagnosis. Results. We find that this expert system has high diagnostic precision (≥80% and sensitivity (≥99%, and is robust to both absent and unrelated symptoms. Discussion. The Rare Disease Discovery prediction engine appears to provide a fast and robust method for initial assisted differential diagnosis of rare diseases. We coupled this engine with a user-friendly web interface and it can be freely accessed at http://disease-discovery.udl.cat/. The code and most current database for the whole project can be downloaded from https://github.com/Wrrzag/DiseaseDiscovery/tree/no_classifiers.

Prevalence of pregnancy-relevant infections in a rural setting of Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Völker, Fabian; Cooper, Paul; Bader, Oliver; Uy, Angela; Zimmermann, Ortrud; Lugert, Raimond; Groß, Uwe

2017-06-06

Although infectious diseases still account for a high burden of morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, simultaneous investigations on multiple infections affecting maternal and child health are missing. We conducted a cross-sectional, single-centre pilot study in a rural area of Ghana to assess the infectiological profile during pregnancy. Screening of 180 expectant mothers was done by vaginal swabs and serology to detect the most common pregnancy-relevant infections. They were also interviewed for potential risk factors, outcome of previous pregnancies, and socio-economic aspects. We found a high prevalence of infections caused by hepatitis B virus (16.7% HBs antigen positive). In contrast, infections caused by hepatitis C virus (1.1% anti-HCV) and HIV (0.6%) were rare. Maternal malaria was frequent (10.6%), despite increasing acceptance of intermittent preventive treatment during pregnancy (IPTp). Group B streptococci were present in 10.6% of all pregnant women. Absence of antibodies against varicella zoster virus in 43.2%, Toxoplasma gondii in 26.8%, parvovirus B19 in 20.0%, and rubella virus in 15.7% makes a significant proportion of pregnant women susceptible for acquiring primary infections. Whereas all study participants had specific IgG antibodies against human cytomegalovirus, infections with Listeria, Brucella, or Neisseria gonorrhoeae as well as active syphilis were absent. Our pilot study in a rural community in Ghana indicates an urgent need for action in dealing at least with high-prevalent pregnancy-relevant infections, such as hepatitis B, malaria and those caused by group B streptococci. In addition, the resulting prevalence rates of various other infections may offer guidance for health officials to prioritize possible future intervention schemes.

The influence of contextual factors on healthcare quality improvement initiatives: what works, for whom and in what setting? Protocol for a realist review.

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Coles, Emma; Wells, Mary; Maxwell, Margaret; Harris, Fiona M; Anderson, Julie; Gray, Nicola M; Milner, Gill; MacGillivray, Stephen

2017-08-23

Context shapes the effectiveness of knowledge implementation and influences health improvement. Successful healthcare quality improvement (QI) initiatives frequently fail to transfer to different settings, with local contextual factors often cited as the cause. Understanding and overcoming contextual barriers is therefore crucial to implementing effective improvement; yet context is still poorly understood. There is a paucity of information on the mechanisms underlying how and why QI projects succeed or fail in given settings. A realist review of empirical studies of healthcare QI initiatives will be undertaken to examine the influence and impact of contextual factors on quality improvement in healthcare settings and explore whether QI initiatives can work in all contexts. The review will explore which contextual factors are important, and how, why, when and for whom they are important, within varied settings. The dynamic nature of context and change over time will be explored by examining which aspects of context impact at key points in the improvement trajectory. The review will also consider the influence of context on improvement outcomes (provider- and patient-level), spread and sustainability. The review process will follow five iterative steps: (1) clarify scope, (2) search for evidence, (3) appraise primary studies and extract data, (4) synthesise evidence and draw conclusions and (5) disseminate findings. The reviewers will consult with experts and stakeholders in the early stages to focus the review and develop a programme theory consisting of explanatory 'context-mechanism-outcome' configurations. Searches for primary evidence will be conducted iteratively. Data will be extracted and tested against the programme theory. A review advisory group will oversee the review process. Review findings will follow RAMESES guidelines and will be disseminated via a report, presentations and peer-reviewed publications. The review will update and consolidate evidence

Parental Behaviors in a Memory Relevant Setting: How Parents "Teach" Children to Remember.

Science.gov (United States)

Justice, Elaine M.; Coley, Denise D.

The behavior of mothers interacting with their preschoolers in a memory-relevant situation was examined. Ten 3-year-olds and their mothers were videotaped playing a game requiring memory for the location of hidden pictures. Frequency of nine categories of parental behavior was scored: naming, verbal orienting, physical orienting, physical…

Communication technologies to improve HPV vaccination initiation and completion: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Francis, Diane B; Cates, Joan R; Wagner, Kyla P Garrett; Zola, Tracey; Fitter, Jenny E; Coyne-Beasley, Tamera

2017-07-01

This systematic review examines the effectiveness of communication technology interventions on HPV vaccination initiation and completion. A comprehensive search strategy was used to identify existing randomized controlled trials testing the impact of computer-, mobile- or internet-based interventions on receipt of any dose of the HPV vaccine. Twelve relevant studies were identified with a total of 38,945 participants. The interventions were delivered using several different methods, including electronic health record (i.e. recall/reminder) prompts, text messaging, automated phone calls, interactive computer videos, and email. Vaccine initiation and completion was greater for technology-based studies relative to their control conditions. There is evidence that interventions utilizing communication technologies as their sole or primary mode for HPV vaccination intervention delivery may increase vaccination coverage. Communication technologies hold much promise for the future of HPV vaccination efforts, especially initiatives in practice-based settings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

TaBoo SeArch Algorithm with a Modified Inverse Histogram for Reproducing Biologically Relevant Rare Events of Proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Harada, Ryuhei; Takano, Yu; Shigeta, Yasuteru

2016-05-10

The TaBoo SeArch (TBSA) algorithm [ Harada et al. J. Comput. Chem. 2015 , 36 , 763 - 772 and Harada et al. Chem. Phys. Lett. 2015 , 630 , 68 - 75 ] was recently proposed as an enhanced conformational sampling method for reproducing biologically relevant rare events of a given protein. In TBSA, an inverse histogram of the original distribution, mapped onto a set of reaction coordinates, is constructed from trajectories obtained by multiple short-time molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Rarely occurring states of a given protein are statistically selected as new initial states based on the inverse histogram, and resampling is performed by restarting the MD simulations from the new initial states to promote the conformational transition. In this process, the definition of the inverse histogram, which characterizes the rarely occurring states, is crucial for the efficiency of TBSA. In this study, we propose a simple modification of the inverse histogram to further accelerate the convergence of TBSA. As demonstrations of the modified TBSA, we applied it to (a) hydrogen bonding rearrangements of Met-enkephalin, (b) large-amplitude domain motions of Glutamine-Binding Protein, and (c) folding processes of the B domain of Staphylococcus aureus Protein A. All demonstrations numerically proved that the modified TBSA reproduced these biologically relevant rare events with nanosecond-order simulation times, although a set of microsecond-order, canonical MD simulations failed to reproduce the rare events, indicating the high efficiency of the modified TBSA.

Vacuum type D initial data

Science.gov (United States)

García-Parrado Gómez-Lobo, Alfonso

2016-09-01

A vacuum type D initial data set is a vacuum initial data set of the Einstein field equations whose data development contains a region where the space–time is of Petrov type D. In this paper we give a systematic characterisation of a vacuum type D initial data set. By systematic we mean that the only quantities involved are those appearing in the vacuum constraints, namely the first fundamental form (Riemannian metric) and the second fundamental form. Our characterisation is a set of conditions consisting of the vacuum constraints and some additional differential equations for the first and second fundamental forms These conditions can be regarded as a system of partial differential equations on a Riemannian manifold and the solutions of the system contain all possible regular vacuum type D initial data sets. As an application we particularise our conditions for the case of vacuum data whose data development is a subset of the Kerr solution. This has applications in the formulation of the nonlinear stability problem of the Kerr black hole.

Linking attentional processes and conceptual problem solving: visual cues facilitate the automaticity of extracting relevant information from diagrams.

Science.gov (United States)

Rouinfar, Amy; Agra, Elise; Larson, Adam M; Rebello, N Sanjay; Loschky, Lester C

2014-01-01

This study investigated links between visual attention processes and conceptual problem solving. This was done by overlaying visual cues on conceptual physics problem diagrams to direct participants' attention to relevant areas to facilitate problem solving. Participants (N = 80) individually worked through four problem sets, each containing a diagram, while their eye movements were recorded. Each diagram contained regions that were relevant to solving the problem correctly and separate regions related to common incorrect responses. Problem sets contained an initial problem, six isomorphic training problems, and a transfer problem. The cued condition saw visual cues overlaid on the training problems. Participants' verbal responses were used to determine their accuracy. This study produced two major findings. First, short duration visual cues which draw attention to solution-relevant information and aid in the organizing and integrating of it, facilitate both immediate problem solving and generalization of that ability to new problems. Thus, visual cues can facilitate re-representing a problem and overcoming impasse, enabling a correct solution. Importantly, these cueing effects on problem solving did not involve the solvers' attention necessarily embodying the solution to the problem, but were instead caused by solvers attending to and integrating relevant information in the problems into a solution path. Second, this study demonstrates that when such cues are used across multiple problems, solvers can automatize the extraction of problem-relevant information extraction. These results suggest that low-level attentional selection processes provide a necessary gateway for relevant information to be used in problem solving, but are generally not sufficient for correct problem solving. Instead, factors that lead a solver to an impasse and to organize and integrate problem information also greatly facilitate arriving at correct solutions.

Ultrasound-guided Breast Biopsy in the Resource-limited Setting: An Initial Experience in Rural Uganda

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Christopher R. Stark

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To describe the methodology and initial experience behind creation of an ultrasoundguided percutaneous breast core biopsy program in rural Uganda. Methods and Materials: Imaging the World Africa (ITWA is the registered non-governmental organization division of Imaging the World (ITW, a not-for-profit organization whose primary aim is the integration of affordable high-quality ultrasound into rural health centers. In 2013, ITWA began the pilot phase of an IRB-approved breast care protocol at a rural health center in Uganda. As part of the protocol’s diagnostic arm, an ultrasound-guided percutaneous breast core biopsy training curriculum was implemented in tandem with creation of regionally supplied biopsy kits. Results: A surgeon at a rural regional referral hospital was successfully trained and certified to perform ultrasound-guided percutaneous breast core biopsies. Affordable and safe biopsy kits were created using locally available medical supplies with the cost of each kit totaling $10.62 USD. Conclusion: Successful implementation of an ultrasound-guided percutaneous breast core biopsy program in the resource-limited setting is possible and can be made sustainable through incorporation of local health care personnel and regionally supplied biopsy materials. Our hope is that ITWA’s initial experience in rural Uganda can serve as a model for similar programs in the future.

Mobile Landing Platform with Core Capability Set (MLP w/CCS): Combined Initial Operational Test and Evaluation and Live Fire Test and Evaluation Report

Science.gov (United States)

2015-07-01

SUBTITLE Mobile Landing Platform with Core Capability Set (MLP w/CCS) Combined Initial Operational Test and Evaluation ( IOT &E) and Live Fire Test and...based on data from a series of integrated test events, a dedicated end-to-end Initial Operational Test and Evaluation ( IOT &E), and two Marine Corps...Internally Transportable Vehicles (ITVs).   ii the LMSR to anchor within a few miles of the shore. Using MLP (CCS), the equipment is transported ashore

How Settings Change People: Applying Behavior Setting Theory to Consumer-Run Organizations

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Louis D.; Shepherd, Matthew D.; Wituk, Scott A.; Meissen, Greg

2007-01-01

Self-help initiatives stand as a classic context for organizational studies in community psychology. Behavior setting theory stands as a classic conception of organizations and the environment. This study explores both, applying behavior setting theory to consumer-run organizations (CROs). Analysis of multiple data sets from all CROs in Kansas…

A 10-Year Mechatronics Curriculum Development Initiative: Relevance, Content, and Results--Part I

Science.gov (United States)

Das, S.; Yost, S. A.; Krishnan, M.

2010-01-01

This paper describes the first phase of a Mechatronics Curriculum Development effort--the design of an "Introduction to Mechatronics" course, the infusion of mechatronics activities throughout the curriculum and in outreach activities, and assessment results. In addition, the relevance and impact of such a curriculum on the education of engineers…

The temporal-relevance temporal-uncertainty model of prospective duration judgment.

Science.gov (United States)

Zakay, Dan

2015-12-15

A model aimed at explaining prospective duration judgments in real life settings (as well as in the laboratory) is presented. The model is based on the assumption that situational meaning is continuously being extracted by humans' perceptual and cognitive information processing systems. Time is one of the important dimensions of situational meaning. Based on the situational meaning, a value for Temporal Relevance is set. Temporal Relevance reflects the importance of temporal aspects for enabling adaptive behavior in a specific moment in time. When Temporal Relevance is above a certain threshold a prospective duration judgment process is evoked automatically. In addition, a search for relevant temporal information is taking place and its outcomes determine the level of Temporal Uncertainty which reflects the degree of knowledge one has regarding temporal aspects of the task to be performed. The levels of Temporal Relevance and Temporal Uncertainty determine the amount of attentional resources allocated for timing by the executive system. The merit of the model is in connecting timing processes with the ongoing general information processing stream. The model rests on findings in various domains which indicate that cognitive-relevance and self-relevance are powerful determinants of resource allocation policy. The feasibility of the model is demonstrated by analyzing various temporal phenomena. Suggestions for further empirical validation of the model are presented. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Incidence of WHO stage 3 and 4 conditions following initiation of anti-retroviral therapy in resource limited settings.

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Andrea J Curtis

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of WHO clinical stage 3 and 4 conditions during early anti-retroviral therapy (ART in resource limited settings (RLS. DESIGN/SETTING: A descriptive analysis of routine program data collected prospectively from 25 Médecins Sans Frontières supported HIV treatment programs in eight countries between 2002 and 2010. SUBJECTS/PARTICIPANTS: 35,349 study participants with median follow-up on ART of 1.33 years (IQR 0.51-2.41. OUTCOME MEASURES: Incidence in 100 person-years of WHO stage 3 or 4 conditions during 5 periods after ART initiation. Diagnoses of conditions were made according to WHO criteria and relied upon clinical assessments supported by basic laboratory investigations. RESULTS: The incidence of any WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 condition over 3 years was 40.02 per 100 person-years (31.77 for stage 3 and 8.25 for stage 4. The incidence of stage 3 and 4 conditions fell by over 97% between months 0-3 and months 25-36 (77.81 to 2.40 for stage 3 and 28.70 to 0.64 for stage 4. During months 0-3 pulmonary tuberculosis was the most common condition diagnosed in adults (incidence 22.24 per 100 person-years and children aged 5-14 years (25.76 and oral candidiasis was the most common in children <5 years (25.79. Overall incidences were higher in Africa compared with Asia (43.98 versus 12.97 for stage 3 and 8.98 versus 7.05 for stage 4 conditions, p<0.001. Pulmonary tuberculosis, weight loss, oral and oesophageal candidiasis, chronic diarrhoea, HIV wasting syndrome and severe bacterial infections were more common in Africa. Extra-pulmonary tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection, cryptococcosis, penicilliosis and toxoplasmosis were more common in Asia. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of WHO stage 3 and 4 conditions during the early period after ART initiation in RLS is high, but greatly reduces over time. This is likely due to both the benefits of ART and deaths of the sickest patients occurring shortly

[Initiation, promotion, initiation experiments with radon and cigarette smoke: Lung tumors in rats]. Progress report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moolgavkar, S.H.

1994-01-01

During the past several years, the authors have made considerable progress in modeling carcinogenesis in general, and in modeling radiation carcinogenesis, in particular. They present an overview of their progress in developing stochastic carcinogenesis models and applying them to experimental and epidemiologic data sets. Traditionally, cancer models have been used for the analysis of incidence (or prevalence) data in epidemiology and time to tumor data in experimental studies. The relevant quantities for the analysis of these data are the hazard function and the probability of tumor. The derivation of these quantities is briefly described here. More recently, the authors began to use these models for the analysis of data on intermediate lesions on the pathway to cancer. Such data are available in experimental carcinogenesis studies, in particular in initiation and promotion studies on the mouse skin and the rat liver. If however, quantitative information on intermediate lesions on the pathway to lung cancer were to be come available at some future date, the methods that they have developed for the analysis of initiation-promotion experiments could easily be applied to the analysis of these lesions. The mathematical derivations here are couched in terms of a particular two-mutation model of carcinogenesis. Extension to models postulating more than two mutations is not always straightforward

Settings and artefacts relevant for Doppler ultrasound in large vessel vasculitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Terslev, L; Diamantopoulos, A P; Døhn, U Møller

2017-01-01

Ultrasound is used increasingly for diagnosing large vessel vasculitis (LVV). The application of Doppler in LVV is very different from in arthritic conditions. This paper aims to explain the most important Doppler parameters, including spectral Doppler, and how the settings differ from those used...

The Community Role of Schools in Jicamarca and Villa El Salvador (Peru: Crosscutting Behavior Settings in Personal Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isidro Maya-Jariego

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The personal networks of 138 parents of children participating in a child labor prevention initiative in three schools in Lima (Peru are analyzed. First, relevant behavior settings in two informal population settlements in the periphery of the big city were detected. Second, the distribution of personal relationships in that small set of community contexts served to describe the everyday interaction in the neighborhood. Each interviewee provided information on the 45 persons with whom he/she interacts regularly, indicating in each case the context where that relationship preferably takes place. They also reported on the involvement of families in school and citizen participation initiatives in their community. The clustered graphs technique showed that the school is the second most relevant space for the development of interpersonal relationships in the neighborhood. Relationships among different family households were the most powerful predictor of community integration in the neighborhood of residence. The highest rates of child labor coincide with the most recently created community environments, with more fragmented personal networks, and with a less structured community as a whole. School is a community hub that facilitates interaction between the families of the neighborhood and connect to value resources outside of their usual place of residence.

Using evaluation theory in priority setting and resource allocation.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Neale; Mitton, Craig; Cornelissen, Evelyn; Gibson, Jennifer; Peacock, Stuart

2012-01-01

Public sector interest in methods for priority setting and program or policy evaluation has grown considerably over the last several decades, given increased expectations for accountable and efficient use of resources and emphasis on evidence-based decision making as a component of good management practice. While there has been some occasional effort to conduct evaluation of priority setting projects, the literatures around priority setting and evaluation have largely evolved separately. In this paper, the aim is to bring them together. The contention is that evaluation theory is a means by which evaluators reflect upon what it is they are doing when they do evaluation work. Theories help to organize thinking, sort out relevant from irrelevant information, provide transparent grounds for particular implementation choices, and can help resolve problematic issues which may arise in the conduct of an evaluation project. A detailed review of three major branches of evaluation theory--methods, utilization, and valuing--identifies how such theories can guide the development of efforts to evaluate priority setting and resource allocation initiatives. Evaluation theories differ in terms of their guiding question, anticipated setting or context, evaluation foci, perspective from which benefits are calculated, and typical methods endorsed. Choosing a particular theoretical approach will structure the way in which any priority setting process is evaluated. The paper suggests that explicitly considering evaluation theory makes key aspects of the evaluation process more visible to all stakeholders, and can assist in the design of effective evaluation of priority setting processes; this should iteratively serve to improve the understanding of priority setting practices themselves.

Recognizing Binge-Eating Disorder in the Clinical Setting: A Review of the Literature.

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Kornstein, Susan G; Kunovac, Jelena L; Herman, Barry K; Culpepper, Larry

2016-01-01

Review the clinical skills needed to recognize, diagnose, and manage binge-eating disorder (BED) in a primary care setting. A PubMed search of English-language publications (January 1, 2008-December 11, 2014) was conducted using the term binge-eating disorder . Relevant articles known to the authors were also included. Publications focusing on preclinical topics (eg, characterization of receptors and neurotransmitter systems) without discussing clinical relevance were excluded. A total of 101 publications were included in this review. Although BED is the most prevalent eating disorder, it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. BED can be associated with medical (eg, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome) and psychiatric (eg, depression and anxiety) comorbidities that, if left untreated, can impair quality of life and functionality. Primary care physicians may find diagnosing and treating BED challenging because of insufficient knowledge of its new diagnostic criteria and available treatment options. Furthermore, individuals with BED may be reluctant to seek treatment because of shame, embarrassment, and a lack of awareness of the disorder. Several short assessment tools are available to screen for BED in primary care settings. Pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy should focus on reducing binge-eating behavior, thereby reducing medical and psychiatric complications. Overcoming primary care physician- and patient-related barriers is critical to accurately diagnose and appropriately treat BED. Primary care physicians should take an active role in the initial recognition and assessment of suspected BED based on case-finding indicators (eg, eating habits and being overweight), the initial treatment selection, and the long-term follow-up of patients who meet DSM-5 BED diagnostic criteria.

Simple and efficient machine learning frameworks for identifying protein-protein interaction relevant articles and experimental methods used to study the interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Agarwal, Shashank; Liu, Feifan; Yu, Hong

2011-10-03

Protein-protein interaction (PPI) is an important biomedical phenomenon. Automatically detecting PPI-relevant articles and identifying methods that are used to study PPI are important text mining tasks. In this study, we have explored domain independent features to develop two open source machine learning frameworks. One performs binary classification to determine whether the given article is PPI relevant or not, named "Simple Classifier", and the other one maps the PPI relevant articles with corresponding interaction method nodes in a standardized PSI-MI (Proteomics Standards Initiative-Molecular Interactions) ontology, named "OntoNorm". We evaluated our system in the context of BioCreative challenge competition using the standardized data set. Our systems are amongst the top systems reported by the organizers, attaining 60.8% F1-score for identifying relevant documents, and 52.3% F1-score for mapping articles to interaction method ontology. Our results show that domain-independent machine learning frameworks can perform competitively well at the tasks of detecting PPI relevant articles and identifying the methods that were used to study the interaction in such articles. Simple Classifier is available at http://sourceforge.net/p/simpleclassify/home/ and OntoNorm at http://sourceforge.net/p/ontonorm/home/.

Transforming Big Data into cancer-relevant insight: An initial, multi-tier approach to assess reproducibility and relevance* | Office of Cancer Genomics

Science.gov (United States)

The Cancer Target Discovery and Development (CTD^2) Network was established to accelerate the transformation of "Big Data" into novel pharmacological targets, lead compounds, and biomarkers for rapid translation into improved patient outcomes. It rapidly became clear in this collaborative network that a key central issue was to define what constitutes sufficient computational or experimental evidence to support a biologically or clinically relevant finding.

Why relevance theory is relevant for lexicography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bothma, Theo; Tarp, Sven

2014-01-01

This article starts by providing a brief summary of relevance theory in information science in relation to the function theory of lexicography, explaining the different types of relevance, viz. objective system relevance and the subjective types of relevance, i.e. topical, cognitive, situational...... that is very important for lexicography as well as for information science, viz. functional relevance. Since all lexicographic work is ultimately aimed at satisfying users’ information needs, the article then discusses why the lexicographer should take note of all these types of relevance when planning a new...... dictionary project, identifying new tasks and responsibilities of the modern lexicographer. The article furthermore discusses how relevance theory impacts on teaching dictionary culture and reference skills. By integrating insights from lexicography and information science, the article contributes to new...

Readiness factors for lean implementation in healthcare settings--a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Balushi, S; Sohal, A S; Singh, P J; Al Hajri, A; Al Farsi, Y M; Al Abri, R

2014-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to determine the readiness factors that are critical to the application and success of lean operating principles in healthcare organizations through a review of relevant literature. A comprehensive review of literature focussing on lean and lean healthcare was conducted. Leadership, organizational culture, communication, training, measurement, and reward systems are all commonly attributed readiness factors throughout general change management and lean literature. However, directly related to the successful implementation of lean in healthcare is that a setting is able to authorize a decentralized management style and undertake an end-to-end process view. These can be particularly difficult initiatives for complex organizations such as healthcare settings. The readiness factors identified are based on a review of the published literature. The external validity of the findings could be enhanced if tested using an empirical study. The readiness factors identified will enable healthcare practitioners to be better prepared as they begin their lean journeys. Sustainability of the lean initiative will be at stake if these readiness factors are not addressed. To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that provides a consolidated list of key lean readiness factors that can guide practice, as well as future theory and empirical research.

Core outcome sets for research and clinical practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Chiarotto, Alessandro; Ostelo, Raymond W.; Turk, Dennis C.; Buchbinder, Rachelle; Boers, Maarten

2017-01-01

Background This masterclass introduces the topic of core outcome sets, describing rationale and methods for developing them, and providing some examples that are relevant for clinical research and practice. Method A core outcome set is a minimum consensus-based set of outcomes that should be

Automated work packages architecture: An initial set of human factors and instrumentation and controls requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Oxstrand, Johanna H. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Le Blanc, Katya L. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2014-09-01

The work management process in current fleets of national nuclear power plants is so highly dependent on large technical staffs and quality of work instruction, i.e., paper-based, that this puts nuclear energy at somewhat of a long-term economic disadvantage and increase the possibility of human errors. Technologies like mobile portable devices and computer-based procedures can play a key role in improving the plant work management process, thereby increasing productivity and decreasing cost. Automated work packages are a fundamentally an enabling technology for improving worker productivity and human performance in nuclear power plants work activities because virtually every plant work activity is accomplished using some form of a work package. As part of this year’s research effort, automated work packages architecture is identified and an initial set of requirements identified, that are essential and necessary for implementation of automated work packages in nuclear power plants.

Relevant Scatterers Characterization in SAR Images

Science.gov (United States)

Chaabouni, Houda; Datcu, Mihai

2006-11-01

Recognizing scenes in a single look meter resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, requires the capability to identify relevant signal signatures in condition of variable image acquisition geometry, arbitrary objects poses and configurations. Among the methods to detect relevant scatterers in SAR images, we can mention the internal coherence. The SAR spectrum splitted in azimuth generates a series of images which preserve high coherence only for particular object scattering. The detection of relevant scatterers can be done by correlation study or Independent Component Analysis (ICA) methods. The present article deals with the state of the art for SAR internal correlation analysis and proposes further extensions using elements of inference based on information theory applied to complex valued signals. The set of azimuth looks images is analyzed using mutual information measures and an equivalent channel capacity is derived. The localization of the "target" requires analysis in a small image window, thus resulting in imprecise estimation of the second order statistics of the signal. For a better precision, a Hausdorff measure is introduced. The method is applied to detect and characterize relevant objects in urban areas.

Systemic characterization and evaluation of particle packings as initial sets for discrete element simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Morfa, Carlos Recarey; Cortés, Lucía Argüelles; Farias, Márcio Muniz de; Morales, Irvin Pablo Pérez; Valera, Roberto Roselló; Oñate, Eugenio

2018-07-01

A methodology that comprises several characterization properties for particle packings is proposed in this paper. The methodology takes into account factors such as dimension and shape of particles, space occupation, homogeneity, connectivity and isotropy, among others. This classification and integration of several properties allows to carry out a characterization process to systemically evaluate the particle packings in order to guarantee the quality of the initial meshes in discrete element simulations, in both the micro- and the macroscales. Several new properties were created, and improvements in existing ones are presented. Properties from other disciplines were adapted to be used in the evaluation of particle systems. The methodology allows to easily characterize media at the level of the microscale (continuous geometries—steels, rocks microstructures, etc., and discrete geometries) and the macroscale. A global, systemic and integral system for characterizing and evaluating particle sets, based on fuzzy logic, is presented. Such system allows researchers to have a unique evaluation criterion based on the aim of their research. Examples of applications are shown.

Systemic characterization and evaluation of particle packings as initial sets for discrete element simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Morfa, Carlos Recarey; Cortés, Lucía Argüelles; Farias, Márcio Muniz de; Morales, Irvin Pablo Pérez; Valera, Roberto Roselló; Oñate, Eugenio

2017-10-01

A methodology that comprises several characterization properties for particle packings is proposed in this paper. The methodology takes into account factors such as dimension and shape of particles, space occupation, homogeneity, connectivity and isotropy, among others. This classification and integration of several properties allows to carry out a characterization process to systemically evaluate the particle packings in order to guarantee the quality of the initial meshes in discrete element simulations, in both the micro- and the macroscales. Several new properties were created, and improvements in existing ones are presented. Properties from other disciplines were adapted to be used in the evaluation of particle systems. The methodology allows to easily characterize media at the level of the microscale (continuous geometries—steels, rocks microstructures, etc., and discrete geometries) and the macroscale. A global, systemic and integral system for characterizing and evaluating particle sets, based on fuzzy logic, is presented. Such system allows researchers to have a unique evaluation criterion based on the aim of their research. Examples of applications are shown.

In the Dark: Young Men's Stories of Sexual Initiation in the Absence of Relevant Sexual Health Information

Science.gov (United States)

Kubicek, Katrina; Beyer, William J.; Weiss, George; Iverson, Ellen; Kipke, Michele D.

2010-01-01

A growing body of research has investigated the effectiveness of abstinence-only sexual education. There remains a dearth of research on the relevant sexual health information available to young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Drawing on a mixed-methods study with 526 YMSM, this study explores how and where YMSM receive relevant information on…

Initial mechanical ventilator settings and lung protective ventilation in the ED.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilcox, Susan R; Richards, Jeremy B; Fisher, Daniel F; Sankoff, Jeffrey; Seigel, Todd A

2016-08-01

Mechanical ventilation with low tidal volumes has been shown to improve outcomes for patients both with and without acute respiratory distress syndrome. This study aims to characterize mechanically ventilated patients in the emergency department (ED), describe the initial ED ventilator settings, and assess for associations between lung protective ventilation strategies in the ED and outcomes. This was a multicenter, prospective, observational study of mechanical ventilation at 3 academic EDs. We defined lung protective ventilation as a tidal volume of less than or equal to 8 mL/kg of predicted body weight and compared outcomes for patients ventilated with lung protective vs non-lung protective ventilation, including inhospital mortality, ventilator days, intensive care unit length of stay, and hospital length of stay. Data from 433 patients were analyzed. Altered mental status without respiratory pathology was the most common reason for intubation, followed by trauma and respiratory failure. Two hundred sixty-one patients (60.3%) received lung protective ventilation, but most patients were ventilated with a low positive end-expiratory pressure, high fraction of inspired oxygen strategy. Patients were ventilated in the ED for a mean of 5 hours and 7 minutes but had few ventilator adjustments. Outcomes were not significantly different between patients receiving lung protective vs non-lung protective ventilation. Nearly 40% of ED patients were ventilated with non-lung protective ventilation as well as with low positive end-expiratory pressure and high fraction of inspired oxygen. Despite a mean ED ventilation time of more than 5 hours, few patients had adjustments made to their ventilators. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: Scoping research in broad topic areas

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tavender Emma

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI. Methods The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks: 1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. Results One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60 and low (n = 69 importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority

The Global Evidence Mapping Initiative: scoping research in broad topic areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Bragge, Peter; Clavisi, Ornella; Turner, Tari; Tavender, Emma; Collie, Alex; Gruen, Russell L

2011-06-17

Evidence mapping describes the quantity, design and characteristics of research in broad topic areas, in contrast to systematic reviews, which usually address narrowly-focused research questions. The breadth of evidence mapping helps to identify evidence gaps, and may guide future research efforts. The Global Evidence Mapping (GEM) Initiative was established in 2007 to create evidence maps providing an overview of existing research in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). The GEM evidence mapping method involved three core tasks:1. Setting the boundaries and context of the map: Definitions for the fields of TBI and SCI were clarified, the prehospital, acute inhospital and rehabilitation phases of care were delineated and relevant stakeholders (patients, carers, clinicians, researchers and policymakers) who could contribute to the mapping were identified. Researchable clinical questions were developed through consultation with key stakeholders and a broad literature search. 2. Searching for and selection of relevant studies: Evidence search and selection involved development of specific search strategies, development of inclusion and exclusion criteria, searching of relevant databases and independent screening and selection by two researchers. 3. Reporting on yield and study characteristics: Data extraction was performed at two levels - 'interventions and study design' and 'detailed study characteristics'. The evidence map and commentary reflected the depth of data extraction. One hundred and twenty-nine researchable clinical questions in TBI and SCI were identified. These questions were then prioritised into high (n = 60) and low (n = 69) importance by the stakeholders involved in question development. Since 2007, 58 263 abstracts have been screened, 3 731 full text articles have been reviewed and 1 644 relevant neurotrauma publications have been mapped, covering fifty-three high priority questions. GEM Initiative evidence maps have a broad

Utilization of black liquor as concrete admixture and set retarder aid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samar A. El-Mekkawi

2011-04-01

Full Text Available The utilization of black liquor, produced by the pulp and paper industry in Egypt, as a workability aid and set retarder admixture has been investigated. This approach may help eliminate the environmentally polluting black liquor waste. It also provides a low cost by-product, which can be widely used in the construction industry. The properties of black liquor and its performance on concrete at two different ratios of water to cement have been studied. The results revealed that black liquor from rice straw pulp increases concrete workability, improves compaction, and reduces honeycombing. Moreover, it retards the initial and final set time and enhances uniform compaction. The effect of incorporating small portions of silica fume has been investigated. The ageing effect of this material over a period of one year, to determine its safe storage period, has been studied. Finally, this admixture was found to comply with the relevant Egyptian standards.

The international spinal cord injury pain basic data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Widerström-Noga, E; Biering-Sørensen, F; Bryce, T; Cardenas, D D; Finnerup, N B; Jensen, M P; Richards, J S; Siddall, P J

2008-12-01

To develop a basic pain data set (International Spinal Cord Injury Basic Pain Data Set, ISCIPDS:B) within the framework of the International spinal cord injury (SCI) data sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of pain in the SCI population. International. The ISCIPDS:B was developed by a working group consisting of individuals with published evidence of expertise in SCI-related pain regarding taxonomy, psychophysics, psychology, epidemiology and assessment, and one representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets. The members were appointed by four major organizations with an interest in SCI-related pain (International Spinal Cord Society, ISCoS; American Spinal Injury Association, ASIA; American Pain Society, APS and International Association for the Study of Pain, IASP). The initial ISCIPDS:B was revised based on suggestions from members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA and APS Boards, and the Neuropathic Pain Special Interest Group of the IASP, individual reviewers and societies and the ISCoS Council. The final ISCIPDS:B contains core questions about clinically relevant information concerning SCI-related pain that can be collected by health-care professionals with expertise in SCI in various clinical settings. The questions concern pain severity, physical and emotional function and include a pain-intensity rating, a pain classification and questions related to the temporal pattern of pain for each specific pain problem. The impact of pain on physical, social and emotional function, and sleep is evaluated for each pain.

Recognizing Binge-Eating Disorder in the Clinical Setting: A Review of the Literature

Science.gov (United States)

Kornstein, Susan G.; Kunovac, Jelena L.; Herman, Barry K.; Culpepper, Larry

2016-01-01

Objective: Review the clinical skills needed to recognize, diagnose, and manage binge-eating disorder (BED) in a primary care setting. Data Sources: A PubMed search of English-language publications (January 1, 2008–December 11, 2014) was conducted using the term binge-eating disorder. Relevant articles known to the authors were also included. Study Selection/Data Extraction: Publications focusing on preclinical topics (eg, characterization of receptors and neurotransmitter systems) without discussing clinical relevance were excluded. A total of 101 publications were included in this review. Results: Although BED is the most prevalent eating disorder, it is underdiagnosed and undertreated. BED can be associated with medical (eg, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome) and psychiatric (eg, depression and anxiety) comorbidities that, if left untreated, can impair quality of life and functionality. Primary care physicians may find diagnosing and treating BED challenging because of insufficient knowledge of its new diagnostic criteria and available treatment options. Furthermore, individuals with BED may be reluctant to seek treatment because of shame, embarrassment, and a lack of awareness of the disorder. Several short assessment tools are available to screen for BED in primary care settings. Pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy should focus on reducing binge-eating behavior, thereby reducing medical and psychiatric complications. Conclusions: Overcoming primary care physician– and patient-related barriers is critical to accurately diagnose and appropriately treat BED. Primary care physicians should take an active role in the initial recognition and assessment of suspected BED based on case-finding indicators (eg, eating habits and being overweight), the initial treatment selection, and the long-term follow-up of patients who meet DSM-5 BED diagnostic criteria. PMID:27733955

Ignition Delay Properties of Alternative Fuels with Navy-Relevant Diesel Injectors

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

nozzle tip. 8 Figure 3 EMD injector cross-sectional view, after [15]. c. Sturman Injector A Sturman research diesel injector was used to validate...PROPERTIES OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS WITH NAVY-RELEVANT DIESEL INJECTORS by Andrew J. Rydalch June 2014 Thesis Advisor: Christopher M. Brophy...Navy’s Green Fleet Initiative, this thesis researched the ignition characteristics for diesel replacement fuels used with Navy-relevant fuel injectors

An historical document analysis of the introduction of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative into the Australian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Atchan, Marjorie; Davis, Deborah; Foureur, Maralyn

2017-02-01

Breastfeeding has many known benefits yet its support across Australian health systems was suboptimal throughout the 20th Century. The World Health Organization launched a global health promotion strategy to help create a 'breastfeeding culture'. Research on the programme has revealed multiple barriers since implementation. To analyse the sociopolitical challenges associated with implementing a global programme into a national setting via an examination of the influences on the early period of implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative in Australia. A focused historical document analysis was attended as part of an instrumental case study. A purposeful sampling strategy obtained a comprehensive sample of public and private documents related to the introduction of the BFHI in Australia. Analysis was informed by a 'documents as commentary' approach to gain insight into individual and collective social practices not otherwise observable. Four major themes were identified: "a breastfeeding culture"; "resource implications"; "ambivalent support for breastfeeding and the BFHI" and "business versus advocacy". "A breastfeeding culture" included several subthemes. No tangible support for breastfeeding generally, or the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative specifically, was identified. Australian policy did not follow international recommendations. There were no financial or policy incentives for BFHI implementation. Key stakeholders' decisions negatively impacted on the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative at a crucial time in its implementation in Australia. The potential impact of the programme was not realised, representing a missed opportunity to establish and provide sustainable standardised breastfeeding support to Australian women and their families. Copyright © 2016 Australian College of Midwives. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Software Helps Retrieve Information Relevant to the User

Science.gov (United States)

Mathe, Natalie; Chen, James

2003-01-01

The Adaptive Indexing and Retrieval Agent (ARNIE) is a code library, designed to be used by an application program, that assists human users in retrieving desired information in a hypertext setting. Using ARNIE, the program implements a computational model for interactively learning what information each human user considers relevant in context. The model, called a "relevance network," incrementally adapts retrieved information to users individual profiles on the basis of feedback from the users regarding specific queries. The model also generalizes such knowledge for subsequent derivation of relevant references for similar queries and profiles, thereby, assisting users in filtering information by relevance. ARNIE thus enables users to categorize and share information of interest in various contexts. ARNIE encodes the relevance and structure of information in a neural network dynamically configured with a genetic algorithm. ARNIE maintains an internal database, wherein it saves associations, and from which it returns associated items in response to a query. A C++ compiler for a platform on which ARNIE will be utilized is necessary for creating the ARNIE library but is not necessary for the execution of the software.

Testing the idea of privileged awareness of self-relevant information.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Timo; Siebold, Alisha; van Zoest, Wieske

2016-03-01

Self-relevant information is prioritized in processing. Some have suggested the mechanism driving this advantage is akin to the automatic prioritization of physically salient stimuli in information processing (Humphreys & Sui, 2015). Here we investigate whether self-relevant information is prioritized for awareness under continuous flash suppression (CFS), as has been found for physical salience. Gabor patches with different orientations were first associated with the labels You or Other. Participants were more accurate in matching the self-relevant association, replicating previous findings of self-prioritization. However, breakthrough into awareness from CFS did not differ between self- and other-associated Gabors. These findings demonstrate that self-relevant information has no privileged access to awareness. Rather than modulating the initial visual processes that precede and lead to awareness, the advantage of self-relevant information may better be characterized as prioritization at later processing stages. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Contingent Attentional Capture by Conceptually Relevant Images

Science.gov (United States)

Wyble, Brad; Folk, Charles; Potter, Mary C.

2013-01-01

Attentional capture is an unintentional shift of visuospatial attention to the location of a distractor that is either highly salient, or relevant to the current task set. The latter situation is referred to as contingent capture, in that the effect is contingent on a match between characteristics of the stimuli and the task-defined…

Data Sets from Major NCI Initiaves

Science.gov (United States)

The NCI Data Catalog includes links to data collections produced by major NCI initiatives and other widely used data sets, including animal models, human tumor cell lines, epidemiology data sets, genomics data sets from TCGA, TARGET, COSMIC, GSK, NCI60.

Initial data for the relativistic gravitational N-body problem

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrusciel, Piotr T; Corvino, Justin; Isenberg, James

2010-01-01

In general relativity, an initial data set for an isolated gravitational system takes the form of a solution of the Einstein constraint equations which is asymptotically Euclidean on a specified end. Given a collection of N such data sets with a subregion of interest (bounded away from the specified end) chosen in each, we show that there exists a family of new initial data sets, each of which contains exact copies of each of the N chosen subregions, positioned in a chosen array in a single asymptotic end. These composite initial data sets model isolated, relativistic gravitational systems containing N chosen bodies in specified initial configurations. (fast track communication)

The relevance of national and international initiatives on toxic substances to the management of hazardous air pollutants in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buccini, J.

2001-03-30

The Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME), seeking guidance on current and emerging national and international initiatives, activities, and programs that could impact on the management of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) in Canada, commissioned the author to prepare this document. In this report, HAPs are defined as toxic substances subject to airborne transport as a significant route of environmental distribution and/or exposure. Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were included in this definition. A model, known as toxics cycle, represented the four distinct stages of the process of selecting substances for risk assessment and management: problem identification and priority setting, risk assessment, risk management, and monitoring and evaluation. A large number of international activities were reviewed, such as research, hazard and risk assessment, risk management, and monitoring and surveillance programs. The present report only deals with the programs that had been identified in the National Air Issues Coordinating Committee-Other Air Issues (NAICC-A) of the CCME report published in 1999 and which had recent or foreseen impacts. Five bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements on persistent toxic substances, as well as national, regional and global programs, activities, and initiatives concerning the assessment of the hazards and risks of chemicals and actions were reviewed. It was recommended that initiatives at all levels continue to be monitored and that Environment Canada continue to be the conduit of information at the international level. Issues and opportunities must be identified by all jurisdictions with regard to risk management. It was suggested by the author that risk assessment be conducted by Environment Canada and the attention of the HAP group be drawn on specific topics as required. 2 tabs., 1 fig.

The European initiative on low-dose risk research: from the HLEG to MELODI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belli, Mauro; Tabocchini, Maria Antonella; Jourdain, Jean-Rene; Repussard, Jacques; Salomaa, Sisko

2015-01-01

The importance of low-dose risk research for radiation protection is now widely recognised. The European Commission (EC) and five European Union (EU) Member States involved in the Euratom Programme set up in 2008 a 'High Level and Expert Group on European Low Dose Risk Research' (HLEG) aimed at identifying research needs and proposing a better integration of European efforts in the field. The HLEG revised the research challenges and proposed a European research strategy based on a 'Multidisciplinary European Low Dose Initiative' (MELODI). In April 2009, five national organisations, with the support of the EC, created the initial core of MELODI (http://www.melodi-online.eu) with a view to integrate the EU institutions with significant programmes in the field, while being open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders, and to develop an agreed strategic research agenda (SRA) and roadmap. Since then, open workshops have been organised yearly, exploring ideas for SRA implementation. As of October 2014, 31 institutions have been included as members of MELODI. HLEG recommendations and MELODI SRA have become important reference points in the radiation protection part of the Euratom Research Programme. MELODI has established close interactions through Memorandum of Understanding with other European platforms involved in radiation protection (Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS) and, together with EURADOS, with the relevant medical European Associations. The role of Joint Programming in priority setting, foreseen in the forthcoming EU Horizon 2020, calls for keeping MELODI an open, inclusive and transparent initiative, able to avoid redundancies and possible conflicts of interest, while promoting common initiatives in radiation protection research. An important issue is the establishment of a proper methodology for managing these initiatives, and this includes the set-up of an independent MELODI Scientific Committee recently extended to Alliance, NERIS

The European initiative on low-dose risk research: from the HLEG to MELODI.

Science.gov (United States)

Belli, Mauro; Tabocchini, Maria Antonella; Jourdain, Jean-René; Salomaa, Sisko; Repussard, Jacques

2015-09-01

The importance of low-dose risk research for radiation protection is now widely recognised. The European Commission (EC) and five European Union (EU) Member States involved in the Euratom Programme set up in 2008 a 'High Level and Expert Group on European Low Dose Risk Research' (HLEG) aimed at identifying research needs and proposing a better integration of European efforts in the field. The HLEG revised the research challenges and proposed a European research strategy based on a 'Multidisciplinary European LOw Dose Initiative' (MELODI). In April 2009, five national organisations, with the support of the EC, created the initial core of MELODI (http://www.melodi-online.eu) with a view to integrate the EU institutions with significant programmes in the field, while being open to other scientific organisations and stakeholders, and to develop an agreed strategic research agenda (SRA) and roadmap. Since then, open workshops have been organised yearly, exploring ideas for SRA implementation. As of October 2014, 31 institutions have been included as members of MELODI. HLEG recommendations and MELODI SRA have become important reference points in the radiation protection part of the Euratom Research Programme. MELODI has established close interactions through Memorandum of Understanding with other European platforms involved in radiation protection (Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS) and, together with EURADOS, with the relevant medical European Associations. The role of Joint Programming in priority setting, foreseen in the forthcoming EU Horizon 2020, calls for keeping MELODI an open, inclusive and transparent initiative, able to avoid redundancies and possible conflicts of interest, while promoting common initiatives in radiation protection research. An important issue is the establishment of a proper methodology for managing these initiatives, and this includes the set-up of an independent MELODI Scientific Committee recently extended to Alliance, NERIS and EURADOS, with

Prognosis Essay Scoring and Article Relevancy Using Multi-Text Features and Machine Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arif Mehmood

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study develops a model for essay scoring and article relevancy. Essay scoring is a costly process when we consider the time spent by an evaluator. It may lead to inequalities of the effort by various evaluators to apply the same evaluation criteria. Bibliometric research uses the evaluation criteria to find relevancy of articles instead. Researchers mostly face relevancy issues while searching articles. Therefore, they classify the articles manually. However, manual classification is burdensome due to time needed for evaluation. The proposed model performs automatic essay evaluation using multi-text features and ensemble machine learning. The proposed method is implemented in two data sets: a Kaggle short answer data set for essay scoring that includes four ranges of disciplines (Science, Biology, English, and English language Arts, and a bibliometric data set having IoT (Internet of Things and non-IoT classes. The efficacy of the model is measured against the Tandalla and AutoP approach using Cohen’s kappa. The model achieves kappa values of 0.80 and 0.83 for the first and second data sets, respectively. Kappa values show that the proposed model has better performance than those of earlier approaches.

Towards a barrier height benchmark set for biologically relevant systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kromann, Jimmy C; Christensen, Anders S; Cui, Qiang; Jensen, Jan H

2016-01-01

We have collected computed barrier heights and reaction energies (and associated model structures) for five enzymes from studies published by Himo and co-workers. Using this data, obtained at the B3LYP/6- 311+G(2d,2p)[LANL2DZ]//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory, we then benchmark PM6, PM7, PM7-TS, and DFTB3 and discuss the influence of system size, bulk solvation, and geometry re-optimization on the error. The mean absolute differences (MADs) observed for these five enzyme model systems are similar to those observed for PM6 and PM7 for smaller systems (10-15 kcal/mol), while DFTB results in a MAD that is significantly lower (6 kcal/mol). The MADs for PMx and DFTB3 are each dominated by large errors for a single system and if the system is disregarded the MADs fall to 4-5 kcal/mol. Overall, results for the condensed phase are neither more or less accurate relative to B3LYP than those in the gas phase. With the exception of PM7-TS, the MAD for small and large structural models are very similar, with a maximum deviation of 3 kcal/mol for PM6. Geometry optimization with PM6 shows that for one system this method predicts a different mechanism compared to B3LYP/6-31G(d,p). For the remaining systems, geometry optimization of the large structural model increases the MAD relative to single points, by 2.5 and 1.8 kcal/mol for barriers and reaction energies. For the small structural model, the corresponding MADs decrease by 0.4 and 1.2 kcal/mol, respectively. However, despite these small changes, significant changes in the structures are observed for some systems, such as proton transfer and hydrogen bonding rearrangements. The paper represents the first step in the process of creating a benchmark set of barriers computed for systems that are relatively large and representative of enzymatic reactions, a considerable challenge for any one research group but possible through a concerted effort by the community. We end by outlining steps needed to expand and improve the data set

18F-FDG PET/CT for initial staging in breast cancer patients. Is there a relevant impact on treatment planning compared to conventional staging modalities?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krammer, J.; Schnitzer, A.; Kaiser, C.G.; Buesing, K.A.; Schoenberg, S.O.; Wasser, K.; Sperk, E.; Brade, J.; Wasgindt, S.; Suetterlin, M.; Sutton, E.J.

2015-01-01

To evaluate the impact of whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/CT on initial staging of breast cancer in comparison to conventional staging modalities. This study included 102 breast cancer patients, 101 patients were eligible for evaluation. Preoperative whole-body staging with PET/CT was performed in patients with clinical stage ≥ T2 tumours or positive local lymph nodes (n = 91). Postoperative PET/CT was performed in patients without these criteria but positive sentinel lymph node biopsy (n = 10). All patients underwent PET/CT and a conventional staging algorithm, which included bone scan, chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasound. PET/CT findings were compared to conventional staging and the impact on therapeutic management was evaluated. PET/CT led to an upgrade of the N or M stage in overall 19 patients (19 %) and newly identified manifestation of breast cancer in two patients (2 %). PET/CT findings caused a change in treatment of 11 patients (11 %). This is within the range of recent studies, all applying conventional inclusion criteria based on the initial T and N status. PET/CT has a relevant impact on initial staging and treatment of breast cancer when compared to conventional modalities. Further studies should assess inclusion criteria beyond the conventional T and N status, e.g. tumour grading and receptor status. (orig.)

Provider-initiated HIV testing in health care settings: Should it ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

centered counselling? ... SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS ... To address the resource limitations of the PITC setting, WHO and CDC suggest that patient-provider interactions during PITC may need to focus on providing information ...

Setting priorities for zinc-related health research to reduce children's disease burden worldwide: an application of the Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative's research priority-setting method.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kenneth H; Hess, Sonja Y; Boy, Erick; Gibson, Rosalind S; Horton, Susan; Osendarp, Saskia J; Sempertegui, Fernando; Shrimpton, Roger; Rudan, Igor

2009-03-01

To make the best use of limited resources for supporting health-related research to reduce child mortality, it is necessary to apply a suitable method to rank competing research options. The Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) developed a new methodology for setting health research priorities. To broaden experience with this priority-setting technique, we applied the method to rank possible research priorities concerning the control of Zn deficiency. Although Zn deficiency is not generally recognized as a direct cause of child mortality, recent research indicates that it predisposes children to an increased incidence and severity of several of the major direct causes of morbidity and mortality. Leading experts in the field of Zn research in child health were identified and invited to participate in a technical working group (TWG) to establish research priorities. The individuals were chosen to represent a wide range of expertise in Zn nutrition. The seven TWG members submitted a total of ninety research options, which were then consolidated into a final list of thirty-one research options categorized by the type of resulting intervention. The identified priorities were dominated by research investment options targeting Zn supplementation, and were followed by research on Zn fortification, general aspects of Zn nutrition, dietary modification and other new interventions. In general, research options that aim to improve the efficiency of an already existing intervention strategy received higher priority scores. Challenges identified during the implementation of the methodology and suggestions to modify the priority-setting procedures are discussed.

Snippet-based relevance predictions for federated web search

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Demeester, Thomas; Nguyen, Dong-Phuong; Trieschnigg, Rudolf Berend; Develder, Chris; Hiemstra, Djoerd

How well can the relevance of a page be predicted, purely based on snippets? This would be highly useful in a Federated Web Search setting where caching large amounts of result snippets is more feasible than caching entire pages. The experiments reported in this paper make use of result snippets and

Functional relationship of room temperature and setting time of alginate impression material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dyah Irnawati

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Indonesia is a tropical country with temperature variation. A lot of dental clinics do not use air conditioner. The room temperature influences water temperature for mixing alginate impression materials. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the functional relationship of room temperature and initial setting time of alginate impression materials. Methods: The New Kromopan® alginate (normal and fast sets were used. The initial setting time were tested at 23 (control, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 degrees Celcius room temperatures (n = 5. The initial setting time was tested based on ANSI/ADA Specification no. 18 (ISO 1563. The alginate powder was mixed with distilled water (23/50 ratio, put in the metal ring mould, and the initial setting time was measured by test rod. Data were statistically analyzed by linear regression (α = 0.05. result: The initial setting times were 149.60 ± 0.55 (control and 96.40 ± 0.89 (31° C seconds for normal set, and 122.00 ± 1.00 (control and 69.60 ± 0.55 (31° C seconds for fast set. The coefficient of determination of room temperature to initial setting time of alginate were R2 = 0.74 (normal set and R2 = 0.88 (fast set. The regression equation for normal set was Y = 257.6 – 5.5 X (p < 0.01 and fast set was Y = 237.7 – 5.6 X (p < 0.01. Conclusions: The room temperature gave high contribution and became a strength predictor for initial setting time of alginates. The share contribution to the setting time was 0.74% for normal set and 0.88% for fast set alginates.

Substantial differences in initiation of oral anticoagulant therapy and clinical outcome among non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients treated in inpatient and outpatient settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Anders Pretzmann; Hansen, Morten Lock; Olesen, Jonas Bjerring

2016-01-01

with a CHADS2 ≥ 2 was 42.1, 63.0, and 32.4%, respectively. Initiation of OAC therapy was only modestly influenced by CHADS2 and HAS-BLED scores, regardless of the healthcare setting. The rate of TE was 4.30 [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.21-4.40] per 100 person-years for inpatients, 2.28 (95% CI 2...

Overview of the Implementation of the Climate Data Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Tilmes, C.; Goodman, H. M.; Privette, A. P.

2014-12-01

One of the efforts described in the President's Climate Action Plan is the Climate Data Initiative, a broad effort to leverage the federal government's extensive, freely-available climate-relevant data resources data to spur innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship in order to advance awareness of and preparedness for the impacts of climate change. The Climate Data Initiative, launched in March 2014, leverages commitments from government and the private sector to unleash data and make it accessible in ways that can be used by communities and companies to prepare for climate change. It builds on the White House's other Open Data Initiatives—in areas such as health, education, and safety. The Climate Data Initiative unleashes federal data relevant to addressing climate-related risks and vulnerabilities through the Climate.Data.gov web site. This talk will describe the Climate Data Initiative and its support and interactions with the Climate Resilience Toolkit.

Towards a Classification of Architecture Initiatives: Outlining the External Factors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Christian Lindschou; Mortensen, Niels Henrik; Hvam, Lars

2012-01-01

or bad, without including the contextual differences. The purpose of the external factors is to improve scoping and goal setting of architecture initiatives, and improve comparability between- and transferability of knowledge from architecture initiatives. The external factors are a first step towards......This paper introduced a set of external factors capturing the contextual differences that set the stage for architecture initiatives. These are derived from a systems theoretical approach recognizing the fact that architecture initiatives should respond the challenges posed by the external...

Combining evidence and values in priority setting: testing the balance sheet method in a low-income country.

Science.gov (United States)

Makundi, Emmanuel; Kapiriri, Lydia; Norheim, Ole Frithjof

2007-09-24

Procedures for priority setting need to incorporate both scientific evidence and public values. The aim of this study was to test out a model for priority setting which incorporates both scientific evidence and public values, and to explore use of evidence by a selection of stakeholders and to study reasons for the relative ranking of health care interventions in a setting of extreme resource scarcity. Systematic search for and assessment of relevant evidence for priority setting in a low-income country. Development of a balance sheet according to Eddy's explicit method. Eight group interviews (n-85), using a modified nominal group technique for eliciting individual and group rankings of a given set of health interventions. The study procedure made it possible to compare the groups' ranking before and after all the evidence was provided to participants. A rank deviation is significant if the rank order of the same intervention differed by two or more points on the ordinal scale. A comparison between the initial rank and the final rank (before deliberation) showed a rank deviation of 67%. The difference between the initial rank and the final rank after discussion and voting gave a rank deviation of 78%. Evidence-based and deliberative decision-making does change priorities significantly in an experimental setting. Our use of the balance sheet method was meant as a demonstration project, but could if properly developed be feasible for health planners, experts and health workers, although more work is needed before it can be used for laypersons.

Identifying and applying psychological theory to setting and achieving rehabilitation goals.

Science.gov (United States)

Scobbie, Lesley; Wyke, Sally; Dixon, Diane

2009-04-01

Goal setting is considered to be a fundamental part of rehabilitation; however, theories of behaviour change relevant to goal-setting practice have not been comprehensively reviewed. (i) To identify and discuss specific theories of behaviour change relevant to goal-setting practice in the rehabilitation setting. (ii) To identify 'candidate' theories that that offer most potential to inform clinical practice. The rehabilitation and self-management literature was systematically searched to identify review papers or empirical studies that proposed a specific theory of behaviour change relevant to setting and/or achieving goals in a clinical context. Data from included papers were extracted under the headings of: key constructs, clinical application and empirical support. Twenty-four papers were included in the review which proposed a total of five theories: (i) social cognitive theory, (ii) goal setting theory, (iii) health action process approach, (iv) proactive coping theory, and (v) the self-regulatory model of illness behaviour. The first three of these theories demonstrated most potential to inform clinical practice, on the basis of their capacity to inform interventions that resulted in improved patient outcomes. Social cognitive theory, goal setting theory and the health action process approach are theories of behaviour change that can inform clinicians in the process of setting and achieving goals in the rehabilitation setting. Overlapping constructs within these theories have been identified, and can be applied in clinical practice through the development and evaluation of a goal-setting practice framework.

The relevance of "non-relevant metabolites" from plant protection products (PPPs) for drinking water: the German view.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieter, Hermann H

2010-03-01

evaluation of a "non-relevant metabolite", its HRIV is either set as 1.0 microg/l (HRIV(a)) or as 3.0 microg/l (HRIV(b)) for lifelong exposure. In case a HRIV would be exceeded, UBA recommends to keep on a precautionary action value (PAV) of 10 microg/l for each "non-relevant metabolite". The HRIV(b) is similar to the maximal value derived by application of the TTC-concept for Cramer Class III (4.5 microg/l). The HRIV(a) and the PAV are similar to values in the EU-guidance document for assessing "non-relevant metabolites" in ground water, with the important difference that the drinking water PAV is not intended to be tolerated for permanent exposure. Drinking water containing "non-relevant metabolites" below the respective HRIVs can also be considered as being sufficiently protective against toxicologically relevant oxidative transformation products which may be formed from "non-relevant metabolites" during drinking water treatment with ozone. However, even drinking water where one or several "non-relevant metabolites" are detected above substance-specific HRIVs is suited for human consumption without health risks. Only in special cases (relatively high "non-relevant metabolite" - concentrations), it could be indicated to examine the finished water for transformation products after treatment with ozone if there are no further treatment steps to eliminate or degrade polar compounds. UBA's "non-relevant metabolite-Recommendation" from April 2008 was positively picked up in 2009 by four important stakeholders in the domain of drinking water management as part of a voluntary cooperation agreement. The aim of such cooperation is to limit the transport of "non-relevant metabolites" into the drinking water to the functionally (and agriculturally) unavoidable extent and insofar to meet special precautionary demands. (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

QUALITY OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION: REFLECTIONS ON WHAT IS BEING RESEARCHED

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Josimar de Aparecido Vieira

2009-12-01

Full Text Available This work is discussed, in general, the state of knowledge on research dealing with the quality of the initial training of teachers. Presents an analytical and critical reading of the situation of the quality of the initial training of teachers from the analysis of the theoretical bases produced in the last decade. For this, initially, are presented some considerations on the development of this process, followed by an analysis on the issue of training. Following are considered some of the dilemmas or problems that have been addressed in the study area, suggesting mechanisms or alternative solutions. The main source of data used is the Bank of the CAPES Theses which is available on the home page http://servicos.capes.gov.br/capesdw/, for the period from 2004 until 2006. Was used to search by typing the words "initial teacher training" in the "subject", which in 2004 were examined 33 abstracts were selected and these 15, in 2005 were examined 42 abstracts, of which 07 were deployed in 2006 and were seen 44 abstracts of which 21 have been considered because they relate to the quality of initial teacher education. Involved in this analysis, this study points out some principles and data that can help with the process of initial teacher training, pointing to possible review some indicators of pedagogical projects of degree courses. Emphasizes that the specificity and multidimensionality of the performance of the teacher raises the formulation of a set of information relevant to the qualification of objectives and practices of the initial key step in the process of learning to teach. Key words: Quality of education, initial training, university education, state of knowledge; indicators.

International urodynamic basic spinal cord injury data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Biering-Sørensen, F; Craggs, M; Kennelly, M; Schick, E; Wyndaele, J-J

2008-07-01

To create the International Urodynamic Basic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets. International working group. The draft of the data set was developed by a working group consisting of members appointed by the Neurourology Committee of the International Continence Society, the European Association of Urology, the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and a representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets. The final version of the data set was developed after review and comments by members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA Board, relevant and interested (international) organizations and societies (around 40) and persons and the ISCoS Council. Endorsement of the data set by relevant organizations and societies will be obtained. To make the data set uniform, each variable and each response category within each variable have been specifically defined in a way that is designed to promote the collection and reporting of comparable minimal data. Variables included in the International Urodynamic Basic SCI Data Set are date of data collection, bladder sensation during filling cystometry, detrusor function, compliance during filing cystometry, function during voiding, detrusor leak point pressure, maximum detrusor pressure, cystometric bladder capacity and post-void residual volume.

Set theory and physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Svozil, K. [Univ. of Technology, Vienna (Austria)

1995-11-01

Inasmuch as physical theories are formalizable, set theory provides a framework for theoretical physics. Four speculations about the relevance of set theoretical modeling for physics are presented: the role of transcendental set theory (i) in chaos theory, (ii) for paradoxical decompositions of solid three-dimensional objects, (iii) in the theory of effective computability (Church-Turing thesis) related to the possible {open_quotes}solution of supertasks,{close_quotes} and (iv) for weak solutions. Several approaches to set theory and their advantages and disadvantages for physical applications are discussed: Cantorian {open_quotes}naive{close_quotes} (i.e., nonaxiomatic) set theory, contructivism, and operationalism. In the author`s opinion, an attitude, of {open_quotes}suspended attention{close_quotes} (a term borrowed from psychoanalysis) seems most promising for progress. Physical and set theoretical entities must be operationalized wherever possible. At the same time, physicists should be open to {open_quotes}bizarre{close_quotes} or {open_quotes}mindboggling{close_quotes} new formalisms, which need not be operationalizable or testable at the time of their creation, but which may successfully lead to novel fields of phenomenology and technology.

Assessing the body image: relevance, application and instruments for oncological settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Annunziata, Maria Antonietta; Giovannini, Lorena; Muzzatti, Barbara

2012-05-01

Body image is the sum of physical, cognitive, emotional, and relational elements that, when integrated, allow the development of a whole, healthy self-identity. Even though body image is normally studied in relation to eating disorders, it can also be influenced by other pathologies, including cancer. In oncology, an effective body image assessment is fundamental. The physical effects of cancer and cancer treatments are important and frequently irreversible also on a functional and emotional level; however, only few surveys have investigated body image in this peculiar context. An extensive literature review was carried out in PubMed and PsycINFO. We considered articles published from 1990 to 2010. Two hundred sixty-three papers matched the search criteria. Assessment methodologies included clinical interviews, self-report measures, questionnaires, symptom check lists, and graphic tests and projective techniques. After excluding the instruments that referred to eating disorders, validated only for adolescents, and/or projective and graphic tests, we found 81 articles with six questionnaires specifically dedicated to body image assessment in oncology. From our systematic review, we could identify six instruments specifically designed for assessing body image in the oncological area. In this paper, we discuss their general characteristics, psychometrics properties and the clinical implications, and body image relevance on the quality of life in cancer patients.

Towards a barrier height benchmark set for biologically relevant systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jimmy C. Kromann

2016-05-01

Full Text Available We have collected computed barrier heights and reaction energies (and associated model structures for five enzymes from studies published by Himo and co-workers. Using this data, obtained at the B3LYP/6- 311+G(2d,2p[LANL2DZ]//B3LYP/6-31G(d,p level of theory, we then benchmark PM6, PM7, PM7-TS, and DFTB3 and discuss the influence of system size, bulk solvation, and geometry re-optimization on the error. The mean absolute differences (MADs observed for these five enzyme model systems are similar to those observed for PM6 and PM7 for smaller systems (10–15 kcal/mol, while DFTB results in a MAD that is significantly lower (6 kcal/mol. The MADs for PMx and DFTB3 are each dominated by large errors for a single system and if the system is disregarded the MADs fall to 4–5 kcal/mol. Overall, results for the condensed phase are neither more or less accurate relative to B3LYP than those in the gas phase. With the exception of PM7-TS, the MAD for small and large structural models are very similar, with a maximum deviation of 3 kcal/mol for PM6. Geometry optimization with PM6 shows that for one system this method predicts a different mechanism compared to B3LYP/6-31G(d,p. For the remaining systems, geometry optimization of the large structural model increases the MAD relative to single points, by 2.5 and 1.8 kcal/mol for barriers and reaction energies. For the small structural model, the corresponding MADs decrease by 0.4 and 1.2 kcal/mol, respectively. However, despite these small changes, significant changes in the structures are observed for some systems, such as proton transfer and hydrogen bonding rearrangements. The paper represents the first step in the process of creating a benchmark set of barriers computed for systems that are relatively large and representative of enzymatic reactions, a considerable challenge for any one research group but possible through a concerted effort by the community. We end by outlining steps needed to expand and

Fuzzy Information Retrieval Using Genetic Algorithms and Relevance Feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Petry, Frederick E.; And Others

1993-01-01

Describes an approach that combines concepts from information retrieval, fuzzy set theory, and genetic programing to improve weighted Boolean query formulation via relevance feedback. Highlights include background on information retrieval systems; genetic algorithms; subproblem formulation; and preliminary results based on a testbed. (Contains 12…

Effects of Inoculum Amount, Initial pH, and Nicotine Load on the Set-Up of Bioaugmented System with Pseudomonas Sp. HF-1 to Treat Tobacco Wastewater

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Zhang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study evaluated and optimized the influence of inoculum amount, initial pH, and nicotine load on the construction of Pseudomonas sp. HF-1 bioaugmented system for tobacco wastewater treatment. The results demonstrated that the optimum condition for the set-up of strain HF-1 bioaugmented system was 1.10 mg/g (dry weight of strain HF-1/dry weight of activated sludge of inoculum amount, initial pH 7.0, and 250–1000 mg/L nicotine load. Higher than 1.10 mg/g could lead to noncolonization of strain HF-1 in activated sludge and failure of set-up of this bioaugmented system. Higher than pH 8.0 could restrain the colonization of strain HF-1 in activated sludge. Even though strain HF-1 colonizes in the activated sludge when pH was above 8.0, the removal of nicotine and total organic carbon (TOC was suppressed due to low activities of bacteria in the activated sludge. Nicotine load did not show inhibition effect on set-up of bioaugmented system, but the ability of TOC removal was restrained when the nicotine load was above 1000 mg/L. This work could offer vital parameters for the set-up of bioaugmented system to treat tobacco wastewater in engineering.

System for selecting relevant information for decision support.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalina, Jan; Seidl, Libor; Zvára, Karel; Grünfeldová, Hana; Slovák, Dalibor; Zvárová, Jana

2013-01-01

We implemented a prototype of a decision support system called SIR which has a form of a web-based classification service for diagnostic decision support. The system has the ability to select the most relevant variables and to learn a classification rule, which is guaranteed to be suitable also for high-dimensional measurements. The classification system can be useful for clinicians in primary care to support their decision-making tasks with relevant information extracted from any available clinical study. The implemented prototype was tested on a sample of patients in a cardiological study and performs an information extraction from a high-dimensional set containing both clinical and gene expression data.

The value relevance of environmental emissions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melinda Lydia Nelwan

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study examines whether environmental performance has value relevance by investigating the relations between environmental emissions and stock prices for the U.S. public companies. The previous studies argued that the conjectured relations between accounting performance measures and environmental performance do not have a strong theoretical basis, and the modeling of relations between market per-formance measures and environmental performance do not adequately consider the relevance of accounting performance to market value. Therefore, this study examines whether publicly reported environmental emissions provide incremental information to accounting earnings in pricing companies stocks. It is done among the complete set of industries covered by Toxics Release Inventory (TRI reporting for the period 2007 to 2010. Using Ohlson model but modified to include different types of emis-sions, it is found that ground emissions (underground injection and land emissions are value relevant but other emission types (air and water and transferred-out emis-sions appear to not provide incremental information in the valuation model. The result in this study raise concerns that different types of emissions are assessed differently by the market, confirming that studies should not aggregate such measures.

Supporting pre-service science teachers in developing culturally relevant pedagogy

Science.gov (United States)

Krajeski, Stephen

This study employed a case study methodology to investigate a near-authentic intervention program designed to support the development of culturally relevant pedagogy and its impact on pre-service science teachers' notions of culturally relevant pedagogy. The unit of analysis for this study was the discourse of pre-service science teachers enrolled in a second semester science methods course, which was the site of the intervention program. Data for this study was collected from videos of classroom observations, audio recordings of personal interviews, and artifacts created by the pre-service science teachers during the class. To determine how effective science teacher certification programs are at supporting the development of culturally relevant pedagogy without an immersion aspect, two research questions were investigated: 1) How do pre-service science teachers view and design pedagogy while participating in an intervention designed to support the development of culturally relevant pedagogy? 2) How do pre-service science teachers view the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy for supporting student learning? How do their practices in the field change these initial views?

Higher-order risk preferences in social settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Heinrich, Timo; Mayrhofer, Thomas

2018-01-01

We study prudence and temperance (next to risk aversion) in social settings. Previous experimental studies have shown that these higher-order risk preferences affect the choices of individuals deciding privately on lotteries that only affect their own payoff. Yet, many risky and financially relevant decisions are made in the social settings of households or organizations. We elicit higher-order risk preferences of individuals and systematically vary how an individual's decision is made (alone or while communicating with a partner) and who is affected by the decision (only the individual or the partner as well). In doing so, we can isolate the effects of other-regarding concerns and communication on choices. Our results reveal that the majority of choices are risk averse, prudent, and temperate across social settings. We also observe that individuals are influenced significantly by the preferences of a partner when they are able to communicate and choices are payoff-relevant for both of them.

Feature extraction and sensor selection for NPP initiating event identification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Ting-Han; Wu, Shun-Chi; Chen, Kuang-You; Chou, Hwai-Pwu

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A two-stage feature extraction scheme for NPP initiating event identification. • With stBP, interrelations among the sensors can be retained for identification. • With dSFS, sensors that are crucial for identification can be efficiently selected. • Efficacy of the scheme is illustrated with data from the Maanshan NPP simulator. - Abstract: Initiating event identification is essential in managing nuclear power plant (NPP) severe accidents. In this paper, a novel two-stage feature extraction scheme that incorporates the proposed sensor type-wise block projection (stBP) and deflatable sequential forward selection (dSFS) is used to elicit the discriminant information in the data obtained from various NPP sensors to facilitate event identification. With the stBP, the primal features can be extracted without eliminating the interrelations among the sensors of the same type. The extracted features are then subjected to a further dimensionality reduction by selecting the sensors that are most relevant to the events under consideration. This selection is not easy, and a combinatorial optimization technique is normally required. With the dSFS, an optimal sensor set can be found with less computational load. Moreover, its sensor deflation stage allows sensors in the preselected set to be iteratively refined to avoid being trapped into a local optimum. Results from detailed experiments containing data of 12 event categories and a total of 112 events generated with a Taiwan’s Maanshan NPP simulator are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed scheme.

Which Triple Aim related measures are being used to evaluate population management initiatives? An international comparative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrikx, Roy J P; Drewes, Hanneke W; Spreeuwenberg, Marieke; Ruwaard, Dirk; Struijs, Jeroen N; Baan, Caroline A

2016-05-01

Population management (PM) initiatives are introduced in order to create sustainable health care systems. These initiatives should focus on the continuum of health and well-being of a population by introducing interventions that integrate various services. To be successful they should pursue the Triple Aim, i.e. simultaneously improve population health and quality of care while reducing costs per capita. This study explores how PM initiatives measure the Triple Aim in practice. An exploratory search was combined with expert consultations to identify relevant PM initiatives. These were analyzed based on general characteristics, utilized measures and related selection criteria. In total 865 measures were used by 20 PM initiatives. All quality of care domains were included by at least 11 PM initiatives, while most domains of population health and costs were included by less than 7 PM initiatives. Although their goals showed substantial overlap, the measures applied showed few similarities between PM initiatives and were predominantly selected based on local priority areas and data availability. Most PM initiatives do not measure the full scope of the Triple Aim. Additionally, variety between measures limits comparability between PM initiatives. Consensus on the coverage of Triple Aim domains and a set of standardized measures could further both the inclusion of the various domains as well as the comparability between PM initiatives. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Attentional Capture and Inhibition of Saccades after Irrelevant and Relevant Cues

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Heinz-Werner Priess

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Attentional capture is usually stronger for task-relevant than irrelevant stimuli, whereas irrelevant stimuli can trigger equal or even stronger amounts of inhibition than relevant stimuli. Capture and inhibition, however, are typically assessed in separate trials, leaving it open whether or not inhibition of irrelevant stimuli is a consequence of preceding attentional capture by the same stimuli or whether inhibition is the only response to these stimuli. Here, we tested the relationship between capture and inhibition in a setup allowing for estimates of the capture and inhibition based on the very same trials. We recorded saccadic inhibition after relevant and irrelevant stimuli. At the same time, we recorded the N2pc, an event-related potential, reflecting initial capture of attention. We found attentional capture not only for, relevant but importantly also for irrelevant stimuli, although the N2pc was stronger for relevant than irrelevant stimuli. In addition, inhibition of saccades was the same for relevant and irrelevant stimuli. We conclude with a discussion of the mechanisms that are responsible for these effects.

Accountable priority setting for trust in health systems--the need for research into a new approach for strengthening sustainable health action in developing countries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Byskov, Jens; Bloch, Paul; Blystad, Astrid

2009-01-01

Despite multiple efforts to strengthen health systems in low and middle income countries, intended sustainable improvements in health outcomes have not been shown. To date most priority setting initiatives in health systems have mainly focused on technical approaches involving information derived...... from burden of disease statistics, cost effectiveness analysis, and published clinical trials. However, priority setting involves value-laden choices and these technical approaches do not equip decision-makers to address a broader range of relevant values - such as trust, equity, accountability...... and fairness - that are of concern to other partners and, not least, the populations concerned. A new focus for priority setting is needed.Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) is an explicit ethical framework for legitimate and fair priority setting that provides guidance for decision-makers who must...

Integrated landscape initiatives in Europe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

García-Martín, María; Bieling, Claudia; Hart, Abigail

2016-01-01

Landscapes are linked to human well-being in a multitude of ways, some of which are challenged by global market forces and traditional management approaches. In response to this situation there has been a rise in local initiatives to sustain the values of landscape. The aim of this paper is to pr......Landscapes are linked to human well-being in a multitude of ways, some of which are challenged by global market forces and traditional management approaches. In response to this situation there has been a rise in local initiatives to sustain the values of landscape. The aim of this paper...... searches and canvassing of European umbrella organisations; followed by an online survey of representatives from the identified initiatives (n??=??71). Our results show that the most relevant characteristics of integrated landscape initiatives in Europe are: a holistic approach to landscape management...

Evaluation of Shear Strength of RC Beams with Multiple Interfaces Formed before Initial Setting Using 3D Printing Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyeongjin Kim

2017-11-01

Full Text Available With the recent development of 3D printing technology, concrete materials are sometimes used in 3D printing. Concrete structures based on 3D printing have been characterized to have the form of multiple layer build-up. Unlike general concrete structures, therefore, the 3D-printed concrete can be regarded as an orthotropic material. The material property of the 3D-printed concrete’s interface between layers is expected to be far different from that of general concrete bodies since there are no aggregate interlocks and weak chemical bonding. Such a difference finally affects the structural performance of concrete structures even though the interfaces are formed before initial setting of the concrete. The current study mainly reviewed the changes in fracture energy (toughness with respect to various environmental conditions of such interface. Changes in fracture energies of interfaces between concrete layers were measured using low-speed Crack Mouth Opening Displacement (CMOD closed loop concrete fracture test. The experimental results indicated reduction in fracture energy as well as tensile strengths. To improve the tensile strength of interfaces, the use of bridging materials is suggested. Since it was assumed that reduction in fracture energy could be a cause of shear strength, to evaluate the reduced structural performance of concrete structure constructed with multiple interfaces by 3D printing technology, the shear strength of RC beam by 3D printing technology was predicted and compared with that of plain RC beam. Based on the fracture energy measured in this study, Modified Compression Field Theory (MCFT theory-applied Vector 2 program was employed to predict the degree of reduction in shear strength without considering stirrups. Reduction factors were presented based on the obtained results to predict the reduction in shear strength due to interfaces before initial setting of the concrete.

Causal and Epistemic Relevance in Appeals to Authority

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sebastiano Lommi

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Appeals to authority have a long tradition in the history of argumentation theory. During the Middle Age they were considered legitimate and sound arguments, but after Locke’s treatment in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding their legitimacy has come under question. Traditionally, arguments from authority were considered informal arguments, but since the important work of Charles Hamblin (Hamblin, 1970 many attempts to provide a form for them have been done. The most convincing of them is the presumptive form developed by Douglas Walton and John Woods (Woods, Walton, 1974 that aims at taking into account the relevant contextual aspects in assessing the provisional validity of an appeal to authority. The soundness of an appeal depends on its meeting the adequacy conditions set to scrutinize all the relevant questions. I want to claim that this approach is compatible with the analysis of arguments in terms of relevance advanced by David Hitchcock (Hitchcock, 1992. He claims that relevance is a triadic relation between two items and a context. The first item is relevant to the second one in a given context. Different types of relevance relation exist, namely causal relevance and epistemic relevance. “Something is [causally] relevant to an outcome in a given situation if it helps to cause that outcome in the situation” (Hitchcock, 1992, p. 253, whereas it is epistemically relevant when it helps to achieve an epistemic goal in a given situation. I claim that we can adapt this conception to Walton and Krabbe’s theory of dialogue type (Walton, Krabbe, 1995, seeing the items of a relevance relation as the argument and its consequence and the context as the type of dialogue in which these arguments are advanced. According to this perspective, an argument from authority that meets the adequacy conditions has to be considered legitimate because it is an epistemically relevant relation. Therefore, my conclusion is that an analysis of appeals to

Factors influencing intention to help and helping behaviour in witnesses of bullying in nursing settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Báez-León, Carmen; Moreno-Jiménez, Bernardo; Aguirre-Camacho, Aldo; Olmos, Ricardo

2016-12-01

The role played by witnesses of bullying in nursing settings remains little studied, despite their potential relevance in explaining the onset and development of bullying. The objective of this study was to develop a model to account for witnesses' intention to help and helping behaviour in response to bullying in a nursing setting. Three hundred and thirty-seven witnesses completed self-report measures of variables predicting intention to help and helping behaviour. A full structural model was constructed using structural equation modelling. The intention to help victims was elicited by tension, group identity, support to peers' initiative to intervene and absence of fear of retaliation. However, engagement in helping behaviour was only predicted by the absence of fear of retaliation. This study shows that witnesses of bullying in nursing settings do not remain impassive, but their experienced discomfort and intention to help victims is not sufficient to predict helping behaviour. Fear of possible retaliation if intervening in favour of victims constitutes a crucial factor explaining witnesses' hesitation to help victims. Several implications for the implementation of policies directed at eradicating bullying in nursing settings are discussed. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Relevance of positive patch-test reactions to fragrance mix.

Science.gov (United States)

Devos, Steven A; Constandt, Lieve; Tupker, Ron A; Noz, Kathy C; Lucker, Georges P H; Bruynzeel, Derk P; Schuttelaar, Marie-Louise A; Kruyswijk, Mente R J; van Zuuren, Esther J; Vink, Jaqueline; Coenraads, Pieter-Jan; Kiemeney, Lambertus A L M; van der Valk, Pieter G M

2008-01-01

Fragrances are an important cause of allergic contact dermatitis. We presume that the traditional fragrance mix (FM) detects 70 to 80% of fragrance-allergic patients. FM has an irritant potential. Weak positive reactions may have a greater chance of being irrelevant than strong reactions. To improve the appraisal of FM patch-test reactions, we studied the relevance of reactions of different strength. We also studied the predictive value of the following on the relevance of the initial FM patch-test results: patch-test results of a repeated FM test; results of patch tests with balsam of Peru, colophony, and ingredients of the mix; and (history of) atopic dermatitis. One hundred thirty-eight patients who had doubtful positive (?+) or positive (+ to +++) reactions were included in the study. We determined relevance by history taking, location and course of the dermatitis, and additional patch testing. Patients were retested with FM and with each ingredient separately. The relevance of reactions to FM increases with the strength of the reactions. Predictors of relevance are the results of retesting with FM, the results of tests with the ingredients, and a history and/or present symptoms of atopic dermatitis. Retesting with FM and its ingredients may add to the benefit of patch testing.

Retrieving relevant and interesting tweets during live television broadcasts

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaptein, R.; Zhu, Y.; Koot, G.; Redi, J.; Niamut, O.

2015-01-01

The use of social TV applications to enhance the experience of live event broadcasts has become an increasingly common practice. An event profile, defined as a set of keywords relevant to an event, can help to track messages related to these events on social networks. We propose an event profiler

Evaluation of an Implementation Initiative for Embedding Dialectical Behavior Therapy in Community Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Herschell, Amy D.; Lindhiem, Oliver J.; Kogan, Jane N.; Celedonia, Karen L.; Stein, Bradley D.

2014-01-01

We examined the effectiveness of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) training in community-based agencies. Data were gathered at four time points over a two-year period from front-line mental health therapists (N = 64) from 10 community-based agencies that participated in a DBT implementation initiative. We examined change on therapist attitudes towards consumers with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), confidence in the effectiveness of DBT, and use of DBT model components. All measures were self-report. Participating in DBT training resulted in positive changes over time, including improved therapist attitudes toward consumers with BPD, improved confidence in the effectiveness of DBT, and increased use of DBT components. Therapists who had the lowest baseline scores on the study outcomes had the greatest self-reported positive change in outcomes over time. Moreover, there were notable positive correlations in therapist characteristics; therapists who had the lowest baseline attitudes towards individuals with BPD, confidence in the effectiveness of DBT, or who were least likely to use DBT modes and components were the therapists who had the greatest reported increase over time in each respective area. DBT training with ongoing support resulted in changes not commonly observed in standard training approaches typically used in community settings. It is encouraging to observe positive outcomes in therapist self-reported skill, perceived self-efficacy and DBT component use, all of which are important to evidence-based treatment (EBT) implementation. Our results underscore the importance to recognize and target therapist diversity of learning levels, experience, and expertise in EBT implementation. PMID:24333657

Initial diagnosis of therapeutically relevant thoracic lesions in polytraumatised patients; Zur Akutdiagnostik therapierelevanter Thoraxverletzungen bei schwer- und polytraumatisierten Patienten

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Danz, B. [Radiologische Abt., Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm (Germany); Biehl, C. [Radiologische Abt., Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm (Germany); Baehren, W. [Radiologische Abt., Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Ulm (Germany)

1996-04-01

To determine the value of supine chest radiography in comparison to orientating chest CT in the initial diagnostic evaluation of severely polytraumatised patients. 303 patients with primary indication for a cranial CT following trauma were investigated between 1988 and 1993. After performing the cranial CT all patients underwent a chest CT with an average of 6 CT slices without changing the position of the patient and with a median scan time of 4 minutes. The results of the chest CT were correlated with the findings of the supine chest radiography in regard to therapeutically relevant pathological changes. The sensitivity in detection of pneumothorax in supine chest radiography was 53% versus 97% in CT, atelectasis 20% versus 94%, lung contusion 79% versus 99%, haemotothorax 62% versus 97%. More fractures were found conventionally (sensitivity 94%) than by chest CT (sensitivity 44%). Supine chest radiography of polytraumatised patients is clearly inferior to orientating chest CT in demonstrating posttraumatic lesions; obtaining therapeutically relevant information justifies the additionally needed small amount of time. (orig.) [Deutsch] Das Ziel dieser retrospektiven Untersuchung bestand darin, die Wertigkeit der a.p. Thoraxaufnahme im Liegen im Vergleich zur orientierenden Computertomographie der Thoraxorgane im Rahmen der Akutdiagnostik bei schwer- und polytraumatisierten Patienten zu analysieren. Im Zeitraum von 1988 bis 1993 bestand bei 303 Patienten wegen eines Schaedel-Hirn-Traumas die primaere Indikation zu einem CCT. Im Anschluss an das CCT wurde routinemaessig ein orientierendes CT der Thoraxorgane mit im Durchschnitt 6 Schichten ohne Umlagerung und einem medianen Zeitaufwand von 4 Minuten durchgefuehrt. Die Befunde des CT des Thorax wurden mit den Ergebnissen der durchgefuehrten a.p. Thoraxliegendaufnahmen im Hinblick auf die Erfassung therapierelevanter pathologischer Veraenderungen verglichen. Die Sensitivitaet fuer die Erkennung eines Pneumothorax in

Interprofessional oral health initiative in a nondental, American Indian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Kate L; Larsson, Laura S

2017-12-01

Tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease and American Indian (AI) children are at increased risk. Pediatric primary care providers are in an opportune position to reduce tooth decay. The purpose of this study was to integrate and evaluate a pediatric oral health project in an AI, pediatric primary care setting. The intervention set included caregiver education, caries risk assessment, and a same-day dental home referral. All caregiver/child dyads age birth to 5 years presenting to the pediatric clinic were eligible (n = 47). Most children (n = 35, 91.1%) were scored as high risk for caries development. Of those with first tooth eruption (n = 36), ten had healthy teeth (27.8%) and seven had seen a dentist in the past 3 months (19.4%). All others were referred to a dentist (n = 29) and 21 families (72.4%) completed the referral. In fewer than 5 min per appointment (x = 4.73 min), the primary care provider integrated oral health screening, education, and referral into the well-child visit. Oral health is part of total health, and thus should be incorporated into routine well-child visits. ©2017 American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

Identifying relevant feature-action associations for grasping unmodelled objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Mikkel Tang; Kraft, Dirk; Krüger, Norbert

2015-01-01

content. The method is provided with a large and structured set of visual features, motivated by the visual hierarchy in primates and finds relevant feature action associations automatically. We apply our method in a simulated environment on three different object sets for the case of grasp affordance...... learning. For box objects, we achieve a 0.90 success probability, 0.80 for round objects and up to 0.75 for open objects, when presented with novel objects. In this work, we in particular demonstrate the effect of choosing appropriate feature representations. We demonstrate a significant performance...

Deep learning relevance

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lioma, Christina; Larsen, Birger; Petersen, Casper

2016-01-01

train a Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) on existing relevant information to that query. We then use the RNN to "deep learn" a single, synthetic, and we assume, relevant document for that query. We design a crowdsourcing experiment to assess how relevant the "deep learned" document is, compared...... to existing relevant documents. Users are shown a query and four wordclouds (of three existing relevant documents and our deep learned synthetic document). The synthetic document is ranked on average most relevant of all....

Initiating events frequency determination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simic, Z.; Mikulicic, V.; Vukovic, I.

2004-01-01

The paper describes work performed for the Nuclear Power Station (NPS). Work is related to the periodic initiating events frequency update for the Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA). Data for all relevant NPS initiating events (IE) were reviewed. The main focus was on events occurring during most recent operating history (i.e., last four years). The final IE frequencies were estimated by incorporating both NPS experience and nuclear industry experience. Each event was categorized according to NPS individual plant examination (IPE) initiating events grouping approach. For the majority of the IE groups, few, or no events have occurred at the NPS. For those IE groups with few or no NPS events, the final estimate was made by means of a Bayesian update with general nuclear industry values. Exceptions are rare loss-of-coolant-accidents (LOCA) events, where evaluation of engineering aspects is used in order to determine frequency.(author)

An Approximate Method for Solving Optimal Control Problems for Discrete Systems Based on Local Approximation of an Attainability Set

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Baturin

2017-03-01

Full Text Available An optimal control problem for discrete systems is considered. A method of successive improvements along with its modernization based on the expansion of the main structures of the core algorithm about the parameter is suggested. The idea of the method is based on local approximation of attainability set, which is described by the zeros of the Bellman function in the special problem of optimal control. The essence of the problem is as follows: from the end point of the phase is required to find a path that minimizes functional deviations of the norm from the initial state. If the initial point belongs to the attainability set of the original controlled system, the value of the Bellman function equal to zero, otherwise the value of the Bellman function is greater than zero. For this special task Bellman equation is considered. The support approximation and Bellman equation are selected. The Bellman function is approximated by quadratic terms. Along the allowable trajectory, this approximation gives nothing, because Bellman function and its expansion coefficients are zero. We used a special trick: an additional variable is introduced, which characterizes the degree of deviation of the system from the initial state, thus it is obtained expanded original chain. For the new variable initial nonzero conditions is selected, thus obtained trajectory is lying outside attainability set and relevant Bellman function is greater than zero, which allows it to hold a non-trivial approximation. As a result of these procedures algorithms of successive improvements is designed. Conditions for relaxation algorithms and conditions for the necessary conditions of optimality are also obtained.

An Analysis of the Climate Data Initiative's Data Collection

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, R.; Bugbee, K.

2015-12-01

The Climate Data Initiative (CDI) is a broad multi-agency effort of the U.S. government that seeks to leverage the extensive existing federal climate-relevant data to stimulate innovation and private-sector entrepreneurship to support national climate-change preparedness. The CDI project is a systematic effort to manually curate and share openly available climate data from various federal agencies. To date, the CDI has curated seven themes, or topics, relevant to climate change resiliency. These themes include Coastal Flooding, Food Resilience, Water, Ecosystem Vulnerability, Human Health, Energy Infrastructure, and Transportation. Each theme was curated by subject matter experts who selected datasets relevant to the topic at hand. An analysis of the entire Climate Data Initiative data collection and the data curated for each theme offers insights into which datasets are considered most relevant in addressing climate resiliency. Other aspects of the data collection will be examined including which datasets were the most visited or popular and which datasets were the most sought after for curation by the theme teams. Results from the analysis of the CDI collection will be presented in this talk.

Kinematic and dynamic pair collision statistics of sedimenting inertial particles relevant to warm rain initiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosa, Bogdan; Parishani, Hossein; Ayala, Orlando; Wang, Lian-Ping; Grabowski, Wojciech W

2011-01-01

In recent years, direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach has become a reliable tool for studying turbulent collision-coalescence of cloud droplets relevant to warm rain development. It has been shown that small-scale turbulent motion can enhance the collision rate of droplets by either enhancing the relative velocity and collision efficiency or by inertia-induced droplet clustering. A hybrid DNS approach incorporating DNS of air turbulence, disturbance flows due to droplets, and droplet equation of motion has been developed to quantify these effects of air turbulence. Due to the computational complexity of the approach, a major challenge is to increase the range of scales or size of the computation domain so that all scales affecting droplet pair statistics are simulated. Here we discuss our on-going work in this direction by improving the parallel scalability of the code, and by studying the effect of large-scale forcing on pair statistics relevant to turbulent collision. New results at higher grid resolutions show a saturation of pair and collision statistics with increasing flow Reynolds number, for given Kolmogorov scales and small droplet sizes. Furthermore, we examine the orientation dependence of pair statistics which reflects an interesting coupling of gravity and droplet clustering.

Relevance of metric-free interactions in flocking phenomena.

Science.gov (United States)

Ginelli, Francesco; Chaté, Hugues

2010-10-15

We show that the collective properties of self-propelled particles aligning with their topological (Voronoi) neighbors are qualitatively different from those of usual models where metric interaction ranges are used. This relevance of metric-free interactions, shown in a minimal setting, indicate that realistic models for the cohesive motion of cells, bird flocks, and fish schools may have to incorporate them, as suggested by recent observations.

Priority setting: what constitutes success? A conceptual framework for successful priority setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Sibbald, Shannon L; Singer, Peter A; Upshur, Ross; Martin, Douglas K

2009-03-05

The sustainability of healthcare systems worldwide is threatened by a growing demand for services and expensive innovative technologies. Decision makers struggle in this environment to set priorities appropriately, particularly because they lack consensus about which values should guide their decisions. One way to approach this problem is to determine what all relevant stakeholders understand successful priority setting to mean. The goal of this research was to develop a conceptual framework for successful priority setting. Three separate empirical studies were completed using qualitative data collection methods (one-on-one interviews with healthcare decision makers from across Canada; focus groups with representation of patients, caregivers and policy makers; and Delphi study including scholars and decision makers from five countries). This paper synthesizes the findings from three studies into a framework of ten separate but interconnected elements germane to successful priority setting: stakeholder understanding, shifted priorities/reallocation of resources, decision making quality, stakeholder acceptance and satisfaction, positive externalities, stakeholder engagement, use of explicit process, information management, consideration of values and context, and revision or appeals mechanism. The ten elements specify both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of priority setting and relate to both process and outcome components. To our knowledge, this is the first framework that describes successful priority setting. The ten elements identified in this research provide guidance for decision makers and a common language to discuss priority setting success and work toward improving priority setting efforts.

Transesophageal NOTES--a critical analysis of relevant problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Grund, Karl E; Lehmann, Thorsten G

2010-10-01

The transesophageal access route has not become a principal topic in the discussion about NOTES up to now. Analyzing the problems in this new field of surgery, however, the transesophageal route shows high relevance. Here, all possibilities, limitations, and problems of NOTES become obvious. This paper contains a critical analysis of the literature published to date (nine full papers, five abstracts). Nearly all publications represent experimental studies in living pigs. In most cases a submucosal tunnel technique is performed as access route to mediastinum, pleural cavity, and heart. Interventions and operations include simple mediastinoscopies as well as epicardial operations after exposition of the heart. For access and manipulation, conventional flexible endoscopes and instruments are used. Clips, T-bars, or a combination of both achieve the closure. Some studies rely on spontaneous closure of the incision without any suturing or approximation. In such experimental settings, the following results are presented: Access is achieved in 90% of cases, the aim of the operation is met in 92%, technical success in closure is achieved in 90%, healing of incision assessed as good in two of five studies, satisfactory in three of five studies. Mortality, ranging from 6 to 25%, and complication rates were (surprisingly) high. It has to be stressed that analyzing these papers published to date, no adequate attention is paid to basic facts and problems of general and thoracic surgery (e.g. different forms, prevention, diagnosis and therapy of pneumothorax or differentiated forms of ventilation). Relevant differences in the anatomy and physiology of the esophagus and mediastinum between humans and pigs should additionally be taken into account to choose optimal experimental parameters when transferring results to human settings. Moreover, requirements regarding sterility and hygiene in a structure like the mediastinum, which is at high risk from the point of view of infection

Setting priorities for space research: An experiment in methodology

Science.gov (United States)

1995-01-01

In 1989, the Space Studies Board created the Task Group on Priorities in Space Research to determine whether scientists should take a role in recommending priorities for long-term space research initiatives and, if so, to analyze the priority-setting problem in this context and develop a method by which such priorities could be established. After answering the first question in the affirmative in a previous report, the task group set out to accomplish the second task. The basic assumption in developing a priority-setting process is that a reasoned and structured approach for ordering competing initiatives will yield better results than other ways of proceeding. The task group proceeded from the principle that the central criterion for evaluating a research initiative must be its scientific merit -- the value of the initiative to the proposing discipline and to science generally. The group developed a two-stage methodology for priority setting and constructed a procedure and format to support the methodology. The first of two instruments developed was a standard format for structuring proposals for space research initiatives. The second instrument was a formal, semiquantitative appraisal procedure for evaluating competing proposals. This report makes available complete templates for the methodology, including the advocacy statement and evaluation forms, as well as an 11-step schema for a priority-setting process. From the beginning of its work, the task group was mindful that the issue of priority setting increasingly pervades all of federally supported science and that its work would have implications extending beyond space research. Thus, although the present report makes no recommendations for action by NASA or other government agencies, it provides the results of the task group's work for the use of others who may study priority-setting procedures or take up the challenge of implementing them in the future.

Rational Choice of the Investment Project Using Interval Estimates of the Initial Parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kotsyuba Oleksiy S.

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the development of instruments to support decision-making on the problem of choosing the best investment project in a situation when initial quantitative parameters of the considered investment alternatives are described by interval estimates. In terms of managing the risk caused by interval uncertainty of the initial data, the study is limited to the component (aspect of risk measure as a degree of possibility of discrepancy between the resulting economic indicator (criterion and its normative level (the norm. An important hypothesis used as a basis for the proposed in the work formalization of the problem under consideration is the presence – for some or all of the projects from which the choice is made – of risk of poor rate of return in terms of net present (current value. Based upon relevant developments within the framework of the fuzzy-set methodology and interval analysis, there formulated a model for choosing an optimal investment project from the set of alternative options for the interval formulation of the problem. In this case it is assumed that indicators of economic attractiveness (performance of the compared directions of real investment are described either by interval estimates or possibility distribution functions. With the help of the estimated conditional example there implemented an approbation of the proposed model, which demonstrated its practical viability.

Relevant documents initiating the EDA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

In December 1990, the four ITER Parties successfully concluded the Conceptual Design Activities for ITER. In January, 1991, each of the Parties had decided to enter negotiations on co-operation in the ITER EDA, which are to be conducted under the auspices of the IAEA; and each Party was prepared to receive a letter of invitation from the Director General of the IAEA to participate in those negotiations. Four negotiating meetings were held in 1991, the first being in Vienna, the second in Tokyo, the third in Reston near Washington, and the fourth in Moscow. After completion of the negotiations, each of the Parties proceeded domestically to reach its decision to sign the ITER EDA Agreement and its Protocol 1. All formalities were concluded during the first half of 1992, and the EDA documents were signed in Washington on July 21, 1992. Following the signing, each of the Parties provided the Director General with the names of its two ITER Council members. With the formation of the Council, the EDA had begun. This volume contains the papers developed before the start of the EDA. It begins with the Director General's invitation to participate in the negotiations and ends with the Parties' designations of the ITER Council members. While the evolving text of the Agreement and its Protocol 1 is referred to in some of these papers as an attachment, it is only the final, signed text that is reproduced in this volume

The accuracy of SST retrievals from AATSR: An initial assessment through geophysical validation against in situ radiometers, buoys and other SST data sets

Science.gov (United States)

Corlett, G. K.; Barton, I. J.; Donlon, C. J.; Edwards, M. C.; Good, S. A.; Horrocks, L. A.; Llewellyn-Jones, D. T.; Merchant, C. J.; Minnett, P. J.; Nightingale, T. J.; Noyes, E. J.; O'Carroll, A. G.; Remedios, J. J.; Robinson, I. S.; Saunders, R. W.; Watts, J. G.

The Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) was launched on Envisat in March 2002. The AATSR instrument is designed to retrieve precise and accurate global sea surface temperature (SST) that, combined with the large data set collected from its predecessors, ATSR and ATSR-2, will provide a long term record of SST data that is greater than 15 years. This record can be used for independent monitoring and detection of climate change. The AATSR validation programme has successfully completed its initial phase. The programme involves validation of the AATSR derived SST values using in situ radiometers, in situ buoys and global SST fields from other data sets. The results of the initial programme presented here will demonstrate that the AATSR instrument is currently close to meeting its scientific objectives of determining global SST to an accuracy of 0.3 K (one sigma). For night time data, the analysis gives a warm bias of between +0.04 K (0.28 K) for buoys to +0.06 K (0.20 K) for radiometers, with slightly higher errors observed for day time data, showing warm biases of between +0.02 (0.39 K) for buoys to +0.11 K (0.33 K) for radiometers. They show that the ATSR series of instruments continues to be the world leader in delivering accurate space-based observations of SST, which is a key climate parameter.

Decentralized health care priority-setting in Tanzania

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maluka, Stephen; Kamuzora, Peter; Sebastiån, Miguel San

2010-01-01

Priority-setting has become one of the biggest challenges faced by health decision-makers worldwide. Fairness is a key goal of priority-setting and Accountability for Reasonableness has emerged as a guiding framework for fair priority-setting. This paper describes the processes of setting health...... care priorities in Mbarali district, Tanzania, and evaluates the descriptions against Accountability for Reasonableness. Key informant interviews were conducted with district health managers, local government officials and other stakeholders using a semi-structured interview guide. Relevant documents...... no formal mechanisms in place to ensure that this information reached the public. There were neither formal mechanisms for challenging decisions nor an adequate enforcement mechanism to ensure that decisions were made in a fair and equitable manner. Therefore, priority-setting in Mbarali district did...

The next generation safeguards initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tobey, William

2008-01-01

NGSI or the Next Generation Safeguards Initiative is designed to revitalize the U.S. safeguards technical base, as well as invest in human resources, and to mobilize our primary asset - the U.S. National Laboratories - as well as industry and academia to restore capabilities. While NGSI is a U.S. effort it is intended to serve as a catalyst for a much broader commitment to international safeguards in partnership with the IAEA and other countries. Initiatives over the last years include such as the Proliferation Security Initiative, UN Security Council Resolution 1540, the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, and initiatives of the G-8 and NSG to discourage the spread of enrichment and reprocessing. NGSI augments this agenda by providing a means to strengthen the technical and political underpinnings of IAEA safeguards. Priorities and envisioned activities under NGSI are the following. (1) Cooperation with IAEA and others to promote universal adoption of safeguards agreements and the Additional Protocol including greater information sharing between member states and the IAEA, investigation of weaponization and procurement activities, and options to strengthen the state-level approach to safeguards. (2) NGSI anticipates the deployment of new types of reactors and fuel cycle facilities, as well as the need to use limited safeguards resources effectively and efficiently, especially in plants that pose the largest burden specifically complex, bulk-handling facilities. (3) NGSI will encourage a generational improvement in current safeguards technologies including improvement of precision and speed of nuclear measurements, performance of real-time process monitoring and surveillance in unattended mode, enabling in-field, pre-screening and analysis of nuclear and environmental samples, and collection, integration, analysis and archiving safeguards-relevant information from all available sources.(4) NGSI will address human capital management. Training and

The Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication (COSMIC): an observational measure of the intentional communication of children with autism in an unstructured classroom setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Pasco, Greg; Gordon, Rosanna K; Howlin, Patricia; Charman, Tony

2008-11-01

The Classroom Observation Schedule to Measure Intentional Communication (COSMIC) was devised to provide ecologically valid outcome measures for a communication-focused intervention trial. Ninety-one children with autism spectrum disorder aged 6 years 10 months (SD 16 months) were videoed during their everyday snack, teaching and free play activities. Inter-rater reliability was high and relevant items showed significant associations with comparable items from concurrent Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Generic (Lord et al. 2000, J Autism Dev Disord 30(3):205-223) assessments. In a subsample of 28 children initial differences in rates of initiations, initiated speech/vocalisation and commenting were predictive of language and communication competence 15 months later. Results suggest that the use of observational measures of intentional communication in natural settings is a valuable assessment strategy for research and clinical practice.

Assessing Hospital Physicians' Acceptance of Clinical Information Systems: A Review of the Relevant Literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bram Pynoo

2013-06-01

Full Text Available In view of the tremendous potential benefits of clinical information systems (CIS for the quality of patient care; it is hard to understand why not every CIS is embraced by its targeted users, the physicians. The aim of this study is to propose a framework for assessing hospital physicians' CIS-acceptance that can serve as a guidance for future research into this area. Hereto, a review of the relevant literature was performed in the ISI Web-of-Science database. Eleven studies were withheld from an initial dataset of 797 articles. Results show that just as in business settings, there are four core groups of variables that influence physicians' acceptance of a CIS: its usefulness and ease of use, social norms, and factors in the working environment that facilitate use of the CIS (such as providing computers/workstations, compatibility between the new and existing system.... We also identified some additional variables as predictors of CIS-acceptance.

The international surface temperature initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Thorne, P. W.; Lawrimore, J. H.; Willett, K. M.; Allan, R.; Chandler, R. E.; Mhanda, A.; de Podesta, M.; Possolo, A.; Revadekar, J.; Rusticucci, M.; Stott, P. A.; Strouse, G. F.; Trewin, B.; Wang, X. L.; Yatagai, A.; Merchant, C.; Merlone, A.; Peterson, T. C.; Scott, E. M.

2013-09-01

The aim of International Surface Temperature Initiative is to create an end-to-end process for analysis of air temperature data taken over the land surface of the Earth. The foundation of any analysis is the source data. Land surface air temperature records have traditionally been stored in local, organizational, national and international holdings, some of which have been available digitally but many of which are available solely on paper or as imaged files. Further, economic and geopolitical realities have often precluded open sharing of these data. The necessary first step therefore is to collate readily available holdings and augment these over time either through gaining access to previously unavailable digital data or through data rescue and digitization activities. Next, it must be recognized that these historical measurements were made primarily in support of real-time weather applications where timeliness and coverage are key. At almost every long-term station it is virtually certain that changes in instrumentation, siting or observing practices have occurred. Because none of the historical measures were made in a metrologically traceable manner there is no unambiguous way to retrieve the true climate evolution from the heterogeneous raw data holdings. Therefore it is desirable for multiple independent groups to produce adjusted data sets (so-called homogenized data) to adequately understand the data characteristics and estimate uncertainties. Then it is necessary to benchmark the performance of the contributed algorithms (equivalent to metrological software validation) through development of realistic benchmark datasets. In support of this, a series of successive benchmarking and assessment cycles are envisaged, allowing continual improvement while avoiding over-tuning of algorithms. Finally, a portal is proposed giving access to related data-products, utilizing the assessment results to provide guidance to end-users on which product is the most suited to

Agenda Setting and Mass Communication Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Eugene F.

The agenda-setting concept in mass communication asserts that the news media determine what people will include or exclude in their cognition of public events. Findings in uses and gratification research provide the foundation for this concept: an initial focus on people's needs, particularly the need for information. The agenda-setting concept…

Working with Negative Emotions in Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Hillman, Alison

2012-01-01

This account draws upon learning from an incident in an action learning set where an individual challenged a mandatory organisational requirement. As a facilitator I reflect upon my initial defensive reaction to this challenge. The use of critical action learning to inform ourselves as facilitators of the underlying tensions between set members…

Initiative internationale des chaires de recherche | CRDI - Centre de ...

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

Initiative de recherche de sept ans dotée d'un budget de 8 millions de dollars canadiens. L'Initiative internationale des chaires de recherche a pour but de jumeler d'éminents chercheurs d'universités du Canada avec des homologues de pays en développement afin de relever quelques-uns des plus grands défis auxquels ...

Mining Specific and General Features in Both Positive and Negative Relevance Feedback. QUT E-Discovery Lab at the TREC󈧍 Relevance Feedback Track

Science.gov (United States)

2009-11-01

relevance feedback algo- rithm. Four methods, εMap [1], MapA , P10A, and StatAP [2], were used in the track to measure the performance of Phase 2 runs...εMap and StatAP were applied to the runs us- ing the testing set of only ClueWeb09 Category-B, whereas MapA and P10A were applied to those using the...whole ClueWeb09 English set. Because our experiments were based on only ClueWeb09 Category-B, measuring our per- formance by MapA and P10A might not

Determinants of timely initiation of complementary feeding among ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2014-05-26

May 26, 2014 ... care, exclusive breastfeeding and no siblings as independent predictors of timely initiation of ... studies[7‑9] conducted in different parts of the developing ..... services provides further benefits of counseling on issues relevant ...

VITEX 2016 : Evaluation of learning objectives and exercise set-up

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rijk, R. van; Stubbé-Alberts, H.E.

2016-01-01

To strengthen awareness of the need for cooperation, between public and private partners, and between countries, a new exercise set-up was developed. The VITEX exercise set-up is a table top exercise that aims to bring relevant networks together, and supports cooperation and collaboration between

Predicting differences in the perceived relevance of crime's costs and benefits in a test of rational choice theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Bouffard, Jeffrey A

2007-08-01

Previous hypothetical scenario tests of rational choice theory have presented all participants with the same set of consequences, implicitly assuming that these consequences would be relevant for each individual. Recent research demonstrates that those researcher-presented consequences do not accurately reflect those considered by study participants and that there is individual variation in the relevance of various consequences. Despite this and some theoretical propositions that such differences should exist, little empirical research has explored the possibility of predicting such variation. This study allows participants to develop their own set of relevant consequences for three hypothetical offenses and examines how several demographic and theoretical variables impact those consequences' relevance. Exploratory results suggest individual factors impact the perceived relevance of several cost and benefit types, even among a relatively homogenous sample of college students. Implications for future tests of rational choice theory, as well as policy implications are discussed.

Collimator settings and performance in 2011 and 2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bruce, R.; Assmann, R.W.; Burkart, F.; Cauchi, M.; Deboy, D.; Lari, L.; Redaelli, S; Rossi, A.; Salvachua, B.; Valentino, G.; Wollmann, D.

2012-01-01

Collimator settings and performance are key parameters for deciding the reach in intensity and β* in order to conclude on possible limits for the 2012 run, a summary is first given of the relevant running experience in 2011 and the collimation-related MDs. These include among others tight collimator settings, a quench test, and aperture measurements. Based on the 2011 experience, we conclude on possible running scenarios for 2012 in terms of collimator settings, intensity and β* from the collimation point of view. (authors)

Collimation settings and performance in 2011 and 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bruce, R; Assmann, R W; Burkart, F; Cauchi, M; Deboy, D; Lari, L; Redaelli, S; Rossi, A; Salvachua, B; Valentino, G; Wollmann, D [European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva (Switzerland)

2012-07-01

Collimator settings and available aperture are key parameters for deciding the reach in intensity and β*. In order to conclude on possible limits for the 2012 run, a summary is first given of the relevant running experience in 2011 and the collimation-related MDs. These include among others tight collimator settings, a quench test, and aperture measurements. Based on the 2011 experience, we conclude on possible running scenarios for 2012 in terms of collimator settings, intensity and β* from the collimation point of view.

Collimation settings and performance in 2011 and 2012

CERN Document Server

Bruce, R; Burkart, F; Cauchi, M; Deboy, D; Lari, L; Redaelli, S; Rossi, A; Salvachua, B; Valentino, G; Wollmann, D

2012-01-01

Collimator settings and available aperture are key parameters for deciding the reach in intensity and β*. In order to conclude on possible limits for the 2012 run, a summary is first given of the relevant running experience in 2011 and the collimation-related MDs. These include among others tight collimator settings, a quench test, and aperture measurements. Based on the 2011 experience, we conclude on possible running scenarios for 2012 in terms of collimator settings, intensity and β* from the collimation point of view.

International urodynamic basic spinal cord injury data set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Craggs, M.; Kennelly, M.; Schick, E.

2008-01-01

of the data set was developed after review and comments by members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA Board, relevant and interested (international) organizations and societies (around 40) and persons and the ISCoS Council......: Variables included in the International Urodynamic Basic SCI Data Set are date of data collection, bladder sensation during filling cystometry, detrusor function, compliance during filing cystometry, function during voiding, detrusor leak point pressure, maximum detrusor pressure, cystometric bladder...

Cross-curricular goals and raising the relevance of science education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belova, Nadja; Dittmar, Johanna; Hansson, Lena

2017-01-01

‘Relevance’ is one of the most commonly used terms when it comes to reforms in science education. The term is used in manifold ways. It can be understood – among other things – as meeting an interest, fulfilling needs or contributing to intellectual development. Many components of relevant science...... education go beyond single contents and concepts; many challenges are tied to cross-curricular goals. Specifically, when it comes to the societal and vocational relevance of science education, many demands can only be met when we develop corresponding skills across disciplines and grade levels. This chapter...... focuses on a set of such cross-curricular goals from a chemistry education perspective, namely, education for sustainability, critical media literacy, innovation competence, vocational orientation and employability. It relates them to the idea of relevant chemistry and science education. Directions...

A comparison of the value relevance of interim and annual financial statements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mbalenhle Zulu

2017-03-01

Aim: It explores whether the value relevance of interim financial statements is higher than the value relevance of annual financial statements. Finally, it investigates whether accounting information published in interim and annual financial statements has incremental value relevance. Setting: Data for the period from 1999 to 2012 were collected from a sample of non-financial companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Method: The Ohlson model to investigate the value relevance of accounting information was used for the study. Results: The results show that interim book value of equity is value relevant while interim earnings are not. Interim financial statements appear to have higher value relevance than annual financial statements. The value relevance of interim and annual accounting information has remained fairly constant over the sample period. Incremental comparisons provide evidence that additional book value of equity and earnings that accrue to a company between interim and annual reporting dates are value relevant. Conclusion: The study was conducted over a long sample period (1999–2012, in an era when a technology-driven economy and more timely reporting media could have had an effect on the value relevance of published accounting information. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate and compare the value relevance of published interim and annual financial statements.

Atmospheric bromoform at Cape Point, South Africa: an initial fixed-point data set on the African continent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B. Kuyper

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Bromoform mixing ratios in marine air were measured at Cape Point Global Atmospheric Watch Station, South Africa. This represents the first such bromoform data set recorded at this location. Manual daily measurements were made during a month-long field campaign (austral spring 2011 using a gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD with a custom-built front end thermal desorption trap. The measured concentrations ranged between 4.4 and 64.6 (± 22.2 % ppt with a mean of 24.8 ± 14.8 ppt. The highest mixing ratios recorded here occurred at, or shortly after, low tide. The diurnal cycle exhibited a morning and evening maximum with lower concentrations throughout the rest of the day. Initial analysis of the data presented indicates that the local kelp beds were the dominant source of the bromoform reported. A concentration-weighted trajectory analysis of the bromoform measurements suggests that two offshore source areas may exist. These source areas appear to be centred on the Agulhas retroflection and extend from St Helena Bay to the southwest.

Atmospheric bromoform at Cape Point, South Africa: an initial fixed-point data set on the African continent

Science.gov (United States)

Kuyper, Brett; Palmer, Carl J.; Labuschagne, Casper; Reason, Chris J. C.

2018-04-01

Bromoform mixing ratios in marine air were measured at Cape Point Global Atmospheric Watch Station, South Africa. This represents the first such bromoform data set recorded at this location. Manual daily measurements were made during a month-long field campaign (austral spring 2011) using a gas chromatograph-electron capture detector (GC-ECD) with a custom-built front end thermal desorption trap. The measured concentrations ranged between 4.4 and 64.6 (± 22.2 %) ppt with a mean of 24.8 ± 14.8 ppt. The highest mixing ratios recorded here occurred at, or shortly after, low tide. The diurnal cycle exhibited a morning and evening maximum with lower concentrations throughout the rest of the day. Initial analysis of the data presented indicates that the local kelp beds were the dominant source of the bromoform reported. A concentration-weighted trajectory analysis of the bromoform measurements suggests that two offshore source areas may exist. These source areas appear to be centred on the Agulhas retroflection and extend from St Helena Bay to the southwest.

APPROXIMATION OF THE TIME TO INITIATE THE EVACUATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiří POKORNÝ

2016-06-01

Full Text Available One of the basic prerequisites for securing the safety of people at large group events is to ensure their evacuation in case of emergencies. This article deals with the approximations of time to initiate the evacuation of persons in case of a fire at large group events organized in outdoor spaces. The solution is based on the principles of determining the period to initiate the evacuation of persons in terms of international ISO standards. Considering the specificities of the given outdoor space and possible related security measures, the article recommends the relevant sufficient amount of time to initiate an evacuation.

Healthy competition drives success in results-based aid: Lessons from the Salud Mesoamérica Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

El Bcheraoui, Charbel; Palmisano, Erin B; Dansereau, Emily; Schaefer, Alexandra; Woldeab, Alexander; Moradi-Lakeh, Maziar; Salvatierra, Benito; Hernandez-Prado, Bernardo; Mokdad, Ali H

2017-01-01

The Salud Mesoamérica Initiative (SMI) is a three-operation strategy, and is a pioneer in the world of results-based aid (RBA) in terms of the success it has achieved in improving health system inputs following its initial operation. This success in meeting pre-defined targets is rare in the world of financial assistance for health. We investigated the influential aspects of SMI that could have contributed to its effectiveness in improving health systems, with the aim of providing international donors, bilateral organizations, philanthropies, and recipient countries with new perspectives that can help increase the effectiveness of future assistance for health, specifically in the arena of RBA. Qualitative methods based on the criteria of relevance and effectiveness proposed by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Our methods included document review, key informant interviews, a focus group discussion, and a partnership analysis. A purposive sample of 113 key informants, comprising donors, representatives from the Inter-American Development Bank, ministries of health, technical assistance organizations, evaluation organizations, and health care providers. During May-October 2016, we interviewed regarding the relevance and effectiveness of SMI. Themes emerged relative to the topics we investigated, and covered the design and the drivers of success of the initiative. The success is due to 1) the initiative's regional approach, which pressured recipient countries to compete toward meeting targets, 2) a robust and flexible design that incorporated the richness of input from stakeholders at all levels, 3) the design-embedded evaluation component that created a culture of accountability among recipient countries, and 4) the reflective knowledge environment that created a culture of evidence-based decision-making. A regional approach involving all appropriate stakeholders, and based on knowledge sharing and

Social settings and addiction relapse.

Science.gov (United States)

Walton, M A; Reischl, T M; Ramanthan, C S

1995-01-01

Despite addiction theorists' acknowledgment of the impact of environmental factors on relapse, researchers have not adequately investigated these influences. Ninety-six substance users provided data regarding their perceived risk for relapse, exposure to substances, and involvement in reinforcing activities. These three setting attributes were assessed in their home, work, and community settings. Reuse was assessed 3 months later. When controlling for confounding variables, aspects of the home settings significantly distinguished abstainers from reusers; perceived risk for relapse was the strongest predictor of reuse. Exposure to substances and involvement in reinforcing activities were not robust reuse indicators. The work and community settings were not significant determinants of reuse. These findings offer some initial support for the utility of examining social settings to better understand addiction relapse and recovery. Identification of setting-based relapse determinants provides concrete targets for relapse prevention interventions.

5 CFR 9701.372 - Creating initial pay ranges.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Creating initial pay ranges. 9701.372... HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM Pay and Pay Administration Transitional Provisions § 9701.372 Creating initial pay ranges. (a) DHS must, after coordination with OPM, set the initial band rate ranges for the...

Cross-curricular goals and raising the relevance of science education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Belova, Nadja; Dittmar, Johanna; Hansson, Lena

2016-01-01

education go beyond single contents and concepts; many challenges are tied to cross-curricular goals. Specifically, when it comes to the societal and vocational relevance of science education, many demands can only be met when we develop corresponding skills across disciplines and grade levels. This chapter...... focuses on a set of such cross-curricular goals from a chemistry education perspective, namely education for sustainability, critical media literacy, innovation competence, vocational orientation, and employability. It relates them to the idea of relevant chemistry and science education. Directions...... for research and curriculum development will be suggested that emerge from taking into account cross-curricular goals on the science curriculum more thoroughly....

Mixed-Initiative Clustering

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Yifen

2010-01-01

Mixed-initiative clustering is a task where a user and a machine work collaboratively to analyze a large set of documents. We hypothesize that a user and a machine can both learn better clustering models through enriched communication and interactive learning from each other. The first contribution or this thesis is providing a framework of…

Building locally relevant ethics curricula for nursing education in Botswana.

Science.gov (United States)

Barchi, F; Kasimatis Singleton, M; Magama, M; Shaibu, S

2014-12-01

The goal of this multi-institutional collaboration was to develop an innovative, locally relevant ethics curriculum for nurses in Botswana. Nurses in Botswana face ethical challenges that are compounded by lack of resources, pressures to handle tasks beyond training or professional levels, workplace stress and professional isolation. Capacity to teach nursing ethics in the classroom and in professional practice settings has been limited. A pilot curriculum, including cases set in local contexts, was tested with nursing faculty in Botswana in 2012. Thirty-three per cent of the faculty members indicated they would be more comfortable teaching ethics. A substantial number of faculty members were more likely to introduce the International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics in teaching, practice and mentoring as a result of the training. Based on evaluation data, curricular materials were developed using the Code and the regulatory requirements for nursing practice in Botswana. A web-based repository of sample lectures, discussion cases and evaluation rubrics was created to support the use of the materials. A new master degree course, Nursing Ethics in Practice, has been proposed for fall 2015 at the University of Botswana. The modular nature of the materials and the availability of cases set within the context of clinical nurse practice in Botswana make them readily adaptable to various student academic levels and continuing professional development programmes. The ICN Code of Ethics for Nursing is a valuable teaching tool in developing countries when taught using locally relevant case materials and problem-based teaching methods. The approach used in the development of a locally relevant nursing ethics curriculum in Botswana can serve as a model for nursing education and continuing professional development programmes in other sub-Saharan African countries to enhance use of the ICN Code of Ethics in nursing practice. © 2014 International Council of Nurses.

The LAILAPS search engine: a feature model for relevance ranking in life science databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Lange, Matthias; Spies, Karl; Colmsee, Christian; Flemming, Steffen; Klapperstück, Matthias; Scholz, Uwe

2010-03-25

Efficient and effective information retrieval in life sciences is one of the most pressing challenge in bioinformatics. The incredible growth of life science databases to a vast network of interconnected information systems is to the same extent a big challenge and a great chance for life science research. The knowledge found in the Web, in particular in life-science databases, are a valuable major resource. In order to bring it to the scientist desktop, it is essential to have well performing search engines. Thereby, not the response time nor the number of results is important. The most crucial factor for millions of query results is the relevance ranking. In this paper, we present a feature model for relevance ranking in life science databases and its implementation in the LAILAPS search engine. Motivated by the observation of user behavior during their inspection of search engine result, we condensed a set of 9 relevance discriminating features. These features are intuitively used by scientists, who briefly screen database entries for potential relevance. The features are both sufficient to estimate the potential relevance, and efficiently quantifiable. The derivation of a relevance prediction function that computes the relevance from this features constitutes a regression problem. To solve this problem, we used artificial neural networks that have been trained with a reference set of relevant database entries for 19 protein queries. Supporting a flexible text index and a simple data import format, this concepts are implemented in the LAILAPS search engine. It can easily be used both as search engine for comprehensive integrated life science databases and for small in-house project databases. LAILAPS is publicly available for SWISSPROT data at http://lailaps.ipk-gatersleben.de.

What are the barriers to initiating end-of-life conversations with patients in the last year of life?

Science.gov (United States)

Travers, Alice; Taylor, Vanessa

2016-09-02

Improving end of life care is a national imperative. Unsatisfactory care persists particularly in acute hospitals, with shortcomings, variability in communication and advance care planning identified as fundamental issues. This review explored the literature to identify what is known about the barriers to initiating end-of-life conversations with patients from the perspective of doctors and nurses in the acute hospital setting. Six electronic databases were searched for potentially relevant records published between 2008 and 2015. Studies were included if the authors reported on barriers to discussing end of life with families or patients as described by doctors or nurses in hospital settings, excluding critical care. Of 1267 potentially relevant records, 12 were included in the review. Although there is limited high-quality evidence available, several barriers were identified. Recurrent themes within the literature related to a lack of education and training, difficulty in prognostication, cultural differences and perceived reluctance of the patient or family. This study illustrated that, in addressing barriers to communication, consideration needs to be extended to include how to embed good communication practice between patients and health professionals into the culture of this setting. Board level commitment is required to raise awareness of, and familiarity with, policies and protocols concerning communication and end-of-life care. Communication training should include practical skills and tools, opportunities to explore the personal beliefs of practitioners and managing their emotions, opportunities to analyse the local organisational (physical and social environment) and team barriers.

Effect of exposure to evening light on sleep initiation in the elderly: a longitudinal analysis for repeated measurements in home settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Obayashi, Kenji; Saeki, Keigo; Iwamoto, Junko; Okamoto, Nozomi; Tomioka, Kimiko; Nezu, Satoko; Ikada, Yoshito; Kurumatani, Norio

2014-05-01

Epidemiologic data have demonstrated associations of sleep-onset insomnia with a variety of diseases, including depression, dementia, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Sleep initiation is controlled by the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus and endogenous melatonin, both of which are influenced by environmental light. Exposure to evening light is hypothesized to cause circadian phase delay and melatonin suppression before bedtime, resulting in circadian misalignment and sleep-onset insomnia; however, whether exposure to evening light disturbs sleep initiation in home settings remains unclear. In this longitudinal analysis of 192 elderly individuals (mean age: 69.9 years), we measured evening light exposure and sleep-onset latency for 4 days using a wrist actigraph incorporating a light meter and an accelerometer. Mixed-effect linear regression analysis for repeated measurements was used to evaluate the effect of evening light exposure on subsequent sleep-onset latency. The median intensity of evening light exposure and the median sleep-onset latency were 27.3 lux (interquartile range, 17.9-43.4) and 17 min (interquartile range, 7-33), respectively. Univariate models showed significant associations between sleep-onset latency and age, gender, daytime physical activity, in-bed time, day length and average intensity of evening and nighttime light exposures. In a multivariate model, log-transformed average intensity of evening light exposure was significantly associated with log-transformed sleep-onset latency independent of the former potential confounding factors (regression coefficient, 0.133; 95% CI, 0.020-0.247; p = 0.021). Day length and nighttime light exposure were also significantly associated with log-transformed sleep-onset latency (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). In conclusion, exposure to evening light in home setting prolongs subsequent sleep-onset latency in the elderly.

Delve: A Data Set Retrieval and Document Analysis System

KAUST Repository

Akujuobi, Uchenna Thankgod

2017-12-29

Academic search engines (e.g., Google scholar or Microsoft academic) provide a medium for retrieving various information on scholarly documents. However, most of these popular scholarly search engines overlook the area of data set retrieval, which should provide information on relevant data sets used for academic research. Due to the increasing volume of publications, it has become a challenging task to locate suitable data sets on a particular research area for benchmarking or evaluations. We propose Delve, a web-based system for data set retrieval and document analysis. This system is different from other scholarly search engines as it provides a medium for both data set retrieval and real time visual exploration and analysis of data sets and documents.

Predictive Active Set Selection Methods for Gaussian Processes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Henao, Ricardo; Winther, Ole

2012-01-01

We propose an active set selection framework for Gaussian process classification for cases when the dataset is large enough to render its inference prohibitive. Our scheme consists of a two step alternating procedure of active set update rules and hyperparameter optimization based upon marginal...... high impact to the classifier decision process while removing those that are less relevant. We introduce two active set rules based on different criteria, the first one prefers a model with interpretable active set parameters whereas the second puts computational complexity first, thus a model...... with active set parameters that directly control its complexity. We also provide both theoretical and empirical support for our active set selection strategy being a good approximation of a full Gaussian process classifier. Our extensive experiments show that our approach can compete with state...

Inference of the Genetic Network Regulating Lateral Root Initiation in Arabidopsis thaliana

KAUST Repository

Muraro, D.

2013-01-01

Regulation of gene expression is crucial for organism growth, and it is one of the challenges in systems biology to reconstruct the underlying regulatory biological networks from transcriptomic data. The formation of lateral roots in Arabidopsis thaliana is stimulated by a cascade of regulators of which only the interactions of its initial elements have been identified. Using simulated gene expression data with known network topology, we compare the performance of inference algorithms, based on different approaches, for which ready-to-use software is available. We show that their performance improves with the network size and the inclusion of mutants. We then analyze two sets of genes, whose activity is likely to be relevant to lateral root initiation in Arabidopsis, and assess causality of their regulatory interactions by integrating sequence analysis with the intersection of the results of the best performing methods on time series and mutants. The methods applied capture known interactions between genes that are candidate regulators at early stages of development. The network inferred from genes significantly expressed during lateral root formation exhibits distinct scale free, small world and hierarchical properties and the nodes with a high out-degree may warrant further investigation. © 2004-2012 IEEE.

What is the clinically relevant change on the ADAS-Cog?

Science.gov (United States)

Schrag, Anette; Schott, Jonathan M

2012-02-01

To establish the minimal clinically relevant change (MCRC) on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive (ADAS-Cog) for patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD). Cohort study. 59 recruiting sites for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Outpatients with AD in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. The authors applied anchor-based MCRC methodology comparing ADAS-Cog change against clinicians' judgement of clinically relevant worsening between baseline and 6 months in four domains: memory and non-memory cognitive performance; Clinical Dementia Rating Scale; and Functional Assessment Questionnaire. The analysis was repeated for the 6-12-month interval. To support these findings, the authors calculated distribution-based measures including half-baseline SD (1/2 SD) and SEM. 181 patients (baseline ADAS-Cog score 18.5±6.4) had ADAS-Cog data at 0 and 6 months. Those undergoing clinically significant worsening on any of the four anchor questions (n=41-47) had an average ADAS-Cog change of 3.1-3.8 points. Similar results were found for the 177 patients with 6-12-month data. The average 1/2 SD for the baseline ADAS-Cog score was 3.2, and the SEM was 3.7. 3 points decline on the ADAS-Cog may be an appropriate MCRC for clinical trials of patients with early AD. However, further studies assessing the MCRC for improvement on the ADAS-Cog, using patient-based judgement as an anchor, and determining the minimal clinically relevant difference between change on two treatments are required. http://clinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00106899.

Industrial initiatives in the wind industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edworthy, J.

1992-01-01

Industrial initiatives are methods of lobbying and marketing to increase the activity, revenues, profits, and commercial viability of an industry. They may be undertaken by industry individuals or firms, industry groups, government agencies, or combinations of all these. In Canada, one example of an industrial initiative is the Canadian Wind Energy Association. Other initiatives relevant to the wind power industry include Technology Inflow Programs sponsored by External Affairs Canada, used for visiting foreign firms with the view to licensing foreign technology, and Industrial Research Assistance Programs to develop or adapt new technologies in partnership with government. The Conservation/Renewable Energy Council, Small Power Producers of Alberta, and Independent Power Producers Society of Ontario are also active in supporting wind energy initiatives. In other countries, notable initiatives for wind energy include the Danish wind turbine warranty guarantee program. The Western Wind Industry Network of Canada conducts regional lobbying. It is suggested that in Canada, more such networks are needed, as well as joint ventures with utilities and governments, and more work with the regulatory agencies, to promote wind energy

Accountable priority setting for trust in health systems - the need for research into a new approach for strengthening sustainable health action in developing countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olsen Øystein E

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Despite multiple efforts to strengthen health systems in low and middle income countries, intended sustainable improvements in health outcomes have not been shown. To date most priority setting initiatives in health systems have mainly focused on technical approaches involving information derived from burden of disease statistics, cost effectiveness analysis, and published clinical trials. However, priority setting involves value-laden choices and these technical approaches do not equip decision-makers to address a broader range of relevant values - such as trust, equity, accountability and fairness - that are of concern to other partners and, not least, the populations concerned. A new focus for priority setting is needed. Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR is an explicit ethical framework for legitimate and fair priority setting that provides guidance for decision-makers who must identify and consider the full range of relevant values. AFR consists of four conditions: i relevance to the local setting, decided by agreed criteria; ii publicizing priority-setting decisions and the reasons behind them; iii the establishment of revisions/appeal mechanisms for challenging and revising decisions; iv the provision of leadership to ensure that the first three conditions are met. REACT - "REsponse to ACcountable priority setting for Trust in health systems" is an EU-funded five-year intervention study started in 2006, which is testing the application and effects of the AFR approach in one district each in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The objectives of REACT are to describe and evaluate district-level priority setting, to develop and implement improvement strategies guided by AFR and to measure their effect on quality, equity and trust indicators. Effects are monitored within selected disease and programme interventions and services and within human resources and health systems management. Qualitative and quantitative methods are being

Accountable priority setting for trust in health systems--the need for research into a new approach for strengthening sustainable health action in developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Byskov, Jens; Bloch, Paul; Blystad, Astrid; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; Fylkesnes, Knut; Kamuzora, Peter; Kombe, Yeri; Kvåle, Gunnar; Marchal, Bruno; Martin, Douglas K; Michelo, Charles; Ndawi, Benedict; Ngulube, Thabale J; Nyamongo, Isaac; Olsen, Oystein E; Onyango-Ouma, Washington; Sandøy, Ingvild F; Shayo, Elizabeth H; Silwamba, Gavin; Songstad, Nils Gunnar; Tuba, Mary

2009-10-24

Despite multiple efforts to strengthen health systems in low and middle income countries, intended sustainable improvements in health outcomes have not been shown. To date most priority setting initiatives in health systems have mainly focused on technical approaches involving information derived from burden of disease statistics, cost effectiveness analysis, and published clinical trials. However, priority setting involves value-laden choices and these technical approaches do not equip decision-makers to address a broader range of relevant values - such as trust, equity, accountability and fairness - that are of concern to other partners and, not least, the populations concerned. A new focus for priority setting is needed.Accountability for Reasonableness (AFR) is an explicit ethical framework for legitimate and fair priority setting that provides guidance for decision-makers who must identify and consider the full range of relevant values. AFR consists of four conditions: i) relevance to the local setting, decided by agreed criteria; ii) publicizing priority-setting decisions and the reasons behind them; iii) the establishment of revisions/appeal mechanisms for challenging and revising decisions; iv) the provision of leadership to ensure that the first three conditions are met.REACT - "REsponse to ACcountable priority setting for Trust in health systems" is an EU-funded five-year intervention study started in 2006, which is testing the application and effects of the AFR approach in one district each in Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. The objectives of REACT are to describe and evaluate district-level priority setting, to develop and implement improvement strategies guided by AFR and to measure their effect on quality, equity and trust indicators. Effects are monitored within selected disease and programme interventions and services and within human resources and health systems management. Qualitative and quantitative methods are being applied in an action research

The Yekaterinburg headache initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lebedeva, Elena R; Olesen, Jes; Osipova, Vera V

2013-01-01

for a demonstrational interventional project in Russia, undertaken within the Global Campaign against Headache. The initiative proposes three actions: 1) raise awareness of need for improvement; 2) design and implement a three-tier model (from primary care to a single highly specialized centre with academic affiliation......) for efficient and equitable delivery of headache-related health care; 3) develop a range of educational initiatives aimed at primary-care physicians, non-specialist neurologists, pharmacists and the general public to support the second action. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We set these proposals in a context...... of a health-care needs assessment, and as a model for all Russia. We present and discuss early progress of the initiative, justify the investment of resources required for implementation and call for the political support that full implementation requires. The more that the Yekaterinburg headache initiative...

Clinical relevance of studies on the accuracy of visual inspection for detecting caries lesions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gimenez, Thais; Piovesan, Chaiana; Braga, Mariana M

2015-01-01

Although visual inspection is the most commonly used method for caries detection, and consequently the most investigated, studies have not been concerned about the clinical relevance of this procedure. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review in order to perform a critical evaluation considering...... the clinical relevance and methodological quality of studies on the accuracy of visual inspection for assessing caries lesions. Two independent reviewers searched several databases through July 2013 to identify papers/articles published in English. Other sources were checked to identify unpublished literature...... to clinical relevance and the methodological quality of the studies were evaluated. 96 of the 5,578 articles initially identified met the inclusion criteria. In general, most studies failed in considering some clinically relevant aspects: only 1 included study validated activity status of lesions, no study...

THE RELEVANCE OF ECONOMIC INFORMATION IN ANALYZING THE ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

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PATRUTA MIRCEA IOAN

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The performance analysis is based on an informational system, which provides financial information in various formatsand with various applicabilities.We intend to formulate a set of important caracteristics of financial information along with identifying a set of relevant financial rates and indicatorsused to appreciate the performance level of a company. Economic performance can be interpreted in different ways at each level of analysis. Generally, it refers to economic growth, increased productivity and profitability. The growth of labor productivity or increased production per worker is a measure of efficient use of resources in value creation.

Cross-border migration and initiation of others into drug injecting in Tijuana, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Rafful, Claudia; Melo, Jason; Medina-Mora, María Elena; Rangel, Gudelia; Sun, Xiaoying; Jain, Sonia; Werb, Dan

2018-04-01

Efforts to prevent injection drug use (IDU) are increasingly focusing on the role that people who inject drugs (PWID) play in facilitating the entry of others into this behaviour. This is particularly relevant in settings experiencing high levels of IDU, such as Mexico's northern border region, where cross-border migration, particularly through forced deportation, has been found to increase a range of health and social harms related to injecting. PWID enrolled in a prospective cohort study in Tijuana, Mexico, since 2011 were interviewed semi-annually, which solicited responses on their experiences initiating others into injecting. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted at the Preventing Injection by Modifying Existing Responses (PRIMER) baseline, with the dependent variable defined as reporting ever initiating others into injection. The primary independent variable was lifetime deportation from the USA to Mexico. Among 532 participants, 14% (n = 76) reported initiating others into injecting, the majority of participants reporting initiating acquaintances (74%, n = 56). In multivariable analyses, initiating others into injecting was independently associated with reporting living in the USA for 1-5 years [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.42; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.22-4.79, P = 0.01], and methamphetamine and heroin injection combined (AOR = 3.67; 95% CI 1.11-12.17, P = 0.03). Deportation was not independently associated with initiating others into injecting. The impact of migration needs to be considered within binational programming seeking to prevent the expansion of epidemics of injecting and HIV transmission among mobile populations residing in the Mexico-USA border region. © 2017 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Experimental Implementation of a Kochen-Specker Set of Quantum Tests

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Vincenzo D’Ambrosio

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The conflict between classical and quantum physics can be identified through a series of yes-no tests on quantum systems, without it being necessary that these systems be in special quantum states. Kochen-Specker (KS sets of yes-no tests have this property and provide a quantum-versus-classical advantage that is free of the initialization problem that affects some quantum computers. Here, we report the first experimental implementation of a complete KS set that consists of 18 yes-no tests on four-dimensional quantum systems and show how to use the KS set to obtain a state-independent quantum advantage. We first demonstrate the unique power of this KS set for solving a task while avoiding the problem of state initialization. Such a demonstration is done by showing that, for 28 different quantum states encoded in the orbital-angular-momentum and polarization degrees of freedom of single photons, the KS set provides an impossible-to-beat solution. In a second experiment, we generate maximally contextual quantum correlations by performing compatible sequential measurements of the polarization and path of single photons. In this case, state independence is demonstrated for 15 different initial states. Maximum contextuality and state independence follow from the fact that the sequences of measurements project any initial quantum state onto one of the KS set’s eigenstates. Our results show that KS sets can be used for quantum-information processing and quantum computation and pave the way for future developments.

Experimental Implementation of a Kochen-Specker Set of Quantum Tests

Science.gov (United States)

D'Ambrosio, Vincenzo; Herbauts, Isabelle; Amselem, Elias; Nagali, Eleonora; Bourennane, Mohamed; Sciarrino, Fabio; Cabello, Adán

2013-01-01

The conflict between classical and quantum physics can be identified through a series of yes-no tests on quantum systems, without it being necessary that these systems be in special quantum states. Kochen-Specker (KS) sets of yes-no tests have this property and provide a quantum-versus-classical advantage that is free of the initialization problem that affects some quantum computers. Here, we report the first experimental implementation of a complete KS set that consists of 18 yes-no tests on four-dimensional quantum systems and show how to use the KS set to obtain a state-independent quantum advantage. We first demonstrate the unique power of this KS set for solving a task while avoiding the problem of state initialization. Such a demonstration is done by showing that, for 28 different quantum states encoded in the orbital-angular-momentum and polarization degrees of freedom of single photons, the KS set provides an impossible-to-beat solution. In a second experiment, we generate maximally contextual quantum correlations by performing compatible sequential measurements of the polarization and path of single photons. In this case, state independence is demonstrated for 15 different initial states. Maximum contextuality and state independence follow from the fact that the sequences of measurements project any initial quantum state onto one of the KS set’s eigenstates. Our results show that KS sets can be used for quantum-information processing and quantum computation and pave the way for future developments.

Mentoring a health technology assessment initiative in Kazakhstan.

Science.gov (United States)

Muratov, Sergei; Hailey, David; Foerster, Vicki; Brady, Bruce; Juzwishin, Don; la Fleur, Philip; McGowan, Jessie

2014-04-01

The aim of this study was to assist in the development of a health technology assessment (HTA) program for the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mentoring of an initial HTA program in Kazakhstan was provided by the Canadian Society for International Health (CSIH) by means of a partnership with the Kazakhstan MOH. HTA materials, courses, and one-on-one support for the preparation of a series of initial HTA reports by MOH HTA staff were provided by a seven-member CSIH team over a 2.5-year project. Guidance documents on HTA and institutional strengthening were prepared in response to an extensive set of deliverables developed by the MOH and the World Bank. Introductory and train-the-trainer workshops in HTA and economic evaluation were provided for MOH staff members, experts from Kazakhstan research institutes and physicians. Five short HTA reports were successfully developed by staff in the Ministry's HTA Unit with assistance from the CSIH team. Challenges that may be relevant to other emerging HTA programs included lack of familiarity with some essential underlying concepts, organization culture, and limited time for MOH staff to do HTA work. The project helped to define the need for HTA and mentored MOH staff in taking the first steps to establish a program to support health policy decision making in Kazakhstan. This experience offers practical lessons for other emerging HTA programs, although these should be tailored to the specific context.

Fuzzy Mutual Information Based min-Redundancy and Max-Relevance Heterogeneous Feature Selection

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Daren Yu

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Feature selection is an important preprocessing step in pattern classification and machine learning, and mutual information is widely used to measure relevance between features and decision. However, it is difficult to directly calculate relevance between continuous or fuzzy features using mutual information. In this paper we introduce the fuzzy information entropy and fuzzy mutual information for computing relevance between numerical or fuzzy features and decision. The relationship between fuzzy information entropy and differential entropy is also discussed. Moreover, we combine fuzzy mutual information with qmin-Redundancy-Max-Relevanceq, qMax-Dependencyq and min-Redundancy-Max-Dependencyq algorithms. The performance and stability of the proposed algorithms are tested on benchmark data sets. Experimental results show the proposed algorithms are effective and stable.

What do District Health Planners in Tanzania think about improving priority setting using 'Accountability for Reasonableness'?

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Olsen Oystein

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Priority setting in every health system is complex and difficult. In less wealthy countries the dominant approach to priority setting has been Burden of Disease (BOD and cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA, which is helpful, but insufficient because it focuses on a narrow range of values – need and efficiency – and not the full range of relevant values, including legitimacy and fairness. 'Accountability for reasonableness' is a conceptual framework for legitimate and fair priority setting and is empirically based and ethically justified. It connects priority setting to broader, more fundamental, democratic deliberative processes that have an impact on social justice and equity. Can 'accountability for reasonableness' be helpful for improving priority setting in less wealthy countries? Methods In 2005, Tanzanian scholars from the Primary Health Care Institute (PHCI conducted 6 capacity building workshops with senior health staff, district planners and managers, and representatives of the Tanzanian Ministry of Health to discussion improving priority setting in Tanzania using 'accountability for reasonableness'. The purpose of this paper is to describe this initiative and the participants' views about the approach. Results The approach to improving priority setting using 'accountability for reasonableness' was viewed by district decision makers with enthusiastic favour because it was the first framework that directly addressed their priority setting concerns. High level Ministry of Health participants were also very supportive of the approach. Conclusion Both Tanzanian district and governmental health planners viewed the 'accountability for reasonableness' approach with enthusiastic favour because it was the first framework that directly addressed their concerns.

Towards an ICF- and IMMPACT-based pain vocational rehabilitation core set in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Reneman, M F; Beemster, T T; Edelaar, M J A; van Velzen, J M; van Bennekom, C; Escorpizo, R

2013-12-01

For clinical use and research of pain within the context of vocational rehabilitation, a specific core set of measurements is needed. The recommendations of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) brief Core Set for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) and those of Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) cover two broad areas. These two sources can be integrated when made applicable to vocational rehabilitation and pain. Objective To develop a core set of diagnostic and evaluative measures specifically for vocational rehabilitation of patients with subacute and chronic musculoskeletal pain, while using the brief ICF core set for VR as the reference framework in VR, and the IMMPACT recommendations in the outcome measurements around pain. Three main steps were taken. The first step was to remove irrelevant and duplicate domains of the brief ICF Core Set for Vocational Rehabilitation and the IMMPACT recommendations around pain. The second step was to match the remaining domains with existing instruments or measures. Instruments were proposed based on availability and its proven use in Dutch practice and based on proof of sufficient clinimetric properties. In step 3, the preliminary VR-Pain core set was presented to 3 expert panels: proposed users, Dutch pain rehabilitation experts, and international VR experts. Experts agreed with the majority of the proposed domains and instruments. The final VR-Pain Core Set consists of 18 domains measured with 12 instruments. All instruments possessed basic clinimetric properties. An agreed-upon VR-Pain Core Set with content that covers relevant domains for pain and VR and validated instruments measuring these domains has been developed. The VR-Pain Core Set may be used for regular clinical purposes and research in the field of vocational rehabilitation and pain, but adaptations should be considered for use outside the Netherlands.

D90: The Strongest Contributor to Setting Time in Mineral Trioxide Aggregate and Portland Cement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, William N; Bentz, Dale P; Kahler, Bill; Walsh, Laurence J

2015-07-01

The setting times of commercial mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and Portland cements vary. It was hypothesized that much of this variation was caused by differences in particle size distribution. Two gram samples from 11 MTA-type cements were analyzed by laser diffraction to determine their particle size distributions characterized by their percentile equivalent diameters (the 10th percentile, the median, and the 90th percentile [d90], respectively). Setting time data were received from manufacturers who performed indentation setting time tests as specified by the standards relevant to dentistry, ISO 6786 (9 respondents) or ISO 9917.1 (1 respondent), or not divulged to the authors (1 respondent). In a parallel experiment, 6 samples of different size graded Portland cements were produced using the same cement clinker. The measurement of setting time for Portland cement pastes was performed using American Society for Testing and Materials C 191. Cumulative heat release was measured using isothermal calorimetry to assess the reactions occurring during the setting of these pastes. In all experiments, linear correlations were assessed between setting times, heat release, and the 3 particle size parameters. Particle size varied considerably among MTA cements. For MTA cements, d90 was the particle size characteristic showing the highest positive linear correlation with setting time (r = 0.538). For Portland cement, d90 gave an even higher linear correlation for the initial setting time (r = 0.804) and the final setting time (r = 0.873) and exhibited a strong negative linear correlation for cumulative heat release (r = 0.901). Smaller particle sizes result in faster setting times, with d90 (the largest particles) being most closely correlated with the setting times of the samples. Copyright © 2015 American Association of Endodontists. All rights reserved.

Maximum relevance, minimum redundancy band selection based on neighborhood rough set for hyperspectral data classification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yao; Chen, Yuehua; Tan, Kezhu; Xie, Hong; Wang, Liguo; Xie, Wu; Yan, Xiaozhen; Xu, Zhen

2016-01-01

Band selection is considered to be an important processing step in handling hyperspectral data. In this work, we selected informative bands according to the maximal relevance minimal redundancy (MRMR) criterion based on neighborhood mutual information. Two measures MRMR difference and MRMR quotient were defined and a forward greedy search for band selection was constructed. The performance of the proposed algorithm, along with a comparison with other methods (neighborhood dependency measure based algorithm, genetic algorithm and uninformative variable elimination algorithm), was studied using the classification accuracy of extreme learning machine (ELM) and random forests (RF) classifiers on soybeans’ hyperspectral datasets. The results show that the proposed MRMR algorithm leads to promising improvement in band selection and classification accuracy. (paper)

An introduction to random sets

CERN Document Server

Nguyen, Hung T

2006-01-01

The study of random sets is a large and rapidly growing area with connections to many areas of mathematics and applications in widely varying disciplines, from economics and decision theory to biostatistics and image analysis. The drawback to such diversity is that the research reports are scattered throughout the literature, with the result that in science and engineering, and even in the statistics community, the topic is not well known and much of the enormous potential of random sets remains untapped.An Introduction to Random Sets provides a friendly but solid initiation into the theory of random sets. It builds the foundation for studying random set data, which, viewed as imprecise or incomplete observations, are ubiquitous in today''s technological society. The author, widely known for his best-selling A First Course in Fuzzy Logic text as well as his pioneering work in random sets, explores motivations, such as coarse data analysis and uncertainty analysis in intelligent systems, for studying random s...

Vaping as a Catalyst for Smoking? An Initial Model on the Initiation of Electronic Cigarette Use and the Transition to Tobacco Smoking Among Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Sven; Diehl, Katharina

2016-05-01

The popularity of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) among adolescents is growing worldwide. A more accurate model than the much discussed but inadequate Gateway Hypothesis is needed to explain some adolescents' initial preference for e-cigarettes over tobacco cigarettes, as well as any transition from e-cigarettes to tobacco smoking. Our aim was to summarize the diffuse fear that adolescents will be indirectly encouraged to begin smoking tobacco via the use of e-cigarettes and to systematize the disparate causal hypotheses used thus far in relevant literature. We summarized the vague and fragmented hypotheses formulated thus far in literature on both trajectories from abstinence to e-cigarette use and from there to tobacco smoking into a set of empirically testable hypotheses and organized them into a comprehensive model. Our results indicate that the perceived health risks, specific product characteristics (such as taste, price and inconspicuous use), and higher levels of acceptance among peers and others potentially make e-cigarettes initially more attractive to adolescents than tobacco cigarettes. Later, increasing familiarity with nicotine could lead to the reevaluation of both electronic and tobacco cigarettes and subsequently to a potential transition to tobacco smoking. The suggested "catalyst model" takes variations in the nicotine content of e-cigarettes as well as the dual use of different substances into account. Our model provides causal hypotheses for the initiation of e-cigarette use and for the potential transition to tobacco smoking which, after being tested in empirical studies, could lead to the formulation of concrete recommendations for healthcare intervention and prevention measures. We developed a model that provides causal hypotheses for the initiation of e-cigarette use and for the potential transition to tobacco smoking. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco

Autonomia e relevância dos regimes The autonomy and relevance of regimes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gustavo Seignemartin de Carvalho

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Teorias institucionalistas na disciplina de relações internacionais usualmente definem regimes como um conjunto de normas e regras formais ou informais que permitem a convergência de expectativas ou a padronização do comportamento de seus participantes em uma determinada área de interesses com o objetivo de resolver problemas de coordenação que tenderiam a resultados não pareto-eficientes. Como estas definições baseadas meramente na "eficiência" dos regimes não parecem suficientes para explicar sua efetividade, o presente artigo propõe uma definição diferente para regimes: a de arranjos políticos que permitem a redistribuição dos ganhos da cooperação pelos participantes em uma determinada área de interesses em um contexto de interdependência. Regimes possuiriam efetividade pela sua autonomia e relevância, ou seja, por possuírem existência objetiva autônoma da de seus participantes e por influenciarem seu comportamento e expectativas de maneiras que não podem ser reduzidas à ação individual de nenhum deles. O artigo inicia-se com uma breve discussão sobre as dificuldades terminológicas associadas ao estudo de regimes e a definição dos conceitos de autonomia e relevância. Em seguida, classifica os diversos autores participantes do debate em duas perspectivas distintas, uma que nega (não-autonomistas e outra que atribui (autonomistas aos regimes autonomia e relevância, e faz uma breve análise dos autores e tradições mais significativos para o debate, aprofundando-se nos autonomistas e nos argumentos que reforçam a hipótese aqui apresentada. Ao final, o artigo propõe uma decomposição analítica dos regimes nos quatro elementos principais que lhes propiciam autonomia e relevância: normatividade, atores, especificidade da área de interesses e interdependência complexa com o contexto.Regimes are defined by institutionalist theories in the discipline of International Relations as formal or informal sets

The relevance of accounting in a stock market bubble : Evidence from internet IPO's

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bhattacharya, N.; Demers, E.; Joos, P.P.M.

2010-01-01

Prior research shows that accounting information is relevant for stock valuation, failure prediction, performance evaluation, optimal contracting, and other decision-making contexts in relatively stable market settings. By contrast, accounting's role during stock market bubbles such as those

International urinary tract imaging basic spinal cord injury data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Biering-Sørensen, F; Craggs, M; Kennelly, M; Schick, E; Wyndaele, J-J

2009-05-01

To create an International Urinary Tract Imaging Basic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets. An international working group. The draft of the Data Set was developed by a working group comprising members appointed by the Neurourology Committee of the International Continence Society, the European Association of Urology, the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and a representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets. The final version of the Data Set was developed after review and comments by members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA Board, relevant and interested international organizations and societies (around 40), individual persons with specific expertise and the ISCoS Council. Endorsement of the Data Sets by relevant organizations and societies will be obtained. To make the Data Set uniform, each variable and each response category within each variable have been specifically defined in a way that is designed to promote the collection and reporting of comparable minimal data. The variables included in the International Urinary Tract Imaging Basic SCI Data Set are the results obtained using the following investigations: intravenous pyelography or computer tomography urogram or ultrasound, X-ray, renography, clearance, cystogram, voiding cystogram or micturition cystourogram or videourodynamics. The complete instructions for data collection and the data sheet itself are freely available on the websites of both ISCoS (http://www.iscos.org.uk) and ASIA (http://www.asia-spinalinjury.org).

Roles and relationships between health professionals involved in insulin initiation for people with type 2 diabetes in the general practice setting: a qualitative study drawing on relational coordination theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Manski-Nankervis, Jo-Anne; Furler, John; Blackberry, Irene; Young, Doris; O'Neal, David; Patterson, Elizabeth

2014-01-31

The majority of care for people with type 2 diabetes occurs in general practice, however when insulin initiation is required it often does not occur in this setting or in a timely manner and this may have implications for the development of complications. Increased insulin initiation in general practice is an important goal given the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and a relative shortage of specialists. Coordination between primary and secondary care, and between medical and nursing personnel, may be important in achieving this. Relational coordination theory identifies key concepts that underpin effective interprofessional work: communication which is problem solving, timely, accurate and frequent and relationships between professional roles which are characterized by shared goals, shared knowledge and mutual respect. This study explores roles and relationships between health professionals involved in insulin initiation in order to gain an understanding of factors which may impact on this task being carried out in the general practice setting. 21 general practitioners, practice nurses, diabetes nurse educators and physicians were purposively sampled to participate in a semi-structured interview. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using framework analysis. There were four closely interlinked themes identified which impacted on how health professionals worked together to initiate people with type 2 diabetes on insulin: 1. Ambiguous roles; 2. Uncertain competency and capacity; 3. Varying relationships and communication; and 4. Developing trust and respect. This study has shown that insulin initiation is generally recognised as acceptable in general practice. The role of the DNE and practice nurse in this space and improved communication and relationships between health professionals across organisations and levels of care are factors which need to be addressed to support this clinical work. Relational coordination provides a useful framework for

Feedback stabilization initiative

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-06-01

Much progress has been made in attaining high confinement regimes in magnetic confinement devices. These operating modes tend to be transient, however, due to the onset of MHD instabilities, and their stabilization is critical for improved performance at steady state. This report describes the Feedback Stabilization Initiative (FSI), a broad-based, multi-institutional effort to develop and implement methods for raising the achievable plasma betas through active MHD feedback stabilization. A key element in this proposed effort is the Feedback Stabilization Experiment (FSX), a medium-sized, national facility that would be specifically dedicated to demonstrating beta improvement in reactor relevant plasmas by using a variety of MHD feedback stabilization schemes

Feedback stabilization initiative

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-06-01

Much progress has been made in attaining high confinement regimes in magnetic confinement devices. These operating modes tend to be transient, however, due to the onset of MHD instabilities, and their stabilization is critical for improved performance at steady state. This report describes the Feedback Stabilization Initiative (FSI), a broad-based, multi-institutional effort to develop and implement methods for raising the achievable plasma betas through active MHD feedback stabilization. A key element in this proposed effort is the Feedback Stabilization Experiment (FSX), a medium-sized, national facility that would be specifically dedicated to demonstrating beta improvement in reactor relevant plasmas by using a variety of MHD feedback stabilization schemes.

NASIS data base management system: IBM 360 TSS implementation. Volume 3: Data set specifications

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

The data set specifications for the NASA Aerospace Safety Information System (NASIS) are presented. The data set specifications describe the content, format, and medium of communication of every data set required by the system. All relevant information pertinent to a particular data set is prepared in a standard form and centralized in a single document. The format for the data set is provided.

Generating Big Data Sets from Knowledge-based Decision Support Systems to Pursue Value-based Healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arturo González-Ferrer

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Talking about Big Data in healthcare we usually refer to how to use data collected from current electronic medical records, either structured or unstructured, to answer clinically relevant questions. This operation is typically carried out by means of analytics tools (e.g. machine learning or by extracting relevant data from patient summaries through natural language processing techniques. From other perspective of research in medical informatics, powerful initiatives have emerged to help physicians taking decisions, in both diagnostics and therapeutics, built from the existing medical evidence (i.e. knowledge-based decision support systems. Much of the problems these tools have shown, when used in real clinical settings, are related to their implementation and deployment, more than failing in its support, but, technology is slowly overcoming interoperability and integration issues. Beyond the point-of-care decision support these tools can provide, the data generated when using them, even in controlled trials, could be used to further analyze facts that are traditionally ignored in the current clinical practice. In this paper, we reflect on the technologies available to make the leap and how they could help driving healthcare organizations shifting to a value-based healthcare philosophy.

Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development: The COS-STAD recommendations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie J Kirkham

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The use of core outcome sets (COS ensures that researchers measure and report those outcomes that are most likely to be relevant to users of their research. Several hundred COS projects have been systematically identified to date, but there has been no formal quality assessment of these studies. The Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development (COS-STAD project aimed to identify minimum standards for the design of a COS study agreed upon by an international group, while other specific guidance exists for the final reporting of COS development studies (Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Reporting [COS-STAR].An international group of experienced COS developers, methodologists, journal editors, potential users of COS (clinical trialists, systematic reviewers, and clinical guideline developers, and patient representatives produced the COS-STAD recommendations to help improve the quality of COS development and support the assessment of whether a COS had been developed using a reasonable approach. An open survey of experts generated an initial list of items, which was refined by a 2-round Delphi survey involving nearly 250 participants representing key stakeholder groups. Participants assigned importance ratings for each item using a 1-9 scale. Consensus that an item should be included in the set of minimum standards was defined as at least 70% of the voting participants from each stakeholder group providing a score between 7 and 9. The Delphi survey was followed by a consensus discussion with the study management group representing multiple stakeholder groups. COS-STAD contains 11 minimum standards that are the minimum design recommendations for all COS development projects. The recommendations focus on 3 key domains: the scope, the stakeholders, and the consensus process.The COS-STAD project has established 11 minimum standards to be followed by COS developers when planning their projects and by users when deciding whether a COS has been developed using

Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development: The COS-STAD recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkham, Jamie J; Davis, Katherine; Altman, Douglas G; Blazeby, Jane M; Clarke, Mike; Tunis, Sean; Williamson, Paula R

2017-11-01

The use of core outcome sets (COS) ensures that researchers measure and report those outcomes that are most likely to be relevant to users of their research. Several hundred COS projects have been systematically identified to date, but there has been no formal quality assessment of these studies. The Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development (COS-STAD) project aimed to identify minimum standards for the design of a COS study agreed upon by an international group, while other specific guidance exists for the final reporting of COS development studies (Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Reporting [COS-STAR]). An international group of experienced COS developers, methodologists, journal editors, potential users of COS (clinical trialists, systematic reviewers, and clinical guideline developers), and patient representatives produced the COS-STAD recommendations to help improve the quality of COS development and support the assessment of whether a COS had been developed using a reasonable approach. An open survey of experts generated an initial list of items, which was refined by a 2-round Delphi survey involving nearly 250 participants representing key stakeholder groups. Participants assigned importance ratings for each item using a 1-9 scale. Consensus that an item should be included in the set of minimum standards was defined as at least 70% of the voting participants from each stakeholder group providing a score between 7 and 9. The Delphi survey was followed by a consensus discussion with the study management group representing multiple stakeholder groups. COS-STAD contains 11 minimum standards that are the minimum design recommendations for all COS development projects. The recommendations focus on 3 key domains: the scope, the stakeholders, and the consensus process. The COS-STAD project has established 11 minimum standards to be followed by COS developers when planning their projects and by users when deciding whether a COS has been developed using reasonable

2017 European guideline for the screening, prevention and initial management of hepatitis B and C infections in sexual health settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Brook, Gary; Brockmeyer, Norbert; van de Laar, Thijs; Schellberg, Sven; Winter, Andrew J

2018-01-01

This guideline updates the 2010 European guideline for the management of hepatitis B and C virus infections. It is primarily intended to provide advice on testing, prevention and initial management of viral hepatitis B and C for clinicians working in sexual health clinical settings in European countries. The guideline is in a new question and answer format based on clinical situations, from which population/intervention/comparison/outcome questions were formulated. Updates cover areas such as epidemiology, point-of-care tests for hepatitis B, hepatitis C risk and 'chemsex', and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and hepatitis B. We have also included a short paragraph on hepatitis E noting there is no evidence for sexual transmission. The guideline has been prepared in accordance with the Europe protocol for production available at http://www.iusti.org/regions/europe/pdf/2017/ProtocolForProduction2017.pdf.

The relevance of cell transformation to carcinogenesis in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Little, J.B.

1989-01-01

Despite the caveats concerning rodent as opposed to human cell transformation systems, the author concludes there are several areas in which cell transformation studies with rodent cells have shown clear relevance to carcinogenesis in vivo, especially studies of carcinogenic effects of high LET radiation, particularly dependence on dose rate. In vitro studies firmly established the generality of promotion by phorbol esters tumour promotors. Initial studies on suppression of transformation, notably by protease inhibitors, has led to the confirmation of this phenomenon in in vivo carcinogenesis; development of inhibitor preparations from natural sources suitable for long-term supplementation in human diet, is under investigation. The potential importance of these modifiers is further emphasized by mechanistic studies suggesting that radiation may initiate a large fraction of exposed cell population, and expression of transformation may be controlled to a large extent by environmental conditions including the presence of promoting or suppressing agents. Finally, cell transformation systems offer the opportunity for mechanistic studies of the initial stages of carcinogenesis. Provocative results have arisen in several areas consistent with findings in experimental animals. (author)

Joint Concept Correlation and Feature-Concept Relevance Learning for Multilabel Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Xiaowei; Ma, Zhigang; Li, Zhi; Li, Zhihui

2018-02-01

In recent years, multilabel classification has attracted significant attention in multimedia annotation. However, most of the multilabel classification methods focus only on the inherent correlations existing among multiple labels and concepts and ignore the relevance between features and the target concepts. To obtain more robust multilabel classification results, we propose a new multilabel classification method aiming to capture the correlations among multiple concepts by leveraging hypergraph that is proved to be beneficial for relational learning. Moreover, we consider mining feature-concept relevance, which is often overlooked by many multilabel learning algorithms. To better show the feature-concept relevance, we impose a sparsity constraint on the proposed method. We compare the proposed method with several other multilabel classification methods and evaluate the classification performance by mean average precision on several data sets. The experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods.

How do experts define relevance criteria when initiating Health Impact Assessments of national policies?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kraemer, Stella Rj; Gulis, Gabriel

2014-01-01

The aim of this article is to present how the Danish Disease Prevention Committee (DDPC) members and HIA-experts understand when HIA is "relevant", which in this context means when there is "presumed to be a direct and documented effect on the health and morbidity of citizens". Method: DDPC members...... were interviewed face-to-face; HIA experts participated in an e-survey. Results: Six DDPC members were interviewed and 100 HIA-experts participated in a survey. The DDPC members consider direct as the link between determinants and the related risk factors. The HIA experts consider direct as the link...... between policy and the related risk factors. Both groups favour the use of scientific evidence according to the traditional biomedical evidence hierarchy but HIA-experts also judge that there is value in using evidence that can be considered weak such as local community knowledge. Conclusions: It is clear...

Sigma set scattering equations in nuclear reaction theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kowalski, K.L.; Picklesimer, A.

1982-01-01

The practical applications of partially summed versions of the Rosenberg equations involving only special subsets (sigma sets) of the physical amplitudes are investigated with special attention to the Pauli principle. The requisite properties of the transformations from the pair labels to the set of partitions labeling the sigma set of asymptotic channels are established. New, well-defined, scattering integral equations for the antisymmetrized transition operators are found which possess much less coupling among the physically distinct channels than hitherto expected for equations with kernels of equal complexity. In several cases of physical interest in nuclear physics, a single connected-kernel equation is obtained for the relevant antisymmetrized elastic scattering amplitude

GeneTopics - interpretation of gene sets via literature-driven topic models

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Annotation of a set of genes is often accomplished through comparison to a library of labelled gene sets such as biological processes or canonical pathways. However, this approach might fail if the employed libraries are not up to date with the latest research, don't capture relevant biological themes or are curated at a different level of granularity than is required to appropriately analyze the input gene set. At the same time, the vast biomedical literature offers an unstructured repository of the latest research findings that can be tapped to provide thematic sub-groupings for any input gene set. Methods Our proposed method relies on a gene-specific text corpus and extracts commonalities between documents in an unsupervised manner using a topic model approach. We automatically determine the number of topics summarizing the corpus and calculate a gene relevancy score for each topic allowing us to eliminate non-specific topics. As a result we obtain a set of literature topics in which each topic is associated with a subset of the input genes providing directly interpretable keywords and corresponding documents for literature research. Results We validate our method based on labelled gene sets from the KEGG metabolic pathway collection and the genetic association database (GAD) and show that the approach is able to detect topics consistent with the labelled annotation. Furthermore, we discuss the results on three different types of experimentally derived gene sets, (1) differentially expressed genes from a cardiac hypertrophy experiment in mice, (2) altered transcript abundance in human pancreatic beta cells, and (3) genes implicated by GWA studies to be associated with metabolite levels in a healthy population. In all three cases, we are able to replicate findings from the original papers in a quick and semi-automated manner. Conclusions Our approach provides a novel way of automatically generating meaningful annotations for gene sets that are directly

New types of bipolar fuzzy sets in -semihypergroups

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naveed Yaqoob

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The notion of bipolar fuzzy set was initiated by Lee (2000 as a generalization of the notion fuzzy sets and intuitionistic fuzzy sets, which have drawn attention of many mathematicians and computer scientists. In this paper, we initiate a study on bipolar ( , -fuzzy sets in -semihypergroups. By using the concept of bipolar ( , -fuzzy sets (Yaqoob and Ansari, 2013, we introduce the notion of bipolar ( , -fuzzy sub -semihypergroups (-hyperideals and bi--hyperideals and discuss some basic results on bipolar ( , -fuzzy sets in -semihypergroups. Furthermore, we define the bipolar fuzzy subset ,               and prove that if  ,       is a bipolar ( , -fuzzy sub -semihypergroup (resp., -hyperideal and bi--hyperideal of H; then ,               is also a bipolar ( , -fuzzy sub -semihypergroup (resp., -hyperideal and bi--hyperideal of H.

Estimating the relevance of world disturbances to explain savings, interference and long-term motor adaptation effects.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Max Berniker

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Recent studies suggest that motor adaptation is the result of multiple, perhaps linear processes each with distinct time scales. While these models are consistent with some motor phenomena, they can neither explain the relatively fast re-adaptation after a long washout period, nor savings on a subsequent day. Here we examined if these effects can be explained if we assume that the CNS stores and retrieves movement parameters based on their possible relevance. We formalize this idea with a model that infers not only the sources of potential motor errors, but also their relevance to the current motor circumstances. In our model adaptation is the process of re-estimating parameters that represent the body and the world. The likelihood of a world parameter being relevant is then based on the mismatch between an observed movement and that predicted when not compensating for the estimated world disturbance. As such, adapting to large motor errors in a laboratory setting should alert subjects that disturbances are being imposed on them, even after motor performance has returned to baseline. Estimates of this external disturbance should be relevant both now and in future laboratory settings. Estimated properties of our bodies on the other hand should always be relevant. Our model demonstrates savings, interference, spontaneous rebound and differences between adaptation to sudden and gradual disturbances. We suggest that many issues concerning savings and interference can be understood when adaptation is conditioned on the relevance of parameters.

Personalized Education Approaches for Chemical Engineering and Relevant Majors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Feng-qing

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Personalized education has drawn increasing attention in universities these years. With the purpose of improving the studentss’ comprehensive ability and developing teaching strategies to ensure students’ education is tailored to their needs, we proposed Three-Stage Approach (TSA to enhance personalized education for chemical engineering and relevant majors: professional tutorial system--equipping with professional guidance teachers for freshman students to guide their learning activities and provide professional guidance; open experimental project--setting up open experimental projects for sophomore and junior students to choose freely; individualized education module--setting up 10 different individualized education modules for senior students to select. After years of practice, the personalized education model is improved day by day and proved effective and fruitful.

Improved diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease by combining regional cortical thickness and default mode network functional connectivity: Validated in the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative set

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Ji Eun; Park, Bum Woo; Kim, Sang Joon; Kim, Ho Sung; Choi, Choong Gon; Jung, Seung Jung; Oh, Joo Young; Shim, Woo Hyun; Lee, Jae Hong; Roh, Jee Hoon

2017-01-01

To identify potential imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease by combining brain cortical thickness (CThk) and functional connectivity and to validate this model's diagnostic accuracy in a validation set. Data from 98 subjects was retrospectively reviewed, including a study set (n = 63) and a validation set from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (n = 35). From each subject, data for CThk and functional connectivity of the default mode network was extracted from structural T1-weighted and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Cortical regions with significant differences between patients and healthy controls in the correlation of CThk and functional connectivity were identified in the study set. The diagnostic accuracy of functional connectivity measures combined with CThk in the identified regions was evaluated against that in the medial temporal lobes using the validation set and application of a support vector machine. Group-wise differences in the correlation of CThk and default mode network functional connectivity were identified in the superior temporal (p < 0.001) and supramarginal gyrus (p = 0.007) of the left cerebral hemisphere. Default mode network functional connectivity combined with the CThk of those two regions were more accurate than that combined with the CThk of both medial temporal lobes (91.7% vs. 75%). Combining functional information with CThk of the superior temporal and supramarginal gyri in the left cerebral hemisphere improves diagnostic accuracy, making it a potential imaging biomarker for Alzheimer's disease

Citations and references as keys to relevance ranking in interactive IR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ingwersen, Peter

2012-01-01

According to the principle of Polyrepresentation (Ingwersen & Järvelin, 2005; Ingwersen, 2012) bibliographic references in scientific documents as well as citations to documents have the potential of serving as useful features for re-ranking of retrieved documents. References (and thus citations...... been demonstrated to improve retrieval performance (Skov et al. 2008), whereas the number of citations has not provided similar improvements. The presentation will discuss the following phenomena and characteristics of references and citations as means for relevance re-ranking: 1) Are academic...... references (and thus citations) associated with relevance? 2) What are their potentials for IR? 3) What are their limitations? The presentation will propose a range of potentials and provide an initial research design. Selected cases are exemplified from the Web of Science database....

Multiattribute perceptual mapping with idiosyncratic brand and attribute sets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

T.H.A. Bijmolt (Tammo); M. van de Velden (Michel)

2012-01-01

textabstractThis article proposes an extremely flexible procedure for perceptual mapping based on multiattribute ratings, such that the respondent freely generates sets of both brands and attributes. Therefore, the brands and attributes are known and relevant to each participant. Collecting and

New Markets in Heuvelland: coalition building and agenda setting

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stoep, van der H.; Aarts, M.N.C.

2010-01-01

In this chapter we reflect on the new markets initiatives in the rural-urban region of Heuvelland in the Netherlands. More specifically, we analyse whether and how these mainly private initiatives developed an agenda setting capacity for sustainable regional development. Towards regiobranding

User perspectives on relevance criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maglaughlin, Kelly L.; Sonnenwald, Diane H.

2002-01-01

, partially relevant, or not relevant to their information need; and explained their decisions in an interview. Analysis revealed 29 criteria, discussed positively and negatively, that were used by the participants when selecting passages that contributed or detracted from a document's relevance......This study investigates the use of criteria to assess relevant, partially relevant, and not-relevant documents. Study participants identified passages within 20 document representations that they used to make relevance judgments; judged each document representation as a whole to be relevant...... matter, thought catalyst), full text (e.g., audience, novelty, type, possible content, utility), journal/publisher (e.g., novelty, main focus, perceived quality), and personal (e.g., competition, time requirements). Results further indicate that multiple criteria are used when making relevant, partially...

EVIDENCE FROM THE GERMAN CAPITAL MARKET REGARDING THE VALUE RELEVANCE OF CONSOLIDATED VERSUS PARENT COMPANY FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muller Victor - Octavian

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Financial statements main objective is to give information on the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of the reporting entity, which is useful to investors and other users in making economic decisions. In order to be useful, financial information needs to be relevant to the decision-making process of users in general, and investors in particular. Hence, the following question arises logically which of the two sets best serves the information needs of investors (and other categories of users, respectively which of the two sets is more relevant for investors? Of course, the possibility of both sets at the same time best serving the information needs should not be ruled out. In our scientific endeavor we conducted an empirical association study on the problem of market value relevance of consolidated financial statements and of individual financial statements of the parent company, searching for an answer to the above question. In this sense, we analyze the absolute and relative market value relevance of consolidated accounting information of listed companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (one of the largest three stock markets in the European Union between 2003 and 2008. Through this empirical study we intend to contribute to the relatively limited literature on this topic with a comparative time analysis of the absolute and incremental relevance of financial information supplied by the two categories of financial statements (group and individual. The results obtained indicate a statistically significant superiority of the relevance of consolidated statements (in detriment of individual ones. However, we could not statistically prove a superior value relevance of information provided together by consolidated and parent company financial statements as opposed to consolidated information. On the one hand, these results prove the importance (usefulness of consolidated financial statements especially for investors on

Setting health research priorities using the CHNRI method: VII. A review of the first 50 applications of the CHNRI method.

Science.gov (United States)

Rudan, Igor; Yoshida, Sachiyo; Chan, Kit Yee; Sridhar, Devi; Wazny, Kerri; Nair, Harish; Sheikh, Aziz; Tomlinson, Mark; Lawn, Joy E; Bhutta, Zulfiqar A; Bahl, Rajiv; Chopra, Mickey; Campbell, Harry; El Arifeen, Shams; Black, Robert E; Cousens, Simon

2017-06-01

Several recent reviews of the methods used to set research priorities have identified the CHNRI method (acronym derived from the "Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative") as an approach that clearly became popular and widely used over the past decade. In this paper we review the first 50 examples of application of the CHNRI method, published between 2007 and 2016, and summarize the most important messages that emerged from those experiences. We conducted a literature review to identify the first 50 examples of application of the CHNRI method in chronological order. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed and so-called grey literature. Initially, between 2007 and 2011, the CHNRI method was mainly used for setting research priorities to address global child health issues, although the first cases of application outside this field (eg, mental health, disabilities and zoonoses) were also recorded. Since 2012 the CHNRI method was used more widely, expanding into the topics such as adolescent health, dementia, national health policy and education. The majority of the exercises were focused on issues that were only relevant to low- and middle-income countries, and national-level applications are on the rise. The first CHNRI-based articles adhered to the five recommended priority-setting criteria, but by 2016 more than two-thirds of all conducted exercises departed from recommendations, modifying the CHNRI method to suit each particular exercise. This was done not only by changing the number of criteria used, but also by introducing some entirely new criteria (eg, "low cost", "sustainability", "acceptability", "feasibility", "relevance" and others). The popularity of the CHNRI method in setting health research priorities can be attributed to several key conceptual advances that have addressed common concerns. The method is systematic in nature, offering an acceptable framework for handling many research questions. It is also transparent and replicable, because it

The TeleTOP initiative: new learning, new technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Collis, Betty

2002-01-01

In response to the challenge to make learning more flexible while at the same time maintaining the positive qualities of classroom and campus-based settings, the TeleTOP Initiative at the University of Twente has grown from a faculty initiative to an internationally recognised Web-based learning

The Potential of Computer-Based Expert Systems for Special Educators in Rural Settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Parry, James D.; Ferrara, Joseph M.

Knowledge-based expert computer systems are addressing issues relevant to all special educators, but are particularly relevant in rural settings where human experts are less available because of distance and cost. An expert system is an application of artificial intelligence (AI) that typically engages the user in a dialogue resembling the…

Identification of ICF categories relevant for nursing in the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Martin; Boldt, Christine; Grill, Eva; Strobl, Ralf; Stucki, Gerold

2008-01-01

Background The recovery of patients after an acute episode of illness or injury depends both on adequate medical treatment and on the early identification of needs for rehabilitation care. The process of early beginning rehabilitation requires efficient communication both between health professionals and the patient in order to effectively address all rehabilitation goals. The currently used nursing taxonomies, however, are not intended for interdisciplinary use and thus may not contribute to efficient rehabilitation management and an optimal patient outcome. The ICF might be the missing link in this communication process. The objective of this study was to identify the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) categories relevant for nursing care in the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation. Methods First, in a consensus process, "Leistungserfassung in der Pflege" (LEP) nursing interventions relevant for the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation were selected. Second, in an integrated two-step linking process, two nursing experts derived goals of LEP nursing interventions from their practical knowledge and selected corresponding ICF categories most relevant for patients in acute and post-acute rehabilitation (ICF Core Sets). Results Eighty-seven percent of ICF Core Set categories could be linked to goals of at least one nursing intervention variable of LEP. The ICF categories most frequently linked with LEP nursing interventions were respiration functions, experience of self and time functions and focusing attention. Thirteen percent of ICF Core Set categories could not be linked with LEP nursing interventions. The LEP nursing interventions which were linked with the highest number of different ICF-categories of all were "therapeutic intervention", "patient-nurse communication/information giving" and "mobilising". Conclusion The ICF Core Sets for the acute hospital and early post

Identification of ICF categories relevant for nursing in the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Strobl Ralf

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The recovery of patients after an acute episode of illness or injury depends both on adequate medical treatment and on the early identification of needs for rehabilitation care. The process of early beginning rehabilitation requires efficient communication both between health professionals and the patient in order to effectively address all rehabilitation goals. The currently used nursing taxonomies, however, are not intended for interdisciplinary use and thus may not contribute to efficient rehabilitation management and an optimal patient outcome. The ICF might be the missing link in this communication process. The objective of this study was to identify the categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF categories relevant for nursing care in the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation. Methods First, in a consensus process, "Leistungserfassung in der Pflege" (LEP nursing interventions relevant for the situation of acute and early post-acute rehabilitation were selected. Second, in an integrated two-step linking process, two nursing experts derived goals of LEP nursing interventions from their practical knowledge and selected corresponding ICF categories most relevant for patients in acute and post-acute rehabilitation (ICF Core Sets. Results Eighty-seven percent of ICF Core Set categories could be linked to goals of at least one nursing intervention variable of LEP. The ICF categories most frequently linked with LEP nursing interventions were respiration functions, experience of self and time functions and focusing attention. Thirteen percent of ICF Core Set categories could not be linked with LEP nursing interventions. The LEP nursing interventions which were linked with the highest number of different ICF-categories of all were "therapeutic intervention", "patient-nurse communication/information giving" and "mobilising". Conclusion The ICF Core Sets for the acute

Initial verification of an induction heating set-up for injection molding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Menotti, Stefano; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard; Bissacco, Giuliano

2013-01-01

Molding of thin and long parts by injection molding leads to special requirements for the mold in order to ensure proper filling and acceptable cycle time. This paper investigates the applicability of embedded induction heating for the improvement of the filling of thin long parts. The object...... selected for the investigation is a thin spiral. For the complete molding of the component, elevated mold temperatures are required. For this propose a new injection molding set-up was developed, which allows rapid heating of the cavity wall by an induction heating system. The temperature was measured...

Selection of relevant dietary indicators for health.

Science.gov (United States)

Steingrímsdóttir, L; Ovesen, L; Moreiras, O; Jacob, S

2002-05-01

To define a set of dietary components that are relevant determinants for health in Europe. The selected components are intended to serve as nutrition indicators for health in the European Health Monitoring Programme and, as such, must be limited in number, relevant to health in Europe and practical for all involved countries with respect to data gathering and comparability of data. Major nutrition factors were determined by reviewing relevant epidemiological and clinical literature in nutrition and health as well as referring to reports from international expert groups, including the report from the project Nutrition and Diet for Healthy Lifestyles in Europe. The selection of factors was also based on the relative ease and cost involved for participating countries to obtain comparable and valid data. The selected factors include foods or food groups as well as individual nutrients. Biomarkers are suggested for selected nutrients that pose the greatest difficulty in obtaining valid and comparable data from dietary studies. The following list of diet indicators for health monitoring in Europe was agreed upon by the EFCOSUM group in 2001, in order of priority: vegetables, fruit, bread, fish, saturated fatty acids as percentage of energy (%E), total fat as %E, and ethanol in grams per day. Biomarkers were suggested for the following nutrients: folate, vitamin D, iron, iodine and sodium. Energy has to be assessed in order to calculate %E from total fat and saturated fatty acids.

Renal impairment in HIV-infected patients initiating tenofovir-containing antiretroviral therapy regimens in a Primary Healthcare Setting in South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamkuemah, Monika; Kaplan, Richard; Bekker, Linda-Gail; Little, Francesca; Myer, Landon

2015-04-01

Long-term use of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate is associated with declines in glomerular function and chronic kidney disease in HIV-infected patients. We aimed to assess the prevalence and incidence of renal impairment in a primary care setting in sub-Saharan Africa. We analysed data from 1092 HIV-infected patients initiating tenofovir at a primary care clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. Renal function was assessed for the first 12 months on ART by estimating glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculated using the Cockroft-Gault equation categorised into normal, mild, moderate and severe reduction in renal function based on values >90, 60-89, 30-59 and <30 ml/min/1.73 m(2) , respectively. Associations were assessed using logistic regression, and average GFR trajectory over time was modelled using linear mixed-effects models. The cohort consisted of 62% women; median age was 34 years (IQR 29; 41 years). The majority had normal renal function pre-ART (79%), 19% had mildly reduced GFR, and 2% had moderate renal impairment. Older age, more advanced WHO stage and anaemia were independently associated with prevalent renal impairment. On average, estimated glomerular function improved over the first year on tenofovir [1.10 ml/min/1.73 m(2) average increase over 12 months (95% CI: 0.80; 1.40)]. Male gender, anaemia and immunosuppression (WHO Stage III/IV and CD4 cell counts <100 cells/mm(3) ) were associated with lower average eGFR levels over time. Overall, 3% developed eGFR <50 ml/min/1.73 m(2) during this period. Serum creatinine tests conducted before 4 months on ART had low predictive value for predicting change in eGFR after a year on ART. Generally, renal function improved in HIV-infected adults initiating ART in this primary healthcare setting during the first year on ART. While monitoring of renal function is recommended in the first 4 months on ART, renal impairment appears uncommon during the first 12 months of tenofovir-containing ART in primary

Diagnosing congenital malaria in a high-transmission setting: clinical relevance and usefulness of P.falciparum HRP2-based testing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Natama, Hamtandi Magloire; Ouedraogo, Delwendé Florence; Sorgho, Hermann; Rovira-Vallbona, Eduard; Serra-Casas, Elisa; Somé, M. Athanase; Coulibaly-Traoré, Maminata; Mens, Petra F.; Kestens, Luc; Tinto, Halidou; Rosanas-Urgell, Anna

2017-01-01

Congenital malaria diagnosis is challenging due to frequently observed low parasite density infections, while their clinical relevance during early infancy is not well characterized. In Nanoro health district (Burkina Faso), we determined the prevalence of congenital malaria by real-time

Multiattribute perceptual mapping with idiosyncratic brand and attribute sets

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bijmolt, Tammo H. A.; van de Velden, Michel

This article proposes an extremely flexible procedure for perceptual mapping based on multiattribute ratings, such that the respondent freely generates sets of both brands and attributes. Therefore, the brands and attributes are known and relevant to each participant. Collecting and analyzing such

NASIS data base management system - IBM 360/370 OS MVT implementation. 3: Data set specifications

Science.gov (United States)

1973-01-01

The data set specifications for the NASA Aerospace Safety Information System (NASIS) are presented. The data set specifications describe the content, format, and medium of communication of every data set required by the system. All relevant information pertinent to a particular set is prepared in a standard form and centralized in a single document. The format for the data set is provided.

Default settings of computerized physician order entry system order sets drive ordering habits.

Science.gov (United States)

Olson, Jordan; Hollenbeak, Christopher; Donaldson, Keri; Abendroth, Thomas; Castellani, William

2015-01-01

Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems are quickly becoming ubiquitous, and groups of orders ("order sets") to allow for easy order input are a common feature. This provides a streamlined mechanism to view, modify, and place groups of related orders. This often serves as an electronic equivalent of a specialty requisition. A characteristic, of these order sets is that specific orders can be predetermined to be "preselected" or "defaulted-on" whenever the order set is used while others are "optional" or "defaulted-off" (though there is typically the option is to "deselect" defaulted-on tests in a given situation). While it seems intuitive that the defaults in an order set are often accepted, additional study is required to understand the impact of these "default" settings in an order set on ordering habits. This study set out to quantify the effect of changing the default settings of an order set. For quality improvement purposes, order sets dealing with transfusions were recently reviewed and modified to improve monitoring of outcome. Initially, the order for posttransfusion hematocrits and platelet count had the default setting changed from "optional" to "preselected." The default settings for platelet count was later changed back to "optional," allowing for a natural experiment to study the effect of the default selections of an order set on clinician ordering habits. Posttransfusion hematocrit values were ordered for 8.3% of red cell transfusions when the default order set selection was "off" and for 57.4% of transfusions when the default selection was "preselected" (P default order set selection was "optional," increased to 59.4% when the default was changed to "preselected" (P default selection was returned to "optional." The posttransfusion platelet count rates during the two "optional" periods: 7.0% versus 7.5% - were not statistically different (P = 0.620). Default settings in CPOE order sets can significantly influence physician selection of

The shear-free condition and constant-mean-curvature hyperboloidal initial data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, Paul T; Allen, Iva Stavrov; Isenberg, James; Lee, John M

2016-01-01

We consider the Einstein–Maxwell-fluid constraint equations, and make use of the conformal method to construct and parametrize constant-mean-curvature hyperboloidal initial data sets that satisfy the shear-free condition. This condition is known to be necessary in order that a spacetime development admit a regular conformal boundary at future null infinity; see (Andersson and Chruściel 1994 Commun. Math. Phys. 161 533–68). We work with initial data sets in a variety of regularity classes, primarily considering those data sets whose geometries are weakly asymptotically hyperbolic , as defined in (Allen et al 2015 arXiv:1506.03399). These metrics are C 1,1 conformally compact, but not necessarily C 2 conformally compact. In order to ensure that the data sets we construct are indeed shear-free, we make use of the conformally covariant traceless Hessian introduced in (Allen et al 2015 arXiv:1506.03399). We furthermore construct a class of initial data sets with weakly asymptotically hyerbolic metrics that may be only C 0,1 conformally compact; these data sets are insufficiently regular to make sense of the shear-free condition. (paper)

Employment and risk of injection drug use initiation among street involved youth in Canadian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Lindsey; DeBeck, Kora; Feng, Cindy; Kerr, Thomas; Wood, Evan

2014-09-01

Youth unemployment has been associated with labour market and health disparities. However, employment as a determinant of high-risk health behaviour among marginalized young people has not been well described. We sought to assess a potential relationship between employment status and initiation of intravenous drug use among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth. We followed injecting naïve youth in the At-Risk Youth Study, a cohort of street-involved youth aged 14-26 in Vancouver, Canada, and employed Cox regression analyses to examine whether employment was associated with injection initiation. Among 422 injecting naïve youth recruited between September 2005 and November 2011, 77 participants transitioned from non-injection to injection drug use, for an incidence density of 10.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.0-12.6) per 100 person years. Results demonstrating that employment was inversely associated with injection initiation (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.33-0.85) were robust to adjustment for a range of potential confounders. A lack of employment among street-involved youth was associated with the initiation of injection drug use, a practice that predisposes individuals to serious long-term health consequences. Future research should examine if reducing barriers to labour market involvement among street-involved youth prevents transitions into high-risk drug use. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT): initial experience in a clinical setting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skaane, Per; Gullien, Randi; Eben, Ellen B.; Haakenaasen, Unni; Naess Jebsen, Ingvild; Krager, Mona; Bjoerndal, Hilde; Ekseth, Ulrika; Jahr, Gunnar

2012-01-01

Background: Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a promising new technology. Some experimental clinical studies have shown positive results, but the future role and indications of this new technique, whether in a screening or clinical setting, need to be evaluated. Purpose: To compare digital mammography and DBT in a side-by-side feature analysis for cancer conspicuity, and to assess whether there is a potential additional value of DBT to standard state-of-the-art conventional imaging work-up with respect to detection of additional malignancies. Material and Methods: The study had ethics committee approval. A total of 129 women underwent 2D digital mammography including supplementary cone-down and magnification views and breast ultrasonography if indicated, as well as digital breast tomosynthesis. The indication for conventional imaging in the clinical setting included a palpable lump in 30 (23%), abnormal mammographic screening findings in 54 (42%), and surveillance in 45 (35%) of the women. The women were examined according to present guidelines, including spot-magnification views, ultrasonography, and needle biopsies, if indicated. The DBT examinations were interpreted several weeks after the conventional imaging without knowledge of the conventional imaging findings. In a later session, three radiologists performed a side-by-side feature analysis for cancer conspicuity in a sample of 50 cases. Results: State-of-the-art conventional imaging resulted in needle biopsy of 45 breasts, of which 20 lesions were benign and a total of 25 cancers were diagnosed. The remaining 84 women were dismissed with a normal/definitely benign finding and without indication for needle biopsy. The subsequent DBT interpretation found suspicious findings in four of these 84 women, and these four women had to be called back for repeated work-up with knowledge of the tomosynthesis findings. These delayed work-ups resulted in two cancers (increasing the cancer detection by 8%) and two

Blocking Avoidance and Escape Responses: Relations With Clinically Relevant Behaviors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juliana Maria Bubna Popovitz

Full Text Available Abstract: The current study aims to evaluate the possible effects of interrupting problematic clinically relevant behaviors on the percentage of these responses and of clinical improvement-related responses. Two clients were treated with Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP, alternating two conditions (ABAB. On condition A, procedures to the therapist consisted of responding to the clinical improvement responses, and to description of outside of therapeutic setting behaviors, but therapists were advised to ignore problem behaviors emitted in session. During condition B, therapists followed the same procedures, but they were oriented to block (interrupt problematic responses emitted in session. Results suggest increase in the percentage of problem behaviors during condition B. Results are discussed, highlighting the viability of planning the contingent response the therapist emits to clinically relevant behaviors.

Invariant set computation for constrained uncertain discrete-time systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Athanasopoulos, N.; Bitsoris, G.

2010-01-01

In this article a novel approach to the determination of polytopic invariant sets for constrained discrete-time linear uncertain systems is presented. First, the problem of stabilizing a prespecified initial condition set in the presence of input and state constraints is addressed. Second, the

Gibberellin Application at Pre-Bloom in Grapevines Down-Regulates the Expressions of VvIAA9 and VvARF7, Negative Regulators of Fruit Set Initiation, during Parthenocarpic Fruit Development

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Chan Jin; Hur, Youn Young; Yu, Hee-Ju; Noh, Jung-Ho; Park, Kyo-Sun; Lee, Hee Jae

2014-01-01

Fruit set is initiated only after fertilization and is tightly regulated primarily by gibberellins (GAs) and auxins. The application of either of these hormones induces parthenocarpy, fruit set without fertilization, but the molecular mechanism underlying this induction is poorly understood. In the present study, we have shown that the parthenocarpic fruits induced by GA application at pre-bloom result from the interaction of GA with auxin signaling. The transcriptional levels of the putative negative regulators of fruit set initiation, including Vitis auxin/indole-3-acetic acid transcription factor 9 (VvIAA9), Vitis auxin response factor 7 (VvARF7), and VvARF8 were monitored during inflorescence development in seeded diploid ‘Tamnara’ grapevines with or without GA application. Without GA application, VvIAA9, VvARF7, and VvARF8 were expressed at a relatively high level before full bloom, but decreased thereafter following pollination. After GA application at 14 days before full bloom (DBF); however, the expression levels of VvIAA9 and VvARF7 declined at 5 DBF prior to pollination. The effects of GA application on auxin levels or auxin signaling were also analyzed by monitoring the expression patterns of auxin biosynthesis genes and auxin-responsive genes with or without GA application. Transcription levels of the auxin biosynthesis genes Vitis anthranilate synthase β subunit (VvASB1-like), Vitis YUCCA2 (VvYUC2), and VvYUC6 were not significantly changed by GA application. However, the expressions of Vitis Gretchen Hagen3.2 (VvGH3.2) and VvGH3.3, auxin-responsive genes, were up-regulated from 2 DBF to full bloom with GA application. Furthermore, the Vitis GA signaling gene, VvDELLA was up-regulated by GA application during 12 DBF to 7 DBF, prior to down-regulation of VvIAA9 and VvARF7. These results suggest that VvIAA9 and VvARF7 are negative regulators of fruit set initiation in grapevines, and GA signaling is integrated with auxin signaling via VvDELLA during

Stakeholder views on criteria and processes for priority setting in Norway: a qualitative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aidem, Jeremy M

2017-06-01

Since 2013, Norway has engaged in political processes to revise criteria for priority setting. These processes have yielded key efficiency and equity criteria, but excluded potentially relevant social values. This study describes the views of 27 stakeholders in Norway's health system regarding a wider set of priority-setting criteria and procedural characteristics. Between January and February 2016, semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of policymakers, hospital administrators, practitioners, university students and seniors. Improving health among low-socioeconomic-status groups was considered an important policy objective: some favored giving more priority to diseases affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, and some believed inequalities in health could be more effectively addressed outside the health sector. Age was not widely accepted as an independent criterion, but deemed relevant as an indicator of capacity to benefit, cost-effectiveness and health loss. Cost-effectiveness, severity and health-loss measures were judged relevant to policymaking, but cost-effectiveness and health loss were considered less influential to clinical decision-making. Public engagement was seen as essential yet complicated by media and stakeholder pressures. This study highlights how views on the relevance and implementation of criteria can vary significantly according to the health system level being evaluated. Further, the findings suggest that giving priority to socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and reducing inequalities in health may be relevant preferences not captured in recent policy proposals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Decoupling in an expanding universe boundary RG-flow affects initial conditions for inflation

CERN Document Server

Schalm, K; Van der Schaar, J P; Schalm, Koenraad; Shiu, Gary; Schaar, Jan Pieter van der

2004-01-01

We study decoupling in FRW spacetimes, emphasizing a Lagrangian description throughout. To account for the vacuum choice ambiguity in cosmological settings, we introduce an arbitrary boundary action representing the initial conditions. RG flow in these spacetimes naturally affects the boundary interactions. As a consequence the boundary conditions are sensitive to high-energy physics through irrelevant terms in the boundary action. Using scalar field theory as an example, we derive the leading dimension four irrelevant boundary operators. We discuss how the known vacuum choices, e.g. the Bunch-Davies vacuum, appear in the Lagrangian description and square with decoupling. For all choices of boundary conditions encoded by relevant boundary operators, of which the known ones are a subset, backreaction is under control. All, moreover, will generically feel the influence of high-energy physics through irrelevant (dimension four) boundary corrections. Having established a coherent effective field theory framework ...

Video self-modeling in children with autism: a pilot study validating prerequisite skills and extending the utilization of VSM across skill sets.

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Robert L; Casey, Laura B; Robertson, Janna Siegel; Buggey, Tom

2013-01-01

Given the recent interest in the use of video self-modeling (VSM) to provide instruction within iPod apps and other pieces of handheld mobile assistive technologies, investigating appropriate prerequisite skills for effective use of this intervention is particularly timely and relevant. To provide additional information regarding the efficacy of VSM for students with autism and to provide insights into any possible prerequisite skills students may require for such efficacy, the authors investigated the use of VSM in increasing the instances of effective initiations of interpersonal greetings for three students with autism that exhibited different pre-intervention abilities. Results showed that only one of the three participants showed an increase in self-initiated greetings following the viewing of videos edited to show each participant self-modeling a greeting when entering his or her classroom. Due to the differences in initial skill sets between the three children, this finding supports anecdotally observed student prerequisite abilities mentioned in previous studies that may be required to effectively utilize video based teaching methods.

Evaluating the Credibility of Transport Processes in Simulations of Ozone Recovery using the Global Modeling Initiative Three-dimensional Model

Science.gov (United States)

Strahan, Susan E.; Douglass, Anne R.

2004-01-01

The Global Modeling Initiative (GMI) has integrated two 36-year simulations of an ozone recovery scenario with an offline chemistry and tra nsport model using two different meteorological inputs. Physically ba sed diagnostics, derived from satellite and aircraft data sets, are d escribed and then used to evaluate the realism of temperature and transport processes in the simulations. Processes evaluated include barri er formation in the subtropics and polar regions, and extratropical w ave-driven transport. Some diagnostics are especially relevant to sim ulation of lower stratospheric ozone, but most are applicable to any stratospheric simulation. The global temperature evaluation, which is relevant to gas phase chemical reactions, showed that both sets of me teorological fields have near climatological values at all latitudes and seasons at 30 hPa and below. Both simulations showed weakness in upper stratospheric wave driving. The simulation using input from a g eneral circulation model (GMI(GCM)) showed a very good residual circulation in the tropics and Northern Hemisphere. The simulation with inp ut from a data assimilation system (GMI(DAS)) performed better in the midlatitudes than it did at high latitudes. Neither simulation forms a realistic barrier at the vortex edge, leading to uncertainty in the fate of ozone-depleted vortex air. Overall, tracer transport in the offline GML(GCM) has greater fidelity throughout the stratosphere tha n it does in the GMI(DAS)

The relevance of music information representation metadata from the perspective of expert users

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Monteiro de Barros

Full Text Available The general goal of this research was to verify which metadata elements of music information representation are relevant for its retrieval from the perspective of expert music users. Based on a bibliographical research, a comprehensive metadata set of music information representation was developed and transformed into a questionnaire for data collection, which was applied to students and professors of the Graduate Program in Music at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. The results show that the most relevant information for expert music users is related to identification and authorship responsibilities. The respondents from Composition and Interpretative Practice areas agree with these results, while the respondents from Musicology/Ethnomusicology and Music Education areas also consider the metadata related to the historical context of composition relevant.

Recommendations for secure initialization routines in operating systems

OpenAIRE

Dodge, Catherine A.

2004-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution in unlimited. While a necessity of all operating systems, the code that initializes a system can be notoriously difficult to understand. This thesis explores the most common architectures used for bringing an operating system to its initial state, once the operating system gains control from the boot loader. Specifically, the ways in which the OpenBSD and Linux operating systems handle initialization are dissected. With this understanding, a set ...

"I was in the darkness but the group brought me light": Development, relevance and feasibility of the Sondela HIV adjustment and coping intervention.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nwabisa Shai

Full Text Available Developing interventions that address psychosocial wellbeing of people living with HIV is critical to ensure strong linkages to and retention in HIV care. This paper describes the development of Sondela, an HIV adjustment and coping intervention for heterosexual men and women living with HIV, and its relevance and feasibility in the South African context. Sondela is a six three-hour, small group-based, participatory workshop series. We followed an iterative, multi-phased process of curriculum development that involved research, theoretical frameworks and piloting. A systematic review highlighted the absence of psychosocial interventions targeting heterosexual HIV positive populations living in high HIV prevalence and resource-poor settings. Formative studies demonstrated risk and social factors associated with adjustment and coping with HIV, emphasising the need for interventions that acknowledge gendered experiences. Our pilot of Sondela demonstrated high levels of relevance and feasibility. Men appreciated the workshop "space" to openly talk about their HIV positive status and what is means for their role as partners and fathers and friends. Women valued the skills and approaches because they were relevant to "real life" situations and not just about HIV. Sondela promises to be valuable in supporting health system initiatives and psychosocial support to strengthen linkages to and retention in HIV care, and this suggests a need for rigorous evaluation of Sondela to establish evidence for its effectiveness in a general population.

The telephone effect: Overcoming initiation deficits in two settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Vickers, Kayci L; Keesler, Michael E; Williams, Kelli S; Charles, Jeremy Y; Hamilton, Roy H

2018-04-19

Disorders of motivation substantially impair an individual's ability to communicate with their families, therapists, and doctors. One method of overcoming initiation deficits is by utilizing the telephone effect, which is the ability for individuals with severe motivation deficits to communicate more readily when speaking on a telephone. However, little is available in the extant literature on how this effect works or how best to integrate this into patient care. This article aims to provide the first report of a proposed mechanism underlying the telephone effect and the first published procedures for eliciting this effect. This is largely a review article that also contains descriptions of clinical procedures for eliciting the telephone effect with 2 patient populations: acute inpatients following brain injury and dementia residents. A case vignette is also provided. We propose that the telephone effect is the result of an interaction between the patient and environment, and occurs because of Gibson's (1979) law of affordances. The use of this theory provides an explanation of the behaviors often observed when attempting to elicit this effect (i.e., disruption of the effect when using a cellular phone). Moreover, we argue that this can, and does, apply to social interactions as well. The telephone effect is an understudied phenomenon that provides a means of improving care for individuals with disorders of motivation. Future directions include systematic research into the telephone effect and further investigation of the mechanism underlying this effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Priority setting for existing chemicals : automated data selection routine

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Haelst, A.G. van; Hansen, B.G.

2000-01-01

One of the four steps within Council Regulation 793/93/EEC on the evaluation and control of existing chemicals is the priority setting step. The priority setting step is concerned with selecting high-priority substances from a large number of substances, initially starting with 2,474

Cost-Cutting in Higher Education: Lessons Learned from Collaboration, Technology, and Outsourcing Initiatives. Draft.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaganoff, Tessa

This document presents a review of cost-containment initiatives relevant to higher education institutions. Originally commissioned to examine cost containment initiatives carried out by institutions affiliated with the Foundation for Independent Higher Education (FIHE), the paper was expanded to include a sector-wide review of three types of…

Teachers' Self-Initiated Professional Learning through Personal Learning Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Tour, Ekaterina

2017-01-01

It is widely acknowledged that to be able to teach language and literacy with digital technologies, teachers need to engage in relevant professional learning. Existing formal models of professional learning are often criticised for being ineffective. In contrast, informal and self-initiated forms of learning have been recently recognised as…

RELEVANCE OF RELIGIOUS LEADER ENGAGEMENT FOR THE AIR FORCE CHAPLAIN CORPS

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-01

organizations. They are ordained religious leaders who have been set them aside to do sacred works. Furthermore, as Navy Chaplain George Adams writes...AU/ACSC/CHAE, C/AY16 AIR COMMAND AND STAFF COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY RELEVANCE OF RELIGIOUS LEADER ENGAGEMENT FOR THE...agent of Religious Leader Engagement on deployments in an informal manner. As the nature of warfare continues to evolve toward a non-traditional

Sequential Versus Simultaneous Market Delineation: The Relevant Antitrust Market for Salmon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haldrup, Niels; Peter, Møllgaard

Delineation of the relevant market forms a pivotal part of most antitrust cases. The standard approach is sequential. First the product market is delineated, then the geographical market is defined. Demand andsupply substitution in both the product dimension and the geographical dimension will no...... and geographical markets. Using a unique data set for prices of Norwegian and Scottish salmon, we propose a methodology for simultaneous market delineation and we demonstrate that compared to a sequential approach conclusions will be reversed.......Delineation of the relevant market forms a pivotal part of most antitrust cases. The standard approach is sequential. First the product market is delineated, then the geographical market is defined. Demand andsupply substitution in both the product dimension and the geographical dimension...

Positive patch test reactions to oxidized limonene: exposure and relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Bråred Christensson, Johanna; Andersen, Klaus E; Bruze, Magnus; Johansen, Jeanne D; Garcia-Bravo, Begoña; Gimenez Arnau, Ana; Goh, Chee-Leok; Nixon, Rosemary; White, Ian R

2014-11-01

R-Limonene is a common fragrance terpene found in domestic and industrial products. R-Limonene autoxidizes on air exposure, and the oxidation products can cause contact allergy. In a recent multicentre study, 5.2% (range 2.3-12.1%) of 2900 patients showed a positive patch test reaction to oxidized R-limonene. To study the exposure to limonene among consecutive dermatitis patients reacting to oxidized R-limonene in an international setting, and to assess the relevance of the exposure for the patients' dermatitis. Oxidized R-limonene 3.0% (containing limonene hydroperoxides at 0.33%) in petrolatum was tested in 2900 consecutive dermatitis patients in Australia, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden. A questionnaire assessing exposure to limonene-containing products was completed. Overall, exposure to products containing limonene was found and assessed as being probably relevant for the patients' dermatitis in 36% of the limonene-allergic patients. In Barcelona and Copenhagen, > 70% of the patients were judged to have had an exposure to limonene assessed as relevant. Oxidized R-limonene is a common fragrance allergen, and limonene was frequently found in the labelling on the patients' products, and assessed as relevant for the patients' dermatitis. A large number of domestic and occupational sources for contact with R-limonene were identified. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Using an Integrated Naive Bayes Calssifier for Crawling Relevent Data on the Web

Science.gov (United States)

Mihsra, A.

2015-12-01

In our experiments (at JPL, NASA) for DARPA Memex project, we wanted to crawl a large amount of data for various domains. A big challenge was data relevancy in the crawled data. More than 50% of the data was irrelevant to the domain at hand. One immediate solution was to use good seeds (seeds are the initial urls from where the program starts to crawl) and make sure that the crawl remains into the original host urls. This although a very efficient technique, fails under two conditions. One when you aim to reach deeper into the web; into new hosts (not in the seed list) and two when the website hosts myriad content types eg. a News website.The relevancy calculation used to be a post processing step i.e. once we had finished crawling, we trained a NaiveBayes Classifier and used it to find a rough relevancy of the web pages that we had. Integrating the relevancy into the crawling rather than after it was very important because crawling takes resources and time. To save both we needed to get an idea of relevancy of the whole crawl during run time and be able to steer its course accordingly. We use Apache Nutch as the crawler, which uses a plugin system to incorporate any new implementations and hence we built a plugin for Nutch.The Naive Bayes Parse Plugin works in the following way. It parses every page and decides, using a trained model (which is built in situ only once using the positive and negative examples given by the user in a very simple format), if it is relevant; If true, then it allows all the outlinks from that page to go to the next round of crawling; If not, then it gives the urls a second chance to prove themselves by checking some commonly expected words in the url relevant to that domain. This two tier system is very intuitive and efficient in focusing the crawl. In our initial test experiments over 100 seed urls, the results were astonishingly good with a recall of 98%.The same technique can be applied to geo-informatics. This will help scientists

Creation of reliable relevance judgments in information retrieval systems evaluation experimentation through crowdsourcing: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Samimi, Parnia; Ravana, Sri Devi

2014-01-01

Test collection is used to evaluate the information retrieval systems in laboratory-based evaluation experimentation. In a classic setting, generating relevance judgments involves human assessors and is a costly and time consuming task. Researchers and practitioners are still being challenged in performing reliable and low-cost evaluation of retrieval systems. Crowdsourcing as a novel method of data acquisition is broadly used in many research fields. It has been proven that crowdsourcing is an inexpensive and quick solution as well as a reliable alternative for creating relevance judgments. One of the crowdsourcing applications in IR is to judge relevancy of query document pair. In order to have a successful crowdsourcing experiment, the relevance judgment tasks should be designed precisely to emphasize quality control. This paper is intended to explore different factors that have an influence on the accuracy of relevance judgments accomplished by workers and how to intensify the reliability of judgments in crowdsourcing experiment.

Application of all-relevant feature selection for the failure analysis of parameter-induced simulation crashes in climate models

Science.gov (United States)

Paja, Wiesław; Wrzesien, Mariusz; Niemiec, Rafał; Rudnicki, Witold R.

2016-03-01

Climate models are extremely complex pieces of software. They reflect the best knowledge on the physical components of the climate; nevertheless, they contain several parameters, which are too weakly constrained by observations, and can potentially lead to a simulation crashing. Recently a study by Lucas et al. (2013) has shown that machine learning methods can be used for predicting which combinations of parameters can lead to the simulation crashing and hence which processes described by these parameters need refined analyses. In the current study we reanalyse the data set used in this research using different methodology. We confirm the main conclusion of the original study concerning the suitability of machine learning for the prediction of crashes. We show that only three of the eight parameters indicated in the original study as relevant for prediction of the crash are indeed strongly relevant, three others are relevant but redundant and two are not relevant at all. We also show that the variance due to the split of data between training and validation sets has a large influence both on the accuracy of predictions and on the relative importance of variables; hence only a cross-validated approach can deliver a robust prediction of performance and relevance of variables.

Bringing Europe and Third countries closer together through renewable Energies (BETTER). D2.1. EU RES cooperation initiatives with third Countries. North Africa, West Balkans and Turkey

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uslu, A.; Dalla Longa, F.; Veum, K.C.; Straver, K. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands); Karakosta, C [National Technical University of Athens, Athens (Greece)

2013-03-15

One major element of EU's external energy policy is expanding its energy norms and regulations to neighbourhood countries and beyond to achieve its energy policy priorities - safe, secure, affordable and sustainable energy supply. The importance of external energy policy has been acknowledged in the European Union's 2007 'energy package', and Second Strategic Energy Review and the European Commission's Communication on security of energy supply and international cooperation. The EU Renewable Energy Directive provides another element to crossborder cooperation by allowing Member States to fulfil their 2020 renewable energy (RES) targets by implementing joint projects in third countries. Even though the Member States' national renewable energy action plans (NREAPs) to reach their RES targets do not indicate any significant use of this mechanism, the RES Directive acknowledges the importance of renewable energy as part of external energy policy. This report aims at presenting the political framework between the EU and the BETTER project target regions (North Africa, Western Balkans and Turkey) with regards to (renewable) energy and the relevant initiatives and the projects to set the scene for RES joint projects as defined in Article 9 of the RES Directive. The main objectives of this study report are (1) to review energy treaties, agreements, and partnerships to assess their relevance to cooperation mechanism with Third countries; and (2) to analyse the relevance of the recent projects and initiatives to BETTER project and improve and trigger the communication and synergies between BETTER project partners and the relevant projects.

Identification of relevant ICF categories in patients with chronic health conditions: a Delphi exercise.

Science.gov (United States)

Weigl, Martin; Cieza, Alarcos; Andersen, Christina; Kollerits, Barbara; Amann, Edda; Stucki, Gerold

2004-07-01

To identify the most typical and relevant categories of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) for patients with low back pain, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, chronic generalized pain, stroke, depression, obesity, chronic ischaemic heart disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes mellitus, and breast cancer. An international expert survey using the Delphi technique was conducted. Data were collected in 3 rounds. Answers were linked to the ICF and analysed for the degree of consensus. Between 21 (osteoporosis, chronic ischaemic heart disease, and obstructive pulmonary disease) and 43 (stroke) experts responded in each of the conditions. In all conditions, with the exception of depression, there were categories in all ICF components that were considered typical and/or relevant by at least 80% of the responders. While all conditions had a distinct typical spectrum of relevant ICF categories, there were also some common relevant categories throughout the majority of conditions. Lists of ICF categories that are considered relevant and typical for specific conditions by international experts could be created. This is an important step towards identifying ICF Core Sets for chronic conditions.

The Initial Atmospheric Transport (IAT) Code: Description and Validation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morrow, Charles W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Bartel, Timothy James [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

2015-10-01

The Initial Atmospheric Transport (IAT) computer code was developed at Sandia National Laboratories as part of their nuclear launch accident consequences analysis suite of computer codes. The purpose of IAT is to predict the initial puff/plume rise resulting from either a solid rocket propellant or liquid rocket fuel fire. The code generates initial conditions for subsequent atmospheric transport calculations. The Initial Atmospheric Transfer (IAT) code has been compared to two data sets which are appropriate to the design space of space launch accident analyses. The primary model uncertainties are the entrainment coefficients for the extended Taylor model. The Titan 34D accident (1986) was used to calibrate these entrainment settings for a prototypic liquid propellant accident while the recent Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL, or simply APL) large propellant block tests (2012) were used to calibrate the entrainment settings for prototypic solid propellant accidents. North American Meteorology (NAM )formatted weather data profiles are used by IAT to determine the local buoyancy force balance. The IAT comparisons for the APL solid propellant tests illustrate the sensitivity of the plume elevation to the weather profiles; that is, the weather profile is a dominant factor in determining the plume elevation. The IAT code performed remarkably well and is considered validated for neutral weather conditions.

Predicting Recurrence and Progression of Noninvasive Papillary Bladder Cancer at Initial Presentation Based on Quantitative Gene Expression Profiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkhahn, M.; Mitra, A.P.; Williams, Johan

2010-01-01

% specificity. Since this is a small retrospective study using medium-throughput profiling, larger confirmatory studies are needed. Conclusions: Gene expression profiling across relevant cancer pathways appears to be a promising approach for Ta bladder tumor outcome prediction at initial diagnosis......Background: Currently, tumor grade is the best predictor of outcome at first presentation of noninvasive papillary (Ta) bladder cancer. However, reliable predictors of Ta tumor recurrence and progression for individual patients, which could optimize treatment and follow-up schedules based...... on specific tumor biology, are yet to be identified. Objective: To identify genes predictive for recurrence and progression in Ta bladder cancer at first presentation using a quantitative, pathway-specific approach. Design, setting, and participants: Retrospective study of patients with Ta G2/3 bladder tumors...

"helix Nebula - the Science Cloud", a European Science Driven Cross-Domain Initiative Implemented in via AN Active Ppp Set-Up

Science.gov (United States)

Lengert, W.; Mondon, E.; Bégin, M. E.; Ferrer, M.; Vallois, F.; DelaMar, J.

2015-12-01

Helix Nebula, a European science cross-domain initiative building on an active PPP, is aiming to implement the concept of an open science commons[1] while using a cloud hybrid model[2] as the proposed implementation solution. This approach allows leveraging and merging of complementary data intensive Earth Science disciplines (e.g. instrumentation[3] and modeling), without introducing significant changes in the contributors' operational set-up. Considering the seamless integration with life-science (e.g. EMBL), scientific exploitation of meteorological, climate, and Earth Observation data and models open an enormous potential for new big data science. The work of Helix Nebula has shown that is it feasible to interoperate publicly funded infrastructures, such as EGI [5] and GEANT [6], with commercial cloud services. Such hybrid systems are in the interest of the existing users of publicly funded infrastructures and funding agencies because they will provide "freedom and choice" over the type of computing resources to be consumed and the manner in which they can be obtained. But to offer such freedom and choice across a spectrum of suppliers, various issues such as intellectual property, legal responsibility, service quality agreements and related issues need to be addressed. Finding solutions to these issues is one of the goals of the Helix Nebula initiative. [1] http://www.egi.eu/news-and-media/publications/OpenScienceCommons_v3.pdf [2] http://www.helix-nebula.eu/events/towards-the-european-open-science-cloud [3] e.g. https://sentinel.esa.int/web/sentinel/sentinel-data-access [5] http://www.egi.eu/ [6] http://www.geant.net/

Value Relevance of available-for-sale financial instruments (AFS and revaluation surplus of PPE (REV components of other comprehensive income

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yousefi Nejad Maryam

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Value relevance studies have thus far provided mixed evidence. Studies also found that fair value reporting has a significant impact on the value relevance of other comprehensive income. Additionally, most studies on value relevance of other comprehensive income focused on developed countries where the capital market is more efficient. In these settings due to the existence of active market, fair valuation of assets may not pose a major problem. In Malaysia the mandatory reporting of comprehensive income by all listed firms based on the requirement of FRS101, coincides with the adoption of FRS139 the standard for financial instrument and could be an interesting setting to investigate. This study hypothesized that other comprehensive income and its components are associated with share price. The results indicate that other comprehensive income and its components are value relevant. The results indicate that the move towards a more comprehensive income reporting through the preparation of the Statement of Comprehensive Income results in more informative financial reporting.

The Construction of Interculturality: A Study of Initial Encounters between Japanese and American Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Junko

2003-01-01

Investigates how Japanese and American students initiate topical talk as they get acquainted with each other during their initial encounter at a student-organized conversation table. Looks at the observable and reportable ways in which the participants demonstrate the relevance, or the irrelevance, of interculturality in the development of the…

The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) hallmark gene set collection.

Science.gov (United States)

Liberzon, Arthur; Birger, Chet; Thorvaldsdóttir, Helga; Ghandi, Mahmoud; Mesirov, Jill P; Tamayo, Pablo

2015-12-23

The Molecular Signatures Database (MSigDB) is one of the most widely used and comprehensive databases of gene sets for performing gene set enrichment analysis. Since its creation, MSigDB has grown beyond its roots in metabolic disease and cancer to include >10,000 gene sets. These better represent a wider range of biological processes and diseases, but the utility of the database is reduced by increased redundancy across, and heterogeneity within, gene sets. To address this challenge, here we use a combination of automated approaches and expert curation to develop a collection of "hallmark" gene sets as part of MSigDB. Each hallmark in this collection consists of a "refined" gene set, derived from multiple "founder" sets, that conveys a specific biological state or process and displays coherent expression. The hallmarks effectively summarize most of the relevant information of the original founder sets and, by reducing both variation and redundancy, provide more refined and concise inputs for gene set enrichment analysis.

Developing and Implementing a Food Insecurity Screening Initiative for Adult Patients Living With Type 2 Diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Brittany; Fitzpatrick, Sandra; Sidani, Souraya; Gucciardi, Enza

2018-06-01

Routine food insecurity screening is recommended in diabetes care to inform more tailored interventions that better support diabetes self-management among food-insecure patients. This pilot study explored the acceptability and feasibility of a food insecurity screening initiative within a diabetes care setting in Toronto. A systematic literature review informed the development of a food insecurity screening initiative to help health-care providers tailor diabetes management plans and better support food-insecure patients with type 2 diabetes. Interviews with 10 patients and a focus group with 15 care providers elicited feedback on the relevance and acceptance of the food insecurity screening questions and a care algorithm. Subsequently, 5 care providers at 4 sites implemented the screening initiative over 2 weeks, screening 33 patients. After implementation, 7 patients and 5 care providers were interviewed to assess the acceptability and feasibility of the screening initiative. Our findings demonstrate that patients are willing to share their experiences of food insecurity, despite the sensitivity of this topic. Screening elicited information about how patients cope with food insecurity and how this affects their ability to self-manage diabetes. Care providers found this information helpful in directing their care and support for patients. Using a standardized, respectful method of assessing food insecurity can better equip health-care providers to support food-insecure patients with diabetes self-management. Further evaluation of this initiative is needed to determine how food insecurity screening can affect patients' self-management and related health outcomes. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Salton and Buckley’s Landmark Research in Experimental Text Information Retrieval. A Review of: Salton, G., & Buckley, C. (1990. Improving retrieval performance by relevance feedback. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 41(4, 288–297.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christine F. Marton

2011-01-01

using both positive and negative weights based on whether the terms are coming from relevant or non-relevant documents. Yet, no new terms are actually added with negative weights; the contribution of non-relevant document terms is to modify the weighting of new terms coming from relevant documents. . . . The probabilistic model . . . is based on the distribution of query terms in relevant and non-relevant documents, This is expressed as a term weight, with the rank of each retrieved document then being the sum of the term weights for terms contained in the document that match query terms. (pp. 1-2Second, while the vector space model “has an inherent relationship between term reweighting and query expansion” (p. 2, the probabilistic model does not. Thus, query expansion is optional, but given its usefulness, various schemes have been proposed for expanding queries using terms from retrieved relevant documents.In the Salton and Buckley study 3 versions of each of the two relevance feedback methods were utilized, with two different levels of query expansion, and run on 6 different test collections. More specifically, they queried test collections that ranged in size from small to large, and that represented different domains of knowledge, including medicine and engineering with 72 experimental runs in total.Salton and Buckley examined 3 variants of the vector space model, the second and third of which were based on the first. The first model was the classic Rocchio algorithm (1971, which uses reduced document weights to modify the queries. The second model was the “Ide regular” algorithm, which reweights both relevant and non-relevant query terms (Ide, 1971. And the third model was the “Ide dec-hi” algorithm, which reweights all identified relevant items but only one retrieved nonrelevant item, the one retrieved first in the initial set of search results (Ide & Salton, 1971.As well, 3 variants of the probabilistic model developed by S.E. Robertson (Robertson

Osteoporosis: Implications for Risk Reduction in the College Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Leslie, Maryann; St. Pierre, Richard W.

1999-01-01

Examines risk factors for osteoporosis that are especially relevant to the college health setting, focusing on bone development, inadequate calcium and vitamin D intake, cigarette smoking and alcohol use, steroid use and high protein diets, and physical inactivity and excessive exercise. Also presents intervention strategies for college health…

Poster Abstract: Towards NILM for Industrial Settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmegaard, Emil; Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun

2015-01-01

Industry consumes a large share of the worldwide electricity consumption. Disaggregated information about electricity consumption enables better decision-making and feedback tools to optimize electricity consumption. In industrial settings electricity loads consist of a variety of equipment, whic...... consumption for six months, at an industrial site. In this poster abstract we provide initial results for how industrial equipment challenge NILM algorithms. These results thereby open up for evaluating the use of NILM in industrial settings....

Impact of the frequency of online verifications on the patient set-up accuracy and set-up margins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudat, Volker; Hammoud, Mohamed; Pillay, Yogin; Alaradi, Abdul Aziz; Mohamed, Adel; Altuwaijri, Saleh

2011-01-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the patient set-up error of different anatomical sites, to estimate the effect of different frequencies of online verifications on the patient set-up accuracy, and to calculate margins to accommodate for the patient set-up error (ICRU set-up margin, SM). Alignment data of 148 patients treated with inversed planned intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) or three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) of the head and neck (n = 31), chest (n = 72), abdomen (n = 15), and pelvis (n = 30) were evaluated. The patient set-up accuracy was assessed using orthogonal megavoltage electronic portal images of 2328 fractions of 173 planning target volumes (PTV). In 25 patients, two PTVs were analyzed where the PTVs were located in different anatomical sites and treated in two different radiotherapy courses. The patient set-up error and the corresponding SM were retrospectively determined assuming no online verification, online verification once a week and online verification every other day. The SM could be effectively reduced with increasing frequency of online verifications. However, a significant frequency of relevant set-up errors remained even after online verification every other day. For example, residual set-up errors larger than 5 mm were observed on average in 18% to 27% of all fractions of patients treated in the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and in 10% of fractions of patients treated in the head and neck after online verification every other day. In patients where high set-up accuracy is desired, daily online verification is highly recommended

Manufactured solutions for the three-dimensional Euler equations with relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waltz, J.; Canfield, T.R.; Morgan, N.R.; Risinger, L.D.; Wohlbier, J.G.

2014-01-01

We present a set of manufactured solutions for the three-dimensional (3D) Euler equations. The purpose of these solutions is to allow for code verification against true 3D flows with physical relevance, as opposed to 3D simulations of lower-dimensional problems or manufactured solutions that lack physical relevance. Of particular interest are solutions with relevance to Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) capsules. While ICF capsules are designed for spherical symmetry, they are hypothesized to become highly 3D at late time due to phenomena such as Rayleigh–Taylor instability, drive asymmetry, and vortex decay. ICF capsules also involve highly nonlinear coupling between the fluid dynamics and other physics, such as radiation transport and thermonuclear fusion. The manufactured solutions we present are specifically designed to test the terms and couplings in the Euler equations that are relevant to these phenomena. Example numerical results generated with a 3D Finite Element hydrodynamics code are presented, including mesh convergence studies

REsearch into implementation STrategies to support patients of different ORigins and language background in a variety of European primary care settings (RESTORE): study protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

MacFarlane, Anne; O'Donnell, Catherine; Mair, Frances; O'Reilly-de Brún, Mary; de Brún, Tomas; Spiegel, Wolfgang; van den Muijsenbergh, Maria; van Weel-Baumgarten, Evelyn; Lionis, Christos; Burns, Nicola; Gravenhorst, Katja; Princz, Christine; Teunissen, Erik; van den Driessen Mareeuw, Francine; Saridaki, Aristoula; Papadakaki, Maria; Vlahadi, Maria; Dowrick, Christopher

2012-11-20

The implementation of guidelines and training initiatives to support communication in cross-cultural primary care consultations is ad hoc across a range of international settings with negative consequences particularly for migrants. This situation reflects a well-documented translational gap between evidence and practice and is part of the wider problem of implementing guidelines and the broader range of professional educational and quality interventions in routine practice. In this paper, we describe our use of a contemporary social theory, Normalization Process Theory and participatory research methodology--Participatory Learning and Action--to investigate and support implementation of such guidelines and training initiatives in routine practice. This is a qualitative case study, using multiple primary care sites across Europe. Purposive and maximum variation sampling approaches will be used to identify and recruit stakeholders-migrant service users, general practitioners, primary care nurses, practice managers and administrative staff, interpreters, cultural mediators, service planners, and policy makers. We are conducting a mapping exercise to identify relevant guidelines and training initiatives. We will then initiate a PLA-brokered dialogue with stakeholders around Normalization Process Theory's four constructs--coherence, cognitive participation, collective action, and reflexive monitoring. Through this, we will enable stakeholders in each setting to select a single guideline or training initiative for implementation in their local setting. We will prospectively investigate and support the implementation journeys for the five selected interventions. Data will be generated using a Participatory Learning and Action approach to interviews and focus groups. Data analysis will follow the principles of thematic analysis, will occur in iterative cycles throughout the project and will involve participatory co-analysis with key stakeholders to enhance the

Reducing socioeconomic inequalities in COPD care in the hospital outpatient setting - A nationwide initiative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tøttenborg, Sandra Søgaard; Lange, Peter; Thomsen, Reimar W

2017-01-01

Objective: Socioeconomic differences in quality of care have been suggested to contribute to inequality in clinical prognosis of COPD. We examined socioeconomic differences in the quality of COPD outpatient care and the potential of a systematic quality improvement initiative in reducing potentia...

Interprofessional education for first year psychology students: career plans, perceived relevance and attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Lynne D; Forman, Dawn

2015-05-01

Undergraduate psychology students have been largely excluded from interprofessional education (IPE) initiatives. In contrast to many health professions, undergraduate psychology students do not engage in work placements as part of their degree, and many enter careers outside the health care context. However, the collaborative skills gained through an IPE experience may well be beneficial to students who work in this wider context. This research examines whether undergraduate psychology students' views of IPE vary according to their planned career directions, and if so, whether the perceived relevance of IPE mediates the relationships. A sample of 188 Australian university undergraduate psychology students completed an online questionnaire following completion of a first-year IPE health sciences program. Path analysis indicated that psychology students' attitudes towards IPE are associated with both professional identification and practitioner orientation, fully mediated through the perceived relevance of IPE to future career and study plans. Stronger professional identification and practitioner orientation were associated with greater perceived relevance and more positive and less negative attitudes towards IPE. Placing a stronger emphasis on the generalizability of IP skills taught may increase students' awareness of the relevance outside of the health context, reducing disengagement of students planning alternative careers.

Quantifying Relevance of Mobile Digital Evidence As They Relate to Case Types: A Survey and a Guide for Best Practices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shahzad Saleem

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In this work, a survey was conducted to help quantify the relevance of nineteen types of evidence (such as SMS to seven types of digital investigations associated with mobile devices (MD (such as child pornography. 97 % of the respondents agreed that every type of digital evidence has a different level of relevance to further or solve a particular investigation. From 55 serious participants, a data set of 5,772 responses regarding the relevance of nineteen types of digital evidence for all the seven types of digital investigations was obtained. The results showed that (i SMS belongs to the most relevant type of digital evidence for all the seven types of investigations, (ii MMS belongs to the most relevant type of digital evidence for all the types of digital investigations except espionage and eavesdropping where it is the second most relevant type of digital evidence, (iii Phonebook and Contacts is the most relevant type of digital evidence for all types of digital investigations except child pornography, (iv Audio Calls is the most relevant type of digital evidence for all types of digital investigations except credit card fraud and child pornography and (v Standalone Files are the least relevant type of digital evidence for most of the digital investigations. The size of the response data set was fairly reasonable to analyze and then define; by generalization, relevance based best practices for mobile device forensics, which can supplement any forensics process model, including digital triage. For the reliability of these best practices, the impact of responses from the participants with more than five years of experience was analyzed by using one hundred and thirty three (133 instances of One-Way ANOVA tests. The results of this research can help investigators concentrate on the relevant types of digital evidence when investigating a specific case, consequently saving time and effort.

What is a self-made expat? Self-disclosures of self-initiated expatriates

OpenAIRE

Roth, Steffen; Dana, Léo-Paul

2015-01-01

The label expatriates is increasingly used by and applied to a growing number of persons who do not fit classical concepts of company-driven expatriation. While relevant research is engaged in establishing interaction with smaller samples of self- initiated expatriates, the present article represents netnography of a larger, international sample of self-designated self-initiated expatriates who, independently of any research intervention, engaged in an online conversation headlined “Self-Made...

Fostering low-carbon growth initiatives in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Criqui, Patrick; Peytral, Pierre-Olivier; Simon, Jean-Christophe; Valadier, Cecile

2012-02-01

The current debate on climate strategy and low-carbon economy has increased in complexity: negotiations on the international scene are lacking clear prospects, while the world economic context, international governance and growth prospects remain highly uncertain. In spite of these difficulties, contributors to this study consider that there is a major opportunity for Thailand to address climate change mitigation as part of its overall development strategy, within the 11. NESDP (2012-2016). We strongly believe that Thailand could maximize the benefits of proactive strategies to address climate change adaptation and mitigation by strengthening and expanding already substantial efforts and existing policies. It is also considered that climate policy can be seen as a relevant component of both sustainable development strategy and promotion of national competitiveness. Several key points can be stressed here regarding climate change mitigation strategies and policies in Thailand: - A set of existing policies has already been implemented, mostly focused on the energy sector. - Substantial experience of government departments and agencies has built up over the past two decades in identifying options, coordinating exchanges of views and implementing targeted policies. - A national scientific potential is already established, with a diversity of expertise and a capacity for nationwide field work. Coordinated initiatives of the private sector have been diverse and substantial in major sectors of activity. - Growing awareness in civil society, which is nevertheless combined with entrenched attitudes, resistance to change in everyday life, as in most other countries, whether developed or developing. Recent policy debate, backed by a strong corpus of scientific analysis, considers that a national strategy for Green Economy, or Low-Carbon Economy, should comprise both cross-sector policies and targeted sector-oriented policies. A preliminary analysis of the existing policy mix

International lower urinary tract function basic spinal cord injury data set.

Science.gov (United States)

Biering-Sørensen, F; Craggs, M; Kennelly, M; Schick, E; Wyndaele, J-J

2008-05-01

To create the International Lower Urinary Tract Function Basic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Set within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets. International working group. The draft of the Data Set was developed by a working group consisting of the members appointed by the International Continence Society, the European Association of Urology, the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA), the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and a representative of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets. The final version of the Data Set was developed after review and comments by the members of the Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, the ISCoS Scientific Committee, ASIA Board, relevant and interested (international) organizations and societies (around 40) and persons, and the ISCoS Council. Endorsement of the Data Set by relevant organizations and societies will be obtained. To make the Data Set uniform, each variable and each response category within each variable have been specifically defined in a way that is designed to promote the collection and reporting of comparable minimal data. Variables included in the International Lower Urinary Tract Function Basic SCI Data Set are as follows: date of data collection, urinary tract impairment unrelated to spinal cord lesion, awareness of the need to empty the bladder, bladder emptying, average number of voluntary bladder emptyings per day during the last week, incontinence within the last 3 months, collecting appliances for urinary incontinence, any drugs for the urinary tract within the last year, surgical procedures on the urinary tract and any change in urinary symptoms within the last year. Complete instruction for data collection, data sheet and training cases available at the website of ISCoS (www.iscos.org.uk) and ASIA (www.asia-spinalinjury.org).

Protostellar formation in rotating interstellar clouds. VI. Nonuniform initial conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boss, A.P.

1987-01-01

The collapse and fragmentation of rotating protostellar clouds is explored, starting from nonuniform density and nonuniform rotation initial conditions. Whether binary fragmentation occurs during the first dynamic collapse phase depends strongly on the initial density profile. Exponential clouds are only somewhat more resistant to fragmentation than uniform-density clouds, but power-law clouds do not undergo fragmentation for likely values of a relevant parameter. Because binary fragments start from profiles intermediate between uniform density and exponential clouds, minimum protostellar mass for population I stars should be increased to approximately 0.02 solar mass. The axisymmetric Terey et al. (1984) model should be stable with respect to nonaxisymmetric perturbations. Considering the observed binary frequency, collapse from power-law initial conditions appears to be less common than collapse from more uniform initial conditions. 34 references

Physics Mining of Multi-Source Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Helly, John; Karimabadi, Homa; Sipes, Tamara

2012-01-01

Powerful new parallel data mining algorithms can produce diagnostic and prognostic numerical models and analyses from observational data. These techniques yield higher-resolution measures than ever before of environmental parameters by fusing synoptic imagery and time-series measurements. These techniques are general and relevant to observational data, including raster, vector, and scalar, and can be applied in all Earth- and environmental science domains. Because they can be highly automated and are parallel, they scale to large spatial domains and are well suited to change and gap detection. This makes it possible to analyze spatial and temporal gaps in information, and facilitates within-mission replanning to optimize the allocation of observational resources. The basis of the innovation is the extension of a recently developed set of algorithms packaged into MineTool to multi-variate time-series data. MineTool is unique in that it automates the various steps of the data mining process, thus making it amenable to autonomous analysis of large data sets. Unlike techniques such as Artificial Neural Nets, which yield a blackbox solution, MineTool's outcome is always an analytical model in parametric form that expresses the output in terms of the input variables. This has the advantage that the derived equation can then be used to gain insight into the physical relevance and relative importance of the parameters and coefficients in the model. This is referred to as physics-mining of data. The capabilities of MineTool are extended to include both supervised and unsupervised algorithms, handle multi-type data sets, and parallelize it.

Anticipatory Postural Control of Stability during Gait Initiation Over Obstacles of Different Height and Distance Made Under Reaction-Time and Self-Initiated Instructions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yiou, Eric; Artico, Romain; Teyssedre, Claudine A; Labaune, Ombeline; Fourcade, Paul

2016-01-01

Despite the abundant literature on obstacle crossing in humans, the question of how the central nervous system (CNS) controls postural stability during gait initiation with the goal to clear an obstacle remains unclear. Stabilizing features of gait initiation include anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs) and lateral swing foot placement. To answer the above question, 14 participants initiated gait as fast as possible in three conditions of obstacle height, three conditions of obstacle distance and one obstacle-free (control) condition. Each of these conditions was performed with two levels of temporal pressure: reaction-time (high-pressure) and self-initiated (low-pressure) movements. A mechanical model of the body falling laterally under the influence of gravity and submitted to an elastic restoring force is proposed to assess the effect of initial (foot-off) center-of-mass position and velocity (or "initial center-of-mass set") on the stability at foot-contact. Results showed that the anticipatory peak of mediolateral (ML) center-of-pressure shift, the initial ML center-of-mass velocity and the duration of the swing phase, of gait initiation increased with obstacle height, but not with obstacle distance. These results suggest that ML APAs are scaled with swing duration in order to maintain an equivalent stability across experimental conditions. This statement is strengthened by the results obtained with the mechanical model, which showed how stability would be degraded if there was no adaptation of the initial center-of-mass set to swing duration. The anteroposterior (AP) component of APAs varied also according to obstacle height and distance, but in an opposite way to the ML component. Indeed, results showed that the anticipatory peak of backward center-of-pressure shift and the initial forward center-of-mass set decreased with obstacle height, probably in order to limit the risk to trip over the obstacle, while the forward center-of-mass velocity at foot

ANTICIPATORY POSTURAL CONTROL OF STABILITY DURING GAIT INITIATION OVER OBSTACLES OF DIFFERENT HEIGHT AND DISTANCE MADE UNDER REACTION-TIME AND SELF-INITIATED INSTRUCTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Yiou

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Despite the abundant literature on obstacle crossing in humans, the question of how the central nervous system (CNS controls postural stability during gait initiation with the goal to clear an obstacle remains unclear. Stabilizing features of gait initiation include anticipatory postural adjustments (APAs and lateral swing foot placement. To answer the above question, fourteen participants initiated gait as fast as possible in three conditions of obstacle height, three conditions of obstacle distance, and one obstacle-free (control condition. Each of these conditions was performed with two levels of temporal pressure: reaction-time (high-pressure and self-initiated (low-pressure movements. A mechanical model of the body falling laterally under the influence of gravity and submitted to an elastic restoring force is proposed to assess the effect of initial (foot-off center-of-mass position and velocity (or initial center-of-mass set on stability at foot-contact. Results showed that the anticipatory peak of mediolateral center-of-pressure shif, the initial mediolateral center-of-mass velocity and the duration of the swing phase of gait initiation increased with obstacle height, but not with obstacle distance. These results suggest that mediolateral APAs are scaled with swing duration in order to maintain an equivalent stability across experimental conditions. This statement is strengthened by the results obtained with the mechanical model, which showed how stability would be degraded if there was no adaptation of the initial center-of-mass set to swing duration. The anteroposterior component of APAs varied also according to obstacle height and distance, but in an opposite way to the mediolateral component. Indeed, results showed that the anticipatory peak of backward center-of-pressure shift and the initial forward center-of-mass set decreased with obstacle height, probably in order to limit the risk to trip over the obstacle, while the forward

Reflections on a Coaching Pilot Project in Healthcare Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Gurbutt, D. J.; Gurbutt, R.

2016-01-01

This paper draws on personal reflection of coaching experiences and learning as a coach to consider the relevance of these approaches in a management context with a group of four healthcare staff who participated in a pilot coaching project. It explores their understanding of coaching techniques applied in management settings via their reflections…

Clinical relevance is associated with allergen-specific wheal size in skin prick testing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Haahtela, T.; Burbach, G. J.; Bachert, C.

2014-01-01

, asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy). The effects of age, gender, and geographical area on SPT results were assessed. For each allergen, the wheal size in mm with an 80% positive predictive value (PPV) for being clinically relevant was calculated. ResultsDepending on the allergen, from 40% (blatella...... by providing quantitative decision points. MethodsThe GA(2)LEN SPT study with 3068 valid data sets was used to investigate the relationship between SPT results and patient-reported clinical relevance for each of the 18 inhalant allergens as well as SPT wheal size and physician-diagnosed allergy (rhinitis...... SPT reactions had a smaller risk of sensitizations being clinically relevant compared with adults. The 80% PPV varied from 3 to 10mm depending on the allergen. ConclusionThese reading keys' for 18 inhalant allergens can help interpret SPT results with respect to their clinical significance. A SPT form...

Considerations about mediative in initial petition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria das Vitórias Nunes Silva Lourenço

2013-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents considerations about Initial Petition, textual/discursive genre, which is a genre circumscribed in the judicial domain with relation to the Commitment. For this purpose, this article exposes the text plan of the Initial Petition from the postulations of Adam (2011. In the same way, it studies the mediative frameworks based on Guentchéva (1994, 1996, which develop the notion of mediative grammatical categories, that permits the linguistic marking of distance and engagement of the enunciator with regard to the information expressed. It evidences the relevance of the use of mediated constructions in the judicial text, as they function as attenuated strategies to the responsibility of the producer of the text with what is said, and at the same time points to a discourse of authority through the entrance of the sources of law.

Impact of the frequency of online verifications on the patient set-up accuracy and set-up margins

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed Adel

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Purpose The purpose of the study was to evaluate the patient set-up error of different anatomical sites, to estimate the effect of different frequencies of online verifications on the patient set-up accuracy, and to calculate margins to accommodate for the patient set-up error (ICRU set-up margin, SM. Methods and materials Alignment data of 148 patients treated with inversed planned intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT or three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT of the head and neck (n = 31, chest (n = 72, abdomen (n = 15, and pelvis (n = 30 were evaluated. The patient set-up accuracy was assessed using orthogonal megavoltage electronic portal images of 2328 fractions of 173 planning target volumes (PTV. In 25 patients, two PTVs were analyzed where the PTVs were located in different anatomical sites and treated in two different radiotherapy courses. The patient set-up error and the corresponding SM were retrospectively determined assuming no online verification, online verification once a week and online verification every other day. Results The SM could be effectively reduced with increasing frequency of online verifications. However, a significant frequency of relevant set-up errors remained even after online verification every other day. For example, residual set-up errors larger than 5 mm were observed on average in 18% to 27% of all fractions of patients treated in the chest, abdomen and pelvis, and in 10% of fractions of patients treated in the head and neck after online verification every other day. Conclusion In patients where high set-up accuracy is desired, daily online verification is highly recommended.

Towards identification of relevant variables in the observed aerosol optical depth bias between MODIS and AERONET observations

Science.gov (United States)

Malakar, N. K.; Lary, D. J.; Gencaga, D.; Albayrak, A.; Wei, J.

2013-08-01

Measurements made by satellite remote sensing, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and globally distributed Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) are compared. Comparison of the two datasets measurements for aerosol optical depth values show that there are biases between the two data products. In this paper, we present a general framework towards identifying relevant set of variables responsible for the observed bias. We present a general framework to identify the possible factors influencing the bias, which might be associated with the measurement conditions such as the solar and sensor zenith angles, the solar and sensor azimuth, scattering angles, and surface reflectivity at the various measured wavelengths, etc. Specifically, we performed analysis for remote sensing Aqua-Land data set, and used machine learning technique, neural network in this case, to perform multivariate regression between the ground-truth and the training data sets. Finally, we used mutual information between the observed and the predicted values as the measure of similarity to identify the most relevant set of variables. The search is brute force method as we have to consider all possible combinations. The computations involves a huge number crunching exercise, and we implemented it by writing a job-parallel program.

Initiating a participatory action research process in the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance site.

Science.gov (United States)

Wariri, Oghenebrume; D'Ambruoso, Lucia; Twine, Rhian; Ngobeni, Sizzy; van der Merwe, Maria; Spies, Barry; Kahn, Kathleen; Tollman, Stephen; Wagner, Ryan G; Byass, Peter

2017-06-01

Despite progressive health policy, disease burdens in South Africa remain patterned by deeply entrenched social inequalities. Accounting for the relationships between context, health and risk can provide important information for equitable service delivery. The aims of the research were to initiate a participatory research process with communities in a low income setting and produce evidence of practical relevance. We initiated a participatory action research (PAR) process in the Agincourt health and socio-demographic surveillance site (HDSS) in rural north-east South Africa. Three village-based discussion groups were convened and consulted about conditions to examine, one of which was under-5 mortality. A series of discussions followed in which routine HDSS data were presented and participants' subjective perspectives were elicited and systematized into collective forms of knowledge using ranking, diagramming and participatory photography. The process concluded with a priority setting exercise. Visual and narrative data were thematically analyzed to complement the participants' analysis. A range of social and structural root causes of under-5 mortality were identified: poverty, unemployment, inadequate housing, unsafe environments and shortages of clean water. Despite these constraints, single mothers were often viewed as negligent. A series of mid-level contributory factors in clinics were also identified: overcrowding, poor staffing, delays in treatment and shortages of medications. In a similar sense, pronounced blame and negativity were directed toward clinic nurses in spite of the systems constraints identified. Actions to address these issues were prioritized as: expanding clinics, improving accountability and responsiveness of health workers, improving employment, providing clean water, and expanding community engagement for health promotion. We initiated a PAR process to gain local knowledge and prioritize actions. The process was acceptable to those

On the Relevance of Using OpenWireless Sensor Networks in Environment Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoine B. Bagula

2009-06-01

Full Text Available This paper revisits the problem of the readiness for field deployments of wireless- sensor networks by assessing the relevance of using Open Hardware and Software motes for environment monitoring. We propose a new prototype wireless sensor network that finetunes SquidBee motes to improve the life-time and sensing performance of an environment monitoring system that measures temperature, humidity and luminosity. Building upon two outdoor sensing scenarios, we evaluate the performance of the newly proposed energy-aware prototype solution in terms of link quality when expressed by the Received Signal Strength, Packet Loss and the battery lifetime. The experimental results reveal the relevance of using the Open Hardware and Software motes when setting up outdoor wireless sensor networks.

Encouraging emergence of cross-business strategic initiatives

OpenAIRE

Canales, J. Ignacio; Caldart, Adrián

2017-01-01

We explore how strategic initiatives emerge at the business unit level in the context of multi-business firms. Findings show that such initiatives create cross-business synergies in the absence of any direct intervention from the headquarters. Four factors appeared to foster the development of autonomous cross-business collaboration: a sense of urgency at the level of the firm, the existence of a few broad but strong corporate strategic guidelines, the existence of a set of cross-business int...

Increased Set Shifting Costs in Fasted Healthy Volunteers

Science.gov (United States)

Bolton, Heather M.; Burgess, Paul W.; Gilbert, Sam J.; Serpell, Lucy

2014-01-01

We investigated the impact of temporary food restriction on a set shifting task requiring participants to judge clusters of pictures against a frequently changing rule. 60 healthy female participants underwent two testing sessions: once after fasting for 16 hours and once in a satiated state. Participants also completed a battery of questionnaires (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]; Persistence, Perseveration and Perfectionism Questionnaire [PPPQ-22]; and Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire [EDE-Q6]). Set shifting costs were significantly increased after fasting; this effect was independent of self-reported mood and perseveration. Furthermore, higher levels of weight concern predicted a general performance decrement under conditions of fasting. We conclude that relatively short periods of fasting can lead to set shifting impairments. This finding may have relevance to studies of development, individual differences, and the interpretation of psychometric tests. It also could have implications for understanding the etiology and maintenance of eating disorders, in which impaired set shifting has been implicated. PMID:25025179

PREDICTING RELEVANT EMPTY SPOTS IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yoshiharu MAENO; Yukio OHSAWA

2008-01-01

An empty spot refers to an empty hard-to-fill space which can be found in the records of the social interaction, and is the clue to the persons in the underlying social network who do not appear in the records. This contribution addresses a problem to predict relevant empty spots in social interaction. Homogeneous and inhomogeneous networks are studied as a model underlying the social interaction. A heuristic predictor function method is presented as a new method to address the problem. Simulation experiment is demonstrated over a homogeneous network. A test data set in the form of market baskets is generated from the simulated communication. Precision to predict the empty spots is calculated to demonstrate the performance of the presented method.

International bowel function extended spinal cord injury data set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, K; Perkash, I; Stiens, S A

2008-01-01

and the ASIA Board. Relevant and interested scientific and professional organizations and societies (around 40) were also invited to review the data set and it was posted on the ISCoS and ASIA websites for 3 months to allow comments and suggestions. The ISCoS Scientific Committee, ISCoS Council and ASIA Board......STUDY DESIGN: International expert working group.Objective:To develop an International Bowel Function Extended Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Set presenting a standardized format for the collection and reporting of an extended amount of information on bowel function. SETTING: Working group...... consisting of members appointed by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS). METHODS: A draft prepared by the working group was reviewed by Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets and later by the ISCoS Scientific Committee...

International bowel function basic spinal cord injury data set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Krogh, K; Perkash, I; Stiens, S A

2008-01-01

S Scientific Committee and the ASIA Board. Relevant and interested scientific and professional (international) organizations and societies (approximately 40) were also invited to review the data set and it was posted on the ISCoS and ASIA websites for 3 months to allow comments and suggestions. The ISCo......STUDY DESIGN: International expert working group. OBJECTIVE: To develop an International Bowel Function Basic Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Data Set presenting a standardized format for the collection and reporting of a minimal amount of information on bowel function in daily practice or in research....... SETTING: Working group consisting of members appointed by the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS). METHODS: A draft prepared by the working group was reviewed by Executive Committee of the International SCI Standards and Data Sets, and later by ISCo...

Problematizing Diversity Initiatives: Japanese American Youth Identities and the Politics of Representation with/in School Spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Endo, Rachel

2014-01-01

This article reports on a case study that investigated how six Japanese American youth interpreted the effectiveness and relevance of extra-curricular diversity initiatives at their Midwestern middle and secondary public schools. These initiatives were intended to raise cultural awareness, but ultimately promoted cultural fetishism and racially…

Initial value problem for plasma oscillations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, J.; Spies, G.O.

1991-01-01

The solution of the initial value problem for the linearized one-dimensional electron Vlasov--Poisson equations in a field-free homogeneous equilibrium is examined for small and for large ratios κ of Debye length and wavelength, assuming initial perturbing distribution functions varying on the same velocity scale as the equilibrium. Previously known approximations of the initial evolution (which, unlike the time-asymptotic one, does not depend on analyticity assumptions) are extended to longer times, and to arbitrary stable or unstable equilibria: In the quasifluid regime (small κ), the electric field, within an additive error O(κ 2 ), and independently of the initial data, performs an oscillation near the plasma frequency that corresponds to an eigenmode if it is unstable or marginal, but to an approximate eigenmode arising from the continuous spectrum otherwise. If other unstable or marginal modes are present, these influence only the time-asymptotic behavior because their amplitudes are O(κ 2 ) initially. In the ballistic regime (large κ), there are no instabilities and the perturbing density, now within an error O(κ -2 ), is the Fourier transform of the initial perturbing distribution function, thus following an arbitrary decay law that is independent of the equilibrium. The errors are shown to be time-independent, implying that either approximation is relevant at least until the perturbing density has essentially damped out. Hence the dominating damping mechanism (in the stable case) is Landau damping if κ much-lt 1, but ballistic particle mixing if κ much-gt 1

Predicting Recurrence and Progression of Noninvasive Papillary Bladder Cancer at Initial Presentation Based on Quantitative Gene Expression Profiles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birkhahn, M.; Mitra, A.P.; Williams, Johan

2010-01-01

Background: Currently, tumor grade is the best predictor of outcome at first presentation of noninvasive papillary (Ta) bladder cancer. However, reliable predictors of Ta tumor recurrence and progression for individual patients, which could optimize treatment and follow-up schedules based...... on specific tumor biology, are yet to be identified. Objective: To identify genes predictive for recurrence and progression in Ta bladder cancer at first presentation using a quantitative, pathway-specific approach. Design, setting, and participants: Retrospective study of patients with Ta G2/3 bladder tumors...... at initial presentation with three distinct clinical outcomes: absence of recurrence (n = 16), recurrence without progression (n = 16), and progression to carcinoma in situ or invasive disease (n = 16). Measurements: Expressions of 24 genes that feature in relevant pathways that are deregulated in bladder...

Cumulative hierarchies and computability over universes of sets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domenico Cantone

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Various metamathematical investigations, beginning with Fraenkel’s historical proof of the independence of the axiom of choice, called for suitable definitions of hierarchical universes of sets. This led to the discovery of such important cumulative structures as the one singled out by von Neumann (generally taken as the universe of all sets and Godel’s universe of the so-called constructibles. Variants of those are exploited occasionally in studies concerning the foundations of analysis (according to Abraham Robinson’s approach, or concerning non-well-founded sets. We hence offer a systematic presentation of these many structures, partly motivated by their relevance and pervasiveness in mathematics. As we report, numerous properties of hierarchy-related notions such as rank, have been verified with the assistance of the ÆtnaNova proof-checker.Through SETL and Maple implementations of procedures which effectively handle the Ackermann’s hereditarily finite sets, we illustrate a particularly significant case among those in which the entities which form a universe of sets can be algorithmically constructed and manipulated; hereby, the fruitful bearing on pure mathematics of cumulative set hierarchies ramifies into the realms of theoretical computer science and algorithmics.

Who is a self-initiated expatriate?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Cerdin, Jean-Luc; Selmer, Jan

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to enhance the conceptual coherence of the notion of a self-initiated expatriate (SIE). We propose a definition based on a set of conceptual criteria which differentiates SIEs from other types of international movers. This article defines who an SIE is according...

Beyond fun runs and fruit bowls: an evaluation of the meso-level processes that shaped the Australian Healthy Workers Initiative.

Science.gov (United States)

Grunseit, Anne C; Rowbotham, Samantha; Pescud, Melanie; Indig, Devon; Wutzke, Sonia

2016-02-01

Issue addressed The Australian National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health (NPAPH) charged states and territories with the development and implementation of the Healthy Workers Initiative (HWI) to improve workplace health promotion. Most evaluation efforts focus on the setting (micro) level. In the present study the HWI at the meso-level (state program development) was examined to understand how jurisdictions navigated theoretical, practical, and political priorities to develop their programs, and the programmatic choices that support or hinder perceived success. Methods Interviews with HWI program coordinators and managers across seven Australian jurisdictions explored decision-making processes related to developing and implementing the HWI and the impact of defunding. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Despite taking a variety of approaches to the HWI, jurisdictions had common goals, namely achieving sustainability and capacity for meaningful change. These goals transcended the performance indicators set out by the NPAPH, which were considered unachievable in the given timeframe. Four ways jurisdictions sought to achieve their goals were identified, these were: 1) taking an embedded approach to workplace health promotion; 2) ensuring relevance of the HWI to businesses; 3) engaging in collaborative partnerships with agencies responsible for implementation; and 4) cultivating evolution of the HWI. Conclusions This meso-level evaluation has provided valuable insights into how health promotion program coordinators translate broad, national-level initiatives into state-specific programs and how they define program success. The study findings also highlight how broader, contextual factors, such as jurisdiction size, political imperatives and funding decisions impact on the implementation and success of a national health promotion initiative. So what? When evaluating the translation of complex initiatives, a

E-portfolios in university and blended learning settings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ørngreen, Rikke

2009-01-01

or case work, if the process of and interaction between the students are prioritised. The paper adds to the existing findings within ePortfolio and their application to formal learning settings. It discusses both the planning of and running the process, psychological barriers, students' motivation as well...... as more technological practical aspects of ePortfolio use, that are relevant for people engaged in IT and learning....

38 CFR 3.161 - Expedited Claims Adjudication Initiative-Pilot Program.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... Adjudication Initiative-Pilot Program. 3.161 Section 3.161 Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief DEPARTMENT... Claims § 3.161 Expedited Claims Adjudication Initiative—Pilot Program. Rules pertaining to the Expedited Claims Adjudication Initiative Pilot Program are set forth in part 20, subpart P, of this chapter...

NUCLEAR STRUCTURE AND DECAY DATA: INTRODUCTION TO RELEVANT WEB PAGES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BURROWS, T.W.; MCLAUGHLIN, P.D.; NICHOLS, A.L.

2005-01-01

A brief description is given of the nuclear data centres around the world able to provide access to those databases and programs of highest relevance to nuclear structure and decay data specialists. A number of Web-page addresses are also provided for the reader to inspect and investigate these data and codes for study, evaluation and calculation. These instructions are not meant to be comprehensive, but should provide the reader with a reasonable means of electronic access to the most important data sets and programs

An Atlas of Peroxiredoxins Created Using an Active Site Profile-Based Approach to Functionally Relevant Clustering of Proteins.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela F Harper

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Peroxiredoxins (Prxs or Prdxs are a large protein superfamily of antioxidant enzymes that rapidly detoxify damaging peroxides and/or affect signal transduction and, thus, have roles in proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Prx superfamily members are widespread across phylogeny and multiple methods have been developed to classify them. Here we present an updated atlas of the Prx superfamily identified using a novel method called MISST (Multi-level Iterative Sequence Searching Technique. MISST is an iterative search process developed to be both agglomerative, to add sequences containing similar functional site features, and divisive, to split groups when functional site features suggest distinct functionally-relevant clusters. Superfamily members need not be identified initially-MISST begins with a minimal representative set of known structures and searches GenBank iteratively. Further, the method's novelty lies in the manner in which isofunctional groups are selected; rather than use a single or shifting threshold to identify clusters, the groups are deemed isofunctional when they pass a self-identification criterion, such that the group identifies itself and nothing else in a search of GenBank. The method was preliminarily validated on the Prxs, as the Prxs presented challenges of both agglomeration and division. For example, previous sequence analysis clustered the Prx functional families Prx1 and Prx6 into one group. Subsequent expert analysis clearly identified Prx6 as a distinct functionally relevant group. The MISST process distinguishes these two closely related, though functionally distinct, families. Through MISST search iterations, over 38,000 Prx sequences were identified, which the method divided into six isofunctional clusters, consistent with previous expert analysis. The results represent the most complete computational functional analysis of proteins comprising the Prx superfamily. The feasibility of this novel method is

A European initiative to define research needs and foster the adoption of Managed Aquifer Recharge into river basin management

Science.gov (United States)

Kneppers, Angeline; Grützmacher, Gesche; Kazner, Christian; Zojer, Hans

2010-05-01

The European Technology Platform for Water (WssTP) was initiated by the European Commission to federate a highly fragmented sector with the aim to foster competitive innovations and promote sustainable solutions. To achieve this, pilot programmes endorsing a bottom-up approach were launched in 2007 with a variety of stakeholders having representative water issues to solve. Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) was adopted as a balancing process for the safe and sustainable development, allocation and monitoring of water resource use in the context of current and future social, economic and environmental objectives. As a result key drivers were selected and a methodology was followed to identify and validate the needs with stakeholders and experts, and demonstrate solutions as an integrated part of the river basin management plans. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) was identified as a key component of integrated water resources management, especially in water scarce regions and an area relevant for further research. The paper shall summarize the process followed by the WssTP, initiating a Task Force with 36 representatives from European research institutes and industry partners with participation of a few international experts. During a workshop conducted in Graz in June 2009 these experts developed the basis for a report that has now been submitted to the European Commission for consideration in future research calls. Implementing IWRM and MAR is made difficult by the number of different water bodies, but also by the large number of stakeholders, policies, legislations and conflicting interests. The results of the MAR Task Force initiative set the basis for further discussions with the international MAR community on the relevance of the identified research needs but also on the importance and process to associate the institutional and managerial entities for capacity building and the adoption of MAR into the overall management strategies.

How Setting Goals Enhances Learners’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Listening Comprehension

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liliana Ballesteros Muñoz

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This article outlines a study that explores the relationship between SMART goal setting (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based and learning English in Colombia concerning a foreign language learners’ self-efficacy beliefs in listening. The participants were seventh and ninth grade students of two schools in Bogotá, Colombia. The results revealed that self-efficacy was highly positive when related to goal setting as students were able to set SMART goals to improve their listening comprehension and learners showed improvement in self-efficacy beliefs and felt more motivated while completing listening tasks related to songs. Furthermore this study shows that goal setting training can be incorporated successfully into the English as a foreign language classroom.

Libraries as 'everyday' settings: the Glasgow MCISS project.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitelaw, Sandy; Coburn, Jonathan; Lacey, Marion; McKee, Martin J; Hill, Carol

2017-10-01

A settings-based approach is now well-established in health promotion, initially undertaken in conventional places like schools and workplaces, but more recently being expressed in a wider range of what Torp et al. call 'everyday' settings. In this context, libraries have emerged as another potential setting whose ubiquity and accessibility suggests that they may be particularly effective in addressing health inequalities. Drawing on a case study-the Glasgow Macmillan Cancer Information and Support Services Library project-this paper reports on the potential for seeing 'libraries as settings' and in the context of a set of associated theoretical resources, specifically scrutinizes the nature of initiative implementation. Data were drawn from multiple sources: semi-structured interviews and focus groups with strategic partners and stakeholders, operational staff, project volunteers, service users and members of the general public. Qualitative data were complemented by quantitative insights from surveys with members of the partnership, libraries staff and volunteers. Despite some concerns associated with potentially hostile cultural and financial contexts that might threaten longer term sustainability, insights suggested that in pragmatic terms, the project was attracting sizable 'footfall' and successfully addressing a range of needs. Additionally, the formal implementation processes associated with project implementation were considered to have been highly successful in embedding the model into the library culture. In summary, there is evidence that libraries have the potential to be considered as supportive settings and could act as a model for an emergent vision of what libraries do. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Action Learning--A Process Which Supports Organisational Change Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Joyce, Pauline

2012-01-01

This paper reflects on how action learning sets (ALSs) were used to support organisational change initiatives. It sets the scene with contextualising the inclusion of change projects in a masters programme. Action learning is understood to be a dynamic process where a team meets regularly to help individual members address issues through a highly…

Models for setting ATM parameter values

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Søren; Gravey, A.; Romæuf, L.

1996-01-01

essential to set traffic characteristic values that are relevant to the considered cell stream, and that ensure that the amount of non-conforming traffic is small. Using a queueing model representation for the GCRA formalism, several methods are available for choosing the traffic characteristics. This paper......In ATM networks, a user should negotiate at connection set-up a traffic contract which includes traffic characteristics and requested QoS. The traffic characteristics currently considered are the Peak Cell Rate, the Sustainable Cell Rate, the Intrinsic Burst Tolerance and the Cell Delay Variation...... (CDV) tolerance(s). The values taken by these traffic parameters characterize the so-called ''Worst Case Traffic'' that is used by CAC procedures for accepting a new connection and allocating resources to it. Conformance to the negotiated traffic characteristics is defined, at the ingress User...

Nonclinical cardiovascular safety of pitolisant: comparing International Conference on Harmonization S7B and Comprehensive in vitro Pro-arrhythmia Assay initiative studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ligneau, Xavier; Shah, Rashmi R; Berrebi-Bertrand, Isabelle; Mirams, Gary R; Robert, Philippe; Landais, Laurent; Maison-Blanche, Pierre; Faivre, Jean-François; Lecomte, Jeanne-Marie; Schwartz, Jean-Charles

2017-12-01

We evaluated the concordance of results from two sets of nonclinical cardiovascular safety studies on pitolisant. Nonclinical studies envisaged both in the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) S7B guideline and Comprehensive in vitro Pro-arrhythmia Assay (CiPA) initiative were undertaken. The CiPA initiative included in vitro ion channels, stem cell-derived human ventricular myocytes, and in silico modelling to simulate human ventricular electrophysiology. ICH S7B-recommended assays included in vitro hERG (K V 11.1) channels, in vivo dog studies with follow-up investigations in rabbit Purkinje fibres and the in vivo Carlsson rabbit pro-arrhythmia model. Both sets of nonclinical data consistently excluded pitolisant from having clinically relevant QT-liability or pro-arrhythmic potential. CiPA studies revealed pitolisant to have modest calcium channel blocking and late I Na reducing activities at high concentrations, which resulted in pitolisant reducing dofetilide-induced early after-depolarizations (EADs) in the ICH S7B studies. Studies in stem cell-derived human cardiomyocytes with dofetilide or E-4031 given alone and in combination with pitolisant confirmed these properties. In silico modelling confirmed that the ion channel effects measured are consistent with results from both the stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes and rabbit Purkinje fibres and categorized pitolisant as a drug with low torsadogenic potential. Results from the two sets of nonclinical studies correlated well with those from two clinical QT studies. Our findings support the CiPA initiative but suggest that sponsors should consider investigating drug effects on EADs and the use of pro-arrhythmia models when the results from CiPA studies are ambiguous. © 2017 The Authors. British Journal of Pharmacology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Pharmacological Society.

Independent predictors of tuberculosis mortality in a high HIV prevalence setting: a retrospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pepper, Dominique J; Schomaker, Michael; Wilkinson, Robert J; de Azevedo, Virginia; Maartens, Gary

2015-01-01

Identifying those at increased risk of death during TB treatment is a priority in resource-constrained settings. We performed this study to determine predictors of mortality during TB treatment. We performed a retrospective analysis of a TB surveillance population in a high HIV prevalence area that was recorded in ETR.net (Electronic Tuberculosis Register). Adult TB cases initiated TB treatment from 2007 through 2009 in Khayelitsha, South Africa. Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify risk factors for death (after multiple imputations for missing data). Model selection was performed using Akaike's Information Criterion to obtain the most relevant predictors of death. Of 16,209 adult TB cases, 851 (5.3 %) died during TB treatment. In all TB cases, advancing age, co-infection with HIV, a prior history of TB and the presence of both pulmonary and extra-pulmonary TB were independently associated with an increasing hazard of death. In HIV-infected TB cases, advancing age and female gender were independently associated with an increasing hazard of death. Increasing CD4 counts and antiretroviral treatment during TB treatment were protective against death. In HIV-uninfected TB cases, advancing age was independently associated with death, whereas smear-positive disease was protective. We identified several independent predictors of death during TB treatment in resource-constrained settings. Our findings inform resource-constrained settings about certain subgroups of TB patients that should be targeted to improve mortality during TB treatment.

Industrial Relevance of Chromosomal Copy Number Variation in Saccharomyces Yeasts

Science.gov (United States)

Gorter de Vries, Arthur R.; Pronk, Jack T.

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Chromosomal copy number variation (CCNV) plays a key role in evolution and health of eukaryotes. The unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important model for studying the generation, physiological impact, and evolutionary significance of CCNV. Fundamental studies of this yeast have contributed to an extensive set of methods for analyzing and introducing CCNV. Moreover, these studies provided insight into the balance between negative and positive impacts of CCNV in evolutionary contexts. A growing body of evidence indicates that CCNV not only frequently occurs in industrial strains of Saccharomyces yeasts but also is a key contributor to the diversity of industrially relevant traits. This notion is further supported by the frequent involvement of CCNV in industrially relevant traits acquired during evolutionary engineering. This review describes recent developments in genome sequencing and genome editing techniques and discusses how these offer opportunities to unravel contributions of CCNV in industrial Saccharomyces strains as well as to rationally engineer yeast chromosomal copy numbers and karyotypes. PMID:28341679

Two Belts, One Road? - The role of Africa in Chinas's Belt & Road initiative

OpenAIRE

Breuer, Julia

2017-01-01

In the light of the EU-Africa Summit 2017 and of the G20 Summit 2017 with Africa being one of the focus areas, China’s engagement in Africa seems more relevant than ever. China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative (OBOR) or silk road initiative is often referred to as a Eurasian infrastructure network initiative, but it is in fact much more than that. The maritime silk road is supposed to go past the coast of East Africa, where several ports are being built and will be built. Furthermore, ports ...

Exchanging the liquidity hypothesis: Delay discounting of money and self-relevant non-money rewards.

Science.gov (United States)

Stuppy-Sullivan, Allison M; Tormohlen, Kayla N; Yi, Richard

2016-01-01

Evidence that primary rewards (e.g., food and drugs of abuse) are discounted more than money is frequently attributed to money's high degree of liquidity, or exchangeability for many commodities. The present study provides some evidence against this liquidity hypothesis by contrasting delay discounting of monetary rewards (liquid) and non-monetary commodities (non-liquid) that are self-relevant and utility-matched. Ninety-seven (97) undergraduate students initially completed a conventional binary-choice delay discounting of money task. Participants returned one week later and completed a self-relevant commodity delay discounting task. Both conventional hypothesis testing and more-conservative tests of statistical equivalence revealed correspondence in rate of delay discounting of money and self-relevant commodities, and in one magnitude condition, less discounting for the latter. The present results indicate that liquidity of money cannot fully account for the lower rate of delay discounting compared to non-money rewards. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Composites Similarity Analysis Method Based on Knowledge Set in Composites Quality Control

OpenAIRE

Li Haifeng

2016-01-01

Composites similarity analysis is an important link of composites review, it can not only to declare composites review rechecking, still help composites applicants promptly have the research content relevant progress and avoid duplication. This paper mainly studies the composites similarity model in composites review. With the actual experience of composites management, based on the author’s knowledge set theory, paper analyzes deeply knowledge set representation of composites knowledge, impr...

Making Deferred Taxes Relevant

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, Arjan; Naarding, Ewout

2018-01-01

We analyse the conceptual problems in current accounting for deferred taxes and provide solutions derived from the literature in order to make International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) deferred tax numbers value-relevant. In our view, the empirical results concerning the value relevance of

Enhancing Expectations of Cooperative Learning Use through Initial Teacher Training

Science.gov (United States)

Duran Gisbert, David; Corcelles Seuba, Mariona; Flores Coll, Marta

2017-01-01

Despite its relevance and evidence support, Cooperative Learning (CL) is a challenge for all educational systems due to the difficulties in its implementation. The objective of this study is to identify the effect of Primary Education initial teacher training in the prediction of future CL use. Two groups of 44 and 45 students were conceptually…

Can traditional birth attendants be trained to accurately identify septic infants, initiate antibiotics, and refer in a rural African setting?

Science.gov (United States)

Gill, Christopher John; MacLeod, William B; Phiri-Mazala, Grace; Guerina, Nicholas G; Mirochnick, Mark; Knapp, Anna B; Hamer, Davidson H

2014-08-01

Neonatal sepsis is a major cause of neonatal mortality. In populations with limited access to health care, early identification of bacterial infections and initiation of antibiotics by community health workers (CHWs) could be lifesaving. It is unknown whether this strategy would be feasible using traditional birth attendants (TBAs), a cadre of CHWs who typically have limited training and educational backgrounds. We analyzed data from the intervention arm of a cluster-randomized trial involving TBAs in Lufwanyama District, Zambia, from June 2006 to November 2008. TBAs followed neonates for signs of potential infection through 28 days of life. If any of 16 criteria were met, TBAs administered oral amoxicillin and facilitated referral to a rural health center. Our analysis included 1,889 neonates with final vital status by day 28. TBAs conducted a median of 2 (interquartile range 2-6) home visits (51.4% in week 1 and 48.2% in weeks 2-4) and referred 208 neonates (11%) for suspected sepsis. Of referred neonates, 176/208 (84.6%) completed their referral. Among neonates given amoxicillin, 171/183 (93.4%) were referred; among referred neonates, 171/208 (82.2%) received amoxicillin. Referral and/or initiation of antibiotics were strongly associated with neonatal death (for referral, relative risk [RR] = 7.93, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.4-14.3; for amoxicillin administration, RR = 4.7, 95% CI = 2.4-8.7). Neonates clinically judged to be "extremely sick" by the referring TBA were at greatest risk of death (RR = 8.61, 95% CI = 4.0-18.5). The strategy of administering a first dose of antibiotics and referring based solely on the clinical evaluation of a TBA is feasible and could be effective in reducing neonatal mortality in remote rural settings.

Change in Vitamin D Levels Occurs Early after Antiretroviral Therapy Initiation and Depends on Treatment Regimen in Resource-Limited Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Havers, Fiona P.; Detrick, Barbara; Cardoso, Sandra W.; Berendes, Sima; Lama, Javier R.; Sugandhavesa, Patcharaphan; Mwelase, Noluthando H.; Campbell, Thomas B.; Gupta, Amita

2014-01-01

Study Background Vitamin D has wide-ranging effects on the immune system, and studies suggest that low serum vitamin D levels are associated with worse clinical outcomes in HIV. Recent studies have identified an interaction between antiretrovirals used to treat HIV and reduced serum vitamin D levels, but these studies have been done in North American and European populations. Methods Using a prospective cohort study design nested in a multinational clinical trial, we examined the effect of three combination antiretroviral (cART) regimens on serum vitamin D levels in 270 cART-naïve, HIV-infected adults in nine diverse countries, (Brazil, Haiti, Peru, Thailand, India, Malawi, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United States). We evaluated the change between baseline serum vitamin D levels and vitamin D levels 24 and 48 weeks after cART initiation. Results Serum vitamin D levels decreased significantly from baseline to 24 weeks among those randomized to efavirenz/lamivudine/zidovudine (mean change: −7.94 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) −10.42, −5.54] ng/ml) and efavirenz/emtricitabine/tenofovir-DF (mean change: −6.66 [95% CI −9.40, −3.92] ng/ml) when compared to those randomized to atazanavir/emtricitabine/didanosine-EC (mean change: −2.29 [95% CI –4.83, 0.25] ng/ml). Vitamin D levels did not change significantly between week 24 and 48. Other factors that significantly affected serum vitamin D change included country (p<0.001), season (p<0.001) and baseline vitamin D level (p<0.001). Conclusion Efavirenz-containing cART regimens adversely affected vitamin D levels in patients from economically, geographically and racially diverse resource-limited settings. This effect was most pronounced early after cART initiation. Research is needed to define the role of Vitamin D supplementation in HIV care. PMID:24752177

Exploring the private finance initiative as a route to finance for renewable energy projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-07-01

This report reviews the private financing of public sector Renewable Energy projects through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and the relevance of such a technique to the renewables industry generally. (author)

Identifying and exploiting trait-relevant tissues with multiple functional annotations in genome-wide association studies

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Shujun

2018-01-01

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified many disease associated loci, the majority of which have unknown biological functions. Understanding the mechanism underlying trait associations requires identifying trait-relevant tissues and investigating associations in a trait-specific fashion. Here, we extend the widely used linear mixed model to incorporate multiple SNP functional annotations from omics studies with GWAS summary statistics to facilitate the identification of trait-relevant tissues, with which to further construct powerful association tests. Specifically, we rely on a generalized estimating equation based algorithm for parameter inference, a mixture modeling framework for trait-tissue relevance classification, and a weighted sequence kernel association test constructed based on the identified trait-relevant tissues for powerful association analysis. We refer to our analytic procedure as the Scalable Multiple Annotation integration for trait-Relevant Tissue identification and usage (SMART). With extensive simulations, we show how our method can make use of multiple complementary annotations to improve the accuracy for identifying trait-relevant tissues. In addition, our procedure allows us to make use of the inferred trait-relevant tissues, for the first time, to construct more powerful SNP set tests. We apply our method for an in-depth analysis of 43 traits from 28 GWASs using tissue-specific annotations in 105 tissues derived from ENCODE and Roadmap. Our results reveal new trait-tissue relevance, pinpoint important annotations that are informative of trait-tissue relationship, and illustrate how we can use the inferred trait-relevant tissues to construct more powerful association tests in the Wellcome trust case control consortium study. PMID:29377896

Identifying and exploiting trait-relevant tissues with multiple functional annotations in genome-wide association studies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xingjie Hao

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Genome-wide association studies (GWASs have identified many disease associated loci, the majority of which have unknown biological functions. Understanding the mechanism underlying trait associations requires identifying trait-relevant tissues and investigating associations in a trait-specific fashion. Here, we extend the widely used linear mixed model to incorporate multiple SNP functional annotations from omics studies with GWAS summary statistics to facilitate the identification of trait-relevant tissues, with which to further construct powerful association tests. Specifically, we rely on a generalized estimating equation based algorithm for parameter inference, a mixture modeling framework for trait-tissue relevance classification, and a weighted sequence kernel association test constructed based on the identified trait-relevant tissues for powerful association analysis. We refer to our analytic procedure as the Scalable Multiple Annotation integration for trait-Relevant Tissue identification and usage (SMART. With extensive simulations, we show how our method can make use of multiple complementary annotations to improve the accuracy for identifying trait-relevant tissues. In addition, our procedure allows us to make use of the inferred trait-relevant tissues, for the first time, to construct more powerful SNP set tests. We apply our method for an in-depth analysis of 43 traits from 28 GWASs using tissue-specific annotations in 105 tissues derived from ENCODE and Roadmap. Our results reveal new trait-tissue relevance, pinpoint important annotations that are informative of trait-tissue relationship, and illustrate how we can use the inferred trait-relevant tissues to construct more powerful association tests in the Wellcome trust case control consortium study.

Encouraging initiative, cooperation and creativity in teaching Serbian language and literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stevanović Jelena

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Instruction in Serbian language and literature serves to prepare and in a certain way enable the students to follow other school subjects, which points to its special relevance for total education. Unfortunately, research results indicate that students’ knowledge in this field is not entirely satisfactory. One of the reasons maybe the fact that this knowledge is not sufficiently used in practice, which can have an unfavourable impact on students’ response to more and more complex demands set by the education system of the 21st century. Additionally, the problem can also be related to the fact that dogmatic-reproductive and reproductive-explicative methodical approaches are still used in the classes of Serbian language and literature, while less attention is paid to creative work, cooperative learning and students’ initiative, the competences that should be developed first and foremost during the initial education. This paper aims at pointing to the methods and procedures that contribute to the encouragement of initiative, cooperation and creativity in primary school students in the instruction in Serbian language and literature. Among other tings, we point out to the innovation of the drama method as an integral approach to teaching contents, which serves to adopt more quality knowledge via focused role-playing activities and drama techniques, primarily in the field of literature, and enables the durability and quality of the aesthetic perception and the reception of literature. It is also pointed to the fact that instruction that includes creative work, initiative and cooperative relations enhances student competences not only in knowledge and skills in Serbian language and literature, but also at the level of emotional and social relations between students. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 47008: Unapređivanje kvaliteta i dostupnosti obrazovanja u procesima modernizacije Srbije i br. 179034: Od podsticanja inicijative

Kernel-Based Relevance Analysis with Enhanced Interpretability for Detection of Brain Activity Patterns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andres M. Alvarez-Meza

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We introduce Enhanced Kernel-based Relevance Analysis (EKRA that aims to support the automatic identification of brain activity patterns using electroencephalographic recordings. EKRA is a data-driven strategy that incorporates two kernel functions to take advantage of the available joint information, associating neural responses to a given stimulus condition. Regarding this, a Centered Kernel Alignment functional is adjusted to learning the linear projection that best discriminates the input feature set, optimizing the required free parameters automatically. Our approach is carried out in two scenarios: (i feature selection by computing a relevance vector from extracted neural features to facilitating the physiological interpretation of a given brain activity task, and (ii enhanced feature selection to perform an additional transformation of relevant features aiming to improve the overall identification accuracy. Accordingly, we provide an alternative feature relevance analysis strategy that allows improving the system performance while favoring the data interpretability. For the validation purpose, EKRA is tested in two well-known tasks of brain activity: motor imagery discrimination and epileptic seizure detection. The obtained results show that the EKRA approach estimates a relevant representation space extracted from the provided supervised information, emphasizing the salient input features. As a result, our proposal outperforms the state-of-the-art methods regarding brain activity discrimination accuracy with the benefit of enhanced physiological interpretation about the task at hand.

Linkage disequilibrium mapping of morphological, resistance, and other agronomically relevant traits in modern spring barley cultivars

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kraakman, A.T.W.; Martinez, F.; Mussiraliev, B.; Eeuwijk, van F.A.; Niks, R.E.

2006-01-01

A set of 148 modern spring barley cultivars was explored for the extent of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between genes governing traits and nearby marker alleles. Associations of agronomically relevant traits (days to heading, plant height), resistance traits (leaf rust, barley yellow dwarf virus

Lost in the supermarket: Quantifying the cost of partitioning memory sets in hybrid search.

Science.gov (United States)

Boettcher, Sage E P; Drew, Trafton; Wolfe, Jeremy M

2018-01-01

The items on a memorized grocery list are not relevant in every aisle; for example, it is useless to search for the cabbage in the cereal aisle. It might be beneficial if one could mentally partition the list so only the relevant subset was active, so that vegetables would be activated in the produce section. In four experiments, we explored observers' abilities to partition memory searches. For example, if observers held 16 items in memory, but only eight of the items were relevant, would response times resemble a search through eight or 16 items? In Experiments 1a and 1b, observers were not faster for the partition set; however, they suffered relatively small deficits when "lures" (items from the irrelevant subset) were presented, indicating that they were aware of the partition. In Experiment 2 the partitions were based on semantic distinctions, and again, observers were unable to restrict search to the relevant items. In Experiments 3a and 3b, observers attempted to remove items from the list one trial at a time but did not speed up over the course of a block, indicating that they also could not limit their memory searches. Finally, Experiments 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d showed that observers were able to limit their memory searches when a subset was relevant for a run of trials. Overall, observers appear to be unable or unwilling to partition memory sets from trial to trial, yet they are capable of restricting search to a memory subset that remains relevant for several trials. This pattern is consistent with a cost to switching between currently relevant memory items.

Reducing Information Overload in Large Seismic Data Sets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

HAMPTON,JEFFERY W.; YOUNG,CHRISTOPHER J.; MERCHANT,BION J.; CARR,DORTHE B.; AGUILAR-CHANG,JULIO

2000-08-02

Event catalogs for seismic data can become very large. Furthermore, as researchers collect multiple catalogs and reconcile them into a single catalog that is stored in a relational database, the reconciled set becomes even larger. The sheer number of these events makes searching for relevant events to compare with events of interest problematic. Information overload in this form can lead to the data sets being under-utilized and/or used incorrectly or inconsistently. Thus, efforts have been initiated to research techniques and strategies for helping researchers to make better use of large data sets. In this paper, the authors present their efforts to do so in two ways: (1) the Event Search Engine, which is a waveform correlation tool and (2) some content analysis tools, which area combination of custom-built and commercial off-the-shelf tools for accessing, managing, and querying seismic data stored in a relational database. The current Event Search Engine is based on a hierarchical clustering tool known as the dendrogram tool, which is written as a MatSeis graphical user interface. The dendrogram tool allows the user to build dendrogram diagrams for a set of waveforms by controlling phase windowing, down-sampling, filtering, enveloping, and the clustering method (e.g. single linkage, complete linkage, flexible method). It also allows the clustering to be based on two or more stations simultaneously, which is important to bridge gaps in the sparsely recorded event sets anticipated in such a large reconciled event set. Current efforts are focusing on tools to help the researcher winnow the clusters defined using the dendrogram tool down to the minimum optimal identification set. This will become critical as the number of reference events in the reconciled event set continually grows. The dendrogram tool is part of the MatSeis analysis package, which is available on the Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Research and Engineering Program Web Site. As part of the research

Design, production and initial state of the canister

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cederqvist, Lars; Johansson, Magnus; Leskinen, Nina; Ronneteg, Ulf

2010-12-01

The report is included in a set of Production reports, presenting how the KBS-3 repository is designed, produced and inspected. The set of reports is included in the safety report for the KBS-3 repository and repository facility.The report provides input on the initial state of the canisters to the assessment of the long-term safety, SR-Site. The initial state refers to the properties of the engineered barriers once they have been finally placed in the KBS-3 repository and will not be further handled within the repository facility. In addition, the report provides input to the operational safety report, SR-Operation, on how the canisters shall be handled and disposed. The report presents the design premises and reference design of the canister and verifies the conformity of the reference design to the design premises. The production methods and the ability to produce canisters according to the reference design are described. Finally, the initial state of the canisters and their conformity to the reference design and design premises are presented

Design, production and initial state of the canister

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cederqvist, Lars; Johansson, Magnus; Leskinen, Nina; Ronneteg, Ulf

2010-12-15

The report is included in a set of Production reports, presenting how the KBS-3 repository is designed, produced and inspected. The set of reports is included in the safety report for the KBS-3 repository and repository facility.The report provides input on the initial state of the canisters to the assessment of the long-term safety, SR-Site. The initial state refers to the properties of the engineered barriers once they have been finally placed in the KBS-3 repository and will not be further handled within the repository facility. In addition, the report provides input to the operational safety report, SR-Operation, on how the canisters shall be handled and disposed. The report presents the design premises and reference design of the canister and verifies the conformity of the reference design to the design premises. The production methods and the ability to produce canisters according to the reference design are described. Finally, the initial state of the canisters and their conformity to the reference design and design premises are presented

Design, production and initial state of the buffer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boerjesson, Lennart; Gunnarsson, David; Johannesson, Lars-Erik; Jonsson, Esther

2010-12-15

The report is included in a set of Production reports, presenting how the KBS-3 repository is designed, produced and inspected. The set of reports is included in the safety report for the KBS-3 repository and repository facility. The report provides input on the initial state of the buffer for the assessment of the long-term safety, SR-Site. The initial state refers to the properties of the engineered barriers once they have been finally placed in the KBS-3 repository and will not be further handled within the repository facility. In addition, the report provides input to the operational safety report, SR-Operation, on how the buffer shall be handled and installed. The report presents the design premises and reference design of the buffer and verifies the conformity of the reference design to the design premises. It also describes the production of the buffer, from excavation and delivery of buffer material to installation in the deposition hole. Finally, the initial state of the buffer and its conformity to the reference design and design premises is presented

Combining qualitative and quantitative operational research methods to inform quality improvement in pathways that span multiple settings

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Sonya; Brown, Katherine; Tregay, Jenifer; Wray, Jo; Knowles, Rachel; Ridout, Deborah A; Bull, Catherine; Utley, Martin

2017-01-01

Background Improving integration and continuity of care across sectors within resource constraints is a priority in many health systems. Qualitative operational research methods of problem structuring have been used to address quality improvement in services involving multiple sectors but not in combination with quantitative operational research methods that enable targeting of interventions according to patient risk. We aimed to combine these methods to augment and inform an improvement initiative concerning infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) whose complex care pathway spans multiple sectors. Methods Soft systems methodology was used to consider systematically changes to services from the perspectives of community, primary, secondary and tertiary care professionals and a patient group, incorporating relevant evidence. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis of national audit datasets was conducted along with data visualisation designed to inform service improvement within the context of limited resources. Results A ‘Rich Picture’ was developed capturing the main features of services for infants with CHD pertinent to service improvement. This was used, along with a graphical summary of the CART analysis, to guide discussions about targeting interventions at specific patient risk groups. Agreement was reached across representatives of relevant health professions and patients on a coherent set of targeted recommendations for quality improvement. These fed into national decisions about service provision and commissioning. Conclusions When tackling complex problems in service provision across multiple settings, it is important to acknowledge and work with multiple perspectives systematically and to consider targeting service improvements in response to confined resources. Our research demonstrates that applying a combination of qualitative and quantitative operational research methods is one approach to doing so that warrants further

Setting Healthcare Priorities at the Macro and Meso Levels: A Framework for Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Barasa, Edwine W; Molyneux, Sassy; English, Mike; Cleary, Susan

2015-09-16

Priority setting in healthcare is a key determinant of health system performance. However, there is no widely accepted priority setting evaluation framework. We reviewed literature with the aim of developing and proposing a framework for the evaluation of macro and meso level healthcare priority setting practices. We systematically searched Econlit, PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases and supplemented this with searches in Google Scholar, relevant websites and reference lists of relevant papers. A total of 31 papers on evaluation of priority setting were identified. These were supplemented by broader theoretical literature related to evaluation of priority setting. A conceptual review of selected papers was undertaken. Based on a synthesis of the selected literature, we propose an evaluative framework that requires that priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels of the health system meet the following conditions: (1) Priority setting decisions should incorporate both efficiency and equity considerations as well as the following outcomes; (a) Stakeholder satisfaction, (b) Stakeholder understanding, (c) Shifted priorities (reallocation of resources), and (d) Implementation of decisions. (2) Priority setting processes should also meet the procedural conditions of (a) Stakeholder engagement, (b) Stakeholder empowerment, (c) Transparency, (d) Use of evidence, (e) Revisions, (f) Enforcement, and (g) Being grounded on community values. Available frameworks for the evaluation of priority setting are mostly grounded on procedural requirements, while few have included outcome requirements. There is, however, increasing recognition of the need to incorporate both consequential and procedural considerations in priority setting practices. In this review, we adapt an integrative approach to develop and propose a framework for the evaluation of priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels that draws from these complementary schools of thought. © 2015

Setting Healthcare Priorities at the Macro and Meso Levels: A Framework for Evaluation

Science.gov (United States)

Barasa, Edwine W.; Molyneux, Sassy; English, Mike; Cleary, Susan

2015-01-01

Background: Priority setting in healthcare is a key determinant of health system performance. However, there is no widely accepted priority setting evaluation framework. We reviewed literature with the aim of developing and proposing a framework for the evaluation of macro and meso level healthcare priority setting practices. Methods: We systematically searched Econlit, PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases and supplemented this with searches in Google Scholar, relevant websites and reference lists of relevant papers. A total of 31 papers on evaluation of priority setting were identified. These were supplemented by broader theoretical literature related to evaluation of priority setting. A conceptual review of selected papers was undertaken. Results: Based on a synthesis of the selected literature, we propose an evaluative framework that requires that priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels of the health system meet the following conditions: (1) Priority setting decisions should incorporate both efficiency and equity considerations as well as the following outcomes; (a) Stakeholder satisfaction, (b) Stakeholder understanding, (c) Shifted priorities (reallocation of resources), and (d) Implementation of decisions. (2) Priority setting processes should also meet the procedural conditions of (a) Stakeholder engagement, (b) Stakeholder empowerment, (c) Transparency, (d) Use of evidence, (e) Revisions, (f) Enforcement, and (g) Being grounded on community values. Conclusion: Available frameworks for the evaluation of priority setting are mostly grounded on procedural requirements, while few have included outcome requirements. There is, however, increasing recognition of the need to incorporate both consequential and procedural considerations in priority setting practices. In this review, we adapt an integrative approach to develop and propose a framework for the evaluation of priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels that draws from these

Setting Healthcare Priorities at the Macro and Meso Levels: A Framework for Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edwine W. Barasa

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Background Priority setting in healthcare is a key determinant of health system performance. However, there is no widely accepted priority setting evaluation framework. We reviewed literature with the aim of developing and proposing a framework for the evaluation of macro and meso level healthcare priority setting practices. Methods We systematically searched Econlit, PubMed, CINAHL, and EBSCOhost databases and supplemented this with searches in Google Scholar, relevant websites and reference lists of relevant papers. A total of 31 papers on evaluation of priority setting were identified. These were supplemented by broader theoretical literature related to evaluation of priority setting. A conceptual review of selected papers was undertaken. Results Based on a synthesis of the selected literature, we propose an evaluative framework that requires that priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels of the health system meet the following conditions: (1 Priority setting decisions should incorporate both efficiency and equity considerations as well as the following outcomes; (a Stakeholder satisfaction, (b Stakeholder understanding, (c Shifted priorities (reallocation of resources, and (d Implementation of decisions. (2 Priority setting processes should also meet the procedural conditions of (a Stakeholder engagement, (b Stakeholder empowerment, (c Transparency, (d Use of evidence, (e Revisions, (f Enforcement, and (g Being grounded on community values. Conclusion Available frameworks for the evaluation of priority setting are mostly grounded on procedural requirements, while few have included outcome requirements. There is, however, increasing recognition of the need to incorporate both consequential and procedural considerations in priority setting practices. In this review, we adapt an integrative approach to develop and propose a framework for the evaluation of priority setting practices at the macro and meso levels that draws from

On the meniscus formation and the negative hydrogen ion extraction from ITER neutral beam injection relevant ion source

Science.gov (United States)

Mochalskyy, S.; Wünderlich, D.; Ruf, B.; Fantz, U.; Franzen, P.; Minea, T.

2014-10-01

The development of a large area (Asource,ITER = 0.9 × 2 m2) hydrogen negative ion (NI) source constitutes a crucial step in construction of the neutral beam injectors of the international fusion reactor ITER. To understand the plasma behaviour in the boundary layer close to the extraction system the 3D PIC MCC code ONIX is exploited. Direct cross checked analysis of the simulation and experimental results from the ITER-relevant BATMAN source testbed with a smaller area (Asource,BATMAN ≈ 0.32 × 0.59 m2) has been conducted for a low perveance beam, but for a full set of plasma parameters available. ONIX has been partially benchmarked by comparison to the results obtained using the commercial particle tracing code for positive ion extraction KOBRA3D. Very good agreement has been found in terms of meniscus position and its shape for simulations of different plasma densities. The influence of the initial plasma composition on the final meniscus structure was then investigated for NIs. As expected from the Child-Langmuir law, the results show that not only does the extraction potential play a crucial role on the meniscus formation, but also the initial plasma density and its electronegativity. For the given parameters, the calculated meniscus locates a few mm downstream of the plasma grid aperture provoking a direct NI extraction. Most of the surface produced NIs do not reach the plasma bulk, but move directly towards the extraction grid guided by the extraction field. Even for artificially increased electronegativity of the bulk plasma the extracted NI current from this region is low. This observation indicates a high relevance of the direct NI extraction. These calculations show that the extracted NI current from the bulk region is low even if a complete ion-ion plasma is assumed, meaning that direct extraction from surface produced ions should be present in order to obtain sufficiently high extracted NI current density. The calculated extracted currents, both ions

Mathematical Properties Relevant to Geomagnetic Field Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabaka, Terence J.; Hulot, Gauthier; Olsen, Nils

2010-01-01

be directly measured. In this chapter, the mathematical foundation of global (as opposed to regional) geomagnetic field modeling is reviewed, and the spatial modeling of the field in spherical coordinates is focussed. Time can be dealt with as an independent variable and is not explicitly considered......Geomagnetic field modeling consists in converting large numbers of magnetic observations into a linear combination of elementary mathematical functions that best describes those observations.The set of numerical coefficients defining this linear combination is then what one refers.......The relevant elementary mathematical functions are introduced, their properties are reviewed, and how they can be used to describe the magnetic field in a source-free (such as the Earth’s neutral atmosphere) or source-dense (such as the ionosphere) environment is explained. Completeness and uniqueness...

Mathematical Properties Relevant to Geomagnetic Field Modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sabaka, Terence J.; Hulot, Gauthier; Olsen, Nils

2014-01-01

be directly measured. In this chapter, the mathematical foundation of global (as opposed to regional) geomagnetic field modeling is reviewed, and the spatial modeling of the field in spherical coordinates is focused. Time can be dealt with as an independent variable and is not explicitly considered......Geomagnetic field modeling consists in converting large numbers of magnetic observations into a linear combination of elementary mathematical functions that best describes those observations. The set of numerical coefficients defining this linear combination is then what one refers....... The relevant elementary mathematical functions are introduced, their properties are reviewed, and how they can be used to describe the magnetic field in a source-free (such as the Earth’s neutral atmosphere) or source-dense (such as the ionosphere) environment is explained. Completeness and uniqueness...

Greed, grievance, leadership and external interventions in the initiation and intensification of the civil war in Angola

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Real P. Sousa

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Understanding the initiation of conflict is fundamental for the success of efforts in conflict prevention. The validity of the mechanisms of the “Greed and Grievance” model, alongside leadership and external interventions are tested in four periods of initiation and intensification of the conflict in Angola. All mechanisms are present but their relative relevance varies throughout the conflict. Among the mechanisms identified in each period the most relevant in the Cold War period are the international and regional interventions in 1961 and 1975 and in the post-Cold War period, the “greed” factors in 1992 (oil and diamonds, poverty and war capital and the UNITA leadership of Jonas Savimbi in 1998. The case study provides evidence that “greed” and “grievance” can be interlinked (such as in 1992 and confirms the relevance of leadership and external interventions mechanisms.

Technology initiatives with government/business overlap

Science.gov (United States)

Knapp, Robert H., Jr.

2015-03-01

Three important present-day technology development settings involve significant overlap between government and private sectors. The Advanced Research Project Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) supports a wide range of "high risk, high return" projects carried out in academic, non-profit or private business settings. The Materials Genome Initiative (MGI), based in the White House, aims at radical acceleration of the development process for advanced materials. California public utilities such as Pacific Gas & Electric operate under a structure of financial returns and political program mandates that make them arms of public policy as much as independent businesses.

The challenges and opportunities of conducting a clinical trial in a low resource setting: the case of the Cameroon mobile phone SMS (CAMPS) trial, an investigator initiated trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Mbuagbaw, Lawrence; Thabane, Lehana; Ongolo-Zogo, Pierre; Lang, Trudie

2011-06-09

Conducting clinical trials in developing countries often presents significant ethical, organisational, cultural and infrastructural challenges to researchers, pharmaceutical companies, sponsors and regulatory bodies. Globally, these regions are under-represented in research, yet this population stands to gain more from research in these settings as the burdens on health are greater than those in developed resourceful countries. However, developing countries also offer an attractive setting for clinical trials because they often have larger treatment naive populations with higher incidence rates of disease and more advanced stages. These factors can present a reduction in costs and time required to recruit patients. So, balance needs to be found where research can be encouraged and supported in order to bring maximum public health benefits to these communities. The difficulties with such trials arise from problems with obtaining valid informed consent, ethical compensation mechanisms for extremely poor populations, poor health infrastructure and considerable socio-economic and cultural divides. Ethical concerns with trials in developing countries have received attention, even though many other non-ethical issues may arise. Local investigator initiated trials also face a variety of difficulties that have not been adequately reported in literature. This paper uses the example of the Cameroon Mobile Phone SMS trial to describe in detail, the specific difficulties encountered in an investigator-initiated trial in a developing country. It highlights administrative, ethical, financial and staff related issues, proposes solutions and gives a list of additional documentation to ease the organisational process.

The challenges and opportunities of conducting a clinical trial in a low resource setting: The case of the Cameroon mobile phone SMS (CAMPS trial, an investigator initiated trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ongolo-Zogo Pierre

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Conducting clinical trials in developing countries often presents significant ethical, organisational, cultural and infrastructural challenges to researchers, pharmaceutical companies, sponsors and regulatory bodies. Globally, these regions are under-represented in research, yet this population stands to gain more from research in these settings as the burdens on health are greater than those in developed resourceful countries. However, developing countries also offer an attractive setting for clinical trials because they often have larger treatment naive populations with higher incidence rates of disease and more advanced stages. These factors can present a reduction in costs and time required to recruit patients. So, balance needs to be found where research can be encouraged and supported in order to bring maximum public health benefits to these communities. The difficulties with such trials arise from problems with obtaining valid informed consent, ethical compensation mechanisms for extremely poor populations, poor health infrastructure and considerable socio-economic and cultural divides. Ethical concerns with trials in developing countries have received attention, even though many other non-ethical issues may arise. Local investigator initiated trials also face a variety of difficulties that have not been adequately reported in literature. This paper uses the example of the Cameroon Mobile Phone SMS trial to describe in detail, the specific difficulties encountered in an investigator-initiated trial in a developing country. It highlights administrative, ethical, financial and staff related issues, proposes solutions and gives a list of additional documentation to ease the organisational process.

Intersection of triadic Cantor sets with their translates. II. Hausdorff measure spectrum function and its introduction for the classification of Cantor sets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Jun; Nekka, Fahima E-mail: fahima.nekka@umontreal.ca

2004-01-01

Initiated by the purpose of classification of sets having the same fractal dimension, we continue, in this second paper of a series of two, our investigation of intersection of triadic Cantor sets and their use in the classification of fractal sets. We exploit the infinite tree structure of translation elements to give the exact expressions of these elements. We generalize this result to a family of uniform Cantor sets for which we also give the Hausdorff measure spectrum function (HMSF). We develop three algorithms for the construction of HMSF of triadic Cantor sets. Then, we introduce a new method based on HMSF as a way for tracing the geometrical organization of a fractal set. The HMSF does carry a huge amount of information about the set to likely be explored in a chosen way. To extract this information, we develop a one by one step method and apply it to typical fractal sets. This results in a complete identification of fractals.0.

Accident analyses in nuclear power plants following external initiating events and in the shutdown state. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loeffler, Horst; Kowalik, Michael; Mildenberger, Oliver; Hage, Michael

2016-06-01

The work which is documented here provides the methodological basis for improvement of the state of knowledge for accident sequences after plant external initiating events and for accident sequences which begin in the shutdown state. The analyses have been done for a PWR and for a BWR reference plant. The work has been supported by the German federal ministry BMUB under the label 3612R01361. Top objectives of the work are: - Identify relevant event sequences in order to define characteristic initial and boundary conditions - Perform accident analysis of selected sequences - Evaluate the relevance of accident sequences in a qualitative way The accident analysis is performed with the code MELCOR 1.8.6. The applied input data set has been significantly improved compared to previous analyses. The event tree method which is established in PSA level 2 has been applied for creating a structure for a unified summarization and evaluation of the results from the accident analyses. The computer code EVNTRE has been applied for this purpose. In contrast to a PSA level 2, the branching probabilities of the event tree have not been determined with the usual accuracy, but they are given in an approximate way only. For the PWR, the analyses show a considerable protective effect of the containment also in the case of beyond design events. For the BWR, there is a rather high probability for containment failure under core melt impact, but nevertheless the release of radionuclides into the environment is very limited because of plant internal retention mechanisms. This report concludes with remarks about existing knowledge gaps and with regard to core melt sequences, and about possible improvements of the plant safety.

Experiences in Using Practitioner’s Checklists to Evaluate the Relevance of Experiments Reported in Requirements Engineering

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daneva, Maia; Sikkel, Nicolaas; Condori-Fernandez, Nelly; Herrmann, Andrea

Background: Requirements Engineering (RE) researchers recognize that for RE methods to be adopted in industry, practitioners should be able to evaluate the relevance of a study to their practice. Kitchenham et al proposed a set of perspective-based checklists, which demonstrated to be a useful

Formative research on a teacher accompaniment model to promote youth mental health in Haiti: Relevance to mental health task-sharing in low-resource school settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Eustache, Eddy; Gerbasi, Margaret E; Severe, Jennifer; Fils-Aimé, J Reginald; Smith Fawzi, Mary C; Raviola, Giuseppe J; Darghouth, Sarah; Boyd, Kate; Thérosmé, Tatiana; Legha, Rupinder; Pierre, Ermaze L; Affricot, Emmeline; Alcindor, Yoldie; Grelotti, David J; Becker, Anne E

2017-06-01

Task-sharing with teachers to promote youth mental health is a promising but underdeveloped strategy in improving care access in low-income countries. To assess feasibility, acceptability and utility of the teacher accompaniment phase of a school-based Teacher- Accompagnateur Pilot Study (TAPS) in Haiti. We assigned student participants, aged 18-22 years ( n = 120), to teacher participants ( n = 22) within four Haitian schools; we instructed participants to arrange meetings with their assigned counterparts to discuss mental health treatment, academic skills, and/or well-being. We measured student and teacher perceived feasibility, acceptability and utility of meetings with self-report Likert-style questions. We examined overall program feasibility by the percentage of students with a documented meeting, acceptability by a composite measure of student satisfaction and utility by the percentage with identified mental health need who discussed treatment with a teacher. Favorable ratings support feasibility, acceptability and utility of teacher- accompagnateur meetings with students. The majority of students (54%) met with a teacher. Among students with an identified mental disorder, 43.2% discussed treatment during a meeting. This accompaniment approach to mental health task-sharing with teachers provided a school-based opportunity for students with mental health need to discuss treatment and has potential relevance to other low-income settings.

Goal setting: an integral component of effective diabetes care.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Carla K; Bauman, Jennifer

2014-08-01

Goal setting is a widely used behavior change tool in diabetes education and training. Prior research found specific relatively difficult but attainable goals set within a specific timeframe improved performance in sports and at the workplace. However, the impact of goal setting in diabetes self-care has not received extensive attention. This review examined the mechanisms underlying behavioral change according to goal setting theory and evaluated the impact of goal setting in diabetes intervention studies. Eight studies were identified, which incorporated goal setting as the primary strategy to promote behavioral change in individual, group-based, and primary care settings among patients with type 2 diabetes. Improvements in diabetes-related self-efficacy, dietary intake, physical activity, and A1c were observed in some but not all studies. More systematic research is needed to determine the conditions and behaviors for which goal setting is most effective. Initial recommendations for using goal setting in diabetes patient encounters are offered.

Scratch to state-of-the-art: setting up a new robotic facility in a developing country.

Science.gov (United States)

Bora, G S; Mavuduru, R S; Devana, S K; Singh, S K; Mandal, A K

2018-03-01

The potential challenges encountered for setting up a robotic assisted surgical facility in developing country like India are many. We describe the initial hurdles and troubleshooting in establishing a facility of such kind. This experience might help to decrease initial hiccups in setting up such an innovative technology at other institutes.

CONSIDER - Core Outcome Set in IAD Research: study protocol for establishing a core set of outcomes and measurements in incontinence-associated dermatitis research.

Science.gov (United States)

Van den Bussche, Karen; De Meyer, Dorien; Van Damme, Nele; Kottner, Jan; Beeckman, Dimitri

2017-10-01

This study protocol describes the methodology for the development of a core set of outcomes and a core set of measurements for incontinence-associated dermatitis. Incontinence is a widespread disorder with an important impact on quality of life. One of the most common complications is incontinence-associated dermatitis, resulting from chemical and physical irritation of the skin barrier, triggering inflammation and skin damage. Managing incontinence-associated dermatitis is an important challenge for nurses. Several interventions have been assessed in clinical trials, but heterogeneity in study outcomes complicates the comparability and standardization. To overcome this challenge, the development of a core outcome set, a minimum set of outcomes and measurements to be assessed in clinical research, is needed. A project team, International Steering Committee and panelists will be involved to guide the development of the core outcome set. The framework of the Harmonizing Outcomes Measures for Eczema roadmap endorsed by Cochrane Skin Group Core Outcomes Set Initiative, is used to inform the project design. A systematic literature review, interviews to integrate the patients' perspective and a consensus study with healthcare researchers and providers using the Delphi procedure will be performed. The project was approved by the Ethics review Committee (April 2016). This is the first project that will identify a core outcome set of outcomes and measurements for incontinence-associated dermatitis research. A core outcome set will reduce possible reporting bias, allow results comparisons and statistical pooling across trials and strengthen evidence-based practice and decision-making. This project has been registered in the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) database and is part of the Cochrane Skin Group Core Outcomes Set Initiative (CSG-COUSIN). © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Recovery of an initial temperature from discrete sampling

KAUST Repository

DeVore, Ronald

2014-11-01

The problem of recovering the initial temperature of a body from discrete temperature measurements made at later times is studied. While this problem has a general formulation, the results of this paper are only given in the simplest setting of a finite (one-dimensional), constant coefficient, linear rod. It is shown that with a judicious placement of a thermometer on this rod, the initial temperature profile of the rod can be completely determined by later time measurements. The paper then studies the number of measurements that are needed to recover the initial profile to a prescribed accuracy and provides an optimal reconstruction algorithm under the assumption that the initial profile is in a Sobolev class. © 2014 World Scientific Publishing Company.

Implementation of quality management for clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Barbé, B; Yansouni, C P; Affolabi, D; Jacobs, J

2017-07-01

The declining trend of malaria and the recent prioritization of containment of antimicrobial resistance have created a momentum to implement clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings. Successful implementation relies on guidance by a quality management system (QMS). Over the past decade international initiatives were launched towards implementation of QMS in HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. To describe the progress towards accreditation of medical laboratories and to identify the challenges and best practices for implementation of QMS in clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings. Published literature, online reports and websites related to the implementation of laboratory QMS, accreditation of medical laboratories and initiatives for containment of antimicrobial resistance. Apart from the limitations of infrastructure, equipment, consumables and staff, QMS are challenged with the complexity of clinical bacteriology and the healthcare context in low-resource settings (small-scale laboratories, attitudes and perception of staff, absence of laboratory information systems). Likewise, most international initiatives addressing laboratory health strengthening have focused on public health and outbreak management rather than on hospital based patient care. Best practices to implement quality-assured clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings include alignment with national regulations and public health reference laboratories, participating in external quality assurance programmes, support from the hospital's management, starting with attainable projects, conducting error review and daily bench-side supervision, looking for locally adapted solutions, stimulating ownership and extending existing training programmes to clinical bacteriology. The implementation of QMS in clinical bacteriology in hospital settings will ultimately boost a culture of quality to all sectors of healthcare in low-resource settings. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by

Algebraic Specifications, Higher-order Types and Set-theoretic Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kirchner, Hélène; Mosses, Peter David

2001-01-01

, and power-sets. This paper presents a simple framework for algebraic specifications with higher-order types and set-theoretic models. It may be regarded as the basis for a Horn-clause approximation to the Z framework, and has the advantage of being amenable to prototyping and automated reasoning. Standard......In most algebraic  specification frameworks, the type system is restricted to sorts, subsorts, and first-order function types. This is in marked contrast to the so-called model-oriented frameworks, which provide higer-order types, interpreted set-theoretically as Cartesian products, function spaces...... set-theoretic models are considered, and conditions are given for the existence of initial reduct's of such models. Algebraic specifications for various set-theoretic concepts are considered....

Identifying noncoding risk variants using disease-relevant gene regulatory networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Long; Uzun, Yasin; Gao, Peng; He, Bing; Ma, Xiaoke; Wang, Jiahui; Han, Shizhong; Tan, Kai

2018-02-16

Identifying noncoding risk variants remains a challenging task. Because noncoding variants exert their effects in the context of a gene regulatory network (GRN), we hypothesize that explicit use of disease-relevant GRNs can significantly improve the inference accuracy of noncoding risk variants. We describe Annotation of Regulatory Variants using Integrated Networks (ARVIN), a general computational framework for predicting causal noncoding variants. It employs a set of novel regulatory network-based features, combined with sequence-based features to infer noncoding risk variants. Using known causal variants in gene promoters and enhancers in a number of diseases, we show ARVIN outperforms state-of-the-art methods that use sequence-based features alone. Additional experimental validation using reporter assay further demonstrates the accuracy of ARVIN. Application of ARVIN to seven autoimmune diseases provides a holistic view of the gene subnetwork perturbed by the combinatorial action of the entire set of risk noncoding mutations.

Intervening to promote early initiation of breastfeeding in the LDR.

Science.gov (United States)

Komara, Carol; Simpson, Diana; Teasdale, Carla; Whalen, Gaye; Bell, Shay; Giovanetto, Laurie

2007-01-01

To evaluate the effectiveness of an interventional protocol for the early initiation of breastfeeding that would remove barriers in the labor, delivery, recovery (LDR) unit. Descriptive design using 100 postpartum mothers who were interviewed before discharge at a large university hospital in the south-central United States. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. The protocol was effective for initiating breastfeeding, and breastfeeding increased from 53% to 66%. When barriers to breastfeeding are reduced in the LDR setting, women will breastfeed. It is possible that reducing hospital barriers to breastfeeding in the LDR can also set the stage for sustained breastfeeding during hospitalization and for less supplementation with formula.

Doomed to fail from the outset? UNHCR's Convention Plus Initiative revisited

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zieck, M.

2009-01-01

In September 2002, the High Commissioner for Refugees outlined the contours of a new initiative: the Convention Plus initiative, which set out to develop a normative framework for global burden-sharing. It proceeded from the assumption that the present refugee law regime - in this context, the 1951

A comparative review of patient safety initiatives for national health information technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magrabi, Farah; Aarts, Jos; Nøhr, Christian

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To collect and critically review patient safety initiatives for health information technology (HIT). METHOD: Publicly promulgated set of advisories, recommendations, guidelines, or standards potentially addressing safe system design, build, implementation or use were identified...... by searching the websites of regional and national agencies and programmes in a non-exhaustive set of exemplar countries including England, Denmark, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada and Australia. Initiatives were categorised by type and software systems covered. RESULTS: We found 27 patient safety initiatives...... were aimed at certification in the USA, Canada and Australia. Safety is addressed alongside interoperability in the Australian certification programme but it is not explicitly addressed in the US and Canadian programmes, though conformance with specific functionality, interoperability, security...

Research on Role Sets and Emotional Relationships in Military Personnel Marriage

Science.gov (United States)

Murtazina, Elmira I.; Minullina, Aida F.

2016-01-01

An urgent demand of society to conduct effective work with the family substantiates the relevance of the research. The article provides the investigation of role sets and emotional relationships in marriage through the study of military personnel and nonmilitary personnel families. Practical implementation of psychological ideas represents one of…

Identifying relevant group of miRNAs in cancer using fuzzy mutual information.

Science.gov (United States)

Pal, Jayanta Kumar; Ray, Shubhra Sankar; Pal, Sankar K

2016-04-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) act as a major biomarker of cancer. All miRNAs in human body are not equally important for cancer identification. We propose a methodology, called FMIMS, which automatically selects the most relevant miRNAs for a particular type of cancer. In FMIMS, miRNAs are initially grouped by using a SVM-based algorithm; then the group with highest relevance is determined and the miRNAs in that group are finally ranked for selection according to their redundancy. Fuzzy mutual information is used in computing the relevance of a group and the redundancy of miRNAs within it. Superiority of the most relevant group to all others, in deciding normal or cancer, is demonstrated on breast, renal, colorectal, lung, melanoma and prostate data. The merit of FMIMS as compared to several existing methods is established. While 12 out of 15 selected miRNAs by FMIMS corroborate with those of biological investigations, three of them viz., "hsa-miR-519," "hsa-miR-431" and "hsa-miR-320c" are possible novel predictions for renal cancer, lung cancer and melanoma, respectively. The selected miRNAs are found to be involved in disease-specific pathways by targeting various genes. The method is also able to detect the responsible miRNAs even at the primary stage of cancer. The related code is available at http://www.jayanta.droppages.com/FMIMS.html .

The Limits to Relevance

Science.gov (United States)

Averill, M.; Briggle, A.

2006-12-01

Science policy and knowledge production lately have taken a pragmatic turn. Funding agencies increasingly are requiring scientists to explain the relevance of their work to society. This stems in part from mounting critiques of the "linear model" of knowledge production in which scientists operating according to their own interests or disciplinary standards are presumed to automatically produce knowledge that is of relevance outside of their narrow communities. Many contend that funded scientific research should be linked more directly to societal goals, which implies a shift in the kind of research that will be funded. While both authors support the concept of useful science, we question the exact meaning of "relevance" and the wisdom of allowing it to control research agendas. We hope to contribute to the conversation by thinking more critically about the meaning and limits of the term "relevance" and the trade-offs implicit in a narrow utilitarian approach. The paper will consider which interests tend to be privileged by an emphasis on relevance and address issues such as whose goals ought to be pursued and why, and who gets to decide. We will consider how relevance, narrowly construed, may actually limit the ultimate utility of scientific research. The paper also will reflect on the worthiness of research goals themselves and their relationship to a broader view of what it means to be human and to live in society. Just as there is more to being human than the pragmatic demands of daily life, there is more at issue with knowledge production than finding the most efficient ways to satisfy consumer preferences or fix near-term policy problems. We will conclude by calling for a balanced approach to funding research that addresses society's most pressing needs but also supports innovative research with less immediately apparent application.

An Initialization Method Based on Hybrid Distance for k-Means Algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jie; Ma, Yan; Zhang, Xiangfen; Li, Shunbao; Zhang, Yuping

2017-11-01

The traditional [Formula: see text]-means algorithm has been widely used as a simple and efficient clustering method. However, the performance of this algorithm is highly dependent on the selection of initial cluster centers. Therefore, the method adopted for choosing initial cluster centers is extremely important. In this letter, we redefine the density of points according to the number of its neighbors, as well as the distance between points and their neighbors. In addition, we define a new distance measure that considers both Euclidean distance and density. Based on that, we propose an algorithm for selecting initial cluster centers that can dynamically adjust the weighting parameter. Furthermore, we propose a new internal clustering validation measure, the clustering validation index based on the neighbors (CVN), which can be exploited to select the optimal result among multiple clustering results. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing initialization methods on real-world data sets and demonstrates the adaptability of the proposed algorithm to data sets with various characteristics.

REsearch into implementation STrategies to support patients of different ORigins and language background in a variety of European primary care settings (RESTORE: study protocol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MacFarlane Anne

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The implementation of guidelines and training initiatives to support communication in cross-cultural primary care consultations is ad hoc across a range of international settings with negative consequences particularly for migrants. This situation reflects a well-documented translational gap between evidence and practice and is part of the wider problem of implementing guidelines and the broader range of professional educational and quality interventions in routine practice. In this paper, we describe our use of a contemporary social theory, Normalization Process Theory and participatory research methodology—Participatory Learning and Action—to investigate and support implementation of such guidelines and training initiatives in routine practice. Methods This is a qualitative case study, using multiple primary care sites across Europe. Purposive and maximum variation sampling approaches will be used to identify and recruit stakeholders—migrant service users, general practitioners, primary care nurses, practice managers and administrative staff, interpreters, cultural mediators, service planners, and policy makers. We are conducting a mapping exercise to identify relevant guidelines and training initiatives. We will then initiate a PLA-brokered dialogue with stakeholders around Normalization Process Theory’s four constructs—coherence, cognitive participation, collective action, and reflexive monitoring. Through this, we will enable stakeholders in each setting to select a single guideline or training initiative for implementation in their local setting. We will prospectively investigate and support the implementation journeys for the five selected interventions. Data will be generated using a Participatory Learning and Action approach to interviews and focus groups. Data analysis will follow the principles of thematic analysis, will occur in iterative cycles throughout the project and will involve participatory co

Improved diagnostic accuracy of Alzheimer's disease by combining regional cortical thickness and default mode network functional connectivity: Validated in the Alzheimer's disease neuroimaging initiative set

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Ji Eun; Park, Bum Woo; Kim, Sang Joon; Kim, Ho Sung; Choi, Choong Gon; Jung, Seung Jung; Oh, Joo Young; Shim, Woo Hyun [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jae Hong; Roh, Jee Hoon [University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-11-15

To identify potential imaging biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease by combining brain cortical thickness (CThk) and functional connectivity and to validate this model's diagnostic accuracy in a validation set. Data from 98 subjects was retrospectively reviewed, including a study set (n = 63) and a validation set from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (n = 35). From each subject, data for CThk and functional connectivity of the default mode network was extracted from structural T1-weighted and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Cortical regions with significant differences between patients and healthy controls in the correlation of CThk and functional connectivity were identified in the study set. The diagnostic accuracy of functional connectivity measures combined with CThk in the identified regions was evaluated against that in the medial temporal lobes using the validation set and application of a support vector machine. Group-wise differences in the correlation of CThk and default mode network functional connectivity were identified in the superior temporal (p < 0.001) and supramarginal gyrus (p = 0.007) of the left cerebral hemisphere. Default mode network functional connectivity combined with the CThk of those two regions were more accurate than that combined with the CThk of both medial temporal lobes (91.7% vs. 75%). Combining functional information with CThk of the superior temporal and supramarginal gyri in the left cerebral hemisphere improves diagnostic accuracy, making it a potential imaging biomarker for Alzheimer's disease.

Time and setting dependent instrument parameters and proofs of Bell-type inequalities

OpenAIRE

Hess, Karl; Philipp, Walter

2002-01-01

We show that all proofs of Bell-type inequalities, as discussed in Bell's well known book and as claimed to be relevant to Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen type experiments, come to a halt when Einstein-local time and setting dependent instrument parameters are included.

Identification of Disease Relevant Post Translational Modifications of Proteins in Pulmonary Fibrosis as Novel Biochemical Marker Targets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kristensen, Jacob Hull

elastin and the ELM7 neo-epitope with limited reactivity towards intact elastin. Finally, we tested the assays for clinical relevance in serum from patients diagnosed with IPF or lung cancer and healthy matched controls. Serum EL-NE- and ELM7 fragment levels were significantly elevated in IPF- and lung...... cancer patients compared to matched controls. In conclusion, we have developed two technically stable assays, EL-NE and ELM7, for the quantification of elastin degraded by NE and MMP-7 respectively. Both assays were protease specific. Initial clinical testing suggested clinical relevance of the assays...

Do corporate environmental initiatives lead to results in SMEs?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Henning; Ulhøi, John Parm

, it is relevant to study the situation between these two stages in order to identify to which extent corporate environmental initiatives actually lead to results and reductions. The research is based on data collected by surveys of industrial companies in Denmark in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. They information...... with previous research demonstrating that companies generally are re-active in their attitude when perceiving stakeholder influence on taking environmental initiative and mainly respond to influence from stakeholders representing authorities, owners or employees. However, the size of the company may have...... a negative influence in some situations. That is, it seems to be easier for smaller companies to achieve an improvement compared to medium-sized companies....

Mirror neurons and their clinical relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Rizzolatti, Giacomo; Fabbri-Destro, Maddalena; Cattaneo, Luigi

2009-01-01

One of the most exciting events in neurosciences over the past few years has been the discovery of a mechanism that unifies action perception and action execution. The essence of this 'mirror' mechanism is as follows: whenever individuals observe an action being done by someone else, a set of neurons that code for that action is activated in the observers' motor system. Since the observers are aware of the outcome of their motor acts, they also understand what the other individual is doing without the need for intermediate cognitive mediation. In this Review, after discussing the most pertinent data concerning the mirror mechanism, we examine the clinical relevance of this mechanism. We first discuss the relationship between mirror mechanism impairment and some core symptoms of autism. We then outline the theoretical principles of neurorehabilitation strategies based on the mirror mechanism. We conclude by examining the relationship between the mirror mechanism and some features of the environmental dependency syndromes.

Nostalgia's place among self-relevant emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

van Tilburg, Wijnand A P; Wildschut, Tim; Sedikides, Constantine

2017-07-24

How is nostalgia positioned among self-relevant emotions? We tested, in six studies, which self-relevant emotions are perceived as most similar versus least similar to nostalgia, and what underlies these similarities/differences. We used multidimensional scaling to chart the perceived similarities/differences among self-relevant emotions, resulting in two-dimensional models. The results were revealing. Nostalgia is positioned among self-relevant emotions characterised by positive valence, an approach orientation, and low arousal. Nostalgia most resembles pride and self-compassion, and least resembles embarrassment and shame. Our research pioneered the integration of nostalgia among self-relevant emotions.

A parameter set for a double-null DEMO reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cooke, P.I.H.

1987-01-01

The present study is aimed at commenting on the reactor-relevance of the design principles and technology being proposed for NET. The authors propose that a double-null device serve as a basis for a NET-based demonstration reactor. Calculations are carried out to determine the parameter set for reactors based on the double-null NET design, and the results are presented in tabular form. (U.K.)

Student engagement in interprofessional working in practice placement settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Pollard, Katherine

2009-10-01

. To investigate the nature of student engagement in interprofessional interaction while on placement. Due to continuing emphasis on improving interprofessional collaboration, UK educational establishments are required to offer pre-qualifying health and social care students interprofessional education in order that they acquire relevant competencies. However, few formal interprofessional education initiatives occur in practice settings and little is known about pre-qualifying students' non-formal learning about interprofessional issues while on placement. From 2003-2005 an English Faculty of Health and Social Care conducted a qualitative study to explore opportunities for interprofessional learning and working available to students in practice placement settings. Case studies were conducted in a coronary care ward, a medical ward for older patients, a maternity unit, a paediatric unit, an integrated community learning disabilities team and a residential facility for adults with challenging behaviour. Gaining access was complex, due to variable student timetables and UK research governance requirements. Sites were therefore selected according to geographical area and timing of student placements. Details of interprofessional interaction (formal and informal) were observed and recorded. Interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 20 practitioners and 15 students. Data were analysed thematically. Student experience varied considerably. Contributing factors included the influence of doctors and differing professional cultures; mentors' support for student engagement in interprofessional working; and individual students' confidence levels. Most sites were managed by nurses and some senior nurses were proactive in involving students interprofessionally. However, many students lacked systematic support for interprofessional engagement. Students lack parity of experience concerning interprofessional activity on placement. Where they do not have systematic

Compendium of ORD and OSWER documents relevant to RCRA corrective action

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-04-01

Throughout the past decade, several offices within the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been involved in hazardous waste management technologies research, remedial action at chemically contaminated sites, and regulatory development for permitting hazardous waste management facilities. The primary offices involved in these activities include the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER). During this period, substantial knowledge and experience have been gained relevant to the a placability of remedial action technologies in various environmental setting

The Honolulu posttraumatic stress disorder stimulus set.

Science.gov (United States)

Chemtob, C M; Roitblat, H L; Hamada, R S; Carlson, J G; Muraoka, M Y; Bauer, G B

1997-04-01

We present word and picture stimuli constituting a validated stimulus set appropriate for cognitive investigations of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Combat related and neutral words and pictures were rated by Vietnam veterans with PTSD and by three comparison groups along four dimensions: unpleasantness, Vietnam relevance, stressfulness, and memorability. There were distinctive patterns of responses by the PTSD group which efficiently discriminated the individuals in this group from those in the control groups. These stimuli have the potential to be developed as a diagnostic instrument.

Embedded promotions in online services: how goal-relevance ambiguity shapes response and affect.

Science.gov (United States)

Brasel, S Adam

2010-09-01

Adding promotions to online services is increasingly commonplace, yet consumers may have difficulty determining whether service-embedded promotions are goal-relevant, due to the linear and transactional nature of online services. This contextual effect of goal-relevance ambiguity on promotions is explored across three studies. An exploratory study utilizing actual service websites and a broad range of consumers as participants showed promotional elements in online services generated considerable confusion, and instructions labeling promotions as optional did little to relieve goal-relevance ambiguity. A second study using student participants inserted promotions into an online airline ticket service, a shopping site, a local news blog, and a news headline aggregator, to explore how linear and transactional sites such as online services compared to more exploratory or informational online environments. Results showed that service-embedded promotions enjoyed initial compliance far beyond promotions in traditional websites but also generated increased confusion, frustration, and anger. A third study utilizing student participants explored how varying levels of online service experience created differing responses to promotions in services; novices were less able to judge promotional goal-relevance and experienced more confusion, whereas experienced searchers were more likely to respond with frustration and anger. Many participants complied with promotional offers at the time of the service transaction, but stated intentions to use the promotion postservice were very low. The overall results spotlight goal-relevance ambiguity as an important driver of consumer response to online promotions, and highlight the role website context can play in the processing of online promotional elements. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved.

The Overture Initiative Integrating Tools for VDM

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Peter Gorm; Battle, Nick; Ferreira, Miguel

2010-01-01

Overture is a community-based initiative that aims to develop a common open-source platform integrating a range of tools for constructing and analysing formal models of systems using VDM. The mission is to both provide an industrial-strength tool set for VDM and also to provide an environment...

Multi-Agent Rendezvousing with a Finite Set of Candidate Rendezvous Points

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fang, J.; Morse, A. S.; Cao, M.

2008-01-01

The discrete multi-agent rendezvous problem we consider in this paper is concerned with a specified set of points in the plane, called “dwell-points,” and a set of mobile autonomous agents with limited sensing range. Each agent is initially positioned at some dwell-point, and is able to determine

A Coordinated Initialization Process for the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Crues, Edwin Z.; Phillips, Robert G.; Dexter, Dan; Hasan, David

2007-01-01

A viewgraph presentation on the federate initialization process for the Distributed Space Exploration Simulation (DSES) is described. The topics include: 1) Background: DSES; 2) Simulation requirements; 3) Nine Step Initialization; 4) Step 1: Create the Federation; 5) Step 2: Publish and Subscribe; 6) Step 3: Create Object Instances; 7) Step 4: Confirm All Federates Have Joined; 8) Step 5: Achieve initialize Synchronization Point; 9) Step 6: Update Object Instances With Initial Data; 10) Step 7: Wait for Object Reflections; 11) Step 8: Set Up Time Management; 12) Step 9: Achieve startup Synchronization Point; and 13) Conclusions

The processing cost of reference-set computation: guess patterns in acquisition

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Reinhart, T.

1999-01-01

An idea which got much attention in linguistic theory in the nineties is that the well-formedness of sentences is not always determined by absolute conditions, but it may be determined by a selection of the optimal competitor out of a relevant reference-set. A restricted version of this was assumed

Engineering Graduates' Skill Sets in the MENA Region: A Gap Analysis of Industry Expectations and Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadi, Eric; Ramadi, Serge; Nasr, Karim

2016-01-01

This study explored gaps between industry expectations and perceptions of engineering graduates' skill sets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This study measured the importance that managers of engineers placed on 36 skills relevant to engineers. Also measured was managers' satisfaction with engineering graduates' skill sets.…

Counting SET-free sets

OpenAIRE

Harman, Nate

2016-01-01

We consider the following counting problem related to the card game SET: How many $k$-element SET-free sets are there in an $n$-dimensional SET deck? Through a series of algebraic reformulations and reinterpretations, we show the answer to this question satisfies two polynomiality conditions.

Efficacy and Safety of Three Antiretroviral Regimens for Initial Treatment of HIV-1: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Diverse Multinational Settings

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Thomas B.; Smeaton, Laura M.; Kumarasamy, N.; Flanigan, Timothy; Klingman, Karin L.; Firnhaber, Cynthia; Grinsztejn, Beatriz; Hosseinipour, Mina C.; Kumwenda, Johnstone; Lalloo, Umesh; Riviere, Cynthia; Sanchez, Jorge; Melo, Marineide; Supparatpinyo, Khuanchai; Tripathy, Srikanth; Martinez, Ana I.; Nair, Apsara; Walawander, Ann; Moran, Laura; Chen, Yun; Snowden, Wendy; Rooney, James F.; Uy, Jonathan; Schooley, Robert T.; De Gruttola, Victor; Hakim, James Gita; Swann, Edith; Barnett, Ronald L.; Brizz, Barbara; Delph, Yvette; Gettinger, Nikki; Mitsuyasu, Ronald T.; Eshleman, Susan; Safren, Steven; Fiscus, Susan A.; Andrade, Adriana; Haas, David W.; Amod, Farida; Berthaud, Vladimir; Bollinger, Robert C.; Bryson, Yvonne; Celentano, David; Chilongozi, David; Cohen, Myron; Collier, Ann C.; Currier, Judith Silverstein; Cu-Uvin, Susan; Eron, Joseph; Flexner, Charles; Gallant, Joel E.; Gulick, Roy M.; Hammer, Scott M.; Hoffman, Irving; Kazembe, Peter; Kumwenda, Newton; Lama, Javier R.; Lawrence, Jody; Maponga, Chiedza; Martinson, Francis; Mayer, Kenneth; Nielsen, Karin; Pendame, Richard B.; Ramratnam, Bharat; Sanne, Ian; Severe, Patrice; Sirisanthana, Thira; Solomon, Suniti; Tabet, Steve; Taha, Taha; van der Horst, Charles; Wanke, Christine; Gormley, Joan; Marcus, Cheryl J.; Putnam, Beverly; Loeliger, Edde; Pappa, Keith A.; Webb, Nancy; Shugarts, David L.; Winters, Mark A.; Descallar, Renard S.; Steele, Joseph; Wulfsohn, Michael; Said, Farideh; Chen, Yue; Martin, John C; Bischofberger, Norbert; Cheng, Andrew; Jaffe, Howard; Sharma, Jabin; Poongulali, S.; Cardoso, Sandra Wagner; Faria, Deise Lucia; Berendes, Sima; Burke, Kelly; Mngqibisa, Rosie; Kanyama, Cecelia; Kayoyo, Virginia; Samaneka, Wadzanai P.; Chisada, Anthony; Faesen, Sharla; Chariyalertsak, Suwat; Santos, Breno; Lira, Rita Alves; Joglekar, Anjali A.; Rosa, Alberto La; Infante, Rosa; Jain, Mamta; Petersen, Tianna; Godbole, Sheela; Dhayarkar, Sampada; Feinberg, Judith; Baer, Jenifer; Pollard, Richard B.; Asmuth, David; Gangakhedkar, Raman R; Gaikwad, Asmita; Ray, M. Graham; Basler, Cathi; Para, Michael F.; Watson, Kathy J.; Taiwo, Babafemi; McGregor, Donna; Balfour, Henry H.; Mullan, Beth; Kim, Ge-Youl; Klebert, Michael K.; Cox, Gary Matthew; Silberman, Martha; Mildvan, Donna; Revuelta, Manuel; Tashima, Karen T.; Patterson, Helen; Geiseler, P. Jan; Santos, Bartolo; Daar, Eric S; Lopez, Ruben; Frarey, Laurie; Currin, David; Haas, David H.; Bailey, Vicki L.; Tebas, Pablo; Zifchak, Larisa; Noel-Connor, Jolene; Torres, Madeline; Sha, Beverly E.; Fritsche, Janice M.; Cespedes, Michelle; Forcht, Janet; O'Brien, William A.; Mogridge, Cheryl; Hurley, Christine; Corales, Roberto; Palmer, Maria; Adams, Mary; Luque, Amneris; Lopez-Detres, Luis; Stroberg, Todd

2012-01-01

Background Antiretroviral regimens with simplified dosing and better safety are needed to maximize the efficiency of antiretroviral delivery in resource-limited settings. We investigated the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral regimens with once-daily compared to twice-daily dosing in diverse areas of the world. Methods and Findings 1,571 HIV-1-infected persons (47% women) from nine countries in four continents were assigned with equal probability to open-label antiretroviral therapy with efavirenz plus lamivudine-zidovudine (EFV+3TC-ZDV), atazanavir plus didanosine-EC plus emtricitabine (ATV+DDI+FTC), or efavirenz plus emtricitabine-tenofovir-disoproxil fumarate (DF) (EFV+FTC-TDF). ATV+DDI+FTC and EFV+FTC-TDF were hypothesized to be non-inferior to EFV+3TC-ZDV if the upper one-sided 95% confidence bound for the hazard ratio (HR) was ≤1.35 when 30% of participants had treatment failure. An independent monitoring board recommended stopping study follow-up prior to accumulation of 472 treatment failures. Comparing EFV+FTC-TDF to EFV+3TC-ZDV, during a median 184 wk of follow-up there were 95 treatment failures (18%) among 526 participants versus 98 failures among 519 participants (19%; HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.72–1.27; p = 0.74). Safety endpoints occurred in 243 (46%) participants assigned to EFV+FTC-TDF versus 313 (60%) assigned to EFV+3TC-ZDV (HR 0.64, CI 0.54–0.76; p<0.001) and there was a significant interaction between sex and regimen safety (HR 0.50, CI 0.39–0.64 for women; HR 0.79, CI 0.62–1.00 for men; p = 0.01). Comparing ATV+DDI+FTC to EFV+3TC-ZDV, during a median follow-up of 81 wk there were 108 failures (21%) among 526 participants assigned to ATV+DDI+FTC and 76 (15%) among 519 participants assigned to EFV+3TC-ZDV (HR 1.51, CI 1.12–2.04; p = 0.007). Conclusion EFV+FTC-TDF had similar high efficacy compared to EFV+3TC-ZDV in this trial population, recruited in diverse multinational settings. Superior safety, especially in HIV-1-infected

Efficacy and safety of three antiretroviral regimens for initial treatment of HIV-1: a randomized clinical trial in diverse multinational settings.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas B Campbell

Full Text Available Antiretroviral regimens with simplified dosing and better safety are needed to maximize the efficiency of antiretroviral delivery in resource-limited settings. We investigated the efficacy and safety of antiretroviral regimens with once-daily compared to twice-daily dosing in diverse areas of the world.1,571 HIV-1-infected persons (47% women from nine countries in four continents were assigned with equal probability to open-label antiretroviral therapy with efavirenz plus lamivudine-zidovudine (EFV+3TC-ZDV, atazanavir plus didanosine-EC plus emtricitabine (ATV+DDI+FTC, or efavirenz plus emtricitabine-tenofovir-disoproxil fumarate (DF (EFV+FTC-TDF. ATV+DDI+FTC and EFV+FTC-TDF were hypothesized to be non-inferior to EFV+3TC-ZDV if the upper one-sided 95% confidence bound for the hazard ratio (HR was ≤1.35 when 30% of participants had treatment failure. An independent monitoring board recommended stopping study follow-up prior to accumulation of 472 treatment failures. Comparing EFV+FTC-TDF to EFV+3TC-ZDV, during a median 184 wk of follow-up there were 95 treatment failures (18% among 526 participants versus 98 failures among 519 participants (19%; HR 0.95, 95% CI 0.72-1.27; p = 0.74. Safety endpoints occurred in 243 (46% participants assigned to EFV+FTC-TDF versus 313 (60% assigned to EFV+3TC-ZDV (HR 0.64, CI 0.54-0.76; p<0.001 and there was a significant interaction between sex and regimen safety (HR 0.50, CI 0.39-0.64 for women; HR 0.79, CI 0.62-1.00 for men; p = 0.01. Comparing ATV+DDI+FTC to EFV+3TC-ZDV, during a median follow-up of 81 wk there were 108 failures (21% among 526 participants assigned to ATV+DDI+FTC and 76 (15% among 519 participants assigned to EFV+3TC-ZDV (HR 1.51, CI 1.12-2.04; p = 0.007.EFV+FTC-TDF had similar high efficacy compared to EFV+3TC-ZDV in this trial population, recruited in diverse multinational settings. Superior safety, especially in HIV-1-infected women, and once-daily dosing of EFV+FTC-TDF are

Nonlinear waves in Bose–Einstein condensates: physical relevance and mathematical techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carretero-González, R; Frantzeskakis, D J; Kevrekidis, P G

2008-01-01

The aim of this review is to introduce the reader to some of the physical notions and the mathematical methods that are relevant to the study of nonlinear waves in Bose–Einstein condensates (BECs). Upon introducing the general framework, we discuss the prototypical models that are relevant to this setting for different dimensions and different potentials confining the atoms. We analyse some of the model properties and explore their typical wave solutions (plane wave solutions, bright, dark, gap solitons as well as vortices). We then offer a collection of mathematical methods that can be used to understand the existence, stability and dynamics of nonlinear waves in such BECs, either directly or starting from different types of limits (e.g. the linear or the nonlinear limit or the discrete limit of the corresponding equation). Finally, we consider some special topics involving more recent developments, and experimental setups in which there is still considerable need for developing mathematical as well as computational tools. (invited article)

Relevance theory: pragmatics and cognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Wearing, Catherine J

2015-01-01

Relevance Theory is a cognitively oriented theory of pragmatics, i.e., a theory of language use. It builds on the seminal work of H.P. Grice(1) to develop a pragmatic theory which is at once philosophically sensitive and empirically plausible (in both psychological and evolutionary terms). This entry reviews the central commitments and chief contributions of Relevance Theory, including its Gricean commitment to the centrality of intention-reading and inference in communication; the cognitively grounded notion of relevance which provides the mechanism for explaining pragmatic interpretation as an intention-driven, inferential process; and several key applications of the theory (lexical pragmatics, metaphor and irony, procedural meaning). Relevance Theory is an important contribution to our understanding of the pragmatics of communication. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Kalman Filter Predictor and Initialization Algorithm for PRI Tracking

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Hock, Melinda

1998-01-01

.... The algorithm uses a Kalman filter for prediction combined with a preprocessing routine to determine the period of the stagger sequence and to construct an uncorrupted data set for Kalman filter initialization...

Diagnosing lymphoma in a setting with a high burden of infection: a pediatric case of Epstein-Barr virus-associated aggressive B-cell lymphoma with t(8;14 (q23;q32 and extensive necrosis mimicking tuberculosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mário Henrique Magalhães Barros

2015-02-01

Full Text Available The association of lymphoma with necrotic granuloma can pose diagnostic challenges and delay treatment, especially in settings with a high burden of infection. In these settings, the timely use of cytogenetic and molecular methods is most relevant. Here, we report a case of B-cell lymphoma with t (8;14 in a 5-year-old male child. The lymphoma was associated with necrotic granuloma and was initially misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Polymerase chain reaction was used to detect clonal lymphoproliferation and to rule out Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Tumor cells harbored Epstein-Barr virus and expressed CD20, CD10, BCL6, and Ki67 (30%, leading to the diagnosis of B-cell lymphoma with features intermediate between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma.

Relevant Subspace Clustering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Emmanuel; Assent, Ira; Günnemann, Stephan

2009-01-01

Subspace clustering aims at detecting clusters in any subspace projection of a high dimensional space. As the number of possible subspace projections is exponential in the number of dimensions, the result is often tremendously large. Recent approaches fail to reduce results to relevant subspace...... clusters. Their results are typically highly redundant, i.e. many clusters are detected multiple times in several projections. In this work, we propose a novel model for relevant subspace clustering (RESCU). We present a global optimization which detects the most interesting non-redundant subspace clusters...... achieves top clustering quality while competing approaches show greatly varying performance....

Introduction to Search with Sphinx From installation to relevance tuning

CERN Document Server

Aksyonoff, Andrew

2011-01-01

This concise introduction to Sphinx shows you how to use this free software to index an enormous number of documents and provide fast results to both simple and complex searches. Written by the creator of Sphinx, this authoritative book is short and to the point. Understand the particular way Sphinx conducts searchesInstall and configure Sphinx, and run a few basic testsIssue basic queries to Sphinx at the application levelLearn the syntax of search text and the effects of various search optionsGet strategies for dealing with large data sets, such as multi-index searchingApply relevance and r

Industrial Relevance of Chromosomal Copy Number Variation in Saccharomyces Yeasts.

Science.gov (United States)

Gorter de Vries, Arthur R; Pronk, Jack T; Daran, Jean-Marc G

2017-06-01

Chromosomal copy number variation (CCNV) plays a key role in evolution and health of eukaryotes. The unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an important model for studying the generation, physiological impact, and evolutionary significance of CCNV. Fundamental studies of this yeast have contributed to an extensive set of methods for analyzing and introducing CCNV. Moreover, these studies provided insight into the balance between negative and positive impacts of CCNV in evolutionary contexts. A growing body of evidence indicates that CCNV not only frequently occurs in industrial strains of Saccharomyces yeasts but also is a key contributor to the diversity of industrially relevant traits. This notion is further supported by the frequent involvement of CCNV in industrially relevant traits acquired during evolutionary engineering. This review describes recent developments in genome sequencing and genome editing techniques and discusses how these offer opportunities to unravel contributions of CCNV in industrial Saccharomyce s strains as well as to rationally engineer yeast chromosomal copy numbers and karyotypes. Copyright © 2017 Gorter de Vries et al.

Recovery of an initial temperature from discrete sampling

KAUST Repository

DeVore, Ronald; Zuazua, Enrique

2014-01-01

The problem of recovering the initial temperature of a body from discrete temperature measurements made at later times is studied. While this problem has a general formulation, the results of this paper are only given in the simplest setting of a

Implementation of oral health initiatives by Australian rural communities: Factors for success.

Science.gov (United States)

Taylor, Judy; Carlisle, Karen; Farmer, Jane; Larkins, Sarah; Dickson-Swift, Virginia; Kenny, Amanda

2018-01-01

In this paper, we consider factors significant in the success of community participation in the implementation of new oral health services. Our analysis draws on data from the Rural Engaging Communities in Oral Health (Rural ECOH) study (2014-2016). We aimed to assess the Australian relevance of a Scottish community participation framework for health service development; Remote Service Futures. Internationally, community participation in planning of health initiatives is common, but less common in new service implementation. Health managers query the legitimacy of "lay" community members, whether they will persist, and whether they can act as change agents. Our data provide evidence that helps answer these queries. Six communities, located within regions covered by two large rural primary healthcare organisations (Medicare Locals), were selected in two Australian states. Two university-based facilitators worked with a group of local residents (for each community) to monitor implementation of new oral health initiatives designed through participatory processes. Data about implementation were collected through interviews with 28 key stakeholders at the beginning of implementation and 12 months later. Data were coded, themed and analysed abductively. Five themes emerged; the inter-relationship between community motivation to participate with the fortunes of the oral health initiatives, having the "right" people involved, continuing involvement of sponsors and/or significant people, trusting working relationships between participants and perceiving benefits from participation. Findings provide evidence of a role for community participation in implementing new community services if solid partnerships with relevant providers can be negotiated and services are seen to be relevant and useful to the community. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

THE COMPLEX OF EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES, RELEVANT MANIFESTATIONS OF INSPIRATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavel A. Starikov

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to investigate structure of emotional experiences, relevant manifestations of inspiration creative activities of students.Methods. The proposed methods of mathematical statistics (correlation analysis, factor analysis, multidimensional scaling are applied.Results and scientific novelty. The use of factor analysis, multidimensional scaling allowed to reveal a consistent set of positive experiences of the students, the relevant experience of inspiration in creative activities. «Operational» rueful feelings dedicated by M. Chiksentmihaji («feeling of full involvement, and dilution in what you do», «feeling of concentration, perfect clarity of purpose, complete control and a feeling of total immersion in a job that does not require special efforts» and experiences of the «spiritual» nature, more appropriate to peaks experiences of A. Maslow («feeling of love for all existing, all life»; «a deep sense of self importance, the inner feeling of approval of self»; «feeling of unity with the whole world»; «acute perception of the beauty of the world of nature, “beautiful instant”»; «feeling of lightness, flowing» are included in this complex in accordance with the study results. The interrelation of degree of expressiveness of the given complex of experiences with inspiration experience is considered.Practical significance. The results of the study show structure of emotional experiences, relevant manifestations of inspiration. Research materials can be useful both to psychologists, and experts in the field of pedagogy of creative activity.

Initial results from MARmara SuperSITE

Science.gov (United States)

Meral Ozel, Nurcan; Necmioglu, Ocal; Favali, Paolo; Douglas, John; Mathieu, Pierre-Philippe; Geli, Louis; Ergintav, Semih; Oguz Ozel, Asım; Tan, Onur; Gurbuz, Cemil; Erdik, Mustafa

2014-05-01

MARSite Project was initiated in November 2012 under the EC/FP-7 framework as an initiative towards establishment of new directions in seismic hazard assessment through focused earth observation in Marmara Region. Within MARSite, collection of the first comprehensive data set of fluids composition around the Sea of Marmara has been accomplished and first insight in the geochemical features of the fluids are expelled from tectonic structures around the Sea of Marmara. GPS time series and velocity fields are periodically updated and a project proposal has been prepared for Supersite initiative to take SAR data and integrate the results with in-situ data sets, which is accepted by the scientific committee of GEOSS. In the meantime, special focus was given to develop the processing algorithms, starting from low level atmospheric correction to high level modeling routines. Considerable progress has been made in the novel design of a multiparameter borehole system consisting of very wide dynamic range and stable borehole (VBB) broad band seismic sensor also incorporating 3-D strain meter, tilt meter, and temperature and local hydrostatic pressure measuring devices. Borehole and surface array locations and borehole bedrock depth of 137 m has been identified. A modeling scheme for the scenario earthquake simulation has been set up in order to realize processing of real-time high-rate GPS data and simulating of scenario earthquakes. The probability of occurrence for the fault segmentation in the Marmara region were calculated using the Poisson, BPT and BPT with a stress interaction models for time intervals of 5-10-30 and 50 years. High resolution seismic reflection and multibeam data in the easternmost Cinarcik basin obtained during the cruise MARMARA 2013 carried out onboard the CNR R/V Urania ship provided information on diffuse gravitational failures. An in situ multi-parameter observational system for landslide monitoring, including displacement, rainfall and seismic

Counselling/psychotherapy and older people in medical settings.

OpenAIRE

Trethewey-Spurgeon, Celia.

2004-01-01

This study explores the nature of the need for counselling/psychotherapy for older people who suffer a debilitating physical injury or illness. This topic is investigated within a medical setting where the emphasis is on physical rehabilitation. The relevance of this inquiry is highlighted by the paucity of literature about the individual impact of such an event and the need for counselling/psychotherapy in these situations. Theories, on the ageing process, the body, and the self, are used to...

Educational Technology: Effective Leadership and Current Initiatives

Science.gov (United States)

Courville, Keith

2011-01-01

(Purpose) This article describes the basis for effective educational technology leadership and a few of the current initiatives and impacts that are a result of the aforementioned effective leadership. (Findings) Topics addressed in this paper include: (1) the role of the educational technology leader in an educational setting; (2) an examination…

Scoping review protocol: education initiatives for medical psychiatry collaborative care.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Nelson; Sockalingam, Sanjeev; Abi Jaoude, Alexxa; Bailey, Sharon M; Bernier, Thérèse; Freeland, Alison; Hawa, Aceel; Hollenberg, Elisa; Woldemichael, Bethel; Wiljer, David

2017-09-03

The collaborative care model is an approach providing care to those with mental health and addictions disorders in the primary care setting. There is a robust evidence base demonstrating its clinical and cost-effectiveness in comparison with usual care; however, the transitioning to this new paradigm of care has been difficult. While there are efforts to train and prepare healthcare professionals, not much is known about the current state of collaborative care training programmes. The objective of this scoping review is to understand how widespread these collaborative care education initiatives are, how they are implemented and their impacts. The scoping review methodology uses the established review methodology by Arksey and O'Malley. The search strategy was developed by a medical librarian and will be applied in eight different databases spanning multiple disciplines. A two-stage screening process consisting of a title and abstract scan and a full-text review will be used to determine the eligibility of articles. To be included, articles must report on an existing collaborative care education initiative for healthcare providers. All articles will be independently assessed for eligibility by pairs of reviewers, and all eligible articles will be abstracted and charted in duplicate using a standardised form. The extracted data will undergo a 'narrative review' or a descriptive analysis of the contextual or process-oriented data and simple quantitative analysis using descriptive statistics. Research ethics approval is not required for this scoping review. The results of this scoping review will inform the development of a collaborative care training initiative emerging from the Medical Psychiatry Alliance, a four-institution philanthropic partnership in Ontario, Canada. The results will also be presented at relevant national and international conferences and published in a peer-reviewed journal. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in

The accountability for reasonableness approach to guide priority setting in health systems within limited resources

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Byskov, Jens; Marchal, Bruno; Maluka, Stephen

2014-01-01

: relevance, publicity, appeals, and enforcement, which facilitate agreement on priority-setting decisions and gain support for their implementation. This paper focuses on the assessment of AFR within the project REsponse to ACcountable priority setting for Trust in health systems (REACT). METHODS...... of the potential of AFR in supporting priority-setting and other decision-making processes in health systems to achieve better agreed and more sustainable health improvements linked to a mutual democratic learning with potential wider implications....

Profiles of Dialogue for Relevance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Douglas Walton

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper uses argument diagrams, argumentation schemes, and some tools from formal argumentation systems developed in artificial intelligence to build a graph-theoretic model of relevance shown to be applicable (with some extensions as a practical method for helping a third party judge issues of relevance or irrelevance of an argument in real examples. Examples used to illustrate how the method works are drawn from disputes about relevance in natural language discourse, including a criminal trial and a parliamentary debate.

Protein folding: Defining a standard set of experimental conditions and a preliminary kinetic data set of two-state proteins

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maxwell, Karen L.; Wildes, D.; Zarrine-Afsar, A.

2005-01-01

Recent years have seen the publication of both empirical and theoretical relationships predicting the rates with which proteins fold. Our ability to test and refine these relationships has been limited, however, by a variety of difficulties associated with the comparison of folding and unfolding ...... efforts is to set uniform standards for the experimental community and to initiate an accumulating, self-consistent data set that will aid ongoing efforts to understand the folding process....... constructs. The lack of a single approach to data analysis and error estimation, or even of a common set of units and reporting standards, further hinders comparative studies of folding. In an effort to overcome these problems, we define here a consensus set of experimental conditions (25°C at pH 7.0, 50 m...... rates, thermodynamics, and structure across diverse sets of proteins. These difficulties include the wide, potentially confounding range of experimental conditions and methods employed to date and the difficulty of obtaining correct and complete sequence and structural details for the characterized...

Estimating the re-identification risk of clinical data sets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dankar Fida

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background De-identification is a common way to protect patient privacy when disclosing clinical data for secondary purposes, such as research. One type of attack that de-identification protects against is linking the disclosed patient data with public and semi-public registries. Uniqueness is a commonly used measure of re-identification risk under this attack. If uniqueness can be measured accurately then the risk from this kind of attack can be managed. In practice, it is often not possible to measure uniqueness directly, therefore it must be estimated. Methods We evaluated the accuracy of uniqueness estimators on clinically relevant data sets. Four candidate estimators were identified because they were evaluated in the past and found to have good accuracy or because they were new and not evaluated comparatively before: the Zayatz estimator, slide negative binomial estimator, Pitman’s estimator, and mu-argus. A Monte Carlo simulation was performed to evaluate the uniqueness estimators on six clinically relevant data sets. We varied the sampling fraction and the uniqueness in the population (the value being estimated. The median relative error and inter-quartile range of the uniqueness estimates was measured across 1000 runs. Results There was no single estimator that performed well across all of the conditions. We developed a decision rule which selected between the Pitman, slide negative binomial and Zayatz estimators depending on the sampling fraction and the difference between estimates. This decision rule had the best consistent median relative error across multiple conditions and data sets. Conclusion This study identified an accurate decision rule that can be used by health privacy researchers and disclosure control professionals to estimate uniqueness in clinical data sets. The decision rule provides a reliable way to measure re-identification risk.

Multiagency Initiative to Provide Greenhouse Gas Information

Science.gov (United States)

Boland, Stacey W.; Duren, Riley M.

2009-11-01

Global Greenhouse Gas Information System Workshop; Albuquerque, New Mexico, 20-22 May 2009; The second Greenhouse Gas Information System (GHGIS) workshop brought together 74 representatives from 28 organizations including U.S. government agencies, national laboratories, and members of the academic community to address issues related to the understanding, operational monitoring, and tracking of greenhouse gas emissions and carbon offsets. The workshop was held at Sandia National Laboratories and organized by an interagency collaboration among NASA centers, Department of Energy laboratories, and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It was motivated by the perceived need for an integrated interagency, community-wide initiative to provide information about greenhouse gas sources and sinks at policy-relevant temporal and spatial scales. Such an initiative could significantly enhance the ability of national and regional governments, industry, and private citizens to implement and evaluate effective climate change mitigation policies.

Communicating risk and promoting disease mitigation measures in epidemics and emerging disease settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiavo, Renata; May Leung, May; Brown, Mason

2014-03-01

This review aims to identify and assess evidence on interventions to communicate risk and promote disease mitigation measures in epidemics and emerging disease outbreak settings. The study focuses on data that are relevant to low and middle-income country (LMIC) settings. We conducted a comprehensive literature search using five major electronic databases (Pubmed Medline, Biomed Central, EMBASE, Science of Citation Index, and Cochrane Library) and other sources to identify relevant studies published from January 2002 to July 2013. The review was guided by the socio-ecological model/perspective of public health and the ideation theory and focused on interventions at the community, healthcare, and multi-sectoral settings, which also reflect key intervention levels of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Eligible quantitative studies were selected according to specific study criteria and assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) framework. Conversely, qualitative studies, reviews, case studies, and editorials were not included. Studies were selected by two independent reviewers. Twenty-nine relevant studies from 16 countries were included. Most studies focused on a single intervention or intervention level, rather than multi-sectoral interventions. The majority of the evidence relates to programs aimed at behavioral and social results (or relevant intermediate steps) within a specific population group. Two studies included implications for improvements in health service delivery, two studies examined the intervention's impact on health systems-related outcomes, and three had also implications for environmental health outcomes. Cost- and health equity-related implications for select evidence were also discussed. The paucity of well-designed quantitative evaluations of interventions to communicate health risk and promote disease control measures in LMICs does not allow for any definitive conclusions. Yet, the review identified several promising

Science and the struggle for relevance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hessels, L.K.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304832863

2010-01-01

This thesis deals with struggles for relevance of university researchers, their efforts to make their work correspond with ruling standards of relevance and to influence these standards. Its general research question is: How to understand changes in the struggle for relevance of Dutch academic

Applying GRADE-CERQual to qualitative evidence synthesis findings-paper 6: how to assess relevance of the data.

Science.gov (United States)

Noyes, Jane; Booth, Andrew; Lewin, Simon; Carlsen, Benedicte; Glenton, Claire; Colvin, Christopher J; Garside, Ruth; Bohren, Meghan A; Rashidian, Arash; Wainwright, Megan; Tunςalp, Özge; Chandler, Jacqueline; Flottorp, Signe; Pantoja, Tomas; Tucker, Joseph D; Munthe-Kaas, Heather

2018-01-25

The GRADE-CERQual (Confidence in Evidence from Reviews of Qualitative research) approach has been developed by the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) Working Group. The approach has been developed to support the use of findings from qualitative evidence syntheses in decision-making, including guideline development and policy formulation. CERQual includes four components for assessing how much confidence to place in findings from reviews of qualitative research (also referred to as qualitative evidence syntheses): (1) methodological limitations, (2) coherence, (3) adequacy of data and (4) relevance. This paper is part of a series providing guidance on how to apply CERQual and focuses on CERQual's relevance component. We developed the relevance component by searching the literature for definitions, gathering feedback from relevant research communities and developing consensus through project group meetings. We tested the CERQual relevance component within several qualitative evidence syntheses before agreeing on the current definition and principles for application. When applying CERQual, we define relevance as the extent to which the body of data from the primary studies supporting a review finding is applicable to the context (perspective or population, phenomenon of interest, setting) specified in the review question. In this paper, we describe the relevance component and its rationale and offer guidance on how to assess relevance in the context of a review finding. This guidance outlines the information required to assess relevance, the steps that need to be taken to assess relevance and examples of relevance assessments. This paper provides guidance for review authors and others on undertaking an assessment of relevance in the context of the CERQual approach. Assessing the relevance component requires consideration of potentially important contextual factors at an early stage in the review process. We expect the CERQual

Design, construction and initial state of the underground openings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-12-01

The report is included in a set of Production reports, presenting how the KBS-3 repository is designed, produced and inspected. The set of reports is included in the safety report for the KBS-3 repository and repository facility. The report provides input on the initial state of the underground openings for the assessment of the long-term safety, SR-Site. The initial state refers to the properties of the underground openings at final disposal, backfilling or closure. In addition, the report provides input to the operational safety report, SR-Operation, on how the underground openings shall be constructed and inspected. The report presents the design premises and the methodology applied to design the underground openings and adapt them the to the site conditions so that they conform to the design premises. It presents the reference design at Forsmark and its conformity to the design premises. It also describes the reference methods to be applied to construct and inspect the different kinds of underground openings. Finally, the initial state of the underground openings and its conformity to the design premises is presented

Design, construction and initial state of the underground openings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2010-12-15

The report is included in a set of Production reports, presenting how the KBS-3 repository is designed, produced and inspected. The set of reports is included in the safety report for the KBS-3 repository and repository facility. The report provides input on the initial state of the underground openings for the assessment of the long-term safety, SR-Site. The initial state refers to the properties of the underground openings at final disposal, backfilling or closure. In addition, the report provides input to the operational safety report, SR-Operation, on how the underground openings shall be constructed and inspected. The report presents the design premises and the methodology applied to design the underground openings and adapt them the to the site conditions so that they conform to the design premises. It presents the reference design at Forsmark and its conformity to the design premises. It also describes the reference methods to be applied to construct and inspect the different kinds of underground openings. Finally, the initial state of the underground openings and its conformity to the design premises is presented

Using an Ishikawa diagram as a tool to assist memory and retrieval of relevant medical cases from the medical literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Kam Cheong

2011-03-29

Studying medical cases is an effective way to enhance clinical reasoning skills and reinforce clinical knowledge. An Ishikawa diagram, also known as a cause-and-effect diagram or fishbone diagram, is often used in quality management in manufacturing industries.In this report, an Ishikawa diagram is used to demonstrate how to relate potential causes of a major presenting problem in a clinical setting. This tool can be used by teams in problem-based learning or in self-directed learning settings.An Ishikawa diagram annotated with references to relevant medical cases and literature can be continually updated and can assist memory and retrieval of relevant medical cases and literature. It could also be used to cultivate a lifelong learning habit in medical professionals.

Using an Ishikawa diagram as a tool to assist memory and retrieval of relevant medical cases from the medical literature

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wong Kam Cheong

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Studying medical cases is an effective way to enhance clinical reasoning skills and reinforce clinical knowledge. An Ishikawa diagram, also known as a cause-and-effect diagram or fishbone diagram, is often used in quality management in manufacturing industries. In this report, an Ishikawa diagram is used to demonstrate how to relate potential causes of a major presenting problem in a clinical setting. This tool can be used by teams in problem-based learning or in self-directed learning settings. An Ishikawa diagram annotated with references to relevant medical cases and literature can be continually updated and can assist memory and retrieval of relevant medical cases and literature. It could also be used to cultivate a lifelong learning habit in medical professionals.

Priority setting and health policy and systems research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bennett Sara C

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Health policy and systems research (HPSR has been identified as critical to scaling-up interventions to achieve the millennium development goals, but research priority setting exercises often do not address HPSR well. This paper aims to (i assess current priority setting methods and the extent to which they adequately include HPSR and (ii draw lessons regarding how HPSR priority setting can be enhanced to promote relevant HPSR, and to strengthen developing country leadership of research agendas. Priority setting processes can be distinguished by the level at which they occur, their degree of comprehensiveness in terms of the topic addressed, the balance between technical versus interpretive approaches and the stakeholders involved. When HPSR is considered through technical, disease-driven priority setting processes it is systematically under-valued. More successful approaches for considering HPSR are typically nationally-driven, interpretive and engage a range of stakeholders. There is still a need however for better defined approaches to enable research funders to determine the relative weight to assign to disease specific research versus HPSR and other forms of cross-cutting health research. While country-level research priority setting is key, there is likely to be a continued need for the identification of global research priorities for HPSR. The paper argues that such global priorities can and should be driven by country level priorities.

Initial Semantics for Strengthened Signatures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

André Hirschowitz

2012-02-01

Full Text Available We give a new general definition of arity, yielding the companion notions of signature and associated syntax. This setting is modular in the sense requested by Ghani and Uustalu: merging two extensions of syntax corresponds to building an amalgamated sum. These signatures are too general in the sense that we are not able to prove the existence of an associated syntax in this general context. So we have to select arities and signatures for which there exists the desired initial monad. For this, we follow a track opened by Matthes and Uustalu: we introduce a notion of strengthened arity and prove that the corresponding signatures have initial semantics (i.e. associated syntax. Our strengthened arities admit colimits, which allows the treatment of the λ-calculus with explicit substitution.

The performance of the ATLAS initial detector layout for B-physics channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Epp, B.; Ghete, V.M.; Kuhn, D.; Zhang, Y.J.

2004-01-01

At the start-up of LHC one expects parts of the ATLAS detector to be missing. This layout is called initial layout, whereas the fully staged detector is called complete layout. B-physics channels were simulated, reconstructed and analyzed using the software tools of ATLAS data challenge-1 (DC1). The performance of the detector with respect to quantities relevant to the analysis of the B s → D s π channel and the validation of the full chain generation-simulation-reconstruction-analysis were evaluated for the initial and complete layout. (author)

Combining qualitative and quantitative operational research methods to inform quality improvement in pathways that span multiple settings.

Science.gov (United States)

Crowe, Sonya; Brown, Katherine; Tregay, Jenifer; Wray, Jo; Knowles, Rachel; Ridout, Deborah A; Bull, Catherine; Utley, Martin

2017-08-01

Improving integration and continuity of care across sectors within resource constraints is a priority in many health systems. Qualitative operational research methods of problem structuring have been used to address quality improvement in services involving multiple sectors but not in combination with quantitative operational research methods that enable targeting of interventions according to patient risk. We aimed to combine these methods to augment and inform an improvement initiative concerning infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) whose complex care pathway spans multiple sectors. Soft systems methodology was used to consider systematically changes to services from the perspectives of community, primary, secondary and tertiary care professionals and a patient group, incorporating relevant evidence. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis of national audit datasets was conducted along with data visualisation designed to inform service improvement within the context of limited resources. A 'Rich Picture' was developed capturing the main features of services for infants with CHD pertinent to service improvement. This was used, along with a graphical summary of the CART analysis, to guide discussions about targeting interventions at specific patient risk groups. Agreement was reached across representatives of relevant health professions and patients on a coherent set of targeted recommendations for quality improvement. These fed into national decisions about service provision and commissioning. When tackling complex problems in service provision across multiple settings, it is important to acknowledge and work with multiple perspectives systematically and to consider targeting service improvements in response to confined resources. Our research demonstrates that applying a combination of qualitative and quantitative operational research methods is one approach to doing so that warrants further consideration. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group

Accreditation - Its relevance for laboratories measuring radionuclides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palsson, S E [Icelandic Radiation Protection Inst. (Iceland)

2001-11-01

Accreditation is an internationally recognised way for laboratories to demonstrate their competence. Obtaining and maintaining accreditation is, however, a costly and time-consuming procedure. The benefits of accreditation also depend on the role of the laboratory. Accreditation may be of limited relevance for a research laboratory, but essential for a laboratory associated with a national authority and e.g. issuing certificates. This report describes work done within the NKSBOK-1.1 sub-project on introducing accreditation to Nordic laboratories measuring radionuclides. Initially the focus was on the new standard ISO/IEC 17025, which was just in a draft form at the time, but which provides now a new framework for accreditation of laboratories. Later the focus was widened to include a general introduction to accreditation and providing through seminars a forum for exchanging views on the experience laboratories have had in this field. Copies of overheads from the last such seminar are included in the appendix to this report. (au)

Learning to Become a Teacher in the 21st Century: ICT Integration in Initial Teacher Education in Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, Mario; Hinostroza, J. Enrique

2014-01-01

This paper presents the most relevant results from a national study about the availability and use of ICT in 46 Initial Teacher Education institutions in Chile, implemented during 2009 as part of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) international project "ICT in Initial Teacher Training." Main findings show an…

Description of Simulated Small Satellite Operation Data Sets

Science.gov (United States)

Kulkarni, Chetan S.; Guarneros Luna, Ali

2018-01-01

A set of two BP930 batteries (Identified as PK31 and PK35) were operated continuously for a simulated satellite operation profile completion for single cycle. The battery packs were charged to an initial voltage of around 8.35 V for 100% SOC before the experiment was started. This document explains the structure of the battery data sets. Please cite this paper when using this dataset: Z. Cameron, C. Kulkarni, A. Guarneros, K. Goebel, S. Poll, "A Battery Certification Testbed for Small Satellite Missions", IEEE AUTOTESTCON 2015, Nov 2-5, 2015, National Harbor, MA

Medical students' agenda-setting abilities during medical interviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Roh, HyeRin; Park, Kyung Hye; Jeon, Young-Jee; Park, Seung Guk; Lee, Jungsun

2015-06-01

Identifying patients' agendas is important; however, the extent of Korean medical students' agenda-setting abilities is unknown. The study aim was to investigate the patterns of Korean medical students' agenda solicitation. A total of 94 third-year medical students participated. One scenario involving a female patient with abdominal pain was created. Students were video-recorded as they interviewed the patient. To analyze whether students identify patients' reasons for visiting, a checklist was developed based on a modified version of the Calgary-Cambridge Guide to the Medical Interview: Communication Process checklist. The duration of the patient's initial statement of concerns was measured in seconds. The total number of patient concerns expressed before interruption and the types of interruption effected by the medical students were determined. The medical students did not explore the patients' concerns and did not negotiate an agenda. Interruption of the patient's opening statement occurred in 4.62±2.20 seconds. The most common type of initial interruption was a recompleter (79.8%). Closed-ended questions were the most common question type in the second and third interruptions. Agenda setting should be emphasized in the communication skills curriculum of medical students. The Korean Clinical Skills Exam must assess medical students' ability to set an agenda.

Identifying the relevant features of the National Digital Cadastral Database (NDCDB) for spatial analysis by using the Delphi Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Halim, N. Z. A.; Sulaiman, S. A.; Talib, K.; Ng, E. G.

2018-02-01

This paper explains the process carried out in identifying the relevant features of the National Digital Cadastral Database (NDCDB) for spatial analysis. The research was initially a part of a larger research exercise to identify the significance of NDCDB from the legal, technical, role and land-based analysis perspectives. The research methodology of applying the Delphi technique is substantially discussed in this paper. A heterogeneous panel of 14 experts was created to determine the importance of NDCDB from the technical relevance standpoint. Three statements describing the relevant features of NDCDB for spatial analysis were established after three rounds of consensus building. It highlighted the NDCDB’s characteristics such as its spatial accuracy, functions, and criteria as a facilitating tool for spatial analysis. By recognising the relevant features of NDCDB for spatial analysis in this study, practical application of NDCDB for various analysis and purpose can be widely implemented.

Formative research on a teacher accompaniment model to promote youth mental health in Haiti: Relevance to mental health task-sharing in low-resource school settings

Science.gov (United States)

Eustache, Eddy; Gerbasi, Margaret E.; Severe, Jennifer; Fils-Aimé, J. Reginald; Smith Fawzi, Mary C.; Raviola, Giuseppe J.; Darghouth, Sarah; Boyd, Kate; Thérosmé, Tatiana; Legha, Rupinder; Pierre, Ermaze L.; Affricot, Emmeline; Alcindor, Yoldie; Grelotti, David J.; Becker, Anne E.

2017-01-01

Background Task-sharing with teachers to promote youth mental health is a promising but underdeveloped strategy in improving care access in low-income countries. Aims To assess feasibility, acceptability, and utility of the teacher accompaniment phase of a school-based teacher accompagnateur pilot study (TAPS) in Haiti. Methods We assigned student participants, ages 18–22 (n=120) to a teacher participant (n=22) within four Haitian schools; we instructed participants to arrange meetings with their assigned counterparts to discuss mental health treatment, academic skills, and/or well-being. We measured student and teacher perceived feasibility, acceptability, and utility of meetings with self-report Likert-style questions. We examined overall program feasibility by the percentage of students with a documented meeting, acceptability by a composite measure of student satisfaction, and utility by the percentage with identified mental health need who discussed treatment with a teacher. Results Favorable ratings support feasibility, acceptability, and utility of teacher-accompagnateur meetings with students. The majority of students (54%) met with a teacher. Among students with an identified mental disorder, 43.2% discussed treatment during a meeting. Conclusions This accompaniment approach to mental health task-sharing with teachers provided a school-based opportunity for students with mental health need to discuss treatment and has potential relevance to other low-income settings. PMID:28367718

Hypergraphs combinatorics of finite sets

CERN Document Server

Berge, C

1989-01-01

Graph Theory has proved to be an extremely useful tool for solving combinatorial problems in such diverse areas as Geometry, Algebra, Number Theory, Topology, Operations Research and Optimization. It is natural to attempt to generalise the concept of a graph, in order to attack additional combinatorial problems. The idea of looking at a family of sets from this standpoint took shape around 1960. In regarding each set as a ``generalised edge'' and in calling the family itself a ``hypergraph'', the initial idea was to try to extend certain classical results of Graph Theory such as the theorems of Turán and König. It was noticed that this generalisation often led to simplification; moreover, one single statement, sometimes remarkably simple, could unify several theorems on graphs. This book presents what seems to be the most significant work on hypergraphs.

International Metadata Initiatives: Lessons in Bibliographic Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, Priscilla

This paper looks at a subset of metadata schemes, including the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) header, the Encoded Archival Description (EAD), the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (DCMES), and the Visual Resources Association (VRA) Core Categories for visual resources. It examines why they developed as they did, major point of difference from…

Initiation devices, initiation systems including initiation devices and related methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

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

2018-04-10

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

Mobile Health Initiatives in Vietnam: Scoping Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Jeffrey A; Dang, Linh Thuy; Phan, Ngoc Tran; Trinh, Hue Thi; Vu, Nguyen Cong; Nguyen, Cuong Kieu

2018-04-24

Mobile health (mHealth) offers a promising solution to the multitude of challenges the Vietnamese health system faces, but there is a scarcity of published information on mHealth in Vietnam. The objectives of this scoping study were (1) to summarize the extent, range, and nature of mHealth initiatives in Vietnam and (2) to examine the opportunities and threats of mHealth utilization in the Vietnamese context. This scoping study systematically identified and extracted relevant information from 20 past and current mHealth initiatives in Vietnam. The study includes multimodal information sources, including published literature, gray literature (ie, government reports and unpublished literature), conference presentations, Web-based documents, and key informant interviews. We extracted information from 27 records from the electronic search and conducted 14 key informant interviews, allowing us to identify 20 mHealth initiatives in Vietnam. Most of the initiatives were primarily funded by external donors (n=15), while other initiatives were government funded (n=1) or self-funded (n=4). A majority of the initiatives targeted vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations (n=11), aimed to prevent the occurrence of disease (n=12), and used text messaging (short message service, SMS) as part of their intervention (n=14). The study revealed that Vietnamese mHealth implementation has been challenged by factors including features unique to the Vietnamese language (n=4) and sociocultural factors (n=3). The largest threats to the popularity of mHealth initiatives are the absence of government policy, lack of government interest, heavy dependence on foreign funding, and lack of technological infrastructure. Finally, while current mHealth initiatives have already demonstrated promising opportunities for alternative models of funding, such as social entrepreneurship or private business models, sustainable mHealth initiatives outside of those funded by external donors have not yet been

International spinal cord injury endocrine and metabolic extended data set

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bauman, W A; Wecht, J M; Biering-Sørensen, F

2017-01-01

findings in the SCI population. SETTING: This study was conducted in an international setting. METHODS: The ISCIEMEDS was developed by a working group. The initial ISCIEMEDS was revised based on suggestions from members of the International SCI Data Sets Committee, the International Spinal Cord Society......OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop the International Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Endocrine and Metabolic Extended Data Set (ISCIEMEDS) within the framework of the International SCI Data Sets that would facilitate consistent collection and reporting of endocrine and metabolic...... (ISCoS) Executive and Scientific Committees, American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Board, other interested organizations, societies and individual reviewers. The data set was posted for two months on ISCoS and ASIA websites for comments. Variable names were standardized, and a suggested database...

Culturally Relevant Cyberbullying Prevention

OpenAIRE

Phillips, Gregory John

2017-01-01

In this action research study, I, along with a student intervention committee of 14 members, developed a cyberbullying intervention for a large urban high school on the west coast. This high school contained a predominantly African American student population. I aimed to discover culturally relevant cyberbullying prevention strategies for African American students. The intervention committee selected video safety messages featuring African American actors as the most culturally relevant cyber...

Methodology for Selecting Initiating Events and Hazards for Consideration in an Extended PSA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wielenberg, A.; Hage, M.; Loeffler, H.; Alzbutas, R.; Apostol, M.; Bareith, A.; Siklossy, T.; Brac, P.; Burgazzi, L.; Cazzoli, E.; Vitazkova, J.; Cizelj, L.; Prosek, A.; Volkanovski, A.; Hashimoto, K.; Godefroy, F.; Gonzalez, M.; Groudev, P.; Kolar, L.; Kumar, M.; Nitoi, M.; Raimond, E.

2016-01-01

An extended PSA applies to a site of one or several Nuclear Power Plant unit(s) and its environment. It intends to calculate the risk induced by the main sources of radioactivity (reactor core and spent fuel storages) on the site, taking into account all operating states for each main source and all possible relevant accident initiating events (both internal and external) affecting one unit or the whole site. The combination between hazards or initiating events and their impact on a unit or the whole site is a crucial issue for an extended PSA. The report tries to discuss relevant methodologies for this purpose. The report proposes a methodology to select initiating events and hazards for the development of an extended PSA. The proposed methodology for initiating events identification, screening and bounding analysis for an extended PSA consists of four major steps: 1. A comprehensive identification of events and hazards and their respective combinations applicable to the plant and site. Qualitative screening criteria will be applied, 2. The calculation of initial (possibly conservative) frequency claims for events and hazards and their respective combinations applicable to the plant and the site. Quantitative screening criteria will be applied, 3. An impact analysis and bounding assessment for all applicable events and scenarios. Events are either screened out from further more detailed analysis, or are assigned to a bounding event (group), or are retained for detailed analysis, 4. The probabilistic analysis of all retained (bounding) events at the appropriate level of detail. (authors)

CAN ACCOUNTING INFORMATION ACT AS A PROXY FOR EX ANTE UNCERTAINTY IN INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS?

OpenAIRE

Gumanti, Tatang Ary

2003-01-01

This paper reviews and summarizes previous works and the rationale for the proposition that accounting information is in fact value relevant in the determination of an initial public offering IPO).Theoretical and empirical evidence has indicated that certain accounting measures can he used as proxies for total firm risk, that is, they could determine the riskiness of a corporation. The literature also advocates that accounting information is relevant in determining the value and thus the risk...

Clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings: today's solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ombelet, Sien; Ronat, Jean-Baptiste; Walsh, Timothy; Yansouni, Cedric P; Cox, Janneke; Vlieghe, Erika; Martiny, Delphine; Semret, Makeda; Vandenberg, Olivier; Jacobs, Jan

2018-03-05

Low-resource settings are disproportionately burdened by infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance. Good quality clinical bacteriology through a well functioning reference laboratory network is necessary for effective resistance control, but low-resource settings face infrastructural, technical, and behavioural challenges in the implementation of clinical bacteriology. In this Personal View, we explore what constitutes successful implementation of clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings and describe a framework for implementation that is suitable for general referral hospitals in low-income and middle-income countries with a moderate infrastructure. Most microbiological techniques and equipment are not developed for the specific needs of such settings. Pending the arrival of a new generation diagnostics for these settings, we suggest focus on improving, adapting, and implementing conventional, culture-based techniques. Priorities in low-resource settings include harmonised, quality assured, and tropicalised equipment, consumables, and techniques, and rationalised bacterial identification and testing for antimicrobial resistance. Diagnostics should be integrated into clinical care and patient management; clinically relevant specimens must be appropriately selected and prioritised. Open-access training materials and information management tools should be developed. Also important is the need for onsite validation and field adoption of diagnostics in low-resource settings, with considerable shortening of the time between development and implementation of diagnostics. We argue that the implementation of clinical bacteriology in low-resource settings improves patient management, provides valuable surveillance for local antibiotic treatment guidelines and national policies, and supports containment of antimicrobial resistance and the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Association Between Student Loan Debt on Graduation, Demographic Characteristics and Initial Choice of Practice Setting of Pharmacists

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akeem A. Yusuf

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: (1 To examine trends in level of student loan indebtedness for groups of pharmacists that were first licensed between 1980 and 2006; (2 To examine if demographic variables are associated with level of student loan indebtedness; (3 To examine the association between student loan debt and choice of practice setting while controlling for demographic variables. Methods: Data for this study were collected from a national random sample of 3,000 pharmacists using a self administered survey. Descriptive statistics were used to examine trends in level of indebtedness. The relationships between level of indebtedness, demographic variables and practice setting choice were examined using Chi-square statistics. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the independent association of student loan debt and choice of practice setting while controlling for demographic variables. Results: The proportion of licensed pharmacists reporting student loan debt after graduation, and the mean amount of debt incurred increased between 1980 and 2006. Non-white pharmacists incurred debt at a higher proportion compared to white, and they also incurred significantly higher levels of debt. A lower level of indebtedness was associated with choosing independent practice over chain practice. Conclusions: Student loan indebtedness has been increasing over time, especially for non-white pharmacy students. Future research should be done to examine other factors that might influence student debt load, work contributions and choice of practice settings. The affordability of pharmacy education for students of color and how salaries may or may not help off-set these costs also should be examined closely.   Type: Original Research

Insulin initiation status of primary care physicians in Turkey, barriers to insulin initiation and knowledge levels about insulin therapy: A multicenter cross-sectional study.