High precision measurement of the micro-imaging system to check repeatability of precision

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Lin; Song Li; Ma Chuntao; Luo Hongxin; Wang Jie

2010-01-01

The beamlines slits of Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility (SSRF) are required to have a repeatability of better than 1 μm. Before the slits installation, the off-line and/or on-line repeatability measurements must be conducted. A machine vision measuring system based on high resolution CCD and adjustable high magnification lens was used in this regard. A multi-level filtering method was used to treat the imaging data. After image binarization, the imaging noises were depressed effectively by using of algebraic mean filtering, statistics median filtering,and the least square filtering. Using the subtracted image between the images before and after slit movement, an average displacement of slit blades could be obtained, and the repeatability of slit could be measured, with a resolution of 0.3 μm of the measurement system. The experimental results show that this measurement system meets the requirements for non-contact measurements to the repeatability of slits. (authors)

Repeatability of Objective Measurements of Linear Udder and Body ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of this study was to estimates the repeatability of objective measurements on linear udder and body conformation traits and to evaluate the objectivity of the measurements in Friesian x Bunaji cows. Data from 50 (F1) Frisian X Bunaji cows collected between 2007 and 2008 at the Dairy Research Farm of the ...

A Network-Based Algorithm for Clustering Multivariate Repeated Measures Data

Science.gov (United States)

Koslovsky, Matthew; Arellano, John; Schaefer, Caroline; Feiveson, Alan; Young, Millennia; Lee, Stuart

2017-01-01

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Astronaut Corps is a unique occupational cohort for which vast amounts of measures data have been collected repeatedly in research or operational studies pre-, in-, and post-flight, as well as during multiple clinical care visits. In exploratory analyses aimed at generating hypotheses regarding physiological changes associated with spaceflight exposure, such as impaired vision, it is of interest to identify anomalies and trends across these expansive datasets. Multivariate clustering algorithms for repeated measures data may help parse the data to identify homogeneous groups of astronauts that have higher risks for a particular physiological change. However, available clustering methods may not be able to accommodate the complex data structures found in NASA data, since the methods often rely on strict model assumptions, require equally-spaced and balanced assessment times, cannot accommodate missing data or differing time scales across variables, and cannot process continuous and discrete data simultaneously. To fill this gap, we propose a network-based, multivariate clustering algorithm for repeated measures data that can be tailored to fit various research settings. Using simulated data, we demonstrate how our method can be used to identify patterns in complex data structures found in practice.

Evaluation of the Repeatability and the Reproducibility of AL-Scan Measurements Obtained by Residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehmet Kola

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. To assess the repeatability and reproducibility of ocular biometry and intraocular lens (IOL power measurements obtained by ophthalmology residents using an AL-Scan device, a novel optical biometer. Methods. Two ophthalmology residents were instructed regarding the AL-Scan device. Both performed ocular biometry and IOL power measurements using AL-Scan, three times on each of 128 eyes, independently of one another. Corneal keratometry readings, horizontal iris width, central corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, pupil size, and axial length values measured by both residents were recorded together with IOL power values calculated on the basis of four different IOL calculation formulas (SRK/T, Holladay, and HofferQ. Repeatability and reproducibility of the measurements obtained were analyzed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC. Results. Repeatability (ICC, 0.872-0.999 for resident 1 versus 0.905-0.999 for resident 2 and reproducibility (ICC, 0.916-0.999 were high for all biometric measurements. Repeatability (ICC, 0.981-0.983 for resident 1 versus 0.995-0.996 for resident 2 and reproducibility were also high for all IOL power measurements (ICC, 0.996 for all. Conclusions. The AL-Scan device exhibits good repeatability and reproducibility in all biometric measurements and IOL power calculations, independent of the operator concerned.

High-Dimensional Multivariate Repeated Measures Analysis with Unequal Covariance Matrices

Science.gov (United States)

Harrar, Solomon W.; Kong, Xiaoli

2015-01-01

In this paper, test statistics for repeated measures design are introduced when the dimension is large. By large dimension is meant the number of repeated measures and the total sample size grow together but either one could be larger than the other. Asymptotic distribution of the statistics are derived for the equal as well as unequal covariance cases in the balanced as well as unbalanced cases. The asymptotic framework considered requires proportional growth of the sample sizes and the dimension of the repeated measures in the unequal covariance case. In the equal covariance case, one can grow at much faster rate than the other. The derivations of the asymptotic distributions mimic that of Central Limit Theorem with some important peculiarities addressed with sufficient rigor. Consistent and unbiased estimators of the asymptotic variances, which make efficient use of all the observations, are also derived. Simulation study provides favorable evidence for the accuracy of the asymptotic approximation under the null hypothesis. Power simulations have shown that the new methods have comparable power with a popular method known to work well in low-dimensional situation but the new methods have shown enormous advantage when the dimension is large. Data from Electroencephalograph (EEG) experiment is analyzed to illustrate the application of the results. PMID:26778861

Repeatability in Color Measurements of a Spectrophotometer using Different Positioning Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Hemming, Michael; Kwon, So Ran; Qian, Fang

2015-12-01

This study aimed to evaluate the repeatability of color measurements of an intraoral spectrophotometer with the use of three different methods by two operators. A total of 60 teeth were obtained, comprising 30 human maxillary teeth [central incisors (n = 10); canines (n = 10); molars (n = 10)] and 30 artificial teeth [lateral incisors (n = 10); premolar (n = 20)]. Multiple repeated color measurements were obtained from each tooth using three measuring methods by each of the two operators. Five typodonts with alternating artificial and human teeth were made. Measurements were taken by two operators with the Vita EasyShade spectrophotometer using the custom tray (CT), custom jig (CJ) and free hand (FH) method, twice, at an interval of 2 to 7 days. Friedman test was used to detect difference among the three color measuring methods. Post hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni correction applied was used for pair-wise comparison of color measurements among the three methods. Additionally, a paired-sample t-test was used to assess a significant difference between the two duplicated measurements made on the same tooth by the same operator for each color parameter and measuring method. For operator A, mean (SD) overall color change-ΔE* (SD) perceived for FH, CT and CJ were 2.21(2.00), 2.39 (1.58) and 2.86 (1.92), respectively. There was statistically significant difference in perceived ΔE* in FH vs CJ (p = 0.0107). However, there were no significant differences between FH and CT (p = 0.2829) or between CT and CJ (p = 0.1159). For operator B mean ΔE* (SD) for FH, CT and CJ were 3.24 (3.46), 1.95 (1.19) and 2.45 (1.56), respectively. There was a significant difference between FH and CT (p = 0.0031). However, there were no statistically significant differences in ΔE* in FH vs CJ (p = 0.3696) or CT vs CJ (p = 0.0809). The repeatability of color measurements was different among the three measuring methods by operators. Overall, the CT method worked well for both

Real-time and high accuracy frequency measurements for intermediate frequency narrowband signals

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Jing; Meng, Xiaofeng; Nie, Jing; Lin, Liwei

2018-01-01

Real-time and accurate measurements of intermediate frequency signals based on microprocessors are difficult due to the computational complexity and limited time constraints. In this paper, a fast and precise methodology based on the sigma-delta modulator is designed and implemented by first generating the twiddle factors using the designed recursive scheme. This scheme requires zero times of multiplications and only half amounts of addition operations by using the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) and the combination of the Rife algorithm and Fourier coefficient interpolation as compared with conventional methods such as DFT and Fast Fourier Transform. Experimentally, when the sampling frequency is 10 MHz, the real-time frequency measurements with intermediate frequency and narrowband signals have a measurement mean squared error of ±2.4 Hz. Furthermore, a single measurement of the whole system only requires approximately 0.3 s to achieve fast iteration, high precision, and less calculation time.

Maintaining confidentiality in prospective studies: anonymous repeated measurements via email (ARME) procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Carli, Vladimir; Hadlaczky, Gergö; Wasserman, Camilla; Stingelin-Giles, Nicola; Reiter-Theil, Stella; Wasserman, Danuta

2012-02-01

Respecting and protecting the confidentiality of data and the privacy of individuals regarding the information that they have given as participants in a research project is a cornerstone of complying with accepted research standards. However, in longitudinal studies, establishing and maintaining privacy is often challenging because of the necessity of repeated contact with participants. A novel internet-based solution is introduced here, which maintains privacy while at the same time ensures linkage of data to individual participants in a repeated measures design. With the use of the anonymous repeated measurements via email (ARME) procedure, two separate one-way communication systems are established through ad hoc email accounts and a secure study website. Strengths and limitations of the approach are discussed.

Repeatability of central corneal thickness measurement with the Pentacam HR system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruiz Simonato Alonso

2012-02-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To assess the repeatability of central corneal thickness measurement at the geometrical center (Central Corneal Thickness - CCT given by the Pentacam High Resolution (HR Comprehensive Eye Scanner (Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany over time. METHODS: Prospective, single center, observational study. Two separate CCT measurements were taken by the Pentacam corneal tomography exam (CTm 3 to 12 months apart, and compared. RESULTS: One hundred and sixteen eyes (n=116 of 62 health patients were included in this study. Average CCT in first and last visits was 541.6±37 µm and 543.6±36.9 µm respectively. Mean difference between both measurements was 9.2±6.4 µm, and there was no statistically significant difference in CCT measurement between visits, with good correlation between them (P = 0.057, r² = 0,9209. CONCLUSION: Pentacam (HR CTm gives repeatable CCT measurements over time.

Convergence of repeated quantum nondemolition measurements and wave-function collapse

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bauer, Michel; Bernard, Denis

2011-01-01

Motivated by recent experiments on quantum trapped fields, we give a rigorous proof that repeated indirect quantum nondemolition (QND) measurements converge to the collapse of the wave function as predicted by the postulates of quantum mechanics for direct measurements. We also relate the rate of convergence toward the collapsed wave function to the relative entropy of each indirect measurement, a result which makes contact with information theory.

Multivariate linear models and repeated measurements revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalgaard, Peter

2009-01-01

Methods for generalized analysis of variance based on multivariate normal theory have been known for many years. In a repeated measurements context, it is most often of interest to consider transformed responses, typically within-subject contrasts or averages. Efficiency considerations leads...... to sphericity assumptions, use of F tests and the Greenhouse-Geisser and Huynh-Feldt adjustments to compensate for deviations from sphericity. During a recent implementation of such methods in the R language, the general structure of such transformations was reconsidered, leading to a flexible specification...

Analysis of oligonucleotide array experiments with repeated measures using mixed models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Getchell Thomas V

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Two or more factor mixed factorial experiments are becoming increasingly common in microarray data analysis. In this case study, the two factors are presence (Patients with Alzheimer's disease or absence (Control of the disease, and brain regions including olfactory bulb (OB or cerebellum (CER. In the design considered in this manuscript, OB and CER are repeated measurements from the same subject and, hence, are correlated. It is critical to identify sources of variability in the analysis of oligonucleotide array experiments with repeated measures and correlations among data points have to be considered. In addition, multiple testing problems are more complicated in experiments with multi-level treatments or treatment combinations. Results In this study we adopted a linear mixed model to analyze oligonucleotide array experiments with repeated measures. We first construct a generalized F test to select differentially expressed genes. The Benjamini and Hochberg (BH procedure of controlling false discovery rate (FDR at 5% was applied to the P values of the generalized F test. For those genes with significant generalized F test, we then categorize them based on whether the interaction terms were significant or not at the α-level (αnew = 0.0033 determined by the FDR procedure. Since simple effects may be examined for the genes with significant interaction effect, we adopt the protected Fisher's least significant difference test (LSD procedure at the level of αnew to control the family-wise error rate (FWER for each gene examined. Conclusions A linear mixed model is appropriate for analysis of oligonucleotide array experiments with repeated measures. We constructed a generalized F test to select differentially expressed genes, and then applied a specific sequence of tests to identify factorial effects. This sequence of tests applied was designed to control for gene based FWER.

Analysis and experimental study of wireless power transfer with HTS coil and copper coil as the intermediate resonators system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiufang; Nie, Xinyi; Liang, Yilang; Lu, Falong; Yan, Zhongming; Wang, Yu

2017-01-01

Highlights: • We investigated a kind of system architecture with three coils which the repeater is copper coil or HTS coil. • We simulated the different repeater system and obtained the magnetic field distribution at different distance. • We used helical coil instead of pancake coil which does not use capacitors. • HTS intermediate coil has significant effect on improving the transmission efficiency and lengthening transmission distance than copper intermediate coil. - Abstract: Intermediate resonator (repeater) between transmitter and receiver can significantly increase the distance of wireless power transfer (WPT) and the efficiency of wireless power transfer. The wireless power transfer via strongly coupled magnetic resonances with an high temperature superconducting (HTS) coil and copper coil as intermediate resonators was presented in this paper. The electromagnetic experiment system under different conditions with different repeating coils were simulated by finite element software. The spatial distribution patterns of magnetic induction intensity at different distances were plotted. In this paper, we examined transfer characteristics with HTS repeating coil and copper repeating coil at 77 K and 300 K, respectively. Simulation and experimental results show that HTS and copper repeating coil can effectively enhance the space magnetic induction intensity, which has significant effect on improving the transmission efficiency and lengthening transmission distance. We found that the efficiency and the distance of wireless power transfer system with an HTS coil as repeater is much higher by using of copper coil as repeater.

Analysis and experimental study of wireless power transfer with HTS coil and copper coil as the intermediate resonators system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Xiufang [School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); School of Physics and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Nie, Xinyi [School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Liang, Yilang [School of Physics and Technology, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Lu, Falong [School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Yan, Zhongming, E-mail: wangxiufanghappy@163.com [School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Wang, Yu [School of Electrical Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)

2017-01-15

Highlights: • We investigated a kind of system architecture with three coils which the repeater is copper coil or HTS coil. • We simulated the different repeater system and obtained the magnetic field distribution at different distance. • We used helical coil instead of pancake coil which does not use capacitors. • HTS intermediate coil has significant effect on improving the transmission efficiency and lengthening transmission distance than copper intermediate coil. - Abstract: Intermediate resonator (repeater) between transmitter and receiver can significantly increase the distance of wireless power transfer (WPT) and the efficiency of wireless power transfer. The wireless power transfer via strongly coupled magnetic resonances with an high temperature superconducting (HTS) coil and copper coil as intermediate resonators was presented in this paper. The electromagnetic experiment system under different conditions with different repeating coils were simulated by finite element software. The spatial distribution patterns of magnetic induction intensity at different distances were plotted. In this paper, we examined transfer characteristics with HTS repeating coil and copper repeating coil at 77 K and 300 K, respectively. Simulation and experimental results show that HTS and copper repeating coil can effectively enhance the space magnetic induction intensity, which has significant effect on improving the transmission efficiency and lengthening transmission distance. We found that the efficiency and the distance of wireless power transfer system with an HTS coil as repeater is much higher by using of copper coil as repeater.

Joint modelling of repeated measurement and time-to-event data: an introductory tutorial.

Science.gov (United States)

Asar, Özgür; Ritchie, James; Kalra, Philip A; Diggle, Peter J

2015-02-01

The term 'joint modelling' is used in the statistical literature to refer to methods for simultaneously analysing longitudinal measurement outcomes, also called repeated measurement data, and time-to-event outcomes, also called survival data. A typical example from nephrology is a study in which the data from each participant consist of repeated estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) measurements and time to initiation of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Joint models typically combine linear mixed effects models for repeated measurements and Cox models for censored survival outcomes. Our aim in this paper is to present an introductory tutorial on joint modelling methods, with a case study in nephrology. We describe the development of the joint modelling framework and compare the results with those obtained by the more widely used approaches of conducting separate analyses of the repeated measurements and survival times based on a linear mixed effects model and a Cox model, respectively. Our case study concerns a data set from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Standards Implementation Study (CRISIS). We also provide details of our open-source software implementation to allow others to replicate and/or modify our analysis. The results for the conventional linear mixed effects model and the longitudinal component of the joint models were found to be similar. However, there were considerable differences between the results for the Cox model with time-varying covariate and the time-to-event component of the joint model. For example, the relationship between kidney function as measured by eGFR and the hazard for initiation of RRT was significantly underestimated by the Cox model that treats eGFR as a time-varying covariate, because the Cox model does not take measurement error in eGFR into account. Joint models should be preferred for simultaneous analyses of repeated measurement and survival data, especially when the former is measured with error and the association

Intermediate species measurement during iso-butanol auto-ignition

KAUST Repository

Ji, Weiqi

2015-10-01

© 2015 The Combustion Institute.Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This work presents the time histories of intermediate species during the auto-ignition of iso-butanol at high pressure and intermediate temperature conditions obtained using a rapid compression machine and recently developed fast sampling system. Iso-butanol ignition delays were acquired for iso-butanol/O2 mixture with an inert/O2 ratio of 7.26, equivalence ratio of 0.4, in the temperature range of 840-950 K and at pressure of 25 bar. Fast sampling and gas chromatography were used to acquire and quantify the intermediate species during the ignition delay of the same mixture at P = 25.3 bar and T = 905 K. The ignition delay times and quantitative measurements of the mole fraction time histories of methane, ethene, propene, iso-butene, iso-butyraldehyde, iso-butanol, and carbon monoxide were compared with predictions from the detailed mechanisms developed by Sarathy et al., Merchant et al., and Cai et al. It is shown that while the Sarathy mechanism well predicts the overall ignition delay time, it overpredicts ethene by a factor of 6-10, underpredicts iso-butene by a factor of 2, and overpredicts iso-butyraldehyde by a factor of 2. Reaction path and sensitivity analyses were carried out to identify the reactions responsible for the observed inadequacy. The rates of iso-butanol hydrogen atom abstraction by OH radical and the beta-scission reactions of hydroxybutyl radicals were updated based on recently published quantum calculation results. Significant improvements were achieved in predicting ignition delay at high pressures (25 and 30 bar) and the species concentrations of ethene and iso-butene. However, the updated mechanism still overpredicts iso-butyraldehyde concentrations. Also, the updated mechanism degrades the prediction in ignition delay at lower pressure (15 bar) compared to the original mechanism developed by Sarathy et al.

Intermediate species measurement during iso-butanol auto-ignition

KAUST Repository

Ji, Weiqi; Zhang, Peng; He, Tanjin; Wang, Zhi; Tao, Ling; He, Xin; Law, Chung K.

2015-01-01

© 2015 The Combustion Institute.Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. This work presents the time histories of intermediate species during the auto-ignition of iso-butanol at high pressure and intermediate temperature conditions obtained using a rapid compression machine and recently developed fast sampling system. Iso-butanol ignition delays were acquired for iso-butanol/O2 mixture with an inert/O2 ratio of 7.26, equivalence ratio of 0.4, in the temperature range of 840-950 K and at pressure of 25 bar. Fast sampling and gas chromatography were used to acquire and quantify the intermediate species during the ignition delay of the same mixture at P = 25.3 bar and T = 905 K. The ignition delay times and quantitative measurements of the mole fraction time histories of methane, ethene, propene, iso-butene, iso-butyraldehyde, iso-butanol, and carbon monoxide were compared with predictions from the detailed mechanisms developed by Sarathy et al., Merchant et al., and Cai et al. It is shown that while the Sarathy mechanism well predicts the overall ignition delay time, it overpredicts ethene by a factor of 6-10, underpredicts iso-butene by a factor of 2, and overpredicts iso-butyraldehyde by a factor of 2. Reaction path and sensitivity analyses were carried out to identify the reactions responsible for the observed inadequacy. The rates of iso-butanol hydrogen atom abstraction by OH radical and the beta-scission reactions of hydroxybutyl radicals were updated based on recently published quantum calculation results. Significant improvements were achieved in predicting ignition delay at high pressures (25 and 30 bar) and the species concentrations of ethene and iso-butene. However, the updated mechanism still overpredicts iso-butyraldehyde concentrations. Also, the updated mechanism degrades the prediction in ignition delay at lower pressure (15 bar) compared to the original mechanism developed by Sarathy et al.

Intelligence Is in the Eye of the Beholder: Investigating Repeated IQ Measurements in Forensic Psychiatry

Science.gov (United States)

Habets, Petra; Jeandarme, Inge; Uzieblo, Kasia; Oei, Karel; Bogaerts, Stefan

2015-01-01

Background: A stable assessment of cognition is of paramount importance for forensic psychiatric patients (FPP). The purpose of this study was to compare repeated measures of IQ scores in FPPs with and without intellectual disability. Methods: Repeated measurements of IQ scores in FPPs (n = 176) were collected. Differences between tests were…

Measurement of mass distribution of U-235 fission products in the intermediate neutron region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagomi, Yoshihiro; Kobayashi, Shohei; Yamamoto, Shuji; Kanno, Ikuo; Wakabayashi, Hiroaki.

1982-01-01

The mass distribution and the momentum distribution of U-235 fission products in the intermediate neutron region were measured by using a combination system of the Yayoi intermediate neutron column and an electron linear accelerator. The double energy measurement method was applied. A fission chamber, which consists of an enriched uranium target and two Si surface barrier detectors, was used for the measurement of the neutrons with energy above 1.3 eV. The linear accelerator was operated at the repetition rate of 100 Hz and the pulse width of 10 ns. The data obtained by the two-dimensional pulse height analysis were analyzed by the Schmitt's method. The preliminary results of the mass distribution and the momentum distribution of fission fragments were obtained. (Kato, T.)

Analysis of repeated measurement data in the clinical trials

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Vineeta; Rana, Rakesh Kumar; Singhal, Richa

2013-01-01

Statistics is an integral part of Clinical Trials. Elements of statistics span Clinical Trial design, data monitoring, analyses and reporting. A solid understanding of statistical concepts by clinicians improves the comprehension and the resulting quality of Clinical Trials. In biomedical research it has been seen that researcher frequently use t-test and ANOVA to compare means between the groups of interest irrespective of the nature of the data. In Clinical Trials we record the data on the patients more than two times. In such a situation using the standard ANOVA procedures is not appropriate as it does not consider dependencies between observations within subjects in the analysis. To deal with such types of study data Repeated Measure ANOVA should be used. In this article the application of One-way Repeated Measure ANOVA has been demonstrated by using the software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Version 15.0 on the data collected at four time points 0 day, 15th day, 30th day, and 45th day of multicentre clinical trial conducted on Pandu Roga (~Iron Deficiency Anemia) with an Ayurvedic formulation Dhatrilauha. PMID:23930038

Near-Peer Teaching in Paramedic Education: A Repeated Measures Design

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Brett; Nguyen, David

2017-01-01

The transition of the Australian paramedic discipline from vocation education and training to the higher education sector has seen a sharp rise in interest in near-peer teaching (NPT). The objective of this study was to examine satisfaction levels of NPT over one academic semester among undergraduate paramedic students. A repeated measured design…

Cross-trimester repeated measures testing for Down's syndrome screening: an assessment.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Wright, D

2010-07-01

To provide estimates and confidence intervals for the performance (detection and false-positive rates) of screening for Down\\'s syndrome using repeated measures of biochemical markers from first and second trimester maternal serum samples taken from the same woman.

Measuring environmental change in forest ecosystems by repeated soil sampling: A North American perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Gregory B. Lawrence; Ivan J. Fernandez; Daniel D. Richter; Donald S. Ross; Paul W. Hazlett; Scott W. Bailey; Rock Ouimet; Richard A. F. Warby; Arthur H. Johnson; Henry Lin; James M. Kaste; Andrew G. Lapenis; Timothy J. Sullivan

2013-01-01

Environmental change is monitored in North America through repeated measurements of weather, stream and river flow, air and water quality, and most recently, soil properties. Some skepticism remains, however, about whether repeated soil sampling can effectively distinguish between temporal and spatial variability, and efforts to document soil change in forest...

Measuring Intermediate-Mass Black-Hole Binaries with Advanced Gravitational Wave Detectors.

Science.gov (United States)

Veitch, John; Pürrer, Michael; Mandel, Ilya

2015-10-02

We perform a systematic study to explore the accuracy with which the parameters of intermediate-mass black-hole binary systems can be measured from their gravitational wave (GW) signatures using second-generation GW detectors. We make use of the most recent reduced-order models containing inspiral, merger, and ringdown signals of aligned-spin effective-one-body waveforms to significantly speed up the calculations. We explore the phenomenology of the measurement accuracies for binaries with total masses between 50M(⊙) and 500M(⊙) and mass ratios between 0.1 and 1. We find that (i) at total masses below ∼200M(⊙), where the signal-to-noise ratio is dominated by the inspiral portion of the signal, the chirp mass parameter can be accurately measured; (ii) at higher masses, the information content is dominated by the ringdown, and total mass is measured more accurately; (iii) the mass of the lower-mass companion is poorly estimated, especially at high total mass and more extreme mass ratios; and (iv) spin cannot be accurately measured for our injection set with nonspinning components. Most importantly, we find that for binaries with nonspinning components at all values of the mass ratio in the considered range and at a network signal-to-noise ratio of 15, analyzed with spin-aligned templates, the presence of an intermediate-mass black hole with mass >100M(⊙) can be confirmed with 95% confidence in any binary that includes a component with a mass of 130M(⊙) or greater.

Antarctic Ice Sheet Slope and Aspect Based on Icesat's Repeat Orbit Measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, L.; Li, F.; Zhang, S.; Xie, S.; Xiao, F.; Zhu, T.; Zhang, Y.

2017-09-01

Accurate information of ice sheet surface slope is essential for estimating elevation change by satellite altimetry measurement. A study is carried out to recover surface slope of Antarctic ice sheet from Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) elevation measurements based on repeat orbits. ICESat provides repeat ground tracks within 200 meters in cross-track direction and 170 meters in along-track direction for most areas of Antarctic ice sheet. Both cross-track and along-track surface slopes could be obtained by adjacent repeat ground tracks. Combining those measurements yields a surface slope model with resolution of approximately 200 meters. An algorithm considering elevation change is developed to estimate the surface slope of Antarctic ice sheet. Three Antarctic Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were used to calculate surface slopes. The surface slopes from DEMs are compared with estimates by using in situ GPS data in Dome A, the summit of Antarctic ice sheet. Our results reveal an average surface slope difference of 0.02 degree in Dome A. High resolution remote sensing images are also used in comparing the results derived from other DEMs and this paper. The comparison implies that our results have a slightly better coherence with GPS observation than results from DEMs, but our results provide more details and perform higher accuracy in coastal areas because of the higher resolution for ICESat measurements. Ice divides are estimated based on the aspect, and are weakly consistent with ice divides from other method in coastal regions.

The effect of repeated measurements and working memory on the most comfortable level in the ANL test

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brännström, K Jonas; Olsen, Steen Østergaard; Holm, Lucas

2014-01-01

interleaved methodology during one session using a non-semantic version. Phonological (PWM) and visuospatial working memory (VSWM) was measured. STUDY SAMPLE: Thirty-two normal-hearing adults. RESULTS: Repeated measures ANOVA, intraclass correlations, and the coefficient of repeatability (CR) were used...

Measurement System Analyses - Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Cepova, Lenka; Kovacikova, Andrea; Cep, Robert; Klaput, Pavel; Mizera, Ondrej

2018-02-01

The submitted article focuses on a detailed explanation of the average and range method (Automotive Industry Action Group, Measurement System Analysis approach) and of the honest Gauge Repeatability and Reproducibility method (Evaluating the Measurement Process approach). The measured data (thickness of plastic parts) were evaluated by both methods and their results were compared on the basis of numerical evaluation. Both methods were additionally compared and their advantages and disadvantages were discussed. One difference between both methods is the calculation of variation components. The AIAG method calculates the variation components based on standard deviation (then a sum of variation components does not give 100 %) and the honest GRR study calculates the variation components based on variance, where the sum of all variation components (part to part variation, EV & AV) gives the total variation of 100 %. Acceptance of both methods among the professional society, future use, and acceptance by manufacturing industry were also discussed. Nowadays, the AIAG is the leading method in the industry.

Impact of a person-centred dementia care training programme on hospital staff attitudes, role efficacy and perceptions of caring for people with dementia: A repeated measures study.

Science.gov (United States)

Surr, C A; Smith, S J; Crossland, J; Robins, J

2016-01-01

People with dementia occupy up to one quarter of acute hospital beds. However, the quality of care delivered to this patient group is of national concern. Staff working in acute hospitals report lack of knowledge, skills and confidence in caring for people with dementia. There is limited evidence about the most effective approaches to supporting acute hospital staff to deliver more person-centred care. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a specialist training programme for acute hospital staff regarding improving attitudes, satisfaction and feelings of caring efficacy, in provision of care to people with dementia. A repeated measures design, with measures completed immediately prior to commencing training (T1), after completion of Foundation level training (T2: 4-6 weeks post-baseline), and following Intermediate level training (T3: 3-4 months post-baseline). One NHS Trust in the North of England, UK. 40 acute hospital staff working in clinical roles, the majority of whom (90%) were nurses. All participants received the 3.5 day Person-centred Care Training for Acute Hospitals (PCTAH) programme, comprised of two levels, Foundation (0.5 day) and Intermediate (3 days), delivered over a 3-4 months period. Staff demographics and previous exposure to dementia training were collected via a questionnaire. Staff attitudes were measured using the Approaches to Dementia Questionnaire (ADQ), satisfaction in caring for people with dementia was captured using the Staff Experiences of Working with Demented Residents questionnaire (SEWDR) and perceived caring efficacy was measured using the Caring Efficacy Scale (CES). The training programme was effective in producing a significant positive change on all three outcome measures following intermediate training compared to baseline. A significant positive effect was found on the ADQ between baseline and after completion of Foundation level training, but not for either of the other measures. Training acute hospital staff in

Unitarity, Feedback, Interactions - Dynamics Emergent from Repeated Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Corona Ugalde, Paulina; Altamirano, Natacha; Mann, Robert; Zych, Magdalena

Modern measurement theory dispenses with the description of a measurement as a projection. Rather, the measurement is understood as an operation, whereby the system's final state is determined by an action of a completely positive trace non-increasing map and the outcomes are described by linear operators on the system, distributed according to a positive-operator valued measure (POVM). The POVM approach unifies the theory of measurements with a general description of dynamics, the theory of open quantum systems. Engineering a particular measurement and engineering a particular dynamics for the system are thus two complementary aspects of the same conceptual framework. This correspondence is directly applied in quantum simulations and quantum control theory . With this motivation, we study what types of dynamics can emerge from a model of repeated short interactions of a system with a set of ancillae. We show that contingent on the model parameters the resulting dynamics ranges from exact unitarity to arbitrary fast decoherence. For a series of measurements the effective dynamics includes feedback-control, which for a composite system yields effective interactions between the subsystems. We quantify the amount of decoherence accompanying such induced interactions. The simple framework used in the present study can find applications in devising novel quantum control protocols, or quantum simulations.

HIV-1 gp41 Fusion Intermediate: A Target for HIV Therapeutics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chungen Pan

2010-02-01

Full Text Available Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1 infection is initiated by the binding of gp120 envelope glyco-protein to its cell receptor (CD4 and a coreceptor (CXCR4 or CCR5, followed by a series of conformational changes in the gp41 transmembrane subunit. These changes include insertion of fusion peptide into the target cell membrane and association of C-heptad repeat (CHR peptide with the N-heptad repeat (NHR trimer, a pre-hairpin fusion intermediate. A stable six-helix bundle core is then formed, bringing the viral envelope and target cell membrane into close proximity for fusion. Peptides derived from the CHR region, such as T20 and C34, inhibit HIV-1 fusion by interacting with the gp41 fusion intermediate. A number of anti-HIV-1 peptides and small molecule compounds targeting the gp41 NHR-trimer have been identified. By combining HIV fusion/entry inhibitors targeting different sites in the gp41 fusion intermediate, a potent synergistic effect takes place, resulting in a potential new therapeutic strategy for the HIV infection/AIDS. Here, we present an overview of the current development of anti-HIV drugs, particularly those targeting the gp41 fusion intermediate.

Comparability and repeatability of three commonly used methods for measuring endurance capacity.

Science.gov (United States)

Baxter-Gilbert, James; Mühlenhaupt, Max; Whiting, Martin J

2017-12-01

Measures of endurance (time to exhaustion) have been used to address a wide range of questions in ecomorphological and physiological research, as well as being used as a proxy for survival and fitness. Swimming, stationary (circular) track running, and treadmill running are all commonly used methods for measuring endurance. Despite the use of these methods across a broad range of taxa, how comparable these methods are to one another, and whether they are biologically relevant, is rarely examined. We used Australian water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii), a species that is morphologically adept at climbing, swimming, and running, to compare these three methods of endurance and examined if there is repeatability within and between trial methods. We found that time to exhaustion was not highly repeatable within a method, suggesting that single measures or a mean time to exhaustion across trials are not appropriate. Furthermore, we compared mean maximal endurance times among the three methods, and found that the two running methods (i.e., stationary track and treadmill) were similar, but swimming was distinctly different, resulting in lower mean maximal endurance times. Finally, an individual's endurance rank was not repeatable across methods, suggesting that the three endurance trial methods are not providing similar information about an individual's performance capacity. Overall, these results highlight the need to carefully match a measure of performance capacity with the study species and the research questions being asked so that the methods being used are behaviorally, ecologically, and physiologically relevant. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analysis and experimental study of wireless power transfer with HTS coil and copper coil as the intermediate resonators system

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiufang; Nie, Xinyi; Liang, Yilang; Lu, Falong; Yan, Zhongming; Wang, Yu

2017-01-01

Intermediate resonator (repeater) between transmitter and receiver can significantly increase the distance of wireless power transfer (WPT) and the efficiency of wireless power transfer. The wireless power transfer via strongly coupled magnetic resonances with an high temperature superconducting (HTS) coil and copper coil as intermediate resonators was presented in this paper. The electromagnetic experiment system under different conditions with different repeating coils were simulated by finite element software. The spatial distribution patterns of magnetic induction intensity at different distances were plotted. In this paper, we examined transfer characteristics with HTS repeating coil and copper repeating coil at 77 K and 300 K, respectively. Simulation and experimental results show that HTS and copper repeating coil can effectively enhance the space magnetic induction intensity, which has significant effect on improving the transmission efficiency and lengthening transmission distance. We found that the efficiency and the distance of wireless power transfer system with an HTS coil as repeater is much higher by using of copper coil as repeater.

Repeatability of junctional zone measurements using three-dimensional transvaginal ultrasound in healthy, fertile women

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Christina Kjærgaard; Glavind, Julie; Madsen, Lene Duch

2016-01-01

-observer repeatability was evaluated according to the Bland-Altman method and expressed as coefficient of repeatability (CoR). Results: Using 3D-TVS we visualised a thin and regular JZ in most women. The posterior uterine wall had the largest median (interquartile range; iqr) value of JZmax (5.2 (iqr 3.8-6.5)mm. Ten out....... Correlations between measurements were poor in the narrow range of JZ thickness. Conclusions: The JZ has an indistinct outline by 3D-TVS resulting in an error of JZ measurement within a broad range of ±2-4 mm, but reduced by average measurements. The thickness of JZ varied within a narrow range of this healthy......, fertile population and reliability measurements of JZ thickness has to be evaluated in women with a wider range of JZ thickness....

REPEATABILITY AND ACCURACY OF EXOPLANET ECLIPSE DEPTHS MEASURED WITH POST-CRYOGENIC SPITZER

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ingalls, James G.; Krick, J. E.; Carey, S. J.; Stauffer, John R.; Lowrance, Patrick J.; Grillmair, Carl J.; Capak, Peter; Glaccum, William; Laine, Seppo; Surace, Jason; Storrie-Lombardi, Lisa [Spitzer Science Center, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E California Boulevard, Mail Code 314-6, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Buzasi, Derek [Department of Chemistry and Physics, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL 33965 (United States); Deming, Drake [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2421 (United States); Diamond-Lowe, Hannah; Stevenson, Kevin B. [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Chicago, 5640 S Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637 (United States); Evans, Thomas M. [School of Physics, University of Exeter, EX4 4QL Exeter (United Kingdom); Morello, G. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, WC1 E6BT (United Kingdom); Wong, Ian, E-mail: ingalls@ipac.caltech.edu [Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

2016-08-01

We examine the repeatability, reliability, and accuracy of differential exoplanet eclipse depth measurements made using the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope during the post-cryogenic mission. We have re-analyzed an existing 4.5 μ m data set, consisting of 10 observations of the XO-3b system during secondary eclipse, using seven different techniques for removing correlated noise. We find that, on average, for a given technique, the eclipse depth estimate is repeatable from epoch to epoch to within 156 parts per million (ppm). Most techniques derive eclipse depths that do not vary by more than a factor 3 of the photon noise limit. All methods but one accurately assess their own errors: for these methods, the individual measurement uncertainties are comparable to the scatter in eclipse depths over the 10 epoch sample. To assess the accuracy of the techniques as well as to clarify the difference between instrumental and other sources of measurement error, we have also analyzed a simulated data set of 10 visits to XO-3b, for which the eclipse depth is known. We find that three of the methods (BLISS mapping, Pixel Level Decorrelation, and Independent Component Analysis) obtain results that are within three times the photon limit of the true eclipse depth. When averaged over the 10 epoch ensemble,  5 out of 7 techniques come within 60 ppm of the true value. Spitzer exoplanet data, if obtained following current best practices and reduced using methods such as those described here, can measure repeatable and accurate single eclipse depths, with close to photon-limited results.

Repeatability of Computerized Tomography-Based Anthropomorphic Measurements of Frailty in Patients With Pulmonary Fibrosis Undergoing Lung Transplantation.

Science.gov (United States)

McClellan, Taylor; Allen, Brian C; Kappus, Matthew; Bhatti, Lubna; Dafalla, Randa A; Snyder, Laurie D; Bashir, Mustafa R

To determine interreader and intrareader repeatability and correlations among measurements of computerized tomography-based anthropomorphic measurements in patients with pulmonary fibrosis undergoing lung transplantation. This was an institutional review board-approved, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant retrospective study of 23 randomly selected subjects (19 male and 4 female; median age = 69 years; range: 66-77 years) with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis undergoing pulmonary transplantation, who had also undergone preoperative thoracoabdominal computerized tomography. Five readers of varying imaging experience independently performed the following cross-sectional area measurements at the inferior endplate of the L3 vertebral body: right and left psoas muscles, right and left paraspinal muscles, total abdominal musculature, and visceral and subcutaneous fat. The following measurements were obtained at the inferior endplate of T6: right and left paraspinal muscles with and without including the trapezius muscles and subcutaneous fat. Three readers repeated all measurements to assess intrareader repeatability. Intrareader repeatability was nearly perfect (interclass correlation coefficients = 0.99, P < 0.001). Interreader agreement was excellent across all 5 readers (interclass correlation coefficients: 0.71-0.99, P < 0.001). Coefficients of variance between measures ranged from 3.2%-6.8% for abdominal measurements, but were higher for thoracic measurements, up to 23.9%. Correlation between total paraspinal and total psoas muscle area was strong (r 2 = 0.67, P < 0.001). Thoracic and abdominal musculature had a weaker correlation (r 2 = 0.35-0.38, P < 0.001). Measures of thoracic and abdominal muscle and fat area are highly repeatable in patients with pulmonary fibrosis undergoing lung transplantation. Measures of muscle area are strongly correlated among abdominal locations, but inversely correlated between abdominal and thoracic locations

Effect of repeated contact on adhesion measurements involving polydimethylsiloxane structural material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kroner, E; Arzt, E; Maboudian, R

2009-01-01

During the last few years several research groups have focused on the fabrication of artificial gecko inspired adhesives. For mimicking these structures, different polymers are used as structure material, such as polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS), polyurethanes (PU), and polypropylene (PP). While these polymers can be structured easily and used for artificial adhesion systems, the effects of repeated adhesion testing have never been investigated closely. In this paper we report on the effect of repeated adhesion measurements on the commercially available poly(dimethylsiloxane) polymer kit Sylgard 184 (Dow Corning). We show that the adhesion force decreases as a function of contact cycles. The rate of change and the final value of adhesion are found to depend on the details of the PDMS synthesis and structuring.

Dispersion Measure Variation of Repeating Fast Radio Burst Sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Yuan-Pei; Zhang, Bing, E-mail: yypspore@gmail.com, E-mail: zhang@physics.unlv.edu [Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2017-09-20

The repeating fast radio burst (FRB) 121102 was recently localized in a dwarf galaxy at a cosmological distance. The dispersion measure (DM) derived for each burst from FRB 121102 so far has not shown significant evolution, even though an apparent increase was recently seen with newly detected VLA bursts. It is expected that more repeating FRB sources may be detected in the future. In this work, we investigate a list of possible astrophysical processes that might cause DM variation of a particular FRB source. The processes include (1) cosmological scale effects such as Hubble expansion and large-scale structure fluctuations; (2) FRB local effects such as gas density fluctuation, expansion of a supernova remnant (SNR), a pulsar wind nebula, and an H ii region; and (3) the propagation effect due to plasma lensing. We find that the DM variations contributed by the large-scale structure are extremely small, and any observable DM variation is likely caused by the plasma local to the FRB source. In addition to mechanisms that decrease DM over time, we suggest that an FRB source in an expanding SNR around a nearly neutral ambient medium during the deceleration (Sedov–Taylor and snowplow) phases or in a growing H ii region can increase DM. Some effects (e.g., an FRB source moving in an H ii region or plasma lensing) can produce either positive or negative DM variations. Future observations of DM variations of FRB 121102 and other repeating FRB sources can provide important clues regarding the physical origin of these sources.

Dispersion Measure Variation of Repeating Fast Radio Burst Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Yuan-Pei; Zhang, Bing

2017-01-01

The repeating fast radio burst (FRB) 121102 was recently localized in a dwarf galaxy at a cosmological distance. The dispersion measure (DM) derived for each burst from FRB 121102 so far has not shown significant evolution, even though an apparent increase was recently seen with newly detected VLA bursts. It is expected that more repeating FRB sources may be detected in the future. In this work, we investigate a list of possible astrophysical processes that might cause DM variation of a particular FRB source. The processes include (1) cosmological scale effects such as Hubble expansion and large-scale structure fluctuations; (2) FRB local effects such as gas density fluctuation, expansion of a supernova remnant (SNR), a pulsar wind nebula, and an H ii region; and (3) the propagation effect due to plasma lensing. We find that the DM variations contributed by the large-scale structure are extremely small, and any observable DM variation is likely caused by the plasma local to the FRB source. In addition to mechanisms that decrease DM over time, we suggest that an FRB source in an expanding SNR around a nearly neutral ambient medium during the deceleration (Sedov–Taylor and snowplow) phases or in a growing H ii region can increase DM. Some effects (e.g., an FRB source moving in an H ii region or plasma lensing) can produce either positive or negative DM variations. Future observations of DM variations of FRB 121102 and other repeating FRB sources can provide important clues regarding the physical origin of these sources.

On summary measure analysis of linear trend repeated measures data: performance comparison with two competing methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Vossoughi, Mehrdad; Ayatollahi, S M T; Towhidi, Mina; Ketabchi, Farzaneh

2012-03-22

The summary measure approach (SMA) is sometimes the only applicable tool for the analysis of repeated measurements in medical research, especially when the number of measurements is relatively large. This study aimed to describe techniques based on summary measures for the analysis of linear trend repeated measures data and then to compare performances of SMA, linear mixed model (LMM), and unstructured multivariate approach (UMA). Practical guidelines based on the least squares regression slope and mean of response over time for each subject were provided to test time, group, and interaction effects. Through Monte Carlo simulation studies, the efficacy of SMA vs. LMM and traditional UMA, under different types of covariance structures, was illustrated. All the methods were also employed to analyze two real data examples. Based on the simulation and example results, it was found that the SMA completely dominated the traditional UMA and performed convincingly close to the best-fitting LMM in testing all the effects. However, the LMM was not often robust and led to non-sensible results when the covariance structure for errors was misspecified. The results emphasized discarding the UMA which often yielded extremely conservative inferences as to such data. It was shown that summary measure is a simple, safe and powerful approach in which the loss of efficiency compared to the best-fitting LMM was generally negligible. The SMA is recommended as the first choice to reliably analyze the linear trend data with a moderate to large number of measurements and/or small to moderate sample sizes.

Measurement of repeat effects in Chicago’s criminal social network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul Kump

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The “near-repeat” effect is a well-known criminological phenomenon in which the occurrence of a crime incident gives rise to a temporary elevation of crime risk within close physical proximity to an initial incident. Adopting a social network perspective, we instead define a near repeat in terms of geodesic distance within a criminal social network, rather than spatial distance. Specifically, we report a statistical analysis of repeat effects in arrest data for Chicago during the years 2003–2012. We divide the arrest data into two sets (violent crimes and other crimes and, for each set, we compare the distributions of time intervals between repeat incidents to theoretical distributions in which repeat incidents occur only by chance. We first consider the case of the same arrestee participating in repeat incidents (“exact repeats” and then extend the analysis to evaluate repeat risks of those arrestees near one another in the social network. We observe repeat effects that diminish as a function of geodesic distance and time interval, and we estimate typical time scales for repeat crimes in Chicago.

Coincidence measurements of intermediate mass fragments produced in /sup 32/S-induced reactions on Ag at E/A = 22.5 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fields, D.J.; Lynch, W.G.; Nayak, T.K.

1986-01-01

Single- and two-particle inclusive cross sections for the production of light nuclei and intermediate mass fragments, 3< or =Z< or =24, were measured at angles well beyond the grazing angle for /sup 32/S-induced reactions on Ag at 720 MeV. Information about fragment multiplicities and reaction dynamics was extracted from measurements of light particles, intermediate mass fragments, and targetlike residues in coincidence with intermediate mass fragments. Incomplete linear momentum transfer and non-compound-particle emission are important features of collisions producing intermediate mass fragments. About half of the incident kinetic energy in these collisions is converted into internal excitation. The mean multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments is of the order of 1. Particle correlations are strongly enhanced in the plane which contains the intermediate mass fragment and the beam axis

Accuracy and repeatability of anthropometric facial measurements using cone beam computed tomography

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Fourie, Zacharias; Damstra, Janalt; Gerrits, Peter O.; Ren, Yijin

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy and repeatability of linear anthropometric measurements on the soft tissue surface model generated from cone beam computed tomography scans. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of seven cadaver heads. The accuracy and

Formatting data files for repeated-measures analyses in SPSS: Using the Aggregate and Restructure procedures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gyslain Giguère

2006-03-01

Full Text Available In this tutorial, we demonstrate how to use the Aggregate and Restructure procedures available in SPSS (versions 11 and up to prepare data files for repeated-measures analyses. In the first two sections of the tutorial, we briefly describe the Aggregate and Restructure procedures. In the final section, we present an example in which the data from a fictional lexical decision task are prepared for analysis using a mixed-design ANOVA. The tutorial demonstrates that the presented method is the most efficient way to prepare data for repeated-measures analyses in SPSS.

Statistical Validation for Clinical Measures: Repeatability and Agreement of Kinect™-Based Software.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Natalia; Perez, Elisa; Tello, Emanuel; Rodrigo, Alejandro; Valentinuzzi, Max E

2018-01-01

The rehabilitation process is a fundamental stage for recovery of people's capabilities. However, the evaluation of the process is performed by physiatrists and medical doctors, mostly based on their observations, that is, a subjective appreciation of the patient's evolution. This paper proposes a tracking platform of the movement made by an individual's upper limb using Kinect sensor(s) to be applied for the patient during the rehabilitation process. The main contribution is the development of quantifying software and the statistical validation of its performance, repeatability, and clinical use in the rehabilitation process. The software determines joint angles and upper limb trajectories for the construction of a specific rehabilitation protocol and quantifies the treatment evolution. In turn, the information is presented via a graphical interface that allows the recording, storage, and report of the patient's data. For clinical purposes, the software information is statistically validated with three different methodologies, comparing the measures with a goniometer in terms of agreement and repeatability. The agreement of joint angles measured with the proposed software and goniometer is evaluated with Bland-Altman plots; all measurements fell well within the limits of agreement, meaning interchangeability of both techniques. Additionally, the results of Bland-Altman analysis of repeatability show 95% confidence. Finally, the physiotherapists' qualitative assessment shows encouraging results for the clinical use. The main conclusion is that the software is capable of offering a clinical history of the patient and is useful for quantification of the rehabilitation success. The simplicity, low cost, and visualization possibilities enhance the use of the software Kinect for rehabilitation and other applications, and the expert's opinion endorses the choice of our approach for clinical practice. Comparison of the new measurement technique with established

Power analysis for multivariate and repeated measurements designs via SPSS: correction and extension of D'Amico, Neilands, and Zambarano (2001).

Science.gov (United States)

Osborne, Jason W

2006-05-01

D'Amico, Neilands, and Zambarano (2001) published SPSS syntax to perform power analyses for three complex procedures: ANCOVA, MANOVA, and repeated measures ANOVA. Unfortunately, the published SPSS syntax for performing the repeated measures analysis needed some minor revision in order to perform the analysis correctly. This article presents the corrected syntax that will successfully perform the repeated measures analysis and provides some guidance on modifying the syntax to customize the analysis.

Validation of Repeated Endothelial Function Measurements Using EndoPAT in Stroke

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Aina S; Butt, Jawad H; Holm-Yildiz, Sonja

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Decreased endothelial function (EF) may be a prognostic marker for stroke. Measuring pharmacological effects on EF may be of interest in the development of personalized medicine for stroke prevention. In this study, we assessed the reliability of repeated EF measurements using a pulse......%, mean age 35.85 ± 3.47 years) and 21 stroke patients (men 52%, mean age 66.38 ± 2.85 years, and mean NIHSS 4.09 ± 0.53) under standardized conditions. EF was measured as the reactive hyperemia index (RHI), logarithm of RHI (lnRHI), and Framingham RHI (fRHI). Measurements were separated by 1.5 and 24 h...

The effect of repeated measurements and working memory on the most comfortable level in the ANL test.

Science.gov (United States)

Brännström, K Jonas; Olsen, Steen Østergaard; Holm, Lucas; Kastberg, Tobias; Ibertsson, Tina

2014-11-01

To study the effect of a large number of repetitions on the most comfortable level (MCL) when doing the acceptable noise level (ANL) test, and explore if MCL variability is related to central cognitive processes. Twelve MCL repetitions were measured within the ANL test using interleaved methodology during one session using a non-semantic version. Phonological (PWM) and visuospatial working memory (VSWM) was measured. Thirty-two normal-hearing adults. Repeated measures ANOVA, intraclass correlations, and the coefficient of repeatability (CR) were used to assess the repeatability. Repeated measures ANOVA and CR indicated poor agreement between the two first repetitions. After excluding the first repetition, analyses showed that the MCL in the ANL test is reliable. A negative association was found between PWM and MCL variability indicating that subjects with higher PWM show less variability. The findings suggest that, after excluding the first repetition, the MCL in the ANL test is reliable. A single repetition of the MCL in the ANL test should be avoided. If an interleaved methodology is used, a single ANL repetition should be added prior to the actual testing. The findings also suggest that MCL variability is associated to PWM but not VSWM.

Spatial cluster detection for repeatedly measured outcomes while accounting for residential history.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Andrea J; Gold, Diane R; Li, Yi

2009-10-01

Spatial cluster detection has become an important methodology in quantifying the effect of hazardous exposures. Previous methods have focused on cross-sectional outcomes that are binary or continuous. There are virtually no spatial cluster detection methods proposed for longitudinal outcomes. This paper proposes a new spatial cluster detection method for repeated outcomes using cumulative geographic residuals. A major advantage of this method is its ability to readily incorporate information on study participants relocation, which most cluster detection statistics cannot. Application of these methods will be illustrated by the Home Allergens and Asthma prospective cohort study analyzing the relationship between environmental exposures and repeated measured outcome, occurrence of wheeze in the last 6 months, while taking into account mobile locations.

A PCR-based protocol to accurately size C9orf72 intermediate-length alleles.

Science.gov (United States)

Biasiotto, Giorgio; Archetti, Silvana; Di Lorenzo, Diego; Merola, Francesca; Paiardi, Giulia; Borroni, Barbara; Alberici, Antonella; Padovani, Alessandro; Filosto, Massimiliano; Bonvicini, Cristian; Caimi, Luigi; Zanella, Isabella

2017-04-01

Although large expansions of the non-coding GGGGCC repeat in C9orf72 gene are clearly defined as pathogenic for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD), intermediate-length expansions have also been associated with those and other neurodegenerative diseases. Intermediate-length allele sizing is complicated by intrinsic properties of current PCR-based methodologies, in that somatic mosaicism could be suspected. We designed a protocol that allows the exact sizing of intermediate-length alleles, as well as the identification of large expansions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measurement repeatability of tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove offset distance in red fox (Vulpes vulpes) cadavers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Miles, J.E.; Jensen, B.R.; Kirpensteijn, J.; Svalastoga, E.L.; Eriksen, T.

2013-01-01

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To describe CT image reconstruction criteria for measurement of the tibial tuberosity-trochlear groove (TT-TG) offset distance, evaluate intra- and inter-reconstruction repeatability, and identify key sources of error in the measurement technique, as determined in vulpine hind

Repeatability and Reproducibility of Compression Strength Measurements Conducted According to ASTM E9

Science.gov (United States)

Luecke, William E.; Ma, Li; Graham, Stephen M.; Adler, Matthew A.

2010-01-01

Ten commercial laboratories participated in an interlaboratory study to establish the repeatability and reproducibility of compression strength tests conducted according to ASTM International Standard Test Method E9. The test employed a cylindrical aluminum AA2024-T351 test specimen. Participants measured elastic modulus and 0.2 % offset yield strength, YS(0.2 % offset), using an extensometer attached to the specimen. The repeatability and reproducibility of the yield strength measurement, expressed as coefficient of variations were cv(sub r)= 0.011 and cv(sub R)= 0.020 The reproducibility of the test across the laboratories was among the best that has been reported for uniaxial tests. The reported data indicated that using diametrically opposed extensometers, instead of a single extensometer doubled the precision of the test method. Laboratories that did not lubricate the ends of the specimen measured yield stresses and elastic moduli that were smaller than those measured in laboratories that lubricated the specimen ends. A finite element analysis of the test specimen deformation for frictionless and perfect friction could not explain the discrepancy, however. The modulus measured from stress-strain data were reanalyzed using a technique that finds the optimal fit range, and applies several quality checks to the data. The error in modulus measurements from stress-strain curves generally increased as the fit range decreased to less than 40 % of the stress range.

Characterization of the peripheral blood transcriptome in a repeated measures design using a panel of healthy individuals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

De Boever, Patrick; Wens, Britt; Forcheh, Anyiawung Chiara

2014-01-01

A repeated measures microarray design with 22 healthy, non-smoking volunteers (aging 32. ±. 5. years) was set up to study transcriptome profiles in whole blood samples. The results indicate that repeatable data can be obtained with high within-subject correlation. Probes that could discriminate b...

Beyond total treatment effects in randomised controlled trials: Baseline measurement of intermediate outcomes needed to reduce confounding in mediation investigations.

Science.gov (United States)

Landau, Sabine; Emsley, Richard; Dunn, Graham

2018-06-01

Random allocation avoids confounding bias when estimating the average treatment effect. For continuous outcomes measured at post-treatment as well as prior to randomisation (baseline), analyses based on (A) post-treatment outcome alone, (B) change scores over the treatment phase or (C) conditioning on baseline values (analysis of covariance) provide unbiased estimators of the average treatment effect. The decision to include baseline values of the clinical outcome in the analysis is based on precision arguments, with analysis of covariance known to be most precise. Investigators increasingly carry out explanatory analyses to decompose total treatment effects into components that are mediated by an intermediate continuous outcome and a non-mediated part. Traditional mediation analysis might be performed based on (A) post-treatment values of the intermediate and clinical outcomes alone, (B) respective change scores or (C) conditioning on baseline measures of both intermediate and clinical outcomes. Using causal diagrams and Monte Carlo simulation, we investigated the performance of the three competing mediation approaches. We considered a data generating model that included three possible confounding processes involving baseline variables: The first two processes modelled baseline measures of the clinical variable or the intermediate variable as common causes of post-treatment measures of these two variables. The third process allowed the two baseline variables themselves to be correlated due to past common causes. We compared the analysis models implied by the competing mediation approaches with this data generating model to hypothesise likely biases in estimators, and tested these in a simulation study. We applied the methods to a randomised trial of pragmatic rehabilitation in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, which examined the role of limiting activities as a mediator. Estimates of causal mediation effects derived by approach (A) will be biased if one of

Analyzing Repeated Measures Marginal Models on Sample Surveys with Resampling Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James D. Knoke

2005-12-01

Full Text Available Packaged statistical software for analyzing categorical, repeated measures marginal models on sample survey data with binary covariates does not appear to be available. Consequently, this report describes a customized SAS program which accomplishes such an analysis on survey data with jackknifed replicate weights for which the primary sampling unit information has been suppressed for respondent confidentiality. First, the program employs the Macro Language and the Output Delivery System (ODS to estimate the means and covariances of indicator variables for the response variables, taking the design into account. Then, it uses PROC CATMOD and ODS, ignoring the survey design, to obtain the design matrix and hypothesis test specifications. Finally, it enters these results into another run of CATMOD, which performs automated direct input of the survey design specifications and accomplishes the appropriate analysis. This customized SAS program can be employed, with minor editing, to analyze general categorical, repeated measures marginal models on sample surveys with replicate weights. Finally, the results of our analysis accounting for the survey design are compared to the results of two alternate analyses of the same data. This comparison confirms that such alternate analyses, which do not properly account for the design, do not produce useful results.

Modeling intraindividual variability with repeated measures data methods and applications

CERN Document Server

Hershberger, Scott L

2013-01-01

This book examines how individuals behave across time and to what degree that behavior changes, fluctuates, or remains stable.It features the most current methods on modeling repeated measures data as reported by a distinguished group of experts in the field. The goal is to make the latest techniques used to assess intraindividual variability accessible to a wide range of researchers. Each chapter is written in a ""user-friendly"" style such that even the ""novice"" data analyst can easily apply the techniques.Each chapter features:a minimum discussion of mathematical detail;an empirical examp

Power analysis for multivariate and repeated measures designs: a flexible approach using the SPSS MANOVA procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

D'Amico, E J; Neilands, T B; Zambarano, R

2001-11-01

Although power analysis is an important component in the planning and implementation of research designs, it is often ignored. Computer programs for performing power analysis are available, but most have limitations, particularly for complex multivariate designs. An SPSS procedure is presented that can be used for calculating power for univariate, multivariate, and repeated measures models with and without time-varying and time-constant covariates. Three examples provide a framework for calculating power via this method: an ANCOVA, a MANOVA, and a repeated measures ANOVA with two or more groups. The benefits and limitations of this procedure are discussed.

Repeated assessment of orthotopic glioma pO2 by multi-site EPR oximetry: A technique with the potential to guide therapeutic optimization by repeated measurements of oxygen

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Nadeem; Mupparaju, Sriram; Hou, Huagang; Williams, Benjamin B.; Swartz, Harold

2011-01-01

Tumor hypoxia plays a vital role in therapeutic resistance. Consequently, measurements of tumor pO2 could be used to optimize the outcome of oxygen-dependent therapies, such as, chemoradiation. However, the potential optimizations are restricted by the lack of methods to repeatedly and quantitatively assess tumor pO2 during therapies, particularly in gliomas. We describe the procedures for repeated measurements of orthotopic glioma pO2 by multi-site electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. This oximetry approach provides simultaneous measurements of pO2 at more than one site in the glioma and contralateral cerebral tissue. The pO2 of intracerebral 9L, C6, F98 and U251 tumors, as well as contralateral brain, were measured repeatedly for five consecutive days. The 9L glioma was well oxygenated with pO2 of 27 - 36 mm Hg, while C6, F98 and U251 glioma were hypoxic with pO2 of 7 - 12 mm Hg. The potential of multi-site EPR oximetry to assess temporal changes in tissue pO2 was investigated in rats breathing 100% O2. A significant increase in F98 tumor and contralateral brain pO2 was observed on day 1 and day 2, however, glioma oxygenation declined on subsequent days. In conclusion, EPR oximetry provides the capability to repeatedly assess temporal changes in orthotopic glioma pO2. This information could be used to test and optimize the methods being developed to modulate tumor hypoxia. Furthermore, EPR oximetry could be potentially used to enhance the outcome of chemoradiation by scheduling treatments at times of increase in glioma pO2. PMID:22079559

Counterbalancing and Other Uses of Repeated-Measures Latin-Square Designs: Analyses and Interpretations.

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Hayne W.

1997-01-01

Recommends that when repeated-measures Latin-square designs are used to counterbalance treatments across a procedural variable or to reduce the number of treatment combinations given to each participant, effects be analyzed statistically, and that in all uses, researchers consider alternative interpretations of the variance associated with the…

UK 2009-2010 repeat station report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas J.G. Shanahan

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The British Geological Survey is responsible for conducting the UK geomagnetic repeat station programme. Measurements made at the UK repeat station sites are used in conjunction with the three UK magnetic observatories: Hartland, Eskdalemuir and Lerwick, to produce a regional model of the local field each year. The UK network of repeat stations comprises 41 stations which are occupied at approximately 3-4 year intervals. Practices for conducting repeat station measurements continue to evolve as advances are made in survey instrumentation and as the usage of the data continues to change. Here, a summary of the 2009 and 2010 UK repeat station surveys is presented, highlighting the measurement process and techniques, density of network, reduction process and recent results.

Measuring environmental change in forest ecosystems by repeated soil sampling: a North American perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Gregory B.; Fernandez, Ivan J.; Richter, Daniel D.; Ross, Donald S.; Hazlett, Paul W.; Bailey, Scott W.; Oiumet, Rock; Warby, Richard A.F.; Johnson, Arthur H.; Lin, Henry; Kaste, James M.; Lapenis, Andrew G.; Sullivan, Timothy J.

2013-01-01

Environmental change is monitored in North America through repeated measurements of weather, stream and river flow, air and water quality, and most recently, soil properties. Some skepticism remains, however, about whether repeated soil sampling can effectively distinguish between temporal and spatial variability, and efforts to document soil change in forest ecosystems through repeated measurements are largely nascent and uncoordinated. In eastern North America, repeated soil sampling has begun to provide valuable information on environmental problems such as air pollution. This review synthesizes the current state of the science to further the development and use of soil resampling as an integral method for recording and understanding environmental change in forested settings. The origins of soil resampling reach back to the 19th century in England and Russia. The concepts and methodologies involved in forest soil resampling are reviewed and evaluated through a discussion of how temporal and spatial variability can be addressed with a variety of sampling approaches. Key resampling studies demonstrate the type of results that can be obtained through differing approaches. Ongoing, large-scale issues such as recovery from acidification, long-term N deposition, C sequestration, effects of climate change, impacts from invasive species, and the increasing intensification of soil management all warrant the use of soil resampling as an essential tool for environmental monitoring and assessment. Furthermore, with better awareness of the value of soil resampling, studies can be designed with a long-term perspective so that information can be efficiently obtained well into the future to address problems that have not yet surfaced.

Gravity with Intermediate Goods Trade

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Sujin Jang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper derives the gravity equation with intermediate goods trade. We extend a standard monopolistic competition model to incorporate intermediate goods trade, and show that the gravity equation with intermediates trade is identical to the one without it except in that gross output should be used as the output measure instead of value added. We also show that the output elasticity of trade is significantly underestimated when value added is used as the output measure. This implies that with the conventional gravity equation, the contribution of output growth can be substantially underestimated and the role of trade costs reduction can be exaggerated in explaining trade expansion, as we demonstrate for the case of Korea's trade growth between 1995 and 2007.

Optimally Repeatable Kinetic Model Variant for Myocardial Blood Flow Measurements with 82Rb PET

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Adrian F. Ocneanu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. Myocardial blood flow (MBF quantification with Rb82 positron emission tomography (PET is gaining clinical adoption, but improvements in precision are desired. This study aims to identify analysis variants producing the most repeatable MBF measures. Methods. 12 volunteers underwent same-day test-retest rest and dipyridamole stress imaging with dynamic Rb82 PET, from which MBF was quantified using 1-tissue-compartment kinetic model variants: (1 blood-pool versus uptake region sampled input function (Blood/Uptake-ROI, (2 dual spillover correction (SOC-On/Off, (3 right blood correction (RBC-On/Off, (4 arterial blood transit delay (Delay-On/Off, and (5 distribution volume (DV constraint (Global/Regional-DV. Repeatability of MBF, stress/rest myocardial flow reserve (MFR, and stress/rest MBF difference (ΔMBF was assessed using nonparametric reproducibility coefficients (RPCnp = 1.45 × interquartile range. Results. MBF using SOC-On, RVBC-Off, Blood-ROI, Global-DV, and Delay-Off was most repeatable for combined rest and stress: RPCnp = 0.21 mL/min/g (15.8%. Corresponding MFR and ΔMBF RPCnp were 0.42 (20.2% and 0.24 mL/min/g (23.5%. MBF repeatability improved with SOC-On at stress (p<0.001 and tended to improve with RBC-Off at both rest and stress (p<0.08. DV and ROI did not significantly influence repeatability. The Delay-On model was overdetermined and did not reliably converge. Conclusion. MBF and MFR test-retest repeatability were the best with dual spillover correction, left atrium blood input function, and global DV.

Welding. Performance Objectives. Intermediate Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Vincent, Kenneth

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of nine terminal objectives for an intermediate welding course. The materials were developed for a 36-week (3 hours daily) course designed to prepare the student for employment in the field of welding. Electric welding and specialized (TIG & MIG)…

Measuring Starlight Deflection during the 2017 Eclipse: Repeating the Experiment that made Einstein Famous

Science.gov (United States)

Bruns, Donald

2016-05-01

In 1919, astronomers performed an experiment during a solar eclipse, attempting to measure the deflection of stars near the sun, in order to verify Einstein's theory of general relativity. The experiment was very difficult and the results were marginal, but the success made Albert Einstein famous around the world. Astronomers last repeated the experiment in 1973, achieving an error of 11%. In 2017, using amateur equipment and modern technology, I plan to repeat the experiment and achieve a 1% error. The best available star catalog will be used for star positions. Corrections for optical distortion and atmospheric refraction are better than 0.01 arcsec. During totality, I expect 7 or 8 measurable stars down to magnitude 9.5, based on analysis of previous eclipse measurements taken by amateurs. Reference images, taken near the sun during totality, will be used for precise calibration. Preliminary test runs performed during twilight in April 2016 and April 2017 can accurately simulate the sky conditions during totality, providing an accurate estimate of the final uncertainty.

Repeated swim stress alters brain benzodiazepine receptors measured in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weizman, R.; Weizman, A.; Kook, K.A.; Vocci, F.; Deutsch, S.I.; Paul, S.M.

1989-01-01

The effects of repeated swim stress on brain benzodiazepine receptors were examined in the mouse using both an in vivo and in vitro binding method. Specific in vivo binding of [ 3 H]Ro15-1788 to benzodiazepine receptors was decreased in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, midbrain and striatum after repeated swim stress (7 consecutive days of daily swim stress) when compared to nonstressed mice. In vivo benzodiazepine receptor binding was unaltered after repeated swim stress in the cerebellum and pons medulla. The stress-induced reduction in in vivo benzodiazepine receptor binding did not appear to be due to altered cerebral blood flow or to an alteration in benzodiazepine metabolism or biodistribution because there was no difference in [14C]iodoantipyrine distribution or whole brain concentrations of clonazepam after repeated swim stress. Saturation binding experiments revealed a change in both apparent maximal binding capacity and affinity after repeated swim stress. Moreover, a reduction in clonazepam's anticonvulsant potency was also observed after repeated swim stress [an increase in the ED50 dose for protection against pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures], although there was no difference in pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure threshold between the two groups. In contrast to the results obtained in vivo, no change in benzodiazepine receptor binding kinetics was observed using the in vitro binding method. These data suggest that environmental stress can alter the binding parameters of the benzodiazepine receptor and that the in vivo and in vitro binding methods can yield substantially different results

Repeated swim stress alters brain benzodiazepine receptors measured in vivo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weizman, R.; Weizman, A.; Kook, K.A.; Vocci, F.; Deutsch, S.I.; Paul, S.M.

1989-06-01

The effects of repeated swim stress on brain benzodiazepine receptors were examined in the mouse using both an in vivo and in vitro binding method. Specific in vivo binding of (/sup 3/H)Ro15-1788 to benzodiazepine receptors was decreased in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, hypothalamus, midbrain and striatum after repeated swim stress (7 consecutive days of daily swim stress) when compared to nonstressed mice. In vivo benzodiazepine receptor binding was unaltered after repeated swim stress in the cerebellum and pons medulla. The stress-induced reduction in in vivo benzodiazepine receptor binding did not appear to be due to altered cerebral blood flow or to an alteration in benzodiazepine metabolism or biodistribution because there was no difference in (14C)iodoantipyrine distribution or whole brain concentrations of clonazepam after repeated swim stress. Saturation binding experiments revealed a change in both apparent maximal binding capacity and affinity after repeated swim stress. Moreover, a reduction in clonazepam's anticonvulsant potency was also observed after repeated swim stress (an increase in the ED50 dose for protection against pentylenetetrazol-induced seizures), although there was no difference in pentylenetetrazol-induced seizure threshold between the two groups. In contrast to the results obtained in vivo, no change in benzodiazepine receptor binding kinetics was observed using the in vitro binding method. These data suggest that environmental stress can alter the binding parameters of the benzodiazepine receptor and that the in vivo and in vitro binding methods can yield substantially different results.

Use of Repeated Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Measurements to Improve Cardiovascular Disease Risk Prediction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Paige, Ellie; Barrett, Jessica; Pennells, Lisa

2017-01-01

The added value of incorporating information from repeated blood pressure and cholesterol measurements to predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk has not been rigorously assessed. We used data on 191,445 adults from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration (38 cohorts from 17 countries with data...

Measurements of intermediate-frequency electric and magnetic fields in households

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aerts, Sam, E-mail: sam.aerts@intec.ugent.be [Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, iGent, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium); Calderon, Carolina [Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ (United Kingdom); Valič, Blaž [Institute of Non-Ionizing Radiation (INIS), Pohorskega bataljona 215, Ljubljana 1000 (Slovenia); Maslanyj, Myron; Addison, Darren; Mee, Terry; Goiceanu, Cristian [Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards, Public Health England, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ (United Kingdom); Verloock, Leen; Van den Bossche, Matthias [Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, iGent, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium); Gajšek, Peter [Institute of Non-Ionizing Radiation (INIS), Pohorskega bataljona 215, Ljubljana 1000 (Slovenia); Vermeulen, Roel [Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences, Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 2, 3508 Utrecht (Netherlands); Röösli, Martin [Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), Socinstrasse 57, P.O. Box, 4002 Basel (Switzerland); University of Basel, Petersplatz 1, 4003 Basel (Switzerland); Cardis, Elisabeth [Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and Municipal Institute of Medical Research (IMIM-Hospital del Mar), Doctor Aiguader, 88, 08003 Barcelona (Spain); Martens, Luc; Joseph, Wout [Department of Information Technology, Ghent University/iMinds, iGent, Technologiepark-Zwijnaarde 15, B-9052 Ghent (Belgium)

2017-04-15

Historically, assessment of human exposure to electric and magnetic fields has focused on the extremely-low-frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges. However, research on the typically emitted fields in the intermediate-frequency (IF) range (300 Hz to 1 MHz) as well as potential effects of IF fields on the human body remains limited, although the range of household appliances with electrical components working in the IF range has grown significantly (e.g., induction cookers and compact fluorescent lighting). In this study, an extensive measurement survey was performed on the levels of electric and magnetic fields in the IF range typically present in residences as well as emitted by a wide range of household appliances under real-life circumstances. Using spot measurements, residential IF field levels were found to be generally low, while the use of certain appliances at close distance (20 cm) may result in a relatively high exposure. Overall, appliance emissions contained either harmonic signals, with fundamental frequencies between 6 kHz and 300 kHz, which were sometimes accompanied by regions in the IF spectrum of rather noisy, elevated field strengths, or much more capricious spectra, dominated by 50 Hz harmonics emanating far in the IF domain. The maximum peak field strengths recorded at 20 cm were 41.5 V/m and 2.7 A/m, both from induction cookers. Finally, none of the appliance emissions in the IF range exceeded the exposure summation rules recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC 62233) standard at 20 cm and beyond (maximum exposure quotients EQ{sub E} 1.0 and {sub E}Q{sub H} 0.13). - Highlights: • Survey of residential electric and magnetic fields at intermediate frequencies (IF). • IF-EF and -MF emitted by 280 household appliances were characterised. • Strongest emitters were induction cookers, CFLs, LCD-TVs, and microwave ovens. • No

Measurements of intermediate-frequency electric and magnetic fields in households

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aerts, Sam; Calderon, Carolina; Valič, Blaž; Maslanyj, Myron; Addison, Darren; Mee, Terry; Goiceanu, Cristian; Verloock, Leen; Van den Bossche, Matthias; Gajšek, Peter; Vermeulen, Roel; Röösli, Martin; Cardis, Elisabeth; Martens, Luc; Joseph, Wout

2017-01-01

Historically, assessment of human exposure to electric and magnetic fields has focused on the extremely-low-frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges. However, research on the typically emitted fields in the intermediate-frequency (IF) range (300 Hz to 1 MHz) as well as potential effects of IF fields on the human body remains limited, although the range of household appliances with electrical components working in the IF range has grown significantly (e.g., induction cookers and compact fluorescent lighting). In this study, an extensive measurement survey was performed on the levels of electric and magnetic fields in the IF range typically present in residences as well as emitted by a wide range of household appliances under real-life circumstances. Using spot measurements, residential IF field levels were found to be generally low, while the use of certain appliances at close distance (20 cm) may result in a relatively high exposure. Overall, appliance emissions contained either harmonic signals, with fundamental frequencies between 6 kHz and 300 kHz, which were sometimes accompanied by regions in the IF spectrum of rather noisy, elevated field strengths, or much more capricious spectra, dominated by 50 Hz harmonics emanating far in the IF domain. The maximum peak field strengths recorded at 20 cm were 41.5 V/m and 2.7 A/m, both from induction cookers. Finally, none of the appliance emissions in the IF range exceeded the exposure summation rules recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection guidelines and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC 62233) standard at 20 cm and beyond (maximum exposure quotients EQ E 1.0 and E Q H 0.13). - Highlights: • Survey of residential electric and magnetic fields at intermediate frequencies (IF). • IF-EF and -MF emitted by 280 household appliances were characterised. • Strongest emitters were induction cookers, CFLs, LCD-TVs, and microwave ovens. • No emissions exceeded

Comparison of Repeated Measurement Design and Mixed Models in Evaluation of the Entonox Effect on Labor Pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasim Karimi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background & objectives: In many medical studies, the response variable is measured repeatedly over time to evaluate the treatment effect that is known as longitudinal study. The analysis method for this type of data is repeated measures ANOVA that uses only one correlation structure and the results are not valid with inappropriate correlation structure. To avoid this problem, a convenient alternative is mixed models. So, the aim of this study was to compare of mixed and repeated measurement models for examination of the Entonox effect on the labor pain. Methods: This experimental study was designed to compare the effect of Entonox and oxygen inhalation on pain relief between two groups. Data were analyzed using repeated measurement and mixed models with different correlation structures. Selection and comparison of proper correlation structures performed using Akaike information criterion, Bayesian information criterion and restricted log-likelihood. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22. Results: Results of our study showed that all variables containing analgesia methods, labor duration of the first and second stages, and time were significant in these tests. In mixed model, heterogeneous first-order autoregressive, first-order autoregressive, heterogeneous Toeplitz and unstructured correlation structures were recognized as the best structures. Also, all variables were significant in these structures. Unstructured variance covariance matrix was recognized as the worst structure and labor duration of the first and second stages was not significant in this structure. Conclusions: This study showed that the Entonox inhalation has a significant effect on pain relief in primiparous and it is confirmed by all of the models.

On model selections for repeated measurement data in clinical studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Baiming; Jin, Bo; Koch, Gary G; Zhou, Haibo; Borst, Stephen E; Menon, Sandeep; Shuster, Jonathan J

2015-05-10

Repeated measurement designs have been widely used in various randomized controlled trials for evaluating long-term intervention efficacies. For some clinical trials, the primary research question is how to compare two treatments at a fixed time, using a t-test. Although simple, robust, and convenient, this type of analysis fails to utilize a large amount of collected information. Alternatively, the mixed-effects model is commonly used for repeated measurement data. It models all available data jointly and allows explicit assessment of the overall treatment effects across the entire time spectrum. In this paper, we propose an analytic strategy for longitudinal clinical trial data where the mixed-effects model is coupled with a model selection scheme. The proposed test statistics not only make full use of all available data but also utilize the information from the optimal model deemed for the data. The performance of the proposed method under various setups, including different data missing mechanisms, is evaluated via extensive Monte Carlo simulations. Our numerical results demonstrate that the proposed analytic procedure is more powerful than the t-test when the primary interest is to test for the treatment effect at the last time point. Simulations also reveal that the proposed method outperforms the usual mixed-effects model for testing the overall treatment effects across time. In addition, the proposed framework is more robust and flexible in dealing with missing data compared with several competing methods. The utility of the proposed method is demonstrated by analyzing a clinical trial on the cognitive effect of testosterone in geriatric men with low baseline testosterone levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ocular surface sensitivity repeatability with Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Cecilia; Stapleton, Fiona; Badarudin, Ezailina; Golebiowski, Blanka

2015-02-01

To determine the repeatability of ocular surface threshold measurements using the Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer on the same day and 3 months apart. Two separate studies were conducted to determine the repeatability of ocular surface threshold measurements made on the same day (n = 20 subjects) and 3 months apart (n = 29 subjects). The Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer was used to measure corneal and inferior conjunctival thresholds using the ascending method of limits. The pressure exerted by the Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer was determined using an analytical balance, for both the 0.08- and 0.12-mm-diameter filaments. This calibration was then used to convert filament length measurements to pressure. Repeatability was determined using a Bland and Altman analysis. The pressure exerted at each filament length differed between the two filament diameters. The measured pressure also differed from values provided by the manufacturer. Repeatability of threshold measurements at the central cornea was shown to be good, with better repeatability for same-day measurements (coefficient of repeatability [CoR] = ±0.23 g/mm²) than for those 3 months apart (CoR = ±0.52 g/mm²). Threshold measurements at the inferior conjunctiva, in contrast, were poorly repeatable (CoR = ±12.78 g/mm²). Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometry is repeatable when performed on the central cornea on the same day and 3 months apart, but this instrument is not recommended for conjunctival threshold measurements.

A new mutation for Huntington disease following maternal transmission of an intermediate allele

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Semaka, Alicia; Kay, Chris; Belfroid, René D. M.; Bijlsma, Emilia K.; Losekoot, Monique; van Langen, Irene M.; van Maarle, Merel C.; Oosterloo, Mayke; Hayden, Michael R.; van Belzen, Martine J.

2015-01-01

New mutations for Huntington disease (HD) originate from CAG repeat expansion of intermediate alleles (27-35 CAG). Expansions of such alleles into the pathological range (≥ 36 CAG) have been exclusively observed in paternal transmission. We report the occurrence of a new mutation that defies the

REPEATED MEASURES ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN PHOTOSYNTHETIC EFFICIENCY IN SOUR CHERRY DURING WATER DEFICIT

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Marija Viljevac

2012-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to investigate changes in photosynthetic efficiency applying repeated measures ANOVA using the photosynthetic performance index (PIABS of the JIP-test as a vitality parameter in seven genotypes of sour cherry (Prunus cerasus, L. during 10 days of continuous water deficit. Both univariate and multivariate ANOVA repeated measures revealed highly significant time effect (Days and its subsequent interactions with genotype and water deficit. However, the multivariate Pillai’s trace test detected the interaction Time × Genotype × Water deficit as not significant. According to the Tukey’s Studentized Range (HSD test, differences between the control and genotypes exposed to water stress became significant on the fourth day of the experiment, indicating that the plants on the average, began to lose their photosynthetic efficiency four days after being exposed to water shortage. It corroborates previous findings in other species that PIABS is very sensitive tool for detecting drought stress.

Accuracy and repeatability of quantitative fluoroscopy for the measurement of sagittal plane translation and finite centre of rotation in the lumbar spine.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Alexander; Breen, Alan

2016-07-01

Quantitative fluoroscopy (QF) was developed to measure intervertebral mechanics in vivo and has been found to have high repeatability and accuracy for the measurement of intervertebral rotations. However, sagittal plane translation and finite centre of rotation (FCR) are potential measures of stability but have not yet been fully validated for current QF. This study investigated the repeatability and accuracy of QF for measuring these variables. Repeatability was assessed from L2-S1 in 20 human volunteers. Accuracy was investigated using 10 consecutive measurements from each of two pairs of linked and instrumented dry human vertebrae as reference; one which tilted without translation and one which translated without tilt. The results found intra- and inter-observer repeatability for translation to be 1.1mm or less (SEM) with fair to substantial reliability (ICC 0.533-0.998). Intra-observer repeatability of FCR location for inter-vertebral rotations of 5° and above ranged from 1.5mm to 1.8mm (SEM) with moderate to substantial reliability (ICC 0.626-0.988). Inter-observer repeatability for FCR ranged from 1.2mm to 5.7mm, also with moderate to substantial reliability (ICC 0.621-0.878). Reliability was substantial (ICC>0.81) for 10/16 measures for translation and 5/8 for FCR location. Accuracy for translation was 0.1mm (fixed centre) and 2.2mm (moveable centre), with an FCR error of 0.3mm(x) and 0.4mm(y) (fixed centre). This technology was found to have a high level of accuracy and with a few exceptions, moderate to substantial repeatability for the measurement of translation and FCR from fluoroscopic motion sequences. Copyright © 2016 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Test--retest variability of Randot stereoacuity measures gathered in an unselected sample of UK primary school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Adler, Paul; Scally, Andrew J; Barrett, Brendan T

2012-05-01

To determine the test-retest reliability of the Randot stereoacuity test when used as part of vision screening in schools. Randot stereoacuity (graded-circles) and logMAR visual acuity measures were gathered in an unselected sample of 139 children (aged 4-12, mean 8.1±2.1 years) in two schools. Randot testing was repeated on two occasions (average interval between successive tests 8 days, range: 1-21 days). Three Randot scores were obtained in 97.8% of children. Randot stereoacuity improved by an average of one plate (ie, one test level) on repeat testing but was little changed when tested on the third occasion. Within-subject variability was up to three test levels on repeat testing. When stereoacuity was categorised as 'fine', 'intermediate' or 'coarse', the greatest variability was found among younger children who exhibited 'intermediate' or 'coarse'/nil stereopsis on initial testing. Whereas 90.8% of children with 'fine' stereopsis (≤50 arc-seconds) on the first test exhibited 'fine' stereopsis on both subsequent tests, only ∼16% of children with 'intermediate' (>50 but ≤140 arc-seconds) or 'coarse'/nil (≥200 arc-seconds) stereoacuity on initial testing exhibited stable test results on repeat testing. Children exhibiting abnormal stereoacuity on initial testing are very likely to exhibit a normal result when retested. The value of a single, abnormal Randot graded-circles stereoacuity measure from school screening is therefore questionable.

History, rare, and multiple events of mechanical unfolding of repeat proteins

Science.gov (United States)

Sumbul, Fidan; Marchesi, Arin; Rico, Felix

2018-03-01

Mechanical unfolding of proteins consisting of repeat domains is an excellent tool to obtain large statistics. Force spectroscopy experiments using atomic force microscopy on proteins presenting multiple domains have revealed that unfolding forces depend on the number of folded domains (history) and have reported intermediate states and rare events. However, the common use of unspecific attachment approaches to pull the protein of interest holds important limitations to study unfolding history and may lead to discarding rare and multiple probing events due to the presence of unspecific adhesion and uncertainty on the pulling site. Site-specific methods that have recently emerged minimize this uncertainty and would be excellent tools to probe unfolding history and rare events. However, detailed characterization of these approaches is required to identify their advantages and limitations. Here, we characterize a site-specific binding approach based on the ultrastable complex dockerin/cohesin III revealing its advantages and limitations to assess the unfolding history and to investigate rare and multiple events during the unfolding of repeated domains. We show that this approach is more robust, reproducible, and provides larger statistics than conventional unspecific methods. We show that the method is optimal to reveal the history of unfolding from the very first domain and to detect rare events, while being more limited to assess intermediate states. Finally, we quantify the forces required to unfold two molecules pulled in parallel, difficult when using unspecific approaches. The proposed method represents a step forward toward more reproducible measurements to probe protein unfolding history and opens the door to systematic probing of rare and multiple molecule unfolding mechanisms.

Repeatability and Comparison of Keratometry Values Measured with Potec PRK-6000 Autorefractometer, IOLMaster, and Pentacam

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Adem Türk

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To research the repeatability and intercompatibility of keratometry values measured with Potec PRK-6000 autorefractometer, IOL Master, and Pentacam. Materials and Methods: In this prospective study, consecutive measurements were performed in two different sessions with the mentioned three devices on 110 eyes of 55 subjects who had no additional ocular pathology except for refraction error. The consistency of flat and steep keratometry, average keratometry, and corneal astigmatism values obtained in both sessions was compared by using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC. The measurement differences between the devices were statistically compared as well. Results: The mean age of the study subjects was 23.05±3.01 (18-30 years. ICC values of average keratometry measurements obtained in the sessions were 0.996 for Potec PRK-6000 autorefractometer, 0.997 for IOL Master, and 0.999 for Pentacam. There was high compatibility between the three devices in terms of average keratometry values in Bland-Altman analysis. However, there were statistically significant differences between the devices in terms of parameters other than corneal astigmatism. Conclusion: The repeatability of the three devices was found considerably high in keratometry measurements. However, it is not appropriate for these devices to be substituted for each other in keratometry measurements. (Turk J Ophthalmol 2014; 44: 179-83

Intra- and Intersession Repeatability of an Optical Quality and Intraocular Scattering Measurement System in Children.

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Mi Tian

Full Text Available To evaluate intra- and intersession repeatability of objective optical quality and intraocular scattering measurements with a double-pass system in children.Forty-two eyes of 42 children were included in the study. An optical quality analysis system (OQAS was used to measure optical quality parameters, including modulation transfer function cutoff frequency (MTFcutoff, Strehl ratio (SR, OQAS values (OV at 3 different contrasts and objective scatter index (OSI. Three measurement sessions with 10-min intervals were operated by the same technician, and in each session four consecutive measurements were obtained.Mean values for MTFcutoff, SR and OSI were 46.85 ± 7.45cpd, 0.27 ± 0.06 and 0.34 ± 0.22 respectively. 1 The intraclass correlation coefficients were ranged from 0.89 to 0.97 and coefficients of variation from 0.06 to 0.16 for all the parameters in the first session; the relative repeatability were 11.1% (MTFcutoff, 22.5% (SR, 10.9% (OV100%, 16.6% (OV2%, 22.4% (OV9% and 56.3% (OSI. Similar results were found in the second and third sessions. 2 Bland-Altman analysis showed that narrow 95% confidence intervals (compared between the first and second sessions ranged from -5.42 to 5.28 (MTFcutoff, -0.05 to 0.07 (SR, -0.18 to 0.18 (OV100%, -0.26 to 0.29 (OV20%, -0.33 to 0.39 (OV9% and -0.11 to 0.09 (OSI; the comparison between any two of the three sessions showed similar results.Measurements of optical quality and intraocular scattering in children by the double-pass system showed good intra- and intersession repeatability. Retinal image quality is high and intraocular scattering is low in children.

Reliability and Repeatability of Cone Density Measurements in Patients With Stargardt Disease and RPGR-Associated Retinopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanna, Preena; Kasilian, Melissa; Strauss, Rupert; Tee, James; Kalitzeos, Angelos; Tarima, Sergey; Visotcky, Alexis; Dubra, Alfredo; Carroll, Joseph; Michaelides, Michel

2017-07-01

To assess reliability and repeatability of cone density measurements by using confocal and (nonconfocal) split-detector adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) imaging. It will be determined whether cone density values are significantly different between modalities in Stargardt disease (STGD) and retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR)-associated retinopathy. Twelve patients with STGD (aged 9-52 years) and eight with RPGR-associated retinopathy (aged 11-31 years) were imaged using both confocal and split-detector AOSLO simultaneously. Four graders manually identified cone locations in each image that were used to calculate local densities. Each imaging modality was evaluated independently. The data set consisted of 1584 assessments of 99 STGD images (each image in two modalities and four graders who graded each image twice) and 928 RPGR assessments of 58 images (each image in two modalities and four graders who graded each image twice). For STGD assessments the reliability for confocal and split-detector AOSLO was 67.9% and 95.9%, respectively, and the repeatability was 71.2% and 97.3%, respectively. The differences in the measured cone density values between modalities were statistically significant for one grader. For RPGR assessments the reliability for confocal and split-detector AOSLO was 22.1% and 88.5%, respectively, and repeatability was 63.2% and 94.5%, respectively. The differences in cone density between modalities were statistically significant for all graders. Split-detector AOSLO greatly improved the reliability and repeatability of cone density measurements in both disorders and will be valuable for natural history studies and clinical trials using AOSLO. However, it appears that these indices may be disease dependent, implying the need for similar investigations in other conditions.

The MHD intermediate shock interaction with an intermediate wave: Are intermediate shocks physical?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, C.C.

1988-01-01

Contrary to the usual belief that MHD intermediate shocks are extraneous, the authors have recently shown by numerical solutions of dissipative MHD equations that intermediate shocks are admissible and can be formed through nonlinear steepening from a continuous wave. In this paper, he clarifies the differences between the conventional view and the results by studying the interaction of an MHD intermediate shock with an intermediate wave. The study reaffirms his results. In addition, the study shows that there exists a larger class of shocklike solutions in the time-dependent dissiaptive MHD equations than are given by the MHD Rankine-Hugoniot relations. it also suggests a mechanism for forming rotational discontinuities through the interaction of an intermediate shock with an intermediate wave. The results are of importance not only to the MHD shock theory but also to studies such as magnetic field reconnection models

Repeated absolute gravity measurements for monitoring slow intraplate vertical deformation in Western Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Van Camp, M. J.; de Viron, O.; Scherneck, H.; Hinzen, K. G.; Williams, S. D.; Lecocq, T.; Quinif, Y.; Camelbeeck, T.

2011-12-01

In continental plate interiors, ground surface movements are at the limit of the noise level and close to or below the accuracy of current geodetic techniques. Absolute gravity measurements are valuable to quantify slow vertical movements, as this instrument is drift free and, unlike GPS, independent of the terrestrial reference frame. Repeated absolute gravity (AG) measurements have been performed in Oostende (Belgian coastline) and at 8 stations along a southwest-northeast profile across the Belgian Ardennes and the Roer Valley Graben (Germany), in order to estimate the tectonic deformation in the area. The AG measurements, repeated once or twice a year, can resolve elusive gravity changes with a precision better than 3.7 nm/s2/yr (95% confidence interval) after 11 years, even in difficult conditions. After 8-15 years (depending on the station), we find that the gravity rates of change lie in the [-3.1, 8.1] nm/s2/yr interval and result from a combination of anthropogenic, climatic, tectonic, and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) effects. After correcting for the GIA, the inferred gravity rates and consequently, the vertical land movements, reduce to zero within the uncertainty level at all stations except Jülich (due to man-induced subsidence) and Sohier (possibly, an artefact due to the shortness of the time series at that station).

Fluorimetric methods for the measurement of intermediate metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, alanine, β-hydroxybutyrate, glycerol) using a COBAS FARA centrifugal analyser

OpenAIRE

Monti, L. D.; Sandoli, P. E.; Costa, S.; Phan, V. C.; Piatti, P. M.

1993-01-01

Intermediate products of the metabolism of glucose, fat and amino-acid are important in the evaluation of such metabolic disorders as diabetes mellitus, liver disease and metabolic acidosis. In the present study, methods for the measurement of intermediate metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, alanine, β-hydroxybutyrate and glycerol) have been adapted to a fast centrifugal analyzer: the COBAS FARA. Correlation coeffcients rangedfrom 0.90 to 0.99, compared to established manual spectrophotometric me...

Education for patients with chronic kidney disease in Taiwan: a prospective repeated measures study.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Miaofen; Huang, Jeng-Jong; Teng, Hsiu-Lan

2008-11-01

To investigate the physical, knowledge and quality of life outcomes of an educational intervention for patients with early stage chronic kidney disease. A comprehensive predialysis education care team can be effective in slowing the progression of chronic kidney disease. A single group repeated measures design was used to evaluate the effects of the intervention. Participants were recruited through health department community health screen data banks. A predialysis, team-delivered educational intervention covering renal function health care, dietary management of renal function and the effects of Chinese herb medication on renal function was designed and implemented. Data were collected at baseline, six and 12 months. Study outcomes included physical indicators, knowledge (renal function protection, use of Chinese herbs and renal function and diet) and quality of life. Data were analysed using repeated measure anova to test for change over time in outcome variables. Sixty-six persons participated in this study. The predialysis educational intervention showed significant differences at the three time points in overall knowledge scores, waist-hip ratio, body mass index and global health status. Knowledge measures increased at month 6 and decreased at month 12. The primary indicator of renal function, glomerular filtration rate, remained stable throughout the 12 months of follow-up, despite the relatively older mean age of study participants. A predialysis education care team can provide effective disease-specific knowledge and may help retard deterioration of renal function in persons with early-stage chronic kidney disease. The intervention dose may need to be repeated every six months to maintain knowledge effects. A predialysis educational program with disease-specific knowledge and information is feasible and may provide positive outcomes for patients. Topics on the uses of Chinese herbs should be included for people who are likely to use alternative therapies.

Reliability of near-infrared spectroscopy for measuring biceps brachii oxygenation during sustained and repeated isometric contractions.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthalib, Makii; Millet, Guillaume Y; Quaresima, Valentina; Nosaka, Kazunori

2010-01-01

We examine the test-retest reliability of biceps brachii tissue oxygenation index (TOI) parameters measured by near-infrared spectroscopy during a 10-s sustained and a 30-repeated (1-s contraction, 1-s relaxation) isometric contraction task at 30% of maximal voluntary contraction (30% MVC) and maximal (100% MVC) intensities. Eight healthy men (23 to 33 yr) were tested on three sessions separated by 3 h and 24 h, and the within-subject reliability of torque and each TOI parameter were determined by Bland-Altman+/-2 SD limits of agreement plots and coefficient of variation (CV). No significant (P>0.05) differences between the three sessions were found for mean values of torque and TOI parameters during the sustained and repeated tasks at both contraction intensities. All TOI parameters were within+/-2 SD limits of agreement. The CVs for torque integral were similar between the sustained and repeated task at both intensities (4 to 7%); however, the CVs for TOI parameters during the sustained and repeated task were lower for 100% MVC (7 to 11%) than for 30% MVC (22 to 36%). It is concluded that the reliability of the biceps brachii NIRS parameters during both sustained and repeated isometric contraction tasks is acceptable.

Reliability and Repeatability of Cone Density Measurements in Patients With Stargardt Disease and RPGR-Associated Retinopathy

Science.gov (United States)

Tanna, Preena; Kasilian, Melissa; Strauss, Rupert; Tee, James; Kalitzeos, Angelos; Tarima, Sergey; Visotcky, Alexis; Dubra, Alfredo; Carroll, Joseph; Michaelides, Michel

2017-01-01

Purpose To assess reliability and repeatability of cone density measurements by using confocal and (nonconfocal) split-detector adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO) imaging. It will be determined whether cone density values are significantly different between modalities in Stargardt disease (STGD) and retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR)–associated retinopathy. Methods Twelve patients with STGD (aged 9–52 years) and eight with RPGR-associated retinopathy (aged 11–31 years) were imaged using both confocal and split-detector AOSLO simultaneously. Four graders manually identified cone locations in each image that were used to calculate local densities. Each imaging modality was evaluated independently. The data set consisted of 1584 assessments of 99 STGD images (each image in two modalities and four graders who graded each image twice) and 928 RPGR assessments of 58 images (each image in two modalities and four graders who graded each image twice). Results For STGD assessments the reliability for confocal and split-detector AOSLO was 67.9% and 95.9%, respectively, and the repeatability was 71.2% and 97.3%, respectively. The differences in the measured cone density values between modalities were statistically significant for one grader. For RPGR assessments the reliability for confocal and split-detector AOSLO was 22.1% and 88.5%, respectively, and repeatability was 63.2% and 94.5%, respectively. The differences in cone density between modalities were statistically significant for all graders. Conclusions Split-detector AOSLO greatly improved the reliability and repeatability of cone density measurements in both disorders and will be valuable for natural history studies and clinical trials using AOSLO. However, it appears that these indices may be disease dependent, implying the need for similar investigations in other conditions. PMID:28738413

Analyzing repeated measures data on individuals nested within groups: accounting for dynamic group effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Bauer, Daniel J; Gottfredson, Nisha C; Dean, Danielle; Zucker, Robert A

2013-03-01

Researchers commonly collect repeated measures on individuals nested within groups such as students within schools, patients within treatment groups, or siblings within families. Often, it is most appropriate to conceptualize such groups as dynamic entities, potentially undergoing stochastic structural and/or functional changes over time. For instance, as a student progresses through school, more senior students matriculate while more junior students enroll, administrators and teachers may turn over, and curricular changes may be introduced. What it means to be a student within that school may thus differ from 1 year to the next. This article demonstrates how to use multilevel linear models to recover time-varying group effects when analyzing repeated measures data on individuals nested within groups that evolve over time. Two examples are provided. The 1st example examines school effects on the science achievement trajectories of students, allowing for changes in school effects over time. The 2nd example concerns dynamic family effects on individual trajectories of externalizing behavior and depression. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

Liquid-vapor phase transition, collective flow and entropy determination from future measurements of intermediate mass fragments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coffin, J.P.

1991-01-01

Some global variables reflecting the highly collective character of nuclear matter produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are briefly reviewed on the basis of presently available experimental results and of Quantum Statistical Model and Quantum Molecular Dynamic Model predictions relative to intermediate mass fragments. Possible future measurements are suggested. (author) 27 refs., 8 figs

Lack of support for a role of the insulin gene variable number of tandem repeats minisatellite (INS-VNTR) locus in fetal growth or type 2 diabetes-related intermediate traits in United Kingdom populations.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Simon M S; Hattersley, Andrew T; Knight, Beatrice; Turner, Tina; Metcalf, Bradley S; Voss, Linda D; Davies, David; McCarthy, Anne; Wilkin, Terence J; Smith, George Davey; Ben-Shlomo, Yoav; Frayling, Timothy M

2004-01-01

The insulin gene variable number of tandem repeats minisatellite (INS-VNTR) class III allele is associated with altered fetal growth, type 2 diabetes risk (especially when paternally inherited), and insulin and IGF2 gene expression. Further studies are needed to establish the role of the INS-VNTR in fetal growth and assess whether its effects depend on the parent of origin. We analyzed the INS-VNTR-linked -23 Hph1 polymorphism in 2283 subjects, comprising 1184 children and 1099 parents. There were no differences (P VNTR was nominally associated (P VNTR in fetal growth and nominal association with type 2 diabetes-related intermediate traits.

Intelligence is in the eye of the beholder: investigating repeated IQ measurements in forensic psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Habets, Petra; Jeandarme, Inge; Uzieblo, Kasia; Oei, Karel; Bogaerts, Stefan

2015-05-01

A stable assessment of cognition is of paramount importance for forensic psychiatric patients (FPP). The purpose of this study was to compare repeated measures of IQ scores in FPPs with and without intellectual disability. Repeated measurements of IQ scores in FPPs (n = 176) were collected. Differences between tests were computed, and each IQ score was categorized. Additionally, t-tests and regression analyses were performed. Differences of 10 points or more were found in 66% of the cases comparing WAIS-III with RAVEN scores. Fisher's exact test revealed differences between two WAIS-III scores and the WAIS categories. The WAIS-III did not predict other IQs (WAIS or RAVEN) in participants with intellectual disability. This study showed that stability or interchangeability of scores is lacking, especially in individuals with intellectual disability. Caution in interpreting IQ scores is therefore recommended, and the use of the unitary concept of IQ should be discouraged. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Recommendations for analysis of repeated-measures designs: testing and correcting for sphericity and use of manova and mixed model analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, Richard A

2017-09-01

A common experimental design in ophthalmic research is the repeated-measures design in which at least one variable is a within-subject factor. This design is vulnerable to lack of 'sphericity' which assumes that the variances of the differences among all possible pairs of within-subject means are equal. Traditionally, this design has been analysed using a repeated-measures analysis of variance (RM-anova) but increasingly more complex methods such as multivariate anova (manova) and mixed model analysis (MMA) are being used. This article surveys current practice in the analysis of designs incorporating different factors in research articles published in three optometric journals, namely Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics (OPO), Optometry and Vision Science (OVS), and Clinical and Experimental Optometry (CXO), and provides advice to authors regarding the analysis of repeated-measures designs. Of the total sample of articles, 66% used a repeated-measures design. Of those articles using a repeated-measures design, 59% and 8% analysed the data using RM-anova or manova respectively and 33% used MMA. The use of MMA relative to RM-anova has increased significantly since 2009/10. A further search using terms to select those papers testing and correcting for sphericity ('Mauchly's test', 'Greenhouse-Geisser', 'Huynh and Feld') identified 66 articles, 62% of which were published from 2012 to the present. If the design is balanced without missing data then manova should be used rather than RM-anova as it gives better protection against lack of sphericity. If the design is unbalanced or with missing data then MMA is the method of choice. However, MMA is a more complex analysis and can be difficult to set up and run, and care should be taken first, to define appropriate models to be tested and second, to ensure that sample sizes are adequate. © 2017 The Authors Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics © 2017 The College of Optometrists.

Interferometric diameters of five evolved intermediate-mass planet-hosting stars measured with PAVO at the CHARA Array

Science.gov (United States)

White, T. R.; Huber, D.; Mann, A. W.; Casagrande, L.; Grunblatt, S. K.; Justesen, A. B.; Silva Aguirre, V.; Bedding, T. R.; Ireland, M. J.; Schaefer, G. H.; Tuthill, P. G.

2018-04-01

Debate over the planet occurrence rates around intermediate-mass stars has hinged on the accurate determination of masses of evolved stars, and has been exacerbated by a paucity of reliable, directly-measured fundamental properties for these stars. We present long-baseline optical interferometry of five evolved intermediate-mass (˜ 1.5 M⊙) planet-hosting stars using the PAVO beam combiner at the CHARA Array, which we combine with bolometric flux measurements and parallaxes to determine their radii and effective temperatures. We measured the radii and effective temperatures of 6 Lyncis (5.12±0.16 R⊙, 4949±58 K), 24 Sextantis (5.49±0.18 R⊙, 4908±65 K), κ Coronae Borealis (4.77±0.07 R⊙, 4870±47 K), HR 6817 (4.45±0.08 R⊙, 5013±59 K), and HR 8641 (4.91±0.12 R⊙, 4950±68 K). We find disagreements of typically 15 % in angular diameter and ˜ 200 K in temperature compared to interferometric measurements in the literature, yet good agreement with spectroscopic and photometric temperatures, concluding that the previous interferometric measurements may have been affected by systematic errors exceeding their formal uncertainties. Modelling based on BaSTI isochrones using various sets of asteroseismic, spectroscopic, and interferometric constraints tends to favour slightly (˜ 15 %) lower masses than generally reported in the literature.

Characterisation and measurement of signals generated by DVB-H 'gap-filler' repeaters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baldini, M.; Barellini, A.; Bogi, L.; Licitra, G.; Silvi, A. M.; Zari, A.

2009-01-01

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting Hand-held) is the standard developed by DVB Project and approved by ETSI with the aim of providing the reception of DVB signals even in mobility but also data transfers and multimedia services. The introduction and development of the DVB-H system is still ongoing. In this context, this work focuses on the temporal trend of electromagnetic impact of an urban DVB-H repeater (called 'gap-filler') for exposure assessment purposes; it also describes a method for its measurement by means of narrow band instrumental chains. (authors)

Microcomputer-based tests for repeated-measures: Metric properties and predictive validities

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Robert S.; Baltzley, Dennis R.; Dunlap, William P.; Wilkes, Robert L.; Kuntz, Lois-Ann

1989-01-01

A menu of psychomotor and mental acuity tests were refined. Field applications of such a battery are, for example, a study of the effects of toxic agents or exotic environments on performance readiness, or the determination of fitness for duty. The key requirement of these tasks is that they be suitable for repeated-measures applications, and so questions of stability and reliability are a continuing, central focus of this work. After the initial (practice) session, seven replications of 14 microcomputer-based performance tests (32 measures) were completed by 37 subjects. Each test in the battery had previously been shown to stabilize in less than five 90-second administrations and to possess retest reliabilities greater than r = 0.707 for three minutes of testing. However, all the tests had never been administered together as a battery and they had never been self-administered. In order to provide predictive validity for intelligence measurement, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and the Wonderlic Personnel Test were obtained on the same subjects.

All-photonic quantum repeaters

Science.gov (United States)

Azuma, Koji; Tamaki, Kiyoshi; Lo, Hoi-Kwong

2015-01-01

Quantum communication holds promise for unconditionally secure transmission of secret messages and faithful transfer of unknown quantum states. Photons appear to be the medium of choice for quantum communication. Owing to photon losses, robust quantum communication over long lossy channels requires quantum repeaters. It is widely believed that a necessary and highly demanding requirement for quantum repeaters is the existence of matter quantum memories. Here we show that such a requirement is, in fact, unnecessary by introducing the concept of all-photonic quantum repeaters based on flying qubits. In particular, we present a protocol based on photonic cluster-state machine guns and a loss-tolerant measurement equipped with local high-speed active feedforwards. We show that, with such all-photonic quantum repeaters, the communication efficiency scales polynomially with the channel distance. Our result paves a new route towards quantum repeaters with efficient single-photon sources rather than matter quantum memories. PMID:25873153

Gasoline Engine Mechanics. Performance Objectives. Intermediate Course.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Marion

Several intermediate performance objectives and corresponding criterion measures are listed for each of six terminal objectives presented in this curriculum guide for an intermediate gasoline engine mechanics course at the secondary level. (For the beginning course guide see CE 010 947.) The materials were developed for a two-semester (2 hour…

Mature clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats RNA (crRNA) length is measured by a ruler mechanism anchored at the precursor processing site.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatoum-Aslan, Asma; Maniv, Inbal; Marraffini, Luciano A

2011-12-27

Precise RNA processing is fundamental to all small RNA-mediated interference pathways. In prokaryotes, clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) loci encode small CRISPR RNAs (crRNAs) that protect against invasive genetic elements by antisense targeting. CRISPR loci are transcribed as a long precursor that is cleaved within repeat sequences by CRISPR-associated (Cas) proteins. In many organisms, this primary processing generates crRNA intermediates that are subject to additional nucleolytic trimming to render mature crRNAs of specific lengths. The molecular mechanisms underlying this maturation event remain poorly understood. Here, we defined the genetic requirements for crRNA primary processing and maturation in Staphylococcus epidermidis. We show that changes in the position of the primary processing site result in extended or diminished maturation to generate mature crRNAs of constant length. These results indicate that crRNA maturation occurs by a ruler mechanism anchored at the primary processing site. We also show that maturation is mediated by specific cas genes distinct from those genes involved in primary processing, showing that this event is directed by CRISPR/Cas loci.

Predicting seed yield in perennial ryegrass using repeated canopy reflectance measurements and PLSR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gislum, René; Deleuran, Lise Christina; Boelt, Birte

2009-01-01

with first year seed crops using three sowing rates and three spring nitrogen (N) application rates. PLSR models were developed for each year and showed correlation coefficients of 0.71, 0.76, and 0.92, respectively. Regression coefficients showed in these experiments that the optimum time for canopy...... reflectance measurements was from approximately 600 cumulative growing degree-days (CGDD) to approximately 900 CGDD. This is the period just before and at heading of the seed crop. Furthermore, regression coefficients showed that information about N and water is important. The results support the development......Repeated canopy reflectance measurements together with partial least-squares regression (PLSR) were used to predict seed yield in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.). The measurements were performed during the spring and summer growing seasons of 2001 to 2003 in three field experiments...

Performance Analysis of Measurement Inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on Airborne Repeat-pass Interferometric SAR in the Presence of Squint

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deng Yuan

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In the MOtion COmpensation (MOCO approach to airborne repeat-pass interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR based on motion measurement data, the measurement inaccuracies of Inertial Measurement Unit/Global Positioning System (IMU/GPS and the positioning errors of the target, which may contribute to the residual uncompensated motion errors, affect the imaging result and interferometric measurement. Considering the effects of the two types of error, this paper builds a mathematical model of residual motion errors in presence of squint, and analyzes the effects on the residual motion errors induced by the measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS and the positioning errors of the target. In particular, the effects of various measurement inaccuracies of IMU/GPS on interferometric SAR image quality, interferometric phase, and digital elevation model precision are disscussed. Moreover, the paper quantitatively researches the effects of residual motion errors on airborne repeat-pass interferometric SAR through theoretical and simulated analyses and provides theoretical bases for system design and signal processing.

Short-term Changes of Apparent Optical Properties in a Shallow Water Environment: Observations from Repeated Airborne Hyperspectral Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, M.; English, D. C.; Hu, C.; Carlson, P. R., Jr.; Muller-Karger, F. E.; Toro-Farmer, G.; Herwitz, S. R.

2016-02-01

An atmospheric correction algorithm has been developed for AISA imagery over optically shallow waters in Sugarloaf Key of the Florida Keys. The AISA data were collected repeatedly during several days in May 2012, October 2012, and May 2013. A non-zero near-infrared (NIR) remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) was accounted for through iterations, based on the relationship of field-measured Rrs between the NIR and red wavelengths. Validation showed mean ratios of 0.94 to 1.002 between AISA-derived and field-measured Rrs in the blue to red wavelengths, with uncertainties generally turbidity (light attenuation) and bottom contributions. Some of these changes are larger than two times of the Rrs uncertainties from the AISA retrievals, therefore representing statistically significant changes that can be well observed from airborne measurements. The case study suggests that repeated airborne measurements may be used to study short-term changes in shallow water environments, and such a capacity may be enhanced with future geostationary satellite missions specifically designed to observe coastal ecosystems.

Application of a repeat-measure biomarker measurement error model to 2 validation studies: examination of the effect of within-person variation in biomarker measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Preis, Sarah Rosner; Spiegelman, Donna; Zhao, Barbara Bojuan; Moshfegh, Alanna; Baer, David J; Willett, Walter C

2011-03-15

Repeat-biomarker measurement error models accounting for systematic correlated within-person error can be used to estimate the correlation coefficient (ρ) and deattenuation factor (λ), used in measurement error correction. These models account for correlated errors in the food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and the 24-hour diet recall and random within-person variation in the biomarkers. Failure to account for within-person variation in biomarkers can exaggerate correlated errors between FFQs and 24-hour diet recalls. For 2 validation studies, ρ and λ were calculated for total energy and protein density. In the Automated Multiple-Pass Method Validation Study (n=471), doubly labeled water (DLW) and urinary nitrogen (UN) were measured twice in 52 adults approximately 16 months apart (2002-2003), yielding intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.43 for energy (DLW) and 0.54 for protein density (UN/DLW). The deattenuated correlation coefficient for protein density was 0.51 for correlation between the FFQ and the 24-hour diet recall and 0.49 for correlation between the FFQ and the biomarker. Use of repeat-biomarker measurement error models resulted in a ρ of 0.42. These models were similarly applied to the Observing Protein and Energy Nutrition Study (1999-2000). In conclusion, within-person variation in biomarkers can be substantial, and to adequately assess the impact of correlated subject-specific error, this variation should be assessed in validation studies of FFQs. © The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. All rights reserved.

Production of intermediate-mass dileptons in relativistic heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kvasnikova, Ioulia; Gale, Charles; Kumar Srivastava, Dinesh

2002-01-01

The production of intermediate-mass dileptons in ultrarelativistic nuclear collisions at SPS energies is studied. The acceptance and detector resolution inherent to measurements by the NA50 experimental collaboration are accurately modeled. The measured centrality dependence of the intermediate mass lepton pair excess is also addressed

Hysteresis of magnetostructural transitions: Repeatable and non-repeatable processes

Science.gov (United States)

Provenzano, Virgil; Della Torre, Edward; Bennett, Lawrence H.; ElBidweihy, Hatem

2014-02-01

The Gd5Ge2Si2 alloy and the off-stoichiometric Ni50Mn35In15 Heusler alloy belong to a special class of metallic materials that exhibit first-order magnetostructural transitions near room temperature. The magnetic properties of this class of materials have been extensively studied due to their interesting magnetic behavior and their potential for a number of technological applications such as refrigerants for near-room-temperature magnetic refrigeration. The thermally driven first-order transitions in these materials can be field-induced in the reverse order by applying a strong enough field. The field-induced transitions are typically accompanied by the presence of large magnetic hysteresis, the characteristics of which are a complicated function of temperature, field, and magneto-thermal history. In this study we show that the virgin curve, the major loop, and sequentially measured MH loops are the results of both repeatable and non-repeatable processes, in which the starting magnetostructural state, prior to the cycling of field, plays a major role. Using the Gd5Ge2Si2 and Ni50Mn35In15 alloys, as model materials, we show that a starting single phase state results in fully repeatable processes and large magnetic hysteresis, whereas a mixed phase starting state results in non-repeatable processes and smaller hysteresis.

Hysteresis of magnetostructural transitions: Repeatable and non-repeatable processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Provenzano, Virgil; Della Torre, Edward; Bennett, Lawrence H.; ElBidweihy, Hatem

2014-01-01

The Gd 5 Ge 2 Si 2 alloy and the off-stoichiometric Ni 50 Mn 35 In 15 Heusler alloy belong to a special class of metallic materials that exhibit first-order magnetostructural transitions near room temperature. The magnetic properties of this class of materials have been extensively studied due to their interesting magnetic behavior and their potential for a number of technological applications such as refrigerants for near-room-temperature magnetic refrigeration. The thermally driven first-order transitions in these materials can be field-induced in the reverse order by applying a strong enough field. The field-induced transitions are typically accompanied by the presence of large magnetic hysteresis, the characteristics of which are a complicated function of temperature, field, and magneto-thermal history. In this study we show that the virgin curve, the major loop, and sequentially measured MH loops are the results of both repeatable and non-repeatable processes, in which the starting magnetostructural state, prior to the cycling of field, plays a major role. Using the Gd 5 Ge 2 Si 2 and Ni 50 Mn 35 In 15 alloys, as model materials, we show that a starting single phase state results in fully repeatable processes and large magnetic hysteresis, whereas a mixed phase starting state results in non-repeatable processes and smaller hysteresis

Measurements of intermediate-frequency electric and magnetic fields in households

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aerts, Sam; Calderon, Carolina; Valič, Blaž; Maslanyj, Myron; Addison, Darren; Mee, Terry; Goiceanu, Cristian; Verloock, Leen; Van den Bossche, Matthias; Gajšek, Peter; Vermeulen, Roel; Röösli, Martin; Cardis, Elisabeth; Martens, Luc; Joseph, Wout

Historically, assessment of human exposure to electric and magnetic fields has focused on the extremely-low-frequency (ELF) and radiofrequency (RF) ranges. However, research on the typically emitted fields in the intermediate-frequency (IF) range (300Hz to 1MHz) as well as potential effects of IF

Use of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms 62 (CCAPS-62) as a Repeated Measure

Science.gov (United States)

Ghosh, Arpita; Rieder Bennett, Sara; Martin, Juanita K.

2018-01-01

The purpose of this initial, exploratory study was to examine the utility of the Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms-62 (CCAPS-62) as a repeated measure tool at one university counseling center. This study investigated whether clients engaged in individual counseling changed in symptomology while in treatment and when (e.g.,…

Validation of intermediate end points in cancer research.

Science.gov (United States)

Schatzkin, A; Freedman, L S; Schiffman, M H; Dawsey, S M

1990-11-21

Investigations using intermediate end points as cancer surrogates are quicker, smaller, and less expensive than studies that use malignancy as the end point. We present a strategy for determining whether a given biomarker is a valid intermediate end point between an exposure and incidence of cancer. Candidate intermediate end points may be selected from case series, ecologic studies, and animal experiments. Prospective cohort and sometimes case-control studies may be used to quantify the intermediate end point-cancer association. The most appropriate measure of this association is the attributable proportion. The intermediate end point is a valid cancer surrogate if the attributable proportion is close to 1.0, but not if it is close to 0. Usually, the attributable proportion is close to neither 1.0 nor 0; in this case, valid surrogacy requires that the intermediate end point mediate an established exposure-cancer relation. This would in turn imply that the exposure effect would vanish if adjusted for the intermediate end point. We discuss the relative advantages of intervention and observational studies for the validation of intermediate end points. This validation strategy also may be applied to intermediate end points for adverse reproductive outcomes and chronic diseases other than cancer.

Theoretical repeatability assessment without repetitive measurements in gradient high-performance liquid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotani, Akira; Tsutsumi, Risa; Shoji, Asaki; Hayashi, Yuzuru; Kusu, Fumiyo; Yamamoto, Kazuhiro; Hakamata, Hideki

2016-07-08

This paper puts forward a time and material-saving method for evaluating the repeatability of area measurements in gradient HPLC with UV detection (HPLC-UV), based on the function of mutual information (FUMI) theory which can theoretically provide the measurement standard deviation (SD) and detection limits through the stochastic properties of baseline noise with no recourse to repetitive measurements of real samples. The chromatographic determination of terbinafine hydrochloride and enalapril maleate is taken as an example. The best choice of the number of noise data points, inevitable for the theoretical evaluation, is shown to be 512 data points (10.24s at 50 point/s sampling rate of an A/D converter). Coupled with the relative SD (RSD) of sample injection variability in the instrument used, the theoretical evaluation is proved to give identical values of area measurement RSDs to those estimated by the usual repetitive method (n=6) over a wide concentration range of the analytes within the 95% confidence intervals of the latter RSD. The FUMI theory is not a statistical one, but the "statistical" reliability of its SD estimates (n=1) is observed to be as high as that attained by thirty-one measurements of the same samples (n=31). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parsimonious Structural Equation Models for Repeated Measures Data, with Application to the Study of Consumer Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Elrod, Terry; Haubl, Gerald; Tipps, Steven W.

2012-01-01

Recent research reflects a growing awareness of the value of using structural equation models to analyze repeated measures data. However, such data, particularly in the presence of covariates, often lead to models that either fit the data poorly, are exceedingly general and hard to interpret, or are specified in a manner that is highly data…

Does shoe heel design influence ground reaction forces and knee moments during maximum lunges in elite and intermediate badminton players?

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Wing-Kai; Ryue, Jaejin; Lee, Ki-Kwang; Park, Sang-Kyoon; Cheung, Jason Tak-Man; Ryu, Jiseon

2017-01-01

Lunge is one frequently executed movement in badminton and involves a unique sagittal footstrike angle of more than 40 degrees at initial ground contact compared with other manoeuvres. This study examined if the shoe heel curvature design of a badminton shoe would influence shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments during lunge. Eleven elite and fifteen intermediate players performed five left-forward maximum lunge trials with Rounded Heel Shoe (RHS), Flattened Heel Shoe (FHS), and Standard Heel Shoes (SHS). Shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments were measured by using synchronized force platform and motion analysis system. A 2 (Group) x 3 (Shoe) ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to determine the effects of different shoes and different playing levels, as well as the interaction of two factors on all variables. Shoe effect indicated that players demonstrated lower maximum vertical loading rate in RHS than the other two shoes (P badminton lunge. The differences in impact loads and knee moments between elite and intermediate players may be useful in optimizing footwear design and training strategy to minimize the potential risks for impact related injuries in badminton.

±25ppm repeatable measurement of trapezoidal pulses with 5MHz bandwidth

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(SzGeCERN)712364; Arpaia, Pasquale; Cerqueira Bastos, Miguel; Martino, Michele

2015-01-01

High-quality measurements of pulses are nowadays widely used in fields such as radars, pulsed lasers, electromagnetic pulse generators, and particle accelerators. Whilst literature is mainly focused on fast systems for nanosecond regime with relaxed metrological requirements, in this paper, the high-performance measurement of slower pulses in microsecond regime is faced. In particular, the experimental proof demonstration for a 15 MS/s,_25 ppm repeatable acquisition system to characterize the flat-top of 3 ms rise-time trapezoidal pulses is given. The system exploits a 5MHz bandwidth circuit for analogue signal processing based on the concept of flat-top removal. The requirements, as well as the conceptual and physical designs are illustrated. Simulation results aimed at assessing the circuit performance are also presented. Finally, an experimental case study on the characterization of a pulsed power supply for the klystrons modulators of the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) under study at CERN is reported. In ...

A repeating fast radio burst.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitler, L G; Scholz, P; Hessels, J W T; Bogdanov, S; Brazier, A; Camilo, F; Chatterjee, S; Cordes, J M; Crawford, F; Deneva, J; Ferdman, R D; Freire, P C C; Kaspi, V M; Lazarus, P; Lynch, R; Madsen, E C; McLaughlin, M A; Patel, C; Ransom, S M; Seymour, A; Stairs, I H; Stappers, B W; van Leeuwen, J; Zhu, W W

2016-03-10

Fast radio bursts are millisecond-duration astronomical radio pulses of unknown physical origin that appear to come from extragalactic distances. Previous follow-up observations have failed to find additional bursts at the same dispersion measure (that is, the integrated column density of free electrons between source and telescope) and sky position as the original detections. The apparent non-repeating nature of these bursts has led to the suggestion that they originate in cataclysmic events. Here we report observations of ten additional bursts from the direction of the fast radio burst FRB 121102. These bursts have dispersion measures and sky positions consistent with the original burst. This unambiguously identifies FRB 121102 as repeating and demonstrates that its source survives the energetic events that cause the bursts. Additionally, the bursts from FRB 121102 show a wide range of spectral shapes that appear to be predominantly intrinsic to the source and which vary on timescales of minutes or less. Although there may be multiple physical origins for the population of fast radio bursts, these repeat bursts with high dispersion measure and variable spectra specifically seen from the direction of FRB 121102 support an origin in a young, highly magnetized, extragalactic neutron star.

Comparison of anterior segment measurements using Sirius Topographer® and Nidek Axial Length-Scan® with assessing repeatability in patients with cataracts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Resat Duman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate anterior segment measurements obtained using CSO Sirius Topographer® (CSO, Firenze, Italy and Nidek Axial Length (AL-Scan® (Nidek CO., Gamagori, Japan. Methods: A total of 43 eyes of 43 patients were included in this prospective study. The central corneal thickness (CCT, anterior chamber depth (ACD, white-to-white distance (WTW, flat keratometry (K1, steep keratometry (K2, and mean keratometry (K values were randomly measured three times with each device by the same examiner. The intraclass correlation coefficient of repeatability was analyzed. The compatibility of both devices was evaluated using the 95% limits of the agreement proposed by Bland and Altman. Results: Examiner achieved high repeatability for all parameters on each device except the WTW measured by Sirius. All measurements except WTW and K1 taken with the Sirius were higher than that taken with the Nidek AL-Scan®. The difference in CCT, ACD, and WTW values was statistically significant. Conclusion: High repeatability of the measurements was achieved on both devices. Although Km, K1, and K2 measurements of the Sirius and the AL-Scan® showed good agreement, WTW, CCT, and ACD measurements significantly differed between two devices. Thus, anterior segment measurements except for Km, K1, and K2 cannot be used interchangeably between Sirius and Nidek AL-Scan® devices.

Tectonic, Climatic and Anthropogenic Vertical Land Movements in Western Europe by Repeated Absolute Gravity Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

van Camp, M. J.; de Viron, O.; Lecocq, T.; Hinzen, K. G.; Quinif, Y.; Williams, S. D.; Camelbeeck, T.

2010-12-01

In continental plate interiors, tectonic deformations are small and the associated ground surface movements remain close to or below the accuracy of current geodetic techniques, and at the limit of the noise level. An absolute gravimeter is an appropriate tool to quantify slow vertical movements, as this instrument, based on length and time standards, is drift free and does not depend on any terrestrial reference frame. Repeated absolute gravity (AG) measurements have been performed in Oostende (Belgian coastline) and at 8 stations along a southwest-northeast profile across the Belgian Ardennes and the Roer Valley Graben (Germany), in order to estimate the tectonic deformations in the area. After 7-13 years (depending on the station), we find evidence that the movements are no larger than a few millimeter per year and result from a combination of anthropogenic, climatic, tectonic, and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) effects. This demonstrates the importance of precisely modeling the GIA effects in order to investigate intraplate tectonic deformations at the sub-millimeter level. This study also shows that AG measurements, repeated once or twice a year, can resolve vertical velocities at the 1.0 mm/yr level after 10 years, even in difficult conditions, provided that the gravimeter is carefully maintained.

Repeatability of two-dimensional chemical shift imaging multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy for measuring human cerebral choline-containing compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Puri, Basant K; Egan, Mary; Wallis, Fintan; Jakeman, Philip

2018-03-22

To investigate the repeatability of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the in vivo measurement of human cerebral levels of choline-containing compounds (Cho). Two consecutive scans were carried out in six healthy resting subjects at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 T. On each occasion, neurospectroscopy data were collected from 64 voxels using the same 2D chemical shift imaging (CSI) sequence. The data were analyzed in the same way, using the same software, to obtain the values for each voxel of the ratio of Cho to creatine. The Wilcoxon related-samples signed-rank test, coefficient of variation (CV), repeatability coefficient (RC), and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were used to assess the repeatability. The CV ranged from 2.75% to 33.99%, while the minimum RC was 5.68%. There was excellent reproducibility, as judged by significant ICC values, in 26 voxels. Just three voxels showed significant differences according to the Wilcoxon related-samples signed-rank test. It is therefore concluded that when CSI multivoxel proton neurospectroscopy is used to measure cerebral choline-containing compounds at 1.5 T, the reproducibility is highly acceptable.

Measurement of Fragment Mass Distributions in Neutron-induced Fission of 238U and 232Th at Intermediate Energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simutkin, V.D.

2008-01-01

Conceptual analysis of accelerator-driven systems assumes extensive use of nuclear data on neutron-induced reactions at intermediate energies. In particular, information about the fission fragment yields from the 238 U(n,f) and 232 Th(n,f) reactions is of particular interest at neutron energies from 10 to 200 MeV. However, there is a lack of such data for both 238 U and 232 Th. Up to now, the intermediate energy measurements have been performed for 238 U only, and there are no data for the 232 Th(n,f) reaction. The aim of the work is to provide such data. Fission fragment mass distributions for the 232 Th(n,f) and 238 U(n,f) reactions have been measured for the incident neutron energies 32.8 MeV, 45.3 MeV and 59.9 MeV. The experiments have been performed at the neutron beam facility of the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. A multi-section Frisch-gridded ionization chamber has been used as a fission fragment detector. The data obtained have been interpreted in terms of the multimodal random neck-rupture model (MMRNRM). (authors)

Intermediate treatments

Science.gov (United States)

John R. Jones; Wayne D. Shepperd

1985-01-01

Intermediate treatments are those applied after a new stand is successfully established and before the final harvest. These include not only intermediate cuttings - primarily thinning - but also fertilization, irrigation, and protection of the stand from damaging agents.

The intermediate endpoint effect in logistic and probit regression

Science.gov (United States)

MacKinnon, DP; Lockwood, CM; Brown, CH; Wang, W; Hoffman, JM

2010-01-01

Background An intermediate endpoint is hypothesized to be in the middle of the causal sequence relating an independent variable to a dependent variable. The intermediate variable is also called a surrogate or mediating variable and the corresponding effect is called the mediated, surrogate endpoint, or intermediate endpoint effect. Clinical studies are often designed to change an intermediate or surrogate endpoint and through this intermediate change influence the ultimate endpoint. In many intermediate endpoint clinical studies the dependent variable is binary, and logistic or probit regression is used. Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe a limitation of a widely used approach to assessing intermediate endpoint effects and to propose an alternative method, based on products of coefficients, that yields more accurate results. Methods The intermediate endpoint model for a binary outcome is described for a true binary outcome and for a dichotomization of a latent continuous outcome. Plots of true values and a simulation study are used to evaluate the different methods. Results Distorted estimates of the intermediate endpoint effect and incorrect conclusions can result from the application of widely used methods to assess the intermediate endpoint effect. The same problem occurs for the proportion of an effect explained by an intermediate endpoint, which has been suggested as a useful measure for identifying intermediate endpoints. A solution to this problem is given based on the relationship between latent variable modeling and logistic or probit regression. Limitations More complicated intermediate variable models are not addressed in the study, although the methods described in the article can be extended to these more complicated models. Conclusions Researchers are encouraged to use an intermediate endpoint method based on the product of regression coefficients. A common method based on difference in coefficient methods can lead to distorted

Multifragmentation in intermediate energy heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacak, B.V.; Britt, H.C.; Claesson, G.

1986-01-01

There has been considerable recent interest in the production of intermediate mass fragments (A > 4) in intermediate and high energy nucleus-nucleus collisions. The mechanism for production of these fragments is not well understood and has been described by models employing a variety of assumptions. Some examples are: disassembly of a system in thermal equilibrium into nucleons and nuclear fragments, liquid-vapor phase transitions in nuclear matter, final state coalescence of nucleons and dynamical correlations between nucleons at breakup. Previous studies of fragment production, with one exception, have been single particle inclusive measurements; the observed fragment mass (or charge) distributions can be described by all of the models above. To gain insight into the fragment production mechanism, the authors used the GSI/LBL Plastic Ball detector system to get full azimuthal coverage for intermediate mass fragments in the forward hemisphere in the center of mass system while measuring all the light particles in each event. The authors studied the systems 200 MeV/nucleon Au + Au and Au + Fe

Lifetime measurements using radioactive ion beams at intermediate energies and the Doppler shift method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dewald, A.; Melon, B.; Pissulla, T.; Rother, W.; Fransen, C.; Moeller, O.; Zell, K.O.; Jolie, J. [IKP, Univ. zu Koeln (Germany); Petkov, P. [Bulg. Acad. of Science, INRNE, Solfia (Bulgaria); Starosta, K.; Przemyslaw, A.; Miller, D.; Chester, A.; Vaman, C.; Voss, P.; Gade, A.; Glasmacher, T.; Stolz, A.; Bazin, D.; Weisshaar, D. [NSCL, MSU, East Lansing (United States)

2007-07-01

Absolute transition probabilities are crucial quantities in nuclear structure physics. Therefore, it is important to establish Doppler shift (plunger) techniques also for the measurement of level lifetimes in radioactive ion beam experiments. After a first successful test of the Doppler Shift technique at intermediate energy (52MeV/u) with a stable {sup 124}Xe beam, a plunger has been built and used in two experiments, performed at the NSCL/MSU with the SEGA Ge-array and the S800 spectrometer. The aim of the first experiment was to investigate the plunger technique after a knock-out reaction using a radioactive {sup 65}Ge beam at 100 MeV/u for populating excited states in {sup 64}Ge. The second experiment aimed to measure the lifetimes of the first 2{sup +} states in {sup 110,114}Pd with the plunger technique after Coulomb excitation at beam energies of 54 MeV/u. First results of both experiments will be presented and discussed. (orig.)

Analyzing repeated data collected by mobile phones and frequent text messages. An example of Low back pain measured weekly for 18 weeks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Axén Iben

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Repeated data collection is desirable when monitoring fluctuating conditions. Mobile phones can be used to gather such data from large groups of respondents by sending and receiving frequently repeated short questions and answers as text messages. The analysis of repeated data involves some challenges. Vital issues to consider are the within-subject correlation, the between measurement occasion correlation and the presence of missing values. The overall aim of this commentary is to describe different methods of analyzing repeated data. It is meant to give an overview for the clinical researcher in order for complex outcome measures to be interpreted in a clinically meaningful way. Methods A model data set was formed using data from two clinical studies, where patients with low back pain were followed with weekly text messages for 18 weeks. Different research questions and analytic approaches were illustrated and discussed, as well as the handling of missing data. In the applications the weekly outcome “number of days with pain” was analyzed in relation to the patients’ “previous duration of pain” (categorized as more or less than 30 days in the previous year. Research questions with appropriate analytical methods 1: How many days with pain do patients experience? This question was answered with data summaries. 2: What is the proportion of participants “recovered” at a specific time point? This question was answered using logistic regression analysis. 3: What is the time to recovery? This question was answered using survival analysis, illustrated in Kaplan-Meier curves, Proportional Hazard regression analyses and spline regression analyses. 4: How is the repeatedly measured data associated with baseline (predictor variables? This question was answered using generalized Estimating Equations, Poisson regression and Mixed linear models analyses. 5: Are there subgroups of patients with similar courses of pain

Acute caffeine effect on repeatedly measured P300

OpenAIRE

Pan, Jingbo; Takeshita, Tatsuya; Morimoto, Kanehisa

2000-01-01

The acute effect of a single-dose of caffeine on the P300 event-related brain potential (ERP) was assessed in a study using a repeatedly presented auditory oddball button-press task. A dose (5mg/kg body-weight) of either caffeine or placebo lactose, dissolved in a cup of decaffeinated coffee, was administered double-blindly to coffee drinkers who had abstained from coffee for 24hrs, with the presentation order of the sessions counterbalanced and separated by 2–4 weeks. The caffeine-treatment ...

Fluorimetric methods for the measurement of intermediate metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, alanine, beta-hydroxybutyrate, glycerol) using a COBAS FARA centrifugal analyser.

Science.gov (United States)

Monti, L D; Sandoli, P E; Costa, S; Phan, V C; Piatti, P M

1993-01-01

Intermediate products of the metabolism of glucose, fat and amino-acid are important in the evaluation of such metabolic disorders as diabetes mellitus, liver disease and metabolic acidosis. In the present study, methods for the measurement of intermediate metabolites (lactate, pyruvate, alanine, beta-hydroxybutyrate and glycerol) have been adapted to a fast centrifugal analyzer: the COBAS FARA. Correlation coeffcients rangedfrom 0.90 to 0.99, compared to established manual spectrophotometric methods. Within-run coeffcients of variation (CVs) ranged between 2.9 and 8.8% at low levels, between 1.5 and 5.7% at medium levels and between 1.2 and 5.6% at high levels. Between-run CVs were between 4.0 and 15.0% at low levels, between 1.7 and 7.0% at medium levels and between 1.3 and 2.7% at high levels. These fluorimetric assays for the determination of intermediate metabolites on COBAS FARA (Roche) have a good sensitivity and precision, are less costly than manual methods and can be used on a routine basis.

Diabetic Foot Prevention: Repeatability of the Loran Platform Plantar Pressure and Load Distribution Measurements in Nondiabetic Subjects during Bipedal Standing—A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha Zequera

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study was designed to assess the repeatability of the Loran Platform and evaluate the variability of plantar pressure and postural balance, during barefoot standing in nondiabetic subjects, for future diabetic foot clinical evaluation. Measurements were taken for eight nondiabetic subjects (4 females, 4 males, aged 47±7.2 years who had no musculoskeletal symptoms. Five variables were measured with the platform in the barefoot standing position. Ten measurements were taken using two different techniques for feet and posture positioning, during three sessions, once a week. For most measurements, no significant effect over time was found with Student's t-test (P<.000125. The ANOVA test of statistical significance confirmed that measurement differences between subjects showed higher variations than measurements taken from the same subject (P<.001. The measurements taken by the Loran Platform system were found to be repeatable.

Repeated stimulation, inter-stimulus interval and inter-electrode distance alters muscle contractile properties as measured by Tensiomyography

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark I.; Francis, Peter

2018-01-01

Context The influence of methodological parameters on the measurement of muscle contractile properties using Tensiomyography (TMG) has not been published. Objective To investigate the; (1) reliability of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum muscle displacement (Dm), (2) effect of changing inter-stimulus interval on Dm (using a fixed stimulus amplitude) and contraction time (Tc), (3) the effect of changing inter-electrode distance on Dm and Tc. Design Within subject, repeated measures. Participants 10 participants for each objective. Main outcome measures Dm and Tc of the rectus femoris, measured using TMG. Results The coefficient of variance (CV) and the intra-class correlation (ICC) of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum Dm was 5.7% and 0.92 respectively. Dm was higher when using an inter-electrode distance of 7cm compared to 5cm [P = 0.03] and when using an inter-stimulus interval of 10s compared to 30s [P = 0.017]. Further analysis of inter-stimulus interval data, found that during 10 repeated stimuli Tc became faster after the 5th measure when compared to the second measure [P<0.05]. The 30s inter-stimulus interval produced the most stable Tc over 10 measures compared to 10s and 5s respectively. Conclusion Our data suggest that the stimulus amplitude producing maximum Dm of the rectus femoris is reliable. Inter-electrode distance and inter-stimulus interval can significantly influence Dm and/ or Tc. Our results support the use of a 30s inter-stimulus interval over 10s or 5s. Future studies should determine the influence of methodological parameters on muscle contractile properties in a range of muscles. PMID:29451885

Perspectives on repeated low-level blast and the measurement of neurotrauma in humans as an occupational exposure risk

Science.gov (United States)

Carr, W.; Dell, K. C.; Yanagi, M. A.; Hassan, D. M.; LoPresti, M. L.

2017-11-01

A pressing question in military medical research is the nature and degree of effects on the human brain from occupational repeated exposure to low-level explosive blast, but reliable and effective means to objectively measure such effects remain elusive. In survey results, headache, difficulty sleeping, irritability, cognitive impairment, and a variety of other symptoms consistent with post-concussive syndrome have been reported by those exposed to blast and there was positive correlation between degree of blast exposure and degree of symptomology, but an important goal is to obtain more objective evidence of an effect than self-report alone. This review reflects recent efforts to measure and evaluate such hypothesized effects and current recommendations for ongoing study. Optimal measures are likely those with sensitivity and specificity to systemic effects in mild neurotrauma, that have minimal to no volitional component, and that can be sampled relatively quickly with minimal intrusion in prospective, observational field studies during routine training with explosives. An understanding of an association between parameters of exposure to repeated low-level blast and negative neurologic effects would support the evaluation of clinical implications and development of protective equipment and surveillance protocols where warranted. At present, low-level blast exposure surveillance measurements do not exist as a systematic record for any professional community.

Has Banks’ Financial Intermediation Improved in Russia?

OpenAIRE

Fungachova, Z.; Solanko, L.

2010-01-01

The aim of this paper is to analyze the increasing importance of banks in the Russian economy over the period following the financial crisis of 1998. We use several measures to assess the role of banks in domestic financial intermediation in Russia. The traditional macro-level view is complemented by the analysis of sectoral financial flows as well as by insights from micro-level studies. All of these confirm that banks are becoming increasingly important in financial intermediation. We find ...

Reproducibility and repeatability of a new computerized software for sagittal spinopelvic and scoliosis curvature radiologic measurements: Keops(®).

Science.gov (United States)

Maillot, C; Ferrero, E; Fort, D; Heyberger, C; Le Huec, J-C

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-observer variability of the computerized radiologic measurements using Keops(®) and to determine the bias between the software and the standard paper measurement. Four individuals measured all frontal and sagittal variables on the 30 X-rays randomly selected on two occasions (test and retest conditions). The Bland-Altman plot was used to determine the degree of agreement between the measurement on paper X-ray and the measurement using Keops(®) for all reviewers and for the two measures; the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated for each pair of analyses to assess interobserver reproducibility among the four reviewers for the same patient using either paper X-ray or Keops(®) measurement and finally, concordance correlation coefficient (rc) was calculated to assess intraobserver repeatability among the same reviewer for one patient between the two measure using the same method (paper or Keops(®)). The mean difference calculated between the two methods was minimal at -0, 4° ± 3.41° [-7.1; 6.4] for frontal measurement and 0.1° ± 3.52° [-6.7; 6.8] for sagittal measurement. Keops(®) has a better interobserver reproducibility than paper measurement for determination of the sagittal pelvic parameter (ICC = 0.9960 vs. 0.9931; p = 0.0001). It has a better intraobserver repeatability than paper for determination of Cobbs angle (rc = 0.9872 vs. 0.9808; p rc = 0.9981 vs. 0.9953; p plane and that the use of this software can be recommended for clinical application. Diagnostic, level III.

A measurement of intermediate vector boson production in 1.8 TeV /bar p/p collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

St Denis, R.D.

1988-01-01

The cross section for the production and subsequent decay to electron and neutrino of the W intermediate vector boson has been measured in 1.8 TeV /bar p/p collisions at the Collider Detector at Fermilab. An analysis of events with missing transverse energy greater than 25 GeV and an electron of transverse energy greater than 15 GeV from a data sample of 25nb/sup /minus/1/ gives σ/center dot/B = 2.57 +- 0.56 +- 0.46nb, in agreement with theoretical predictions. 10 refs., 4 figs

Monitoring deep geodynamic processes within Vrancea intermediate-depth seismic zone by geodetic means

Science.gov (United States)

Besutiu, Lucian; Zlagnean, Luminita

2015-04-01

Background Located in the bending zone of East Carpathians, the so-called Vrancea zone is one of the most active seismic regions in Europe. Despite many years of international research, its intermediate-depth seismicity within full intra-continental environment still represents a challenge of the 21st century. Infrastructure In the attempt to join the above-mentioned efforts, the Solid Earth Dynamics Department (SEDD) in the Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian Academy has developed a special research infrastructure, mainly devoted to gravity and space geodesy observations. A geodetic network covering the epicentre area of the intermediate-depth earthquakes has been designed and implemented for monitoring deep geodynamic processes and their surface echoes. Within each base-station of the above-mentioned network, a still-reinforced concrete pillar allows for high accuracy repeated gravity and GPS determinations. Results Starting from some results of the previously run CERGOP and UNIGRACE European programmes, to which additional SEDD repeated field campaigns were added, an unusual geodynamic behaviour has been revealed in the area. 1) Crust deformation: unlike the overall uprising of East Carpathians, as a result of denudation followed by erosion, their SE bending zone, with Vrancea epicentre area exhibits a slight subsidence. 2) Gravity change: more than 200 microgals non-tidal gravity decrease over a 20 years time-span has been noticed within the subsiding area. Extended observations showed the gravity lowering as a nowadays continuing process. Interpretation This strange combination of topography subsidence and gravity lowering has been interpreted in terms of crust stretching in the Vrancea epicentre zone due to the gravity pull created by densification of the lower crust as a result of phase-transform processes taking place in the lithospheric compartment sunken into the upper mantle. The occurrence of crust earthquakes with vertical-extension focal

Freshening of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the South Atlantic Ocean in 2005–2014

OpenAIRE

Yao, Wenjun; Shi, Jiuxin

2016-01-01

Basin-scaled freshening of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is reported to have dominated South Atlantic Ocean during period from 2005 to 2014, as shown by the gridded monthly means Argo (Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography) data. The relevant investigation was also revealed by two transatlantic occupations of repeated section along 30° S, from World Ocean Circulation Experiment Hydrographic Program. Freshening of the AAIW was compensated by the opposing salinity increase o...

Discrepancies in reporting the CAG repeat lengths for Huntington's disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Quarrell, Oliver W; Handley, Olivia; O'Donovan, Kirsty

2011-01-01

Huntington's disease results from a CAG repeat expansion within the Huntingtin gene; this is measured routinely in diagnostic laboratories. The European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY project centrally measures CAG repeat lengths on fresh samples; these were compared with the original...

High time resolution characteristics of intermediate ion distributions upstream of the earth's bow shock

Science.gov (United States)

Potter, D. W.

1985-01-01

High time resolution particle data upstream of the bow shock during time intervals that have been identified as having intermediate ion distributions often show high amplitude oscillations in the ion fluxes of energy 2 and 6 keV. These ion oscillations, observed with the particle instruments of the University of California, Berkeley, on the ISEE 1 and 2 spacecraft, are at the same frequency (about 0.04 Hz) as the magnetic field oscillations. Typically, the 6-keV ion flux increases then the 2-keV flux increases followed by a decrease in the 2-keV flux and then the 6-keV flux decreases. This process repeats many times. Although there is no entirely satisfactory explanation, the presence of these ion flux oscillations suggests that distributions often are misidentified as intermediate ion distributions.

Reactive intermediates in the gas phase generation and monitoring

CERN Document Server

Setser, D W

2013-01-01

Reactive Intermediates in the Gas Phase: Generation and Monitoring covers methods for reactive intermediates in the gas phase. The book discusses the generation and measurement of atom and radical concentrations in flow systems; the high temperature flow tubes, generation and measurement of refractory species; and the electronically excited long-lived states of atoms and diatomic molecules in flow systems. The text also describes the production and detection of reactive species with lasers in static systems; the production of small positive ions in a mass spectrometer; and the discharge-excite

Repeated stimulation, inter-stimulus interval and inter-electrode distance alters muscle contractile properties as measured by Tensiomyography.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah V Wilson

Full Text Available The influence of methodological parameters on the measurement of muscle contractile properties using Tensiomyography (TMG has not been published.To investigate the; (1 reliability of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum muscle displacement (Dm, (2 effect of changing inter-stimulus interval on Dm (using a fixed stimulus amplitude and contraction time (Tc, (3 the effect of changing inter-electrode distance on Dm and Tc.Within subject, repeated measures.10 participants for each objective.Dm and Tc of the rectus femoris, measured using TMG.The coefficient of variance (CV and the intra-class correlation (ICC of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum Dm was 5.7% and 0.92 respectively. Dm was higher when using an inter-electrode distance of 7cm compared to 5cm [P = 0.03] and when using an inter-stimulus interval of 10s compared to 30s [P = 0.017]. Further analysis of inter-stimulus interval data, found that during 10 repeated stimuli Tc became faster after the 5th measure when compared to the second measure [P<0.05]. The 30s inter-stimulus interval produced the most stable Tc over 10 measures compared to 10s and 5s respectively.Our data suggest that the stimulus amplitude producing maximum Dm of the rectus femoris is reliable. Inter-electrode distance and inter-stimulus interval can significantly influence Dm and/ or Tc. Our results support the use of a 30s inter-stimulus interval over 10s or 5s. Future studies should determine the influence of methodological parameters on muscle contractile properties in a range of muscles.

PNGMDR - Characterisation of intermediate-level long-lived wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-12-01

This document presents the status of the characterization of intermediate-level long-lived wastes which are warehoused on exploited EDF sites or which will be produced during the deconstruction of first-generation reactors. It addresses aspects related to characterisation and packaging of wastes produced before 2015. More specifically, it addresses aspects related to contamination and to activation. Contamination is assessed by measurements whereas activation assessment is based on numerical simulations associated with measurements performed during parcel production. After having mentioned the concerned reactors, the document presents the methodology adopted for these assessments, and reports the progress status of the characterization process for these intermediate-level long-lived wastes

Freshening of Antarctic Intermediate Water in the South Atlantic Ocean in 2005–2014

OpenAIRE

W. Yao; J. Shi; X. Zhao

2017-01-01

Basin-scale freshening of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) is reported to have occurred in the South Atlantic Ocean during the period from 2005 to 2014, as shown by the gridded monthly means of the Array for Real-time Geostrophic Oceanography (Argo) data. This phenomenon was also revealed by two repeated transects along a section at 30° S, performed during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment Hydrographic Program. Freshening of the AAIW was compensated for by a salinity...

Analyzing repeated data collected by mobile phones and frequent text messages. An example of Low back pain measured weekly for 18 weeks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Axén, Iben; Bodin, Lennart; Kongsted, Alice

2012-01-01

to recovery? This question was answered using survival analysis, illustrated in Kaplan-Meier curves, Proportional Hazard regression analyses and spline regression analyses. 4: How is the repeatedly measured data associated with baseline (predictor) variables? This question was answered using generalized...... involves some challenges. Vital issues to consider are the within-subject correlation, the between measurement occasion correlation and the presence of missing values. The overall aim of this commentary is to describe different methods of analyzing repeated data. It is meant to give an overview...... for the clinical researcher in order for complex outcome measures to be interpreted in a clinically meaningful way. METHODS: A model data set was formed using data from two clinical studies, where patients with low back pain were followed with weekly text messages for 18 weeks. Different research questions...

Origin-Dependent Inverted-Repeat Amplification: Tests of a Model for Inverted DNA Amplification.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonita J Brewer

2015-12-01

Full Text Available DNA replication errors are a major driver of evolution--from single nucleotide polymorphisms to large-scale copy number variations (CNVs. Here we test a specific replication-based model to explain the generation of interstitial, inverted triplications. While no genetic information is lost, the novel inversion junctions and increased copy number of the included sequences create the potential for adaptive phenotypes. The model--Origin-Dependent Inverted-Repeat Amplification (ODIRA-proposes that a replication error at pre-existing short, interrupted, inverted repeats in genomic sequences generates an extrachromosomal, inverted dimeric, autonomously replicating intermediate; subsequent genomic integration of the dimer yields this class of CNV without loss of distal chromosomal sequences. We used a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to test the feasibility of the proposed replication error and its downstream consequences on chromosome structure in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that the proposed replication error-the ligation of leading and lagging nascent strands to create "closed" forks-can occur in vitro at short, interrupted inverted repeats. The removal of molecules with two closed forks results in a hairpin-capped linear duplex that we show replicates in vivo to create an inverted, dimeric plasmid that subsequently integrates into the genome by homologous recombination, creating an inverted triplication. While other models have been proposed to explain inverted triplications and their derivatives, our model can also explain the generation of human, de novo, inverted amplicons that have a 2:1 mixture of sequences from both homologues of a single parent--a feature readily explained by a plasmid intermediate that arises from one homologue and integrates into the other homologue prior to meiosis. Our tests of key features of ODIRA lend support to this mechanism and suggest further avenues of enquiry to unravel the origins

Origin-Dependent Inverted-Repeat Amplification: Tests of a Model for Inverted DNA Amplification.

Science.gov (United States)

Brewer, Bonita J; Payen, Celia; Di Rienzi, Sara C; Higgins, Megan M; Ong, Giang; Dunham, Maitreya J; Raghuraman, M K

2015-12-01

DNA replication errors are a major driver of evolution--from single nucleotide polymorphisms to large-scale copy number variations (CNVs). Here we test a specific replication-based model to explain the generation of interstitial, inverted triplications. While no genetic information is lost, the novel inversion junctions and increased copy number of the included sequences create the potential for adaptive phenotypes. The model--Origin-Dependent Inverted-Repeat Amplification (ODIRA)-proposes that a replication error at pre-existing short, interrupted, inverted repeats in genomic sequences generates an extrachromosomal, inverted dimeric, autonomously replicating intermediate; subsequent genomic integration of the dimer yields this class of CNV without loss of distal chromosomal sequences. We used a combination of in vitro and in vivo approaches to test the feasibility of the proposed replication error and its downstream consequences on chromosome structure in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We show that the proposed replication error-the ligation of leading and lagging nascent strands to create "closed" forks-can occur in vitro at short, interrupted inverted repeats. The removal of molecules with two closed forks results in a hairpin-capped linear duplex that we show replicates in vivo to create an inverted, dimeric plasmid that subsequently integrates into the genome by homologous recombination, creating an inverted triplication. While other models have been proposed to explain inverted triplications and their derivatives, our model can also explain the generation of human, de novo, inverted amplicons that have a 2:1 mixture of sequences from both homologues of a single parent--a feature readily explained by a plasmid intermediate that arises from one homologue and integrates into the other homologue prior to meiosis. Our tests of key features of ODIRA lend support to this mechanism and suggest further avenues of enquiry to unravel the origins of interstitial

Repeatable aversion across threat types is linked with life-history traits but is dependent on how aversion is measured.

Science.gov (United States)

Davidson, Gabrielle L; Reichert, Michael S; Crane, Jodie M S; O'Shea, William; Quinn, John L

2018-02-01

Personality research suggests that individual differences in risk aversion may be explained by links with life-history variation. However, few empirical studies examine whether repeatable differences in risk avoidance behaviour covary with life-history traits among individuals in natural populations, or how these links vary depending on the context and the way risk aversion is measured. We measured two different risk avoidance behaviours (latency to enter the nest and inspection time) in wild great tits ( Parus major ) in two different contexts-response to a novel object and to a predator cue placed at the nest-box during incubation---and related these behaviours to female reproductive success and condition. Females responded equally strongly to both stimuli, and although both behaviours were repeatable, they did not correlate. Latency to enter was negatively related to body condition and the number of offspring fledged. By contrast, inspection time was directly explained by whether incubating females had been flushed from the nest before the trial began. Thus, our inferences on the relationship between risk aversion and fitness depend on how risk aversion was measured. Our results highlight the limitations of drawing conclusions about the relevance of single measures of a personality trait such as risk aversion.

Low temperature intermediate band metallic behavior in Ti implanted Si

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olea, Javier, E-mail: oleaariza@fis.ucm.es; Pastor, David; Garcia-Hemme, Eric; Garcia-Hernansanz, Rodrigo; Prado, Alvaro del; Martil, Ignacio; Gonzalez-Diaz, German

2012-08-31

Si samples implanted with very high Ti doses and subjected to Pulsed-Laser Melting (PLM) have been electrically analyzed in the scope of a two-layer model previously reported based on the Intermediate Band (IB) theory. Conductivity and Hall effect measurements using the van der Pauw technique suggest that the insulator-metal transition takes place for implantation doses in the 10{sup 14}-10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} range. Results of the sample implanted with the 10{sup 16} cm{sup -2} dose show a metallic behavior at low temperature that is explained by the formation of a p-type IB out of the Ti deep levels. This suggests that the IB would be semi-filled, which is essential for IB photovoltaic devices. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We fabricated high dose Ti implanted Si samples for intermediate band research. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We measured the electronic transport properties in the 7-300 K range. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We show an insulator to metallic transition when the intermediate band is formed. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The intermediate band is semi-filled and populated by holes. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We satisfactorily explain the electrical behavior by an intermediate band model.

The use of a measure of acute irritation to predict the outcome of repeated usage of hand soap products.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, C; Wilkinson, M; McShane, P; Pennington, D; Fernandez, C; Pierce, S

2011-06-01

Healthcare-associated infection is an important worldwide problem that could be reduced by better hand hygiene practice. However, an increasing number of healthcare workers are experiencing irritant contact dermatitis of the hands as a result of repeated hand washing. This may lead to a reduced level of compliance with regard to hand hygiene. To assess whether a measure of acute irritation by hand soaps could predict the effects of repeated usage over a 2-week period. In a double-blind, randomized comparison study, the comparative irritation potential of four different hand soaps was assessed over a 24-h treatment period. The effect of repeated hand washing with the hand soap products over a 2-week period in healthy adult volunteers on skin barrier function was then determined by assessment of transepidermal water loss (TEWL), epidermal hydration and a visual assessment using the Hand Eczema Severity Index (HECSI) at days 0, 7 and 14. A total of 121 subjects from the 123 recruited completed phase 1 of the study. All four products were seen to be significantly different from each other in terms of the irritant reaction observed and all products resulted in a significantly higher irritation compared with the no-treatment control. Seventy-nine of the initial 121 subjects were then enrolled into the repeated usage study. A statistically significant worsening of the clinical condition of the skin as measured by HECSI was seen from baseline to day 14 in those subjects repeatedly washing their hands with two of the four soap products (products C and D) with P-values of 0·02 and 0·01, respectively. Subclinical assessment of the skin barrier function by measuring epidermal hydration was significantly increased from baseline to day 7 after repeated hand washing with products A, B and D but overall no significant change was seen in all four products tested by day 14. A statistically significant increase in TEWL at day 14 was seen for product A (P = 0·02) indicating a

Direct and Repeated Clinical Measurements of pO2 for Enhancing Cancer Therapy and Other Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Swartz, Harold M; Williams, Benjamin B; Hou, Huagang; Khan, Nadeem; Jarvis, Lesley A; Chen, Eunice Y; Schaner, Philip E; Ali, Arif; Gallez, Bernard; Kuppusamy, Periannan; Flood, Ann B

2016-01-01

The first systematic multi-center study of the clinical use of EPR oximetry has begun, with funding as a PPG from the NCI. Using particulate oxygen sensitive EPR, materials in three complementary forms (India Ink, "OxyChips", and implantable resonators) the clinical value of the technique will be evaluated. The aims include using repeated measurement of tumor pO2 to monitor the effects of treatments on tumor pO2, to use the measurements to select suitable subjects for the type of treatment including the use of hyperoxic techniques, and to provide data that will enable existing clinical techniques which provide data relevant to tumor pO2 but which cannot directly measure it to be enhanced by determining circumstances where they can give dependable information about tumor pO2.

Repeatability study of replicate crash tests: A signal analysis approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Seppi, Jeremy; Toczyski, Jacek; Crandall, Jeff R; Kerrigan, Jason

2017-10-03

To provide an objective basis on which to evaluate the repeatability of vehicle crash test methods, a recently developed signal analysis method was used to evaluate correlation of sensor time history data between replicate vehicle crash tests. The goal of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of rollover crash tests performed with the Dynamic Rollover Test System (DRoTS) relative to other vehicle crash test methods. Test data from DRoTS tests, deceleration rollover sled (DRS) tests, frontal crash tests, frontal offset crash tests, small overlap crash tests, small overlap impact (SOI) crash tests, and oblique crash tests were obtained from the literature and publicly available databases (the NHTSA vehicle database and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety TechData) to examine crash test repeatability. Signal analysis of the DRoTS tests showed that force and deformation time histories had good to excellent repeatability, whereas vehicle kinematics showed only fair repeatability due to the vehicle mounting method for one pair of tests and slightly dissimilar mass properties (2.2%) in a second pair of tests. Relative to the DRS, the DRoTS tests showed very similar or higher levels of repeatability in nearly all vehicle kinematic data signals with the exception of global X' (road direction of travel) velocity and displacement due to the functionality of the DRoTS fixture. Based on the average overall scoring metric of the dominant acceleration, DRoTS was found to be as repeatable as all other crash tests analyzed. Vertical force measures showed good repeatability and were on par with frontal crash barrier forces. Dynamic deformation measures showed good to excellent repeatability as opposed to poor repeatability seen in SOI and oblique deformation measures. Using the signal analysis method as outlined in this article, the DRoTS was shown to have the same or better repeatability of crash test methods used in government regulatory and consumer evaluation test

Intermediate neutron spectrum problems and the intermediate neutron spectrum experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaegers, P.J.; Sanchez, R.G.

1996-01-01

Criticality benchmark data for intermediate energy spectrum systems does not exist. These systems are dominated by scattering and fission events induced by neutrons with energies between 1 eV and 1 MeV. Nuclear data uncertainties have been reported for such systems which can not be resolved without benchmark critical experiments. Intermediate energy spectrum systems have been proposed for the geological disposition of surplus fissile materials. Without the proper benchmarking of the nuclear data in the intermediate energy spectrum, adequate criticality safety margins can not be guaranteed. The Zeus critical experiment now under construction will provide this necessary benchmark data

A Modified Jonckheere Test Statistic for Ordered Alternatives in Repeated Measures Design

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hatice Tül Kübra AKDUR

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In this article, a new test based on Jonckheere test [1] for  randomized blocks which have dependent observations within block is presented. A weighted sum for each block statistic rather than the unweighted sum proposed by Jonckheereis included. For Jonckheere type statistics, the main assumption is independency of observations within block. In the case of repeated measures design, the assumption of independence is violated. The weighted Jonckheere type statistic for the situation of dependence for different variance-covariance structure and the situation based on ordered alternative hypothesis structure of each block on the design is used. Also, the proposed statistic is compared to the existing test based on Jonckheere in terms of type I error rates by performing Monte Carlo simulation. For the strong correlations, circular bootstrap version of the proposed Jonckheere test provides lower rates of type I error.

Amplification of neural stem cell proliferation by intermediate progenitor cells in Drosophila brain development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bello Bruno C

2008-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In the mammalian brain, neural stem cells divide asymmetrically and often amplify the number of progeny they generate via symmetrically dividing intermediate progenitors. Here we investigate whether specific neural stem cell-like neuroblasts in the brain of Drosophila might also amplify neuronal proliferation by generating symmetrically dividing intermediate progenitors. Results Cell lineage-tracing and genetic marker analysis show that remarkably large neuroblast lineages exist in the dorsomedial larval brain of Drosophila. These lineages are generated by brain neuroblasts that divide asymmetrically to self renew but, unlike other brain neuroblasts, do not segregate the differentiating cell fate determinant Prospero to their smaller daughter cells. These daughter cells continue to express neuroblast-specific molecular markers and divide repeatedly to produce neural progeny, demonstrating that they are proliferating intermediate progenitors. The proliferative divisions of these intermediate progenitors have novel cellular and molecular features; they are morphologically symmetrical, but molecularly asymmetrical in that key differentiating cell fate determinants are segregated into only one of the two daughter cells. Conclusion Our findings provide cellular and molecular evidence for a new mode of neurogenesis in the larval brain of Drosophila that involves the amplification of neuroblast proliferation through intermediate progenitors. This type of neurogenesis bears remarkable similarities to neurogenesis in the mammalian brain, where neural stem cells as primary progenitors amplify the number of progeny they generate through generation of secondary progenitors. This suggests that key aspects of neural stem cell biology might be conserved in brain development of insects and mammals.

Reproducibility and Reliability of Repeated Quantitative Fluorescence Angiography

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nerup, Nikolaj; Knudsen, Kristine Bach Korsholm; Ambrus, Rikard

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: When using fluorescence angiography (FA) in perioperative perfusion assessment, repeated measures with re-injections of fluorescent dye (ICG) may be required. However, repeated injections may cause saturation of dye in the tissue, exceeding the limit of fluorescence intensity...... that the camera can detect. As the emission of fluorescence is dependent of the excitatory light intensity, reduction of this may solve the problem. The aim of the present study was to investigate the reproducibility and reliability of repeated quantitative FA during a reduction of excitatory light....

Measurement of Fragment Mass Distributions in Neutron-induced Fission of {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th at Intermediate Energies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simutkin, V.D. [Uppsala University, P.O Box 525, SE-751 20 Uppsala (Sweden)

2008-07-01

Conceptual analysis of accelerator-driven systems assumes extensive use of nuclear data on neutron-induced reactions at intermediate energies. In particular, information about the fission fragment yields from the {sup 238}U(n,f) and {sup 232}Th(n,f) reactions is of particular interest at neutron energies from 10 to 200 MeV. However, there is a lack of such data for both {sup 238}U and {sup 232}Th. Up to now, the intermediate energy measurements have been performed for {sup 238}U only, and there are no data for the {sup 232}Th(n,f) reaction. The aim of the work is to provide such data. Fission fragment mass distributions for the {sup 232}Th(n,f) and {sup 238}U(n,f) reactions have been measured for the incident neutron energies 32.8 MeV, 45.3 MeV and 59.9 MeV. The experiments have been performed at the neutron beam facility of the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium. A multi-section Frisch-gridded ionization chamber has been used as a fission fragment detector. The data obtained have been interpreted in terms of the multimodal random neck-rupture model (MMRNRM). (authors)

Heart failure re-admission: measuring the ever shortening gap between repeat heart failure hospitalizations.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeffrey A Bakal

Full Text Available Many quality-of-care and risk prediction metrics rely on time to first rehospitalization even though heart failure (HF patients may undergo several repeat hospitalizations. The aim of this study is to compare repeat hospitalization models. Using a population-based cohort of 40,667 patients, we examined both HF and all cause re-hospitalizations using up to five years of follow-up. Two models were examined: the gap-time model which estimates the adjusted time between hospitalizations and a multistate model which considered patients to be in one of four states; community-dwelling, in hospital for HF, in hospital for any reason, or dead. The transition probabilities and times were then modeled using patient characteristics and number of repeat hospitalizations. We found that during the five years of follow-up roughly half of the patients returned for a subsequent hospitalization for each repeat hospitalization. Additionally, we noted that the unadjusted time between hospitalizations was reduced ∼40% between each successive hospitalization. After adjustment each additional hospitalization was associated with a 28 day (95% CI: 22-35 reduction in time spent out of hospital. A similar pattern was seen when considering the four state model. A large proportion of patients had multiple repeat hospitalizations. Extending the gap between hospitalizations should be an important goal of treatment evaluation.

Comparison of the carboxy-terminal DP-repeat region in the co-chaperones Hop and Hip.

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Gregory M; Huffman, Holly; Smith, David F

2003-01-01

Functional steroid receptor complexes are assembled and maintained by an ordered pathway of interactions involving multiple components of the cellular chaperone machinery. Two of these components, Hop and Hip, serve as co-chaperones to the major heat shock proteins (Hsps), Hsp70 and Hsp90, and participate in intermediate stages of receptor assembly. In an effort to better understand the functions of Hop and Hip in the assembly process, we focused on a region of similarity located near the C-terminus of each co-chaperone. Contained within this region is a repeated sequence motif we have termed the DP repeat. Earlier mutagenesis studies implicated the DP repeat of either Hop or Hip in Hsp70 binding and in normal assembly of the co-chaperones with progesterone receptor (PR) complexes. We report here that the DP repeat lies within a protease-resistant domain that extends to or is near the C-terminus of both co-chaperones. Point mutations in the DP repeats render the C-terminal regions hypersensitive to proteolysis. In addition, a Hop DP mutant displays altered proteolytic digestion patterns, which suggest that the DP-repeat region influences the folding of other Hop domains. Although the respective DP regions of Hop and Hip share sequence and structural similarities, they are not functionally interchangeable. Moreover, a double-point mutation within the second DP-repeat unit of Hop that converts this to the sequence found in Hip disrupts Hop function; however, the corresponding mutation in Hip does not alter its function. We conclude that the DP repeats are important structural elements within a C-terminal domain, which is important for Hop and Hip function.

Kinematic repeatability of a multi-segment foot model for dance.

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, Sarah L; Sato, Nahoko; Hopper, Luke S

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the intra and inter-assessor repeatability of a modified Rizzoli Foot Model for analysing the foot kinematics of ballet dancers. Six university-level ballet dancers performed the movements; parallel stance, turnout plié, turnout stance, turnout rise and flex-point-flex. The three-dimensional (3D) position of individual reflective markers and marker triads was used to model the movement of the dancers' tibia, entire foot, hindfoot, midfoot, forefoot and hallux. Intra and inter-assessor reliability demonstrated excellent (ICC ≥ 0.75) repeatability for the first metatarsophalangeal joint in the sagittal plane. Intra-assessor reliability demonstrated excellent (ICC ≥ 0.75) repeatability during flex-point-flex across all inter-segmental angles except for the tibia-hindfoot and hindfoot-midfoot frontal planes. Inter-assessor repeatability ranged from poor to excellent (0.5 > ICC ≥ 0.75) for the 3D segment rotations. The most repeatable measure was the tibia-foot dorsiflexion/plantar flexion articulation whereas the least repeatable measure was the hindfoot-midfoot adduction/abduction articulation. The variation found in the inter-assessor results is likely due to inconsistencies in marker placement. This 3D dance specific multi-segment foot model provides insight into which kinematic measures can be reliably used to ascertain in vivo technical errors and/or biomechanical abnormalities in a dancer's foot motion.

EFFICIENCY OF REPEATED AND UNSCHEDULED TRAINING AS THE MEASURES TO PREVENT ACCIDENTS AT SUPPLY DEPOTS AND WAREHOUSES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bocharova Irina Nikolaevna

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of the analysis of the state of occupational safety at supply depots and warehouses. It is revealed that most accidents involve the employees who have less than one year’s service. Experience has proven that the preventive activities to avoid occupational traumatism are efficient when a complex of workplace safety measures is implemented. The experts consider the repeated and unscheduled training to be very important events. This is supported by the fact that among the employees of the commercial establishments who underwent repeated and unscheduled training, the number of individuals who suffered an accident is small. The efficient functioning of the occupational safety training system is infeasible without ensuring the motivation for assimilating the knowledge and forming the complete foundation for safe labor. In order to reduce the number of accidents, one should proceed from the principle of responding to accidents to the system for professional risk management.

Repeated Blood Pressure Measurements in Childhood in Prediction of Hypertension in Adulthood.

Science.gov (United States)

Oikonen, Mervi; Nuotio, Joel; Magnussen, Costan G; Viikari, Jorma S A; Taittonen, Leena; Laitinen, Tomi; Hutri-Kähönen, Nina; Jokinen, Eero; Jula, Antti; Cheung, Michael; Sabin, Matthew A; Daniels, Stephen R; Raitakari, Olli T; Juonala, Markus

2016-01-01

Hypertension may be predicted from childhood risk factors. Repeated observations of abnormal blood pressure in childhood may enhance prediction of hypertension and subclinical atherosclerosis in adulthood compared with a single observation. Participants (1927, 54% women) from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study had systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements performed when aged 3 to 24 years. Childhood/youth abnormal blood pressure was defined as above 90th or 95th percentile. After a 21- to 31-year follow-up, at the age of 30 to 45 years, hypertension (>140/90 mm Hg or antihypertensive medication) prevalence was found to be 19%. Carotid intima-media thickness was examined, and high-risk intima-media was defined as intima-media thickness >90th percentile or carotid plaques. Prediction of adulthood hypertension and high-risk intima-media was compared between one observation of abnormal blood pressure in childhood/youth and multiple observations by improved Pearson correlation coefficients and area under the receiver operating curve. When compared with a single measurement, 2 childhood/youth observations improved the correlation for adult systolic (r=0.44 versus 0.35, Phypertension in adulthood (0.63 for 2 versus 0.60 for 1 observation, P=0.003). When compared with 2 measurements, third observation did not provide any significant improvement for correlation or prediction (P always >0.05). A higher number of childhood/youth observations of abnormal blood pressure did not enhance prediction of adult high-risk intima-media thickness. Compared with a single measurement, the prediction of adult hypertension was enhanced by 2 observations of abnormal blood pressure in childhood/youth. © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc.

Dual process theory and intermediate effect: are faculty and residents' performance on multiple-choice, licensing exam questions different?

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Ting; Durning, Steven J; Artino, Anthony R; van der Vleuten, Cees; Holmboe, Eric; Lipner, Rebecca; Schuwirth, Lambert

2015-04-01

Clinical reasoning is essential for the practice of medicine. Dual process theory conceptualizes reasoning as falling into two general categories: nonanalytic reasoning (pattern recognition) and analytic reasoning (active comparing and contrasting of alternatives). The debate continues regarding how expert performance develops and how individuals make the best use of analytic and nonanalytic processes. Several investigators have identified the unexpected finding that intermediates tend to perform better on licensing examination items than experts, which has been termed the "intermediate effect." We explored differences between faculty and residents on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) using dual process measures (both reading and answering times) to inform this ongoing debate. Faculty (board-certified internists; experts) and residents (internal medicine interns; intermediates) answered live licensing examination MCQs (U.S. Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Knowledge and American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination) while being timed. We conducted repeated analysis of variance to compare the 2 groups on average reading time, answering time, and accuracy on various types of items. Faculty and residents did not differ significantly in reading time [F (1,35) = 0.01, p = 0.93], answering time [F (1,35) = 0.60, p = 0.44], or accuracy [F (1,35) = 0.24, p = 0.63] regardless of easy or hard items. Dual process theory was not evidenced in this study. However, this lack of difference between faculty and residents may have been affected by the small sample size of participants and MCQs may not reflect how physicians made decisions in actual practice setting. Reprint & Copyright © 2015 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Intra-session repeatability of iridocorneal angle measurements provided by a Scheimpflug photography-based system in healthy eyes

OpenAIRE

Ruiz-Belda, Clara; Piñero, David P.; Ruiz Fortes, Pedro; Soto-Negro, Roberto; Moya, Myriam; Pérez Cambrodí, Rafael J.; Artola, Alberto

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate intra-session repeatability of measurements of the iridocorneal angle at different meridians in the nasal and temporal areas in healthy eyes using the Sirius Scheimpflug photography-based system in glaucoma analysis mode. Methods: A total of 43 eyes of 43 patients ranging in age from 36 to 79 years were enrolled in the study. All eyes received a comprehensive ophthalmologic examination including a complete anterior segment analysis with the C...

Criegee Intermediates: What Direct Production and Detection Can Teach Us About Reactions of Carbonyl Oxides

Science.gov (United States)

Taatjes, Craig A.

2017-05-01

The carbonyl oxide intermediates in the ozonolysis of alkenes, often known as Criegee intermediates, are potentially important reactants in Earth's atmosphere. For decades, careful analysis of ozonolysis systems was employed to derive an understanding of the formation and reactions of these species. Recently it has proved possible to synthesize at least some of these intermediates separately from ozonolysis, and hence to measure their reaction kinetics directly. Direct measurements have allowed new or more detailed understanding of each type of gas-phase reaction that carbonyl oxides undergo, often acting as a complement to highly detailed ozonolysis experiments. Moreover, the use of direct characterization methods to validate increasingly accurate theoretical investigations can enhance their impact well beyond the set of specific reactions that have been measured. Reactions that initiate particles or fuel their growth could be a new frontier for direct measurements of Criegee intermediate chemistry.

Identification of combustion intermediates in low-pressure premixed pyridine/oxygen/argon flames.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zhenyu; Li, Yuyang; Zhang, Taichang; Zhu, Aiguo; Qi, Fei

2008-12-25

Combustion intermediates of two low-pressure premixed pyridine/oxygen flames with respective equivalence ratios of 0.56 (C/O/N = 1:4.83:0.20) and 2.10 (C/O/N = 1:1.29:0.20) have been identified with tunable synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photoionization and molecular-beam mass spectrometry techniques. About 80 intermediates in the rich flame and 60 intermediates in the lean flame, including nitrogenous, oxygenated, and hydrocarbon intermediates, have been identified by measurements of photoionization mass spectra and photoionization efficiency spectra. Some radicals and new nitrogenous intermediates are identified in the present work. The experimental results are useful for studying the conversion of volatile nitrogen compounds and understanding the formation mechanism of NO(x) in flames of nitrogenous fuels.

Quantum key distribution with two-segment quantum repeaters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kampermann, Hermann; Abruzzo, Silvestre; Bruss, Dagmar [Theoretische Physik III, Heinrich-Heine-Universitaet Duesseldorf (Germany)

2014-07-01

Quantum repeaters represent one possible way to achieve long-distance quantum key distribution. One way of improving the repeater rate and decreasing the memory coherence time is the usage of multiplexing. Motivated by the experimental fact that long-range connections are practically demanding, we extend the analysis of the quantum repeater multiplexing protocol to the case of short-range connections. We derive formulas for the repeater rate and we show that short-range connections lead to most of the benefits of a full-range multiplexing protocol. A less demanding QKD-protocol without quantum memories was recently introduced by Lo et al. We generalize this measurement-device-independent quantum key Distribution protocol to the scenario where the repeater Station contains also heralded quantum memories. We assume either single-photon sources or weak coherent pulse sources plus decay states. We show that it is possible to significantly outperform the original proposal, even in presence of decoherence of the quantum memory. We give formulas in terms of device imperfections i.e., the quantum bit error rate and the repeater rate.

Microdosimetry of intermediate energy neutrons in fast neutron fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saion, E.B.; Watt, D.E.

1988-01-01

A coaxial double cylindrical proportional counter has been constructed for microdosimetry of intermediate energy neutrons in mixed fields. Details are given of the measured gas gain and resolution characteristics of the counter for a wide range of anode voltages. Event spectra due to intermediate neutrons in any desired energy band is achieved by an appropriate choice of thickness of the common dividing wall in the counter and by appropriate use of the coincidence, anticoincidence pulse counting arrangements. Calculated estimates indicate that the dose contribution by fast neutrons to the energy deposition events in the intermediate neutron range may be as large as 25%. Empirical procedures being investigated aim to determine the necessary corrections to be applied to the microdose distributions, with a precision of 10%. (author)

Ultrasonic attenuation in the superconducting and intermediate states of pure and doped type I superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaudhuri, K.D.; Singh, R.

1982-01-01

The attenuation of longitudinal ultrasonic waves has been measured in single crystals of indium (99.999%), indium doped with 0.003 at % of tin, and indium doped with 0.002 at % of bismuth in the intermediate and superconducting states over the frequency range 10--30 MHz. For the bismuth-doped indium specimen, measurements were taken for three different physical states, i.e., for three different dislocation densities, and for the indium and the tin-doped indium specimens, measurements were for one-physical state. For a particular measurement, the same physical state was maintained both in the intermediate and superconducting states. A temperature-dependent oscillatory behavior of the ultrasonic attenuation was observed in the intermediate state in all the three specimens, but in the superconducting state the oscillatory behavior was observed only in the bismuth-doped specimen. Two phases have been identified in the superconducting layers of the intermediate state and there is only one phase in the superconducting state of the bismuth-doped sample. The origin of the two phases in the intermediate state and that of the single phase in the superconducting state of the bismuth-doped sample are discussed. A qualitative explanation is presented for the occurrence of oscillatory attenuation in the intermediate state irrespective of the nature of the dopant and the selective occurrence of oscillatory attenuation in the superconducting state due to the nature of the dopant

Intermediality and media change

OpenAIRE

2012-01-01

This book is about intermediality as an approach to analysing and understanding media change. Intermediality and Media Change is critical of technological determinism that characterises 'new media discourse' about the ongoing digitalization, framed as a revolution and creating sharp contrasts between old and new media. Intermediality instead emphasises paying attention to continuities between media of all types and privileges a comparative perspective on technological changes in media over ti...

Does shoe heel design influence ground reaction forces and knee moments during maximum lunges in elite and intermediate badminton players?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wing-Kai Lam

Full Text Available Lunge is one frequently executed movement in badminton and involves a unique sagittal footstrike angle of more than 40 degrees at initial ground contact compared with other manoeuvres. This study examined if the shoe heel curvature design of a badminton shoe would influence shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments during lunge.Eleven elite and fifteen intermediate players performed five left-forward maximum lunge trials with Rounded Heel Shoe (RHS, Flattened Heel Shoe (FHS, and Standard Heel Shoes (SHS. Shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments were measured by using synchronized force platform and motion analysis system. A 2 (Group x 3 (Shoe ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to determine the effects of different shoes and different playing levels, as well as the interaction of two factors on all variables.Shoe effect indicated that players demonstrated lower maximum vertical loading rate in RHS than the other two shoes (P < 0.05. Group effect revealed that elite players exhibited larger footstrike angle, faster approaching speed, lower peak horizontal force and horizontal loading rates but higher vertical loading rates and larger peak knee flexion and extension moments (P < 0.05. Analysis of Interactions of Group x Shoe for maximum and mean vertical loading rates (P < 0.05 indicated that elite players exhibited lower left maximum and mean vertical loading rates in RHS compared to FHS (P < 0.01, while the intermediate group did not show any Shoe effect on vertical loading rates.These findings indicate that shoe heel curvature would play some role in altering ground reaction force impact during badminton lunge. The differences in impact loads and knee moments between elite and intermediate players may be useful in optimizing footwear design and training strategy to minimize the potential risks for impact related injuries in badminton.

Intermediate Fragment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse Aagaard, Anders

2015-01-01

This text and its connected exhibition are aiming to reflect both on the thoughts, the processes and the outcome of the design and production of the artefact ‘Intermediate Fragment’ and making as a contemporary architectural tool in general. Intermediate Fragment was made for the exhibition ‘Enga...... of realising an exhibition object was conceived, but expanded, refined and concretised through this process. The context of the work shown here is an interest in a tighter, deeper connection between experimentally obtained material knowledge and architectural design....

Exploring the negative temperature coefficient behavior of acetaldehyde based on detailed intermediate measurements in a jet-stirred reactor

KAUST Repository

Tao, Tao; Sun, Wenyu; Hansen, Nils; Jasper, Ahren W.; Moshammer, Kai; Chen, Bingjie; Wang, Zhandong; Huang, Can; Dagaut, Philippe; Yang, Bin

2018-01-01

Acetaldehyde is an observed emission species and a key intermediate produced during the combustion and low-temperature oxidation of fossil and bio-derived fuels. Investigations into the low-temperature oxidation chemistry of acetaldehyde are essential to develop a better core mechanism and to better understand auto-ignition and cool flame phenomena. Here, the oxidation of acetaldehyde was studied at low-temperatures (528–946 K) in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) with the corrected residence time of 2.7 s at 700 Torr. This work describes a detailed set of experimental results that capture the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior in the low-temperature oxidation of acetaldehyde. The mole fractions of 28 species were measured as functions of the temperature by employing a vacuum ultra-violet photoionization molecular-beam mass spectrometer. To explain the observed NTC behavior, an updated mechanism was proposed, which well reproduces the concentration profiles of many observed peroxide intermediates. The kinetic analysis based on the updated mechanism reveals that the NTC behavior of acetaldehyde oxidation is caused by the competition between the O-addition to and the decomposition of the CHCO radical.

Exploring the negative temperature coefficient behavior of acetaldehyde based on detailed intermediate measurements in a jet-stirred reactor

KAUST Repository

Tao, Tao

2018-03-20

Acetaldehyde is an observed emission species and a key intermediate produced during the combustion and low-temperature oxidation of fossil and bio-derived fuels. Investigations into the low-temperature oxidation chemistry of acetaldehyde are essential to develop a better core mechanism and to better understand auto-ignition and cool flame phenomena. Here, the oxidation of acetaldehyde was studied at low-temperatures (528–946 K) in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) with the corrected residence time of 2.7 s at 700 Torr. This work describes a detailed set of experimental results that capture the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior in the low-temperature oxidation of acetaldehyde. The mole fractions of 28 species were measured as functions of the temperature by employing a vacuum ultra-violet photoionization molecular-beam mass spectrometer. To explain the observed NTC behavior, an updated mechanism was proposed, which well reproduces the concentration profiles of many observed peroxide intermediates. The kinetic analysis based on the updated mechanism reveals that the NTC behavior of acetaldehyde oxidation is caused by the competition between the O-addition to and the decomposition of the CHCO radical.

Alcohol intake and colorectal cancer: a comparison of approaches for including repeated measures of alcohol consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thygesen, Lau Caspar; Wu, Kana; Grønbaek, Morten

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: In numerous studies, alcohol intake has been found to be positively associated with colorectal cancer risk. However, the majority of studies included only one exposure measurement, which may bias the results if long-term intake is relevant.METHODS: We compared different approaches...... for including repeated measures of alcohol intake among 47,432 US men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Questionnaires including questions on alcohol intake had been completed in 1986, 1990, 1994, and 1998. The outcome was incident colorectal cancer during follow-up from 1986 to 2002.RESULTS......: During follow-up, 868 members of the cohort experienced colorectal cancer. Baseline, updated, and cumulative average alcohol intakes were positively associated with colorectal cancer, with only minor differences among the approaches. These results support moderately increased risk for intake >30 g...

Governance-Default Risk Relationship and the Demand for Intermediated and Non-Intermediated Debt

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Husam Aldamen

2012-09-01

Full Text Available This paper explores the impact of corporate governance on the demand for intermediated debt (asset finance, bank debt, non-bank private debt and non-intermediated debt (public debt in the Australian debt market. Relative to other countries the Australian debt market is characterised by higher proportions of intermediated or private debt with a lower inherent level of information asymmetry in that private lenders have greater access to financial information (Gray, Koh & Tong 2009. Our firm level, cross-sectional evidence suggests that higher corporate governance impacts demand for debt via the mitigation of default risk. However, this relationship is not uniform across all debt types. Intermediated debt such as bank and asset finance debt are more responsive to changes in governance-default risk relationship than non-bank and non-intermediated debt. The implication is that a firm’s demand for different debt types will reflect its governance-default risk profile.

Fission cross sections in the intermediate energy region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lisowski, P.W.; Gavron, A.; Parker, W.E.; Ullmann, J.L.; Balestrini, S.J.; Carlson, A.D.; Wasson, O.A.; Hill, N.W.

1991-01-01

Until recently there has been very little cross section data for neutron-induced fission in the intermediate energy region, primarily because no suitable neutron source has existed. At Los Alamos, the WNR target-4 facility provides a high-intensity source of neutrons nearly ideal for fission measurements extending from a fraction of a MeV to several hundred MeV. This paper summarizes the status of fission cross section data in the intermediate energy range (En > 30 MeV) and presents our fission cross section data for 235 U and 238 U compared to intranuclear cascade and statistical model predictions

Fission cross sections in the intermediate energy region

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lisowski, P.W.; Gavron, A.; Parker, W.E.; Ullmann, J.L.; Balestrini, S.J. (Los Alamos National Lab., NM (USA)); Carlson, A.D.; Wasson, O.A. (National Inst. of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (USA)); Hill, N.W. (Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA))

1991-01-01

Until recently there has been very little cross section data for neutron-induced fission in the intermediate energy region, primarily because no suitable neutron source has existed. At Los Alamos, the WNR target-4 facility provides a high-intensity source of neutrons nearly ideal for fission measurements extending from a fraction of a MeV to several hundred MeV. This paper summarizes the status of fission cross section data in the intermediate energy range (En > 30 MeV) and presents our fission cross section data for {sup 235}U and {sup 238}U compared to intranuclear cascade and statistical model predictions.

Utilization of polymer enclosed intermediate class arresters to improve the performance of modern power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakich, J.D.; Lenk, D.W.; Koepfinger, J.L.

1992-01-01

This paper introduces the first commercially available polymer enclosed intermediate class metal oxide surge arrester. It describes the unique construction of the design, including reduced size, increased flexibility, a collared seal on the polymer housing and an open webbed fiberglass-epoxy module which houses the metal oxide disc elements. Performance advantages are discussed. These include improved short term contamination performance of the insulator-like polymer design when compared to multi-unit porcelain housed designs. Data will show that polymer housed open-webbed fiberglass module construction extends the pressure relief capability beyond that of typical porcelain enclosed designs. The capability of the polymer enclosed design to withstand repeated pressure relief tests, simulating system reclose on a failed arrester, is also discussed. This paper discusses the circumstances at one utility which has considered utilizing polymer enclosed intermediate class arresters to effectively upgrade their system protection capabilities

Use of count-based image reconstruction to evaluate the variability and repeatability of measured standardised uptake values.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomohiro Kaneta

Full Text Available Standardized uptake values (SUVs are the most widely used quantitative imaging biomarkers in PET. It is important to evaluate the variability and repeatability of measured SUVs. Phantom studies seem to be essential for this purpose; however, repetitive phantom scanning is not recommended due to the decay of radioactivity. In this study, we performed count-based image reconstruction to avoid the influence of decay using two different PET/CT scanners. By adjusting the ratio of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose solution to tap water, a NEMA IEC body phantom was set for SUVs of 4.0 inside six hot spheres. The PET data were obtained using two scanners (Aquiduo and Celesteion; Toshiba Medical Systems, Tochigi, Japan. We set the start time for image reconstruction when the total radioactivity in the phantom was 2.53 kBq/cc, and employed the counts of the first 2-min acquisition as the standard. To maintain the number of counts for each image, we set the acquisition time for image reconstruction depending on the decay of radioactivity. We obtained 50 images, and calculated the SUVmax and SUVpeak of all six spheres in each image. The average values of the SUVmax were used to calculate the recovery coefficients to compare those measured by the two different scanners. Bland-Altman analyses of the SUVs measured by the two scanners were also performed. The measured SUVs using the two scanners exhibited a 10-30% difference, and the standard deviation (SD of the measured SUVs was between 0.1-0.2. The Celesteion always exhibited higher values than the Aquiduo. The smaller sphere exhibited a larger SD, and the SUVpeak had a smaller SD than the SUVmax. The Bland-Altman analyses showed poor agreement between the SUVs measured by the two scanners. The recovery coefficient curves obtained from the two scanners were considerably different. The Celesteion exhibited higher recovery coefficients than the Aquiduo, especially at approximately 20-mm-diameter. Additionally, the curves

Automated genotyping of dinucleotide repeat markers

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perlin, M.W.; Hoffman, E.P. [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)]|[Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

1994-09-01

The dinucleotide repeats (i.e., microsatellites) such as CA-repeats are a highly polymorphic, highly abundant class of PCR-amplifiable markers that have greatly streamlined genetic mapping experimentation. It is expected that over 30,000 such markers (including tri- and tetranucleotide repeats) will be characterized for routine use in the next few years. Since only size determination, and not sequencing, is required to determine alleles, in principle, dinucleotide repeat genotyping is easily performed on electrophoretic gels, and can be automated using DNA sequencers. Unfortunately, PCR stuttering with these markers generates not one band for each allele, but a pattern of bands. Since closely spaced alleles must be disambiguated by human scoring, this poses a key obstacle to full automation. We have developed methods that overcome this obstacle. Our model is that the observed data is generated by arithmetic superposition (i.e., convolution) of multiple allele patterns. By quantitatively measuring the size of each component band, and exploiting the unique stutter pattern associated with each marker, closely spaced alleles can be deconvolved; this unambiguously reconstructs the {open_quotes}true{close_quotes} allele bands, with stutter artifact removed. We used this approach in a system for automated diagnosis of (X-linked) Duchenne muscular dystrophy; four multiplexed CA-repeats within the dystrophin gene were assayed on a DNA sequencer. Our method accurately detected small variations in gel migration that shifted the allele size estimate. In 167 nonmutated alleles, 89% (149/167) showed no size variation, 9% (15/167) showed 1 bp variation, and 2% (3/167) showed 2 bp variation. We are currently developing a library of dinucleotide repeat patterns; together with our deconvolution methods, this library will enable fully automated genotyping of dinucleotide repeats from sizing data.

A COMPARISON OF PAIRS FIGURE SKATERS IN REPEATED JUMPS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

William A. Sands

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Trends in pairs figure skating have shown that increasingly difficult jumps have become an essential aspect of high-level performance, especially in the latter part of a competitive program. We compared a repeated jump power index in a 60 s repeated jump test to determine the relationship of repeated jump test to competitive rank and to measure 2D hip, knee, and ankle angles and angular velocities at 0, 20, 40, and 60 s. Eighteen National Team Pairs Figure Skaters performed a 60 s repeated jump test on a large switch-mat with timing of flight and ground durations and digital video recording. Each 60-s period was divided into 6, 10-s intervals, with power indexes (W/kg calculated for each 10-s interval. Power index by 10-s interval repeated measures ANOVAs (RMANOVA showed that males exceeded females at all intervals, and the highest power index interval was during 10 to 20 s for both sexes. RMANOVAs of angles and angular velocities showed main effects for time only. Power index and jumping techniques among figure skaters showed rapid and steady declines over the test duration. Power index can predict approximately 50% of competitive rank variance, and sex differences in jumping technique were rare

Photocatalytic mineralization of codeine by UV-A/TiO{sub 2}—Kinetics, intermediates, and pathways

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuo, Chin-Sheng [Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Lin, Cheng-Fang, E-mail: cflin@ntu.edu.tw [Graduate Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan, ROC (China); Hong, Pui-Kwan Andy [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)

2016-01-15

Highlights: • Codeine was completely removed in 30 min under irradiated UV-A/TiO{sub 2}. • Codeine was mineralized in 90 min with near complete N conversion to NH{sub 4}{sup +} and NO{sub 3}{sup −}. • Morphine was authenticated and four others were identified as intermediates. • Degradation proceeded via ipso-substitution and hydroxylation of the aromatic ring. - Abstract: This study investigated the photocatalytic degradation of codeine by UV-irradiated TiO{sub 2}. The degradation kinetics was determined under varied conditions including the TiO{sub 2} loading, codeine concentration, and pH. Codeine and several reaction intermediates including morphine were identified and tracked during degradation using HPLC/MS–MS technique, along with TOC and IC measurements. Specifically, removal of 100 μg/L of spike codeine was complete in 3 min by contact with a 0.1 g/L suspension of TiO{sub 2} under UV irradiation at pH 7. The degradation kinetics of codeine was first-order with respect to both the catalyst TiO{sub 2} and the reactant codeine, with enhanced reaction rates with increasing pH up to pH 9. Mineralization of codeine was possible upon prolonged contact; near complete mineralization of 10 mg/L of codeine was achieved in 90 min with 0.1 g/L TiO{sub 2} under irradiation at pH 5, during which the organic nitrogen was converted to NH{sub 3}-N (74%) and NO{sub 3}-N (22%). Based on the identified intermediates, two degradation pathways were proposed of which one involved ipso-substitution followed by cleavage of the aromatic ring and another involved repeated hydroxylation of the codeine molecule followed by its fragmentation.

Does repeat Hb measurement within 2 hours after a normal initial Hb in stable trauma patients add value to trauma evaluation?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sierink, Joanne C.; Joosse, Pieter; de Castro, Steve M. M.; Schep, Niels W. L.; Goslings, J. Carel

2014-01-01

In our level I trauma center, it is considered common practice to repeat blood haemoglobin measurements in patients within 2 h after admission. However, the rationale behind this procedure is elusive and can be considered labour-intensive, especially in patients in whom haemorrhaging is not to be

An alternative conformation of the gp41 heptad repeat 1 region coiled coil exists in the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) envelope glycoprotein precursor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mische, Claudia C.; Yuan Wen; Strack, Bettina; Craig, Stewart; Farzan, Michael; Sodroski, Joseph

2005-01-01

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) transmembrane envelope glycoprotein, gp41, which mediates virus-cell fusion, exists in at least three different conformations within the trimeric envelope glycoprotein complex. The structures of the prefusogenic and intermediate states are unknown; structures representing the postfusion state have been solved. In the postfusion conformation, three helical heptad repeat 2 (HR2) regions pack in an antiparallel fashion into the hydrophobic grooves on the surface of a triple-helical coiled coil formed by the heptad repeat 1 (HR1) regions. We studied the prefusogenic conformation of gp41 by mutagenic alteration of membrane-anchored and soluble forms of the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins. Our results indicate that, in the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein precursor, the gp41 HR1 region is in a conformation distinct from that of a trimeric coiled coil. Thus, the central gp41 coiled coil is formed during the transition of the HIV-1 envelope glycoproteins from the precursor state to the receptor-bound intermediate

A PRECISE MASS MEASUREMENT OF THE INTERMEDIATE-MASS BINARY PULSAR PSR J1802 - 2124

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferdman, R. D.; Cognard, I.; Desvignes, G.; Theureau, G.; Stairs, I. H.; Kramer, M.; McLaughlin, M. A.; Lorimer, D. R.; Nice, D. J.; Manchester, R. N.; Hobbs, G.; Lyne, A. G.; Faulkner, A.; Camilo, F.; Possenti, A.; Demorest, P. B.; Backer, D. C.

2010-01-01

PSR J1802 - 2124 is a 12.6 ms pulsar in a 16.8 hr binary orbit with a relatively massive white dwarf (WD) companion. These properties make it a member of the intermediate-mass class of binary pulsar (IMBP) systems. We have been timing this pulsar since its discovery in 2002. Concentrated observations at the Green Bank Telescope, augmented with data from the Parkes and Nancay observatories, have allowed us to determine the general relativistic Shapiro delay. This has yielded pulsar and WD mass measurements of 1.24 ± 0.11 M sun and 0.78 ± 0.04 M sun (68% confidence), respectively. The low mass of the pulsar, the high mass of the WD companion, the short orbital period, and the pulsar spin period may be explained by the system having gone through a common-envelope phase in its evolution. We argue that selection effects may contribute to the relatively small number of known IMBPs.

A qualitative assessment of cross-cultural adaptation of intermediate measures for schizophrenia in multisite international studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzalez, Jodi M; Rubin, Maureen; Fredrick, Megan M; Velligan, Dawn I

2013-04-30

In this substudy of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia we examined qualitative feedback on the cross-cultural adaptability of four intermediate measures of functional outcome (Independent Living Scales, UCSD Performance-Based Skills Assessment, Test of Adaptive Behavior in Schizophrenia, and Cognitive Assessment Interview). Feedback was provided by experienced English-fluent clinical researchers at 31 sites in eight countries familiar with medication trials. Researchers provided feedback on test subscales and items which were rated as having adaptation challenges. They noted the specific concern and made suggestions for adaptation to their culture. We analyzed the qualitative data using a modified Grounded Theory approach guided by the International Testing Commission Guidelines model for test adaptation. For each measure except the Cognitive Assessment Interview (CAI), the majority of subscales were reported to require major adaptations in terms of content and concepts contained in the subscale. In particular, social, financial, transportation and health care systems varied widely across countries-systems which are often used to assess performance capacity in the U.S. We provide suggestions for how to address future international test development and adaptation. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Extrachromosomal circles of satellite repeats and 5S ribosomal DNA in human cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cohen Sarit

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Extrachomosomal circular DNA (eccDNA is ubiquitous in eukaryotic organisms and was detected in every organism tested, including in humans. A two-dimensional gel electrophoresis facilitates the detection of eccDNA in preparations of genomic DNA. Using this technique we have previously demonstrated that most of eccDNA consists of exact multiples of chromosomal tandemly repeated DNA, including both coding genes and satellite DNA. Results Here we report the occurrence of eccDNA in every tested human cell line. It has heterogeneous mass ranging from less than 2 kb to over 20 kb. We describe eccDNA homologous to human alpha satellite and the SstI mega satellite. Moreover, we show, for the first time, circular multimers of the human 5S ribosomal DNA (rDNA, similar to previous findings in Drosophila and plants. We further demonstrate structures that correspond to intermediates of rolling circle replication, which emerge from the circular multimers of 5S rDNA and SstI satellite. Conclusions These findings, and previous reports, support the general notion that every chromosomal tandem repeat is prone to generate eccDNA in eukryoric organisms including humans. They suggest the possible involvement of eccDNA in the length variability observed in arrays of tandem repeats. The implications of eccDNA on genome biology may include mechanisms of centromere evolution, concerted evolution and homogenization of tandem repeats and genomic plasticity.

Repeatability of swept-source optical coherence tomography retinal and choroidal thickness measurements in neovascular age-related macular degeneration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hanumunthadu, Daren; Ilginis, Tomas; Restori, Marie

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: The aim was to determine the intrasession repeatability of swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT)-derived retinal and choroidal thickness measurements in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). METHODS: A prospective study consisting of patients...... with active nAMD enrolled in the Distance of Choroid Study at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. Patients underwent three 12×9 mm macular raster scans using the deep range imaging (DRI) OCT-1 SS-OCT (Topcon) device in a single imaging session. Retinal and choroidal thicknesses were calculated for the ETDRS...... macular subfields. Repeatability was calculated according to methods described by Bland and Altman. RESULTS: 39 eyes of 39 patients with nAMD were included with a mean (±SD) age of 73.9 (±7.2) years. The mean (±SD) retinal thickness of the central macular subfield was 225.7 μm (±12.4 μm...

Measuring the Impact of Financial Intermediation: Linking Contract Theory to Econometric Policy Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Townsend, Robert M; Urzua, Sergio S

2009-09-01

We study the impact that financial intermediation can have on productivity through the alleviation of credit constraints in occupation choice and/or an improved allocation of risk, using both static and dynamic structural models as well as reduced form OLS and IV regressions. Our goal in this paper is to bring these two strands of the literature together. Even though, under certain assumptions, IV regressions can recover accurately the true model-generated local average treatment effect, these are quantitatively different, in order of magnitude and even sign, from other policy impact parameters (e.g., ATE and TT). We also show that laying out clearly alternative models can guide the search for instruments. On the other hand adding more margins of decision, i.e., occupation choice and intermediation jointly, or adding more periods with promised utilities as key state variables, as in optimal multi-period contracts, can cause the misinterpretation of IV as the causal effect of interest.

Accuracy of repeated kidney size estimation by ultrasonography and urography in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hederstroem, E.; Forsberg, L.

1985-01-01

The accuracy of repeated sonographic and urographic kidney length measurements in kidney size evaluation was investigated in 80 children 0 to 14 years of age, mean age 4.5 years. At sonography 250 kidney lengths were compared. A difference of 0 to 1.0 cm in repeated length measurement was considered to be good accuracy and 94 per cent of right and 96 per cent of left kidney length were found within this interval-a better result than for urography with 76 per cent of repeated right kidney and 79 per cent of kidney lengths within the same interval (94 lengths). Both methods display a variation of kidney lengths which may lead to under- and overestimation of kidney size and growth. The investigation thus indicates good accuracy for repeated sonographic kidney size assessment which should be repeated often enough to estabilish a growth chart displaying the trend rather than rely too much on single measurements. Sonography can be highly recommended as a convenient and harmless alternative to urography. (orig.)

Thyroid nodules with nondiagnostic results on repeat fine-needle aspiration biopsy: which nodules should be considered for repeat biopsy or surgery rather than follow-up?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eun, Na Lae; Chang, Hang Seok; Gweon, Hye Mi; Kim, Jeong Ah; Youk, Ji Hyun; Son, Eun Jun [Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Mi Ri [Dept. of Radiology, Dongjak Kyunghee Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Ah Young [Dept. of Radiology, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Ansan (Korea, Republic of); Moon, Hee Jung [Dept. of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiological Science, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-07-15

The goal of this study was to assess the clinicopathologic and ultrasonographic features of thyroid nodules with nondiagnostic results on repeat ultrasonography (US)-guided fineneedle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) according to size and the number of suspicious findings and to determine the proper management of nodules with consecutive nondiagnostic results. This retrospective study included 297 nodules with nondiagnostic results on repeat FNAB that were evaluated by US over the course of at least 12 months of follow-up, a follow-up biopsy, or an operation. We compared clinical and US variables between benign and malignant nodules in thyroid nodules with repeat nondiagnostic results. The comparison of benign and malignant nodules with repeat nondiagnostic results revealed that age, marked hypoechogenicity, irregular or microlobulated margins, microcalcifications, and nonparallel shape were significantly associated with malignancy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis in malignant nodules revealed that microcalcifications and irregular or microlobulated margins were independently associated with malignancy. Among them, only irregular or microlobulated margins were independently significant as a predictor of malignancy in repeatedly nondiagnostic nodules measuring >10 mm. Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, the best cutoff value for the “number of suspicious findings” between benign and malignant nodules was three in nodules of all sizes, three in nodules measuring ≤10 mm, and two in nodules measuring >10 mm. Irregular or microlobulated margins may be the most frequent US features in repeatedly nondiagnostic nodules >10 mm. The presence of “two or more suspicious findings” can be used as the cutoff for distinguishing benign and malignant nodules.

Determination Bounds for Intermediate Products in a Two-Stage Network DEA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hadi Bagherzadeh Valami

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The internal structure of decision making unit (DMU is the key element at extension of network DEA. In general considering internal performance evaluation of system is a better criterion than the conventional DEA-models, essentially based on the initial inputs and final outputs of the system. The internal performance of a system is dependent on the relation between sub-DMUs and intermediate products. Since the intermediate measures are consumed by some sub-DMUs produced by the others, it is possible to produce systems; the role of intermediate production is twice output and input. That's why they can be analyzed based on conventional mathematical modeling. In this paper we introduce a new method for determining bounds for intermediate product in a two stage network DEA structure.

Primary and secondary fragmentation of crystal-bearing intermediate magma

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Thomas J.; McNamara, Keri; Eychenne, Julia; Rust, Alison C.; Cashman, Katharine V.; Scheu, Bettina; Edwards, Robyn

2016-11-01

Crystal-rich intermediate magmas are subjected to both primary and secondary fragmentation processes, each of which may produce texturally distinct tephra. Of particular interest for volcanic hazards is the extent to which each process contributes ash to volcanic plumes. One way to address this question is by fragmenting pyroclasts under controlled conditions. We fragmented pumice samples from Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat, by three methods: rapid decompression in a shock tube-like apparatus, impact by a falling piston, and milling in a ball mill. Grain size distributions of the products reveal that all three mechanisms produce fractal breakage patterns, and that the fractal dimension increases from a minimum of 2.1 for decompression fragmentation (primary fragmentation) to a maximum of 2.7 by repeated impact (secondary fragmentation). To assess the details of the fragmentation process, we quantified the shape, texture and components of constituent ash particles. Ash shape analysis shows that the axial ratio increases during milling and that particle convexity increases with repeated impacts. We also quantify the extent to which the matrix is separated from the crystals, which shows that secondary processes efficiently remove adhering matrix from crystals, particularly during milling (abrasion). Furthermore, measurements of crystal size distributions before (using x-ray computed tomography) and after (by componentry of individual grain size classes) decompression-driven fragmentation show not only that crystals influence particular size fractions across the total grain size distribution, but also that free crystals are smaller in the fragmented material than in the original pumice clast. Taken together, our results confirm previous work showing both the control of initial texture on the primary fragmentation process and the contributions of secondary processes to ash formation. Critically, however, our extension of previous analyses to characterisation

MHD intermediate shock discontinuities: Pt. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kennel, C.F.; Blandford, R.D.; Coppi, P.

1989-01-01

Recent numerical investigations have focused attention once more on the role of intermediate shocks in MHD. Four types of intermediate shock are identified using a graphical representation of the MHD Rankine-Hugoniot conditions. This same representation can be used to exhibit the close relationship of intermediate shocks to switch-on shocks and rotational discontinuities. The conditions under which intermediate discontinuities can be found are elucidated. The variations in velocity, pressure, entropy and magnetic-field jumps with upstream parameters in intermediate shocks are exhibited graphically. The evolutionary arguments traditionally advanced against intermediate shocks may fail because the equations of classical MHD are not strictly hyperbolic. (author)

Estimate of the uncertainty in measurement for the determination of mercury in seafood by TDA AAS.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, Daiane Placido; Olivares, Igor R B; Queiroz, Helena Müller

2015-01-01

An approach for the estimate of the uncertainty in measurement considering the individual sources related to the different steps of the method under evaluation as well as the uncertainties estimated from the validation data for the determination of mercury in seafood by using thermal decomposition/amalgamation atomic absorption spectrometry (TDA AAS) is proposed. The considered method has been fully optimized and validated in an official laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, in order to comply with national and international food regulations and quality assurance. The referred method has been accredited under the ISO/IEC 17025 norm since 2010. The approach of the present work in order to reach the aim of estimating of the uncertainty in measurement was based on six sources of uncertainty for mercury determination in seafood by TDA AAS, following the validation process, which were: Linear least square regression, Repeatability, Intermediate precision, Correction factor of the analytical curve, Sample mass, and Standard reference solution. Those that most influenced the uncertainty in measurement were sample weight, repeatability, intermediate precision and calibration curve. The obtained result for the estimate of uncertainty in measurement in the present work reached a value of 13.39%, which complies with the European Regulation EC 836/2011. This figure represents a very realistic estimate of the routine conditions, since it fairly encompasses the dispersion obtained from the value attributed to the sample and the value measured by the laboratory analysts. From this outcome, it is possible to infer that the validation data (based on calibration curve, recovery and precision), together with the variation on sample mass, can offer a proper estimate of uncertainty in measurement.

Measurement methodology for fulfilling of waste acceptance criteria for low and intermediate level radioactive waste in storages - 59016

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokcic-Kostic, M.; Langer, F.; Schultheis, R.

2012-01-01

with half life longer than Cs-137, whereas intermediate level waste is sub-classified as short lived waste and long lived waste. Long lived isotopes are mainly alpha emitters which result from contamination of the RAW by nuclear fuel material and its fission and breeding products. The sub-classification is made on base of mass specific alpha activity of the waste. Before being sent to storage the waste has to be treated. This includes volume reduction by combustion or compaction, depending on the physical properties of the waste, as well as immobilisation by grouting, saving thereby storage space and costs. After the treatment the waste is filled into packages preferably drums or containers. Before the waste is sent to the waste storage a passport is generated which includes all relevant data to show that the waste package fulfils the requirements as defined by the waste storage operating company. NUKEM Technologies has developed a large number of monitors for a radiological waste characterisation. The preferred methods are non-destructive, allowing high throughput and giving detailed information. Parameters that cannot be measured after treatment, have to be measured during the treatment process or data has to be collected from available sources like the origin of the waste or from the waste deliverer. To optimise this process NUKEM Technologies has developed a tracking system which traces the waste during treatment starting from delivery and finishing by the transportation to the final storage. (authors)

Rule-of-thumb adjustment of sample sizes to accommodate dropouts in a two-stage analysis of repeated measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Overall, John E; Tonidandel, Scott; Starbuck, Robert R

2006-01-01

Recent contributions to the statistical literature have provided elegant model-based solutions to the problem of estimating sample sizes for testing the significance of differences in mean rates of change across repeated measures in controlled longitudinal studies with differentially correlated error and missing data due to dropouts. However, the mathematical complexity and model specificity of these solutions make them generally inaccessible to most applied researchers who actually design and undertake treatment evaluation research in psychiatry. In contrast, this article relies on a simple two-stage analysis in which dropout-weighted slope coefficients fitted to the available repeated measurements for each subject separately serve as the dependent variable for a familiar ANCOVA test of significance for differences in mean rates of change. This article is about how a sample of size that is estimated or calculated to provide desired power for testing that hypothesis without considering dropouts can be adjusted appropriately to take dropouts into account. Empirical results support the conclusion that, whatever reasonable level of power would be provided by a given sample size in the absence of dropouts, essentially the same power can be realized in the presence of dropouts simply by adding to the original dropout-free sample size the number of subjects who would be expected to drop from a sample of that original size under conditions of the proposed study.

Repeating and non-repeating fast radio bursts from binary neutron star mergers

Science.gov (United States)

Yamasaki, Shotaro; Totani, Tomonori; Kiuchi, Kenta

2018-04-01

Most fast radio bursts (FRB) do not show evidence of repetition, and such non-repeating FRBs may be produced at the time of a merger of binary neutron stars (BNS), provided that the BNS merger rate is close to the high end of the currently possible range. However, the merger environment is polluted by dynamical ejecta, which may prohibit the radio signal from propagating. We examine this by using a general-relativistic simulation of a BNS merger, and show that the ejecta appears about 1 ms after the rotation speed of the merged star becomes the maximum. Therefore there is a time window in which an FRB signal can reach outside, and the short duration of non-repeating FRBs can be explained by screening after ejecta formation. A fraction of BNS mergers may leave a rapidly rotating and stable neutron star, and such objects may be the origin of repeating FRBs like FRB 121102. We show that a merger remnant would appear as a repeating FRB on a time scale of ˜1-10 yr, and expected properties are consistent with the observations of FRB 121102. We construct an FRB rate evolution model that includes these two populations of repeating and non-repeating FRBs from BNS mergers, and show that the detection rate of repeating FRBs relative to non-repeating ones rapidly increases with improving search sensitivity. This may explain why only the repeating FRB 121102 was discovered by the most sensitive FRB search with Arecibo. Several predictions are made, including the appearance of a repeating FRB 1-10 yr after a BNS merger that is localized by gravitational waves and subsequent electromagnetic radiation.

Intermediate- and short-range order in phosphorus-selenium glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bytchkov, Aleksei; Hennet, Louis; Price, David L.; Miloshova, Mariana; Bychkov, Eugene; Kohara, Shinji

2011-01-01

State-of-the-art neutron and x-ray diffraction measurements have been performed to provide a definitive picture of the intermediate- and short-range structures of P x Se 1-x glasses spanning two glass regions, x 0.025-0.54 and 0.64-0.84. Liquid P 4 Se 3 and amorphous red P and Se were also measured. Detailed information was obtained about the development with increasing phosphorous concentration of intermediate-range order on the length scale ∼6 A ring , based on the behavior of the first sharp diffraction peak. Attention is also paid to the feature in the structure factor at 7.5 A ring -1 , identified in earlier numerical simulations, provides further evidence of the existence of molecular units. The real-space transforms yield a reliable statistical picture of the changing short-range order as x increases, using the information about types and concentrations of local structural units provided by previous NMR measurements to interpret the trends observed.

Repeatability of Brain Volume Measurements Made with the Atlas-based Method from T1-weighted Images Acquired Using a 0.4 Tesla Low Field MR Scanner.

Science.gov (United States)

Goto, Masami; Suzuki, Makoto; Mizukami, Shinya; Abe, Osamu; Aoki, Shigeki; Miyati, Tosiaki; Fukuda, Michinari; Gomi, Tsutomu; Takeda, Tohoru

2016-10-11

An understanding of the repeatability of measured results is important for both the atlas-based and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) methods of magnetic resonance (MR) brain volumetry. However, many recent studies that have investigated the repeatability of brain volume measurements have been performed using static magnetic fields of 1-4 tesla, and no study has used a low-strength static magnetic field. The aim of this study was to investigate the repeatability of measured volumes using the atlas-based method and a low-strength static magnetic field (0.4 tesla). Ten healthy volunteers participated in this study. Using a 0.4 tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and a quadrature head coil, three-dimensional T 1 -weighted images (3D-T 1 WIs) were obtained from each subject, twice on the same day. VBM8 software was used to construct segmented normalized images [gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) images]. The regions-of-interest (ROIs) of GM, WM, CSF, hippocampus (HC), orbital gyrus (OG), and cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL) were generated using WFU PickAtlas. The percentage change was defined as[100 × (measured volume with first segmented image - mean volume in each subject)/(mean volume in each subject)]The average percentage change was calculated as the percentage change in the 6 ROIs of the 10 subjects. The mean of the average percentage changes for each ROI was as follows: GM, 0.556%; WM, 0.324%; CSF, 0.573%; HC, 0.645%; OG, 1.74%; and CPL, 0.471%. The average percentage change was higher for the orbital gyrus than for the other ROIs. We consider that repeatability of the atlas-based method is similar between 0.4 and 1.5 tesla MR scanners. To our knowledge, this is the first report to show that the level of repeatability with a 0.4 tesla MR scanner is adequate for the estimation of brain volume change by the atlas-based method.

Improvement in mechanical properties of chromium-nickel sintered compacts by repeated rolling and annealing; Kuromu nickel shoketsuzai no kurikaeshi atsuen shodon ni yoru kikaiteki seishitsu no kaizen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Harada, Y. [Toyohashi University of Technology, Aichi (Japan); Omori, M. [Hiroshima-Denki Institute of Technology, Hiroshima (Japan); Ando, H. [Nippon Steel Glass Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Matsui, H. [Tadano Ltd., Kagawa (Japan); Okita, T. [Honda R and D Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1998-09-20

Chromium-nickel sintered compacts containing 50 and 80 mass%Cr were tried to improve their mechanical properties by means of a thermo-mechanical treatment, i.e., repeated rolling and annealing. Specimens from the as-sintered compacts showed no ductility at room temperature and small ductility at temperatures higher than 1000 K because of poor alloying of nickel with chromium. Tensile properties of the sheets repeatedly rolled with the intermediate annealing at 1173 K were very similar to those of the as-sintered specimen. While the sheets rolled with the annealing at 1573 K were excellently improved in their strength and ductility due to the considerable interdiffusion of chromium and nickel. The intermediate temperature embrittlement, that is, the ductility minimum well observed around 1000 K in a chromium-nickel alloy appeared also in the sheets rolled with the annealing at 1573 K. 15 refs., 13 figs., 1 tab.

A Quaternary Polybenzimidazole Membrane for Intermediate Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, C.; Scott, K.; Li, Qingfeng

2013-01-01

at 150 °C with the PA acid loading level of 3.5 PRU (amount of H3PO4 per repeat unit of polymer QPBI). The QPBI membrane was characterized in terms of composition, structure and morphology by NMR, FTIR, SEM, and EDX. The fuel cell performance with the membrane gave peak power densities of 440 and 240 m......A quaternary ammonium polybenzimidazole (QPBI) membrane was synthesized for applications in intermediate temperature (100–200 °C) hydrogen fuel cells. The QPBI membrane was imbibed with phosphoric acid to provide suitable proton conductivity. The proton conductivity of the membrane was 0.051 S cm–1......W cm–2 using oxygen and air, respectively, at 175 °C....

Reactivity of Criegee Intermediates toward Carbon Dioxide.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yen-Hsiu; Takahashi, Kaito; Lin, Jim Jr-Min

2018-01-04

Recent theoretical work by Kumar and Francisco suggested that the high reactivity of Criegee intermediates (CIs) could be utilized for designing efficient carbon capture technologies. Because the anti-CH 3 CHOO + CO 2 reaction has the lowest barrier in their study, we chose to investigate it experimentally. We probed anti-CH 3 CHOO with its strong UV absorption at 365 nm and measured the rate coefficient to be ≤2 × 10 -17 cm 3 molecule -1 s -1 at 298 K, which is consistent with our theoretical value of 2.1 × 10 -17 cm 3  molecule -1 s -1 at the QCISD(T)/CBS//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d,2p) level but inconsistent with their results obtained at the M06-2X/aug-cc-pVTZ level, which tends to underestimate the barrier heights. The experimental result indicates that the reaction of a Criegee intermediate with atmospheric CO 2 (400 ppmv) would be inefficient (k eff < 0.2 s -1 ) and cannot compete with other decay processes of Criegee intermediates like reactions with water vapor (∼10 3 s -1 ) or thermal decomposition (∼10 2 s -1 ).

Measurements of the ultrasonic attenuation and velocity variation in neutron irradiated quartz for an intermediate dose of 2.6x1019 n/cm2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keppens, V.; Laermans, C.

1992-01-01

Ultrasonic measurements in neutron-irradiated quartz are carried out for an intermediate dose of 2.6x10 19 n/cm 2 . The variation of the velocity of sound has been measured and previous attenuation measurements are extended to temperatures below 1.2 K. The TS-parameters anti P and γ 1 are calculated from numerical fittings to the tunneling model. The obtained values continue the tendency of previous measurements for lower neutron doses, where a linear increase of anti P with the dose was found. This behaviour, however, is not followed by a higher dose, situated near the ''threshold regime''. (orig.)

Safety of Repeated Yttrium-90 Radioembolization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lam, Marnix G. E. H.; Louie, John D.; Iagaru, Andrei H.; Goris, Michael L.; Sze, Daniel Y.

2013-01-01

Purpose: Repeated radioembolization (RE) treatments carry theoretically higher risk of radiation-induced hepatic injury because of the liver’s cumulative memory of previous exposure. We performed a retrospective safety analysis on patients who underwent repeated RE. Methods: From 2004 to 2011, a total of 247 patients were treated by RE. Eight patients (5 men, 3 women, age range 51–71 years) underwent repeated treatment of a targeted territory, all with resin microspheres (SIR-Spheres; Sirtex, Lane Cove, Australia). Adverse events were graded during a standardized follow-up. In addition, the correlation between the occurrence of RE-induced liver disease (REILD) and multiple variables was investigated in univariate and multivariate analyses in all 247 patients who received RE. Results: Two patients died shortly after the second treatment (at 84 and 107 days) with signs and symptoms of REILD. Both patients underwent whole liver treatment twice (cumulative doses 3.08 and 2.66 GBq). The other 6 patients demonstrated only minor toxicities after receiving cumulative doses ranging from 2.41 to 3.88 GBq. All patients experienced objective tumor responses. In the whole population, multifactorial analysis identified three risk factors associated with REILD: repeated RE (p = 0.036), baseline serum total bilirubin (p = 0.048), and baseline serum aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.043). Repeated RE proved to be the only independent risk factor for REILD in multivariate analysis (odds ratio 9.6; p = 0.002). Additionally, the administered activity per target volume (in GBq/L) was found to be an independent risk factor for REILD, but only in whole liver treatments (p = 0.033). Conclusion: The risk of REILD appears to be elevated for repeated RE. Objective tumor responses were observed, but establishment of safety limits will require improvement in dosimetric measurement and prediction

Safety of Repeated Yttrium-90 Radioembolization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lam, Marnix G. E. H.; Louie, John D. [Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology (United States); Iagaru, Andrei H.; Goris, Michael L. [Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Nuclear Medicine (United States); Sze, Daniel Y., E-mail: dansze@stanford.edu [Stanford University School of Medicine, Division of Interventional Radiology (United States)

2013-10-15

Purpose: Repeated radioembolization (RE) treatments carry theoretically higher risk of radiation-induced hepatic injury because of the liver's cumulative memory of previous exposure. We performed a retrospective safety analysis on patients who underwent repeated RE. Methods: From 2004 to 2011, a total of 247 patients were treated by RE. Eight patients (5 men, 3 women, age range 51-71 years) underwent repeated treatment of a targeted territory, all with resin microspheres (SIR-Spheres; Sirtex, Lane Cove, Australia). Adverse events were graded during a standardized follow-up. In addition, the correlation between the occurrence of RE-induced liver disease (REILD) and multiple variables was investigated in univariate and multivariate analyses in all 247 patients who received RE. Results: Two patients died shortly after the second treatment (at 84 and 107 days) with signs and symptoms of REILD. Both patients underwent whole liver treatment twice (cumulative doses 3.08 and 2.66 GBq). The other 6 patients demonstrated only minor toxicities after receiving cumulative doses ranging from 2.41 to 3.88 GBq. All patients experienced objective tumor responses. In the whole population, multifactorial analysis identified three risk factors associated with REILD: repeated RE (p = 0.036), baseline serum total bilirubin (p = 0.048), and baseline serum aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.043). Repeated RE proved to be the only independent risk factor for REILD in multivariate analysis (odds ratio 9.6; p = 0.002). Additionally, the administered activity per target volume (in GBq/L) was found to be an independent risk factor for REILD, but only in whole liver treatments (p = 0.033). Conclusion: The risk of REILD appears to be elevated for repeated RE. Objective tumor responses were observed, but establishment of safety limits will require improvement in dosimetric measurement and prediction.

Information acquisition and financial intermediation

OpenAIRE

Boyarchenko, Nina

2012-01-01

This paper considers the problem of information acquisition in an intermediated market, where the specialists have access to superior technology for acquiring information. These informational advantages of specialists relative to households lead to disagreement between the two groups, changing the shape of the intermediation-constrained region of the economy and increasing the frequency of periods when the intermediation constraint binds. Acquiring the additional information is, however, cost...

Discontinuous Patterns of Cigarette Smoking From Ages 18 to 50 in the United States: A Repeated-Measures Latent Class Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Terry-McElrath, Yvonne M; O'Malley, Patrick M; Johnston, Lloyd D

2017-12-13

Effective cigarette smoking prevention and intervention programming is enhanced by accurate understanding of developmental smoking pathways across the life span. This study investigated within-person patterns of cigarette smoking from ages 18 to 50 among a US national sample of high school graduates, focusing on identifying ages of particular importance for smoking involvement change. Using data from approximately 15,000 individuals participating in the longitudinal Monitoring the Future study, trichotomous measures of past 30-day smoking obtained at 11 time points were modeled using repeated-measures latent class analyses. Sex differences in latent class structure and membership were examined. Twelve latent classes were identified: three characterized by consistent smoking patterns across age (no smoking; smoking developing effective smoking prevention and intervention programming. This study examined cigarette smoking among a national longitudinal US sample of high school graduates from ages 18 to 50 and identified distinct latent classes characterized by patterns of movement between no cigarette use, light-to-moderate smoking, and the conventional definition of heavy smoking at 11 time points via repeated-measures latent class analysis. Membership probabilities for each smoking class were estimated, and critical ages of susceptibility to change in smoking behaviors were identified. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Who Repeats Algebra, and How Does Initial Performance Relate to Improvement When the Course Is Repeated?

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Anthony; Jaquet, Karina; Finkelstein, Neal

2016-01-01

The information provided in this report shows how students perform when they repeat algebra I and how the level of improvement varies depending on initial course performance and the academic measure (course grades or CST scores). This information can help inform decisions and policies regarding whether and under what circumstances students should…

Toward a simple, repeatable, non-destructive approach to measuring stable-isotope ratios of water within tree stems

Science.gov (United States)

Raulerson, S.; Volkmann, T.; Pangle, L. A.

2017-12-01

Traditional methodologies for measuring ratios of stable isotopes within the xylem water of trees involve destructive coring of the stem. A recent approach involves permanently installed probes within the stem, and an on-site assembly of pumps, switching valves, gas lines, and climate-controlled structure for field deployment of a laser spectrometer. The former method limits the possible temporal resolution of sampling, and sample size, while the latter may not be feasible for many research groups. We present results from initial laboratory efforts towards developing a non-destructive, temporally-resolved technique for measuring stable isotope ratios within the xylem flow of trees. Researchers have used direct liquid-vapor equilibration as a method to measure isotope ratios of the water in soil pores. Typically, this is done by placing soil samples in a fixed container, and allowing the liquid water within the soil to come into isotopic equilibrium with the headspace of the container. Water can also be removed via cryogenic distillation or azeotropic distillation, with the resulting liquid tested for isotope ratios. Alternatively, the isotope ratios of the water vapor can be directly measured using a laser-based water vapor isotope analyzer. Well-established fractionation factors and the isotope ratios in the vapor phase are then used to calculate the isotope ratios in the liquid phase. We propose a setup which would install a single, removable chamber onto a tree, where vapor samples could non-destructively and repeatedly be taken. These vapor samples will be injected into a laser-based isotope analyzer by a recirculating gas conveyance system. A major part of what is presented here is in the procedure of taking vapor samples at 100% relative humidity, appropriately diluting them with completely dry N2 calibration gas, and injecting them into the gas conveyance system without inducing fractionation in the process. This methodology will be helpful in making

Convergent synthesis of a tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the O-specific polysaccharide from the cell wall lipopolysaccharide of Azospirillum brasilense strain Sp7

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pintu Kumar Mandal

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A straightforward convergent synthesis has been carried out for the tetrasaccharide repeating unit of the O-specific cell wall lipopolysaccharide of the strain Sp7 of Azospirillum brasilense. The target tetrasaccharide has been synthesized from suitably protected monosaccharide intermediates in 42% overall yield in seven steps by using a [2 + 2] block glycosylation approach.

Experimental measurement of radiological penumbra associated with intermediate energy x-rays (1 MV) and small radiosurgery field sizes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keller, Brian M.; Beachey, David J.; Pignol, Jean-Philippe

2007-01-01

Stereotactic radiosurgery is used to treat intracranial lesions with a high degree of accuracy. At the present time, x-ray energies at or above Co-60 gamma rays are used. Previous Monte Carlo simulations have demonstrated that intermediate energy x-ray photons or IEPs (defined to be photons in the energy range of 0.2-1.2 MeV), combined with small field sizes, produce a reduced radiological penumbra leading to a sharper dose gradient, improved dose homogeneity and sparing of critical anatomy adjacent to the target volume. This hypothesis is based on the fact that, for small x-ray fields, a dose outside the treatment volume is dictated mainly by the range of electrons set into motion by x-ray photons. The purpose of this work is: (1) to produce intermediate energy x rays using a detuned medical linear accelerator (2) to characterize the energy of this beam (3) to measure the radiological penumbra for IEPs and small fields to compare with that produced by 6 MV x rays or Co-60, and (4) to compare these experimental measurements with Monte Carlo computer simulations. The maximum photon energy of our IEP x-ray spectrum was measured to be 1.2 MeV. Gafchromic EBT films (ISP Technologies, Wayne, NJ) were irradiated and read using a novel digital microscopy imaging system with high spatial resolution. Under identical irradiation conditions the measured radiological penumbra widths (80%-20% distance), for field sizes ranging from 0.3x0.3 to 4.0x4.0 cm 2 , varied from 0.3-0.77 mm (1.2 MV) and from 1.1-2.1 mm (6 MV). Even more dramatic were the differences found when comparing the 90%-10% or the 95%-5% widths, which are in fact more significant in radiotherapy. Monte Carlo simulations agreed well with the experimental findings. The reduction in radiological penumbra could be substantial for specific clinical situations such as in the treatment of an ocular melanoma abutting the macula or for the treatment of functional disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia (a nonlethal

Governing conditions of repeatable Barkhausen noise response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stupakov, O.; Pal'a, J.; Takagi, T.; Uchimoto, T.

2009-01-01

The paper is devoted to the establishment of experimental conditions, which ensure the repeatability of magnetic Barkhausen noise testing in practice. For this task, the measurements were performed on open flat samples using different experimental configurations, including: different magnetization frequencies, sampling rates, and filter cut-off frequencies; using a sample-wrapped coil and using attached pick-up coils of various dimensions, with different lift-offs of a single yoke magnet and of the attached coil. The sample magnetization was controlled by a vertical array of three Hall sensors; their readings were extrapolated to the sample surface to precisely define its field. After analysis of the results, a scheme for an optimized sensor with a controlled field waveform was suggested to improve the measurement repeatability. The important issues of signal processing and parameter applicability were also discussed in detail.

A Unified Model for Repeating and Non-repeating Fast Radio Bursts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagchi, Manjari

2017-01-01

The model that fast radio bursts (FRBs) are caused by plunges of asteroids onto neutron stars can explain both repeating and non-repeating bursts. If a neutron star passes through an asteroid belt around another star, there would be a series of bursts caused by a series of asteroid impacts. Moreover, the neutron star would cross the same belt repetitively if it were in a binary with the star hosting the asteroid belt, leading to a repeated series of bursts. I explore the properties of neutron star binaries that could lead to the only known repeating FRB so far (FRB121102). In this model, the next two epochs of bursts are expected around 2017 February 27 and 2017 December 18. On the other hand, if the asteroid belt is located around the neutron star itself, then a chance fall of an asteroid from that belt onto the neutron star would lead to a non-repeating burst. Even a neutron star grazing an asteroid belt can lead to a non-repeating burst caused by just one asteroid plunge during the grazing. This is possible even when the neutron star is in a binary with the asteroid-hosting star, if the belt and the neutron star orbit are non-coplanar.

A Unified Model for Repeating and Non-repeating Fast Radio Bursts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bagchi, Manjari, E-mail: manjari@imsc.res.in [The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc-HBNI), 4th Cross Road, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113 (India)

2017-04-01

The model that fast radio bursts (FRBs) are caused by plunges of asteroids onto neutron stars can explain both repeating and non-repeating bursts. If a neutron star passes through an asteroid belt around another star, there would be a series of bursts caused by a series of asteroid impacts. Moreover, the neutron star would cross the same belt repetitively if it were in a binary with the star hosting the asteroid belt, leading to a repeated series of bursts. I explore the properties of neutron star binaries that could lead to the only known repeating FRB so far (FRB121102). In this model, the next two epochs of bursts are expected around 2017 February 27 and 2017 December 18. On the other hand, if the asteroid belt is located around the neutron star itself, then a chance fall of an asteroid from that belt onto the neutron star would lead to a non-repeating burst. Even a neutron star grazing an asteroid belt can lead to a non-repeating burst caused by just one asteroid plunge during the grazing. This is possible even when the neutron star is in a binary with the asteroid-hosting star, if the belt and the neutron star orbit are non-coplanar.

Repeatability of Cryogenic Multilayer Insulation

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, W. L.; Vanderlaan, M.; Wood, J. J.; Rhys, N. O.; Guo, W.; Van Sciver, S.; Chato, D. J.

2017-12-01

Due to the variety of requirements across aerospace platforms, and one off projects, the repeatability of cryogenic multilayer insulation (MLI) has never been fully established. The objective of this test program is to provide a more basic understanding of the thermal performance repeatability of MLI systems that are applicable to large scale tanks. There are several different types of repeatability that can be accounted for: these include repeatability between identical blankets, repeatability of installation of the same blanket, and repeatability of a test apparatus. The focus of the work in this report is on the first two types of repeatability. Statistically, repeatability can mean many different things. In simplest form, it refers to the range of performance that a population exhibits and the average of the population. However, as more and more identical components are made (i.e. the population of concern grows), the simple range morphs into a standard deviation from an average performance. Initial repeatability testing on MLI blankets has been completed at Florida State University. Repeatability of five Glenn Research Center (GRC) provided coupons with 25 layers was shown to be +/- 8.4% whereas repeatability of repeatedly installing a single coupon was shown to be +/- 8.0%. A second group of 10 coupons has been fabricated by Yetispace and tested by Florida State University, the repeatability between coupons has been shown to be +/- 15-25%. Based on detailed statistical analysis, the data has been shown to be statistically significant.

Repeatability of Retinal Sensitivity Measurements Using a Medmont Dark-Adapted Chromatic Perimeter in Healthy and Age-Related Macular Degeneration Cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Rose S; Guymer, Robyn H; Luu, Chi D

2018-05-01

To determine the intrasession and intersession test-retest repeatability of retinal sensitivity measurements using a dark-adapted chromatic perimeter (DACP). For intrasession testing, retinal sensitivity within the central 24° for the 505-nm stimulus was measured after 20, 30, and 40 minutes of dark adaptation (DA) and for the 625-nm stimulus was measured after the first and second 505-nm tests. For intersession testing, retinal sensitivity for both stimuli was measured after 30 minutes of DA at baseline and 1 month. The point-wise sensitivity (PWS) difference and coefficient of repeatability (CoR) of each stimulus and group were determined. For intrasession testing, 10 age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and eight control subjects were recruited. The overall CoR for the 505-nm stimulus was 8.4 dB for control subjects and 9.1 dB for AMD cases, and for the 625-nm stimulus was 6.7 dB for control subjects and 9.5 dB for AMD cases. For intersession testing, seven AMD cases and 13 control subjects returned an overall CoR for the 505-nm stimulus of 8.2 dB for the control and 11.7 dB for the AMD group. For the 625-nm stimulus the CoR was 6.2 dB for the control group and 8.4 dB for the AMD group. Approximately 80% of all test points had a PWS difference of ±5 dB between the two intrasession or intersession measurements for both stimuli. The CoR for the DACP is larger than that reported for scotopic perimeters; however, the majority of test points had a PWS difference of ±5 dB between tests. The DACP offers an opportunity to measure static and dynamic rod function at multiple locations with an acceptable reproducibility level.

Discourses and Models of Intermediality

OpenAIRE

Schröter, Jens

2011-01-01

In his article "Discourses and Models of Intermediality" Jens Schröter discusses the question as to what relations do different discourses pose between different "media." Schröter identifies four models of discourse: 1) synthetic intermediality: a "fusion" of different media to super-media, a model with roots in the Wagnerian concept of Gesamtkunstwerk with political connotations, 2) formal (or transmedial) intermediality: a concept based on formal structures not "specific" to one medium but ...

Repeatability and Reproducibility of Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Parameters Measured by Scanning Laser Polarimetry with Enhanced Corneal Compensation in Normal and Glaucomatous Eyes.

Science.gov (United States)

Ara, Mirian; Ferreras, Antonio; Pajarin, Ana B; Calvo, Pilar; Figus, Michele; Frezzotti, Paolo

2015-01-01

To assess the intrasession repeatability and intersession reproducibility of peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness parameters measured by scanning laser polarimetry (SLP) with enhanced corneal compensation (ECC) in healthy and glaucomatous eyes. One randomly selected eye of 82 healthy individuals and 60 glaucoma subjects was evaluated. Three scans were acquired during the first visit to evaluate intravisit repeatability. A different operator obtained two additional scans within 2 months after the first session to determine intervisit reproducibility. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (COV), and test-retest variability (TRT) were calculated for all SLP parameters in both groups. ICCs ranged from 0.920 to 0.982 for intravisit measurements and from 0.910 to 0.978 for intervisit measurements. The temporal-superior-nasal-inferior-temporal (TSNIT) average was the highest (0.967 and 0.946) in normal eyes, while nerve fiber indicator (NFI; 0.982) and inferior average (0.978) yielded the best ICC in glaucomatous eyes for intravisit and intervisit measurements, respectively. All COVs were under 10% in both groups, except NFI. TSNIT average had the lowest COV (2.43%) in either type of measurement. Intervisit TRT ranged from 6.48 to 12.84. The reproducibility of peripapillary RNFL measurements obtained with SLP-ECC was excellent, indicating that SLP-ECC is sufficiently accurate for monitoring glaucoma progression.

Mediterranean intermediate circulation estimated from Argo data in 2003–2010

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Menna

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Data from 38 Argo profiling floats are used to describe the intermediate Mediterranean currents for the period October 2003–January 2010. These floats were programmed to execute 5-day cycles, to drift at a neutral parking depth of 350 m and measure temperature and salinity profiles from either 700 or 2000 m up to the surface. At the end of each cycle the floats remained at the sea surface for about 6 h, enough time to be localised and transmit the data to the Argos satellite system. The Argos positions were used to determine the float surface and intermediate displacements. At the surface, the float motion was approximated by a linear displacement and inertial motion. Intermediate velocities estimates were used to investigate the Mediterranean circulation at 350 m, to compute the pseudo-Eulerian statistics and to study the influence of bathymetry on the intermediate currents. Maximum speeds, as large as 33 cm/s, were found northeast of the Balearic Islands (western basin and in the Ierapetra eddy (eastern basin. Typical speeds in the main along-slope currents (Liguro-Provençal-Catalan, Algerian and Libyo-Egyptian Currents were ~20 cm/s. In the central and western part of Mediterranean basin, the pseudo-Eulerian statistics show typical intermediate circulation pathways which can be related to the motion of Levantine Intermediate Water. In general our results agree with the qualitative intermediate circulation schemes proposed in the literature, except in the southern Ionian where we found westward-flowing intermediate currents. Fluctuating currents appeared to be usually larger than the mean flow. Intermediate currents were found to be essentially parallel to the isobaths over most of the areas characterized by strong bathymetry gradients, in particular, in the vicinity of the continental slopes.

Repeated Geophysical Surface Measurements to Estimate the Dynamics of Underground Coalfires

Science.gov (United States)

Wuttke, M. W.; Kessels, W.; Han, J.; Halisch, M.; Rüter, H.; Lindner, H.

2009-04-01

in a range between -130 and 176 nT. The maxima are most likely caused by the conversion of pyrite and markasit into maghemite, hematite and magnetite. Therefore the identified patches with high magnetic anomalies should have a direct connection to the burning coal in firezone 18. The firezone in Wuda has been visited now for five, that in Queergou for two times. All the discussed geophysical measurements together allow an integrated interpretation. Each result can be related to the combustion process with a particular likelihood for the vertical projection to the combustion centre. Probability calculations with chosen weight factors for each observation method are discussed. A so called fireindex deduced from the repeated measurements reveals the dynamics of the coal fire.

Deployment Repeatability

Science.gov (United States)

2016-04-01

evaluating the deployment repeatability builds upon the testing or analysis of deployment kinematics (Chapter 6) and adds repetition. Introduction...material yield or failure during a test. For the purposes of this chapter, zero shift will refer to permanent changes in the structure, while reversible ...the content of other chapters in this book: Gravity Compensation (Chapter 4) and Deployment Kinematics and Dynamics (Chapter 6). Repeating the

Test–retest repeatability of quantitative cardiac 11C-meta-hydroxyephedrine measurements in rats by small animal positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thackeray, James T.; Renaud, Jennifer M.; Kordos, Myra; Klein, Ran; Kemp, Robert A. de; Beanlands, Rob S.B.; DaSilva, Jean N.

2013-01-01

Introduction: The norepinephrine analogue 11 C-meta-hydroxyephedrine (HED) has been used to interrogate sympathetic neuronal reuptake in cardiovascular disease. Application for longitudinal studies in small animal models of disease necessitates an understanding of test–retest variability. This study evaluated the repeatability of multiple quantitative cardiac measurements of HED retention and washout and the pharmacological response to reuptake blockade and enhanced norepinephrine levels. Methods: Small animal PET images were acquired over 60 min following HED administration to healthy male Sprague Dawley rats. Paired test and retest scans were undertaken in individual animals over 7 days. Additional HED scans were conducted following administration of norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor desipramine or continuous infusion of exogenous norepinephrine. HED retention was quantified by retention index, standardized uptake value (SUV), monoexponential and one-compartment washout. Plasma and cardiac norepinephrine were measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Results: Test retest variability was lower for retention index (15% ± 12%) and SUV (19% ± 15%) as compared to monoexponential washout rates (21% ± 13%). Desipramine pretreatment reduced myocardial HED retention index by 69% and SUV by 85%. Chase treatment with desipramine increased monoexponential HED washout by 197% compared to untreated controls. Norepinephrine infusion dose-dependently reduced HED accumulation, reflected by both retention index and SUV, with a corresponding increase in monoexponential washout. Plasma and cardiac norepinephrine levels correlated with HED quantitative measurements. Conclusion: The repeatability of HED retention index, SUV, and monoexponential washout supports its suitability for longitudinal PET studies in rats. Uptake and washout of HED are sensitive to acute increases in norepinephrine concentration

Time-resolved resonance Raman spectroscopy of intermediates of bacteriorhodopsin: The bK(590) intermediate.

Science.gov (United States)

Terner, J; Hsieh, C L; Burns, A R; El-Sayed, M A

1979-07-01

We have combined microbeam and flow techniques with computer subtraction methods to obtain the resonance Raman spectrum of the short lived batho-intermediate (bK(590)) of bacteriorhodopsin. Comparison of the spectra obtained in (1)H(2)O and (2)H(2)O, as well as the fact that the bK(590) intermediate shows large optical red shifts, suggests that the Schiff base linkage of this intermediate is protonated. The fingerprint region of the spectrum of bK(590), sensitive to the isomeric configuration of the retinal chromophore, does not resemble the corresponding region of the parent bR(570) form. The resonance Raman spectrum of bK(590) as well as the spectra of all of the other main intermediates in the photoreaction cycle of bacteriorhodopsin are discussed and compared with resonance Raman spectra of published model compounds.

Deeply inelastic collisions as a source of intermediate mass fragments at E/A = 27 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borderie, B.; Montoya, M.; Rivet, M.F.; Jouan, D.; Cabot, C.; Fuchs, H.; Gardes, D.; Gauvin, H.; Jacquet, D.; Monnet, F.

1988-01-01

Intermediate-mass fragments detected in coincidence with heavy residues were measured in 40 Ar induced reactions on Ag at E/A = 27 MeV. From the observed characteristics, it is inferred that intermediate-mass fragments associated with the so-called intermediate-velocity source come mainly from deeply inelastic collisions occurring after or at the same time as preequilibrium particle emission. (orig.)

Role of Intermediate Filaments in Vesicular Traffic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azzurra Margiotta

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Intermediate filaments are an important component of the cellular cytoskeleton. The first established role attributed to intermediate filaments was the mechanical support to cells. However, it is now clear that intermediate filaments have many different roles affecting a variety of other biological functions, such as the organization of microtubules and microfilaments, the regulation of nuclear structure and activity, the control of cell cycle and the regulation of signal transduction pathways. Furthermore, a number of intermediate filament proteins have been involved in the acquisition of tumorigenic properties. Over the last years, a strong involvement of intermediate filament proteins in the regulation of several aspects of intracellular trafficking has strongly emerged. Here, we review the functions of intermediate filaments proteins focusing mainly on the recent knowledge gained from the discovery that intermediate filaments associate with key proteins of the vesicular membrane transport machinery. In particular, we analyze the current understanding of the contribution of intermediate filaments to the endocytic pathway.

Intermediality: Bridge to Critical Media Literacy.

Science.gov (United States)

Pailliotet, Ann Watts; Semali, Ladislaus; Rodenberg, Rita K.; Giles, Jackie K.; Macaul, Sherry L.

2000-01-01

Defines "intermediality" as the ability to critically read and write with and across varied symbol systems. Relates it to critical media literacy. Offers rationales for teaching critical media literacy in general, and intermedial instruction in particular. Identifies seven guiding intermedial elements: theory, texts, processes, contexts,…

Testing Mean Differences among Groups: Multivariate and Repeated Measures Analysis with Minimal Assumptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bathke, Arne C; Friedrich, Sarah; Pauly, Markus; Konietschke, Frank; Staffen, Wolfgang; Strobl, Nicolas; Höller, Yvonne

2018-03-22

To date, there is a lack of satisfactory inferential techniques for the analysis of multivariate data in factorial designs, when only minimal assumptions on the data can be made. Presently available methods are limited to very particular study designs or assume either multivariate normality or equal covariance matrices across groups, or they do not allow for an assessment of the interaction effects across within-subjects and between-subjects variables. We propose and methodologically validate a parametric bootstrap approach that does not suffer from any of the above limitations, and thus provides a rather general and comprehensive methodological route to inference for multivariate and repeated measures data. As an example application, we consider data from two different Alzheimer's disease (AD) examination modalities that may be used for precise and early diagnosis, namely, single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and electroencephalogram (EEG). These data violate the assumptions of classical multivariate methods, and indeed classical methods would not have yielded the same conclusions with regards to some of the factors involved.

Reconfigurable multiport EPON repeater

Science.gov (United States)

Oishi, Masayuki; Inohara, Ryo; Agata, Akira; Horiuchi, Yukio

2009-11-01

An extended reach EPON repeater is one of the solutions to effectively expand FTTH service areas. In this paper, we propose a reconfigurable multi-port EPON repeater for effective accommodation of multiple ODNs with a single OLT line card. The proposed repeater, which has multi-ports in both OLT and ODN sides, consists of TRs, BTRs with the CDR function and a reconfigurable electrical matrix switch, can accommodate multiple ODNs to a single OLT line card by controlling the connection of the matrix switch. Although conventional EPON repeaters require full OLT line cards to accommodate subscribers from the initial installation stage, the proposed repeater can dramatically reduce the number of required line cards especially when the number of subscribers is less than a half of the maximum registerable users per OLT. Numerical calculation results show that the extended reach EPON system with the proposed EPON repeater can save 17.5% of the initial installation cost compared with a conventional repeater, and can be less expensive than conventional systems up to the maximum subscribers especially when the percentage of ODNs in lightly-populated areas is higher.

Repeated measurements of NT-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, troponin T or C-reactive protein do not predict future allograft rejection in heart transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Battes, Linda C; Caliskan, Kadir; Rizopoulos, Dimitris; Constantinescu, Alina A; Robertus, Jan L; Akkerhuis, Martijn; Manintveld, Olivier C; Boersma, Eric; Kardys, Isabella

2015-03-01

Studies on the prognostic value of serial biomarker assays for future occurrence of allograft rejection (AR) are scarce. We examined whether repeated measurements of NT-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), troponin T (TropT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) predict AR. From 2005 to 2010, 77 consecutive heart transplantation (HTx) recipients were included. The NT-proBNP, TropT, and CRP were measured at 16 ± 4 (mean ± standard deviation) consecutive routine endomyocardial biopsy surveillance visits during the first year of follow-up. Allograft rejection was defined as International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) grade 2R or higher at endomyocardial biopsy. Joint modeling was used to assess the association between repeated biomarker measurements and occurrence of future AR. Joint modeling accounts for dependence among repeated observations in individual patients. The mean age of the patients at HTx was 49 ± 9.2 years, and 68% were men. During the first year of follow-up, 1,136 biopsies and concurrent blood samples were obtained, and 56 patients (73%) experienced at least one episode of AR. All biomarkers were elevated directly after HTx and achieved steady-state after ∼ 12 weeks, both in patients with or without AR. No associations were present between the repeated measurements of NT-proBNP, TropT, or CRP and AR both early (weeks 0-12) and late (weeks 13-52) in the course after HTx (hazard ratios for weeks 13-52: 0.96 (95% confidence interval, 0.55-1.68), 0.67 (0.27-1.69), and 1.44 (0.90-2.30), respectively, per ln[unit]). Combining the three biomarkers in one model also rendered null results. The temporal evolution of NT-proBNP, TropT, and CRP before AR did not predict occurrence of acute AR both in the early and late course of the first year after HTx.

Superficial ultrasound shear wave speed measurements in soft and hard elasticity phantoms: repeatability and reproducibility using two ultrasound systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman, Jonathan R; Chen, Shigao; Davenport, Matthew S; Zhao, Heng; Urban, Matthew W; Song, Pengfei; Watcharotone, Kuanwong; Carson, Paul L

2015-03-01

There is a paucity of data available regarding the repeatability and reproducibility of superficial shear wave speed (SWS) measurements at imaging depths relevant to the pediatric population. To assess the repeatability and reproducibility of superficial shear wave speed measurements acquired from elasticity phantoms at varying imaging depths using three imaging methods, two US systems and multiple operators. Soft and hard elasticity phantoms manufactured by Computerized Imaging Reference Systems Inc. (Norfolk, VA) were utilized for our investigation. Institution No. 1 used an Acuson S3000 US system (Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Malvern, PA) and three shear wave imaging method/transducer combinations, while institution No. 2 used an Aixplorer US system (SuperSonic Imagine, Bothell, WA) and two different transducers. Ten stiffness measurements were acquired from each phantom at three depths (1.0 cm, 2.5 cm and 4.0 cm) by four operators at each institution. Student's t-test was used to compare SWS measurements between imaging techniques, while SWS measurement agreement was assessed with two-way random effects single-measure intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs) and coefficients of variation. Mixed model regression analysis determined the effect of predictor variables on SWS measurements. For the soft phantom, the average of mean SWS measurements across the various imaging methods and depths was 0.84 ± 0.04 m/s (mean ± standard deviation) for the Acuson S3000 system and 0.90 ± 0.02 m/s for the Aixplorer system (P = 0.003). For the hard phantom, the average of mean SWS measurements across the various imaging methods and depths was 2.14 ± 0.08 m/s for the Acuson S3000 system and 2.07 ± 0.03 m/s Aixplorer system (P > 0.05). The coefficients of variation were low (0.5-6.8%), and interoperator agreement was near-perfect (ICCs ≥ 0.99). Shear wave imaging method and imaging depth significantly affected measured SWS (P�

Neutrino-nucleus collision at intermediate energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kosmas, T.S.; Oset, E.

1999-01-01

Neutrino-nucleus reactions at low and intermediate energy up to E ν = 500 MeV are studied for the most interesting nuclei from an experimental point of view. We focus on neutrino-nucleus cross-sections of semi-inclusive processes, for which recent measurements from radiochemical experiments at LAMPF and KARMEN laboratories are available. The method employed uses the modified Lindhard function for the description of the particle-hole excitations of the final nucleus via a local density approximation. (authors)

Superficial Ultrasound Shear Wave Speed Measurements in Soft and Hard Elasticity Phantoms: Repeatability and Reproducibility Using Two Different Ultrasound Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dillman, Jonathan R.; Chen, Shigao; Davenport, Matthew S.; Zhao, Heng; Urban, Matthew W.; Song, Pengfei; Watcharotone, Kuanwong; Carson, Paul L.

2014-01-01

Background There is a paucity of data available regarding the repeatability and reproducibility of superficial shear wave speed (SWS) measurements at imaging depths relevant to the pediatric population. Purpose To assess the repeatability and reproducibility of superficial shear wave speed (SWS) measurements acquired from elasticity phantoms at varying imaging depths using three different imaging methods, two different ultrasound systems, and multiple operators. Methods and Materials Soft and hard elasticity phantoms manufactured by Computerized Imaging Reference Systems, Inc. (Norfolk, VA) were utilized for our investigation. Institution #1 used an Acuson S3000 ultrasound system (Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc.) and three different shear wave imaging method/transducer combinations, while institution #2 used an Aixplorer ultrasound system (Supersonic Imagine) and two different transducers. Ten stiffness measurements were acquired from each phantom at three depths (1.0, 2.5, and 4.0 cm) by four operators at each institution. Student’s t-test was used to compare SWS measurements between imaging techniques, while SWS measurement agreement was assessed with two-way random effects single measure intra-class correlation coefficients and coefficients of variation. Mixed model regression analysis determined the effect of predictor variables on SWS measurements. Results For the soft phantom, the average of mean SWS measurements across the various imaging methods and depths was 0.84 ± 0.04 m/s (mean ± standard deviation) for the Acuson S3000 system and 0.90 ± 0.02 m/s for the Aixplorer system (p=0.003). For the hard phantom, the average of mean SWS measurements across the various imaging methods and depths was 2.14 ± 0.08 m/s for the Acuson S3000 system and 2.07 ± 0.03 m/s Aixplorer system (p>0.05). The coefficients of variation were low (0.5–6.8%), and inter-operator agreement was near-perfect (ICCs ≥0.99). Shear wave imaging method and imaging depth

Repeated measures of body mass index and C-reactive protein in relation to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

O'Doherty, Mark G; Jørgensen, Torben; Borglykke, Anders

2014-01-01

Obesity has been linked with elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), and both have been associated with increased risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous studies have used a single 'baseline' measurement and such analyses cannot account for possible changes in these which...... may lead to a biased estimation of risk. Using four cohorts from CHANCES which had repeated measures in participants 50 years and older, multivariate time-dependent Cox proportional hazards was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) to examine the relationship between......, they may participate in distinct/independent pathways. Accounting for independent changes in risk factors over time may be crucial for unveiling their effects on mortality and disease morbidity....

Electron-atom scattering at intermediate energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kingston, A.E.; Walters, H.R.J.

1982-01-01

The problems of intermediate energy scattering are approached from the low and high energy ends. At low intermediate energies difficulties associated with the use of pseudostates and correlation terms are discussed, special consideration being given to nonphysical pseudoresonances. Perturbation methods appropriate to high intermediate energies are described and attempts to extend these high energy approximations down to low intermediate energies are studied. It is shown how the importance of electron exchange effects develops with decreasing energy. The problem of assessing the 'effective completeness' of pseudostate sets at intermediate energies is mentioned and an instructive analysis of a 2p pseudostate approximation to elastic e - -H scattering is given. It is suggested that at low energies the Pauli Exclusion Principle can act to hide short range defects in pseudostate approximations. (author)

The intermediate state in Patd

African Journals Online (AJOL)

) Jesus had assumed. (concerning the 'intermediate state') as existing, anything which does not exist. Three basic things about the intermediate state emerge from the parable: (a) Jesus recognizes that at the moment of death, in ipso articulo.

Higher order antibunching in intermediate states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verma, Amit; Sharma, Navneet K.; Pathak, Anirban

2008-01-01

Since the introduction of binomial state as an intermediate state, different intermediate states have been proposed. Different nonclassical effects have also been reported in these intermediate states. But till now higher order antibunching is predicted in only one type of intermediate state, which is known as shadowed negative binomial state. Recently we have shown that the higher order antibunching is not a rare phenomenon [P. Gupta, P. Pandey, A. Pathak, J. Phys. B 39 (2006) 1137]. To establish our earlier claim further, here we have shown that the higher order antibunching can be seen in different intermediate states, such as binomial state, reciprocal binomial state, hypergeometric state, generalized binomial state, negative binomial state and photon added coherent state. We have studied the possibility of observing the higher order subpoissonian photon statistics in different limits of intermediate states. The effects of different control parameters on the depth of non classicality have also been studied in this connection and it has been shown that the depth of nonclassicality can be tuned by controlling various physical parameters

Effect of post crosslinking haze on the repeatability of Scheimpflug-based and slit-scanning imaging devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rohit Shetty

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of postcollagen crosslinking (CXL haze on the measurement and repeatability of pachymetry and mean keratometry (Km of four corneal topographers. Materials and Methods: Sixty eyes of sixty patients with progressive keratoconus who had undergone accelerated CXL (ACXL underwent imaging with a scanning slit imaging device (Orbscan II and three Scheimpflug imaging devices (Pentacam HR, Sirius, and Galilei. Post-ACXL haze was measured using the densitometry software on the Pentacam HR. Readings of the thinnest corneal thickness (TCT and Km from three scans of each device were analyzed. Effect of haze on the repeatability of TCT and Km measurements was evaluated using regression models. Repeatability was assessed by coefficient of variation. Results: Corneal densitometry in different zones affected the repeatability of TCT measurement of Orbscan (P < 0.05 significantly but not the repeatability of TCT with Pentacam HR and Sirius (P = 0.03 and 0.05, respectively. Km values were affected by haze when measured with the Pentacam HR (P < 0.05. The repeatability of Km readings for all devices was unaffected by haze. In the anterior 0–2 mm and 2–6 mm zone, TCT (P = 0.43 and 0.45, respectively, Km values (P = 0.4 and 0.6, respectively, repeatability of TCT (P = 0.1 in both zones, and Km (P = 0.5 and 0.1, respectively with Galilei were found to be the most reliable. Conclusion: Galilei measurements appear to be least affected by post-ACXL haze when compared with other devices. Hence, topography measurements in the presence of haze need to be interpreted with caution.

Improving interMediAte Risk management. MARK study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Garcia-Gil Maria

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cardiovascular risk functions fail to identify more than 50% of patients who develop cardiovascular disease. This is especially evident in the intermediate-risk patients in which clinical management becomes difficult. Our purpose is to analyze if ankle-brachial index (ABI, measures of arterial stiffness, postprandial glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, self-measured blood pressure and presence of comorbidity are independently associated to incidence of vascular events and whether they can improve the predictive capacity of current risk equations in the intermediate-risk population. Methods/Design This project involves 3 groups belonging to REDIAPP (RETICS RD06/0018 from 3 Spanish regions. We will recruit a multicenter cohort of 2688 patients at intermediate risk (coronary risk between 5 and 15% or vascular death risk between 3-5% over 10 years and no history of atherosclerotic disease, selected at random. We will record socio-demographic data, information on diet, physical activity, comorbidity and intermittent claudication. We will measure ABI, pulse wave velocity and cardio ankle vascular index at rest and after a light intensity exercise. Blood pressure and anthropometric data will be also recorded. We will also quantify lipids, glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin in a fasting blood sample and postprandial capillary glucose. Eighteen months after the recruitment, patients will be followed up to determine the incidence of vascular events (later follow-ups are planned at 5 and 10 years. We will analyze whether the new proposed risk factors contribute to improve the risk functions based on classic risk factors. Discussion Primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases is a priority in public health policy of developed and developing countries. The fundamental strategy consists in identifying people in a high risk situation in which preventive measures are effective and efficient. Improvement of these predictions in our country

Design of intermediate die shape of multistage profile drawing for linear motion guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Kon; Lee, Jae Eun; Kim, Sung Min; Kim, Byung Min

2010-01-01

The design of an intermediate die shape is very important in multistage profile drawing. In this study, two design methods for the intermediate die shape of a multistage profile drawing for producing a linear motion guide (LM) guide is proposed. One is the electric field analysis method using the equipotential lines generated by electric field analysis, and the other is the virtual die method using a virtual drawing die constructed from the initial material and the final product shape. In order to design the intermediate die shapes of a multistage profile drawing for producing LM guide, the proposed design methods are applied, and then FE analysis and profile drawing experiment are performed. As a result, based on the measurement of dimensional accuracy, it can be known that the intermediate die shape can be designed effectively

Results of intermediate-scale hot isostatic press can experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, L.O.; Vinjamuri, K.

1995-05-01

Radioactive high-level waste (HLW) has been managed at the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant (ICPP) for a number of years. Since 1963, liquid HLW has been solidified into a granular solid (calcine). Presently, over 3,800 m 3 of calcine is stored in partially-underground stainless steel bins. Four intermediate- scale HLW can tests (two 6-in OD x 12-in tall and two 4-in OD x 7-in tall) are described and compared to small-scale HIP can tests (1- to 3-in OD x 1- to 4.5-in tall). The intermediate-scale HIP cans were loaded with a 70/30 calcine/frit blend and HIPped at an off-site facility at 1050 degrees C; and 20 ksi. The dimensions of two cans (4-in OD x 7-in tall) were monitored during the HIP cycle with eddy-current sensors. The sensor measurements indicated that can deformation occurs rapidly at 700 degrees C; after which, there is little additional can shrinkage. HIP cans were subjected to a number of analyses including calculation of the overall packing efficiency (56 to 59%), measurement of glass-ceramic (3.0 to 3.2 g/cc), 14-day MCC-1 leach testing (total mass loss rates 2 day), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Based on these analyses, the glass-ceramic material produced in intermediate-scale cans is similar to material produced in small-scale cans. No major scale-up problems were indicated. Based on the packing efficiency observed in intermediate- and small-scale tests, the overall packing efficiency of production-scale (24-in OD x 36- to 190-in tall) cans would be approximately 64% for a pre-HIP right-circular cylinder geometry. An efficiency of 64% would represent a volume reduction factor of 2.5 over a candidate glass waste prepared at 33 wt% waste loading

Repeatability of pachymetric mapping using fourier domain optical coherence tomography in corneas with opacities.

Science.gov (United States)

Samy El Gendy, Nehal M; Li, Yan; Zhang, Xinbo; Huang, David

2012-04-01

To evaluate the repeatability of Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) pachymetric mapping in patients with corneal opacities and to assess the reliability of Fourier domain OCT with 830 nm wavelength as a pachymetric measurement tool in opaque corneas. A Fourier domain OCT system was used to map the corneal thickness of patients with corneal scars or dystrophy. A retrospective study of a consecutive series was conducted. The repeatability was measured using pooled standard deviation of repeated measurements. A slit-scanning tomography device provided pachymetric mapping for comparison. Seventeen eyes of 12 patients with corneal scars (7 trauma and 3 post infection) or dystrophy (2 Reis-Bucklers and 5 granular dystrophy) were included. The posterior corneal boundary was detectable in all cases. The average corneal thickness measured by OCT was 536 ± 89 μm in central 2 mm area, 553 ± 76 μm in pericentral 2- to 5-mm area, and 508 ± 93 μm for the minimum corneal thickness. The slit-scanning tomography central corneal thickness, 433 ± 111 μm, was significantly lower than OCT readings (mean difference -91.1 ± 33.3 μm, P = 0.002). Repeatability of the OCT measurements was 2.1 μm centrally and 1.2 μm pericentrally. Pachymetric mapping with Fourier domain OCT was highly repeatable. Fourier domain OCT is a reliable pachymetric tool in opaque corneas. In comparison, corneal thickness measured by the slit-scanning tomography is significantly thinner than those measured by the Fourier domain OCT in the presence of corneal opacities.

Polarization phenomena in electromagnetic interactions at intermediate energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burkert, V.

1990-01-01

Recent results of polarization measurements in electromagnetic interactions at intermediate energies are discussed. Prospects of polarization experiments at the new CW electron accelerators, as well as on upgraded older machines are outlined. It is concluded that polarization experiments will play a very important role in the study of the structure of the nucleon and of light nuclei. 72 refs

DNA dynamics is likely to be a factor in the genomic nucleotide repeats expansions related to diseases.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boian S Alexandrov

Full Text Available Trinucleotide repeats sequences (TRS represent a common type of genomic DNA motif whose expansion is associated with a large number of human diseases. The driving molecular mechanisms of the TRS ongoing dynamic expansion across generations and within tissues and its influence on genomic DNA functions are not well understood. Here we report results for a novel and notable collective breathing behavior of genomic DNA of tandem TRS, leading to propensity for large local DNA transient openings at physiological temperature. Our Langevin molecular dynamics (LMD and Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC simulations demonstrate that the patterns of openings of various TRSs depend specifically on their length. The collective propensity for DNA strand separation of repeated sequences serves as a precursor for outsized intermediate bubble states independently of the G/C-content. We report that repeats have the potential to interfere with the binding of transcription factors to their consensus sequence by altered DNA breathing dynamics in proximity of the binding sites. These observations might influence ongoing attempts to use LMD and MCMC simulations for TRS-related modeling of genomic DNA functionality in elucidating the common denominators of the dynamic TRS expansion mutation with potential therapeutic applications.

Expansion of protein domain repeats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asa K Björklund

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Many proteins, especially in eukaryotes, contain tandem repeats of several domains from the same family. These repeats have a variety of binding properties and are involved in protein-protein interactions as well as binding to other ligands such as DNA and RNA. The rapid expansion of protein domain repeats is assumed to have evolved through internal tandem duplications. However, the exact mechanisms behind these tandem duplications are not well-understood. Here, we have studied the evolution, function, protein structure, gene structure, and phylogenetic distribution of domain repeats. For this purpose we have assigned Pfam-A domain families to 24 proteomes with more sensitive domain assignments in the repeat regions. These assignments confirmed previous findings that eukaryotes, and in particular vertebrates, contain a much higher fraction of proteins with repeats compared with prokaryotes. The internal sequence similarity in each protein revealed that the domain repeats are often expanded through duplications of several domains at a time, while the duplication of one domain is less common. Many of the repeats appear to have been duplicated in the middle of the repeat region. This is in strong contrast to the evolution of other proteins that mainly works through additions of single domains at either terminus. Further, we found that some domain families show distinct duplication patterns, e.g., nebulin domains have mainly been expanded with a unit of seven domains at a time, while duplications of other domain families involve varying numbers of domains. Finally, no common mechanism for the expansion of all repeats could be detected. We found that the duplication patterns show no dependence on the size of the domains. Further, repeat expansion in some families can possibly be explained by shuffling of exons. However, exon shuffling could not have created all repeats.

n-Heptane cool flame chemistry: Unraveling intermediate species measured in a stirred reactor and motored engine

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhandong

2017-10-03

This work identifies classes of cool flame intermediates from n-heptane low-temperature oxidation in a jet-stirred reactor (JSR) and a motored cooperative fuel research (CFR) engine. The sampled species from the JSR oxidation of a mixture of n-heptane/O2/Ar (0.01/0.11/0.88) were analyzed using a synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet radiation photoionization (SVUV-PI) time-of-flight molecular-beam mass spectrometer (MBMS) and an atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) Orbitrap mass spectrometer (OTMS). The OTMS was also used to analyze the sampled species from a CFR engine exhaust. Approximately 70 intermediates were detected by the SVUV-PI-MBMS, and their assigned molecular formulae are in good agreement with those detected by the APCI-OTMS, which has ultra-high mass resolving power and provides an accurate elemental C/H/O composition of the intermediate species. Furthermore, the results show that the species formed during the partial oxidation of n-heptane in the CFR engine are very similar to those produced in an ideal reactor, i.e., a JSR.The products can be classified by species with molecular formulae of C7H14Ox (x = 0–5), C7H12Ox (x = 0–4), C7H10Ox (x = 0–4), CnH2n (n = 2–6), CnH2n−2 (n = 4–6), CnH2n+2O (n = 1–4), CnH2nO (n = 1–6), CnH2n−2O (n = 2–6), CnH2n−4O (n = 4–6), CnH2n+2O2 (n = 0–4, 7), CnH2nO2 (n = 1–6), CnH2n−2O2 (n = 2–6), CnH2n−4O2 (n = 4–6), and CnH2nO3 (n = 3–6). The identified intermediate species include alkenes, dienes, aldehyde/keto compounds, olefinic aldehyde/keto compounds, diones, cyclic ethers, peroxides, acids, and alcohols/ethers. Reaction pathways forming these intermediates are proposed and discussed herein. These experimental results are important in the development of more accurate kinetic models for n-heptane and longer-chain alkanes.

[Therapy of intermediate uveitis].

Science.gov (United States)

Doycheva, D; Deuter, C; Zierhut, M

2014-12-01

Intermediate uveitis is a form of intraocular inflammation in which the vitreous body is the major site of inflammation. Intermediate uveitis is primarily treated medicinally and systemic corticosteroids are the mainstay of therapy. When recurrence of uveitis or side effects occur during corticosteroid therapy an immunosuppressive treatment is required. Cyclosporine A is the only immunosuppressive agent that is approved for therapy of uveitis in Germany; however, other immunosuppressive drugs have also been shown to be effective and well-tolerated in patients with intermediate uveitis. In severe therapy-refractory cases when conventional immunosuppressive therapy has failed, biologics can be used. In patients with unilateral uveitis or when the systemic therapy is contraindicated because of side effects, an intravitreal steroid treatment can be carried out. In certain cases a vitrectomy may be used.

Population genetics and new insight into range of CAG repeats of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 in the Han Chinese population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shi-Rui Gan

Full Text Available Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3, also called Machado-Joseph disease (MJD, is one of the most common SCAs worldwide and caused by a CAG repeat expansion located in ATXN3 gene. Based on the CAG repeat numbers, alleles of ATXN3 can be divided into normal alleles (ANs, intermediate alleles (AIs and expanded alleles (AEs. It was controversial whether the frequency of large normal alleles (large ANs is related to the prevalence of SCA3 or not. And there were huge chaos in the comprehension of the specific numbers of the range of CAG repeats which is fundamental for genetic analysis of SCA3. To illustrate these issues, we made a novel CAG repeat ladder to detect CAG repeats of ATXN3 in 1003 unrelated Chinese normal individuals and studied haplotypes defined by three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs closed to ATXN3. We found that the number of CAG repeats ranged from 13 to 49, among them, 14 was the most common number. Positive skew, the highest frequency of large ANs and 4 AIs which had never been reported before were found. Also, AEs and large ANs shared the same haplotypes defined by the SNPs. Based on these data and other related studies, we presumed that de novo mutations of ATXN3 emerging from large ANs are at least one survival mechanisms of mutational ATXN3 and we can redefine the range of CAG repeats as: ANs≤44, 45 ≤AIs ≤49 and AEs≥50.

Determining of the intermediate neutron spectrum in fast neutron field at the RB reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokcic-Kostic, M.; Pesic, M.; Antic, D.

1987-01-01

The activation method for intermediate neutron spectrum determination is given in this paper. The intermediate neutron spectrum in experimental fuel channel (EFC) at the RB reactor is determined om the basis of this method. The results of measurements are treated with PRAG code and will be treated with KRIFIT and TENET codes that are also developed. (author)

Intermediate and fast neutron absorbed doses in fast neutron field at the RB reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sokcic-Kostic, M.; Pesic, M.; Antic, D.

1987-10-01

The experimental fuel channel EFC is created as one of the fast neutron fields at the RB reactor. The intermediate and fast neutron spectra in EFC are measured by activation technique. The intermediate and fast neutron absorbed doses are computed on the basis of these experimental results. At the end the obtained doses are compared. (author)

Preparation and recording characteristics of granular-type perpendicular magnetic recording media with thin intermediate layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shintaku, K.; Kiya, T.

2008-01-01

Granular-type media with thin Ru intermediate layer were prepared on a highly oriented high-B s FeCo soft underlayer (SUL). A CoPt-TiO 2 recording layer on a Ru intermediate layer of only 2 nm had high-crystal orientation, high H c of 6.5 kOe, and a high squareness ratio (SQ) of 0.99. The magnetic property of the SUL was also good. The recording performance was measured for the media with different Ru intermediate thicknesses by using a single-pole-type (SPT) head. The media had large reproduced output even for the Ru intermediate layer thickness of 2 nm

Preparation and recording characteristics of granular-type perpendicular magnetic recording media with thin intermediate layer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shintaku, K. [Akita Research Institute of Advanced Technology, Akita Prefectural R and D Center, 4-21 Sanuki, Araya, Akita 010-1623 (Japan)], E-mail: shintaku@ait.pref.akita.jp; Kiya, T. [Akita Research Institute of Advanced Technology, Akita Prefectural R and D Center, 4-21 Sanuki, Araya, Akita 010-1623 (Japan)

2008-11-15

Granular-type media with thin Ru intermediate layer were prepared on a highly oriented high-B{sub s} FeCo soft underlayer (SUL). A CoPt-TiO{sub 2} recording layer on a Ru intermediate layer of only 2 nm had high-crystal orientation, high H{sub c} of 6.5 kOe, and a high squareness ratio (SQ) of 0.99. The magnetic property of the SUL was also good. The recording performance was measured for the media with different Ru intermediate thicknesses by using a single-pole-type (SPT) head. The media had large reproduced output even for the Ru intermediate layer thickness of 2 nm.

Comparing Young and Elderly Serial Reaction Time Task Performance on Repeated and Random Conditions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fatemeh Ehsani

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Acquisition motor skill training in elderly is at great importance. The main purpose of this study was to compare young and elderly performance in serial reaction time task on different repeated and random conditions. Methods & Materials: A serial reaction time task by using software was applied for studying motor learning in 30 young and 30 elderly. Each group divided randomly implicitly and explicitly into subgroups. A task 4 squares with different colors appeared on the monitor and subjects were asked to press its defined key immediately after observing it. Subjects practiced 8 motor blocks (4 repeated blocks, then 2 random blocks and 2 repeated blocks. Block time that was dependent variable measured and Independent-samples t- test with repeated ANOVA measures were used in this test. Results: young groups performed both repeated and random sequences significantly faster than elderly (P0.05. Explicit older subgroup performed 7,8 blocks slower than 6 block with a significant difference (P<0.05. Conclusion: Young adults discriminate high level performance than elderly in both repeated and random practice. Elderly performed random practice better than repeated practice.

Repeatability of measures of inflammatory cell number in bronchial biopsies in atopic asthma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sont, J. K.; Willems, L. N.; Evertse, C. E.; Hooijer, R.; Sterk, P. J.; van Krieken, J. H.

1997-01-01

Airway pathology is increasingly considered to be a major outcome in asthma research. The aim of this study was to examine the intra-observer, within-section and between-biopsy repeatability, together with the implications for statistical power of a computerized quantitative analysis of inflammatory

Role of oxygen intermediates in UV-induced epidermal cell injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Danno, K.; Horio, T.; Takigawa, M.; Imamura, S.

1984-01-01

To investigate the role of oxygen intermediates (OIs) in sunburn cell (SC) formation and development of UV-inflammation in vivo, groups of mice were injected intravenously with OI scavengers, including bovine blood superoxide dismutase (SOD), bovine liver catalase, L-histidine, D-mannitol, and saline (controls) before and/or after UV irradiation with sunlamp tubes (mainly 280-320 nm; 300 mJ/cm2; UVR). Ear thickness was measured before and 6 and 24 h after UVR. Ears were removed 24 h after UVR and the number of SCs per unit length of ear epidermis was counted using hematoxylineosin stained sections. The number of SCs was significantly decreased (p less than 0.02) by a single injection of SOD (10-30 units/g body weight) given either just before or immediately after (less than 15 min) UVR, while SC formation was no longer suppressed by injections given more than 2 h before or after UVR. Four repeated injections of SOD (10 units/g) also reduced SC counts but did not significantly alter ear-swelling responses (ESR). Neither SC counts nor ESR were remarkably suppressed by 4 injections of any of the other active OI scavengers, inactivated SOD, or bovine serum albumin. A single injection of diethyldithiocarbamate, an SOD inactivator, significantly augmented SC formation (p less than 0.05), but did not change ESR. These findings suggest that OIs generated by UVR participate in SC formation but are not apparently involved in UV-edema

The leucine-rich repeat structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Bella, J; Hindle, K L; McEwan, P A; Lovell, S C

2008-08-01

The leucine-rich repeat is a widespread structural motif of 20-30 amino acids with a characteristic repetitive sequence pattern rich in leucines. Leucine-rich repeat domains are built from tandems of two or more repeats and form curved solenoid structures that are particularly suitable for protein-protein interactions. Thousands of protein sequences containing leucine-rich repeats have been identified by automatic annotation methods. Three-dimensional structures of leucine-rich repeat domains determined to date reveal a degree of structural variability that translates into the considerable functional versatility of this protein superfamily. As the essential structural principles become well established, the leucine-rich repeat architecture is emerging as an attractive framework for structural prediction and protein engineering. This review presents an update of the current understanding of leucine-rich repeat structure at the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary levels and discusses specific examples from recently determined three-dimensional structures.

Repeatability and consistency of individual behaviour in juvenile and adult Eurasian harvest mice

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Andrea C.; Carl, Teresa; Foerster, Katharina

2017-04-01

Knowledge on animal personality has provided new insights into evolutionary biology and animal ecology, as behavioural types have been shown to affect fitness. Animal personality is characterized by repeatable and consistent between-individual behavioural differences throughout time and across different situations. Behavioural repeatability within life history stages and consistency between life history stages should be checked for the independence of sex and age, as recent data have shown that males and females in some species may differ in the repeatability of behavioural traits, as well as in their consistency. We measured the repeatability and consistency of three behavioural and one cognitive traits in juvenile and adult Eurasian harvest mice ( Micromys minutus). We found that exploration, activity and boldness were repeatable in juveniles and adults. Spatial recognition measured in a Y Maze was only repeatable in adult mice. Exploration, activity and boldness were consistent before and after maturation, as well as before and after first sexual contact. Data on spatial recognition provided little evidence for consistency. Further, we found some evidence for a litter effect on behaviours by comparing different linear mixed models. We concluded that harvest mice express animal personality traits as behaviours were repeatable across sexes and consistent across life history stages. The tested cognitive trait showed low repeatability and was less consistent across life history stages. Given the rising interest in individual variation in cognitive performance, and in its relationship to animal personality, we suggest that it is important to gather more data on the repeatability and consistency of cognitive traits.

Repeatability of the Oxford Foot Model in children with foot deformity.

Science.gov (United States)

McCahill, Jennifer; Stebbins, Julie; Koning, Bart; Harlaar, Jaap; Theologis, Tim

2018-03-01

The Oxford Foot Model (OFM) is a multi-segment, kinematic model developed to assess foot motion. It has previously been assessed for repeatability in healthy populations. To determine the OFM's reliability for detecting foot deformity, it is important to know repeatability in pathological conditions. The aim of the study was to assess the repeatability of the OFM in children with foot deformity. Intra-tester repeatability was assessed for 45 children (15 typically developing, 15 hemiplegic, 15 clubfoot). Inter-tester repeatability was assessed in the clubfoot population. The mean absolute differences between testers (clubfoot) and sessions (clubfoot and hemiplegic) were calculated for each of 15 clinically relevant, kinematic variables and compared to typically developing children. Children with clubfoot showed a mean difference between visits of 2.9° and a mean difference between raters of 3.6° Mean absolute differences were within one degree for the intra and inter-rater reliability in 12/15 variables. Hindfoot rotation, forefoot/tibia abduction and forefoot supination were the most variable between testers. Overall the clubfoot data were less variable than the typically developing population. Children with hemiplegia demonstrated slightly higher differences between sessions (mean 4.1°), with the most reliable data in the sagittal plane, and largest differences in the transverse plane. The OFM was designed to measure different types of foot deformity. The results of this study show that it provides repeatable results in children with foot deformity. To be distinguished from measurement artifact, changes in foot kinematics as a result of intervention or natural progression over time must be greater than the repeatability reported here. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Photonuclear reactions at intermediate energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koch, J.H.

1982-01-01

The dominant feature of photonuclear reactions at intermediate energies is the excitation of the δ resonance and one can therefore use such reactions to study the dynamics of δ propagation in a nucleus. Following an introductory section the author comments on photoabsorption on a single nucleon in Section II. A review of the δ-n Greens function and of the photonuclear amplitude is given in Section III. Results for photoabsorption on 4 He are shown in Section IV and compared with the data. Coherent π 0 photoproduction is discussed in Section V and calculations for 12 C are compared to recent measurements. (Auth.)

Fixed-flexion knee radiography using a new positioning device produced highly repeatable measurements of joint space width: ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal Study (ELSA-Brasil MSK).

Science.gov (United States)

Telles, Rosa Weiss; Costa-Silva, Luciana; Machado, Luciana A C; Reis, Rodrigo Citton Padilha Dos; Barreto, Sandhi Maria

To describe the performance of a non-fluoroscopic fixed-flexion PA radiographic protocol with a new positioning device, developed for the assessment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health Musculoskeletal Study (ELSA-Brasil MSK). A test-retest design including 19 adults (38 knee images) was conducted. Feasibility of the radiographic protocol was assessed by image quality parameters and presence of radioanatomic alignment according to intermargin distance (IMD) values. Repeatability was assessed for IMD and joint space width (JSW) measured at three different locations. Approximately 90% of knee images presented excellent quality. Frequencies of nearly perfect radioanatomic alignment (IMD ≤1mm) ranged from 29% to 50%, and satisfactory alignment was found in up to 71% and 76% of the images (IMD ≤1.5mm and ≤1.7mm, respectively). Repeatability analyses yielded the following results: IMD [SD of mean difference=1.08; coefficient of variation (%CV)=54.68%; intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) (95%CI)=0.59 (0.34-0.77)]; JSW [SD of mean difference=0.34-0.61; %CV=4.48%-9.80%; ICC (95%CI)=0.74 (0.55-0.85)-0.94 (0.87-0.97)]. Adequately reproducible measurements of IMD and JSW were found in 68% and 87% of the images, respectively. Despite the difficulty in achieving consistent radioanatomic alignment between subsequent radiographs in terms of IMD, the protocol produced highly repeatable JSW measurements when these were taken at midpoint and 10mm from the medial extremity of the medial tibial plateau. Therefore, measurements of JSW at these locations can be considered adequate for the assessment of knee OA in ELSA-Brasil MSK. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Fixed-flexion knee radiography using a new positioning device produced highly repeatable measurements of joint space width: ELSA-Brasil Musculoskeletal Study (ELSA-Brasil MSK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Weiss Telles

Full Text Available Abstract Objective: To describe the performance of a non-fluoroscopic fixed-flexion PA radiographic protocol with a new positioning device, developed for the assessment of knee osteoarthritis (OA in Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health Musculoskeletal Study (ELSA-Brasil MSK. Material and methods: A test–retest design including 19 adults (38 knee images was conducted. Feasibility of the radiographic protocol was assessed by image quality parameters and presence of radioanatomic alignment according to intermargin distance (IMD values. Repeatability was assessed for IMD and joint space width (JSW measured at three different locations. Results: Approximately 90% of knee images presented excellent quality. Frequencies of nearly perfect radioanatomic alignment (IMD ≤1 mm ranged from 29% to 50%, and satisfactory alignment was found in up to 71% and 76% of the images (IMD ≤1.5 mm and ≤1.7 mm, respectively. Repeatability analyses yielded the following results: IMD [SD of mean difference = 1.08; coefficient of variation (%CV = 54.68%; intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC (95%CI = 0.59 (0.34–0.77]; JSW [SD of mean difference = 0.34–0.61; %CV = 4.48%–9.80%; ICC (95%CI = 0.74 (0.55–0.85–0.94 (0.87–0.97]. Adequately reproducible measurements of IMD and JSW were found in 68% and 87% of the images, respectively. Conclusions: Despite the difficulty in achieving consistent radioanatomic alignment between subsequent radiographs in terms of IMD, the protocol produced highly repeatable JSW measurements when these were taken at midpoint and 10 mm from the medial extremity of the medial tibial plateau. Therefore, measurements of JSW at these locations can be considered adequate for the assessment of knee OA in ELSA-Brasil MSK.

Prognostic usefulness of repeated echocardiographic evaluation after acute myocardial infarction. TRACE Study Group. TRAndolapril Cardiac Evaluation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korup, E; Køber, L; Torp-Pedersen, C

1999-01-01

The prognostic value of repeated echocardiographic measurement of left ventricular function after acute myocardial infarction was evaluated. We found that repeated measurements of wall motion index in survivors of acute myocardial infarction, with no reinfarction, provide important prognostic...

Measurements of identified particles at intermediate transverse momentum in the STAR experiment from Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV

CERN Document Server

Adams, John; Ahammed, Z.; Amonett, J.; Anderson, B.D.; Anderson, M.; Arkhipkin, D.; Averichev, G.S.; Badyal, S.K.; Bai, Y.; Balewski, J.; Barannikova, O.; Barnby, L.S.; Baudot, J.; Bekele, S.; Belaga, V.V.; Bellingeri-Laurikainen, A.; Bellwied, R.; Bezverkhny, B.I.; Bharadwaj, S.; Bhasin, A.; Bhati, A.K.; Bichsel, H.; Bielcik, J.; Bielcikova, J.; Bland, L.C.; Blyth, C.O.; Blyth, S.L.; Bonner, B.E.; Botje, M.; Bouchet, J.; Brandin, A.V.; Bravar, A.; Bystersky, M.; Cadman, R.V.; Cai, X.Z.; Caines, H.; Calderon de la Barca Sancez, M.; Castillo, J.; Catu, O.; Cebra, D.A.; Chajecki, Z.; Chaloupka, P.; Chattopadhyay, S.; Chen, H.F.; Chen, J.H.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, J.; Cherney, Michael G.; Chikanian, A.; Choi, H.A.; Christie, W.; Coffin, J.P.; Cormier, T.M.; Cosentino, M.R.; Cramer, J.G.; Crawford, H.J.; Das, D.; Das, S.; Daugherity, M.; de Moura, M.M.; Dedovich, T.G.; DePhillips, M.; Derevschikov, A.A.; Didenko, L.; Dietel, T.; Djawotho, P.; Dogra, S.M.; Dong, W.J.; Dong, X.; Draper, J.E.; Du, F.; Dunin, V.B.; Dunlop, J.C.; Dutta Mazumdar, M.R.; Eckardt, V.; Edwards, W.R.; Efimov, L.G.; Emelianov, V.; Engelage, J.; Eppley, G.; Erazmus, B.; Estienne, M.; Fachini, P.; Fatemi, R.; Fedorisin, J.; Filimonov, K.; Filip, P.; Finch, E.; Fine, V.; Fisyak, Y.; Fornazier, K.S.F.; Fu, J.; Gagliardi, C.A.; Gaillard, L.; Gans, J.; Ganti, M.S.; Ghazikhanian, V.; Ghosh, P.; Gonzalez, J.E.; Gorbunov, Y.G.; Gos, H.; Grebenyuk, O.; Grosnick, D.; Guertin, S.M.; Guo, Y.; Gupta, A.; Gupta, N.; Gutierrez, T.D.; Haag, B.; Hallman, T.J.; Hamed, A.; Harris, J.W.; He, W.; Heinz, M.; Henry, T.W.; Hepplemann, S.; Hippolyte, B.; Hirsch, A.; Hjort, E.; Hoffmann, G.W.; Horner, M.J.; Huang, H.Z.; Huang, S.L.; Hughes, E.W.; Humanic, T.J.; Igo, G.; Jacobs, P.; Jacobs, W.W.; Jakl, P.; Jia, F.; Jiang, H.; Jones, P.G.; Judd, E.G.; Kabana, S.; Kang, K.; Kapitan, J.; Kaplan, M.; Keane, D.; Kechechyan, A.; Khodyrev, V.Yu.; Kim, B.C.; Kiryluk, J.; Kisiel, A.; Kislov, E.M.; Klein, S.R.; Koetke, D.D.; Kollegger, T.; Kopytine, M.; Kotchenda, L.; Kouchpil, V.; Kowalik, K.L.; Kramer, M.; Kravtsov, P.; Kravtsov, V.I.; Krueger, K.; Kuhn, C.; Kulikov, A.I.; Kumar, A.; Kuznetsov, A.A.; Lamont, M.A.C.; Landgraf, J.M.; Lange, S.; LaPointe, S.; Laue, F.; Lauret, J.; Lebedev, A.; Lednicky, R.; Lee, C.H.; Lehocka, S.; LeVine, Micheal J.; Li, C.; Li, Q.; Li, Y.; Lin, G.; Lindenbaum, S.J.; Lisa, M.A.; Liu, F.; Liu, H.; Liu, J.; Liu, L.; Liu, Z.; Ljubicic, T.; Llope, W.J.; Long, H.; Longacre, R.S.; Lopez-Noriega, M.; Love, W.A.; Lu, Y.; Ludlam, T.; Lynn, D.; Ma, G.L.; Ma, J.G.; Ma, Y.G.; Magestro, D.; Mahajan, S.; Mahapatra, D.P.; Majka, R.; Mangotra, L.K.; Manweiler, R.; Margetis, S.; Markert, C.; Martin, L.; Matis, H.S.; Matulenko, Yu.A.; McClain, C.J.; McShane, T.S.; Melnick, Yu.; Meschanin, A.; Miller, M.L.; Milos, M.; Minaev, N.G.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mironov, C.; Mischke, A.; Mishra, D.K.; Mitchell, J.; Mohanty, B.; Molnar, L.; Moore, C.F.; Morozov, D.A.; Munhoz, M.G.; Nandi, B.K.; Nayak, S.K.; Nayak, T.K.; Nelson, J.M.; Netrakanti, P.K.; Nikitin, V.A.; Nogach, L.V.; Nurushev, S.B.; Odyniec, G.; Ogawa, A.; Okorokov, V.; Oldenburg, M.; Olson, D.; Pal, S.K.; Panebratsev, Y.; Panitkin, S.Y.; Pavlinov, A.I.; Pawlak, T.; Peitzmann, T.; Perevoztchikov, V.; Perkins, C.; Peryt, W.; Petrov, V.A.; Phatak, S.C.; Picha, R.; Planinic, M.; Pluta, J.; Poljak, N.; Porile, N.; Porter, J.; Poskanzer, A.M.; Potekhin, M.; Potrebenikova, E.; Potukuchi, B.V.K.S.; Prindle, D.; Pruneau, C.; Putschke, J.; Rakness, G.; Raniwala, R.; Raniwala, S.; Ray, R.L.; Razin, S.V.; Reinnarth, J.; Relyea, D.; Retiere, F.; Ridiger, A.; Ritter, H.G.; Roberts, J.B.; Rogachevskiy, O.V.; Romero, J.L.; Rose, A.; Roy, C.; Ruan, L.; Russcher, M.J.; Sahoo, R.; Sakrejda, I.; Salur, S.; Sandweiss, J.; Sarsour, M.; Savin, Igor A.; Sazhin, P.S.; Schambach, J.; Scharenberg, R.P.; Schmitz, N.; Schweda, K.; Seger, J.; Selyuzhenkov, I.; Seyboth, P.; Shabetai, A.; Shahaliev, E.; Shao, M.; Sharma, M.; Shen, W.Q.; Shimanskiy, S.S.; Sichtermann, E; Simon, F.; Singaraju, R.N.; Smirnov, N.; Snellings, R.; Sood, G.; Sorensen, P.; Sowinski, J.; Speltz, J.; Spinka, H.M.; Srivastava, B.; Stadnik, A.; Stanislaus, T.D.S.; Stock, R.; Stolpovsky, A.; Strikhanov, M.; Stringfellow, B.; Suaide, A.A.P.; Sugarbaker, E.; Sumbera, M.; Sun, Z.; Surrow, B.; Swanger, M.; Symons, T.J.M.; Szanto de Toledo, A.; Tai, A.; Takahashi, J.; Tang, A.H.; Tarnowsky, T.; Thein, D.; Thomas, J.H.; Timmins, A.R.; Timoshenko, S.; Tokarev, M.; Trainor, T.A.; Trentalange, S.; Tribble, R.E.; Tsai, O.D.; Ulery, J.; Ullrich, T.; Underwood, David G.; Van Buren, G.; van der Kolk, N.; van Leeuwen, M.; Vander Molen, A.M.; Varma, R.; Vasilevski, I.M.; Vasiliev, A.N.; Vernet, R.; Vigdor, S.E.; Viyogi, Y.P.; Vokal, S.; Voloshin, S.A.; Waggoner, W.T.; Wang, F.; Wang, G.; Wang, J.S.; Wang, X.L.; Wang, Y.; Watson, J.W.; Webb, J.C.; Westfall, G.D.; Wetzler, A.; Whitten, C., Jr.; Wieman, H.; Wissink, S.W.; Witt, R.; Wood, J.; Wu, J.; Xu, N.; Xu, Q.H.; Xu, Z.; Yepes, P.; Yoo, I.K.; Yurevich, V.I.; Zborovsky, I.; Zhan, W.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, W.M.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Z.P.; Zhao, Y.; Zhong, C.; Zoulkarneev, R.; Zoulkarneeva, Y.; Zubarev, A.N.; Zuo, J.X.; Braem, A.; Davenport, M.; De Cataldo, G.; Di Bari, D.; Di Mauro, A.; Kunde, G.J.; Martinengo, P.; Nappi, E.; Paic, G.; Posa, E.; Piuz, F.; Schyns, E.

2006-01-01

Data for Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_{NN}}=200 GeV are analyzed to determine the ratios of identified hadrons ($\\pi$, $K$, $p$, $\\Lambda$) as functions of collision centrality and transverse momentum ($p_T$). We find that ratios of anti-baryon to baryon yields are independent of $p_T$ up to 5 GeV/c, a result inconsistent with results of theoretical pQCD calculations that predict a decrease due to a stronger contribution from valence quark scattering. For both strange and non-strange species, strong baryon enhancements relative to meson yields are observed as a function of collision centrality in the intermediate $p_T$ region, leading to $p/\\pi$ and $\\Lambda$/K ratios greater than unity. The increased $p_T$ range offered by the $\\Lambda$/K$^{0}_{S}$ ratio allows a test of the applicability of various models developed for the intermediate $p_{T}$ region. The physics implications of these measurements are discussed with regard to different theoretical models.

Effect of Intermediate Hosts on Emerging Zoonoses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jing-An; Chen, Fangyuan; Fan, Shengjie

2017-08-01

Most emerging zoonotic pathogens originate from animals. They can directly infect humans through natural reservoirs or indirectly through intermediate hosts. As a bridge, an intermediate host plays different roles in the transmission of zoonotic pathogens. In this study, we present three types of pathogen transmission to evaluate the effect of intermediate hosts on emerging zoonotic diseases in human epidemics. These types are identified as follows: TYPE 1, pathogen transmission without an intermediate host for comparison; TYPE 2, pathogen transmission with an intermediate host as an amplifier; and TYPE 3, pathogen transmission with an intermediate host as a vessel for genetic variation. In addition, we established three mathematical models to elucidate the mechanisms underlying zoonotic disease transmission according to these three types. Stability analysis indicated that the existence of intermediate hosts increased the difficulty of controlling zoonotic diseases because of more difficult conditions to satisfy for the disease to die out. The human epidemic would die out under the following conditions: TYPE 1: [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]; TYPE 2: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]; and TYPE 3: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] Simulation with similar parameters demonstrated that intermediate hosts could change the peak time and number of infected humans during a human epidemic; intermediate hosts also exerted different effects on controlling the prevalence of a human epidemic with natural reservoirs in different periods, which is important in addressing problems in public health. Monitoring and controlling the number of natural reservoirs and intermediate hosts at the right time would successfully manage and prevent the prevalence of emerging zoonoses in humans.

Revisiting the TALE repeat.

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Dong; Yan, Chuangye; Wu, Jianping; Pan, Xiaojing; Yan, Nieng

2014-04-01

Transcription activator-like (TAL) effectors specifically bind to double stranded (ds) DNA through a central domain of tandem repeats. Each TAL effector (TALE) repeat comprises 33-35 amino acids and recognizes one specific DNA base through a highly variable residue at a fixed position in the repeat. Structural studies have revealed the molecular basis of DNA recognition by TALE repeats. Examination of the overall structure reveals that the basic building block of TALE protein, namely a helical hairpin, is one-helix shifted from the previously defined TALE motif. Here we wish to suggest a structure-based re-demarcation of the TALE repeat which starts with the residues that bind to the DNA backbone phosphate and concludes with the base-recognition hyper-variable residue. This new numbering system is consistent with the α-solenoid superfamily to which TALE belongs, and reflects the structural integrity of TAL effectors. In addition, it confers integral number of TALE repeats that matches the number of bound DNA bases. We then present fifteen crystal structures of engineered dHax3 variants in complex with target DNA molecules, which elucidate the structural basis for the recognition of bases adenine (A) and guanine (G) by reported or uncharacterized TALE codes. Finally, we analyzed the sequence-structure correlation of the amino acid residues within a TALE repeat. The structural analyses reported here may advance the mechanistic understanding of TALE proteins and facilitate the design of TALEN with improved affinity and specificity.

Intermediate structure and threshold phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hategan, Cornel

2004-01-01

The Intermediate Structure, evidenced through microstructures of the neutron strength function, is reflected in open reaction channels as fluctuations in excitation function of nuclear threshold effects. The intermediate state supporting both neutron strength function and nuclear threshold effect is a micro-giant neutron threshold state. (author)

Evidence to support horses as natural intermediate hosts for Sarcocystis neurona.

Science.gov (United States)

Mullaney, Thomas; Murphy, Alice J; Kiupel, Matti; Bell, Julia A; Rossano, Mary G; Mansfield, Linda S

2005-10-10

amplicons showed 100% identity. Although Koch's postulates have not been demonstrated in this case study, the finding of mature, intact S. neurona schizonts and sarcocysts in the tissues of this single horse strongly suggests that horses have the potential to act as intermediate hosts. Further studies are needed to demonstrate Koch's postulates with repeated transfer of S. neurona between opossums and horses.

Intermediate algebra & analytic geometry

CERN Document Server

Gondin, William R

1967-01-01

Intermediate Algebra & Analytic Geometry Made Simple focuses on the principles, processes, calculations, and methodologies involved in intermediate algebra and analytic geometry. The publication first offers information on linear equations in two unknowns and variables, functions, and graphs. Discussions focus on graphic interpretations, explicit and implicit functions, first quadrant graphs, variables and functions, determinate and indeterminate systems, independent and dependent equations, and defective and redundant systems. The text then examines quadratic equations in one variable, system

Repeatability of quantitative 18F-FLT uptake measurements in solid tumors: an individual patient data multi-center meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, G M; Liu, Y; de Langen, A J; Jansma, E P; Trigonis, I; Asselin, M-C; Jackson, A; Kenny, L; Aboagye, E O; Hoekstra, O S; Boellaard, R

2018-06-01

3'-deoxy-3'-[ 18 F]fluorothymidine ( 18 F-FLT) positron emission tomography (PET) provides a non-invasive method to assess cellular proliferation and response to antitumor therapy. Quantitative 18 F-FLT uptake metrics are being used for evaluation of proliferative response in investigational setting, however multi-center repeatability needs to be established. The aim of this study was to determine the repeatability of 18 F-FLT tumor uptake metrics by re-analyzing individual patient data from previously published reports using the same tumor segmentation method and repeatability metrics across cohorts. A systematic search in PubMed, EMBASE.com and the Cochrane Library from inception-October 2016 yielded five 18 F-FLT repeatability cohorts in solid tumors. 18 F-FLT avid lesions were delineated using a 50% isocontour adapted for local background on test and retest scans. SUV max , SUV mean , SUV peak , proliferative volume and total lesion uptake (TLU) were calculated. Repeatability was assessed using the repeatability coefficient (RC = 1.96 × SD of test-retest differences), linear regression analysis, and the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). The impact of different lesion selection criteria was also evaluated. Images from four cohorts containing 30 patients with 52 lesions were obtained and analyzed (ten in breast cancer, nine in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, and 33 in non-small cell lung cancer patients). A good correlation was found between test-retest data for all 18 F-FLT uptake metrics (R 2  ≥ 0.93; ICC ≥ 0.96). Best repeatability was found for SUV peak (RC: 23.1%), without significant differences in RC between different SUV metrics. Repeatability of proliferative volume (RC: 36.0%) and TLU (RC: 36.4%) was worse than SUV. Lesion selection methods based on SUV max  ≥ 4.0 improved the repeatability of volumetric metrics (RC: 26-28%), but did not affect the repeatability of SUV metrics. In multi-center studies

The effects of toluene plus noise on hearing thresholds: an evaluation based on repeated measurements in the German printing industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Schäper, Michael; Seeber, Andreas; van Thriel, Christoph

2008-01-01

The ototoxicity of occupational exposure to toluene plus noise was investigated in a longitudinal study in rotogravure printing and existing findings in the literature were evaluated. The study comprised four repeated examinations during 5 years and started with 333 male workers. Lifetime weighted average exposures (LWAE) to toluene and noise were determined from individual work histories and historic recordings; recent individual exposures were measured 10 times during the study (toluene, active sampling; noise, stationary measurements). Auditory thresholds were measured with pure tone audiometry at 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12 kHz. Mean LWAE exposures to toluene and noise were 45+/-17 ppm plus 82+/-7 dB(A) for high toluene exposed and 10+/-7 ppm plus 82+/-4 dB(A) for low toluene exposed subjects, mean current exposures were 26+/-20 ppm plus 81+/-4 dB(A) and 3+/-3 ppm plus 82+/-4 dB(A). Mean exposure duration was 21.3+/-6.5 years for long exposed and 5.9+/-2.2 years for short exposed subjects. Repeated measurement analyses of variance did not reveal effects of toluene intensity, exposure duration and interactions between toluene intensity and noise intensity. Noise intensity [79+/-3 dB(A) vs. 84+/-1 dB(A)] was significant for auditory thresholds. A case concept utilising developments of individual auditory thresholds did not reveal significant toluene effects. Logistic models including age, exposure duration, toluene in ambient air, current noise and either hippuric acid or ortho-cresol (o-cresol) found only age to be significant for elevated OR of high frequency hearing loss. Due to missing toluene effects, it was concluded that the threshold level for developing hearing loss as a result of occupational exposure to toluene plus noise might be above the current limit of 50 ppm toluene.

Spatial Cluster Detection for Repeatedly Measured Outcomes while Accounting for Residential History

OpenAIRE

Cook, Andrea J.; Gold, Diane R.; Li, Yi

2009-01-01

Spatial cluster detection has become an important methodology in quantifying the effect of hazardous exposures. Previous methods have focused on cross-sectional outcomes that are binary or continuous. There are virtually no spatial cluster detection methods proposed for longitudinal outcomes. This paper proposes a new spatial cluster detection method for repeated outcomes using cumulative geographic residuals. A major advantage of this method is its ability to readily incorporate information ...

Capital Regulation, the Cost of Financial Intermediation and Bank Profitability: Evidence from Bangladesh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changjun Zheng

2017-04-01

Full Text Available In response to the recent global financial crisis, the regulatory authorities in many countries have imposed stringent capital requirements in the form of the BASEL III Accord to ensure financial stability. On the other hand, bankers have criticized new regulation on the ground that it would enhance the cost of funds for bank borrowers and deteriorate the bank profitability. In this study, we examine the impact of capital requirements on the cost of financial intermediation and bank profitability using a panel dataset of 32 Bangladeshi banks over the period from 2000 to 2015. By employing a dynamic panel generalized method of moments (GMM estimator, we find robust evidence that higher bank regulatory capital ratios reduce the cost of financial intermediation and increase bank profitability. The results hold when we use equity to total assets ratio as an alternative measure of bank capital. We also observe that switching from BASEL I to BASEL II has no measurable impact on the cost of financial intermediation and bank profitability in Bangladesh. In the empirical analysis, we further observe that higher bank management and cost efficiencies are associated with the lower cost of financial intermediation and higher bank profitability. These results have important implications for bank regulators, academicians, and bankers.

Validity and repeatability of goniometry in normal horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Adair, Henry S; Marcellin-Little, Denis J; Levine, David

2016-07-19

To assess validity and inter- and intra-tester reliability of equine goniometry and to establish values for carpal, metacarpophalangeal, tarsal, and metatarsophalangeal flexion and extension in horses. Seventeen healthy equine subjects of varied breeds were used. Three investigators blindly and independently measured in triplicate the extension and flexion of carpal, metacarpophalangeal, tarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints of 17 horses after sedation. Radiographs of these joints in flexion and extension were acquired while under sedation. Goniometric and radiographic measurements were compared statistically and were correlated. A Bland-Altman plot was constructed. Inter- and intra-tester repeatability of goniometry were evaluated by calculating intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). Mean flexion and extension of carpal, metacarpophalangeal, tarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints were calculated. Goniometric and radiographic measurements did not differ statistically and were significantly correlated (correlation coefficients ranged from 0.59 - 0.89). The mean difference between goniometric and radiographic measurements was 0.4°. Triplicate measurements collected by the three raters did not differ significantly within raters (ICC ranging from 0.950 - 0.995) and between raters (ICC ranging from 0.942 - 0.989). Goniometry is a valid and repeatable tool for evaluation of the range of motion of carpal, metacarpophalangeal, tarsal, and metatarsophalangeal joints in standing, sedated healthy horses.

Spin observables in proton-neutron scattering at intermediate energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spinka, H.

1986-05-01

A summary of np elastic scattering spin measurements at intermediate energy is given. Preliminary results from a LAMPF experiment to measure free neutron-proton elastic scattering spin-spin correlation parameters are presented. A longitudinally polarized proton target was used. These measurements are part of a program to determine the neutron-proton amplitudes in a model independent fashion at 500, 650, and 800 MeV. Some new proton-proton total cross sections in pure helicity states (Δσ/sub L/(pp)) near 3 GeV/c are also given. 37 refs., 2 figs

Regularities of intermediate adsorption complex relaxation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manukova, L.A.

1982-01-01

The experimental data, characterizing the regularities of intermediate adsorption complex relaxation in the polycrystalline Mo-N 2 system at 77 K are given. The method of molecular beam has been used in the investigation. The analytical expressions of change regularity in the relaxation process of full and specific rates - of transition from intermediate state into ''non-reversible'', of desorption into the gas phase and accumUlation of the particles in the intermediate state are obtained

FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

OpenAIRE

Wenli Cheng

2007-01-01

This paper presents a simple general equilibrium model of financial intermediation, entrepreneurship and economic growth. In this model, the role of financial intermediation is to pool savings and to lend the pooled funds to an entrepreneur, who in turn invests the funds in a new production technology. The adoption of the new production technology improves individual real income. Thus financial intermediation promotes economic growth through affecting individuals’ saving behaviour and enabl...

Some Intermediate-Level Violin Concertos.

Science.gov (United States)

Abramson, Michael

1997-01-01

Contends that many violin students attempt difficult concertos before they are technically or musically prepared. Identifies a variety of concertos at the intermediate and advanced intermediate-level for students to study and master before attempting the advanced works by Bach and Mozart. Includes concertos by Vivaldi, Leclair, Viotti, Haydn,…

Evaluation, including effects of storage and repeated freezing and thawing, of a method for measurement of urinary creatinine

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garde, A H; Hansen, Åse Marie; Kristiansen, J

2003-01-01

The aims of this study were to elucidate to what extent storage and repeated freezing and thawing influenced the concentration of creatinine in urine samples and to evaluate the method for determination of creatinine in urine. The creatinine method was based on the well-known Jaffe's reaction...... and measured on a COBAS Mira autoanalyser from Roche. The main findings were that samples for analysis of creatinine should be kept at a temperature of -20 degrees C or lower and frozen and thawed only once. The limit of detection, determined as 3 x SD of 20 determinations of a sample at a low concentration (6...

The inverted chevron plot measured by NMR relaxation reveals a native-like unfolding intermediate in acyl-CoA binding protein

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Teilum, Kaare; Poulsen, F. M.; Akke, M.

2006-01-01

those from stopped-flow kinetics and define an "inverted chevron" plot. The combination of NMR relaxation and stopped-flow kinetic measurements allowed determination of k f and k u in the range from 0.48 M GuHCl to 1.28 M GuHCl. Individually, the stopped-flow and NMR data fit two-state models...... for folding. However, although the values of k f determined by the two methods agree, the values of k u do not. As a result, a combined analysis of all data does not comply with a two-state model but indicates that an unfolding intermediate exists on the native side of the dominant energy barrier...

Type 1 Does The Two-Step: Type 1 Secretion Substrates With A Functional Periplasmic Intermediate.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Timothy J; Sondermann, Holger; O'Toole, George A

2018-06-04

Bacteria have evolved several secretion strategies for polling and responding to environmental flux and insult. Of these, the type 1 secretion system (T1SS) is known to secrete an array of biologically diverse proteins - from small < 10 kDa bacteriocins to gigantic adhesins with a mass over 1 MDa. For the last several decades T1SS have been characterized as a one-step translocation strategy whereby the secreted substrate is transported directly into the extracellular environment from the cytoplasm with no periplasmic intermediate. Recent phylogenetic, biochemical, and genetic evidence point to a distinct sub-group of T1SS machinery linked with a bacterial transglutaminase-like cysteine proteinase (BTLCP), which uses a two-step secretion mechanism. BTLCP-linked T1SS transport a class of repeats-in-toxin (RTX) adhesins that are critical for biofilm formation. The prototype of this RTX adhesin group, LapA of Pseudomonas fluorescens Pf0-1, uses a novel N-terminal retention module to anchor the adhesin at the cell surface as a secretion intermediate threaded through the outer membrane-localized, TolC-like protein LapE. This secretion intermediate is post-translationally cleaved by the BTLCP family LapG protein to release LapA from its cognate T1SS pore. Thus, secretion of LapA and related RTX adhesins into the extracellular environment appears to be a T1SS-mediated, two-step process that involves a periplasmic intermediate. In this review, we contrast the T1SS machinery and substrates of the BLTCP-linked two-step secretion process with those of the classical one-step T1SS to better understand the newly recognized and expanded role of this secretion machinery. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

Money distribution with intermediation

OpenAIRE

Teles, Caio Augusto Colnago

2013-01-01

This pap er analyzes the distribution of money holdings in a commo dity money search-based mo del with intermediation. Intro ducing heterogeneity of costs to the Kiyotaki e Wright ( 1989 ) mo del, Cavalcanti e Puzzello ( 2010) gives rise to a non-degenerated distribution of money. We extend further this mo del intro ducing intermediation in the trading pro cess. We show that the distribution of money matters for savings decisions. This gives rises to a xed p oint problem for the ...

Search for intermediate vector bosons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klajn, D.B.; Rubbia, K.; Meer, S.

1983-01-01

Problem of registration and search for intermediate vector bosons is discussed. According to weak-current theory there are three intermediate vector bosons with +1(W + )-1(W - ) and zero (Z 0 ) electric charges. It was suggested to conduct the investigation into particles in 1976 by cline, Rubbia and Makintair using proton-antiproton beams. Major difficulties of the experiment are related to the necessity of formation of sufficient amount of antiparticles and the method of antiproton beam ''cooling'' for the purpose of reduction of its random movements. The stochastic method was suggested by van der Meer in 1968 as one of possible cooling methods. Several large detectors were designed for searching intermediate vector bosons

Biocatalytic Synthesis of Chiral Pharmaceutical Intermediates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramesh N. Patel

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The production of single enantiomers of drug intermediates has become increasingly important in the pharmaceutical industry. Chiral intermediates and fine chemicals are in high demand from both the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries for the preparation of bulk drug substances and agricultural products. The enormous potential of microorganisms and enzymes for the transformation of synthetic chemicals with high chemo-, regio- and enantioselectivities has been demonstrated. In this article, biocatalytic processes are described for the synthesis of chiral pharmaceutical intermediates.

Brillouin spectroscopy with surface acoustic waves on intermediate valent, doped SmS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaerer, U.; Jung, A.; Wachter, P.

1998-01-01

Brillouin scattering on surface acoustic waves is a very powerful tool to determine the elastic constants of intermediate valent crystals, since the method is non-destructive and no mechanical contact is needed. A strong evidence for intermediate valence is a negative value of Poisson's ratio, which describes the behavior of the volume under uniaxial pressure. SmS by itself makes a semiconductor-metal transition at a pressure of more than 6.5 kbar. When substituting the divalent Sm by a trivalent cation, like Y, La or Tm, SmS can become - depending on the doping concentration - intermediate valent without any applied, external pressure. In this work, we will present measurements of the velocities of the surface acoustic waves and the calculation of the elastic constants of La- and Tm-doped SmS compounds. We found a clear dependence of Poisson's ratio on the doping concentration and on the valence of the materials. Furthermore, we will discuss the mechanism leading to intermediate valence when substituting Sm. Besides the internal, chemical pressure, which is produced by the built in trivalent cations with their smaller ionic radii, we have clear evidence, that the free electrons in the 5d band, induced by the substituting atoms, also play an important role in making doped SmS intermediate valent. (orig.)

Simplifying biochemical models with intermediate species

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Feliu, Elisenda; Wiuf, Carsten

2013-01-01

techniques, we study systematically the effects of intermediate, or transient, species in biochemical systems and provide a simple, yet rigorous mathematical classification of all models obtained from a core model by including intermediates. Main examples include enzymatic and post-translational modification...... systems, where intermediates often are considered insignificant and neglected in a model, or they are not included because we are unaware of their existence. All possible models obtained from the core model are classified into a finite number of classes. Each class is defined by a mathematically simple...... canonical model that characterizes crucial dynamical properties, such as mono- and multistationarity and stability of steady states, of all models in the class. We show that if the core model does not have conservation laws, then the introduction of intermediates does not change the steady...

78 FR 65594 - Vehicular Repeaters

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-01

... coordinators estimate the effect on coordination fees? Does the supposed benefit that mobile repeater stations... allow the licensing and operation of vehicular repeater systems and other mobile repeaters by public... email: [email protected] or phone: 202-418- 0530 or TTY: 202-418-0432. For detailed instructions for...

Direct, coherent and incoherent intermediate state tunneling and scanning tunnel microscopy (STM)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halbritter, J.

1997-01-01

Theory and experiment in tunneling are still qualitative in nature, which hold true also for the latest developments in direct-, resonant-, coherent- and incoherent-tunneling. Those tunnel processes have recently branched out of the field of ''solid state tunnel junctions'' into the fields of scanning tunnel microscopy (STM), single electron tunneling (SET) and semiconducting resonant tunnel structures (RTS). All these fields have promoted the understanding of tunneling in different ways reaching from the effect of coherence, of incoherence and of charging in tunneling, to spin flip or inelastic effects. STM allows not only the accurate measurements of the tunnel current and its voltage dependence but, more importantly, the easy quantification via the (quantum) tunnel channel conductance and the distance dependence. This new degree of freedom entering exponentially the tunnel current allows an unique identification of individual tunnel channels and their quantification. In STM measurements large tunnel currents are observed for large distances d > 1 nm explainable by intermediate state tunneling. Direct tunneling with its reduced tunnel time and reduced off-site Coulomb charging bridges distances below 1 nm, only. The effective charge transfer process with its larger off-site and on-site charging at intermediate states dominates tunnel transfer in STM, biology and chemistry over distances in the nm-range. Intermediates state tunneling becomes variable range hopping conduction for distances larger than d > 2 nm, for larger densities of intermediate states n 1 (ε) and for larger temperatures T or voltages U, still allowing high resolution imaging

Tevatron serial data repeater system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ducar, R.J.

1981-01-01

A ten megabit per second serial data repeater system has been developed for the 6.28km Tevatron accelerator. The repeaters are positioned at each of the thirty service buildings and accommodate control and abort system communications as well as distribution of the Tevatron time and energy clocks. The repeaters are transparent to the particular protocol of the transmissions. Serial data are encoded locally as unipolar two volt signals employing the self-clocking Manchester Bi-Phase code. The repeaters modulate the local signals to low-power bursts of 50 MHz rf carrier for the 260m transmission between service buildings. The repeaters also demodulate the transmission and restructure the data for local utilization. The employment of frequency discrimination techniques yields high immunity to the characteristic noise spectrum

Reactions of stabilized Criegee Intermediates

Science.gov (United States)

Vereecken, Luc; Harder, Hartwig; Novelli, Anna

2014-05-01

Carbonyl oxides (Criegee intermediates) were proposed as key intermediates in the gas phase ozonolysis of alkenes in 1975 by Rudolf Criegee. Despite the importance of ozonolysis in atmospheric chemistry, direct observation of these intermediates remained elusive, with only indirect experimental evidence for their role in the oxidation of hydrocarbons, e.g. through scavenging experiments. Direct experimental observation of stabilized CI has only been achieved since 2008. Since then, a concerted effort using experimental and theoretical means is in motion to characterize the chemistry and kinetics of these reactive intermediates. We present the results of theoretical investigations of the chemistry of Criegee intermediates with a series of coreactants which may be of importance in the atmosphere, in experimental setups, or both. This includes the CI+CI cross-reaction, which proceeds with a rate coefficient near the collision limit and can be important in experimental conditions. The CI + alkene reactions show strong dependence of the rate coefficient depending on the coreactants, but is generally found to be rather slow. The CI + ozone reaction is sufficiently fast to occur both in experiment and the free troposphere, and acts as a sink for CI. The reaction of CI with hydroperoxides, ROOH, is complex, and leads both to the formation of oligomers, as to the formation of reactive etheroxides, with a moderately fast rate coefficient. The importance of these reactions is placed in the context of the reaction conditions in different atmospheric environments ranging from unpolluted to highly polluted.

Intermediate structures in alpha scattering on 28Si nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamys, B.; Bobrovska, A.; Budzanovski, A. et al.

1975-01-01

Excitation functions and angular distributions of α-particles scattering on 28 Si nuclei, measured by various authors, are analyzed. Theoretical processing of results is divided into two stages: statistical analysis and analysis in terms of the Regge pole model (RPM). The aim of the statistical analysis is to demonstrate that the structure of excitation curves contains resonance effects. RMP with non-resonance background, described by the optical model (OM), is used to obtain data on properties of intermediate resonances. Autocorrelation functions for one elastic and two inelastic scattering channels are calculated. The mean width of compound states is about 100keV, which is in a good agreement with results of other authores. An analysis of correlation coefficients calculated for all pairs of excitation curves for elastic and two inelastic channels points to the existence of intermediate resonances in each of investigated reaction channels. In the case of large-angle scattering the contribution of potential interaction into the total cross-section is 20-30%, and that of resonance scattering is 50-60%. Energy dependence of Regge pole parameters has also been studied to obtain data on the existence and properties of intermediate resonances

Repeat Customer Success in Extension

Science.gov (United States)

Bess, Melissa M.; Traub, Sarah M.

2013-01-01

Four multi-session research-based programs were offered by two Extension specialist in one rural Missouri county. Eleven participants who came to multiple Extension programs could be called "repeat customers." Based on the total number of participants for all four programs, 25% could be deemed as repeat customers. Repeat customers had…

Film repeats in radiology department

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suwan, A. Z.; Al-Shakharah, A. I

1997-01-01

During a one year period, 4910 radiographs of 55780 films were repeated. The objective of our study was to analyse and to classify the causes in order to minimize the repeats, cut the expenses and to provide optimal radiographs for accurate diagnosis. Analysis of the different factors revealed that, 43.6% of film repeats in our service were due to faults in exposure factors, centering comprises 15.9% of the repeats, while too much collimation was responsible for 7.6% of these repeats. All of which can be decreased by awareness and programmed training of technicians. Film blurring caused by patient motion was also responsible for 4.9% for radiographs reexamination, which can be minimized by detailed explanation to the patient and providing the necessary privacy. Fogging of X-Ray films by improper storage or inadequate handling or processing faults were responsible for 14.5% in repeats in our study. Methods and criteria for proper storage and handling of films were discussed. Recommendation for using modern day-light and laser processor has been high lighted. Artefacts are noticeably high in our cases, due to spinal dresses and frequent usage of precious metals for c osmotic purposes in this part of the world. The repeated films comprise 8.8% of all films We conclude that, the main factor responsible for repeats of up to 81.6% of cases was the technologists, thus emphasizing the importance of adequate training of the technologists. (authors). 15 refs., 9 figs., 1 table

Repeated nicotine exposure enhances reward-related learning in the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Olausson, Peter; Jentsch, J David; Taylor, Jane R

2003-07-01

Repeated exposure to addictive drugs causes neuroadaptive changes in cortico-limbic-striatal circuits that may underlie alterations in incentive-motivational processes and reward-related learning. Such drug-induced alterations may be relevant to drug addiction because enhanced incentive motivation and increased control over behavior by drug-associated stimuli may contribute to aspects of compulsive drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors. This study investigated the consequences of repeated nicotine treatment on the acquisition and performance of Pavlovian discriminative approach behavior, a measure of reward-related learning, in male rats. Water-restricted rats were trained to associate a compound conditioned stimulus (tone+light) with the availability of water (the unconditioned stimulus) in 15 consecutive daily sessions. In separate experiments, rats were repeatedly treated with nicotine (0.35 mg/kg, s.c.) either (1) prior to the onset of training, (2) after each daily training session was completed (ie postsession injections), or (3) received nicotine both before the onset of training as well as after each daily training session. In this study, all nicotine treatment schedules increased Pavlovian discriminative approach behavior and, thus, prior repeated exposure to nicotine, repeated postsession nicotine injections, or both, facilitated reward-related learning.

Periodic inspections of lightning protection systems in intermediate storage facilities of nuclear technological plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Witzel, Andre; Schulz, Olav

2013-01-01

Especially for nuclear technological plants, periodic inspections of lightning protection systems are of great importance. This article shows the sequence of maintenance programs using the examples of the intermediate storage facilities of the nuclear technological plants Grohnde and Unterweser as well as the central intermediate storage facility in Gorleben and gives a description of the extensive measures of inspecting the external and internal lightning protection and the global earth termination system.

The folly of using RCCs and RVUs for intermediate product costing.

Science.gov (United States)

Young, David W

2007-04-01

Two measures for computing the cost of intermediate projects--a ratio of cost to charges and relative value units--are highly flawed and can have serious financial implications for the hospitals that use them. Full-cost accounting, using the principles of activity-based costing, enables hospitals to measure their costs more accurately, both for competitive bidding purposes and to manage them more effectively.

Repeat migration and disappointment.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, E K; Vanderkamp, J

1986-01-01

This article investigates the determinants of repeat migration among the 44 regions of Canada, using information from a large micro-database which spans the period 1968 to 1971. The explanation of repeat migration probabilities is a difficult task, and this attempt is only partly successful. May of the explanatory variables are not significant, and the overall explanatory power of the equations is not high. In the area of personal characteristics, the variables related to age, sex, and marital status are generally significant and with expected signs. The distance variable has a strongly positive effect on onward move probabilities. Variables related to prior migration experience have an important impact that differs between return and onward probabilities. In particular, the occurrence of prior moves has a striking effect on the probability of onward migration. The variable representing disappointment, or relative success of the initial move, plays a significant role in explaining repeat migration probabilities. The disappointment variable represents the ratio of actural versus expected wage income in the year after the initial move, and its effect on both repeat migration probabilities is always negative and almost always highly significant. The repeat probabilities diminish after a year's stay in the destination region, but disappointment in the most recent year still has a bearing on the delayed repeat probabilities. While the quantitative impact of the disappointment variable is not large, it is difficult to draw comparisons since similar estimates are not available elsewhere.

Quantum repeated games revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Frąckiewicz, Piotr

2012-01-01

We present a scheme for playing quantum repeated 2 × 2 games based on Marinatto and Weber’s approach to quantum games. As a potential application, we study the twice repeated Prisoner’s Dilemma game. We show that results not available in the classical game can be obtained when the game is played in the quantum way. Before we present our idea, we comment on the previous scheme of playing quantum repeated games proposed by Iqbal and Toor. We point out the drawbacks that make their results unacceptable. (paper)

Seasonal variation in objectively measured physical activity, sedentary time, cardio-respiratory fitness and sleep duration among 8–11 year-old Danish children: a repeated-measures study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hjorth, Mads F.; Chaput, Jean-Philippe; Michaelsen, Kim

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Understanding fluctuations in lifestyle indicators is important to identify relevant time periods to intervene in order to promote a healthy lifestyle; however, objective assessment of multiple lifestyle indicators has never been done using a repeated-measures design. The primary aim...... was, therefore, to examine between-season and within-week variation in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, cardio-respiratory fitness and sleep duration among 8–11 year-old children. METHODS: A total of 1021 children from nine Danish schools were invited to participate and 834 accepted. Due...... to missing data, 730 children were included in the current analytical sample. An accelerometer was worn for 7 days and 8 nights during autumn, winter and spring, from which physical activity, sedentary time and sleep duration were measured. Cardio-respiratory fitness was assessed using a 10-min intermittent...

Mobile communication and intermediality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Helles, Rasmus

2013-01-01

communicative affordances of mobile devices in order to understand how people choose between them for different purposes. It is argued that mobile communication makes intermediality especially central, as the choice of medium is detached from the location of stationary media and begins to follow the user across......The article argues the importance of intermediality as a concept for research in mobile communication and media. The constant availability of several, partially overlapping channels for communication (texting, calls, email, Facebook, etc.) requires that we adopt an integrated view of the various...

Brachial artery responses to ambient pollution, temperature, and humidity in people with type 2 diabetes: a repeated-measures study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zanobetti, Antonella; Luttmann-Gibson, Heike; Horton, Edward S; Cohen, Allison; Coull, Brent A; Hoffmann, Barbara; Schwartz, Joel D; Mittleman, Murray A; Li, Yongsheng; Stone, Peter H; de Souza, Celine; Lamparello, Brooke; Koutrakis, Petros; Gold, Diane R

2014-03-01

Extreme weather and air pollution are associated with increased cardiovascular risk in people with diabetes. In a population with diabetes, we conducted a novel assessment of vascular brachial artery responses both to ambient pollution and to weather (temperature and water vapor pressure, a measure of humidity). Sixty-four 49- to 85-year-old Boston residents with type 2 diabetes completed up to five study visits (279 repeated measures). Brachial artery diameter (BAD) was measured by ultrasound before and after brachial artery occlusion [i.e., flow-mediated dilation (FMD)] and before and after nitroglycerin-mediated dilation (NMD). Ambient concentrations of fine particulate mass (PM2.5), black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon, particle number, and sulfate were measured at our monitoring site; ambient concentrations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone were obtained from state monitors. Particle exposure in the home and during each trip to the clinic (home/trip exposure) was measured continuously and as a 5-day integrated sample. We used linear models with fixed effects for participants, adjusting for date, season, temperature, and water vapor pressure on the day of each visit, to estimate associations between our outcomes and interquartile range increases in exposure. Baseline BAD was negatively associated with particle pollution, including home/trip-integrated BC (-0.02 mm; 95% CI: -0.04, -0.003, for a 0.28 μg/m3 increase in BC), OC (-0.08 mm; 95% CI: -0.14, -0.03, for a 1.61 μg/m3 increase) as well as PM2.5, 5-day average ambient PM2.5, and BC. BAD was positively associated with ambient temperature and water vapor pressure. However, exposures were not consistently associated with FMD or NMD. Brachial artery diameter, a predictor of cardiovascular risk, decreased in association with particle pollution and increased in association with ambient temperature in our study population of adults with type 2 diabetes. Zanobetti A, Luttmann

n-Heptane cool flame chemistry: Unraveling intermediate species measured in a stirred reactor and motored engine

KAUST Repository

Wang, Zhandong; Chen, Bingjie; Moshammer, Kai; Popolan-Vaida, Denisia M.; Sioud, Salim; Shankar, Vijai; Vuilleumier, David; Tao, Tao; Ruwe, Lena; Brä uer, Eike; Hansen, Nils; Dagaut, Philippe; Kohse-Hö inghaus, Katharina; Raji, Misjudeen; Sarathy, Mani

2017-01-01

-OTMS, which has ultra-high mass resolving power and provides an accurate elemental C/H/O composition of the intermediate species. Furthermore, the results show that the species formed during the partial oxidation of n-heptane in the CFR engine are very similar

Classical model of intermediate statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaniadakis, G.

1994-01-01

In this work we present a classical kinetic model of intermediate statistics. In the case of Brownian particles we show that the Fermi-Dirac (FD) and Bose-Einstein (BE) distributions can be obtained, just as the Maxwell-Boltzmann (MD) distribution, as steady states of a classical kinetic equation that intrinsically takes into account an exclusion-inclusion principle. In our model the intermediate statistics are obtained as steady states of a system of coupled nonlinear kinetic equations, where the coupling constants are the transmutational potentials η κκ' . We show that, besides the FD-BE intermediate statistics extensively studied from the quantum point of view, we can also study the MB-FD and MB-BE ones. Moreover, our model allows us to treat the three-state mixing FD-MB-BE intermediate statistics. For boson and fermion mixing in a D-dimensional space, we obtain a family of FD-BE intermediate statistics by varying the transmutational potential η BF . This family contains, as a particular case when η BF =0, the quantum statistics recently proposed by L. Wu, Z. Wu, and J. Sun [Phys. Lett. A 170, 280 (1992)]. When we consider the two-dimensional FD-BE statistics, we derive an analytic expression of the fraction of fermions. When the temperature T→∞, the system is composed by an equal number of bosons and fermions, regardless of the value of η BF . On the contrary, when T=0, η BF becomes important and, according to its value, the system can be completely bosonic or fermionic, or composed both by bosons and fermions

Violation of the Sphericity Assumption and Its Effect on Type-I Error Rates in Repeated Measures ANOVA and Multi-Level Linear Models (MLM).

Science.gov (United States)

Haverkamp, Nicolas; Beauducel, André

2017-01-01

We investigated the effects of violations of the sphericity assumption on Type I error rates for different methodical approaches of repeated measures analysis using a simulation approach. In contrast to previous simulation studies on this topic, up to nine measurement occasions were considered. Effects of the level of inter-correlations between measurement occasions on Type I error rates were considered for the first time. Two populations with non-violation of the sphericity assumption, one with uncorrelated measurement occasions and one with moderately correlated measurement occasions, were generated. One population with violation of the sphericity assumption combines uncorrelated with highly correlated measurement occasions. A second population with violation of the sphericity assumption combines moderately correlated and highly correlated measurement occasions. From these four populations without any between-group effect or within-subject effect 5,000 random samples were drawn. Finally, the mean Type I error rates for Multilevel linear models (MLM) with an unstructured covariance matrix (MLM-UN), MLM with compound-symmetry (MLM-CS) and for repeated measures analysis of variance (rANOVA) models (without correction, with Greenhouse-Geisser-correction, and Huynh-Feldt-correction) were computed. To examine the effect of both the sample size and the number of measurement occasions, sample sizes of n = 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 were considered as well as measurement occasions of m = 3, 6, and 9. With respect to rANOVA, the results plead for a use of rANOVA with Huynh-Feldt-correction, especially when the sphericity assumption is violated, the sample size is rather small and the number of measurement occasions is large. For MLM-UN, the results illustrate a massive progressive bias for small sample sizes ( n = 20) and m = 6 or more measurement occasions. This effect could not be found in previous simulation studies with a smaller number of measurement occasions. The

Incremental Value of Repeated Risk Factor Measurements for Cardiovascular Disease Prediction in Middle-Aged Korean Adults: Results From the NHIS-HEALS (National Health Insurance System-National Health Screening Cohort).

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, In-Jeong; Sung, Ji Min; Chang, Hyuk-Jae; Chung, Namsik; Kim, Hyeon Chang

2017-11-01

Increasing evidence suggests that repeatedly measured cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors may have an additive predictive value compared with single measured levels. Thus, we evaluated the incremental predictive value of incorporating periodic health screening data for CVD prediction in a large nationwide cohort with periodic health screening tests. A total of 467 708 persons aged 40 to 79 years and free from CVD were randomly divided into development (70%) and validation subcohorts (30%). We developed 3 different CVD prediction models: a single measure model using single time point screening data; a longitudinal average model using average risk factor values from periodic screening data; and a longitudinal summary model using average values and the variability of risk factors. The development subcohort included 327 396 persons who had 3.2 health screenings on average and 25 765 cases of CVD over 12 years. The C statistics (95% confidence interval [CI]) for the single measure, longitudinal average, and longitudinal summary models were 0.690 (95% CI, 0.682-0.698), 0.695 (95% CI, 0.687-0.703), and 0.752 (95% CI, 0.744-0.760) in men and 0.732 (95% CI, 0.722-0.742), 0.735 (95% CI, 0.725-0.745), and 0.790 (95% CI, 0.780-0.800) in women, respectively. The net reclassification index from the single measure model to the longitudinal average model was 1.78% in men and 1.33% in women, and the index from the longitudinal average model to the longitudinal summary model was 32.71% in men and 34.98% in women. Using averages of repeatedly measured risk factor values modestly improves CVD predictability compared with single measurement values. Incorporating the average and variability information of repeated measurements can lead to great improvements in disease prediction. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT02931500. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Using Peephole Optimization on Intermediate Code

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tanenbaum, A.S.; van Staveren, H.; Stevenson, J.W.

1982-01-01

Many portable compilers generate an intermediate code that is subsequently translated into the target machine's assembly language. In this paper a stack-machine-based intermediate code suitable for algebraic languages (e.g., PASCAL, C, FORTRAN) and most byte-addressed mini- and microcomputers is

Pair production of intermediate vector bosons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikaelian, K.O.

1979-01-01

The production of intermediate vector boson pairs W + W - , Z 0 Z 0 , W +- Z 0 and W +- γ in pp and p anti p collisions is discussed. The motivation is to detect the self-interactions among the four intermediate vector bosons

Repeatability of quantitative sensory testing in healthy cats in a clinical setting with comparison to cats with osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Addison, Elena S; Clements, Dylan N

2017-12-01

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the repeatability of quantitative sensory tests (QSTs) in a group of healthy untrained cats (n = 14) and to compare the results with those from cats with osteoarthritis (n = 7). Methods Peak vertical force (PVF) and vertical impulse were measured on a pressure plate system. Thermal sensitivity was assessed using a temperature-controlled plate at 7°C and 40°C. Individual paw lifts and overall duration of paw lifts were counted and measured for each limb. Paw withdrawal thresholds were measured using manual and electronic von Frey monofilaments (MVF and EVF, respectively) applied to the metacarpal or metatarsal pads. All measurements were repeated twice to assess repeatability of the tests. Results In healthy cats all tests were moderately repeatable. When compared with cats with osteoarthritis the PVF was significantly higher in healthy hindlimbs in repeat 1 but not in repeat 2. Cats with osteoarthritis of the forelimbs showed a decrease in the frequency of paw lifts on the 7°C plate compared with cats with healthy forelimbs, and the duration of paw lifts was significantly less than healthy forelimbs in the first repeat but not in the second repeat. Osteoarthritic limbs had significantly lower paw withdrawal thresholds with both MVF and EVF than healthy limbs. Conclusions and relevance QSTs are moderately repeatable in untrained cats. Kinetic gait analysis did not permit differentiation between healthy limbs and those with osteoarthritis, but thermal sensitivity testing (cold) does. Sensory threshold testing can differentiate osteoarthritic and healthy limbs, and may be useful in the diagnosis and monitoring of this condition in cats in the clinical setting.

Effect of hip braces on brake response time: Repeated measures designed study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dammerer, Dietmar; Waidmann, Cornelia; Huber, Dennis G; Krismer, Martin; Haid, Christian; Liebensteiner, Michael C

2017-08-01

The question whether or not a patient with a hip brace should drive a car is of obvious importance because the advice given to patients to resume driving is often anecdotal as few scientific data are available on this specific subject. To assess driving ability (brake response time) with commonly used hip braces. Repeated measures design. Brake response time was assessed under six conditions: (1) without a brace (control), (2) with a typical postoperative hip brace with adjustable range of motion and the settings: unrestricted, (3) flexion limited to 70°, (4) extension blocked at 20° hip flexion, (5) both flexion and extension limited (20°/70°) and (6) an elastic hip bandage. Brake response time was assessed using a custom-made driving simulator as used in previous studies. The participants were a convenience sample of able-bodied participants. A total of 70 participants (35 women and 35 men) participated in our study. Mean age was 31.1 (standard deviation: 10.6; range: 21.7-66.4) years. A significant within-subject effect for brake response time was found ( p = 0.009), but subsequent post hoc analyses revealed no significant differences between control and the other settings. Based on our findings, it does not seem mandatory to recommend driving abstinence for patients wearing a hip orthosis. We suggest that our results be interpreted with caution, because (1) an underlying pathological hip condition needs to be considered, (2) the ability to drive a car safely is multifactorial and brake response time is only one component thereof and (3) brake response time measurements were performed only with healthy participants. Clinical relevance Hip braces are used in the context of joint-preserving and prosthetic surgery of the hip. Therefore, clinicians are confronted with the question whether to allow driving a car with the respective hip brace or not. Our data suggest that hip braces do not impair brake response time.

Repeatability of Bolus Kinetics Ultrasound Perfusion Imaging for the Quantification of Cerebral Blood Flow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vinke, Elisabeth J.; Eyding, Jens; de Korte, Chris L.; Slump, Cornelis H.; van der Hoeven, Johannes G.; Hoedemaekers, Cornelia W.E.

2017-01-01

Ultrasound perfusion imaging (UPI) can be used for the quantification of cerebral perfusion. In a neuro-intensive care setting, repeated measurements are required to evaluate changes in cerebral perfusion and monitor therapy. The aim of this study was to determine the repeatability of UPI in

Characterization of the major formamidopyrimidine-DNA glycosylase homolog in Mycobacterium tuberculosis and its linkage to variable tandem repeats.

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Ingrid; Balasingham, Seetha V; Davidsen, Tonje; Debebe, Ephrem; Rødland, Einar A; van Soolingen, Dick; Kremer, Kristin; Alseth, Ingrun; Tønjum, Tone

2009-07-01

The ability to repair DNA damage is likely to play an important role in the survival of facultative intracellular parasites because they are exposed to high levels of reactive oxygen species and nitrogen intermediates inside phagocytes. Correcting oxidative damage in purines and pyrimidines is the primary function of the enzymes formamidopyrimidine (faPy)-DNA glycosylase (Fpg) and endonuclease VIII (Nei) of the base excision repair pathway, respectively. Four gene homologs, belonging to the fpg/nei family, have been identified in Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. The recombinant protein encoded by M. tuberculosis Rv2924c, termed Mtb-Fpg1, was overexpressed, purified and biochemically characterized. The enzyme removed faPy and 5-hydroxycytosine lesions, as well as 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8oxoG) opposite to C, T and G. Mtb-Fpg1 thus exhibited substrate specificities typical for Fpg enzymes. Although Mtb-fpg1 showed nearly complete nucleotide sequence conservation in 32 M. tuberculosis isolates, the region upstream of Mtb-fpg1 in these strains contained tandem repeat motifs of variable length. A relationship between repeat length and Mtb-fpg1 expression level was demonstrated in M. tuberculosis strains, indicating that an increased length of the tandem repeats positively influenced the expression levels of Mtb-fpg1. This is the first example of such a tandem repeat region of variable length being linked to the expression level of a bacterial gene.

Language in use intermediate : classroom book

CERN Document Server

Doff, Adrian

1995-01-01

ach of the four levels comprises about 80 hours of class work, with additional time for the self-study work. The Teacher's Book contains all the pages from the Classroom Book, with interleaved teaching notes including optional activities to cater for different abilities. There is a video to accompany the Beginner, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels. Each video contains eight stimulating and entertaining short programmes, as well as a booklet of photocopiable activities. Free test material is available in booklet and web format for Beginner and Pre-intermediate levels. Visit www.cambridge.org/elt/liu or contact your local Cambridge University Press representative.

Language in use intermediate : teacher's book

CERN Document Server

Doff, Adrian

1998-01-01

Each of the four levels comprises about 80 hours of class work, with additional time for the self-study work. The Teacher's Book contains all the pages from the Classroom Book, with interleaved teaching notes including optional activities to cater for different abilities. There is a video to accompany the Beginner, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels. Each video contains eight stimulating and entertaining short programmes, as well as a booklet of photocopiable activities. Free test material is available in booklet and web format for Beginner and Pre-intermediate levels. Visit www.cambridge.org/elt/liu or contact your local Cambridge University Press representative.

Interpretation and code generation based on intermediate languages

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kornerup, Peter; Kristensen, Bent Bruun; Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

1980-01-01

The possibility of supporting high level languages through intermediate languages to be used for direct interpretation and as intermediate forms in compilers is investigated. An accomplished project in the construction of an interpreter and a code generator using one common intermediate form...

Cervicovaginal cytokines, sialidase activity and bacterial load in reproductive-aged women with intermediate vaginal flora.

Science.gov (United States)

Santos-Greatti, Mariana Morena de Vieira; da Silva, Márcia Guimarães; Ferreira, Carolina Sanitá Tafner; Marconi, Camila

2016-11-01

Studies have shown that not only bacterial vaginosis, but also intermediate vaginal flora has deleterious effects for women's reproductive health. However, literature still lacks information about microbiological and immunological aspects of intermediate flora. To characterize intermediate flora regarding levels of Interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), IL-10, sialidase; loads of Gardnerella vaginalis, total bacteria and to verify whether it is closer related to normal flora or bacterial vaginosis. This cross-sectional study enrolled 526 non-pregnant reproductive-aged women distributed in 3 groups according to pattern of vaginal flora using Nugent's system in normal, intermediate and bacterial vaginosis. Cervicovaginal levels of cytokines, sialidases, loads of G. vaginalis and total bacteria were assessed by ELISA, conversion of MUAN and quantitative real-time PCR, respectively. A principal component analysis(PCA) using all measured parameters was performed to compare the three different types of flora. Results showed that intermediate flora is associated with increased cervicovaginal IL-1beta in relation to normal flora(Pbacterial vaginosis, intermediate flora has higher IL-8 and IL-10 levels(Pbacterial vaginosis(Pbacterial differed among all groups(Pbacterial vaginosis. PCA showed that normal and intermediate flora were closely scattered, while bacterial vaginosis were grouped separately. Although intermediate flora shows some differences in cytokines, sialidases and bacterial loads in relation to normal flora and bacterial vaginosis, when taken together, general microbiological and immunological pattern pattern of intermediate flora resembles the normal flora. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Simplification of Process Integration Studies in Intermediate Size Industries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgård, Henrik; Petersen, P. M.; Qvale, Einar Bjørn

2002-01-01

associated with a given process integration study in an intermediate size industry. This is based on the observation that the systems that eventually result from a process integration project and that are economically and operationally most interesting are also quite simple. Four steps that may be used......It can be argued that the largest potential for energy savings based on process integration is in the intermediate size industry. But this is also the industrial scale in which it is most difficult to make the introduction of energy saving measures economically interesting. The reasons......' and therefore lead to non-optimal economic solutions, which may be right. But the objective of the optimisation is not to reach the best economic solution, but to relatively quickly develop the design of a simple and operationally friendly network without losing too much energy saving potential. (C) 2002...

Anesthetic efficacy of a repeated intraosseous injection given 30 min following an inferior alveolar nerve block/intraosseous injection.

OpenAIRE

Reitz, J.; Reader, A.; Nist, R.; Beck, M.; Meyers, W. J.

1998-01-01

To determine whether a repeated intraosseous (IO) injection would increase or prolong pulpal anesthesia, we measured the degree of anesthesia obtained by a repeated IO injection given 30 min following a combination inferior alveolar nerve block/intraosseous injection (IAN/IO) in mandibular second premolars and in first and second molars. Using a repeated-measures design, we randomly assigned 38 subjects to receive two combinations of injections at two separate appointments. The combinations w...

Search for intermediate vector bosons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cline, D.B.; Rubbia, C.; van der Meer, S.

1982-01-01

Over the past 15 years a new class of unified theories has been developed to describe the forces acting between elementary particles. The most successful of the new theories establishes a link between electromagnetism and the weak force. A crucial prediction of this unified electroweak theory is the existence of three massive particles called intermediate vector bosons. If these intermediate vector bosons exist and if they have properties attributed to them by electroweak theory, they should soon be detected, as the world's first particle accelerator with enough energy to create such particles has recently been completed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. The accelerator has been converted to a colliding beam machine in which protons and antiprotons collide head on. According to electroweak theory, intermediate vector bosons can be created in proton-antiproton collisions. (SC)

39 CFR 3001.39 - Intermediate decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 39 Postal Service 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Intermediate decisions. 3001.39 Section 3001.39 Postal Service POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION PERSONNEL RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE Rules of General Applicability § 3001.39 Intermediate decisions. (a) Initial decision by presiding officer. In any proceedings in...

42 CFR 54.12 - Treatment of intermediate organizations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Treatment of intermediate organizations. 54.12... intermediate organizations. If a nongovernmental organization (referred to here as an “intermediate organization”), acting under a contract or other agreement with the Federal Government or a State or local...

Formation, structure, and stability of MHD intermediate shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, C.C.

1990-01-01

Contrary to the usual belief that MHD intermediate shocks are extraneous, the author has recently shown by numerical solutions of dissipative MHD equations that intermediate shocks are admissible and can be formed through nonlinear wave steepening from continuous waves. In this paper, the formation, structure and stability of intermediate shocks in dissipative MHD are considered in detail. The differences between the conventional theory and his are pointed out and clarified. He shows that all four types of intermediate shocks can be formed from smooth waves. He also shows that there are free parameters in the structure of the intermediate shocks, and that these parameters are related to the shock stability. In addition, he shows that a rotational discontinuity can not exist with finite width, indicate how this is related to the existence of time-dependent intermediate shocks, and show why the conventional theory is not a good approximation to dissipative MHD solutions whenever there is rotation in magnetic field

Developing the Pieta House Suicide Intervention Model: a quasi-experimental, repeated measures design.

Science.gov (United States)

Surgenor, Paul Wg; Freeman, Joan; O'Connor, Cindy

2015-01-01

While most crisis intervention models adhere to a generalised theoretical framework, the lack of clarity around how these should be enacted has resulted in a proliferation of models, most of which have little to no empirical support. The primary aim of this research was to propose a suicide intervention model that would resolve the client's suicidal crisis by decreasing their suicidal ideation and improve their outlook through enhancing a range of protective factors. The secondary aim was to assess the impact of this model on negative and positive outlook. A quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test repeated measures design was employed. A questionnaire assessing self-esteem, depression, and positive and negative suicidal ideation was administered to the same participants pre- and post- therapy facilitating paired responses. Multiple analysis of variance and paired-samples t-tests were conducted to establish whether therapy using the PH-SIM had a significant effect on the clients' negative and positive outlook. Analyses revealed a statistically significant effect of therapy for depression, negative suicidal ideation, self-esteem, and positive suicidal ideation. Negative outlook was significantly lower after therapy and positive outlook significantly higher. The decreased negative outlook and increased positive outlook following therapy provide some support for the proposed model in fulfilling its role, though additional research is required to establish the precise role of the intervention model in achieving this.

PTSD and DNA Methylation in Select Immune Function Gene Promoter Regions: A Repeated Measures Case-control Study of U.S. Military Service Members

Science.gov (United States)

2013-06-24

other relevant exposures which may influ- ence DNA methylation , such as dietary factors ( folate , vitamin B12 intake) (Fenech, 2001; Piyathilake and...ARTICLE published: 24 June 2013 doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2013.00056 PTSD and DNA methylation in select immune function gene promoter regions: a repeated measures...largely unknown. Dis- tinct expression signatures for PTSD have been found, in particular for immune activation transcripts. DNA methylation may be

Fine-resolution repeat topographic surveying of dryland landscapes using UAS-based structure-from-motion photogrammetry: Assessing accuracy and precision against traditional ground-based erosion measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Gillian, Jeffrey K.; Karl, Jason W.; Elaksher, Ahmed; Duniway, Michael C.

2017-01-01

Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry from unmanned aerial system (UAS) imagery is an emerging tool for repeat topographic surveying of dryland erosion. These methods are particularly appealing due to the ability to cover large landscapes compared to field methods and at reduced costs and finer spatial resolution compared to airborne laser scanning. Accuracy and precision of high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from UAS imagery have been explored in many studies, typically by comparing image coordinates to surveyed check points or LiDAR datasets. In addition to traditional check points, this study compared 5 cm resolution DTMs derived from fixed-wing UAS imagery with a traditional ground-based method of measuring soil surface change called erosion bridges. We assessed accuracy by comparing the elevation values between DTMs and erosion bridges along thirty topographic transects each 6.1 m long. Comparisons occurred at two points in time (June 2014, February 2015) which enabled us to assess vertical accuracy with 3314 data points and vertical precision (i.e., repeatability) with 1657 data points. We found strong vertical agreement (accuracy) between the methods (RMSE 2.9 and 3.2 cm in June 2014 and February 2015, respectively) and high vertical precision for the DTMs (RMSE 2.8 cm). Our results from comparing SfM-generated DTMs to check points, and strong agreement with erosion bridge measurements suggests repeat UAS imagery and SfM processing could replace erosion bridges for a more synoptic landscape assessment of shifting soil surfaces for some studies. However, while collecting the UAS imagery and generating the SfM DTMs for this study was faster than collecting erosion bridge measurements, technical challenges related to the need for ground control networks and image processing requirements must be addressed before this technique could be applied effectively to large landscapes.

Correction: MAXI J1543-564 in hard intermediate state

Science.gov (United States)

Kennea, J. A.; Motta, S.; Curran, P.; Krimm, P. A. Evans. H. A.; Romano, P.; Mangano, V.; Yamaoka, K.; Negoro, H.

2011-09-01

A correction to Kennea et al. (ATEL #3662): With a measured photon index of ~2.7, the Swift/XRT spectrum of MAXI J1543-564 is currently consistent with the source being in the hard intermediate state, or under the Remillard and McClintock (2006) definition, the steep power-law state. We apologize for this error, and thank Tomaso Belloni for bringing it to our attention.

The Metallicity Evolution of Low Mass Galaxies: New Contraints at Intermediate Redshift

Science.gov (United States)

Henry, Alaina; Martin, Crystal L.; Finlator, Kristian; Dressler, Alan

2013-01-01

We present abundance measurements from 26 emission-line-selected galaxies at z approx. 0.6-0.7. By reaching stellar masses as low as 10(exp 8) M stellar mass, these observations provide the first measurement of the intermediate-redshift mass-metallicity (MZ) relation below 10(exp 9)M stellar mass. For the portion of our sample above M is greater than 10(exp 9)M (8/26 galaxies), we find good agreement with previous measurements of the intermediate-redshift MZ relation. Compared to the local relation, we measure an evolution that corresponds to a 0.12 dex decrease in oxygen abundances at intermediate redshifts. This result confirms the trend that metallicity evolution becomes more significant toward lower stellar masses, in keeping with a downsizing scenario where low-mass galaxies evolve onto the local MZ relation at later cosmic times. We show that these galaxies follow the local fundamental metallicity relation, where objects with higher specific (mass-normalized) star formation rates (SFRs) have lower metallicities. Furthermore, we show that the galaxies in our sample lie on an extrapolation of the SFR-M* relation (the star-forming main sequence). Leveraging the MZ relation and star-forming main sequence (and combining our data with higher-mass measurements from the literature), we test models that assume an equilibrium between mass inflow, outflow, and star formation.We find that outflows are required to describe the data. By comparing different outflow prescriptions, we show that momentum, driven winds can describe the MZ relation; however, this model underpredicts the amount of star formation in low-mass galaxies. This disagreement may indicate that preventive feedback from gas heating has been overestimated, or it may signify a more fundamental deviation from the equilibrium assumption.

Gender, obesity and repeated elevation of C-reactive protein: data from the CARDIA cohort.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinya Ishii

Full Text Available C-reactive Protein (CRP measurements above 10 mg/L have been conventionally treated as acute inflammation and excluded from epidemiologic studies of chronic inflammation. However, recent evidence suggest that such CRP elevations can be seen even with chronic inflammation. The authors assessed 3,300 participants in The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study, who had two or more CRP measurements between 1992/3 and 2005/6 to a investigate characteristics associated with repeated CRP elevation above 10 mg/L; b identify subgroups at high risk of repeated elevation; and c investigate the effect of different CRP thresholds on the probability of an elevation being one-time rather than repeated. 225 participants (6.8% had one-time and 103 (3.1% had repeated CRP elevation above 10 mg/L. Repeated elevation was associated with obesity, female gender, low income, and sex hormone use. The probability of an elevation above 10 mg/L being one-time rather than repeated was lowest (51% in women with body mass index above 31 kg/m(2, compared to 82% in others. These findings suggest that CRP elevations above 10 mg/L in obese women are likely to be from chronic rather than acute inflammation, and that CRP thresholds above 10 mg/L may be warranted to distinguish acute from chronic inflammation in obese women.

Fostering repeat donations in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Owusu-Ofori, S; Asenso-Mensah, K; Boateng, P; Sarkodie, F; Allain, J-P

2010-01-01

Most African countries are challenged in recruiting and retaining voluntary blood donors by cost and other complexities and in establishing and implementing national blood policies. The availability of replacement donors who are a cheaper source of blood has not enhanced repeat voluntary donor initiatives. An overview of activities for recruiting and retaining voluntary blood donors was carried out. Donor records from mobile sessions were reviewed from 2002 to 2008. A total of 71,701 blood donations; 45,515 (63.5%) being voluntary donations with 11,680 (25%) repeat donations were collected during the study period. Donations from schools and colleges contributed a steady 60% of total voluntary whilst radio station blood drives increased contribution from 10 to 27%. Though Muslim population is less than 20%, blood collection was above the 30-donation cost-effectiveness threshold with a repeat donation trend reaching 60%. In contrast Christian worshippers provided donations. Repeat donation trends amongst school donors and radio blood drives were 20% and 70% respectively. Repeat donations rates have been variable amongst different blood donor groups in Kumasi, Ghana. The impact of community leaders in propagating altruism cannot be overemphasized. Programs aiming at motivating replacement donors to be repeat donors should be developed and assessed. Copyright 2009 The International Association for Biologicals. All rights reserved.

Partially folded intermediates during trypsinogen denaturation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martins N.F.

1999-01-01

Full Text Available The equilibrium unfolding of bovine trypsinogen was studied by circular dichroism, differential spectra and size exclusion HPLC. The change in free energy of denaturation was = 6.99 ± 1.40 kcal/mol for guanidine hydrochloride and = 6.37 ± 0.57 kcal/mol for urea. Satisfactory fits of equilibrium unfolding transitions required a three-state model involving an intermediate in addition to the native and unfolded forms. Size exclusion HPLC allowed the detection of an intermediate population of trypsinogen whose Stokes radii varied from 24.1 ± 0.4 Å to 26.0 ± 0.3 Å for 1.5 M and 2.5 M guanidine hydrochloride, respectively. During urea denaturation, the range of Stokes radii varied from 23.9 ± 0.3 Å to 25.7 ± 0.6 Å for 4.0 M and 6.0 M urea, respectively. Maximal intrinsic fluorescence was observed at about 3.8 M urea with 8-aniline-1-naphthalene sulfonate (ANS binding. These experimental data indicate that the unfolding of bovine trypsinogen is not a simple transition and suggest that the equilibrium intermediate population comprises one intermediate that may be characterized as a molten globule. To obtain further insight by studying intermediates representing different stages of unfolding, we hope to gain a better understanding of the complex interrelations between protein conformation and energetics.

Bacterial intermediate filaments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Charbon, Godefroid; Cabeen, M.; Jacobs-Wagner, C.

2009-01-01

Crescentin, which is the founding member of a rapidly growing family of bacterial cytoskeletal proteins, was previously proposed to resemble eukaryotic intermediate filament (IF) proteins based on structural prediction and in vitro polymerization properties. Here, we demonstrate that crescentin...

A study on radiographic repeat rate data of several hospitals in Jeddah

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Malki, M.A.; Abulfaraj, W.H.; Bhuiyan, S.I.; Kinsara, A.A.

2003-01-01

Radiographic repeat rate data in diagnostic radiology in King Fahad Hospital (KFH), King Abdulaziz Hospital (KAH), and Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have been studied. The study provided valuable information to suggest preventive measures to reduce repeats. The variables included in the study are exposure techniques, examination types, total number of films used, number of films repeated, the film sizes, gender, the age groups of the patients, and reason for repetition. The total number of examinations in all three hospitals is 6001 using 8887 films on 5412 patients. The average repeat rate was 7.93%, where the individual hospital repeat rates were 9.57% in the MCH, 7.84% in KAH and 7.44% in KFH. The repeat rate for children and infants was found to be undesirable. The quality assurance (QA) programme can effectively reduce the unnecessary exposure and can identify the cause of the exposure. The overexposure, underexposure and position fault were the foremost contributors for repeats and constitute 32.91%, 28.94% and 22.98% of the total respectively. The QA study identified that human error and equipment malfunction are the major contributors to these causes of repeats. The highest repetition rate was for pelvis, 13.64%, followed by skull, 11.59%, and abdomen, 10.41%. It is estimated that the total area of wasted film in all three hospitals is 74.3 m 2 . As per the average repeat rate, the cost of repeat films in the entire kingdom per year has been projected to be about US$1.82 million (SR 6.83 million) in the government hospitals only. Based on the findings of this study a set of recommendations have been prescribed for the radiology department to reduce the repeat rate and to improve the safety culture. (author)

A study on radiographic repeat rate data of several hospitals in Jeddah

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Al-Malki, M.A.; Abulfaraj, W.H.; Bhuiyan, S.I.; Kinsara, A.A

2003-07-01

Radiographic repeat rate data in diagnostic radiology in King Fahad Hospital (KFH), King Abdulaziz Hospital (KAH), and Maternity and Children Hospital (MCH) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, have been studied. The study provided valuable information to suggest preventive measures to reduce repeats. The variables included in the study are exposure techniques, examination types, total number of films used, number of films repeated, the film sizes, gender, the age groups of the patients, and reason for repetition. The total number of examinations in all three hospitals is 6001 using 8887 films on 5412 patients. The average repeat rate was 7.93%, where the individual hospital repeat rates were 9.57% in the MCH, 7.84% in KAH and 7.44% in KFH. The repeat rate for children and infants was found to be undesirable. The quality assurance (QA) programme can effectively reduce the unnecessary exposure and can identify the cause of the exposure. The overexposure, underexposure and position fault were the foremost contributors for repeats and constitute 32.91%, 28.94% and 22.98% of the total respectively. The QA study identified that human error and equipment malfunction are the major contributors to these causes of repeats. The highest repetition rate was for pelvis, 13.64%, followed by skull, 11.59%, and abdomen, 10.41%. It is estimated that the total area of wasted film in all three hospitals is 74.3 m{sup 2}. As per the average repeat rate, the cost of repeat films in the entire kingdom per year has been projected to be about US$1.82 million (SR 6.83 million) in the government hospitals only. Based on the findings of this study a set of recommendations have been prescribed for the radiology department to reduce the repeat rate and to improve the safety culture. (author)

Early photolysis intermediates of gecko and bovine artificial visual pigments.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, J W; Liang, J; Ebrey, T G; Sheves, M; Livnah, N; Kuwata, O; Jäger, S; Kliger, D S

1997-11-25

Nanosecond laser photolysis measurements were conducted on digitonin extracts of artificial pigments prepared from the cone-type visual pigment, P521, of the Tokay gecko (Gekko gekko) retina. Artificial pigments were prepared by regeneration of bleached gecko photoreceptor membranes with 9-cis-retinal, 9-cis-14-methylretinal, or 9-cis-alpha-retinal. Absorbance difference spectra were recorded at a sequence of time delays from 30 ns to 60 microseconds following excitation with a pulse of 477-nm actinic light. Global analysis showed the kinetic data for all three artificial gecko pigments to be best fit by two-exponential processes. These two-exponential decays correspond to similar decays observed after photolysis of P521 itself, with the first process being the decay of the equilibrated P521 BathoP521 BSI mixture to P521 Lumi and the second process being the decay of P521 Lumi to P521 Meta I. In spite of its large blue shift relative to P521, iso-P521 displays a normal chloride depletion induced blue shift. Iso-P521's early intermediates up to Lumi were also blue-shifted, with the P521 BathoP521 BSI equilibrated mixture being 15 nm blue-shifted and P521 Lumi being 8 nm blue-shifted relative to the intermediates formed after P521 photolysis. The blue shift associated with the iso-pigment is reduced or disappears entirely by P521 Meta I. Similar blue shifts were observed for the early intermediates observed after photolysis of bovine isorhodopsin, with the Lumi intermediate blue-shifted 5 nm compared to the Lumi intermediate formed after photolysis of bovine rhodopsin. These shifts indicate that a difference exists between the binding sites of 9- and 11-cis pigments which persists for microseconds at 20 degrees C.

Nuclear structure at intermediate energies: Progress report, January 1-December 31, 1988

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bonner, B.E.; Mutchler, G.S.

1988-01-01

This report discusses the progress in the following experiments: Λ Spin Transfer Experiment; Σ 0 Spin Transfer Experiment; Strangeness Production in Heavy Ion Collisions; Measurement of the Imaginary Part of the I=1 /bar N/N S-Wave Scattering Length; Single Pion Production in np Scattering; Measurements of the π + d→Δ ++ n at Intermediate Energy; and PhotoJets from Nuclei

Repeated passive stretching : Acute effect on the passive muscle moment and extensibility of short hamstrings

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Halbertsma, JPK; Mulder, [No Value; Goeken, LNH; Eisma, WH; Mulder, I.; Göeken, L.N.

Objective: To examine the response of short hamstring muscles to repeated passive stretching. Design: A repeated measures design. Setting: A university laboratory for human movement analysis in a department of rehabilitation. Subjects: Students (7 men, 10 women) from the Department of Human Movement

Unstable systems and repeated measurements. II

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Exner, P.

1977-01-01

Two examples are treated. In the first, the chamber structure is only assumed to be periodic and P(t) is an exponential. In the second example no specific assumption is made about the primary decay law and the measuring device is structured as an idealized spark chamber. This example contains the results by Beskow and Nilsson as a special case. (author)

Measuring Aseismic Slip through Characteristically Repeating Earthquakes at the Mendocino Triple Junction, Northern California

Science.gov (United States)

Materna, K.; Taira, T.; Burgmann, R.

2016-12-01

The Mendocino Triple Junction (MTJ), at the transition point between the San Andreas fault system, the Mendocino Transform Fault, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone, undergoes rapid tectonic deformation and produces more large (M>6.0) earthquakes than any region in California. Most of the active faults of the triple junction are located offshore, making it difficult to characterize both seismic slip and aseismic creep. In this work, we study aseismic creep rates near the MTJ using characteristically repeating earthquakes (CREs) as indicators of creep rate. CREs are generally interpreted as repeated failures of the same seismic patch within an otherwise creeping fault zone; as a consequence, the magnitude and recurrence time of the CREs can be used to determine a fault's creep rate through empirically calibrated scaling relations. Using seismic data from 2010-2016, we identify CREs as recorded by an array of eight 100-Hz PBO borehole seismometers deployed in the Cape Mendocino area. For each event pair with epicenters less than 30 km apart, we compute the cross-spectral coherence of 20 seconds of data starting one second before the P-wave arrival. We then select pairs with high coherence in an appropriate frequency band, which is determined uniquely for each event pair based on event magnitude, station distance, and signal-to-noise ratio. The most similar events (with median coherence above 0.95 at two or more stations) are selected as CREs and then grouped into CRE families, and each family is used to infer a local creep rate. On the Mendocino Transform Fault, we find relatively high creep rates of >5 cm/year that increase closer to the Gorda Ridge. Closer to shore and to the MTJ itself, we find many families of repeaters on and off the transform fault with highly variable creep rates, indicative of the complex deformation that takes place there.

Repeated DNA sequences in fungi

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutta, S K

1974-11-01

Several fungal species, representatives of all broad groups like basidiomycetes, ascomycetes and phycomycetes, were examined for the nature of repeated DNA sequences by DNA:DNA reassociation studies using hydroxyapatite chromatography. All of the fungal species tested contained 10 to 20 percent repeated DNA sequences. There are approximately 100 to 110 copies of repeated DNA sequences of approximately 4 x 10/sup 7/ daltons piece size of each. Repeated DNA sequence homoduplexes showed on average 5/sup 0/C difference of T/sub e/50 (temperature at which 50 percent duplexes dissociate) values from the corresponding homoduplexes of unfractionated whole DNA. It is suggested that a part of repetitive sequences in fungi constitutes mitochondrial DNA and a part of it constitutes nuclear DNA. (auth)

The relationship of social support concept and repeat mammography among Iranian women.

Science.gov (United States)

Farhadifar, Fariba; Taymoori, Parvaneh; Bahrami, Mitra; Zarea, Shamsy

2015-10-24

Breast cancer ranks as the first most common cancer among the Iranian women. The regular repeat of mammography with 1-2 year intervals leads to the increased efficiency of early detection of breast cancer. The present study examined the predictors of repeat mammography. It was hypothesized that higher social support is connected with mammography repeat. A cross-sectional study was carried out among 400 women 50 years and older in Sanandaj, Iran. Data was collected by the questionnaire including information on socio demographical variables and measuring social support level. Data was analyzed by SPSS16 software. Multiple logistic regression was used to determine the predictive power of demographic variables and dimensions of social support for repeat mammography. Women aged 50-55 years had three times odds of repeat mammography compared to women aged 56-60 years) OR, 3.02). Married women had greater odds of repeat mammography compared to single women (P women with higher social support was 0.93 times greater than the women with lower social support (OR, 0.93; 95 % CI, 0.91-0.95; P women are less likely repeat mammography than other Asian women. Identifying the associations between perceived social support and repeat mammography may offer detailed information to allow for future study and guide the development of interventions not only for Iranian women but also for similar cultural that received pay too little attention to date in the breast cancer literature.

Topological characteristics of helical repeat proteins

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Groves, M R; Barford, D

The recent elucidation of protein structures based upon repeating amino acid motifs, including the armadillo motif, the HEAT motif and tetratricopeptide repeats, reveals that they belong to the class of helical repeat proteins. These proteins share the common property of being assembled from tandem

On the structure of intermediate state created by the direct current

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kan, Ya.S.; Frolov, V.A.

1974-01-01

Observations were made of the structure of an intermediate state formed at the destruction of superconductivity of a cylindrical tin sample by an electric current through it. For this purpose, there was determined the nature of the dependence of the magnetic permeability averaged over a section normal with the sample axis on the position of this section relative to the axis. the quantity actually measured was the inductance of a short (0.5 mm) superconductive probe coil embracing the sample and moving along the axis of the latter. In order the inductance were representatative of the magnetic permeability in the depth of a thick (5 mm in diameter) sample, measurements were made with a direct current by means of the device specially designed for this purpose; the operating principle and method for checking of this device being briefly described in the paper. The curves of oscillations of the inductance of the probe with the latter being moved along the sample suggested a conclusion that the structure of the intermediate state had a periodic nature (of the London type) with a period of 1.3 mm. The reduction of the oscillation amplitude and the increase of their average level while an increase of the current passing through the sample above the critical value (at constant temperature) indicated the reduction of the diameter of the core, being in the intermediate state, and an increase of the thickness of a normal layer. Measurements were made at temperatures (13-17)x10 -3 deg K below Tsub(k) with a current of 2-3 A in the sample

Present status of intermediate band solar cell research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cuadra, L.; Marti, A.; Luque, A.

2004-01-01

The intermediate band solar cell is a theoretical concept with the potential for exceeding the performance of conventional single-gap solar cells. This novel photovoltaic converter bases its superior theoretical efficiency over single-gap solar cells by enhancing its photogenerated current, via the two-step absorption of sub-band gap photons, without reducing its output voltage. This is achieved through a material with an electrically isolated and partially filled intermediate band located within a higher forbidden gap. This material is commonly named intermediate band material. This paper centres on summarising the present status of intermediate band solar cell research. A number of attempts, which aim to implement the intermediate band concept, are being followed: the direct engineering of the intermediate band material, its implementation by means of quantum dots and the highly porous material approach. Among other sub-band gap absorbing proposals, there is a renewed interest on the impurity photovoltaic effect, the quantum well solar cells and the particularly promising proposal for the use of up- and down-converters

GdnHCl-induced unfolding intermediate in the mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase VA.

Science.gov (United States)

Idrees, Danish; Prakash, Amresh; Haque, Md Anzarul; Islam, Asimul; Hassan, Md Imtaiyaz; Ahmad, Faizan

2016-10-01

Carbonic anhydrase VA (CAVA) is a mitochondrial enzyme belonging to the α-family of CAs, which is involved in several physiological processes including ureagenesis, lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis and neuronal transmission. Here, we have tried to understand the folding mechanism of CAVA using guanidine hydrochloride (GdnHCl)-induced denaturation at pH 8.0 and 25°C. The conformational stability was measured from the GdnHCl-induced denaturation study of CAVA monitored by circular dichroism (CD) and fluorescence measurements. On increasing the concentration of GdnHCl up to 5.0, a stable intermediate was observed between the concentrations 3.25M to 3.40M of the denaturant. However, CAVA gets completely denatured at 4.0M GdnHCl. The existence of a stable intermediate state was validated by 1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid (ANS binding) fluorescence and near-UV CD measurements. In silico studies were also performed to analyse the effect of GdnHCl on the structure and stability of CAVA under explicit conditions. Molecular dynamics simulations for 40ns were carried out and a well-defined correlation was established for both in vitro and in silico studies. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Inter- and intra-operator reliability and repeatability of shear wave elastography in the liver: a study in healthy volunteers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, John M; Milot, Laurent; Parry, Craig; Williams, Ross; Burns, Peter N

2013-06-01

This study assessed the reproducibility of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the liver of healthy volunteers. Intra- and inter-operator reliability and repeatability were quantified in three different liver segments in a sample of 15 subjects, scanned during four independent sessions (two scans on day 1, two scans 1 wk later) by two operators. A total of 1440 measurements were made. Reproducibility was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and a repeated measures analysis of variance. The shear wave speed was measured and used to estimate Young's modulus using the Supersonics Imagine Aixplorer. The median Young's modulus measured through the inter-costal space was 5.55 ± 0.74 kPa. The intra-operator reliability was better for same-day evaluations (ICC = 0.91) than the inter-operator reliability (ICC = 0.78). Intra-observer agreement decreased when scans were repeated on a different day. Inter-session repeatability was between 3.3% and 9.9% for intra-day repeated scans, compared with to 6.5%-12% for inter-day repeated scans. No significant difference was observed in subjects with a body mass index greater or less than 25 kg/m(2). Copyright © 2013 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Repeatability, number of harvests, and phenotypic stability of dry matter yield and quality traits of Panicum maximum jacq.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francisco Duarte Fernandes

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Selection of superior forage genotypes is based on agronomic traits assayed in repeated measures. The questions are how repeatable the performance of individual genotypes is and how many harvests are needed to select the best genotypes. The objectives were to estimate repeatability coefficients of dry matter yield (DMY and forage quality, their phenotypic stability and the number of harvests needed for an accurate selection. Two randomized complete block design experiments data with 24 genotypes each, undergoing 12 and 16 harvests, over a period of 2 and 3 years, respectively, were used. The DMY repeatability estimates ranged from 0.42 to 0.55, suggesting a low heritability. The mean numbers of repeated measures were 5 and 7 harvests for 0.80 and 0.85 accuracy, respectively. The inclusion of the first two harvests negatively affects the estimates. Repeatability for quality traits ranged from 0.30 to 0.69, indicating low to moderate heritability.

Comparing Measurement Error between Two Different Methods of Measurement of Various Magnitudes

Science.gov (United States)

Zavorsky, Gerald S.

2010-01-01

Measurement error is a common problem in several fields of research such as medicine, physiology, and exercise science. The standard deviation of repeated measurements on the same person is the measurement error. One way of presenting measurement error is called the repeatability, which is 2.77 multiplied by the within subject standard deviation.…

Comparison of diet measures from a food-frequency questionnaire with measures from repeated 24-hour dietary recalls. The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hjartåker, Anette; Andersen, Lene Frost; Lund, Eiliv

2007-10-01

To compare diet measures from a food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) with measures from 24-hour dietary recalls (24HDRs). The participants answered an FFQ after completing four, repeated 24HDRs during a year. Norway, nationwide. Of 500 women randomly selected from The Norwegian Women and Cancer Study (the Norwegian arm of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), 286 agreed to participate and 238 completed the study. On the group level, the FFQ overestimated absolute intake in seven and underestimated intake in six of 21 food groups. Intakes of energy, fat, added sugar and alcohol were lower in the FFQ than in the 24HDRs, whereas intake of fibre was higher. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient ranged from 0.13 (desserts) to 0.82 (coffee) for foods, and from 0.25 (beta-carotene) to 0.67 (alcohol) for nutrients. Three per cent of the observations on nutrient intake fell in the opposite quintile when classified according to the FFQ as compared with the 24HDR. The median calibration coefficient, calculated by regression of the 24HDR data on the FFQ data, was 0.57 for foods and 0.38 for nutrients. The FFQ's ability to rank subjects was good for foods eaten frequently and fairly good for macronutrients in terms of energy percentages. Weaker ranking abilities were seen for foods eaten infrequently and for some micronutrients. The results underline the necessity of performing measurement error corrections.

Study on intermediate frequency power supply automatic monitor system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yuntong; Xu Bin

2007-06-01

A new design project of the automatic monitor system for the intermediate frequency power supply system by using the communication server is put for- ward and the realizing principle method and the key technique are clarified in detail. This system made use of the conversion function with the series communication server's control, realized the data collecting function by the double machine backup and redundancy. The new network system adopted the photoelectric-insulated-communication connect device and the diagnosis technique, increased the anti-interference ability, the communication adopted the technique by the alarm information sending out in first and circularly repeating, the slowly speed is overcame in the original monitor network system, and strengthened the celerity of the monitor system and the reliability of the alarm report. After the new monitor system running, the result shows that the functions is more perfect than the original monitor system, the usage is more convenient, have the higher and dependable stability, the report of alarm is more quickly, and is convenient for the analysis after the trouble, at the same time, the system still have the strong ability and value to expand. (authors)

Reject/repeat analysis and the effect prior film viewing has on a department's reject/repeat rate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clark, P.A.; Hogg, P.

2003-01-01

Purpose: Achieving cost-effectiveness within the NHS is an old initiative but one that has again been highlighted by recent government policies (The New NHS-Modern and Dependable, Stationary Office, London, 1997). It has been reiterated that it is the responsibility of individual Trusts to devise means to provide such a service. Reject/repeat analyses have long been the primary tool used to assess the cost-effectiveness of radiography departments (Quality Assurance in Diagnostic Radiology, WHO, Geneva, 1982). This research paper examines an in-house initiative (viewing patients' previous films) commonly employed in other Health Trusts in order to reduce departmental repeat/reject rates. Method: Three hundred orthopaedic patients with hip, knee and ankle prostheses were included in a reject/repeat analysis. The aim was to investigate whether or not viewing patient's previous relevant radiographs would be advantageous to the practicing radiographer. This was done through an audit cycle consisting of two audit periods each lasting for 3 months. The primary audit period recorded the baseline repeat/reject rate, with the secondary audit period recording the repeat/reject rate under an experimental condition of viewing the relevant radiographs. Results: The baseline audit revealed repeat rates of 33% in orthopaedic patients with hip, knee and ankle prostheses. The availability of prior film viewing to the radiographer reduced this repeat rate to 10.6%. Conclusion: Prior film viewing dramatically reduced the department's repeat/reject rate by 22.4%. This provides scope for significant patient dose reductions as well as reducing departmental film expenses. This is an underestimated initiative and should be used appropriately in routine clinical practice

Associations of Systemic Diseases with Intermediate Uveitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoughy, Samir S; Kozak, Igor; Tabbara, Khalid F

2016-01-01

To determine the associations of systemic diseases with intermediate uveitis. The medical records of 50 consecutive cases with intermediate uveitis referred to The Eye Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were reviewed. Age- and sex-matched patients without uveitis served as controls. Patients had complete ophthalmic and medical examinations. There were 27 male and 23 female patients. Mean age was 29 years with a range of 5-62 years. Overall, 21 cases (42%) had systemic disorders associated with intermediate uveitis and 29 cases (58%) had no associated systemic disease. A total of 11 patients (22%) had asthma, 4 (8%) had multiple sclerosis, 3 (6%) had presumed ocular tuberculosis, 1 (2%) had inflammatory bowel disease, 1 (2%) had non-Hodgkin lymphoma and 1 (2%) had sarcoidosis. Evidence of systemic disease was found in 50 (5%) of the 1,000 control subjects. Bronchial asthma was found in 37 patients (3.7 %), multiple sclerosis in 9 patients (0.9%), inflammatory bowel disease in 3 patients (0.3%), and tuberculosis in 1 patient (0.1%). None of the control patients had sarcoidosis or lymphoma. There were statistically significant associations between intermediate uveitis and bronchial asthma (p = 0.0001), multiple sclerosis (p = 0.003) and tuberculosis (p = 0.0005). Bronchial asthma and multiple sclerosis were the most frequently encountered systemic diseases associated with intermediate uveitis in our patient population. Patients with intermediate uveitis should undergo careful history-taking and investigations to rule out associated systemic illness.

Unusual structures are present in DNA fragments containing super-long Huntingtin CAG repeats.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Duzdevich

2011-02-01

Full Text Available In the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington's disease (HD, expansion of the CAG trinucleotide repeat length beyond about 300 repeats induces a novel phenotype associated with a reduction in transcription of the transgene.We analysed the structure of polymerase chain reaction (PCR-generated DNA containing up to 585 CAG repeats using atomic force microscopy (AFM. As the number of CAG repeats increased, an increasing proportion of the DNA molecules exhibited unusual structural features, including convolutions and multiple protrusions. At least some of these features are hairpin loops, as judged by cross-sectional analysis and sensitivity to cleavage by mung bean nuclease. Single-molecule force measurements showed that the convoluted DNA was very resistant to untangling. In vitro replication by PCR was markedly reduced, and TseI restriction enzyme digestion was also hindered by the abnormal DNA structures. However, significantly, the DNA gained sensitivity to cleavage by the Type III restriction-modification enzyme, EcoP15I."Super-long" CAG repeats are found in a number of neurological diseases and may also appear through CAG repeat instability. We suggest that unusual DNA structures associated with super-long CAG repeats decrease transcriptional efficiency in vitro. We also raise the possibility that if these structures occur in vivo, they may play a role in the aetiology of CAG repeat diseases such as HD.

Meteorological perspective on intermediate range atmospheric dispersion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Hoven, I.

1981-01-01

The intermediate range of atmospheric transport and diffusion is defined as those dispersion processes which take place at downwind distances of 10 to 100 kilometers from pollutant sources. Meteorologists often define this range as the mesoscale. It is the range of distances where certain environmental assessments are of concern such as the determination of significant deterioration of visibility, the effect of effluent releases from tall stacks, and the effect of pollutant sources in rural settings upon the more distant urban centers. Atmospheric diffusion theory is based on steady state conditions and spatial homogeniety. Techniques must be developed to measure the inhomogenieties, models must be devised to account for the complexities, and a data base consisting of appropriate measured meteorological parameters concurrent with tracer gas concentrations should be collected

The relationship between staff skill mix, costs and outcomes in intermediate care services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Graham P

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between skill mix, patient outcomes, length of stay and service costs in older peoples' intermediate care services in England. Methods We undertook multivariate analysis of data collected as part of the National Evaluation of Intermediate Care Services. Data were analysed on between 337 and 403 older people admitted to 14 different intermediate care teams. Independent variables were the numbers of different types of staff within a team and the ratio of support staff to professionally qualified staff within teams. Outcome measures include the Barthel index, EQ-5D, length of service provision and costs of care. Results Increased skill mix (raising the number of different types of staff by one is associated with a 17% reduction in service costs (p = 0.011. There is weak evidence (p = 0.090 that a higher ratio of support staff to qualified staff leads to greater improvements in EQ-5D scores of patients. Conclusions This study provides limited evidence on the relationship between multidisciplinary skill mix and outcomes in intermediate care services.

Potentiometric surfaces of the intermediate aquifer system, west-central Florida, May, 1993

Science.gov (United States)

Mularoni, R.A.

1994-01-01

The intermediate aquifer system underlies a 5000-sq-mi area including De Soto, Sarasota, Hardee, Manatee, and parts of Charlotte, Hillsborough, Highlands, and Polk Counties, Florida. It is overlain by the surf@cial aquifer system and underlain by the Floridan aquifer system. The potentiometric surface of the intermediate aquifer system was mapped by determining the altitude of water levels in a network of wells and represented on a map by contours that connect points of equal altitude. This map represents water-level conditions near the end of the spring dry season when ground- water withdrawals for agricultural use were high. The cumulative rainfall for the study area was 4.84 inches above normal for the period from June 1992 to May 1993. Hydrographs for selected wells indicated that the annual and seasonal fluctuations of the water levels were generally large (greater than 15 feet) in the central interior region where water demand for irrigation is high during the fall and spring. Seasonal fluctuations were smaller in the northern recharge area where water use is predominantly for public supply. Water levels measured in May 1993 for the composite intermediate aquifer potentiometric surface were lower than those measured in May or September 1992. A cone of depression exists in the potentiometric surface for the composite aquifer system at Warm Mineral Springs, which is a natural discharge point from this system.

Repeating Marx

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuchs, Christian; Monticelli, Lara

2018-01-01

This introduction sets out the context of the special issue “Karl Marx @ 200: Debating Capitalism & Perspectives for the Future of Radical Theory”, which was published on the occasion of Marx’s bicentenary on 5 May 2018. First, we give a brief overview of contemporary capitalism’s development...... and its crises. Second, we argue that it is important to repeat Marx today. Third, we reflect on lessons learned from 200 years of struggles for alternatives to capitalism. Fourth, we give an overview of the contributions in this special issue. Taken together, the contributions in this special issue show...... that Marx’s theory and politics remain key inspirations for understanding exploitation and domination in 21st-century society and for struggles that aim to overcome these phenomena and establishing a just and fair society. We need to repeat Marx today....

Quantitative Spectral Radiance Measurements in the HYMETS Arc Jet

Science.gov (United States)

Danehy, Paul M.; Hires, Drew V.; Johansen, Craig T.; Bathel, Brett F.; Jones, Stephen B.; Gragg, Jeffrey G.; Splinter, Scott C.

2012-01-01

Calibrated spectral radiance measurements of gaseous emission spectra have been obtained from the HYMETS (Hypersonic Materials Environmental Test System) 400 kW arc-heated wind tunnel at NASA Langley Research Center. A fiber-optic coupled spectrometer collected natural luminosity from the flow. Spectral radiance measurements are reported between 340 and 1000 nm. Both Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator (PICA) samples were placed in the flow. Test gases studied included a mostly-N2 atmosphere (95% nitrogen, 5% argon), a simulated Earth Air atmosphere (75% nitrogen, 20% oxygen, 5% argon) and a simulated Martian atmosphere (71% carbon dioxide, 24% nitrogen, 5% argon). The bulk enthalpy of the flow was varied as was the location of the measurement. For the intermediate flow enthalpy tested (20 MJ/kg), emission from the Mars simulant gas was about 10 times higher than the Air flow and 15 times higher than the mostly-N2 atmosphere. Shock standoff distances were estimated from the spectral radiance measurements. Within-run, run-to-run and day-to-day repeatability of the emission were studied, with significant variations (15-100%) noted.

Connectomic intermediate phenotypes for psychiatric disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alex eFornito

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Psychiatric disorders are phenotypically heterogeneous entities with a complex genetic basis. To mitigate this complexity, many investigators study so-called intermediate phenotypes that putatively provide a more direct index of the physiological effects of candidate genetic risk variants than overt psychiatric syndromes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI is a particularly popular technique for measuring such phenotypes because it allows interrogation of diverse aspects of brain structure and function in vivo. Much of this work however, has focused on relatively simple measures that quantify variations in the physiology or tissue integrity of specific brain regions in isolation, contradicting an emerging consensus that most major psychiatric disorders do not arise from isolated dysfunction in one or a few brain regions, but rather from disturbed interactions within and between distributed neural circuits; i.e., they are disorders of brain connectivity. The recent proliferation of new MRI techniques for comprehensively mapping the entire connectivity architecture of the brain, termed the human connectome, has provided a rich repertoire of tools for understanding how genetic variants implicated in mental disorder impact distinct neural circuits. In this article, we review research using these connectomic techniques to understand how genetic variation influences the connectivity and topology of human brain networks. We highlight recent evidence from twin and imaging genetics studies suggesting that the penetrance of candidate risk variants for mental illness, such as those in SLC6A4, MAOA, ZNF804A and APOE, may be higher for intermediate phenotypes characterised at the level of distributed neural systems than at the level of spatially localised brain regions. The findings indicate that imaging connectomics provides a powerful framework for understanding how genetic risk for psychiatric disease is expressed through altered structure and function of

Test-retest reliability of behavioral measures of impulsive choice, impulsive action, and inattention.

Science.gov (United States)

Weafer, Jessica; Baggott, Matthew J; de Wit, Harriet

2013-12-01

Behavioral measures of impulsivity are widely used in substance abuse research, yet relatively little attention has been devoted to establishing their psychometric properties, especially their reliability over repeated administration. The current study examined the test-retest reliability of a battery of standardized behavioral impulsivity tasks, including measures of impulsive choice (i.e., delay discounting, probability discounting, and the Balloon Analogue Risk Task), impulsive action (i.e., the stop signal task, the go/no-go task, and commission errors on the continuous performance task), and inattention (i.e., attention lapses on a simple reaction time task and omission errors on the continuous performance task). Healthy adults (n = 128) performed the battery on two separate occasions. Reliability estimates for the individual tasks ranged from moderate to high, with Pearson correlations within the specific impulsivity domains as follows: impulsive choice (r range: .76-.89, ps reliable measures and thus can be confidently used to assess various facets of impulsivity as intermediate phenotypes for drug abuse.

Isoporphyrin Intermediate in Heme Oxygenase Catalysis

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, John P.; Niemevz, Fernando; Buldain, Graciela; de Montellano, Paul Ortiz

2008-01-01

Human heme oxygenase-1 (hHO-1) catalyzes the O2- and NADPH-dependent oxidation of heme to biliverdin, CO, and free iron. The first step involves regiospecific insertion of an oxygen atom at the α-meso carbon by a ferric hydroperoxide and is predicted to proceed via an isoporphyrin π-cation intermediate. Here we report spectroscopic detection of a transient intermediate during oxidation by hHO-1 of α-meso-phenylheme-IX, α-meso-(p-methylphenyl)-mesoheme-III, and α-meso-(p-trifluoromethylphenyl)-mesoheme-III. In agreement with previous experiments (Wang, J., Niemevz, F., Lad, L., Huang, L., Alvarez, D. E., Buldain, G., Poulos, T. L., and Ortiz de Montellano, P. R. (2004) J. Biol. Chem. 279, 42593–42604), only the α-biliverdin isomer is produced with concomitant formation of the corresponding benzoic acid. The transient intermediate observed in the NADPH-P450 reductase-catalyzed reaction accumulated when the reaction was supported by H2O2 and exhibited the absorption maxima at 435 and 930 nm characteristic of an isoporphyrin. Product analysis by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography electrospray ionization mass spectrometry of the product generated with H2O2 identified it as an isoporphyrin that, on quenching, decayed to benzoylbiliverdin. In the presence of H218O2, one labeled oxygen atom was incorporated into these products. The hHO-1-isoporphyrin complexes were found to have half-lives of 1.7 and 2.4 h for the p-trifluoromethyl- and p-methyl-substituted phenylhemes, respectively. The addition of NADPH-P450 reductase to the H2O2-generated hHO-1-isoporphyrin complex produced α-biliverdin, confirming its role as a reaction intermediate. Identification of an isoporphyrin intermediate in the catalytic sequence of hHO-1, the first such intermediate observed in hemoprotein catalysis, completes our understanding of the critical first step of heme oxidation. PMID:18487208

Language in use intermediate : self-study workbook

CERN Document Server

Doff, Adrian

1994-01-01

Each of the four levels comprises about 80 hours of class work, with additional time for the self-study work. The Teacher's Book contains all the pages from the Classroom Book, with interleaved teaching notes including optional activities to cater for different abilities. There is a video to accompany the Beginner, Pre-intermediate and Intermediate levels. Each video contains eight stimulating and entertaining short programmes, as well as a booklet of photocopiable activities. Free test material is available in booklet and web format for Beginner and Pre-intermediate levels. Visit www.cambridge.org/elt/liu or contact your local Cambridge University Press representative.

an intermediate moisture meat

African Journals Online (AJOL)

STORAGESEVER

2008-07-04

Jul 4, 2008 ... traditional SM muscle without compromising quality. ... technique is intermediate moisture food processing. ... Traditionally, most tsire suya producers use ..... quality of Chinese purebred and European X Chinese crossbred ...

IPHAS J062746.41+014811.3: A DEEPLY ECLIPSING INTERMEDIATE POLAR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aungwerojwit, A.; Gänsicke, B. T.; Wheatley, P. J.; Pyrzas, S.; Staels, B.; Krajci, T.; Rodríguez-Gil, P.

2012-01-01

We present time-resolved photometry of a cataclysmic variable discovered in the Isaac Newton Telescope Photometric Hα Survey of the northern galactic plane, IPHAS J062746.41+014811.3, and classify the system as the fourth deeply eclipsing intermediate polar known with an orbital period of P orb = 8.16 hr and a spin period of P spin = 2210 s. The system shows mild variations of its brightness that appear to be accompanied by a change in the amplitude of the spin modulation at optical wavelengths and a change in the morphology of the eclipse profile. The inferred magnetic moment of the white dwarf is μ wd ∼ (6-7) × 10 33 G cm 3 , and in this case IPHAS J062746.41+014811.3 will evolve either into a short-period EX Hya-like intermediate polar with a large P spin /P orb ratio or, perhaps more likely, into a synchronized polar. Swift observations show that the system is an ultraviolet and X-ray source, with a hard X-ray spectrum that is consistent with those seen in other intermediate polars. The ultraviolet light curve shows orbital modulation and an eclipse, while the low signal-to-noise ratio X-ray light curve does not show a significant modulation on the spin period. The measured X-ray flux is about an order of magnitude lower than would be expected from scaling by the optical fluxes of well-known X-ray-selected intermediate polars.

Review of intermediate and final product characterization on coated particles preparation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sukarsono; Kristanti Nurwidyaningrum

2015-01-01

Review of the intermediate and final product characterization on preparation of coated particles was done. Product characterization included a tool to measure the character of raw materials, intermediate product and the final product of the process, which affects the success of getting the high temperature reactor fuel are eligible. Equipment's for the characterization of such materials were pH meter, viscometer, microbalance, turbidity meter, tab density measurement, true density measurement and auto pycnometer. Being for the measurement of particles there are two types destructive testing and non destructive. Destructive testing was done by polished the particles then cross sectional imaging of particle observed using an optical microscope. In this way contains errors due to polishing treatment that could not be right on the equator section so it needs correction. Destructive testing also create waste that must be processed from the remnants of the polishing process. By using non-destructive testing, waste was not formed but the imaging results are often unclear due to lack of contrast. Development of non-destructive test equipment has been made using radiographic method and automated microscopy. The overall activity is still much needed additional tools for measurement and for processing, so that the results obtained will not rejected as the specification of nuclear fuel. Similarly, in the case of a sampling test method and limits to a product accepted or rejected, it should be determined based on statistical methods. (author)

Repeat immigration: A previously unobserved source of heterogeneity?

Science.gov (United States)

Aradhya, Siddartha; Scott, Kirk; Smith, Christopher D

2017-07-01

Register data allow for nuanced analyses of heterogeneities between sub-groups which are not observable in other data sources. One heterogeneity for which register data is particularly useful is in identifying unique migration histories of immigrant populations, a group of interest across disciplines. Years since migration is a commonly used measure of integration in studies seeking to understand the outcomes of immigrants. This study constructs detailed migration histories to test whether misclassified migrations may mask important heterogeneities. In doing so, we identify a previously understudied group of migrants called repeat immigrants, and show that they differ systematically from permanent immigrants. In addition, we quantify the degree to which migration information is misreported in the registers. The analysis is carried out in two steps. First, we estimate income trajectories for repeat immigrants and permanent immigrants to understand the degree to which they differ. Second, we test data validity by cross-referencing migration information with changes in income to determine whether there are inconsistencies indicating misreporting. From the first part of the analysis, the results indicate that repeat immigrants systematically differ from permanent immigrants in terms of income trajectories. Furthermore, income trajectories differ based on the way in which years since migration is calculated. The second part of the analysis suggests that misreported migration events, while present, are negligible. Repeat immigrants differ in terms of income trajectories, and may differ in terms of other outcomes as well. Furthermore, this study underlines that Swedish registers provide a reliable data source to analyze groups which are unidentifiable in other data sources.

Feasibility of large volume casting cementation process for intermediate level radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhuying; Chen Baisong; Zeng Jishu; Yu Chengze

1988-01-01

The recent tendency of radioactive waste treatment and disposal both in China and abroad is reviewed. The feasibility of the large volume casting cementation process for treating and disposing the intermediate level radioactive waste from spent fuel reprocessing plant in shallow land is assessed on the basis of the analyses of the experimental results (such as formulation study, solidified radioactive waste properties measurement ect.). It can be concluded large volume casting cementation process is a promising, safe and economic process. It is feasible to dispose the intermediate level radioactive waste from reprocessing plant it the disposal site chosen has resonable geological and geographical conditions and some additional effective protection means are taken

A repeat-until-success quantum computing scheme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beige, A [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT (United Kingdom); Lim, Y L [DSO National Laboratories, 20 Science Park Drive, Singapore 118230, Singapore (Singapore); Kwek, L C [Department of Physics, National University of Singapore, 2 Science Drive 3, Singapore 117542, Singapore (Singapore)

2007-06-15

Recently we proposed a hybrid architecture for quantum computing based on stationary and flying qubits: the repeat-until-success (RUS) quantum computing scheme. The scheme is largely implementation independent. Despite the incompleteness theorem for optical Bell-state measurements in any linear optics set-up, it allows for the implementation of a deterministic entangling gate between distant qubits. Here we review this distributed quantum computation scheme, which is ideally suited for integrated quantum computation and communication purposes.

A repeat-until-success quantum computing scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beige, A; Lim, Y L; Kwek, L C

2007-01-01

Recently we proposed a hybrid architecture for quantum computing based on stationary and flying qubits: the repeat-until-success (RUS) quantum computing scheme. The scheme is largely implementation independent. Despite the incompleteness theorem for optical Bell-state measurements in any linear optics set-up, it allows for the implementation of a deterministic entangling gate between distant qubits. Here we review this distributed quantum computation scheme, which is ideally suited for integrated quantum computation and communication purposes

Taxation of Financial Intermediation Activities in Hong Kong

OpenAIRE

Jack M. Mintz; Stephen R. Richardson

2001-01-01

This paper discusses issues related to the taxation of financial intermediation in Hong Kong in the context of Hong Kong's position as a major regional financial centre. It first provides some background analysis as to the definition of financial intermediation and identification of the providers of financial services. This is then followed by a discussion of the principles of taxation applicable to financial intermediation, including a comparison of income taxes to consumption taxes. Some sp...

Readout Distance Enhancement of the Passive Wireless Multi-Parameter Sensing System Using a Repeater Coil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lifeng Wang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A repeater coil is used to extend the detection distance of a passive wireless multi-parameter sensing system. The passive wireless sensing system has the ability of simultaneously monitoring three parameters by using backscatter modulation together with channel multiplexing. Two different repeater coils are designed and fabricated for readout distance enhancement of the sensing system: one is a PCB (printed circuit board repeater coil, and the other is a copper wire repeater coil. Under the conditions of fixed voltage and adjustable voltage, the maximum readout distance of the sensing system with and without a repeater coil is measured. Experimental results show that larger power supply voltage can help further increase the readout distance. The maximum readout distance of the sensing system with a PCB repeater coil has been extended 2.3 times, and the one with a copper wire repeater coil has been extended 3 times. Theoretical analysis and experimental results both indicate that the high Q factor repeater coil can extend the readout distance more. With the copper wire repeater coil as well as a higher power supply voltage, the passive wireless multi-parameter sensing system finally achieves a maximum readout distance of 13.5 cm.

Comparison of serum leptin, glucose, total cholesterol and total protein levels in fertile and repeat breeder cows

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saime Guzel

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In the present study we measured serum glucose, leptin, total cholesterol and total protein concentrations in repeat breeder cows and compared them with fertile cows. For this aim, 20 repeat breeder cows and 20 fertile cows were used as material. Repeat breeder cows were found to have lower levels of leptin and glucose as compared with fertile ones. No significant differences in total cholesterol and total protein levels were observed between the two groups. No significant correlation of leptin with glucose, total cholesterol and total protein was observed in fertile and repeat breeder cows. Low concentrations of glucose and leptin can have some effects on reproductive problems as repeat breeder and help to understand potential mechanisms impairing fertility in repeat breeder cows.

Analysis of a kinetic multi-segment foot model. Part I: Model repeatability and kinematic validity.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruening, Dustin A; Cooney, Kevin M; Buczek, Frank L

2012-04-01

Kinematic multi-segment foot models are still evolving, but have seen increased use in clinical and research settings. The addition of kinetics may increase knowledge of foot and ankle function as well as influence multi-segment foot model evolution; however, previous kinetic models are too complex for clinical use. In this study we present a three-segment kinetic foot model and thorough evaluation of model performance during normal gait. In this first of two companion papers, model reference frames and joint centers are analyzed for repeatability, joint translations are measured, segment rigidity characterized, and sample joint angles presented. Within-tester and between-tester repeatability were first assessed using 10 healthy pediatric participants, while kinematic parameters were subsequently measured on 17 additional healthy pediatric participants. Repeatability errors were generally low for all sagittal plane measures as well as transverse plane Hindfoot and Forefoot segments (median<3°), while the least repeatable orientations were the Hindfoot coronal plane and Hallux transverse plane. Joint translations were generally less than 2mm in any one direction, while segment rigidity analysis suggested rigid body behavior for the Shank and Hindfoot, with the Forefoot violating the rigid body assumptions in terminal stance/pre-swing. Joint excursions were consistent with previously published studies. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Development of a cognitive bias methodology for measuring low mood in chimpanzees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Melissa Bateson

2015-06-01

Full Text Available There is an ethical and scientific need for objective, well-validated measures of low mood in captive chimpanzees. We describe the development of a novel cognitive task designed to measure ‘pessimistic’ bias in judgments of expectation of reward, a cognitive marker of low mood previously validated in a wide range of species, and report training and test data from three common chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes. The chimpanzees were trained on an arbitrary visual discrimination in which lifting a pale grey paper cone was associated with reinforcement with a peanut, whereas lifting a dark grey cone was associated with no reward. The discrimination was trained by sequentially presenting the two cone types until significant differences in latency to touch the cone types emerged, and was confirmed by simultaneously presenting both cone types in choice trials. Subjects were subsequently tested on their latency to touch unrewarded cones of three intermediate shades of grey not previously seen. Pessimism was indicated by the similarity between the latency to touch intermediate cones and the latency to touch the trained, unreinforced, dark grey cones. Three subjects completed training and testing, two adult males and one adult female. All subjects learnt the discrimination (107–240 trials, and retained it during five sessions of testing. There was no evidence that latencies to lift intermediate cones increased over testing, as would have occurred if subjects learnt that these were never rewarded, suggesting that the task could be used for repeated testing of individual animals. There was a significant difference between subjects in their relative latencies to touch intermediate cones (pessimism index that emerged following the second test session, and was not changed by the addition of further data. The most dominant male subject was least pessimistic, and the female most pessimistic. We argue that the task has the potential to be used to assess

Intermediate-energy nuclear chemistry workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Butler, G.W.; Giesler, G.C.; Liu, L.C.; Dropesky, B.J.; Knight, J.D.; Lucero, F.; Orth, C.J.

1981-05-01

This report contains the proceedings of the LAMPF Intermediate-Energy Nuclear Chemistry Workshop held in Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 23-27, 1980. The first two days of the Workshop were devoted to invited review talks highlighting current experimental and theoretical research activities in intermediate-energy nuclear chemistry and physics. Working panels representing major topic areas carried out indepth appraisals of present research and formulated recommendations for future research directions. The major topic areas were Pion-Nucleus Reactions, Nucleon-Nucleus Reactions and Nuclei Far from Stability, Mesonic Atoms, Exotic Interactions, New Theoretical Approaches, and New Experimental Techniques and New Nuclear Chemistry Facilities

Intermediate-energy nuclear chemistry workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Butler, G.W.; Giesler, G.C.; Liu, L.C.; Dropesky, B.J.; Knight, J.D.; Lucero, F.; Orth, C.J.

1981-05-01

This report contains the proceedings of the LAMPF Intermediate-Energy Nuclear Chemistry Workshop held in Los Alamos, New Mexico, June 23-27, 1980. The first two days of the Workshop were devoted to invited review talks highlighting current experimental and theoretical research activities in intermediate-energy nuclear chemistry and physics. Working panels representing major topic areas carried out indepth appraisals of present research and formulated recommendations for future research directions. The major topic areas were Pion-Nucleus Reactions, Nucleon-Nucleus Reactions and Nuclei Far from Stability, Mesonic Atoms, Exotic Interactions, New Theoretical Approaches, and New Experimental Techniques and New Nuclear Chemistry Facilities.

Repeatability of Ophtha Top topography and comparison with IOL-Master and LenstarLS900 in cataract patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sha-Sha Yu

2017-11-01

Full Text Available AIM: To determine the repeatability of Ophtha Top topography and assess the consistency with intraocular lens (IOL-Master and LenstarLS900 (Lenstar in measuring corneal parameters among cataract patients. METHODS: Totally 125 eyes were enrolled. Corneas were successively measured with Ophtha Top, IOL-Master and Lenstar at least three times. The flattest meridian power (Kf, the steepest meridian power (Ks, mean power (Km, J0 and J45 were recorded. Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs, the coefficient of variance (COV, within subject standard deviation (Sw, and test-retest repeatability (2.77Sw were adopted to determine the repeatability. The 95% limit of agreement (95%LOA and Bland-Altman plots were used to assess comparability. RESULTS: Repeatability of Ophtha Top topography for measuring corneal parameters showed the ICCs were all above 0.93, 2.77Sw was lower than 0.31, and the COV of the Kf and Ks was lower than 0.25. The keratometric readings with Ophtha Top topography were flatter than with the IOL-Master and Lenstar devices, while the Pearson correlation coefficients were over 0.97. The J0 and J45 with Ophtha Top topography were smaller compared with Lenstar and IOL-Master, while was comparable between Lenstar and IOL-Master. CONCLUSION: Ophtha Top topography shows excellent repeatability for measuring corneal parameters. However, differences between the Ophtha TOP topography and Lenstar, IOL-Master both in cornea curvature and the astigmatism should be noted clinically.

The ARES High-level Intermediate Representation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moss, Nicholas David [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

2017-03-03

The LLVM intermediate representation (IR) lacks semantic constructs for depicting common high-performance operations such as parallel and concurrent execution, communication and synchronization. Currently, representing such semantics in LLVM requires either extending the intermediate form (a signi cant undertaking) or the use of ad hoc indirect means such as encoding them as intrinsics and/or the use of metadata constructs. In this paper we discuss a work in progress to explore the design and implementation of a new compilation stage and associated high-level intermediate form that is placed between the abstract syntax tree and when it is lowered to LLVM's IR. This highlevel representation is a superset of LLVM IR and supports the direct representation of these common parallel computing constructs along with the infrastructure for supporting analysis and transformation passes on this representation.

simple sequence repeats (EST-SSR)

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Yomi

2012-01-19

Jan 19, 2012 ... 212 primer pairs selected, based on repeat patterns of n≥8 for di-, tri-, tetra- and penta-nucleotide repeat ... Cluster analysis revealed a high genetic similarity among the sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) breeding lines which could reduce the genetic gain in ..... The multiple allele characteristic of SSR com-.

Nifty Nines and Repeating Decimals

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Scott A.

2016-01-01

The traditional technique for converting repeating decimals to common fractions can be found in nearly every algebra textbook that has been published, as well as in many precalculus texts. However, students generally encounter repeating decimal numerals earlier than high school when they study rational numbers in prealgebra classes. Therefore, how…

Repeated Prescribed Burning in Aspen

Science.gov (United States)

Donald A. Perala

1974-01-01

Infrequent burning weather, low flammability of the aspen-hardwood association, and prolific sprouting and seeding of shrubs and hardwoods made repeated dormant season burning a poor tool to convert good site aspen to conifers. Repeat fall burns for wildlife habitat maintenance is workable if species composition changes are not important.

Effect of intermediate zone during gamma-gamma and X-ray spectrum logging of quarry wells with inversive probes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Artsybashev, V.A.; Volkov, A.A.

1981-01-01

Experimental and calculated data on the effect of intermediate zone on results of gamma-gamma and X-ray spectrum logging of quarry wells at chalcopyrite deposits are presented. The measurements have been carried out using 57 Co and 109 Cd sources for intermediate zone represented by water, air and mud. Requirements for technical conditions of wells have been formulated. According to the requirements the application of gamma- gamma method is possible when the thickness of the intermediate zone does not exceed several millimetres and that of X-ray spectrum method - when the thickness does not exceed several hundredths of a millimetre [ru

MID Max: LC–MS/MS Method for Measuring the Precursor and Product Mass Isotopomer Distributions of Metabolic Intermediates and Cofactors for Metabolic Flux Analysis Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McCloskey, Douglas; Young, Jamey D.; Xu, Sibei

2016-01-01

The analytical challenges to acquire accurate isotopic data of intracellular metabolic intermediates for stationary, nonstationary, and dynamic metabolic flux analysis (MFA) are numerous. This work presents MID Max, a novel LC–MS/MS workflow, acquisition, and isotopomer deconvolution method for MFA...... that takes advantage of additional scan types that maximizes the number of mass isotopomer distributions (MIDs) that can be acquired in a given experiment. The analytical method was found to measure the MIDs of 97 metabolites, corresponding to 74 unique metabolite-fragment pairs (32 precursor spectra and 42...

Mapping Intermediality in Performance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2010-01-01

Mapping Intermediality in Performance benadert het vraagstuk van intermedialiteit met betrekking tot performance (vooral theater) vanuit vijf verschillende invalshoeken: performativiteit en lichaam; tijd en ruimte; digitale cultuur en posthumanisme; netwerken; pedagogiek en praxis. In deze boeiende

The importance of position and path repeatability on force at the knee during six-DOF joint motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Darcy, Shon P; Gil, Jorge E; Woo, Savio L-Y; Debski, Richard E

2009-06-01

Mechanical devices, such as robotic manipulators have been designed to measure joint and ligament function because of their ability to position a diarthrodial joint in six degrees-of-freedom with fidelity. However, the precision and performance of these testing devices vary. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of systematic errors in position and path repeatability of two high-payload robotic manipulators (Manipulators 1 and 2) on the resultant forces at the knee. Using a porcine knee, the position and path repeatability of these manipulators were determined during passive flexion-extension with a coordinate measuring machine. The position repeatability of Manipulator 1 was 0.3 mm in position and 0.2 degrees in orientation while Manipulator 2 had a better position repeatability of 0.1 mm in position and 0.1 degrees in orientation throughout the range of positions examined. The corresponding variability in the resultant force at the knee for these assigned positions was 32+/-33 N for Manipulator 1 and 4+/-1 N for Manipulator 2. Furthermore, the repeatability of the trajectory of each manipulator while moving between assigned positions (path repeatability) was 0.8 mm for Manipulator 1 while the path repeatability for Manipulator 2 was improved (0.1 mm). These path discrepancies produced variability in the resultant force at the knee of 44+/-24 and 21+/-8 N, respectively, for Manipulators 1 and 2 primarily due to contact between the articular surfaces of the tibia and femur. Therefore, improved position and path repeatability yields lower variability in the resultant forces at the knee. Although position repeatability has been the most common criteria for evaluating biomechanical testing devices, the current study has clearly demonstrated that path repeatability can have an even larger effect on the variability in resultant force at the knee. Consequently, the repeatability of the path followed by the joint throughout its prescribed

Retention of intermediate polarization states in ferroelectric materials enabling memories for multi-bit data storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao, Dong; Asadi, Kamal; Blom, Paul W. M.; Leeuw, Dago M. de, E-mail: deleeuw@mpip-mainz.mpg.de [Max-Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz (Germany); Katsouras, Ilias [Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, 5656AE Eindhoven (Netherlands); Groen, Wilhelm A. [Holst Centre, High Tech Campus 31, 5656AE Eindhoven (Netherlands); Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1 2629 HS, Delft (Netherlands)

2016-06-06

A homogeneous ferroelectric single crystal exhibits only two remanent polarization states that are stable over time, whereas intermediate, or unsaturated, polarization states are thermodynamically instable. Commonly used ferroelectric materials however, are inhomogeneous polycrystalline thin films or ceramics. To investigate the stability of intermediate polarization states, formed upon incomplete, or partial, switching, we have systematically studied their retention in capacitors comprising two classic ferroelectric materials, viz. random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-TrFE), and Pb(Zr,Ti)O{sub 3}. Each experiment started from a discharged and electrically depolarized ferroelectric capacitor. Voltage pulses were applied to set the given polarization states. The retention was measured as a function of time at various temperatures. The intermediate polarization states are stable over time, up to the Curie temperature. We argue that the remarkable stability originates from the coexistence of effectively independent domains, with different values of polarization and coercive field. A domain growth model is derived quantitatively describing deterministic switching between the intermediate polarization states. We show that by using well-defined voltage pulses, the polarization can be set to any arbitrary value, allowing arithmetic programming. The feasibility of arithmetic programming along with the inherent stability of intermediate polarization states makes ferroelectric materials ideal candidates for multibit data storage.

Retention of intermediate polarization states in ferroelectric materials enabling memories for multi-bit data storage

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Dong; Katsouras, Ilias; Asadi, Kamal; Groen, Wilhelm A.; Blom, Paul W. M.; de Leeuw, Dago M.

2016-06-01

A homogeneous ferroelectric single crystal exhibits only two remanent polarization states that are stable over time, whereas intermediate, or unsaturated, polarization states are thermodynamically instable. Commonly used ferroelectric materials however, are inhomogeneous polycrystalline thin films or ceramics. To investigate the stability of intermediate polarization states, formed upon incomplete, or partial, switching, we have systematically studied their retention in capacitors comprising two classic ferroelectric materials, viz. random copolymer of vinylidene fluoride with trifluoroethylene, P(VDF-TrFE), and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3. Each experiment started from a discharged and electrically depolarized ferroelectric capacitor. Voltage pulses were applied to set the given polarization states. The retention was measured as a function of time at various temperatures. The intermediate polarization states are stable over time, up to the Curie temperature. We argue that the remarkable stability originates from the coexistence of effectively independent domains, with different values of polarization and coercive field. A domain growth model is derived quantitatively describing deterministic switching between the intermediate polarization states. We show that by using well-defined voltage pulses, the polarization can be set to any arbitrary value, allowing arithmetic programming. The feasibility of arithmetic programming along with the inherent stability of intermediate polarization states makes ferroelectric materials ideal candidates for multibit data storage.

What Can We Learn From Point-of-Care Blood Glucose Values Deleted and Repeated by Nurses?

Science.gov (United States)

Corl, Dawn; Yin, Tom; Ulibarri, May; Lien, Heather; Tylee, Tracy; Chao, Jing; Wisse, Brent E

2018-03-01

Hospitals rely on point-of-care (POC) blood glucose (BG) values to guide important decisions related to insulin administration and glycemic control. Evaluation of POC BG in hospitalized patients is associated with measurement and operator errors. Based on a previous quality improvement (QI) project we introduced an option for operators to delete and repeat POC BG values suspected as erroneous. The current project evaluated our experience with deleted POC BG values over a 2-year period. A retrospective QI project included all patients hospitalized at two regional academic medical centers in the Pacific Northwest during 2014 and 2015. Laboratory Medicine POC BG data were reviewed to evaluate all inpatient episodes of deleted and repeated POC BG. Inpatient operators choose to delete and repeat only 0.8% of all POC BG tests. Hypoglycemic and extreme hyperglycemic BG values are more likely to be deleted and repeated. Of initial values values (18% of all values) are errors. Of values >400 mg/dL, 40% of deleted values (5% of all values) are errors. Not all repeated POC BG values are first deleted. Optimal use of the option to delete and repeat POC BG values values that are measurement/operator errors. Eliminating these errors significantly reduces documented rates of severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia, and has the potential to improve patient safety.

High heat flux testing of TiC coated molybdenum with a tungsten intermediate layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujitsuka, Masakazu; Fukutomi, Masao; Okada, Masatoshi

1988-01-01

The use of low atomic number (Z) material coatings for fusion reactor first-wall components has proved to be a valuable technique to reduce the plasma radiation losses. Molybdenum coated with titanium carbide is considered very promising since it has a good capability of receiving heat from the plasma. An interfacial reaction between the TiC film and the molybdenum substrate, however, causes a severe deterioration of the film at elevated temperatures. In order to solve this problem a TiC coated molybdenum with an intermediate tungsten layer was developed. High temperature properties of this material was evaluated by a newly devised electron beam heating apparatus. TiC coatings prepared on a vacuum-heat-treated molybdenum with a tungsten intermediate layer showed good high temperature stability and survived 2.0 s pulses of heating at a power density as high as 53 MW/m 2 . The melt area of the TiC coatings in high heat flux testings also markedly decreased when a tungsten intermediate layer was applied. The melting mechanism of the TiC coatings with and without a tungsten intermediate layer was discussed by EPMA measurements. (author)

Can Morphing Methods Predict Intermediate Structures?

Science.gov (United States)

Weiss, Dahlia R.; Levitt, Michael

2009-01-01

Movement is crucial to the biological function of many proteins, yet crystallographic structures of proteins can give us only a static snapshot. The protein dynamics that are important to biological function often happen on a timescale that is unattainable through detailed simulation methods such as molecular dynamics as they often involve crossing high-energy barriers. To address this coarse-grained motion, several methods have been implemented as web servers in which a set of coordinates is usually linearly interpolated from an initial crystallographic structure to a final crystallographic structure. We present a new morphing method that does not extrapolate linearly and can therefore go around high-energy barriers and which can produce different trajectories between the same two starting points. In this work, we evaluate our method and other established coarse-grained methods according to an objective measure: how close a coarse-grained dynamics method comes to a crystallographically determined intermediate structure when calculating a trajectory between the initial and final crystal protein structure. We test this with a set of five proteins with at least three crystallographically determined on-pathway high-resolution intermediate structures from the Protein Data Bank. For simple hinging motions involving a small conformational change, segmentation of the protein into two rigid sections outperforms other more computationally involved methods. However, large-scale conformational change is best addressed using a nonlinear approach and we suggest that there is merit in further developing such methods. PMID:18996395

Visual attention to repeated print advertising : A test of scanpath theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, F.G.M.; Rosbergen, E.; Wedel, M.

1999-01-01

The authors examine consumers' visual attention during repeated exposures to print advertisements using eye-tracking methodology. The authors propose a statistical model comprising submodels for two key measures of visual attention to elements of the advertisement: attention duration and inter- and

Visual attention to repeated print advertising : A test of scanpath theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters, F.G.M.; Rosbergen, E.; Wedel, M.

The authors examine consumers' visual attention during repeated exposures to print advertisements using eye-tracking methodology. The authors propose a statistical model comprising submodels for two key measures of visual attention to elements of the advertisement: attention duration and inter- and

Thermal stability of chicken brain {alpha}-spectrin repeat 17: a spectroscopic study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brenner, Annette K. [University of Bergen, Department of Chemistry (Norway); Kieffer, Bruno [Ecole Superieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, IGBMC Biomolecular NMR Group, CNRS UMR 7104 (France); Trave, Gilles [Ecole Superieure de Biotechnologie de Strasbourg, Equipe Oncoproteines, IREBS, UMR 7242 (France); Froystein, Nils Age [University of Bergen, Department of Chemistry (Norway); Raae, Arnt J., E-mail: arnt.raae@mbi.uib.no [University of Bergen, Department of Molecular Biology (Norway)

2012-06-15

Spectrin is a rod-like multi-modular protein that is mainly composed of triple-helical repeats. These repeats show very similar 3D-structures but variable conformational and thermodynamical stabilities, which may be of great importance for the flexibility and dynamic behaviour of spectrin in the cell. For instance, repeat 17 (R17) of the chicken brain spectrin {alpha}-chain is four times less stable than neighbouring repeat 16 (R16) in terms of Increment G. The structure of spectrin repeats has mainly been investigated by X-ray crystallography, but the structures of a few repeats, e.g. R16, have also been determined by NMR spectroscopy. Here, we undertook a detailed characterization of the neighbouring R17 by NMR spectroscopy. We assigned most backbone resonances and observed NOE restraints, relaxation values and coupling constants that all indicated that the fold of R17 is highly similar to that of R16, in agreement with previous X-ray analysis of a tandem repeat of the two domains. However, {sup 15}N heteronuclear NMR spectra measured at different temperatures revealed particular features of the R17 domain that might contribute to its lower stability. Conformational exchange appeared to alter the linker connecting R17 to R16 as well as the BC-loop in close proximity. In addition, heat-induced splitting was observed for backbone resonances of a few spatially related residues including V99 of helix C, which in R16 is replaced by the larger hydrophobic tryptophan residue that is relatively conserved among other spectrin repeats. These data support the view that the substitution of tryptophan by valine at this position may contribute to the lower stability of R17.

A repeated measures experiment of green exercise to improve self-esteem in UK school children.

Science.gov (United States)

Reed, Katharine; Wood, Carly; Barton, Jo; Pretty, Jules N; Cohen, Daniel; Sandercock, Gavin R H

2013-01-01

Exercising in natural, green environments creates greater improvements in adult's self-esteem than exercise undertaken in urban or indoor settings. No comparable data are available for children. The aim of this study was to determine whether so called 'green exercise' affected changes in self-esteem; enjoyment and perceived exertion in children differently to urban exercise. We assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run) and self-reported physical activity (PAQ-A) in 11 and 12 year olds (n = 75). Each pupil completed two 1.5 mile timed runs, one in an urban and another in a rural environment. Trials were completed one week apart during scheduled physical education lessons allocated using a repeated measures design. Self-esteem was measured before and after each trial, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and enjoyment were assessed after completing each trial. We found a significant main effect (F (1,74), = 12.2, pself-esteem following exercise but there was no condition by exercise interaction (F (1,74), = 0.13, p = 0.72). There were no significant differences in perceived exertion or enjoyment between conditions. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.26, p = 0.04) between habitual physical activity and RPE during the control condition, which was not evident in the green exercise condition (r = -0.07, p = 0.55). Contrary to previous studies in adults, green exercise did not produce significantly greater increases in self-esteem than the urban exercise condition. Green exercise was enjoyed more equally by children with differing levels of habitual physical activity and has the potential to engage less active children in exercise.

The Intermediate Neutrino Program

CERN Document Server

Adams, C.; Ankowski, A.M.; Asaadi, J.A.; Ashenfelter, J.; Axani, S.N.; Babu, K.; Backhouse, C.; Band, H.R.; Barbeau, P.S.; Barros, N.; Bernstein, A.; Betancourt, M.; Bishai, M.; Blucher, E.; Bouffard, J.; Bowden, N.; Brice, S.; Bryan, C.; Camilleri, L.; Cao, J.; Carlson, J.; Carr, R.E.; Chatterjee, A.; Chen, M.; Chen, S.; Chiu, M.; Church, E.D.; Collar, J.I.; Collin, G.; Conrad, J.M.; Convery, M.R.; Cooper, R.L.; Cowen, D.; Davoudiasl, H.; de Gouvea, A.; Dean, D.J.; Deichert, G.; Descamps, F.; DeYoung, T.; Diwan, M.V.; Djurcic, Z.; Dolinski, M.J.; Dolph, J.; Donnelly, B.; Dwyer, D.A.; Dytman, S.; Efremenko, Y.; Everett, L.L.; Fava, A.; Figueroa-Feliciano, E.; Fleming, B.; Friedland, A.; Fujikawa, B.K.; Gaisser, T.K.; Galeazzi, M.; Galehouse, D.C.; Galindo-Uribarri, A.; Garvey, G.T.; Gautam, S.; Gilje, K.E.; Gonzalez-Garcia, M.; Goodman, M.C.; Gordon, H.; Gramellini, E.; Green, M.P.; Guglielmi, A.; Hackenburg, R.W.; Hackenburg, A.; Halzen, F.; Han, K.; Hans, S.; Harris, D.; Heeger, K.M.; Herman, M.; Hill, R.; Holin, A.; Huber, P.; Jaffe, D.E.; Johnson, R.A.; Joshi, J.; Karagiorgi, G.; Kaufman, L.J.; Kayser, B.; Kettell, S.H.; Kirby, B.J.; Klein, J.R.; Kolomensky, Yu. G.; Kriske, R.M.; Lane, C.E.; Langford, T.J.; Lankford, A.; Lau, K.; Learned, J.G.; Ling, J.; Link, J.M.; Lissauer, D.; Littenberg, L.; Littlejohn, B.R.; Lockwitz, S.; Lokajicek, M.; Louis, W.C.; Luk, K.; Lykken, J.; Marciano, W.J.; Maricic, J.; Markoff, D.M.; Martinez Caicedo, D.A.; Mauger, C.; Mavrokoridis, K.; McCluskey, E.; McKeen, D.; McKeown, R.; Mills, G.; Mocioiu, I.; Monreal, B.; Mooney, M.R.; Morfin, J.G.; Mumm, P.; Napolitano, J.; Neilson, R.; Nelson, J.K.; Nessi, M.; Norcini, D.; Nova, F.; Nygren, D.R.; Orebi Gann, G.D.; Palamara, O.; Parsa, Z.; Patterson, R.; Paul, P.; Pocar, A.; Qian, X.; Raaf, J.L.; Rameika, R.; Ranucci, G.; Ray, H.; Reyna, D.; Rich, G.C.; Rodrigues, P.; Romero, E.Romero; Rosero, R.; Rountree, S.D.; Rybolt, B.; Sanchez, M.C.; Santucci, G.; Schmitz, D.; Scholberg, K.; Seckel, D.; Shaevitz, M.; Shrock, R.; Smy, M.B.; Soderberg, M.; Sonzogni, A.; Sousa, A.B.; Spitz, J.; St. John, J.M.; Stewart, J.; Strait, J.B.; Sullivan, G.; Svoboda, R.; Szelc, A.M.; Tayloe, R.; Thomson, M.A.; Toups, M.; Vacheret, A.; Vagins, M.; Van de Water, R.G.; Vogelaar, R.B.; Weber, M.; Weng, W.; Wetstein, M.; White, C.; White, B.R.; Whitehead, L.; Whittington, D.W.; Wilking, M.J.; Wilson, R.J.; Wilson, P.; Winklehner, D.; Winn, D.R.; Worcester, E.; Yang, L.; Yeh, M.; Yokley, Z.W.; Yoo, J.; Yu, B.; Yu, J.; Zhang, C.

2015-01-01

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program (WINP) at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topics on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summ...

The Pentapeptide Repeat Proteins

OpenAIRE

Vetting, Matthew W.; Hegde, Subray S.; Fajardo, J. Eduardo; Fiser, Andras; Roderick, Steven L.; Takiff, Howard E.; Blanchard, John S.

2006-01-01

The Pentapeptide Repeat Protein (PRP) family has over 500 members in the prokaryotic and eukaryotic kingdoms. These proteins are composed of, or contain domains composed of, tandemly repeated amino acid sequences with a consensus sequence of [S,T,A,V][D,N][L,F]-[S,T,R][G]. The biochemical function of the vast majority of PRP family members is unknown. The three-dimensional structure of the first member of the PRP family was determined for the fluoroquinolone resistance protein (MfpA) from Myc...

Muscle Damage and Metabolic Responses to Repeated-Sprint Running With and Without Deceleration.

Science.gov (United States)

Minahan, Clare L; Poke, Daniel P; Morrison, Jaime; Bellinger, Phillip M

2018-04-04

Minahan, CL, Poke, DP, Morrison, J, and Bellinger, PM. Muscle damage and metabolic responses to repeated-sprint running with and without deceleration. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2017-This study aimed to determine whether repeated-sprint running with deceleration aggravates markers of muscle damage or delays the recovery of performance compared with repeated-sprint running without deceleration. Fourteen male team-sport athletes performed 2 randomly ordered testing sessions on a nonmotorized treadmill with one session requiring participants to decelerate (TMd) within 4 seconds before stopping or immediately step to the side of the treadmill belt at the completion of each sprint (TMa). Peak and mean velocities, speed decrement, blood lactate concentrations, and oxygen uptake were monitored during the repeated-sprint running protocols. Countermovement vertical jump (CMJ) performance, perceived muscle soreness, sit-and-reach flexibility, plasma creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and myoglobin (Mb) concentrations were quantified immediately before and after and 45 minutes, 24 and 48 hours after repeated-sprint running protocols. Although muscle damage was indicated by increases in CK, LDH, and Mb (p ≤ 0.05) in both groups, there was no significant effect of condition (TMa vs. TMd) on any of the measured performance or physiological variables (p > 0.05). The present study indicated that the removal of deceleration from repeated-sprint running on a nonmotorized treadmill has no effect on metabolism or performance during or after repeated-sprint running or markers of muscle damage.

Intermediate Inflation or Late Time Acceleration?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanyal, A.K.

2008-01-01

The expansion rate of intermediate inflation lies between the exponential and power law expansion but corresponding accelerated expansion does not start at the onset of cosmological evolution. Present study of intermediate inflation reveals that it admits scaling solution and has got a natural exit form it at a later epoch of cosmic evolution, leading to late time acceleration. The corresponding scalar field responsible for such feature is also found to behave as a tracker field for gravity with canonical kinetic term.

On financial equilibrium with intermediation costs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Markeprand, Tobias Ejnar

2008-01-01

This paper studies the set of competitive equilibria in financial economies with intermediation costs. We consider an arbitrary dividend structure, which includes options and equity with limited liabilities.We show a general existence result and upper-hemi continuity of the equilibrium correspond......This paper studies the set of competitive equilibria in financial economies with intermediation costs. We consider an arbitrary dividend structure, which includes options and equity with limited liabilities.We show a general existence result and upper-hemi continuity of the equilibrium...

Neutrino mass as the probe of intermediate mass scales

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senjanovic, G.

1980-01-01

A discussion of the calculability of neutrino mass is presented. The possibility of neutrinos being either Dirac or Majorana particles is analyzed in detail. Arguments are offered in favor of the Majorana case: the smallness of neutrino mass is linked to the maximality of parity violation in weak interactions. It is shown how the measured value of neutrino mass would probe the existence of an intermediate mass scale, presumably in the TeV region, at which parity is supposed to become a good symmetry. Experimental consequences of the proposed scheme are discussed, in particular the neutrino-less double β decay, where observation would provide a crucial test of the model, and rare muon decays such as μ → eγ and μ → ee anti e. Finally, the embedding of this model in an O(10) grand unified theory is analyzed, with the emphasis on the implications for intermediate mass scales that it offers. It is concluded that the proposed scheme provides a distinct and testable alternative for understanding the smallness of neutrino mass. 4 figures

Neutrino mass as the probe of intermediate mass scales

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Senjanovic, G.

1980-01-01

A discussion of the calculability of neutrino mass is presented. The possibility of neutrinos being either Dirac or Majorana particles is analyzed in detail. Arguments are offered in favor of the Majorana case: the smallness of neutrino mass is linked to the maximality of parity violation in weak interactions. It is shown how the measured value of neutrino mass would probe the existence of an intermediate mass scale, presumably in the TeV region, at which parity is supposed to become a good symmetry. Experimental consequences of the proposed scheme are discussed, in particular the neutrino-less double ..beta.. decay, where observation would provide a crucial test of the model, and rare muon decays such as ..mu.. ..-->.. e..gamma.. and ..mu.. ..-->.. ee anti e. Finally, the embedding of this model in an O(10) grand unified theory is analyzed, with the emphasis on the implications for intermediate mass scales that it offers. It is concluded that the proposed scheme provides a distinct and testable alternative for understanding the smallness of neutrino mass. 4 figures.

Magnetic Repeat Station Network on the Baltic Sea — Why So Needed?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Welker Elżbieta

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The development of navigation systems requires more and more accurate base data. Currently, attention is paid to utilization of geophysical fields — gravitational and magnetic ones — for navigation purposes. The Earth’s magnetic field distribution — both onshore and offshore — is complicated and variable in time. Hence, it is essential to precisely know the secular variations in the area of interest. In the case of Baltic Sea, this involves establishing (re-establishing of a marine network of secular points (repeat stations and regular magnetic measurements of the three independent components of the Earth’s magnetic field. Such measurements require equipment that ensures not only high stability, but also information about sensors’ orientation in relation to geographic north and to the level. This article presents a new project of the Baltic network of repeat stations and gives a solution for the instruments usable for quasi-absolute magnetic measurements.

Intermediate product selection and blending in the food processing industry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kilic, Onur A.; Akkerman, Renzo; van Donk, Dirk Pieter

2013-01-01

This study addresses a capacitated intermediate product selection and blending problem typical for two-stage production systems in the food processing industry. The problem involves the selection of a set of intermediates and end-product recipes characterising how those selected intermediates...

Cooperative Fault Tolerant Tracking Control for Multiagent Systems: An Intermediate Estimator-Based Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jun-Wei; Yang, Guang-Hong; Zhang, Wen-An; Yu, Li

2017-10-17

This paper studies the observer based fault tolerant tracking control problem for linear multiagent systems with multiple faults and mismatched disturbances. A novel distributed intermediate estimator based fault tolerant tracking protocol is presented. The leader's input is nonzero and unavailable to the followers. By applying a projection technique, the mismatched disturbances are separated into matched and unmatched components. For each node, a tracking error system is established, for which an intermediate estimator driven by the relative output measurements is constructed to estimate the sensor faults and a combined signal of the leader's input, process faults, and matched disturbance component. Based on the estimation, a fault tolerant tracking protocol is designed to eliminate the effects of the combined signal. Besides, the effect of unmatched disturbance component can be attenuated by directly adjusting some specified parameters. Finally, a simulation example of aircraft demonstrates the effectiveness of the designed tracking protocol.This paper studies the observer based fault tolerant tracking control problem for linear multiagent systems with multiple faults and mismatched disturbances. A novel distributed intermediate estimator based fault tolerant tracking protocol is presented. The leader's input is nonzero and unavailable to the followers. By applying a projection technique, the mismatched disturbances are separated into matched and unmatched components. For each node, a tracking error system is established, for which an intermediate estimator driven by the relative output measurements is constructed to estimate the sensor faults and a combined signal of the leader's input, process faults, and matched disturbance component. Based on the estimation, a fault tolerant tracking protocol is designed to eliminate the effects of the combined signal. Besides, the effect of unmatched disturbance component can be attenuated by directly adjusting some

Repeatability of a 3D multi-segment foot model protocol in presence of foot deformities.

Science.gov (United States)

Deschamps, Kevin; Staes, Filip; Bruyninckx, Herman; Busschots, Ellen; Matricali, Giovanni A; Spaepen, Pieter; Meyer, Christophe; Desloovere, Kaat

2012-07-01

Repeatability studies on 3D multi-segment foot models (3DMFMs) have mainly considered healthy participants which contrasts with the widespread application of these models to evaluate foot pathologies. The current study aimed at establishing the repeatability of the 3DMFM described by Leardini et al. in presence of foot deformities. Foot kinematics of eight adult participants were analyzed using a repeated-measures design including two therapists with different levels of experience. The inter-trial variability was higher compared to the kinematics of healthy subjects. Consideration of relative angles resulted in the lowest inter-session variability. The absolute 3D rotations between the Sha-Cal and Cal-Met seem to have the lowest variability in both therapists. A general trend towards higher σ(sess)/σ(trial) ratios was observed when the midfoot was involved. The current study indicates that not only relative 3D rotations and planar angles can be measured consistently in patients, also a number of absolute parameters can be consistently measured serving as basis for the decision making process. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long term repeated prescribed burning increases evenness in the basidiomycete laccase gene pool in forest soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Artz, Rebekka R E; Reid, Eileen; Anderson, Ian C; Campbell, Colin D; Cairney, John W G

2009-03-01

Repeated prescribed burning alters the biologically labile fraction of nutrients and carbon of soil organic matter (SOM). Using a long-term (30 years) repeated burning experiment where burning has been carried out at a 2- or 4-year frequency, we analysed the effect of prescribed burning on gross potential C turnover rates and phenol oxidase activity in relation to shifts in SOM composition as observed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. In tandem, we assessed the genetic diversity of basidiomycete laccases. While the overall effect of burning was a decline in phenol oxidase activity, Shannon diversity and evenness of laccases was significantly higher in burned sites. Co-correspondence analysis of SOM composition and laccase operational taxonomic unit frequency data also suggested a strong correlation. While this correlation could indicate that the observed increase in laccase genetic diversity due to burning is due to increased resource diversity, a temporal replacement of the most abundant members of the assembly by an otherwise dormant pool of fungi cannot be excluded. As such, our results fit the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. Effects were stronger in plots burned in 2-year rotations, suggesting that the 4-year burn frequency may be a more sustainable practice to ensure the long-term stability of C cycling in such ecosystems.

Type Ia supernovae as speed sensors at intermediate redshifts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Pengjie; Chen Xuelei

2008-01-01

Large scale peculiar velocity (LSPV) is a crucial probe of dark matter, dark energy, and gravity at cosmological scales. However, its application is severely limited by measurement obstacles. We show that fluctuations in type Ia supernovae fluxes induced by LSPV offer a promising approach to measure LSPV at intermediate redshifts. In the 3D Fourier space, gravitational lensing, the dominant systematical error, is well suppressed, localized, and can be further corrected effectively. Advances in supernova observations can further significantly reduce shot noise induced by supernova intrinsic fluctuations, which is the dominant statistical error. Robust mapping on the motion of the dark universe through type Ia supernovae is thus feasible to z∼0.5.

SeqEntropy: genome-wide assessment of repeats for short read sequencing.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsueh-Ting Chu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Recent studies on genome assembly from short-read sequencing data reported the limitation of this technology to reconstruct the entire genome even at very high depth coverage. We investigated the limitation from the perspective of information theory to evaluate the effect of repeats on short-read genome assembly using idealized (error-free reads at different lengths. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We define a metric H(k to be the entropy of sequencing reads at a read length k and use the relative loss of entropy ΔH(k to measure the impact of repeats for the reconstruction of whole-genome from sequences of length k. In our experiments, we found that entropy loss correlates well with de-novo assembly coverage of a genome, and a score of ΔH(k>1% indicates a severe loss in genome reconstruction fidelity. The minimal read lengths to achieve ΔH(k<1% are different for various organisms and are independent of the genome size. For example, in order to meet the threshold of ΔH(k<1%, a read length of 60 bp is needed for the sequencing of human genome (3.2 10(9 bp and 320 bp for the sequencing of fruit fly (1.8×10(8 bp. We also calculated the ΔH(k scores for 2725 prokaryotic chromosomes and plasmids at several read lengths. Our results indicate that the levels of repeats in different genomes are diverse and the entropy of sequencing reads provides a measurement for the repeat structures. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The proposed entropy-based measurement, which can be calculated in seconds to minutes in most cases, provides a rapid quantitative evaluation on the limitation of idealized short-read genome sequencing. Moreover, the calculation can be parallelized to scale up to large euakryotic genomes. This approach may be useful to tune the sequencing parameters to achieve better genome assemblies when a closely related genome is already available.

Diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI in lung cancers. ADC test-retest repeatability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weller, Alex; Papoutsaki, Marianthi Vasiliki; Blackledge, Matthew; DeSouza, Nandita M. [Institute of Cancer Research and Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, CRUK Cancer Imaging Centre, Surrey (United Kingdom); Waterton, John C. [University of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom); Chiti, Arturo [Humanitas University, Milan (Italy); Stroobants, Sigrid [Universiteit Antwerpen, Antwerpen (Belgium); Kuijer, Joost [Vrije Universiteit Medisch Centrum, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Morgan, Veronica [Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Department of Medicine, London (United Kingdom)

2017-11-15

To determine the test-retest repeatability of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) measurements across institutions and MRI vendors, plus investigate the effect of post-processing methodology on measurement precision. Thirty malignant lung lesions >2 cm in size (23 patients) were scanned on two occasions, using echo-planar-Diffusion-Weighted (DW)-MRI to derive whole-tumour ADC (b = 100, 500 and 800 s/mm{sup -2}). Scanning was performed at 4 institutions (3 MRI vendors). Whole-tumour volumes-of-interest were copied from first visit onto second visit images and from one post-processing platform to an open-source platform, to assess ADC repeatability and cross-platform reproducibility. Whole-tumour ADC values ranged from 0.66-1.94x10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}s{sup -1} (mean = 1.14). Within-patient coefficient-of-variation (wCV) was 7.1% (95% CI 5.7-9.6%), limits-of-agreement (LoA) -18.0 to 21.9%. Lesions >3 cm had improved repeatability: wCV 3.9% (95% CI 2.9-5.9%); and LoA -10.2 to 11.4%. Variability for lesions <3 cm was 2.46 times higher. ADC reproducibility across different post-processing platforms was excellent: Pearson's R{sup 2} = 0.99; CoV 2.8% (95% CI 2.3-3.4%); and LoA -7.4 to 8.0%. A free-breathing DW-MRI protocol for imaging malignant lung tumours achieved satisfactory within-patient repeatability and was robust to changes in post-processing software, justifying its use in multi-centre trials. For response evaluation in individual patients, a change in ADC >21.9% will reflect treatment-related change. (orig.)

Intermediate product selection and blending in the food processing industry

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kilic, Onur A.; Akkerman, Renzo; van Donk, Dirk Pieter; Grunow, Martin

2013-01-01

This study addresses a capacitated intermediate product selection and blending problem typical for two-stage production systems in the food processing industry. The problem involves the selection of a set of intermediates and end-product recipes characterising how those selected intermediates are

Intermediate structure studies of 234U cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

James, G.D.; Schindler, R.H.

1976-01-01

Neutron induced fission and total cross sections of 234 U have been measured over the neutron energy range from a few eV to several MeV. Neutron and fission widths for 118 cross section resonances below 1500 eV have been determined and give a class I level spacing of 10.64 + -0.46 eV and a neutron strength function of (0.857 +- 0.108)x10 -4 . These fine structure resonances comprise a narrow intermediate structure resonance in the sub-threshold fission cross section of 234 U. Parameters for the Lorentzian energy dependence of the mean fission width are deduced on the assumption that, relative to this mean, the observed fission widths have a Porter-Thomas distribution. Two large fission widths measured for resonances at 1092.5 eV and 1134 eV may indicate the presence of a second narrow intermediate structure resonance at about this energy. The class II level spacing derived from the observation of 7 resonances below 13 keV is 2.1 +-0.3 keV. Pronounced breaks in the fission cross section at 310 keV, 550 keV and 720 keV are assumed to be due to β-vibrational levels in the second minimum of the Strutinsky potential. Fluctuations due to the presence of class II resonances are strongly evident for each of these vibrational levels. It is shown that the fluctuations near 310 keV are consistent with parameters deduced from the low energy data and this enables parameters for the double humped fission barrier potential to be obtained

Future possibilities with intermediate-energy neutron beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brady, F.P.

1987-01-01

Future possibilities for using neutrons of intermediate energies (50 - 200 MeV) as a probe of the nucleus are discussed. Some of the recent thinking concerning a systematic approach for studying elastic and inelastic scattering of electrons and hadrons and the important role of medium- and intermediate-energy neutrons in such a programme is reviewed. The advantages of neutrons in this energy range over neutrons with lower energies and over intermediate-energy pions for determining nuclear-transition and ground state densities, and for distinguishing proton from neutron density (isovector sensitivity), are noted. The important role of (n,p) charge exchange reactions in nuclear excitation studies is also reviewed. Experimental methods for utilizing neutrons as probes in elastic, inelastic, and charge exchange studies at these energies are discussed

Test–retest reliability and repeatability of renal diffusion tensor MRI in healthy subjects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cutajar, Marica; Clayden, Jonathan D.; Clark, Christopher A.; Gordon, Isky

2011-01-01

Purpose: This study assessed test–retest reliability and repeatability of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in the kidneys. Materials and methods: Seven healthy volunteers (age range, 19–31 years), were imaged three consecutive times on the same day (short-term reliability) and the same imaging protocol was repeated after a month (long-term reliability). Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans in the coronal-oblique projection of the kidney were acquired on a 1.5 T scanner using a multi-section echo-planar sequence; six contiguous slices each 5 mm thick, diffusion sensitisation along 20 non-collinear directions, TR = 730 ms, TE = 73 ms and 2 b-values (0 and 400 s mm −2 ). Volunteers were asked to hold their breath throughout each data acquisition (approx. 20 s). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and fractional anisotropy (FA) values were obtained from maps generated using dedicated software MIStar (Apollo Medical Imaging, Melbourne, Australia). Results: Statistical analyses of both short- and long-term repeats were carried out from which the within-subject coefficient of variation (wsCV) was calculated. The wsCV obtained for both the ADC and FA values were less than 10% in all the analyses carried out. In addition, paired (repeated measures) t-test was used to measure the variation between the diffusion parameters collected from the two scanning sessions a month apart. It showed no significant difference and the wsCV obtained after comparing the first and second scans were found to be smaller than 15% for both ADC and FA. Conclusion: Renal DTI produces reliable and repeatable results which make longitudinal investigation of patients viable.

The Intermediate Neutrino Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, C.; et al.

2015-03-23

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program (WINP) at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topics on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop.

The Intermediate Neutrino Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adams, C. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Alonso, J. R. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Ankowski, A. M. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Asaadi, J. A. [Syracuse Univ., NY (United States); Ashenfelter, J. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Axani, S. N. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Babu, K [Oklahoma State Univ., Stillwater, OK (United States); Backhouse, C. [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Band, H. R. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Barbeau, P. S. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States); Barros, N. [Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Bernstein, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Betancourt, M. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Bishai, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Blucher, E. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Bouffard, J. [State Univ. of New York (SUNY), Albany, NY (United States); Bowden, N. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Brice, S. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Bryan, C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Camilleri, L. [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Cao, J. [Inst. of High Energy Physics, Beijing (China); Carlson, J. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Carr, R. E. [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Chatterjee, A. [Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States); Chen, M. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Chen, S. [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China); Chiu, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Church, E. D. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Collar, J. I. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Collin, G. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Conrad, J. M. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Convery, M. R. [SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); Cooper, R. L. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States); Cowen, D. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Davoudiasl, H. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Gouvea, A. D. [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Dean, D. J. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Deichert, G. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Descamps, F. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); DeYoung, T. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States); Diwan, M. V. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Djurcic, Z. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Dolinski, M. J. [Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States); Dolph, J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Donnelly, B. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Dwyer, D. A. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Dytman, S. [Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Efremenko, Y. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Everett, L. L. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Fava, A. [University of Padua, Padova (Italy); Figueroa-Feliciano, E. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Fleming, B. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Friedland, A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fujikawa, B. K. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Gaisser, T. K. [Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States); Galeazzi, M. [Univ. of Miami, FL (United States); Galehouse, DC [Univ. of Akron, OH (United States); Galindo-Uribarri, A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Garvey, G. T. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Gautam, S. [Tribhuvan Univ., Kirtipur (Nepal); Gilje, K. E. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Gonzalez-Garcia, M. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Goodman, M. C. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Gordon, H. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Gramellini, E. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Green, M. P. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Guglielmi, A. [University of Padua, Padova (Italy); Hackenburg, R. W. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Hackenburg, A. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Halzen, F. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Han, K. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Hans, S. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Harris, D. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Heeger, K. M. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Herman, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Hill, R. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Holin, A. [Univ. College London, Bloomsbury (United Kingdom); Huber, P. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Jaffe, D. E. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Johnson, R. A. [Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States); Joshi, J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Karagiorgi, G. [Univ. of Manchester (United Kingdom); Kaufman, L. J. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States); Kayser, B. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Kettell, S. H. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Kirby, B. J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Klein, J. R. [Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States); Kolomensky, Y. G. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Kriske, R. M. [Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States); Lane, C. E. [Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States); Langford, T. J. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Lankford, A. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Lau, K. [Univ. of Houston, TX (United States); Learned, J. G. [Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States); Ling, J. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Link, J. M. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Lissauer, D. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Littenberg, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Littlejohn, B. R. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Lockwitz, S. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Lokajicek, M. [Inst. of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, Prague (Czech Republic); Louis, W. C. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Luk, K. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lykken, J. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Marciano, W. J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Maricic, J. [Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States); Markoff, D. M. [North Carolina Central Univ., Durham, NC (United States); Caicedo, D. A. M. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Mauger, C. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Mavrokoridis, K. [Univ. of Liverpool (United Kingdom); McCluskey, E. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); McKeen, D. [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States); McKeown, R. [Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (TJNAF), Newport News, VA (United States); Mills, G. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Mocioiu, I. [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Monreal, B. [Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States); Mooney, M. R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Morfin, J. G. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Mumm, P. [National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Boulder, CO (United States); Napolitano, J. [Temple Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States); Neilson, R. [Drexel Univ., Philadelphia, PA (United States); Nelson, J. K. [College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA (United States); Nessi, M. [European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva (Switzerland); Norcini, D. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Nova, F. [Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Nygren, D. R. [Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States); Gann, GDO [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Palamara, O. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Parsa, Z. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Patterson, R. [California Inst. of Technology (CalTech), Pasadena, CA (United States); Paul, P. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Pocar, A. [Univ. of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA (United States); Qian, X. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Raaf, J. L. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Rameika, R. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Ranucci, G. [National Inst. of Nuclear Physics, Milano (Italy); Ray, H. [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Reyna, D. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States); Rich, G. C. [Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab., Durham, NC (United States); Rodrigues, P. [Univ. of Rochester, NY (United States); Romero, E. R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Rosero, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Rountree, S. D. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Rybolt, B. [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States); Sanchez, M. C. [Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States); Santucci, G. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Schmitz, D. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); Scholberg, K. [Duke Univ., Durham, NC (United States); Seckel, D. [Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States); Shaevitz, M. [Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); Shrock, R. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Smy, M. B. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Soderberg, M. [Syracuse Univ., NY (United States); Sonzogni, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Sousa, A. B. [Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States); Spitz, J. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); John, J. M. S. [Univ. of Cincinnati, OH (United States); Stewart, J. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Strait, J. B. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Sullivan, G. [Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States); Svoboda, R. [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Szelc, A. M. [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States); Tayloe, R. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States); Thomson, M. A. [Univ. of Cambridge (United Kingdom); Toups, M. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Vacheret, A. [Univ. of Oxford (United Kingdom); Vagins, M. [Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Water, R. G. V. D. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Vogelaar, R. B. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Weber, M. [Bern (Switzerland); Weng, W. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Wetstein, M. [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States); White, C. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); White, B. R. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Whitehead, L. [Univ. of Houston, TX (United States); Whittington, D. W. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States); Wilking, M. J. [Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States); Wilson, R. J. [Colorado State Univ., Fort Collins, CO (United States); Wilson, P. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Winklehner, D. [Massachusetts Inst. of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA (United States); Winn, D. R. [Fairfield Univ., CT (United States); Worcester, E. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Yang, L. [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States); Yeh, M [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Yokley, Z. W. [Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States); Yoo, J. [Illinois Inst. of Technology, Chicago, IL (United States); Yu, B. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Yu, J. [Univ. of Texas, Arlington, TX (United States); Zhang, C. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

2017-04-03

The US neutrino community gathered at the Workshop on the Intermediate Neutrino Program (WINP) at Brookhaven National Laboratory February 4-6, 2015 to explore opportunities in neutrino physics over the next five to ten years. Scientists from particle, astroparticle and nuclear physics participated in the workshop. The workshop examined promising opportunities for neutrino physics in the intermediate term, including possible new small to mid-scale experiments, US contributions to large experiments, upgrades to existing experiments, R&D plans and theory. The workshop was organized into two sets of parallel working group sessions, divided by physics topics and technology. Physics working groups covered topics on Sterile Neutrinos, Neutrino Mixing, Neutrino Interactions, Neutrino Properties and Astrophysical Neutrinos. Technology sessions were organized into Theory, Short-Baseline Accelerator Neutrinos, Reactor Neutrinos, Detector R&D and Source, Cyclotron and Meson Decay at Rest sessions.This report summarizes discussion and conclusions from the workshop.

In situ detection of tandem DNA repeat length

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yaar, R.; Szafranski, P.; Cantor, C.R.; Smith, C.L. [Boston Univ., MA (United States)

1996-11-01

A simple method for scoring short tandem DNA repeats is presented. An oligonucleotide target, containing tandem repeats embedded in a unique sequence, was hybridized to a set of complementary probes, containing tandem repeats of known lengths. Single-stranded loop structures formed on duplexes containing a mismatched (different) number of tandem repeats. No loop structure formed on duplexes containing a matched (identical) number of tandem repeats. The matched and mismatched loop structures were enzymatically distinguished and differentially labeled by treatment with S1 nuclease and the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase. 7 refs., 4 figs.

Comments on intermediate-scale models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ellis, J.; Enqvist, K.; Nanopoulos, D.V.; Olive, K.

1987-01-01

Some superstring-inspired models employ intermediate scales m I of gauge symmetry breaking. Such scales should exceed 10 16 GeV in order to avoid prima facie problems with baryon decay through heavy particles and non-perturbative behaviour of the gauge couplings above m I . However, the intermediate-scale phase transition does not occur until the temperature of the Universe falls below O(m W ), after which an enormous excess of entropy is generated. Moreover, gauge symmetry breaking by renormalization group-improved radiative corrections is inapplicable because the symmetry-breaking field has not renormalizable interactions at scales below m I . We also comment on the danger of baryon and lepton number violation in the effective low-energy theory. (orig.)

Use of tactual materials on the achievement of content specific vocabulary and terminology acquisition within an intermediate level science curriculum

Science.gov (United States)

Terry, Brian H.

In this quasi-experimental study, the researcher investigated the effectiveness of three tactual strategies and one non-tactual strategy of content specific vocabulary acquisition. Flash cards, task cards, and learning wheels served as the tactual strategies, and vocabulary review sheets served as a non-tactual strategy. The sample (n=85) consisted of all middle school students in a small high performing middle school located in the northern suburbs of New York City. All of the vocabulary words and terms came from the New York State Intermediate Level Science Core Curriculum. Pre-tests and post-tests were used to collect the data. A repeated measures ANOVA was conducted on the gain scores from each of the treatments. Multiple paired sample t-tests were conducted to analyze the results. Repeated measures ANOVAs were used to determine if there was a variance between the academic achievement levels of the students, gender, and grade level for each of the treatments. All of the treatments significantly improved the science achievement of the students, but significance was found between them. Significance was found between the achievement groups with the above average students attaining a higher mean on the pre-test and post-test for each treatment, whereas the below average students had the lowest mean on both assessments. The sixth grade students showed significant improvement over the seventh grade students while using the flash cards (p=.004) and learning wheel (p=.007). During the learning wheel treatment, the males scored significantly better (p=.021) than the females on the pre-test and post-test. During the worksheet treatment, significance (p=.034) was found between gender and achievement group. The below average male students had the greatest gain from the pre-test to the post-test, but the post-test mean was still the lowest of the groups. Limitations, implications for future research and current practice are discussed. Key words are: flash cards, task cards

Tensor polarized deuteron targets for intermediate energy physics experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, W.; Schilling, E.

1985-03-01

At intermediate energies measurements from a tensor polarized deuteron target are being prepared for the following reactions: the photodisintegration of the deuteron, the elastic pion-deuteron scattering and the elastic electron-deuteron scattering. The experimental situation of the polarization experiments for these reactions is briefly discussed in section 2. In section 3 the definitions of the deuteron polarization and the possibilities to determine the vector and tensor polarization are given. Present tensor polarization values and further improvements in this field are reported in section 4. (orig.)

Surface Intermediate Zone of Submerged Turbulent Buoyant Jet in Current

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chen, H. B.; Larsen, Torben

1995-01-01

This paper deals with the intermediate zone between the jet and plume stages of a submerged buoyant discharge from sea outfall in current. The stability criteria, plume width and height after the intermediate zone and the dilution within the intermediate region have been studied theoretically and...

Computational uncertainties in silicon dioxide/plutonium intermediate neutron spectrum systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaegers, P.J.

1997-01-01

In the past several years, several proposals have been made for the long-term stabilization and storage of surplus fissile materials. Many of these proposed scenarios involve systems that have an intermediate neutron energy spectrum. Such intermediate-energy systems are dominated by scattering and fission events induced by neutrons ranging in energy from 1 eV to 100keV. To ensure adequate safety margins and cost effectiveness, it is necessary to have benchmark data for these intermediate-energy spectrum systems; however, a review of the nuclear criticality benchmarks indicates that no formal benchmarks are available. Nuclear data uncertainties have been reported for some types of intermediate-energy spectrum systems. Using a variety of Monte Carlo computer codes and cross-section sets, reported significant variations in the calculated k ∞ of intermediate-energy spectrum metal/ 235 U systems. We discuss the characteristics of intermediate neutron spectrum systems and some of the computational differences that can occur in calculating the k eff of these systems

On the stability of rotational discontinuities and intermediate shocks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, L.C.; Huang, L.; Chao, J.K.

1989-01-01

The stability of rotational discontinuities and intermediate shocks is studied based on a hybrid simulation code. The simulation results show that rotational discontinuities are stable and intermediate shocks are not stationary. Intermediate shocks tend to evolve to rotational discontinuities and waves. The authors employ several different initial profiles for the magnetic field in the transition region and find that the final structure of the discontinuities or shocks is not sensitive to the initial magnetic field profile. The present results are different from those obtained from the resistive MHD simulations. Furthermore, their study indicates that the kinetic effect of particles plays an important role in the structure and stability of rotational discontinuities and intermediate shocks

MCNP5 CRITICALITY VALIDATION AND BIAS FOR INTERMEDIATE ENRICHED URANIUM SYSTEMS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Finfrock, S.H.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this analysis is to validate the Monte Carlo N-Particle 5 (MCNP5) code Version 1.40 (LA-UR-03-1987, 2005) and its cross-section database for k-code calculations of intermediate enriched uranium systems on INTEL(reg s ign) processor based PC's running any version of the WINDOWS operating system. Configurations with intermediate enriched uranium were modeled with the moderator range of 39 (le) H/Fissile (le) 1438. See Table 2-1 for brief descriptions of selected cases and Table 3-1 for the range of applicability for this validation. A total of 167 input cases were evaluated including bare and reflected systems in a single body or arrays. The 167 cases were taken directly from the previous (Version 4C [Lan 2005]) validation database. Section 2.0 list data used to calculate k-effective (k eff ) for the 167 experimental criticality benchmark cases using the MCNP5 code v1.40 and its cross section database. Appendix B lists the MCNP cross-section database entries validated for use in evaluating the intermediate enriched uranium systems for criticality safety. The dimensions and atom densities for the intermediate enriched uranium experiments were taken from NEA/NSC/DOC(95)03, September 2005, which will be referred to as the benchmark handbook throughout the report. For these input values, the experimental benchmark k eff is approximately 1.0. The MCNP validation computer runs ran to an accuracy of approximately ± 0.001. For the cases where the reported benchmark k eff was not equal to 1.0000 the MCNP calculational results were normalized. The difference between the MCNP validation computer runs and the experimentally measured k eff is the MCNP5 v1.40 bias. The USLSTATS code (ORNL 1998) was utilized to perform the statistical analysis and generate an acceptable maximum k eff limit for calculations of the intermediate enriched uranium type systems.

High SNR Acquisitions Improve the Repeatability of Liver Fat Quantification Using Confounder-corrected Chemical Shift-encoded MR Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Motosugi, Utaroh; Hernando, Diego; Wiens, Curtis; Bannas, Peter; Reeder, Scott. B

2017-01-01

Purpose: To determine whether high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) acquisitions improve the repeatability of liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF) measurements using confounder-corrected chemical shift-encoded magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (CSE-MRI). Materials and Methods: Eleven fat-water phantoms were scanned with 8 different protocols with varying SNR. After repositioning the phantoms, the same scans were repeated to evaluate the test-retest repeatability. Next, an in vivo study was performed with 20 volunteers and 28 patients scheduled for liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two CSE-MRI protocols with standard- and high-SNR were repeated to assess test-retest repeatability. MR spectroscopy (MRS)-based PDFF was acquired as a standard of reference. The standard deviation (SD) of the difference (Δ) of PDFF measured in the two repeated scans was defined to ascertain repeatability. The correlation between PDFF of CSE-MRI and MRS was calculated to assess accuracy. The SD of Δ and correlation coefficients of the two protocols (standard- and high-SNR) were compared using F-test and t-test, respectively. Two reconstruction algorithms (complex-based and magnitude-based) were used for both the phantom and in vivo experiments. Results: The phantom study demonstrated that higher SNR improved the repeatability for both complex- and magnitude-based reconstruction. Similarly, the in vivo study demonstrated that the repeatability of the high-SNR protocol (SD of Δ = 0.53 for complex- and = 0.85 for magnitude-based fit) was significantly higher than using the standard-SNR protocol (0.77 for complex, P magnitude-based fit, P = 0.003). No significant difference was observed in the accuracy between standard- and high-SNR protocols. Conclusion: Higher SNR improves the repeatability of fat quantification using confounder-corrected CSE-MRI. PMID:28190853

Thermal, cardiac and adrenergic responses to repeated local cooling.

Science.gov (United States)

Janský, L; Matousková, E; Vávra, V; Vybíral, S; Janský, P; Jandová, D; Knízková, I; Kunc, P

2006-01-01

The aim of this study was to ascertain whether repeated local cooling induces the same or different adaptational responses as repeated whole body cooling. Repeated cooling of the legs (immersion into 12 degrees C water up to the knees for 30 min, 20 times during 4 weeks = local cold adaptation - LCA) attenuated the initial increase in heart rate and blood pressure currently observed in control subjects immersed in cold water up to the knees. After LCA the initial skin temperature decrease tended to be lower, indicating reduced vasoconstriction. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure appeared to be generally lower during rest and during the time course of cooling in LCA humans, when compared to controls. All these changes seem to indicate attenuation of the sympathetic tone. In contrast, the sustained skin temperature in different areas of the body (finger, palm, forearm, thigh, chest) appeared to be generally lower in LCA subjects than in controls (except for temperatures on the forehead). Plasma levels of catecholamines (measured 20 and 40 min after the onset of cooling) were also not influenced by local cold adaptation. Locally cold adapted subjects, when exposed to whole body cold water immersion test, showed no change in the threshold temperature for induction of cold thermogenesis. This indicates that the hypothermic type of cold adaptation, typically occurring after systemic cold adaptation, does not appear after local cold adaptation of the intensity used. It is concluded that in humans the cold adaptation due to repeated local cooling of legs induces different physiological changes than systemic cold adaptation.

A high stability and repeatability electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Zhigang; Wang, Jihao; Hou, Yubin; Lu, Qingyou

2014-12-01

We present a home built electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope (ECSTM) with very high stability and repeatability. Its coarse approach is driven by a closely stacked piezo motor of GeckoDrive type with four rigid clamping points, which enhances the rigidity, compactness, and stability greatly. It can give high clarity atomic resolution images without sound and vibration isolations. Its drifting rates in XY and Z directions in solution are as low as 84 pm/min and 59 pm/min, respectively. In addition, repeatable coarse approaches in solution within 2 mm travel distance show a lateral deviation less than 50 nm. The gas environment can be well controlled to lower the evaporation rate of the cell, thus reducing the contamination and elongating the measurement time. Atomically resolved SO4(2-) image on Au (111) work electrode is demonstrated to show the performance of the ECSTM.

MNE Entrepreneurial Capabilities at Intermediate Levels

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoenen, Anne K.; Nell, Phillip Christopher; Ambos, Björn

2014-01-01

at intermediate geographical levels differ from local subsidiaries and global corporate headquarters, and why those differences are important. We illustrate our arguments using data on European regional headquarters (RHQs). We find that RHQs' entrepreneurial capabilities depend on their external embeddedness...... and on the heterogeneous information that is generated through dissimilar markets within the region. Our study opens up for an interesting discussion of the independence of these mechanisms. In sum, we contribute to the understanding of the entrepreneurial role of intermediate units in general and RHQs in particular....

Financial Intermediation and Economic Growth of Jordan 1964-1988

OpenAIRE

Magableh, Ali H.

1995-01-01

Until recently, the economics and financial literature placed little attention on the role that financial intermediation can play in accelerating the rate of economic development in less Developed Countries (LDCs). This has been changed now, however, where some instrumental role has been emphasised for financial intermediation in the process of economic development and growth. It is argued that an expansion of the financial system, size and intermediation in LDCs tends to increase the level o...

The repeatability of left ventricular volume assessment by a new ambulatory radionuclide monitoring system during head-up tilt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takase, Bonpei; Hosaka, Haruhiko; Kitamura, Katsuhiro

2001-01-01

The precise measurement of changes in left ventricular volume is important to elucidate the mechanisms of neurally mediated syncope. This study was conducted to determine whether or not a brand-new ambulatory radionuclide monitoring system (C-VEST system) can be clinically used to easily and precisely measure left ventricular volume and function in tilt testing. To assess the repeatability of the C-VEST system, 12 healthy volunteers (mean age 24±4 years old) underwent 20 minute head-up tilt testing and we measured the temporal changes in left ventricular volume and ejection fraction twice a day (first and second studies). To investigate the changes in the C-VEST measurements and the detector position in the first and second studies, tilt testing was performed with an 80-degree passive tilt, which is the same as the standard procedure used in diagnosing neurally mediated syncope. The coefficient of repeatability for both the C-VEST and detector position was well within the clinical range (coefficient of repeatability in left ventricular volume ranged from 1.7 to 2.8; coefficient of repeatability in the detector position ranged from 2.3 to 3.1). Precise evaluation of the left ventricular volume can be achieved by an ambulatory radionuclide monitoring system in tilt testing. (author)

Hand-held tidal breathing nasal nitric oxide measurement--a promising targeted case-finding tool for the diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marthin, June Kehlet; Nielsen, Kim Gjerum

2013-01-01

BACKGROUND: Nasal nitric oxide (nNO) measurement is an established first line test in the work-up for primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). Tidal breathing nNO (TB-nNO) measurements require minimal cooperation and are potentially useful even in young children. Hand-held NO devices are becoming...... increasingly widespread for asthma management. Therefore, we chose to assess whether hand-held TB-nNO measurements reliably discriminate between PCD, and Healthy Subjects (HS) and included Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients as a disease control group known to have intermediate nNO levels. METHODS: In this cross...... sectional, single centre, single occasion, proof-of-concept study in children and adults with PCD and CF, and in HS we compared feasibility, success rates, discriminatory capacity, repeatability and agreement between a hand-held electrochemical device equipped with a nNO software application sampling...

The Metallicity Evolution of Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies from the Intermediate Redshift to the Local Universe

Science.gov (United States)

Lian, Jianhui; Hu, Ning; Fang, Guanwen; Ye, Chengyun; Kong, Xu

2016-03-01

We present oxygen abundance measurements for 74 blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies in the redshift range of [0.2, 0.5] using the strong-line method. The spectra of these objects are taken using Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope. More than half of these BCDs had dust attenuation corrected using the Balmer decrement method. For comparison, we also selected a sample of 2023 local BCDs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database. Based on the local and intermediate-z BCD samples, we investigated the cosmic evolution of the metallicity, star formation rate (SFR), and Dn(4000) index. Compared with local BCDs, the intermediate-z BCDs had a systematically higher R23 ratio but a similar O32 ratio. Interestingly, no significant deviation in the mass-metallicity (MZ) relation was found between the intermediate-z and local BCDs. Besides the metallicity, the intermediate-z BCDs also exhibited an SFR distribution that was consistent with local BCDs, suggesting a weak dependence on redshift. The intermediate-z BCDs seemed to be younger than the local BCDs with lower Dn(4000) index values. The insignificant deviation in the mass-metallicity and mass-SFR relations between intermediate-z and local BCDs indicates that the relations between the global parameters of low-mass compact galaxies may be universal. These results from low-mass compact galaxies could be used to place important observational constraints on galaxy formation and evolution models.

THE METALLICITY EVOLUTION OF BLUE COMPACT DWARF GALAXIES FROM THE INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFT TO THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lian, Jianhui; Hu, Ning; Ye, Chengyun; Kong, Xu; Fang, Guanwen

2016-01-01

We present oxygen abundance measurements for 74 blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies in the redshift range of [0.2, 0.5] using the strong-line method. The spectra of these objects are taken using Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope. More than half of these BCDs had dust attenuation corrected using the Balmer decrement method. For comparison, we also selected a sample of 2023 local BCDs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database. Based on the local and intermediate-z BCD samples, we investigated the cosmic evolution of the metallicity, star formation rate (SFR), and D n (4000) index. Compared with local BCDs, the intermediate-z BCDs had a systematically higher R23 ratio but a similar O32 ratio. Interestingly, no significant deviation in the mass–metallicity (MZ) relation was found between the intermediate-z and local BCDs. Besides the metallicity, the intermediate-z BCDs also exhibited an SFR distribution that was consistent with local BCDs, suggesting a weak dependence on redshift. The intermediate-z BCDs seemed to be younger than the local BCDs with lower D n (4000) index values. The insignificant deviation in the mass–metallicity and mass–SFR relations between intermediate-z and local BCDs indicates that the relations between the global parameters of low-mass compact galaxies may be universal. These results from low-mass compact galaxies could be used to place important observational constraints on galaxy formation and evolution models

THE METALLICITY EVOLUTION OF BLUE COMPACT DWARF GALAXIES FROM THE INTERMEDIATE REDSHIFT TO THE LOCAL UNIVERSE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lian, Jianhui; Hu, Ning; Ye, Chengyun; Kong, Xu [CAS Key Laboratory for Research in Galaxies and Cosmology, Department of Astronomy, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China); Fang, Guanwen, E-mail: ljhhw@mail.ustc.edu.cn, E-mail: xkong@ustc.edu.cn [Institute for Astronomy and History of Science and Technology, Dali University, Dali 671003 (China)

2016-03-01

We present oxygen abundance measurements for 74 blue compact dwarf (BCD) galaxies in the redshift range of [0.2, 0.5] using the strong-line method. The spectra of these objects are taken using Hectospec on the Multiple Mirror Telescope. More than half of these BCDs had dust attenuation corrected using the Balmer decrement method. For comparison, we also selected a sample of 2023 local BCDs from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) database. Based on the local and intermediate-z BCD samples, we investigated the cosmic evolution of the metallicity, star formation rate (SFR), and D{sub n}(4000) index. Compared with local BCDs, the intermediate-z BCDs had a systematically higher R23 ratio but a similar O32 ratio. Interestingly, no significant deviation in the mass–metallicity (MZ) relation was found between the intermediate-z and local BCDs. Besides the metallicity, the intermediate-z BCDs also exhibited an SFR distribution that was consistent with local BCDs, suggesting a weak dependence on redshift. The intermediate-z BCDs seemed to be younger than the local BCDs with lower D{sub n}(4000) index values. The insignificant deviation in the mass–metallicity and mass–SFR relations between intermediate-z and local BCDs indicates that the relations between the global parameters of low-mass compact galaxies may be universal. These results from low-mass compact galaxies could be used to place important observational constraints on galaxy formation and evolution models.

How do repeat suicide attempters differ from first timers? An exploratory record based analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vikas Menon

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Evidence indicates that repeat suicide attempters, as a group, may differ from 1st time attempters. The identification of repeat attempters is a powerful but underutilized clinical variable. Aims: In this research, we aimed to compare individuals with lifetime histories of multiple attempts with 1st time attempters to identify factors predictive of repeat attempts. Setting and Design: This was a retrospective record based study carried out at a teaching cum Tertiary Care Hospital in South India. Methods: Relevant data was extracted from the clinical records of 1st time attempters (n = 362 and repeat attempters (n = 61 presenting to a single Tertiary Care Center over a 4½ year period. They were compared on various sociodemographic and clinical parameters. The clinical measures included Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, Beck Hopelessness Scale, Coping Strategies Inventory – Short Form, and the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale. Statistical Analysis Used: First time attempters and repeaters were compared using appropriate inferential statistics. Logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of repeat attempts. Results: The two groups did not significantly differ on sociodemographic characteristics. Repeat attempters were more likely to have given prior hints about their act (χ2 = 4.500, P = 0.034. In the final regression model, beck hopelessness score emerged as a significant predictor of repeat suicide attempts (odds ratio = 1.064, P = 0.020. Conclusion: Among suicide attempters presenting to the hospital, the presence of hopelessness is a predictor of repeat suicide attempts, independent of clinical depression. This highlights the importance of considering hopelessness in the assessment of suicidality with a view to minimize the risk of future attempts.

Perspective: Spectroscopy and kinetics of small gaseous Criegee intermediates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Yuan-Pern

2015-01-01

The Criegee intermediates, carbonyl oxides proposed by Criegee in 1949 as key intermediates in the ozonolysis of alkenes, play important roles in many aspects of atmospheric chemistry. Because direct detection of these gaseous intermediates was unavailable until recently, previous understanding of their reactions, derived from indirect experimental evidence, had great uncertainties. Recent laboratory detection of the simplest Criegee intermediate CH 2 OO and some larger members, produced from ultraviolet irradiation of corresponding diiodoalkanes in O 2 , with various methods such as photoionization, ultraviolet absorption, infrared absorption, and microwave spectroscopy opens a new door to improved understanding of the roles of these Criegee intermediates. Their structures and spectral parameters have been characterized; their significant zwitterionic nature is hence confirmed. CH 2 OO, along with other products, has also been detected directly with microwave spectroscopy in gaseous ozonolysis reactions of ethene. The detailed kinetics of the source reaction, CH 2 I + O 2 , which is critical to laboratory studies of CH 2 OO, are now understood satisfactorily. The kinetic investigations using direct detection identified some important atmospheric reactions, including reactions with NO 2 , SO 2 , water dimer, carboxylic acids, and carbonyl compounds. Efforts toward the characterization of larger Criegee intermediates and the investigation of related reactions are in progress. Some reactions of CH 3 CHOO are found to depend on conformation. This perspective examines progress toward the direct spectral characterization of Criegee intermediates and investigations of the associated reaction kinetics, and indicates some unresolved problems and prospective challenges for this exciting field of research

Surface intermediates on metal electrodes at high temperatures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zachau-Christiansen, Birgit; Jacobsen, Torben; Bay, Lasse

1998-01-01

The mechanisms widely conceived for the O(2)-reduction or H(2)-oxidation reactions in SOFC's involve intermediate O/H species adsorbed on the electrode surface. The presence of these intermediates is investigated by linear sweep voltammetry. In air at moderate temperatures (500 degrees C) Pt...

A repeated measures experiment of green exercise to improve self-esteem in UK school children.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katharine Reed

Full Text Available Exercising in natural, green environments creates greater improvements in adult's self-esteem than exercise undertaken in urban or indoor settings. No comparable data are available for children. The aim of this study was to determine whether so called 'green exercise' affected changes in self-esteem; enjoyment and perceived exertion in children differently to urban exercise. We assessed cardiorespiratory fitness (20 m shuttle-run and self-reported physical activity (PAQ-A in 11 and 12 year olds (n = 75. Each pupil completed two 1.5 mile timed runs, one in an urban and another in a rural environment. Trials were completed one week apart during scheduled physical education lessons allocated using a repeated measures design. Self-esteem was measured before and after each trial, ratings of perceived exertion (RPE and enjoyment were assessed after completing each trial. We found a significant main effect (F (1,74, = 12.2, p<0.001, for the increase in self-esteem following exercise but there was no condition by exercise interaction (F (1,74, = 0.13, p = 0.72. There were no significant differences in perceived exertion or enjoyment between conditions. There was a negative correlation (r = -0.26, p = 0.04 between habitual physical activity and RPE during the control condition, which was not evident in the green exercise condition (r = -0.07, p = 0.55. Contrary to previous studies in adults, green exercise did not produce significantly greater increases in self-esteem than the urban exercise condition. Green exercise was enjoyed more equally by children with differing levels of habitual physical activity and has the potential to engage less active children in exercise.

The spectral distribution of intermediate L-K molecular-orbital radiation in symmetric heavy-ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinig, K.-H.; Jager, H.-U.; Richter, H.; Woittennek, H.; Frank, W.; Gippener, P.; Kaun, K.-H.; Manfrass, P.

1977-01-01

Two distinct x-ray continua C1 and C2 above the characteristic lines are observed in high-energy collisions between atoms with atomic numbers of 28 to 57. This structure is explained by a superposition of K molecular-orbital (KMO) radiation and of an intermediate L-K molecular-orbital (ILKMO) radiation of high intensity which is due to 2psigma vacancies. In the framework of the dynamical theory of intermediate molecular phenomena and using a scaling of the H 2 + correlation diagram with screened state-dependent charges good agreement between the shapes of the measured and calculated spectra is obtained. (author)

Hybrid FRC under repeated loading

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komlos, K.; Babal, B.; Nuernbergerova, T.

1993-01-01

Fibre reinforced concretes (FRC) containing several volume fractions in different ratios of two types of fibres - polypropylene and steel, were tested under repeated loading. Mechanical properties of specimens - cubes 150/150/150 mm (for compressive strength), prisms 100/100/400 (for flexural strength), short cylinders 150/60 mm (for impact strength) have been experimentally investigated before and after cyclic loading at the age of 28 days curing time. Mix proportions were designed after DIN 1045 with max. aggregate size 8 mm and grading curve B 8. Portland Cement PC 400 in the amount of 450 kg. m -3 was applied and W/C ratio 0.55. Workability of mixes was measured by Vebe method and regulated by plasticizing admixture Ligoplast Na. Maximum hybrid fibre volume fraction (polypropylene + steel) was 1.0%. Dynamic forces generated in Schenck testing machine with frequency 16 Hz had sinusoidal wave form varying between 0.7 and 0.1 of static mechanical characteristics. The number of cycles in all tests was 10 5 . The residual MOR at static four point bending test and working diagram force-deflection was carried out as well. The impact properties after repeated loading in compression were tested by means of falling weight test. Relationships between composition of fibre composites with different combination of polypropylene (0.2, 0.3, 0.5% by volume) and steel (0.5, 0.7, and 0.8% by volume) fibre content were obtained and technological properties of mixes as well. (author)

Control of coercive field in lithium niobate crystals with repeated polarization reversal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ro, Jung Hoon; Jeong, Doun; Park, Taeyong; Kim, Chulhan; Kwon, Soon-Bok; Cha, Myoungsik; Choi, Byeong Cheol; Yu, Nanei; Kurimura, Sunao; Jeon, Gyerok

2005-01-01

In this study, the amount of decrease in coercive field of congruent lithium niobate during repeated poling and back-poling was measured. The polarization is reversed in 300 ms and then back-poled during the rest period. The coercive field can be decreased around 1 kV/mm with a repeated poling interval of 5 s. As the interval prolonged, the poling field decrease became smaller, and a stretched exponential function is suggested for the experimental fitting resulting in a set of meaningful parameters. These values are essential for the design of high quality domain engineering

Intermediate-Mass Black Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, M. Coleman; Colbert, E. J. M.

2004-01-01

The mathematical simplicity of black holes, combined with their links to some of the most energetic events in the universe, means that black holes are key objects for fundamental physics and astrophysics. Until recently, it was generally believed that black holes in nature appear in two broad mass ranges: stellar-mass (M~3 20 M⊙), which are produced by the core collapse of massive stars, and supermassive (M~106 1010 M⊙), which are found in the centers of galaxies and are produced by a still uncertain combination of processes. In the last few years, however, evidence has accumulated for an intermediate-mass class of black holes, with M~102 104 M⊙. If such objects exist they have important implications for the dynamics of stellar clusters, the formation of supermassive black holes, and the production and detection of gravitational waves. We review the evidence for intermediate-mass black holes and discuss future observational and theoretical work that will help clarify numerous outstanding questions about these objects.

Digital repeat analysis; setup and operation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nol, J; Isouard, G; Mirecki, J

2006-06-01